London: The 56th Congress of The Communist Party of Britain convened in London with more than 140 delegates gathered at the party’s headquarters in Ruskin House, London. CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury addressed the convention representing the party in India.
Excerpts from Yechury's Speech
Dear Comrades,
Communist Party of India (Marxist) conveys warm fraternal Communist greetings to this 56th Congress of the CPB.
I’ve read your report and there is much in common with our analysis of the current International situation. Hence, I do not propose to cover this common ground.
In the international situation, what we see apart from the Covid is the crisis of capitalism which has come up in a very very sharp manner during the last two years and the bankruptcy of capitalism, particularly of neoliberalism. But at the same time, the offensive of neoliberalism continues. Stimulus packages are being given by the advanced countries. All third world countries and developing countries are being pressured to follow the prescriptions of neoliberalism. As a result of which, in a country like India we have today a virtual loot of our resources. Privatisation on a scale and nature never seen in the last seven decades with advancement of the big capitalists and corporates.
The manner in which neoliberalism has chosen to finance the stimulus packages is through government’s raising the funds by issuing government bonds into the stock markets which inflates the stock market. Thus, the rich become richer and the poor become poorer. So this is a method in this health crisis also that neoliberalism has been implementing which is generating a lot of public protests and to contain this rising public protest, there is a marked rightward political shift in the world with the rightwing governments whipping up chauvinism, emotional slogans to divide and disrupt the unity of the working class and the working people struggles against neoliberalism and this exploitation.
This rightward shift is very pronounced as seen in India with the government we have now and had for the last seven years. This rightwing government which whips up what we call in India communalism, that is religious tensions and conflicts disrupting the unity of the working people has set out on a course to destroy the very constitutional foundations of India. Now this is a very serious assault on the Indian Constitution and our secular democratic Republic and this is what the people of India today are battling against.
The right wing fascistic forces in India today naturally see the CPI(M) as the main obstacle hence mounting a fierce attack, physical and ideological. It’s nothing new. Despite their best efforts they failed in dislodging the Kerala LDF government even Comrades in states like Bengal and Tripura are also facing fierce atrocities and the battling.
Also, in the process, we have India practicing policies which eliminate reason in public discourse, unreason becomes more dominant. Instead of rationality, there is promoting irrationality. It reminds one of what Georg Lukacs wrote about the rise of Hitler in a very path breaking book called ‘The Destruction of Reason’. He examined how did the German people, inheritors of the most rationalist philosophical legacy embrace and internalize Nazi philosophy? He said that is because of the systematic destruction of reason that took place, replacement of rationality with irrationality and it is that which created this mindset where Fascism became acceptable. We are going through that phase in India today. A very dangerous phase. And that is what we Communists are battling.
There is a rewriting of history that is taking place. In that rewriting of history, I am glad that finally in Britain I believe Wales has started teaching about the colonial experience of Britain and finally the British Empire’s history is being taught. That is a very positive step and I hope that it will continue. Because unless we know our history properly, as Communists, all of us know, we cannot chart our own future.
At the same time, in India the struggles of the working class and our peasantry particularly have been growing strongly. The unity of the working class with the peasantry, the current struggle of our peasantry has gone on to one whole year demanding the repeal of anti-farm laws that the government has brought in favour of the corporates and multinational agri-businesses. Now this struggle that we have for more than a year has been met with a very high degree of solidarity supported by the working class and the seeds of a worker-peasant alliance in India, the beginning of which are being laid. So we are in the midst of these challenges and struggles.
So the importance of international solidarity defending the rights of the working class becomes more and more relevant these days. The British and Indian communists have an integral link for a century. Many British communists were arrested by the British Colonial rulers along with Indian Communists during the freedom struggle. The Indian community in Britain, through its organisations and platforms are very active in working class struggles along with the left movements and trade unions here. Holding up this heritage, we should strengthen the struggles together ahead.
My salutes and revolutionary greetings to all the delegates, once again, on behalf of the CPI(M).
