Charu Mazumdar

What is the Source of the Spontaneous Revolutionary Outburst in India?

Written/Delivered: April 9, 1965

Source: The Collected Works of Charu Mazumdar

Published: Deshabrati Prakashani, publishing house of the Undivided C.P.I. (M-L)

Online Version: Charu Mazumdar Reference Archive, April 2004

Transcribed/HTML Markup: Basu Acharya and Mike B.

Comrades,

Two events occurred in the world in the era after the second world war. As, on the one hand, the naked form of the defeat of the so called Fascist powers was exposed before the people, so also, on the other, the world socialist state system under the leadership of Comrade Stalin created confidence in the minds of the people. As a result, a spontaneous revolutionary outburst was witnessed throughout the entire world. Above all, the success of the Chinese revolution in 1949, without the war itself, brought about a new revolutionary high tide in the midst of this spontaneous outburst about which the Communist Party of India could never make a correct assessment. As a result the revolutionary change in the whole of Asia, Africa and Latin America brought about by this great revolution was never noticed by us. Hence, we failed to understand the significance of this bold revolutionary slogan, the clarion call of the 650 million revolutionary people--"See, we have on our own taken ourselves on to the path of socialism. No, even US. imperialism failed to check the tremendous motion of our irresistible revolutionary current."

But the fighting people did not make the mistake. That revolutionary spark spread to Vietnam, Cuba, every country in the whole of Latin America.

The people of India responded to that call. We saw the expression of this in the spontaneous democratic revolution of 1949 which was dimmed by us in trying to confine it within the narrow bounds of socialist revolution. Not only that, there was an attempt to negate the significance of the entire Chinese Revolution by openly criticizing the source of this spontaneous movement, the great Chinese Revolution and its Great Leader Comrade Mao Tsetung. Above all, later on, it was as a consequence to the denial of this Chinese Revolution that the slogan was raised within the Party that the revolution will be achieved not through the Chinese path but only through a truly Indian path. And from here itself was born today's revisionism. It was because of that left sectarianism of those days that we were unable to guide that movement along the correct path.

But, no, Comrades! The tide of that revolutionary movement of 1949 could not be exhausted, because no imperialism could wipe off the Chinese Revolution, the Red Flag of hope of the city of Peking.

We saw again that ebbing movement turning into a huge tide in 1951 during the Korean war. It is a full blossoming of this that we saw in spontaneous meetings, processions, in greeting the counter attack made unitedly by China and Korea. It was the objective form of this that we witnessed in the great victory of the Communist Party in the 1951 election.

And it was the fighting form of this that we saw in the spontaneous erection of barricades by the fighting masses in 1953-54.

We could not understand. But the bourgeoisie could understand, could recognize the form of the fighting masses, could know its course. It realized that this great revolution could no longer be ignored, so to dupe the people it turned its face towards the socialist State, towards the great Chinese Revolution. That is why it participated in Panch Sheel, in the Bandung Conference.

Decadent imperialism also realized that it was not possible to carry on in the old method. So it took a new form, introduced a new method of exploitation by giving dollars as gift. Neo-colonialism began.

When imperialism and all the reactionaries of the world were grouping for a way out, to save themselves, the revisionist policy of the traitor Krushchov in 1956 made its appearance before them with a light of new hope. The reactionary government of India found a way to create illusion about Krushchov's independent capitalist path. But the reactionary government knew that it was impractical, illusory. That is why the reactionary government of India's bourgeoisie entered into a secret pact with the U.S. imperialism in 1958.

That is why in 1959 as it launched an attack on democracy, on the one hand, by suspending the constitution in Kerala, so also it started, on the other hand, slandering against the source of the spontaneous movement, the great Chinese People's Republic. It provided shelter to Tibet's imperialist agent, Dalai Lama. But when in spite of this the people spontaneously started along the path of struggle, the bourgeoisie without any delay shot dead 80 people. Thus the last possibility of peaceful transition to socialism ended.

But, no, Comrades, even then the people did not stand still before the government's might. The spontaneous strike of 1960 spread all over India on a massive scale, because the light of Chinese Revolution, the container of a force hundred times, thousand times stronger than this force, is showing them the way. That is why, comrades, even without the Communist Party, the people started on the path of struggle.

When the fighting people of this spontaneous struggle, being defeated with arms, were thinking of still harder struggle, the slogan of alternative government of 1962 could not create revolutionary enthusiasm in their minds. Because they wanted a reply to the question--What will happen if the Kerala episode is repeated in Bengal? We could not give a correct answer to this question. We could not put forward this correct and bold slogan at that time--In the event of the Kerala episode recurring in Bengal, it is armed struggle that would be the only way of overthrowing the government.

But the bourgeoisie did not make any mistake in noticing the image of the militant masses. That is why in 1962 the panic stricken Indian government attacked the source of the struggle of the fighting masses, it attacked the great Chinese Democracy. But two events occurred as a result of which the bourgeoisie itself dug its grave. First, because of the defeat of the armed forces of the bourgeoisie, the naked form of the weakness of this government became as clear as daylight before the fighting masses. The fighting masses found a new light of struggle. Secondly, because of the unilateral withdrawal of the Chinese troops from the Indian areas, the poisonous influence of perverted nationalism could not touch the peasants. The bourgeoisie became panic-stricken; it imprisoned the communists.

But it could not stop the spontaneous struggle. Work stopped in Bombay. The "Dum Dum Dawai" was started. To get out of this terrible situation, the bourgeoisie released the communists and tried to utilize their internal conflicts. But the notorious letter of Dange, the running dog of imperialism, spoiled their hope. A new revolutionary Party was formed, Krushchov fell from power, world revisionism received a terrific blow. The pillar, by depending on which the bourgeoisie had started attacks against China, began to shake in Viet Nam. The bourgeoisie saw the danger and found themselves, with their back to the wall, unable to make any retreat. So it attacked, imprisoned two thousand communists. But the fighting masses gave their verdict in Kerala, the government saw the outburst of spontaneous movement. It tore off the last mask of democracy.

But no, this spontaneous movement cannot be prevented even by imprisoning hundreds and thousands of communists and resorting to thousand ways of repression. Because the Chinese Revolution cannot be destroyed. No stormy wind can put off the light of that Revolution. The delirious bourgeoisie knows that, so it has started raving about its own weak spots. It is trembling, imagining an organization being formed within the military. It has started seeing the ghost of Telengana.

Yes, Comrades, today we have to speak out courageously in a bold voice before the people that it is the area-wise seizure of power that is our path. We have to make the bourgeoisie tremble by striking hardest at its weakest spots. We have to speak out before the people in a bold voice--See, how poor, backward China, within sixteen years, has with the help of the socialist structure, made its economy strong and solid. On the other hand, we have to expose this traitorous government which has, within seventeen years, turned India into a playground of imperialist exploitation. It has converted the entire Indian people into a nation of beggars to the foreigners. Come, Comrades, let all toiling people unitedly prepare for armed struggle against this government under the leadership of the working class, on the basis of the programme of agrarian revolution. On the other hand, let us lay the foundation of the New People's Democratic India by building liberated peasant areas through peasant revolts.

Let us together, shoulder-to-shoulder, roar:

Long live the unity of the workers, peasants and the toiling masses !

Long live the imminent armed struggle of India !