Questions of Strategy in Indian Revolution

(A draf t for di scussi on)

1) We present this document at a period of deep crisis in international and national Communist
movement. We are preparing this document at a time when there is no Communist Party in India.
With this perspective in mind and as a part of revolutionary forces in India, this document has been
prepared to define the important questions of strategy in Indian revolution and with a view to solving
them.

2) This document is being prepared in the midst of a continuous process which is directed towards
understanding the complexities, diversities and evolutionary course of Indian revolution and thereby
summing them up with a measure of depth necessary for the solution of the questions of strategy in
Indian revolution. In the future conferences of more mature revolutionary groups and more
importantly at the phase of the building of a Communist Party in India, this document will get rid of
its incompleteness and errors.

3) In course of writing this document the data of a definite period (2004-05) have been adopted as
the basis to describe the specific features of the present Indian society. Various dealings with the
questions of strategy need separate explanatory analyses. But for now, we have to make do with
the additions of some notes. We have had recourse to this with a view not to encumbering the main
theme of the document with the piles of data. In some conference of the future, we hope, necessary
revisions will be made.

4) This document contains some political positions that are generally considered as the subjects of
a Programme of a communist organization while there are others, too, that constitute parts of
tactics. In respect of our organization, since it has neither a complete programme nor a tactical
line, there has been an amalgamation of both in this document.

Evolution of Indian Society : 1947 - 2005

5) Prior to 1947, direct British rule in India continued uninterrupted for two hundred years. During
that entire period it hindered the natural development of capital in Indian economy and in agriculture
retained feudal production relations. The development of industrial capital of our country could not
gain momentum, for the British monopolized over raw material for industry and siphoned it off to
other countries (mainly to England) and the limited commodity-market of India (of consumer goods
and industrial machinery) used to be saturated by imported commodities to a large extent. As a
side-effect of influx of finance capital, circulation of mercantile capital and a slow and distorted
development of industrial capital, feudal production relation in agriculture has been slowly eroded.
But no programme of land reforms has been undertaken here that might affect the feudal production
relation. Under the circumstances, till 1947, it should have been the task of the Communist Party of
India to accomplish the national democratic revolution. The Communist Party failed to fulfil this task
at that time. As a result the leadership of anti-British national movement was seized by The Indian
National Congress, the representative of big bourgeoisie and feudal lords of India. Since it was
under the aegis of British capital that the capitalists of India were born, from the very inception they
stood opposed to the natural needs of the economy of the country. Quite in keeping with the
character of the Indian ruling classes, The National Congress of India kept the opposition to
imperialism confined to protecting the interest of the big bourgeoisie and the feudal class through
bargaining with the British and thus to promoting its own class-interest.

6) Since 1940s, very important events started taking place in the national and international spheres
which not only shook up the foundation of British imperialism, but also struck terror into The Indian
National Congress. The defeat of the fascist forces by the people of the world under the leadership
of the Soviet Union and the formidable advancement of the Chinese Revolution brought about new
changes in the alignment of forces of the world. Although temporarily, imperialism became weaker
and the power of the people became stronger in various countries of the world National liberation
wars against imperialism intensified in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In conformity with this, in
India, too, an unprecedented peoples movement swept throughout the country like a deluge. British
rule in India was endangered.

7) In the face of this volcanic situation, the British imperialism had to beat a retreat. It was compelled
to transfer the ruling power to the Congress and the Muslim League. But before departing, it split the
country into two parts through the blood-bath of communal riots. The alliance of the big bourgeoisie
and the feudal-lords under the leadership of the big bourgeoisie of India came to power. As a result
of this, the British lost the power of directly ruling the country but retained the means to maintain its
economic interests. As a consequence of this situation, the colonial rule of the British came to an
end on 15th August, 1947. But Indian economy could not get rid of the yoke of foreign big monopoly
capital.

8) After British imperialism had lost direct power to rule India, its subsequent history was one of
continuous retreat. Eclipsing the dominance of British capital, the U.S. capital started to gain the
upper hand. Side by side, since when India attained political independence in 1947, an influence of
the U.S.S.R. in the economic, cultural and political spheres slowly started to descend on India and
with the passage of time that kept on increasing. In the 60s of the last century, this influence
intensified by the aids the U.S.S.R. gave to India in favourable terms, its initiative to build heavy
industry in our country and its various technological assistance given to us. In terms of economic
quantum they were meagre, but given the political perspective of the time, its qualitative value was
immense. The Indo-Soviet relation that started in the fifties of the last century passed through many
ups and downs. The attitude, with which the Soviet Union began to give aids to India at the very
outset, began to change with the consolidation of power by the Khruschov revisionists. In the later
years, in the era of Breznev the understanding between the Indian ruling classes and those of the
Soviet Union went through a qualitative transformation and the economic and political cooperation
of the Soviet Union turned out to be clearly anti-people and anti-national. Since the 70s onwards,
the Soviet influence in India became so powerful that for the time being, the influence of the U.S. on
our country dwindled to a large extent. During this entire period, whatever might be the character of
the ruling class of the Soviet Union and accordingly whatever might be the character of the
changing bi-lateral relation between India and the U.S.S.R. a see-saw battle between the two big
forces to exert their influence on India persisted. As a result, taking advantage of this situation, the
Indian big bourgeoisie started enjoying a relative independence and at times started to appear in a
relatively independent role whenever such an opportunity came its way. That the Indian big
bourgeoisie could seize upon this situation and could, thereby, enjoy a relative freedom had its
origin in the fact that Indian capital had attained a relative development and growth, which started
from the early years of the last century.

9) Even before the Indian big bourgeoisie and feudal lords assumed power in 1947, the Indian big
bourgeoisie had been asserting an independent position and showing its own initiative on the
question of economic development of India. In the post-World War II-period, the growth of the Indian
bourgeoisie reached a point where they found a favourable situation to bring about a fresh equation
in relations in the years following the War. Great Britain turned out to be the largest debtor country
after the War, although she had been showing a tendency of erosion of power since 1927 itself
(Liberal Enquiry Commission Report). Rate of investment was decreasing and in respect of export
of capital, its paucity was highly noticeable. In the thirties of the 20th century, the J apanese big
bourgeoisie started dominating the Asian markets while German bourgeoisie held its sway over
Balkan and Scandinavian markets and American bourgeoisie over that of Latin America. As a result
of all this, even before the onset of the World War II, Great Britain started to lose her dominance
over the world market.
From the period following the World War I, on the other hand, a weak representation of the Indian
bourgeoisie was steadily consolidating itself and becoming more and more powerful. As early as
1918, when the Report of Indian Industrial Commission was prognosticating the huge potential of
Indian industry, the members of the Commission representing the Indian bourgeoisie raised the
demand of regulating the tariff and foreign exchange. In the struggle of 1919-21, the Indian
capitalists took part with a view to advancing a step further towards realizing their aforementioned
demands. The British imperialists tried to resolve it for the time being.

10) In the Fiscal Committee Report of 1922, the demands of the Indian bourgeoisie were partially
met and in the context of international competition, some measures were taken to protect them to
some extent. In 1924 a tariff board was constituted in order to determine the tariff policy. Afterwards,
by honouring the demands of the Indian capitalists to a certain extent, rupee-sterling exchange was
changed. On the basis of this, the Indian capitalists gained considerable profit and entered into a
new phase of accelerating investment and growth in cotton, jute, matches, cement and sugar
industry.

11) Since 1930s, the big bourgeoisie of India had been advocating for the government initiative in
the planned development of Indian economy. G.D. Birla reflected this attitude in a general body
meeting of FICCI in 1934. In 1938, Indian National Congress, the political representative of the big
bourgeoisie of India set up National Planning Committee. Mr. J awaharlal Nehru was its chairman.
After the World War II, taking advantage of the economic crisis of British imperialism, the dominance
of the Indian capitalists increased to a great measure in the production of internal commodities.
After the War, the sterling balance of India came to 1000 million. Even a relatively strong dollar
reserve could be visible. Under the circumstances, Indian big bourgeoisie forged a new tie with the
U.S. capitalists. Indian bourgeoisie never took initiative to take to the path of development without
the help of technology and capital of the international big capitalist groups. Along with maintaining
their own interest by tightening safeguards in the national market, they depended upon the
assistance given by the dominant capitalist groups and states to promote their own interest. In this
backdrop Indo-U.S. commercial and industrial relation began to deepen in the post-second World
War period. In order to produce aircrafts and automobile parts, the U.S. capitalists started setting up
factories. In these factories, the major portion of invested capital was owned by the U.S. capitalists
while their management belonged entirely to them. In the period following this, the import of U.S.
commodities in India multiplied several times. Especially the import of U.S. commodities like
machinery, machine tools etc. that are necessary for establishing factories and for their rapid growth
far surpassed the impact of British commodities made up of obsolete technology.

12) In the post-World War II period in the perspective of international and national situation, Indian
bourgeoisie came out with their own consolidated and independent initiative in a document in 1944
named A Plan for Economic Development, popularly known as Bombay Plan
1
. From the nature
of Bombay plan it becomes obvious that the post-independence period, as a leading class of Indian
society, Indian bourgeoisie proposed a plan aimed at promoting social security and increasing the
standard of living of the masses on the one hand and at achieving a fast development of industry
and a slow development of agriculture, on the other. In this plan the target of doubling the per capita
income in fifteen years was envisaged. In this plan import of modern and high quality machinery and
capital from the imperialist countries was proposed while setting up of public sector basic industries,
where the investment of private capital was not possible at that stage of development, was also
proposed. It was deemed that the industries privately owned would develop very fast by the aid of
public sector industries. After the independence the first Prime Minister of India did not officially
adopt this plan. But the first Five Year Plan of 1950 was moulded after the general proposals of the
Bombay Plan.

Note 1:
This document named A Brief Memorandum Outlining a Plan of Economic Development for India
was drafted by seven leading Indian capitalists, viz, J.R.D. Tata, G.D. Birla, A. Dalal, SriRam,
Kasturbhai Lalbhai, A.D. Shroff and John Mathai. This plan proposed the adoption of a fifteen year
plan dealing with the development of food, clothing, housing, medical treatment and social services as
well as the development of industry and agriculture. This plan was proposed to be adopted as a
government plan. This plan proposed to cover a period of fifteen years, put forward 7500 million as
government investment in which 3.360 million in industry, 930 million in agriculture, 705 million
in communications, 367.5m in education, 337.5m in health, 1650m in housing were to be
expended. As regards the sources of this investment, there were 3000 million to be derived from
internal savings and up to 2500 million from created money. These amounts were enumerated on
the basis of 1939 prices, which became almost double in respect of post-War prices. This takes the
amount of investment to 15000m. As a fifteen year target, this plan proposed a 135% increase in
agriculture and 500% increase in industry.

13) In colonial India the chief interest of British monopoly capital was to procure raw material at a
very low price and to sell its industrial products in India. Besides this, the main fields of investment
of British capital in India were railways, coal mines, engineering industries, tea etc. At the last phase
of British rule when British imperialism started realizing that to continue in direct rule in India was
impossible, it adopted a policy of controlling the Indian capitalists economically as well as
technologically, even as it gave recognition to the initiative and the aspiration of the big bourgeoisie
of our country. In the post-war report of the reorganizing committee of the government of India
(1943) which submitted its second report in 1945, a plan was put forward for the ensuing fifteen
years. This report reflected the basic approach of the Bombay plan. The development of small and
cottage industries and investment in the new and big key industries were the main thrust of this
industrial policy. In 1945, the Planning and Development Department of the government of India
proposed in its report to bring 20 industries in control of the government. Even the idea of
nationalization of these industries was mooted. Some of these industries were railways, iron and
steel, aviation, automobiles, ordnance, electrical equipments etc. The similarities of the Bombay
plan and the plan of India government under the British rule highlight the joint initiative of two groups
of big capitalists and the dependence of Indian big bourgeoisie on the international capital.
Naturally, therefore, in the post-independence plans of India, the reflection of all this is all too
obvious.

14) Immediately after the independence, the impact of the Chinese revolution and the continuing
communist movement in our country played an important role in shaping the agricultural reforms
and development projects of the government. Under the direct economic and technological plan and
control of the U.S., the government of India adopted the development projects right from 1948. As
its objective it was stated: development of irrigation system, reclamation of fallow lands,
preservation and protection of food-grains, development of education and health etc. The U.S.
concerns like Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and MIT University gave a blue-print of
development projects.
In March 1950, the Planning Commission was created. The first Five-year plan was adopted for the
period of 1951-56. Immediately after the independence, the entire nation was engulfed in a terrible
food-crisis, culminating in a famine in 1949. Many people died of starvation. In 1950 the government
of India asked the U.S. government for a loan of 20 lakh tons of food grains. In the next year the
U.S. supplied India with this food at a very high price, as loan. In 1956, as a long-term project India
struck an agreement with the U.S. for import of food. (PL 480)

15) In the first five year plan, the main emphasis was laid on agriculture. Importance was given to
the development of irrigation system and land reforms and to building of electricity projects. 45% of
collected revenue was planned to be used in agriculture and 4.9% in industry. The approach implicit
in it was to solve the food crisis by developing agriculture, to appease the anger of the masses and
basing on these two premises to develop industry. National income increased by 11% and per
capita consumption by 9% in the first five year plan.
In the second five year plan the importance of developing industry was emphasized upon. Side by
side with solving the food-crisis, the supply of raw material for industry was an important component
of agricultural planning. In the sphere of industrial planning, the realization pre-independence
planning of Indian big bourgeoisie and that of the British government can be noticed. In this plan,
increase of 25% national income was fixed as a target. In comparison with the first five year plan,
the second five year plan lagged far behind in respect of achieving the target.
16) No significant development of agriculture and rural life could be seen as a result of the planning
for the agricultural development, including land-reforms, pursued in both the First and the second
Five Year plan. Of all the legislatures that were passed, only to eliminate the intermediaries was
found to be the most noticeable one when it came to implementing them. They were removed from
the control of land in lieu of Rs 7000 million (70 crore). The basis on which the alliance of the feudal
lords and the big bourgeoisie was exercising power in the post-independence India led to some
erosion of the power of the land-lord class. The extent to which this erosion took place led them to
exploring their new role of taking to the capitalist type of exploitation and oppression rather than
feudal. No fundamental change was brought about in agriculture and rural life of India during the
period of 1947-1960. In December 1950, the areas where the food grains used to be grown
amounted to 99283700 hectares, which in December 1960 increased to 114064800 hectares. In
December 1950 production of food-grains was 54048000 tons, which increased to 74722000 tons in
December 1960. Productivity of food grains in December 1950 was 544Kg/hectare, which increased
to 655 Kg/hectare in December 1960.
This slow pace of development could hardly solve the food-crisis. Towards the end of 1950s,
Ford Foundation, an organization that acted as the counsellor of big capitalist groups of the U.S.A.
was invited to our country for preparing agricultural planning of the government of India. A
committee headed by it submitted a report in 1959. In pursuance of the counsels and suggestions
given in that report, the government decided to increase productivity in agriculture.

17) With this objective, the government of India adopted the programme of Green Revolution.
Some specific areas were earmarked for this purpose, e.g., Punjab, Haryana and Western U.P.
These areas were chosen because they had irrigation facilities. Even in the colonial era, irrigation
system of these areas was much more developed than the rest of India. Naturally, the productivity,
too, of those areas was much higher than other parts of India. In 1965, before the advent of the
Green Revolution, productivity in Punjab was 1231 Kg/hectare, whereas the productivity of India
was only 756 Kg/hectare. No other state in India could match Punjab in this respect.
The essence of the Green Revolution was to augment productivity by the use of chemical fertilizer
and pesticides in huge quantities and also using modified HYV seeds. These seeds were imported
from Multi-national companies of the U.S.A. They were created in an alien geographical condition
and genetically modified in the laboratory. For the cultivation of these seeds plenty of chemical
fertilizer and very developed irrigation system are necessary.
2
As a result of this kind of cultivation,
imperialist investment in agriculture was facilitated on the one hand and feudal relation of production
began to break very fast, on the other.

Note 2:
The viruses that invade these seeds are not destroyed by any other organism as it happens in case of
the general rule of food-chain. To kill them definite type of pesticides are necessary. If those viruses
become immune to those pesticides, more developed pesticides would be necessary. Since fertility of
land gradually diminishes in the long run, more potent fertilizers become necessary and that, too, in
larger quantity. Consequent upon all this, natural food-chain gets destroyed, pisciculture is
dangerously jeopardized, natural fertility of land is ruined, and mankind falls victim to various diseases
which enter into their body through food-grains and other vegetables vitiated by excessive use of
chemicals. Along with this, this cultivation of HYV seeds has been destroying multifarious species of
our indigenous seeds of paddy, wheat and other vegetables that are not only high-yielding, but
adapted to various types of soil and geographical conditions of our country. To impose technologies
that are harmful for the ecological balance and human health, upon our agriculture various sops were
offered including soft loans. Two big multinational companies of the U.S., namely Monsanto and
Kargill were the main suppliers of these seeds.
It is true that although in the name of The Green Revolution, under the aegis of U.S. imperialism, the
immense wealth of our biodiversity was ruined, this so-called revolution helped increase productivity
in agriculture for a period of two decades. In 1965, agricultural productivity in Punjab was 1231
Kg/hectare. In 1985 the average agricultural productivity in India was 1149 Kg/hectare. As a result of
application of this method of agriculture the business of the multinational companies dealing with
fertilizers, seeds and pesticides gained profit immensely. The production of tractors, power-tillers etc.
increased very fast, while at the same time the feudal relation of agriculture of those regions was
largely affected. It is, of course, true that the weaker existence of feudal relation in these areas than
the rest of India at the onset of the Green Revolution was a basic reason for choosing them for the
experimentation of the Green Revolution. Especially distinct was the capitalist transformation of the
agriculture of Punjab. In respect of centralization of land, losing of land by the poor and small
peasants, increase of productivity of land and increase in the number of agricultural labourers, a
definite capitalist development is noticeable in Punjab.

18) In 1960s with a view to implementing the Green Revolution in some selected zones, the
government and the capitalists both Indian and foreign, invested immense money. By 1980s they
came to realize that the profit they would gain from this investment was much less than what they
would have gained by investing in industry and service sectors. The condition of agriculture in the
rest of India on the other hand was so backward in comparison with Punjab (of 1960s) that much
bigger investment would be necessary for the implementation of the Green Revolution. This would
not be consistent with the needs of the big capitalists, whether Indian or foreign. Given this
perspective, in the agricultural system of India, no effort had been made to increase production
through radical reforms. Even a distorted capitalist reform like the Green Revolution could not be
undertaken. Its result was that in the year 2004-05, whereas the unirrigated land in Punjab was only
3% of the total cultivated land, percentage of such land in India was a whopping 60.

19) At the advent of the decade of 1980s, Indian agriculture came face to face with a new crisis.
Even in the areas where the Green Revolution took place, the mode of production in agriculture was
jeopardized, drowning the entire economy in a new mess. Food-crisis began escalating anew. The
rate of development of agriculture dropped below 2% [Although it is to be noted that in this post-
independent period, the rate of development in agriculture was always poor, remaining within 2-4%.]
In a word, the total rural economy started to enter into a predicament.
Under the circumstances, in 1994 the government of India signed the GATT (General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade) which was harmful not only for our agriculture, but also for the total economy of
the nation.
3


Note 3:
On the basis of this agreement, fertilizer, seeds and pesticides controlled by the Multinational
Companies infiltrated our entire agriculture. Seeds that cannot be preserved for use in the next
season abounded the market. The peasants were compelled to purchase new seeds every year from
the Multinational Companies along with more and more potent fertilizers and pesticides. This type of
seeds is called Terminator Seeds. The government of India tabled Seed Bill 2004 in the Parliament
to ensure the use of such seeds in the interest of Multinational Corporations. Consequent upon this, in
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Vidarbh region of Maharashtra and Punjab several lakhs of people have
already committed suicide. The greatest disaster has come about in the cultivation of cotton. The
expenditure on cultivation has soared to such a height that it is no longer yielding profit. When in such
a situation, harvests are ruined, the peasants with huge debts that have to be repaid within the
stipulated date find no other alternative than committing suicide.

20) Indebtedness in rural life unfolds a very grim picture. Data collected in 2003 show that the
number of rural families at that time was 14.79 crore. 60% of those families (i.e., 8.94 crore) were
engaged in agricultural activities. Among these 8.94 crore families 4.34 crore (48.6%) were in debt.
Among the land-owners 66% had 1 hectare or less land, 45% of whom were in debt. 50% of the
debtor families used the money taken as loan for agricultural business. This burden of debt is a
testimony to the plight and crisis of the rural life. If we understand the character of this debt it will be
easier to demarcate between the enemy and the friend and also to realize the source of the crisis of
the rural life. The statistics itself indicates that this indebtedness cannot be construed as an example
of feudal production relation; rather it indicates a growing tendency of capitalist production relation.
4

Note 4:
These debts are mainly taken from the Multinational Companies for the purchase of seeds, fertilizers
and pesticides. Punjab, Kerala and Haryana are the first three states where debt per family is the
highest. In 2000, the amount of debt in Punjab was Rs 5700 crore. The first few states that account
for the most debted families are Andhra Pradesh (82%), Tamilnadu (74.5%) Punjab (65.7%), Kerala
(64.4%) Karnataka (61.6%) and Maharashtra (54.8%). Besides this the percentage of indebted
families in Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal ranges from 50 to 53%.
According to the statistics obtained in 2003, loans taken from the individual usurers are no longer in
the dominant position. Only 26% of the loans are taken from this category. In comparison with this,
loans taken from the banks are 36% of all the loans taken, the percentage of bank-loans have been
continuously increasing for the last twenty years. So far as the number of the indebted families is
concerned Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are at the tail-end with 33%, 47.8%, 20.9% and
40.2% respectively.

21) Although land reform programme adopted at the first and second Five Year plans was a failure,
in respect of the size of land, share of ownership of land of marginal and small farmers, etc. The
agricultural system of India underwent a huge change during the last sixty years. In the years 1953-
54, the number of marginal farmers was 38% of the entire peasantry. This has turned out to be 70%
in 2002-03. In 1953-54, land owned by the marginal and small farmers accounted for 16.3% of the
entire cultivated land, which became 43.5% in 2002-03. Of 27 states of India, in 12 states the
percentage of marginal and small farmers is 90. In 17 states they own more than 50% of land. This
fragmentation of land points to the absence of capitalist concentration as well as the tendency of the
withering away of feudal land-lordism. In the years 2002-03, big landlords owned 13.1% of total
cultivable land. After the possibility of large-scale use of Green Revolution technology was ruled out,
the policy that was clearly adopted was not any comprehensive reforms of agriculture, nor any
planning for the overall development of this sector, but one of indiscriminate applications of seeds,
fertilizers and pesticides everywhere in India marketed by the Multinational Companies. Excepting
some investments in a few definite areas in profitable business of contract farming, the tendency
of investing capital in agriculture in a broad sense was almost neglected. As a result, the profit of
industrial and commercial capital remained guaranteed by investing capital in the production and
trade of fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, tractors, pump-sets etc. whereas the uncertainty and crisis of
agricultural production of our country was imposed mainly on marginal and small farmers, partly on
the middle peasants. That is why except the regions of Green Revolution, fragmentation of land has
been the principal feature everywhere. Except the areas of Green Revolution, the productivity of
small holdings is generally better than large holdings. Naturally, therefore, the contradiction between
innumerable marginal, small and middle peasants on the one hand and the Indian and foreign
Multinational groups that are owners and dealers of the aforementioned agricultural technology, on
the other, has been fast developing. Its corollary contradiction is one between the local traders and
various institutions and groups that give loans to the peasants, the rich peasants who champion this
new agricultural policy, local small and middle capitalists and the remnants of feudalism on the one
hand and the masses of the peasants on the other. J udging by the parameters of the ruling power of
the Indian state, this fundamental change has come about in the decade of 1990s. Contradiction
between the international big capital and the capitalist class of India dependent on imperialism on
the one hand and the agricultural labourers, marginal and small peasants on the other, constitutes
the central contradiction in the agricultural sector of India. The contradiction of the middle peasants
with the abovementioned capitalist classes, Indian and foreign, also has to be taken into account,
though this class is vacillating by nature.
5




Note 5:
Going by the data of 2003, the monthly expenditure of land-holders having from .01 hectare to 2
hectares of land far exceeds their income. The monthly expenditure of land-holders owning from 2
hectares to 4 hectares slightly exceeds their monthly income. The owners of land having from 4
hectares to 10 hectares and more can profit by cultivation. Naturally, land-holders having upto 2
hectares of land are the victims of acute crisis. The owners of land possessing upto 4 hectare, too,
are sliding towards crisis. Modern technology has been jeopardizing their very existence. So all these
strata of peasantry can be allies in the revolutionary activities for the change in the existing
agricultural system.
The nature of crisis in the Indian agriculture as a whole is completely different from that of the Green
Revolution areas. The technology that had been used in these areas, including Punjab, started
showing pernicious effect in the late 1990s. Whereas in the rest of India because of low productivity
and indiscreet use of new technology, growth of productivity was terribly retarded and rendered the
life of peasants unbearable, the productivity and growth-rate in the Green Revolution areas were for
all practical purposes stalled. In December 1995, total agricultural product in India was 191494008
tons and productivity was 1546 Kg/hectare. In December 2004, they were 213460000 tons and 1731
Kg/hectare respectively. This means that the productivity in agriculture in India in 2004 was equal to
what it was in Punjab in 1969. In agriculture of Punjab, too, a retardation of growth could be noticed
during the period 1995-2004. In 1995, total produce of food-grains was 21816800 tons in Punjab and
productivity there was 3684 Kg/hectare. In 2004, the same produce in Punjab was 2349000 tons
(which was less than that of the years 2001, 2002, and 2003) and productivity in 2004 was 3832
Kg/hectare (that was less than that of the years 2001, 2002, and 2003). As the consequence of this
situation a particular type of crisis could be noticed in the Green Revolution areas including Punjab,
which can be considered of a secondary nature in the perspective of the total picture of Indian
agriculture. In these areas the number of marginal and small farmers has been significantly reduced.
Here the conversion of agricultural labourers into proletariat is very distinct and in comparison to any
other state of India the number of marginal, small and semi-middle peasants is much less. (Naturally
in the transformation of the agriculture, socialist elements will be much more in these areas.)

22) Although landlordism has basically been abolished in Indian agriculture, there are some states
where benam land still exists and because of the non-implementation of Land Ceiling Act,
landlordism is the main basis on which remnants of feudalism still lingers. As features of agricultural
economy bonded labour, usury, local consumption of the produce, absence of reinvestment of the
profit or surplus on production or trade are still to be found. In such areas in accordance with feudal
character of the economy, caste-system still persists as a part of economic base -- a specifically
Indian phenomenon. It can exist in the base only as a form of definitive labour and job-division
pertaining to specific castes. In many cases, the oppressed castes desert their caste-based jobs
and join other jobs. But still at the social level, their exploitation and oppression upon them
continues to exist in the same degree. But this feature can no longer be looked upon as indicative of
caste-system in the parlance of economics, for a person in this case is not under compulsion to join
a job earmarked by the caste he/she belongs to, i.e., that particular job does not become
instrumented in creating definite caste-based division of labour. In such a situation caste-system
continues to exist as an element of super-structure of society. People belonging to so-called lower-
castes become victims of various exploitation and oppression. Their economic life, too, cannot be
comfortable and healthy. In a society where a huge majority of population is deprived of the
minimum necessary food to fend for themselves, that these oppressed and socially neglected
people will definitely be vulnerable to oppression and exploitation hardly needs any mention.
6

Note 6:
Remnants of feudalism have been persisting in agriculture in other ways also. As the influence of
capitalist market and mode of production on agriculture is clearly noticeable in many areas, feudal
modes of production also are still being retained. Although the surplus that is generated there in
agricultural production is not reinvested in agriculture itself, it is invested in some other business or
industry. The nature of rent, tendency to increase production further, production relation with
agricultural labour etc. indicate a curious combination of feudal and capitalist modes of production
which demands our thorough examination. The relation of capitalist market with labour-power,
agricultural commodities, means of agricultural production and the use of agricultural surplus will
determine the basic character of agriculture in a particular area.

23) J ust after a year of Independence [i.e. in 1948] the government of India submitted its industrial
policy through Industrial Policy Resolution 1948. In it, the government declared its policy on foreign
capital and invited it to come to our country. In the resolution of 1948, industrial organisations were
divided into four categories (i) those completely under the ownership of the government, e.g.,
ordnance factories, nuclear power stations, railways etc. (ii) Basic industries that would get
government assistance for the next ten years, e.g., coal, iron and steel, aircraft manufacturing,
mineral oil, ship-building, telephones, telegraph etc. They were later to be taken over by the
government as and when necessary, (iii) eighteen earmarked industries that would be controlled by
the Central Government in consultation with the state government, (iv) other industries that would
have individual ownership.
It was obvious that only the industries in which it was not possible for the Indian big bourgeoisie of
that period to invest and the industries that were not profitable but were necessary for the
development of industry as a whole, were kept under the ownership of the government. Economic
planning was made with a view to accelerating profit and growth of the Indian big capitalist class.
Attention was not paid in this planning to actual necessities of economy, to an economy conducive
to the entire society. How in a predominantly agriculture-based economy, industry was to be
developed to solve the problem of unemployment, food, clothing etc. was hardly looked into. Since
the big bourgeoisie of India envisaged its growth and development in accordance with the interest
and advice of the international monopoly capitalists, the government, too, followed suit. At the same
time it is to be noted that, although advice, collaboration and intervention of international capital
were playing an important role to protect the interest of Indian bourgeoisie, the government of India
imposed various regulations.
7

Note 7:
With this objective, even at the time of the first Five-Year plan Industrial (Development and
Regulation) Act, 1951 came into being. Under this act the government was to keep in its own hand
the licence, clearance etc. of industrial enterprises. The government kept control over the quality-
control, price of the commodities, expansion of industries etc. This meant that the influential capitalist
groups would exercise control over the development of industry. According to the Industrial Policy
Resolution, 1956, industries were divided into three groups: (i) the basic and strategic industries
would belong to public sector, (ii) industries where both public sector and private sector would invest,
(iii) industries where only private sector would invest. This policy took small-scale industries into
account for the development of national economy. In fact, it was in the interest of the big industries, to
provide them with parts of machinery and new material for industries that the small-scale industries
were emphasized on. By employing cheap labour in the small-scale industries, the interest of the big
bourgeoisie was maintained on the one hand and a possible solution to the acute unemployment
problem was presented on the other. But this initiative was never raised to a stage where it could
solve the unemployment problem or develop the national economy. We should regard this stance of
the government as a ploy to deceive the people and as a false promise. In the same vein, Monopoly
Enquiry Commission 1964, was instituted, whose task was to study the centralization of private
ownership in the special and important sectors of economy. The Commission was given the
responsibility to determine the tasks to check the tendency of the aforementioned centralization. But
this initiative, too, was a mere formality.

24) In the industrial planning of post-independent India in order to protect Indian big capital, an
important step was to impose import duty on foreign commodities. Such imports were curtailed as
much as was possible. Initiatives were taken to develop joint entrepreneurship to assist indigenous
companies with foreign technology and to develop commodity production under the control of Indian
capitalists on the basis of the import of technology and parts of machinery. In the second and third
Five-Year plans, emphasis was put on the manufacture of industrial machinery. Import of foreign
machinery for this purpose was permitted. Because of such regulations in the 1960s, many foreign
companies including the foreign automobile industries had to stop their production in India.
Besides the regulations on import of many commodities and on the protection of foreign
commodities in our country, in various cases 200% to 300% of customs duty on imported goods
was brought into effect. The Indian brands of those commodities were cheaper than the foreign
commodities. Import duties on finished products were much higher than that of raw materials and
parts of machinery. Thus the big Indian companies through these protective measures amassed
immense profit for a long period of time.
8

Note 8:
The government established many banks to keep the supply of capital intact for the big bourgeoisie.
The main task of those banks was to supply the industry with capital. Industrial Finance Corporation of India
(IFCI) 1948; Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) 1955; Industrial Development Bank
of India (IDBI) 1964; Industrial Reconstruction Corporation of India (IRCI) 1971, were some of those banks. To
keep foreign investments in the industries of our country in check, Foreign Exchange and Regulation Act
(FERA) came into effect. According to this act, foreign investment in the companies of this country was
restricted to the highest of 40%. Naturally, depending upon foreign capital and technology, the big capital of
this country could increase its growth and profit to a large extent.
Exploiting the huge natural resources and the wealth of human labour, keeping the large majority of the
population in a plight characterized by unemployment, illiteracy, lack of health, semi-starvation or starvation,
only a few monopoly capitalist groups have accumulated unlimited wealth. The increase of their profit and
industry is shown as the increase of GDP of the country. The increase of GDP in the fourth Five Year plan
(1967-74) was 3.9%, in the fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79) it was about 5.5%, in the Sixth (1980-85) it was 6%.
In the subsequent phase the growth of GDP ranged between 7% to 9%. In 1957, 22 monopoly capitalist
groups owned wealth in the last 63 years amounting to Rs 312 crore, which amounted to Rs 158004 crore in
1997. This means that this wealth increased about 500 times in forty years. The government has shamelessly
manipulated the tax-system for years on end with a view to increasing their wealth.

In the middle of 1980s, through the stupendous growth of their wealth, many of the monopoly
capitalist groups of India became capable of competing in the international market, as well as
investing capital in the basic industries of our country. Since the big capitalists have no concern for
the sovereignty, food-problem unemployment etc. of our country, indications were that since the
middle of 1980s India was heading towards big changes in her industrial and economic policies.

25) In the middle of 1980s, the Indian state introduced liberalization in our economic policy. All this
meant was to gradually relax government licencing system and other regulations that were in force
till then, to allow the Indian and foreign capitalists to invest in Indian market, to establish industries,
and to facilitate their business and trade much more freely. The initiative to relax licencing policy
was taken by the government step by step, in 1984 and in 1988. In the liberalization policy adopted
on 31
st
May 1990, licensing system was abolished for industries having an investment of Rs 2.5
crore in constant capital, or industries where upto 30% of the total value of plant and machinery is
imported and in all the newly established industries. Upto 40% of foreign investment was allowed in
any industry, regional regulations were done away with, and ceiling for the small-scale industries
was abolished.

26) In J uly 1991, the government of India introduced New Economic Policy. Through this policy,
Indian market, in fact, was flung open completely to international capital. A section of the big
bourgeoisie of our country reached such a stage in terms of the amount of capital that if the
protections around small and medium industrial enterprises were removed, they would forge ahead
very fast. They readily took to this policy in their pursuit of entering into competing with the
international market, not to speak of Indian market, by forging an alliance with foreign technology
and capital. Adoption of this new policy on the part of the big bourgeoisie does not reflect their
independence. In the perspective of the deep economic crisis that the imperialist countries were in
the international arena, to get rid of this, it became very necessary and urgent for them to have an
unhindered access to the markets outside their countries, especially to the markets of the
developing countries. It was out of this compulsion that the globalization of the market of capital was
made popular as a new economic system. The economic policy gradually advanced towards
becoming a part of this international process. The signing of GATT in 1994 was the culmination of
this process undergone by the government of India.

27) Taking part in the New Economic Policy and globalization came to mean the abolition of the
protection that was used to be given to the small and medium industries and thereby bringing all
and sundry into the direct competition with international capital. This resulted in the closure of
innumerable small and medium industries. Even many industries and factories belonging to the big
bourgeoisie fell sick or faced closure. Countless factories of the central and state government were
closed in the face of competition. During the last twenty years several lakhs of factories became
extinct forever. Big capital, whether Indian or foreign made its infiltration into every sphere of
peoples life, wherever it was possible to seize upon the coveted profit. Apart from the profitable
areas in agriculture like fertilizer, pesticides and seeds, big capital made its forays into as many
fields as telecom, insurance, iron and steel, automobile, pharmaceuticals etc. The process of
privatization is a foot, very fast in some cases, a bit slower in others, in banks and insurance, airport
and aviation, rail, mines and even in ordnance factories. The demand for privatization of the
profitable public sector units also is gradually gaining momentum. The essence of government
policy is: it is not the duty of the government to run industries or business and therefore, the
government will cease to function in these spheres slowly. To save the big bourgeoisie from the
various restrictions of labour laws and other governmental regulations, SEZ Act, 2005 was
enforced. Although it was purported to be applied only to export-oriented industries, entertainment,
housing etc. were included in the purview of SEZ in any pretext whatsoever. Big names in the
foreign and Indian companies have already entered into the retail business. Under the impact of big
capital, very many commodities that used to be produced in cottage industries or in informal sector
have been pushed out of their original units of production. This process is still going on.

28) Since the middle of 1980s in pursuance of the policy of liberalization, the entire natural
resources of the country, all the fields of production and all the profitable business were gradually
turned into the hunting ground for the foreign and Indian big bourgeoisie. In 1991, all this was
shaped into a distinct policy, embodied in the New Economic Policy. As a result of the
implementation of this policy, all the impediments to the development of capital (especially the
foreign monopoly capital) in India that were in force till then, were removed at one go. The result
was the acceleration of the growth of monopoly capital, both foreign and Indian within our country.
But it has to be noted at the same time, that the development of capitalism in India did not
follow the classical pattern of development. It went against the natural needs of the society and
economy of the country and dependent upon imperialist monopoly capital. In a word it can be
summed up as a distorted capitalist growth. In the pre-independence days this capital was born
and grew under the aegis of imperialist British capital. In the subsequent phase (1947-1990), the
development of this capital became absolutely dependent on the technology of the imperialist
groups. In the post-1991 period through competition and collaboration with imperialist capital, it
became inextricably bound up with the development, needs and characteristic problems of
international capital. In the imperialist countries, in the era of bourgeois revolution or bourgeois
reforms, capitalistic changes are brought about in the economic base and socio-political super-
structure (despite the remnants of feudalism existing there). With some differences and distortions
and according to the specific features and stage of development of the country concerned,
capitalism carved out its own course of journey. There is a sort of distortion in the very nature of
capitalist development; viz, it increases consumerism to expand its market, it invests only in the
production of such commodities as yield more profit, it pays no attention to a development
conducive to a healthy, comprehensive and natural ecological balance of the country. But influenced
basically by foreign technology and capital and because of the dependence of national capital on
them, Indian capitalist development was not confined only to the distortions characteristic of the
normal capitalist development. Another important aspect of distortion exists here. The development
of capitalism in India has been more determined by the characteristics of foreign technology and the
needs and planning of the foreign capital than by the specific features of our society and economy
and the stage of development of capitalism of our country. At some periods, foreign capital has
undoubtedly accelerated the growth of capitalism of our own country, but at the same time, it
impeded the capitalist development that could have been in conformity with the natural needs and
character of the society and economy of our country. That is why the capitalist development in this
country, especially post-1991, fast development has menacingly widened the disparity between the
rich and the poor in India. Incredible paucity and backwardness in respect of education and health
of the people of the whole country, of food and nourishment, of the supply of clothes etc. has
reached such a point that none can visualize any solution to them even by accelerating the
development of capital. On the one hand, therefore, unquestionable dominance of big capital over
the whole of natural resources of the country has been established, in respect of quantity and the
rate of development of capital. Indian capital has become comparable with many capitalist
countries; the production of commodities has far exceeded that of many other capitalist countries,
the mode of production and technology in agriculture, industry and service sectors have in the main
come within the control of capital; on the other hand, various retrogressive features have been
stifling the society and economy in such a way that India of 21
st
century has become a wonder of a
curious mix of development and backwardness to the entire world. In 2010, this country ranks
second in the production of motor-cycles and eighth in the production of passenger cars and goods
carriages in the world, while she outstrips any other country of the world in respect of the number of
undernourished people, deaths due to lack of treatment, the number of children who do not go to
school and, of course, the number of real unemployed people.
To understand the features of Indian society one has to take into account the aspect of her
development and its capitalist character, together with the degree, character and specificities of
her backwardness.
9


Note 9:
In the 2004-05 period, Indias population was 111 crore. Of this population the number of people
employed in jobs (which includes all types of jobs) was 45.57 crore. Of them agricultural labourers
accounted for 8.7 crore. Of the agricultural labourers, women were 3.62 crore and men 5.08 crore. Of
all the agricultural labourers, those belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes were 4.06
crore (46.7%), other Backward Castes (OBC) were 2.94 crore (33.9%). This means that 80.6% of the
agricultural labourers belong to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs. Number of agricultural
labourers belonging to upper castes was 0.69 crore (8%), to Muslims and other religious communities
1.01 crore (11.4%). Among the scheduled caste agricultural labourers the number of men and women
is equal, among the scheduled tribes and OBCs the women outnumber the men and among the
Muslims and higher castes, men outnumber the women.
In the period 2004-05, the people employed in industry and service sector numbered almost 19 crore.
Of this, capitalists engaged in some jobs and those belonging to managerial cadre account for 50
lakhs to 1 crore. If we subtract this number from the total of 19 crore, the rest, i.e., 18 crore belong to
proletarian class. This means 45.57 crore of people employed in jobs would include urban and rural
proletariat comprising non-agricultural proletariat-semi-proletariat, agricultural labourers and extremely
marginal farmers. All these people belonging to above-mentioned categories total nearly 38 crore.
The government statistics of the number of people employed in jobs are derived by various methods.
Of them, if one adopts the method of Arjun Sengupta Commission one will get a picture of the
situation prevailing during 2004-05, by combining daily and weekly attendance at jobs and thereby
getting MCWs (Modified Caveat Weekly Status) data.
According to the MCWs method, in the year 2004-05, the number of labour force was 42.98 crore. Of
them 40.11 crore were employed. Unemployed people numbered 2.87 crore. People employed in
agriculture numbered 21.3 crore, of which formal employment was 49.80 lakhs and informal 20.8
crore. Total employment in industry was 7.8 crore, of which formal was 2.32 crore and informal was
5.48 crore. People employed in service sector was 11 crore, of which formal was 3.04 crore and
informal was 7.96 crore. In the description of the above-mentioned data, informal and unorganized
sectors have been combined (as per the explanation of the Commission). In the enumeration of
NSSO (61 round), according to the data obtainable for 2004-05, the number of people employed is
different (because the method of enumeration is different). According to this enumeration, number of
people employed is 45.57 crore. Of them, those employed in unorganized/ informal sectors number
39.32 crore. Of them, employment in agriculture is 25.17 crore and that in non-agricultural sector is
14.15 crore. Among the workers of informal sector, the number of workers in the non-agricultural
sector increased from 32% in 1999-2000 to 36% in 2004-05. This indicates that while non-agricultural
workers increased by 4%, employment in agricultural sector was decreased by 4% (of the total
number of workers of the informal sector). Of the non-agricultural informal workers 63% are self-
employed, 17% get regular wages, 20% are casual labourers. The number of formal workers in the
whole of informal sector is a mere 14 lakhs (0.4%), i.e., this section gets regular wages and social
securities like Provident Fund. Informal workers in the informal sector number 39.18 crore (99.6%).
These informal workers include agricultural labourers including the entire peasantry. Employment in
formal/organized sector is 6.26 crore, which includes informal workers (e.g., thika workers in big
factories) that number 2.89 crore (46.2%) as well formal workers numbering 3.37 crore (53.8%).
56.56 of total number of employed people are engaged in agriculture. Proportional percentage of
different sections of people employed in agriculture is as follows: of STs 78.56%, of SCs 59.61%, of
OBCs 60.68%, of the Muslim population 38.60% and of others 45.76%. As regards the participation of
women, of 1000 rural women engaged in work, 814 are attached to agriculture (i.e., mainly engage
themselves in this work). This number was 868 in 1977-78, 847 in 1993-94. In case of urban women,
this number was 251 in 1977-78, 193 in 1993-94 and 147 in 2004-05. In case of rural men engaged in
work, of 1000 of them, 662 worked in agriculture (mainly attached to agricultural activities) in 2004-05,
while this number was 804 in 1977-78 and 737 in 1993-94. Of the urban men this figure was 102 in
1977-78, 87 in 1993-94 and 60 in 2004-05.
Going by the total number of the people engaged in agriculture, rural men outnumber women. In the
span of 11 years (from 1993-94 to 2004-05) participation of rural men in agriculture dropped from
73.7% to 66.2%. This means that in an average this participation decreased by .68% every year. This
decrease in participation was 2.45% every year in an average in the urban areas. In case of women
the rate of this decrease is less. But in every case, in comparison with the period from 1977-78 to
1993-94, the period from 1993-94 to 2004-05, witnessed a speedier pace of peoples going over to
some other profession, leaving agricultural activities.
The total picture of employment in our country indicates that of the total number of peasants
(excepting agricultural labourers) the number of marginal farmers is increasing very fast. Even in
2002-03, the percentage of marginal farmers was 70, of the total number of peasants, which further
increased later on. Fragmentation of land gradually gained momentum when big bourgeoisie or their
representatives started investing in the business of agricultural equipments and other necessary
components such as tractors, pumpsets, fertilizers, seeds, pesticides etc. instead of investing in
agriculture itself. Marginal and small farmers constitute 80% of the total number of farmers of the
whole country. (Arjun Sengupta Commission Report, page 239) Small peasants are those who either
own or cultivate 1-2 hectares of land. Not only in terms of number, in 2002-03, of the total land-
holdings 80% was cultivated by marginal or small farmers, which was 61% in 1960-61.
On the other hand, big peasants (who constitute 0.9% of the total number of peasants)
conduct cultivation in 13.1% of land, middle and big peasants (who constitute 6% of the peasantry)
jointly conduct cultivation in a bit more than 1/3 of the total land. These two groups are able to save
some money from agriculture, whereas those owning 2 to 4 hectares of land, according to the figures
given by the government, cannot save anything from their earning derived from agriculture. In the
present system of agriculture this group (mentioned last), too, has been entangled in a crisis.

All the preceding observations indicate that there were various backwardness and distortions in the
development of capitalism in India but still they also indicate that in India none other than the big
bourgeoisie has assumed the ruling power. That is why from this phase on, India is to be considered
as a very backward capitalist country.

29) Indian revolution, therefore, has to resolve the contradiction between the capitalist class and
proletariat. Other important contradictions that will exercise their influence on the Indian revolution
are: the contradiction between imperialism and the toiling masses of India, contradiction between
feudalism and the toiling masses including the peasantry and the contradiction between the world-
capitalists and the world proletariat. The meaning of resolution of the contradiction between the
capitalist class and the proletariat and semi-proletariat of India is that this will lead to the
establishment of political power of the proletariat and semi-proletariat. But it is not possible to
resolve this contradiction unless other three contradictions are resolved. Rather in the special
situation of India, the above-mentioned contradictions are entwined with one another in an
extraordinarily complex inter-relation.

30) Although the stage of revolution in India is socialist, many unfinished tasks of bourgeois
revolution remain associated with it. The fundamental task of this revolution is to remove the
bourgeoisie from state power and to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat. Since the process
of development of capitalism in India is distorted and very backward, judging by the economy of the
whole country, its influence on the composition of the proletariat and the semi-proletariat and on the
alignment of the friends and enemies of the revolution will remain very powerful. In the present
phase (2010-2011) of the development of Indian economy, as the percentage of the people
employed in agriculture is declining very fast, they are not having any opportunity in the organized
and formal sectors as well. Consequently a huge unorganized and informal sector, both urban and
rural, has been created. Employment in this sector is gradually increasing. The multitude of these
people constitutes the huge army of semi-proletariats. The van-pullers, rickshaw-pullers, tea-shop
helpers, domestic assistants, hawkers, basket-makers and those engaged in small manufacturing
belong to this category and are spread out throughout the country. Therefore, in the composition of
the proletariats and the semi-proletariats in India there are industrial proletariats (in case of
organized industry), agricultural labourers, landless and marginal peasants as well as a large
number of workers in the unorganized and informal sector. The firm allies of the proletariat and
semi-proletariats are small peasants (those whose expenditure definitely exceeds their income).
Their vacillating ally is the middle peasantry (in the government statistics, in respect of the size of
their holdings, they are characterized as semi-medium peasants. They do not have any surplus
generated from their cultivation after spending on the sustenance of their families. They cultivate
their land by means of their individual and family labour). The section in the agricultural sector that is
interested in forging an alliance with the big bourgeoisie and the feudal class are the owners of big
holdings or rich peasants. According to the size of the holdings, peasants can be divided into five
categories (marginal, small, semi-medium, medium and large). Of them, according to the
government statistics, the big peasants constitute 0.9% of the total peasantry and carry on
cultivation in 13.1% of total land. Middle and big peasant combined together constitute 6% of the
peasantry while they cultivate a bit more than 1/3 of the total land. Generally speaking, they will not
take part in the revolutionary change of India. On the other hand, combined together, 14% of the
peasantry owning semi-medium holdings who are vacillating in nature, 10% of the peasantry owning
small holdings and 70% of the peasantry who are called marginal peasants, both firm allies of the
revolution, form 94% of the peasantry and may join the revolutionary course. The marginal farmers
belong to the category of semi-proletariat and that the semi-medium peasants will show signs of
vacillation in the period of revolutionary transformation of society and at times even oppose it, must
be kept in consideration. We have already shown (pt no. 28) that in the year 2004-05, the
agricultural and non-agricultural proletariats and semi-proletariats numbered about 38 crore. The
number of small peasants, a firm ally in the course of revolution was 1.65 crore, and the number of
semi-medium peasants, a vacillating ally was 2.3 crore. In the light of the statistics of the year 2004-
05, 41.95 crore people can join the activities of revolutionary transformation. Though these numbers
have changed at present, the direction of this change is definitely towards the increase in number of
the urban and rural proletariat and decrease of the proportional percentage of people engaged in
agriculture. According to the data of 2004-05, of the total number of people engaged in work (45.57
crore), 92.05%, i.e., 41.95 crore are potential participants in the revolutionary course, given the
condition of ripening revolutionary situation throughout the country.

31) The basic question of revolution of a country is one of state power. The class that exercises
domination at the economic base and production process builds up a socio-political process as well,
in order to stabilize and expand the base of consumption, distribution and production to suit its
interest. The specific features of the mode of production of a particular society make inroads into the
socio-political life of that society. The result of class domination of one class or classes over social
life is the absolute domination of that class or those classes over the administration of the state. The
features that are penetrated into the social life arising out of the particular mode of production at the
economic base play an important role in shaping the culture and ideology of the society. The
ideology of the class that dominates at the economic base and exercises state-power is the reigning
ideology of the people, too. Majority of them adopt this ideology as their own, either consciously or
at the subconscious level. When the contradiction between productive force and production relation
reaches such a stage that a change in economic base becomes an urgent necessity, the urge for a
change is felt even in the social life. The decisive operation of effecting a basic change at the
economic base, whether through a revolution or reforms, is performed through a change of power of
the class/ classes wielding the state-power. When this change is brought about by means of a
revolution, all the changes take place with a faster pace, although even in this case the influence of
old ideology and culture continues at the superstructure although decadently. If this change is
effected through reforms, old ideology and culture persists, more tenaciously for a longer time. They
decay only to the extent that the new class/ classes require. Its pace of change is very slow.
In the transformation of Indian society, the inter-relation between the economic base and
socio-economic super-structure has become a matter of deep study. From its very birth, the feudal
mode of production of this country engendered division of labour basing itself on caste-division. This
feudalism, a very special type, developed a social stratification basing on the caste-system
operating in the socio-political superstructure. As an ideology of the ruling class this system has
reigned supreme in the life, thought and day-to-day activities of the people. Through a slow-paced
reform, feudal production relation gradually became secondary at the economic base. With this a
time came when the representation of feudal forces at the state power came to an end. But this
change came about without a revolutionary shake-up in the social life. What is to be specially noted
is that in the entire economic activities, to set the capitalist production system in motion throughout
the country or to build up an ideal country-wide capitalist production system never became a
comprehensive programme of this distorted capitalist development. The remnants of feudalism exist
at the economic base, mainly in agriculture, in different states in different degrees. But in social life,
feudal ideology and culture are prevailing hundred times more powerfully. Reform movements of
greater magnitude (of bourgeois character) and revolutionary reforms (of proletarian character)
could have diminished this feudal ideology and culture in the social life to a great extent. Indian big
bourgeoisie in state-power are in no need of them. Rather to keep discontent and unrest of the
people in check, or to divert them in a wrong channel, they eagerly retain them. So though not in
state-power, feudal ideology and culture exist in the super-structure of Indian society with great
strength and hardly any sign of their weakening fast is visible. As its reflection, in the Hindu
Community, the caste-system remains very powerful in the life of the people, particularly in the rural
areas. As its consequence the dalits are still the victims of terrible social deprivation and repression.
The Indian type of male domination over the women has attained its special features under the
influence of this feudal ideology and culture. As an integral part of Indian feudalism, Brahministic
and higher caste ideology has created a tradition of carrying on oppression on the dalits, working
women and minority religious communities. Indias ruling bourgeoisie has never endeavoured to
remove them from the life of the society. As a means of pacifying peoples unrest they have
introduced reservations or some constitutional or legal measures, or provided a small section of
dalits and working women with some relief. But they have not, in reality, taken any initiative to
eliminate them radically from the life of the people. The bourgeoisie has utilized religious communal
divides as an instrument of splitting the masses, and in the last thirty years communal disunity has
assumed a more organized character.

32) If bourgeois ideology is considered the main impediment to the taking of revolutionary initiative
by the proletariat and its firm and vacillating allies in organizing the classes with their respective
class politics and influencing them with proletarian outlook, the feudal ideology, too, is an important
obstacle operating at the super-structure. As a fortress of casteist and patriarchal ideology, feudal
ideology is strongly existing in the entire country. Even in the urban areas old casteist marriage-laws
(marriages abiding by the castes, gotras and other customs) still exist. Laws of marriage are
operative in Indian society as an important instrument for perpetuating backward ideology,
oppression and repression.

33) Any non-class division within the toiling classes creates hurdles to developing their class unity
and class consolidation and to be imbued with revolutionary consciousness. At some time or other
in the past, there were some divisions of labour that were parts of division of labour at the economic
base, but now extinct. J udged by this, the first division of labour in the history of the world is one
between man and woman. Caste-division is as much operative at the economic base as feudal
relation of production still exists there as residue. But caste-division at present is an important
feature of social division of Indian society. This is such a social division as is no longer considered
as class-division. It may now be called non-class social division. From this angle, the contradiction
between working women on the one hand and patriarchy, capitalism and feudal system and values
on the other; contradiction between religious fundamentalism and communal groups (mainly Hindu)
on the one hand and common religious people, on the other; contradiction between the tribal people
and Dalit castes on the one hand and Brahministic and higher caste ideology, on the other;
contradiction between oppressed nationalities and oppressing Indian State etc. are non-class socio-
political contradictions. These contradictions, although not a part of economic base, are nourished
by economic base and the interest of the dominating classes. The type of disparity, lack of
democracy and oppression that these contradictions give rise to are, in essence, similar to the
disparity, lack of democracy and oppression generated by the division at the economic base. They
can, therefore, continue for a long time being nurtured by the ruling classes. These contradictions
give rise to divisions in the social life between man and woman, division amongst people of different
religions and different castes and nationalities. These divisions create various conflicts, enmity,
even confrontations in familial, social and political life. To fight against the undemocratic attitude that
remains operative in these conflicts is a fundamental democratic task and a part of revolutionary
activities. Another important aspect of these hostilities is the removal of disunity and obstacles that
they create in the process of development of the proletariat as a political power and in the building
up of the revolutionary unity of all the revolutionary classes. To understand the nature and evolution
of these contradictions in order to take up the above-mentioned tasks is an important component of
our study to determine the strategy of Indian revolution.

34) In the history of ancient India Varnashrama and casteism are two different socio-economic
systems evolved in two different periods
10
. During 800 years following 300 BC, the Varnashrama
system gave way to caste-system.

Note 10:
The Aryans came to India sometime about 1750 BC. Rearing the livestock was their principal activity.
The clan-life they used to live was called tribe. These tribes were continually engaged in fighting with
other tribes and non-Aryan different clans. The fighters and the priests adept at exercising magic
power used to get particular importance. The ordinary members of the tribe were called Bish. The
members of the tribe were divided into three main sections: Brahmins (Priests), warriors, and Bish
(ordinary member). When the members of the defeated clans were incorporated into the victor clan,
they used to be called Daas (slave). In the first phase of Varnashrama, the society (each of its clan)
was divided into these four sections, viz, Brahmins, Warriors, Bish and Daas. Approximately from
1000 BC to 100 BC, agriculture spread in the society. In this phase the division of the society in
Chaturvarna viz, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras has been recorded in history. In this
period, handicrafts proliferated and the use of iron also was noticeable. Despite having conflicts
amongst themselves, Brahmins and Kshatryas used to appropriate the surplus in various fields of
production. This division into Varnas was operative in society as the system of division of labour.
From 600 BC, Indian society went through some important changes. Apart from the expansion of
agriculture, procurement of minerals also developed. Forests were cleared to make room for new
habitations and expanding agriculture. The most important change took place in the system of
administration. Putting an end to tribal rule, emergence of central state power could be noticed as a
new trend. This trend developed into the formation of the Maurya Empire in 322 BC. Since trade and
business kept on expanding, the Vaishyas started leaving agriculture for trade and business. The
Shudras started taking part in agricultural activities. Currency was enforced. According to the Artha-
Shastra of Kautilya, the society at that time was divided primarily into two sections, the Aryans and the
Mlechchhas (Non-Aryans tribes). The Aryans were divided into four Varnas. The Shudras primarily
cultivated land. Besides, they used to clear forests, procure minerals, and carry goods from one place
to another, construct buildings and forts. They carried on those jobs together with the Daases
(slaves).
Inter-Varna marriages started to be forbidden in this very period. Gradually, this Varna-division led to
the permanent division of labour, which had been handed down from generation to generation.

Basing on agriculture, commerce and trade expanded, sericulture was introduced, handicrafts
developed. New ports and towns came up. When the Shudras started giving up agriculture and
went in for handicrafts, agricultural production faced a stalemate. In a new phase of development,
the laxity in division of labour gave birth to such a crisis that it called for its reorganization. In that
period, the Brahministic solution of the problem could be found in Manusamhita. According to its
dictat, inter-Varna marriages were strictly prohibited on the one hand and the participation in
production was strictly forbidden for the Brahmins and Kshatriyas. Around 200 AD, basing on the
codes formulated by Manu, the old Varnashrama was replaced by the caste-system that was
based on various professions. An organized process of surplus generation and accumulation
appeared and with this Daases, too, disappeared.
Since there was a decline in trade around 600 BC, those engaged in handicrafts started coming
back to agriculture. The crisis that was prevailing at that time helped consolidate the caste-system.
The jobs assigned to the Shudras were set aside and Shudras who belonged to a Varna for a long
period were divided into many castes. Strict rules were imposed on society so that the caste-system
could be rigorously followed. The previous Varnashrama system divided the society into those living
off others labour and those giving labour on the basis of activities relating to production, war,
worship etc. Caste-system added to this a division based on different types of manual labour.

35) Caste-system began to establish its domination at every layer of the Indian society around 600
AD, thoroughly protected by Brahministic customs and social edicts. As a particularity of Indian
feudal mode of production, caste-based production has a long and complex history. It has imparted
an absolutely different quality to the birth, composition and evolution of different classes within
Indian Society. In the political scenario of India, rise of different kinds of forces has influenced it in
various degrees, but could never render it irrelevant. Since the middle ages, the struggles against
and confrontations with the Brahministic socio-cultural and political domination waged by the
Shudras and Otishudras have created a special type of class-struggle in the social life of India.
Unless we take this phenomenon into account, our task of building up conscious struggles under the
leadership of the proletariat will not take a comprehensive character. Within the feudal production
process based on casteism, in the form of mercantile capital, accumulation of capital was taking
place. This can be exemplified by the expansion of commerce and trade, setting up of factories and
creation of very prosperous ports like the one at Surat, in the Mughal era.
Going against the independent and natural course of development of Indian capitalism, influx of
British Capital acted as a momentum to capitalist production in India. At the very outset, the British
took upon themselves the task of establishing possession over land of our country with a view to
having control of agricultural products, considered as raw materials for industry. Accordingly various
new land-rents and methods of revenue collection were introduced. In order to collect raw material
for its own industry, British capital began to exercise control over the diversity of our agricultural
products. Special importance was given to the cultivation of tea, coffee, indigo, jute etc. in the
eastern and southern parts of India, of cotton in central India, south-central and west-central parts,
e.g., Gujarat, North and Wet Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Railways, roadways and ports
came up. A slow change in the caste-based professions also began to take place. The Brahmins
were appointed as clerks, judges, accountants, tutors etc. A section of the Shudras and Oti-shudras
got some jobs as workers laying railways and roadways, as coolies in the ports, as sweepers, as
labourers in the spinning mills. Some professions became extinct. Those who were engaged in
those professions went in for various other professions in a scattered manner
11
.


Note 11:
We get a table in Nirmal Kumar Basus Hindu Samajer Garan (Composition of the Hindu Society)
that provides us with the data of those who deserted their professions or joined collateral industries in
the period 1901-1931. It shows that employment of the Brahmins in their own profession (e.g.
worshipping, teaching etc.) dropped to 16.57% in 1931 from 33.54% in 1901. In case of the Vaidyas, it
dropped to 18.80% in 1931 from 36.90% in 1901. As regards the Kayasthas, employment in their own
profession (writing) was 12.64%, in case of Baruis (cultivation of betel-leaves and business), it was
94.96% in 1901 and 54.58% in 1931, in case of washermen what was 59.77% in 1901 became
48.71% in 1931, with the pitchers 75.16% in 1901 and 58.80% in 1931, with the weavers 53.88% in
1901 and 40.82% in 1931. Regarding employment in industries, in 1931 Brahmins, Vaidyas,
Kayasthas constituted only 1 to 5%, of the pitchers, iron-smiths, weavers, cobblers, more than 40%
were engaged in industries along with their own professions. It becomes evident from the above-
mentioned data that most of the people belonging to upper castes joined a different profession giving
up their own, while in case of lower-caste people, this tendency was weaker. On the other hand, some
of the lower caste people (specially those engaged in handicrafts) joined industries in larger number
while it was extremely meagre in case of the upper castes. Till 1947, this was the course of evolution
of the caste system.

36) A new era began in 1947. Even in the pre-independence days, the dalits built up social
movements, although they did not put forward any revolutionary demand for the change of socio-
economic condition of the country. The communists on the other hand did not take up the task of
organizing the dalits against the oppression perpetrated on them. In our first Constitution, however,
elimination of caste-system was stated to be one of its objectives and it was also stated that the dalit
castes would be enlisted in the schedule so that there could be reservations for them in jobs and
education for their social uplift. But it was not possible for the ruling class of India to take a vigorous
initiative for the abolition of this unjust and repressive system. A very slow process of transformation
started. From the agricultural sector, many people went to industrial areas in search of jobs, among
them there was a large section of dalits. Even a section of higher caste people started joining
industries. Those belonging to middle castes also took to the same course. But all these people
joining industry, even combined together, formed such a small section of population in comparison
with the total population that absorption in industries could not exercise any considerable influence
on the life of the lower-caste people. In the decade of 1960s, introduction of Green Revolution in
some states signalled a new phase. In the areas where this distorted agricultural technology of
international monopoly capital made inroads in agricultural sector, not only those engaged in
agriculture, but also the people of other professions, e.g., ironsmiths, pitchers, weavers, fishermen
etc. were driven out of their own fields of activities. Only a very small section of them joined newly
emerging industries in big cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad etc., while some others went to
adjoining towns to work in organized sectors, small or big. The larger section could not find any
employment in industries. In the middle of 1980s when cultivation started with the use of tractors,
pumps etc. with a great speed, fertilizers, seeds, pesticides etc. started to become the back-bone of
Indian agriculture and the eviction of the peasants and other craftsmen intensified. In 1990s crisis in
agriculture further aggravated and the trend of deserting agriculture became more pronounced.
Crores of dalit people started moving about frantically in search of new jobs, being dislodged from
their own professions. The new fields of activity were organized industries, where they worked as
thika-workers and unorganized industries as well as the informal sector. According to the data of
2004-05, more than 80% of the people belonging to proletarian class and working in non-agricultural
sector were of the ST, SC and OBC categories. Earlier we have pointed out that according to the
data of 2004-05, 80.6% of the agricultural labourers belonged to ST, SC and OBC. This means that
of the total number of rural and urban proletariat-semi-proletariat, 80% belonged to the
abovementioned categories. From 2005, most of those who were driven away from agricultural
sector owing to the formation of SEZs were also of those three groups. Very few among them would
get jobs as workers at a very low wage. But the majority of them would be groping for new jobs
losing their own profession. They would either eke out a living by having a job in an ever-expanding
informal sector at a very low wage or join the huge army of the unemployed or have a disguised
employment.

37) Among the different groups of people living in India, the tribals are the worst victims of
oppression and wretchedness. In every sphere of life, be it the development of culture and
language, or right over property, the modern state is compelling them for a long time to live a life of
deprivation, isolation and suffering. To rally them in progressive and revolutionary movement, it is
necessary to correctly understand the nature of their own culture, customs and injustice meted out
to them. J udged by standards of life, it is these people who are the poorest of the Indians. They get
the least opportunity of education and medical treatment. They constitute 8% of the Indian
population
12
.

Note 12:
So far as the tendency to remain attached to agriculture is concerned, these people top the list of all
the groups of Indian people. In last sixty years, those who got various opportunities, including
reservation, mostly started living in urban areas and many of them alienated themselves from their
own ethnic groups. But a very small section of the tribals came to live in cities and towns. It is to be
noted that of every 1000 tribals living in urban areas, 416 spend Rs 930 to Rs 2540, or more, whereas
this number is 262 in case of SC people, 381 in case of OBC people and 624 in case of others. In
comparison with SC and OBC people, relative affluence of the ST people is significant (NSS Report
2004-05). In contrast, the huge majority of tribals living in villages lead a miserable life.

38) In post-1947 period, though the state took some reformist initiative including reservation, the
tribals and dalits, along with social oppression are still leading a life of most economic uncertainty
and deprivation. Combined together ST, SC and OBC people comprise 80% of rural and urban
proletariat-semi-proletariat. The reason why this vast number of people is still suffering from
economic crisis and social injustice is the distorted development of Indian capitalism. The economic
and social misery can be extirpated only by putting an end to the capitalist system. To forge a unity
of the working class to eliminate the capitalist system, this social disparity is an important
impediment. The Brahministic character of Indian society and politics has influenced a special
character in economic activities and social formations. The diversity and different levels of intensity
of the plight of the working class and other toiling masses cannot be explained by the declared
policies of the state and only by the capitalist character of the economic base. All types of
organisations of the working class, therefore, has to adopt a strong anti-cast position. The more
powerfully this division will have its strangle-hold on the working class, the more it will be difficult for
the working class to emerge as a conscious political force.

39) To take an anti-casteist position means to build resistance against all kinds of casteist
oppression, exploitation, coercion, neglect and isolation in social life and to carry on uninterrupted
endeavour for its abolition. It is necessary to identify the regions where this disparity and repression
is particularly strong. All activities of the mass organisations (student, women, youth etc.) and united
fronts of these regions have to be directed towards converting anti-casteist propaganda and
resistance into social agitation and movement. Propaganda has to be organized among the tribals
and dalits to expose the false declarations and initiatives of the state. We have to make the tribals
and dalits conscious of how their emancipation is possible. To organize propaganda and movement
against Brahministic and patriarchic marriage-institution is an important task to strike at the root of
Brahminism in society. We have to creatively conduct this work. Through these total activities, a
direction has to be set by which the tribals and dalits will join active politics and play the role of the
leaders of the society. For a long time a submissive mentality has developed in these people,
particularly in dalits. By destroying this mentality, they will become the vanguards and leaders of the
society and become a part of the conscious proletarian class.
In the regions where oppression on the tribals and dalits is particularly acute, these people have to
be organized separately and independently against Brahministic domination, repression,
exploitation and persecution. The communists must work in the dalit organisations and if it is
needed, build up such organisations. But in every sphere of their activities, the communists have to
keep in consideration the following aspects as guidelines of work:
a) Untiring efforts must be kept going with a view to making the people conscious against the
Brahministic and patriarchic marriage-institution with the objective of putting an end to it.
b) Continuous propaganda has to be organized against Brahminism and casteism.
c) Dalit and tribal organisations have to be rallied behind economic and political struggles so
that they can expose the class character of the state and political parties.
d) Efforts must be made to rally only the proletariats-semi-proletariats and their firm allies within
the dalit and tribal organisations. So far as the revolutionary activities are concerned,
infiltration of the class-enemies should generally be blocked. Proletariats-semi-proletariats
should be raised to the level of leadership.
e) In these organisations, the progressive men and women belonging to high and middle
castes may be accepted as members, but they will not hold any posts.
f) The total political outlook of the working class has to be gradually strengthened.
g) Struggles have to be developed against all types of unscientific thoughts, notions, habits and
superstitions.

40) India is a country of many nationalities in the true sense of the term. Although the creation of an
Indian Nation is a powerful programme of the Indian big bourgeoisie, the struggles of different
nationalities at different corners of the country have again and again brought forth the diversity of
the composition of this country.
The efforts of the state to uphold only the big nationalities to mean Indianness through linguistic
and cultural domination, its move to finish the other repressed nationalities and the life and death
struggles, including protracted armed struggles against it are a significant part of post-1947 political
activities in India. The struggles of the Kashmiris, the Assamese, The Manipuris, the Nagas and
other nationalities of North-East India are still going on in the form of armed struggles. Their
struggles for equal rights, dignity and independent development are just and democratic. At times
religious and fundamentalist thoughts have remained active behind these struggles, at times, the
aspirations of regional middle bourgeoisie have played important role, while on other occasions,
instigations of the neighbouring states, even imperialist conspiracy also have been operative; but
more important than all this is the repressed feelings and suppressed existence of the people of
these nationalities and their intense desire for freedom. On this question, the Indian communists
failed to correctly understand the history of development of Indian State and analyse correctly the
evolution of different nationalities. So they fell prey to a mechanical approach in visualizing these
movements. On the other hand, a section of the communists show lack of awareness regarding the
petty-bourgeois and bourgeois leadership of these movements and give unqualified support to them
as struggles for the right to self-determination. This gives birth to a tendency of totally merging with
these movements. The working class will have to establish patiently and step by step the political
position that the widest possible unity of the toiling masses alone can bring in success in the fight
against the oppression of the ruling and exploiting classes. The creation of different small states is
not, therefore, desirable to the movements of the working class. At the same time, when the
question of right will arise, the working class will very firmly support the right to secession, even the
demand of a nationality for the creation of a separate state. Keeping the subtle dialectical approach
of this political position in consideration, we will support the struggles of the oppressed nationalities
against the neglect and repression unleashed by the dominating nationalities. The communists will
definitely carry on activities within the organisations of these nationalities and along with this in their
political propaganda, will oppose the imposition of a different language, including English and Hindi
on the people speaking other languages. The communists will develop the consciousness of the
working class and toiling masses of the entire nation in favour of re-structuring the states giving due
importance to the aspirations of the majority of a particular nationality, speaking a particular
language.

41) The toiling women are a very important part of the people waging revolutionary struggles
against imperialism, capitalism and remnants of feudalism, led by the working class. In the life of
women, the oppression of patriarchy is added to the class-oppression. The struggle for the
transformation of society is impossible if the working class fails to take firm position against
patriarchy exercising its oppression on the half of the population and if women fail to carry on united
struggle against this. Patriarchy is the oldest undemocratic ideology of the world. Although there
may be variations in external appearance, patriarchy establishes its dominance in the society in
every exploitative economic system. The essence of patriarchy is: woman will toil away all through
their life slavishly and submissively at protecting and preserving property, family and line of descent
as well as at satiating sexual urge and catering to the mental and physical comfort of their male
counterparts. For ages, this ideology has been rooted so deeply into the society that not only men,
but also women, even different other organisations of the working class including the communist
party, are affected by it.

42) History of feudalism in India is long. As its concomitant, history of patriarchy, too, is long.
Casteism was codified in Manusamhita to be rigorously followed in Indian Society and along with it
various religious dictates weighed heavy upon women compelling them to abide by those rules
throughout their life. Since the ancient times, child marriage, satti and stringent prohibitions of
widowhood have dominated the society as the pillars of patriarchy. In the social life and culture of
India, especially in the rural life, feudalism has still been reigning and as a result the old forms of
feudalism are still existing. At the same time, various other forms e.g. dowry-system, female
foeticide, child marriage, torturing of the bride, rape, molestation within and outside the family etc.
are now visible to us in various wonderful combinations.
With the development of capitalism in India, the forms of patriarchy are changing. Behind these
changes, there is influence of international and national womens movements as well as the own
interests of the bourgeoisie. Goaded by the urge for more and more profit, the bourgeoisie are
compelled to adopt some flexibility. They maintain those forms of patriarchy as are necessary for
the protection of private property and stability of class rule, marriage for an example. There are
other forms that they are in no need of perpetuating. It is under their aegis that womens education
has expanded, laws against child marriage, domestic violence, torturing of the brides and for the
33% reservation of seats for women in the parliament, assemblies and panchayets have been
enforced. Although they have no objection to these enactments under the pressure of various
movements, they have also no urgency in implementing them. On the other hand, in their pursuit for
profit, they have replaced many old forms of patriarchy by various new ones. For the expansion of
capitalist market, they have to utilize womens flesh as sex-commodity. Under the supervision of
international capital, an international market has developed around this. Its commercial value has
far surpassed that of many big industries. As a result, beauty parlours, fashion industry, centres for
entertainment, beauty competitions, pornography, sex tourism, sex journalism etc. have
mushroomed unhindered. For the full flowering of this industry the bourgeoisie were in need of
social and legal recognition of prostitution and in establishing cultivation of sexuality as a colourful,
attractive, open and profitable act.

43) Whether in feudal or in capitalist system, a very powerful weapon of patriarchy is marriage and
family. Till today, marriage in life of women exists as fetters of subjugation. The environment of
social taboos in which woman grows up since childhood finds its culmination in marriage. For the
last 150 years, womens movement failed to establish the inextricable connection of the system of
marriage with private ownership and class division, although it was vocal in condemning its
undemocratic and discriminatory customs and could not determine the method of eliminating them.
Since the beginning of 20
th
century some bourgeois reforms were brought about with a view to
relaxing marriage tie and laws of divorce, in favour of women. As a result, some restrictions were
imposed on torturing the married women in feudal fashion. But till now, modern bourgeoisie or
modern state is not agreeable to give respect to womens aspiration for emancipation from
marriage-tie, nor to take responsibility of divorced women. Bourgeois and feudal outlook in question
of firmly protecting marriage system is completely identical because, it is the institution that is
indispensable for protecting the line of descent of man. It is for this reason that the bourgeoisie is as
eager to preserve the dictates of all religions. The marriage institution has been used since long as
a powerful instrument to rob women of their right to sexuality. Women are compelled to have sex in
married life enforced by social recognition and various clauses and sub-clauses of law. It is the
desire of the husband that is the ultimate in female sexual activity. In case of unmarried women, on
the other hand, there is no social sanction of sexuality. From this it can be inferred that in question
of sexual activity, the freedom of prostitutes, too, is more than that of married women at times. Thus
the concept of sexual relation has developed in society as a construction of patriarchy. To build
sexual relation on the basis of equal right remains an important task of the proletariat for the future
civilization.

44) Working women are the victims of social and familial oppression of patriarchy and at the same
time direct victims of capitalist exploitation as well as exploitation by the remnants of feudalism.
They are the section of women who come into direct contact with the exploitative system
13
. So the
awakening of this section of women can exercise leadership on women at large. A larger section of
women are not involved in real productive labour, but by birth and in view of socio-economic
condition, they are a part of working women. Proletarian womens movement must have to rally this
vast section behind their struggle for emancipation. Particular mention should be made in this
respect of the women of the dalit communities, who are the worst victims of discrimination,
oppression and repression, of all the downtrodden women. So not only in order to establish social
justice and democracy, but also to develop a conscious vanguard of the proletariat, the political and
social awakening of the dalit women is an indispensable task.


Note 13:
In todays India, the ratio of women going in for jobs is more in the rural areas than in the urban. A
great majority (81.4%) of women engaged in jobs in the rural areas are employed in agriculture,
although for the last 30 years this ratio has been going down. In comparison with this, their
participation has increased in rural manufacturing units (8.7%), construction work (1.7%), commerce,
hotels and restaurants (2.8%) and other jobs (4.6%). Of the women employed in urban areas, the
maximum number has been engaged in manufacturing (25.4%). In this field also, participation in
agriculture has dwindled to 14.7%. Their employment in commerce, hotels and restaurants is 13.1%,
in construction work 4.5% and in others 40.2% [these figure are of 2004-05]. A huge majority of the
working women are employed in informal sectors where there is no social security. Discriminatory
wages between men and women are still existing in the various parts of the country including
agricultural sector. In many cases women are chosen for work only to employ them at lower wages.

45) A serious problem inherent in womens movements is that many of their demands e.g., womens
right to sex, right to property etc. go against the male workers. Since the ideological position of the
male workers against patriarchy is very weak since long intensity of womens movement against
patriarchy tends to weaken the unity of the working class. Its solution is definitely not to postpone
the struggle against patriarchy. Rather the entire working class (including its male section) is to be
inspired for the struggle against patriarchy. The working class has to realize that his fight is against
all kinds of disparity and also against discriminatory attitude shown towards women. If, therefore, it
itself becomes the carrier of social discrimination, it will act against its declared programme. Still it is
historically true that abiding by the natural law, in the united struggle of the proletariat against
patriarchy; it is the women who will take the leading role. That is why in order to rouse the women
against capitalist and feudal ideology including patriarchy; separate mass organization of women
has to be formed. But this womens movement will always desire that their male counterparts be by
their side. When the majority of the men take position against patriarchy, and men and women
collectively rally behind this struggle, the success will come to the full.

46) In the struggle against patriarchy, the question of the independence of proletarian womens
movement is very important. Its ideology has all along promoted individualism to isolate the working
people from their class. Bourgeois womens movement has propagated with a measure of success
that women are above class. Bourgeois feminism has earned some credibility by skilfully criticizing
various aspects of capitalist system. At the same time, a section of these feminists champion the
capitalist position on the questions of legalization of prostitution, free sex, social utility of marriage-
family-domestic labour, expansion sex trade etc. The challenge before the proletarian womens
movement is to become trustworthy representatives of its own class and to rouse the toiling women
against the humiliation of womanhood perpetrated by bourgeois feminism. A separate stream of
proletarian womens movement is essential to perform this task.

47) A fight only against patriarchy cannot play a proper role in fully developing a woman. It is
possible only through acquiring direct knowledge of social dynamism by her taking part in mass
movements and armed struggles in course of multifarious political and social ups and downs, twists
and turns taking place in various phases. Proletarian movement thinks that participation of women
in social labour is necessary not only for the elimination of disparity between men and women, but
also because it wants to build a society that deems productive labour given by women, free from
repression and fully bloomed, a necessity. Proletarian womens movement also believes that
women have many inborn qualities that are being exhausted in slavish domestic labour now, but are
indispensable for building a free, superior society.
It is true that in the conditions prevailing in India of to-day, it is not possible to find employment for
most of the able women. But it is known to all that economic freedom is the first step in fighting
against patriarchy. So the struggle in demand of jobs on the basis of honourable wages will be the
primary move of the women to enter a new life. Thus when they will take part in larger political and
social movements, they will enter into a process of social education. Participation in production, in
social and political movements and direct practice of knowledge enriched with these threefold
methods of learning, women will play the role of a leader in the revolutionary movement to establish
an exploitationless society.

48) Religion, religious fundamentalism and religious communalism have deep influence over the
toiling masses of India, rooted firmly in their mind. Behind religious faith of man, there is on the one
hand, helplessness, ignorance of and lack of confidence in his/her own strength as well as mans
strength, and profound influence of idealistic philosophy and social thinking of the greatest thinkers
of the world, being exercised for hundreds years. Not only this; even in the most modern scientific
explorations, the seeds of agnosticism lie hidden, percolating its influence among the educated
people of the society. So the strength against mans religious belief and wrong faith in Gods
existence and Gods role in human life is a task of high order, which will continue for long time after
the victory of socialist revolution. This leads us to the conclusion that on the eve of our revolution,
majority of the supporters of revolution will remain believers. Generally, therefore, the believers and
followers of different religions will constitute the principal elements in our conscious class.-
movement and other democratic movements. To exterminate religious faith from this vast number of
people we have to be careful and judicious in ascertaining when and to what extent direct campaign
against religion should be carried on and when we should avoid direct attack on religion and
concentrate instead on instilling scientific thought in the people. The forms and features of struggle
against religion should be determined with great care.

49) What is most intimately associated with religion is religious fundamentalism. Its main feature is
to organize the life of the faithful on the basis of the rituals, practices, and customs etc. that are
codified in a religion. Intense exercise of religious faith shapes the individual life of man into a
definitive pattern through the propensities that are intrinsic in a religion. It tries to confine man to
his/her old life-style, social customs and faith going against the progress of the society. In every
religion Kindness, Honesty, Sincerity etc. are generally found as expressions of justice in public
life and human aspirations. Derived from human life, these qualities have carved out a place in
religion. They are helping retain this unscientific blind faith in millions of people. For ages religion in
course of its reforms has taken side with contemporary ruling classes, thus facilitating the infiltration
of the ruling class ideology into religion. That is why religion is blind to continuing class-struggles in
the society. It prescribes submission to God for redress instead of standing up against injustice. It
douses the flame of grievances and resentments by explaining them as the retribution for sin
committed in the previous birth. Religious fundamentalism organizes man on the basis of this idea,
leads them and holds back the society. It is reactionary in character. Propaganda and dissemination
of superior social practice and just conduct based on scientific thinking together with the
propaganda movement against various repressive evil customs are the principal forms of struggle
against fundamentalism ingrained in the faithful. Efforts should be made to rally at some phases
even the religious organisations behind greater front formed against imperialism and state
repression. They have to be mobilized in the large-scale mass movements taking into account the
fact that they will contain fundamentalist trends in different degrees. This task involves some risk to
an extent. Before taking it up, therefore, we have to be sure that proletarian ideology and
organizational strength has been established in society as a decisive force. At the same time, we
have to distinctly spell out our difference with the undemocratic, reactionary and enthusiastic social
and political activities of the religious fundamentalists. We have to be on our alert against the
opportunistic trend to postpone these questions in pursuit of immediate gain.

50) The ruling class parties do not keep their activities confined only to strengthening religious
fundamentalism ideologically, they are after permanently dividing the toiling masses on the basis of
religion by fostering communal outlook, even by organizing riots. In the last 30 years, the ruling
class of India has been found to play an important role in spreading the communal forces
throughout the country. A communal party like BJ P could not turn into a national level party without
the direct role played by the ruling class. If the toiling people including the working class can be kept
in a communal divide, the ruling classes can provoke this division at any time they fall in a crisis,
and the attention of the people can be diverted from it. For this reason the ruling class does not
want to blunt a weapon like communal hostilities. But it can stand them in good stead in tackling a
critical situation arising out of increasing poverty, food crisis and social disparity. Indian bourgeoisie
have adopted this programme from this understanding. That it is a united programme of the ruling
class becomes evident when we see that in spite of perpetrating such a big crime as the demolition
of Babri Mosque, no court or administration of India did care to mete out punishment to thousands
involved in the crime. This instrument has been so manufactured that it can be used whenever there
is a need to use it.

51) The ruling class of our country has mainly made use of Hindu communalism to create a
communal atmosphere. As a result, communal mentality has dangerously increased among the
people in general, be they Hindus or Muslims or Sikhs or Christians. It can be said that for this
phase the objective of the ruling class has been completely fulfilled. Masses in general have not
accepted the propaganda conducted by the progressive elements that communal forces implement
their communal programme not out of religious loyalty or love of God, but out of their own class-
interest, individual interest or factional political interest. Except some small cases, anti-communal
programme of secular and progressive forces has not yet been able to create any impact on
peoples mind.
The ruling class did not stop at strengthening only Hindu Communalism; it has abetted and inspired
innumerable religious organisations of minority religious communities to spread a communal
ambience throughout the whole of the country. Common religious toiling people cannot see through
the unity of interest and mutual understanding of the communal forces and the ruling class.

52) Against this communal frenzy raging throughout the nation, the main form of movement at to-
days stage is the united front of secular and progressive forces at the grass-roots level. The
efficacy of this type of united front will depend to a great extent upon the role played by the
revolutionary forces within this united front. We have to endeavour to isolate Brahministic Hinduism
from the masses considering that it is the motive force behind Hindu Communalism. We must be
careful that owing to this effort no progressive and democratic force belonging to upper castes gets
isolated from the democratic movement. We have to be on our alert lest the minority communal and
fundamentalist forces and the political forces of the lower caste Hindus aided by big bourgeoisie
become important factor in these mass movements. If it happens, the secular and progressive
character of these movements will get lost and consequently all types of communal forces will take
advantage from it.
In their programme the communal forces are capitalizing on the simple religious impulse of man.
While developing mass movement against communalism we have to determine the forms and
contents of propaganda by studying the trends of mans emotion. Otherwise the whole programme
will turn out to be, in effect, the united activities of a handful of revolutionary cadres and progressive
people which will lead us far away from our goal.

53) The motive force of the socialist revolution in India is the urban and rural proletariat. A large
section of them are informal (including the agricultural sector) workers. The firm ally of the working
class is small peasantry, while the middle peasants are their vacillating friends.
Many people who have no alternative to selling their labour will be included in working class
category. But they either do not get jobs, or get them rarely. The larger section of workers in the
informal sector is engaged in small business (2-3 employees), or work as agricultural labourers in
small/ middle agricultural land. The social labour process that continues in capitalist big industries or
agricultural sector creates the material basis for developing the consciousness relating to collective
interest or class-interest. On the other hand, the absence of the workers from social labour process
leads to the absence of this consciousness. The distorted manner in which capitalism in India has
developed, has ruled out the possibility of the huge majority of the working classs taking part in
social labour process. Only a small section of them will go through this process. This reality will
naturally lead to the weak composition of the working class. Under the circumstances the alternative
path of rousing class-consciousness in the working class is the intense social practice of
revolutionary mass-line. A vigorous social process of movement will rally tens of thousands of
workers (urban and rural) in the march for class demands and in traversing the zigzag and ups and
downs of class-struggles. Only this can instil the sense of collective in the
scattered and isolated men having the working class position.
So the communist cadres and organisers will have to conduct political activities among different
sections of the working class at different corners of the country. They have to understand the
limitations and strengths of these different sections and on the basis of this it will be possible to
unite all the workers of the country into an integrated force. While taking up this ask, intense mass
work has to be undertaken against discriminations and oppressions that are taking place in different
regions of the country on the questions of gender, caste, religion and nationality. If the communist
forces fail to lead effective mass movements against those disparities, the members of the working
class who are themselves victims of those social evils will not be able to play their desired role as a
part of the class. Keeping the special features of Indian society in mind, if the stages of the mass
movements can be passed step by step, the united force of the working class can score the victory.

54) The industrial proletariat will have a special role to play in the process of awakening of the
working class in India. That is why the importance of work among the industrial proletariat is so
great. At the present moment it is easier to carry on revolutionary activities among the thika, casual,
badli workers, permanent workers of low wage and the workers of the unorganized industries, for
repression on these workers is more acute. But in the period of crisis of capital the workers who
have tasted of rights (having got proper wage, social security etc.) come to the fore at the time of
revolt. We have to devote ourselves to the activities among the workers taking this into account that
the awakening of the different sections of the workers in spontaneous struggles depends on the
changes in their material conditions. Our work among the workers is one of organizing them
politically. To fulfil this task we have to take part also in economic struggles of the workers. An
important means of establishing contact with the day-to-day life of the workers is the trade unions of
the workers. Trade union struggles are an embodiment of class-struggle in an embryonic form. But
communists very often mistake them for class-struggle and get enmeshed in economism. The
communists to-day get entangled in the mundaneness of bargain for wages, especially of the high-
wage group of the workers and since the latter take part in the communist organisations in a large
number, the danger of economism and reformism increases. Revisionism represents bourgeois
ideologys own power implanted within the working class. Time and again international communist
movement has given in to this danger and been defeated. This danger has manifested itself not only
in the post-revolutionary societies, but in the majority of countries in the pre-revolutionary period.
The communist and working class movements have fallen victim to this danger and been smashed
to pieces. So in any phase of pre-revolutionary period, the form and content of working class
movement and its inter-relation with the revolutionary change of society have to be ascertained with
definiteness.

55) To expose the judicial and parliamentary systems of India led by the bourgeoisie is a very
important task to achieve the subjective unity of the communists at the preparatory stage of Indian
revolution. During the process of making the working class class-conscious while executing this
task, the strategic approach of the communists will play an important role. The ever-increasing
cruelty of the ruling class against human rights and peoples movements will play a significant part
in exposing our judicial system. The exposure of the judicial system as an important component of
the State is a conscious political programme of the working class.

56) The exposure of the parliamentary system is a complex process. As in many cases,
participation in the parliament will be necessary which will include formation of various fronts, seat-
adjustments in the election contests etc., participation in elections in any case and in any situation
whatsoever will be a wrong application of the election tactics. In the perspective of extreme
variations of democratic atmosphere in different corners of India, in the perspective of the intensity
of class-struggle and the states oppressive response to it, the participation in elections or
otherwise, will become a real tactics in form and content. So while forging various fronts to rally the
allies around the working class, political alertness should be maintained so that despite participation
in elections in various phases, it does not lead to parliamentary fetishism. Among the leftists of
various streams in India, the impact of bourgeois politics is so deep that parliamentary success is to
them the main indicator of the development of class-struggle. The orientation of the communists is
to participate in elections for achieving more developed political and organizational strength in the
arena of class struggle.

57) The communists will have to advance through various forms and stages of mass movements in
different parts of the country. Indian revolution will proceed through a zigzag course, but the
fundamental question of its entering into an advanced stage is the creation of nationwide
revolutionary condition. The revolution can set about its ultimate task only when such a
revolutionary situation comes into being. One aspect of this is the creation of a revolutionary
situation objectively, as a result of the contradiction between productive force and production
relation within the society; another aspect is to be subjectively prepared for the revolution by leading
ideological, political, cultural and economic agitation in the various sections of the people including
the working class to a revolutionary course. The basic orientation of this task has been discussed in
our previous sections. A comprehensive understanding of the different phases and different steps of
Indian revolution is an urgent necessity in the discussion of tactics of the Indian revolution. 58) Until
the situation matures, mass movements will be the principal form of struggle and mass organization
and mass political organizations will be the principal form of organization. Along with this, as a non-
principal form armed struggle and armed organizations also will keep on developing according to
the stage of democracy of a particular region and style of functioning of the parties of the ruling
class. The parties of the ruling class e.g, Congress, BJ P, CPI (M) etc have their own armed
organizations. This proves that in spite of their being the parties of the ruling class, they use their
own armed organizations, even for the resolution of contradictions amongst themselves. Besides,
these are private armed forces of the capitalists and decadent feudal lords. So if one-sided
emphasis on the development of mass movements negates the necessity and importance of armed
struggle, it will rule out the subjective role in building up the revolutionary situation. Lack of initiative
in developing armed struggle will adversely affect revolutionary spirit and thinking in the specific
conditions of India. It will act as a hindrance to developing a suitable professional organization for
Indian revolution. We have to regard this matter as a strategic position of Indian revolution.

59) The question of maturity of the objective condition of Indian revolution today is a serious matter
to ponder over. On the one hand, the truth has forced upon us that the economic crisis of the Indian
people has uninterruptedly increased in the period from 1972-73 to 2004-05. From the estimate of
per capita calorie consumption this crisis can be poignantly realized. In 1972-73, in the rural areas
average daily consumption was 2266 kilo calorie, which in 2004-05 declined to 2047 kilo calorie. At
every stage of estimation, the amount of calorie consumption declined from what it was in the
previous stage. In the urban areas this consumption was 2107 and 2020 respectively. This amount
slightly increased there in 1999-2000 period, but decreased in the subsequent five years. There is
no doubt that considering the trend in the increase of agricultural products in the country and the
picture of earning by the employed people, this plight will further aggravate. In the years to come,
the situation of food, clothing, medical treatment and education of the working class and its allies is
going to be worse. If in the face of this predicament the working class breaks down in frustration and
as an outburst of its anger takes to communal clashes or other methods that the ruling class wants
them to take, the ruling class will need nothing more to do than some petty reforms, even in a
situation where a section of the toiling masses will be suffering from malnutrition premature deaths
or even a famine. If the people become intent on revolutionary change the ruling class, too, will have
to change its policy. If the rate of growth in the economy of the country remains at 7-9%, utilizing the
foreign exchange reserve it can buy food-grains from other countries in the hour of need. If the crisis
further precipitates it can adopt a programme of new investments in agriculture (which will of course
be a more intense application of Green Revolution technology). If the rate of growth of the entire
economy decreases to a large extent, only then the ruling class will get entrapped in an insoluble
crisis. If the indigenous market of the Indian bourgeoisie becomes affected by the gradual fall of
purchasing power of the people (in the capitalist commodity market) and at the same time if under
the influence of international crisis of capital, the export-oriented industries face a decline, it is
possible that such a situation will be created.
Even if the objective condition for revolution becomes mature, it will not advance towards a
successful revolution unless the subjective preparation, i.e. development of the communist forces,
development of the revolutionary consciousness of the working class and toiling masses, lags far
behind.

60) Along with intensifying class struggles from the grassroots level and expanding peoples
movement to a large scale, intervention in the state and national level politics is an important
matter. Political strikes, blockades, big rallies etc are some of examples of this type of intervention.
A proper combination of class struggles, mass movements and intervention of this type can
correctly shape the development of mass movements. If the ally classes of the working class and
the people of various ethnic groups are to be rallied round a revolutionary front, we have to proceed
by forming various types of fronts for various terms. Naturally, till the time comes when the
revolutionary situation will matures, these weak and temporary fronts will assume particular
importance in Indian revolution.
61) The socialist revolution of India will not follow the simple path like other capitalist countries. To
succeed in the revolution of this country as insurrection is inevitable, protracted armed struggle also
will become indispensable in various corners of the country. Even before maturity of the country-
wide revolutionary situation, powerful armed struggles will be necessary to assist the mass
movements of different areas of the country. Armed struggles may assume the principal form of
struggle in some regions of the country for a particular phase vis--vis the role of the state for that
period.

62) Indian revolution is a socialist revolution that will involve many unfinished tasks of the
democratic revolution. First this revolution will destroy the political, economic, social and cultural
exploitation, control and influence of the big capitalists of the country. It will confiscate all kinds of
indigenous and foreign monopoly big capital, forfeit all foreign loans, eliminate all kinds of influence
and control of imperialism, and bring an end to the remnants of feudalism in agriculture. Special
importance should be given to the reflection of the total unity of the working class by ensuring the
ever-increasing role of the rural proletariat in respect of the composition of the working class, the
developing role of the toiling women, the role of the people belonging to all religions, castes and
nationalities in the course of establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat. The dictatorship of the
proletariat will by no means be the dictatorship of the communist party. The dictatorship of the
proletariat will develop on the basis of democratic unity and power of the working class and its ally
classes. The dictatorship of the proletariat will not develop until the entire class directly takes part as
a class in active and conscious political activities in its class-interest (class for itself). Even after the
seizure of political power, an interim period may ensue when the character of the state is not the
dictatorship of the proletariat in its true sense. If the communist party carries on political activities in
the interest of the working class or on behalf of the working class, it is to be viewed only as a
process of enabling the working class to consciously take part in political activities. The communist
party, therefore, will have to continue its work with a view to building up the dictatorship of the entire
class. For this purpose, the communist party has to play a conscious role right from the beginning in
evolving means by which every member of the toiling people can take part in the administration of
the state and become capable of doing it. During the entire revolutionary period, a process has to be
undertaken to make huge number of the people outside the party take part in class-democracy and
to make them politically conscious.

63) Indian revolution will be made with its own particularities. As there were individual
characteristics of Russian and Chinese revolutions in accordance with the special features of their
own society, likewise, there are some individual characteristics of economics, politics and society of
India that have created the characteristic features of Indian revolution. The correctness of our
position on the question of strategy also will depend upon the correctness of our understanding of
these questions. Indian revolution will succeed mainly through armed insurrection. But this will not
rule out protracted armed struggle with the enemy classes before or after this. It will be possible to
determine the configuration of the proper combination of these two at a higher stage of class
movements.

64) Effective steps have to be taken right from the beginning with a view to elimination of difference
between urban and rural areas and between mental and physical labour in the state under the
dictatorship of the proletariat. The task to replace standing army by the armed organisation of the
toiling masses must be taken up from the outset. On the question of wage, consumption and
distribution of wealth, the members of the party among the political leaders, managers of factories,
teachers, engineers, doctors etc. of high position will take the minimum necessary wages
determined by the party so that the society can move forward from work according to ones ability
and wage according to ones work to work according to ones ability and wage according to ones
needs. In a country like India, even after the revolution, the standard of living of the masses of the
people will remain much lower than that of the developed capitalist countries. If the ideological
leaders of the country can decide on the standard of living for themselves according to the stage of
development of the country, the working class in its entirety will be led towards a correct direction on
the questions of consumption - distribution - development.
In a country like India dominated by agriculture the radical land reforms programme will be looked
upon with great importance. By making use of the rivers of our country, emphasis must be put on
pisciculture on the one hand and establishing hydro-electricity units on the other. In case of
agricultural reforms, ecological balance, maintenance and increase of fertility of land must be
stressed. While establishing industries maintaining the ecological balance can by no means be
compromised. In case of production of industrial commodities, needs of the countrys people, eco-
system and the stage of development of the country has to be taken into consideration. In case of
the use of technology, plans must be made taking the real needs of the industries, stage of
development the country and the real needs of employment into account.

65) On the question of employment, priority must be given to women. By carrying on research free
from the influence of patriarchy, we have to find out which type of work in the fields of industry,
agriculture and services are suitable for their development, keeping in consideration their physical
features and the stage of contemporary development (till then development will remain backward in
various aspects). On the basis of special priority in various fields including administering institutions
and society, cultivation of knowledge etc. development of women must be accelerated and their
employment ensured. The social division between man and woman, the oldest one in the world,
must be resolved by providing woman with the right to property, share of the political power and
equal rights and opportunity of development in family and society.

66) Brahministic and patriarchic marriage system must be put to an end. Until the full equality of
rights of man and woman is achieved and patriarchy is eliminated marriage as a system will
continue, both in society and family. But laws relating to marriage and divorce and social thinking
related to it have to be radically changed. The state will have to take responsibility of those divorced
women who are not economically independent. Social management has to be introduced to end
domestic labour, an obstacle to womans development. Right to sex, right to her own body, sports,
exercise, education, childhood, free youth etc. of woman have to be ensured. In order to do away
with all types of patriarchic outlook and disparity, social movements, study and research have to be
developed.

67) Special methods of education and cultural environment should be created for the proper
development of the tribals and dalit castes. Time bound programme has to be undertaken to
exterminate completely the caste-system by abolishing the disparity arising out of caste-based
marriage and caste-discrimination in employment without injuring seriously the taste and freedom of
any individual and group. Keeping the particularities of their development in mind, methods of
introducing the tribals to a new civilization have to be determined basing on their consent and the
stage of development of their thought.

68) Religion will be regarded as a matter of individual faith and practice. For the development of the
people of backward religious communities favourable conditions for their development at every layer
of the social life have to be created and priority of this task has to be ensured. Favourable
atmosphere for the full development of the repressed nationalities must be created Indian
Constitution under the dictatorship of the proletariat will be written on the basis of equal dignity and
equal rights of all the nationalities of India. The states will be reorganised on the basis of the
development of language and nationalities. Right to secede from the country should be recognized
on the demand of the majority of the people belonging to a particular nationality.

69) In respect of foreign policy, India under the dictatorship of the proletariat will oppose all sorts of
imperialist activities; establish friendly mutual relation and co-operation with New Democratic
countries and those under the dictatorship of the proletariat and will firmly assist the freedom
struggles and struggles for emancipation of the oppressed countries and nationalities. India will
follow the policy of peaceful co-operation and co-existence with countries under the control of
enemy classes.
70) India will take a long time to establish dictatorship of the proletariat in the real sense after the
completion of socialist revolution. The reason is that she is a very backward capitalist country. She
will have to travel a very long course before she can make her working class that is dependent upon
multifarious alliances, continuously active in its conscious class-interest. Establishment of socialism
in India and her progress towards communism is extremely dependent upon the seizure of power
and advancement especially of other capitalist countries, although if revolutions in South Asian
countries succeed, it will help the working class of India retain power. Almost catching up to the
developed capitalist countries in respect of the stage of development of productive forces (although
the nature of the use of technology and that of variations of commodity will be different), uplift of the
consciousness of the entire working class to the stage of conscious class-interest, in respect of
economic and political activism, the incorporation of the huge majority of direct producers of the
whole of the country (on the basis of the direct participation in work of all able people) into
conscious working class, introduction of the social ownership in the field of production in real sense,
and in respect of political power, participation of the entire class in and its having control over the
political power will lead the country towards socialism.

71) After the success of socialist revolution, the dictatorship of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie
will be achieved through the fullest exercise of democracy by the working class and its ally classes.
This means the full participation of all the members of the class and its ally classes and
communities in various sphere of administration of the State. This participation can never be
ensured without the full right of the working class and all the individuals who are their friends, to full
freedom of expression, propagation of opinion, to elect and be elected. If these elections are held
mainly on the basis of selection by the Communist party, it will pave the way for the establishment of
the dictatorship of the Communist party in place of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Therefore, in
India under the dictatorship of the proletariat, the birth all those groups, parties, and organisations
that will abide by the constitution of the country, should be recognized. These organisations will
represent the various layers and parts in the composition of the working class, their aspirations and
demands. They will have right to fight elections. This will lead to the appearance of bourgeois
organisations in guise of political power of the working class. But till they defy the constitution and
laws of the country, they have to be dealt with only politically. If the basis of development and
increase of the bourgeois elements keep on strengthening in the production process of the society,
the increase in the number of the people cherishing bourgeois ideas is inevitable. If this increase
comes out in the open, it will be possible to deal with it, to explore the reasons of its birth and
proliferation. It will then be possible to take up deep and comprehensive political and ideological
initiative to bring about basic changes in economy for its complete eradication. The birth and
development of the bourgeois individuals cannot be blocked by eliminating them physically. The
proletarian democracy, therefore, has to exercise superior kind of class democracy in comparison
with the bourgeois democracy. Until the basis of the birth of bourgeois elements is extirpated from
the society, democracy will remain necessary in the society to increase the strength and solidarity
of the proletariat. Without the full exercise of democracy among the members of the proletariat, the
dictatorship of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie cannot emerge as a class dictatorship.