COMRADE P. B. RANGNEKAR: A CENTENARY TRIBUTE

Ashok Dhawale 

Comrade Pandurang Bhaskar Rangnekar – known to all as PBR - was born exactly 100 years ago on December 18, 1912. His birth centenary falls on December 18, 2012. He passed away in Mumbai nearly five years ago on February 8, 2008, at the ripe old age of 95. He joined the Communist Party at the age of 20, way back in 1932. He thus served the Communist movement with unwavering dedication for over 75 years, which is probably a record in our state. Like many other leaders of the Communist old guard in India, the Party was his life. 

PBR

There are some outstanding leaders of the revolutionary movement who shun the limelight all their lives, but whose contribution to the movement is greater and more lasting than that of many who are in the limelight. Comrade P B Rangnekar was an excellent example of such leaders.

PBR spent over 10 years of his life in both British and Congress jails. He was among the veteran Communist freedom fighters from all over the country who were felicitated at the 16^th Party Congress at Kolkata in 1998 and at the 17^th Party Congress at Hyderabad in 2002.

He was a member of the CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee for 44 years – right from the inception of the Party in 1964 until his demise. He was a member of the Party’s state secretariat for 33 years, from 1972 to 2005, when he gracefully stepped down for reasons of age and health.

With Comrade Ahilya Rangnekar

The CPI(M) Polit Bureau sent one of its members, K Varadha Rajan, to attend the funeral of PBR, who was also one of the senior most leaders of the Party in the country. CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and Polit Bureau members M K Pandhe, Sitaram Yechury, Biman Bose and V S Achuthanandan sent heartfelt condolence messages paying tributes to the departed leader. 

Prakash Karat wrote, “Comrade Rangnekar was a Marxist-Leninist to the core. All of us who knew him will remember his affectionate behaviour and life of simplicity.” Sitaram Yechury wrote, “I had the opportunity of working with Comrade Rangnekar for nearly two decades. He was a living testimony to the fact that to be a good Communist, one has to be a good human being.”

Within a year and a quarter of PBR’s demise, on April 19, 2009, Ahilya Rangnekar - his wife and comrade, former member of the CPI(M) central committee, one of the founders of the AIDWA and an ex-MP, also passed away. A couple that had dedicated their entire lives to the Party, was no more. There were two other such couples in Maharashtra in senior Party leadership positions. One was B T Ranadive and Vimal Ranadive. The other was Shamrao Parulekar and Godavari Parulekar. 

Sunil Janah, Margaret Bourke White and PBR at Dahanu Railway Station, 1946

The Rangnekars’ sons Ajit and Abhay, daughters-in-law Alaka and Suniti and all other family members supported PBR and Ahilya to the hilt in their long and difficult revolutionary journey. Outside the family and the Party, a close sympathiser Mukesh Chheda also took great care of them.

A MARXIST FREEDOM FIGHTER 

After joining the Party in 1932, PBR plunged into the freedom struggle against British imperialism and became one of the leaders of the student movement. After the formation of the AISF in 1936, he was elected the secretary of its Mumbai unit and was later elected its All India Joint Secretary. He was also elected the editor of the AISF journal ‘Student Call’ that used to be published from Mumbai. Among PBR’s good comrades in those days was Kitty Menon, who used to fondly call him Papa.

While taking part in the student movement, he completed his MA in Economics from the Bombay University. He then made a thorough study of Marxism-Leninism under the guidance of B T Ranadive, for whom he always had the highest regard. PBR had a prodigious grasp of the Marxist classics and he had the rare ability to aptly quote from them so as to relate to the present situation.

PBR and Ahilya at the AIKS State Conference in Nashik, 2006

He often told us about the huge anti-imperialist student demonstrations in Mumbai and in the rest of the country, which were an integral part of the freedom struggle, and of the British repression against them. He, along with other Communist student leaders, was jailed by the British for a number of years. All these experiences made him an anti-imperialist to the core.

With the revolt of the naval ratings in Mumbai in February 1946, and the full and active support extended to it by the Communist Party, the anti-imperialist struggle in Mumbai reached its zenith. The working class of Mumbai came out on the streets in thousands in support of the naval revolt. In the inhuman British repression that followed, more than 400 workers were gunned down.

Ahilya Rangnekar, her sister Kusum Ranadive and Kamal Donde were part of a women’s demonstration in support of the naval revolt when a British armoured van recklessly fired on it. Kamal Donde was killed on the spot, Kusum Ranadive got a bullet in her leg but survived, and Ahilya Rangnekar was saved only because she ducked just in time to escape another bullet. Those were the life and times of comrades like PBR and Ahilya, who were in the thick of the freedom struggle.

A PILLAR OF THE PARTY 

After independence, PBR participated in the huge textile workers’ struggles in Mumbai that were then led by the Girni Kamgar Union. He also took part in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement in the late 1950s, which was part of the democratic movement for linguistic states. He was a participant in the Goa freedom movement. The famous Matunga Labour Camp was close to his house. Thus PBR established close political relations with Communist stalwart R B More who was one of the closest associates of Dr B R Ambedkar, and with the members of the legendary cultural troupe Lal Bavta Kala Pathak - Anna Bhau Sathe, Amar Shaikh and D N Gavhankar.

PBR being felicitated at the 17th CPI (M) Congress in Hyderabad, 2002

PBR made an important contribution in the struggle against right revisionism and then against left sectarianism in the Communist movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The struggle against revisionism in Maharashtra was particularly bitter, due to the disruptive role of S A Dange and the repression of the Congress regime. PBR was among the many Party leaders in Maharashtra who were detained for three and a half years under the Defence of India Rules, from November 7, 1962 to April 30, 1966.

After the formation of the CPI(M) in 1964, and especially after he was elected to the state secretariat in 1972, PBR became a pillar of the Party in Maharashtra. He took over as office secretary of the state Party from another selfless Communist stalwart, D S Vaidya. In this capacity, it was he who was in charge of the state centre at the Party state headquarters Janashakti at Worli in Mumbai. It was a task that he fulfilled with the greatest sense of responsibility for over 30 years.

Keeping regular contact with the All India Party Centre on the one hand and with the Party district centres on the other, maintaining constant touch with the political-organisational developments in the Party throughout the state, preparing the agenda for state secretariat and state committee meetings, sending out circulars of Party decisions and keeping a check on their implementation, managing the entire state committee correspondence, meeting and helping comrades coming from the districts, visiting a number of districts for Party work, handling the actual production of the state Party weekly Jeevanmarg, and most important, contributing the lion’s share to building up a large team of young cadres in the state on the student and youth fronts – these were the tasks that PBR discharged quietly but efficiently for over three decades. I am myself witness to the fact that it was this multifaceted work put in with his tremendous authority by PBR, that made the task of our first three Party state secretaries – S Y Kolhatkar, Ahilya Rangnekar and Prabhakar Sanzgiri – much easier.

As a member of the editorial board of the Party state weekly Jeevanmarg for over three decades, he was the one who handled all the nitty-gritties of its actual production. It was he who single-handedly translated all the important articles from People’s Democracy into Marathi, who edited the news of struggles that came from the districts and who also carefully checked the proof-reading of the paper.

A BUILDER OF YOUNG CADRES

PBR’s biggest and most lasting contribution was in his capacity as the Party state secretariat member in charge of the student and youth fronts for a period of 20 years from 1975 to 1995. He helped to build up and ably guided the SFI and DYFI in Maharashtra ever since their inception. And he did so with complete devotion and commitment, personally visiting several districts many times for this purpose. He combined political depth with organisational skill. His assessment of activists proved to be uncannily accurate, partly because he always steered clear of personal likes and dislikes.

Looking back, one can now say that it was in the years of his guidance that both these organisations thrived. In the struggles of those years, several thousand students and youth were mobilised in statewide mass actions. There were many police lathi-charges and several police cases. With enthusiastic help and participation from all over Maharashtra, the All India conferences of the SFI and DYFI were successfully held in Mumbai in 1981 and 1991. Kerala chief minister E K Nayanar and West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu addressed the SFI and DYFI conference rallies respectively.

Hundreds of activists of both these fronts received their political, ideological and organisational education through regular state and district study camps in that period. While training cadres, PBR combined strictness with a great sense of humour, and this endeared him to the young activists. Today, most of those whom he trained are in the state and district leadership of the Party and of the class and mass organisations in Maharashtra. It gives me pride to state that I am also one of them.

While guiding us, PBR used to be sharp in his criticism, not mincing his words if serious mistakes were made; but he also used to be equally sincere in his appreciation. He never tolerated indiscipline of any kind within the Party or mass organisation. He had a prodigious memory, especially for old events in the revolutionary movement of which he had been a part. And it was a veritable treat when he used to go down memory lane with us. He also had a tremendous sense of humour and, when in the mood, used to regale us with jokes that made tears of laughter run down our cheeks.

It was during this period that PBR interacted with the then All India leadership of both these fronts, that used to regularly visit Maharashtra for SFI/DYFI conferences, rallies and meetings – Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury, M A Baby, Hannan Mollah, Nilotpal Basu, Mohd Salim and A Vijayaraghavan. All of them have fond memories of this grand old man.

A PERSONAL TOUCH 

Among the then Party leaders in Maharashtra, it was PBR whom I first met before joining the Party 35 years ago in 1978. I still remember the apprehension with which I climbed the two tall staircases of his house to meet him and tell him that I wanted to join the CPI(M)! He put me at ease, asked me about myself and why I wanted to join the Party, and then gave me the relevant information about the Party while replying to my queries. I had then completed my MBBS and was in medical practice, but was also doing my MA (Political Science) in Bombay University. That is why the Party asked me to work on the student front. For the next 17 years, I was one of the activists working first in the SFI and then in the DYFI. PBR was in charge of both these fronts and thus was my in-charge also.

We came closer when I gave up my medical practice and became a Party whole timer in 1983. From 1989 onwards, we worked together on the Jeevanmarg editorial board. In 1991, when I was elected to the Party state secretariat, I was directed by the Party to help PBR in the state centre. When I was elected Party state secretary in 2005, it was to PBR that I would turn for objective and dispassionate advice in difficult matters. During this entire period of three decades from 1978 to his demise in 2008, it was PBR who was my guide, philosopher, friend and mentor. It was he, more than anyone else, who taught me the ABC of Party and mass front functioning. It has stood me in good stead.

There is one piece of advice that he gave me, which I have never forgotten and have tried to follow. When I was elected to the state secretariat of the Party, there naturally used to be some occasions of differences of opinion among leading comrades on various political and organisational issues. Being a new member, in the beginning I used to keep quiet and avoid taking a stand one way or the other. PBR noticed this and told me one day, “What you are doing is wrong. You must speak and give your opinion freely and frankly, but in a balanced and controlled manner. Don’t base your stand on subjective considerations. Don’t be unduly influenced by individuals. Weigh the issue before you carefully and objectively, be it political or organisational. And always stand up for what you think is right, without fear or favour. That is the way of the Communist Party.”  That was sage advice indeed!   

Many are the fond memories that I will always cherish of my long and close association with PBR over 30 years. For lack of space, I shall relate only one, which is indelibly etched in my mind and which speaks volumes about his extraordinary determination and deep sense of responsibility.

In 2000-01, we were preparing for the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) state conference at Parali Vaijnath in Beed district. PBR was then nearly 90 years old, but still used to come to the Party office fairly regularly. However, due to his declining health, Krishna Khopkar and I used to share his responsibilities at the Party state centre and for the bringing out of the state Party weekly Jeevanmarg. But both Khopkar and I would have to be out for nearly two months for the AIKS district conferences and for other preparations of the state conference. It so happened that Prabhakar Sanzgiri and Suman Sanzgiri were also abroad visiting their children during that time. So we told PBR that one of us would stay to help him and the other would go out for AIKS conference work.

PBR angrily retorted, “Nothing doing! Both of you must go! I am still alive and well! I will manage everything for two months! You don’t worry!” With the assistance of K L Bajaj and Mahendra Singh, PBR ran the state centre during that time. But he single-handedly brought out the 16-page issue of Jeevanmarg every week without fail during those two months! He used to stay in the Party office every day till late night to complete this work. It was by no means an easy task at his age.

After Khopkar and I came back from the AIKS state conference, PBR proudly showed us all the eight issues of the Party weekly and said, “See! I did what I promised! I held the fort alone for two months!” He was ill and nearing 90! Tears of love and admiration came to my eyes. And then came the thought – when almost all of us are much, much younger than 90 years of age, how many of us really work for the Party with the same kind of devotion, determination and sense of responsibility that PBR showed? This truly calls for an honest self-introspection.

The 18^th state conference of the Party held at Solapur in March 2005 was the last one that was attended by PBR. It was also the last state conference for three more of our senior and respected stalwarts – Prabhakar Sanzgiri, Ahilya Rangnekar and Gangadhar Appa Burande. For Krishna Khopkar, the 19^th Party state conference at Nandurbar in January 2008 was his last.

In their twilight years, we made special arrangements to bring PBR and Ahilyatai from Mumbai to the inaugural session and mass rally of the 31^st national conference of the AIKS at Nashik in January 2006. They were overwhelmed after seeing the one lakh strong peasant rally there and profusely congratulated all the AIKS activists from Maharashtra whom they met.

On the occasion of the birth centenary of Comrade P B Rangnekar, on behalf of the CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee and all our Party comrades in Maharashtra, and on behalf of the editorial board of Jeevanmarg, I pay heartfelt homage to his revolutionary memory.

Truly, when comes such another?

Press Statements from DYFI and AIDWA on the Palghar arrest

Press statement from the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), dated 20th November 2012:

Maharashtra government must stop patronizing semi-fascist forces
 
The Maharashtra State Committee of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) condemns the terror unleashed jointly by Shivsena elements and police authorities against two young women Shaheen Dhada and Rini Srinivasan residing in Palghar town in Thane district. As per media reports, 21 year old Shaheen  posted a comment in the social networking website ‘Facebook’ expressing her protest against forcing the people to observe ‘Bandh’ in the wake of Bal Thackarey’s demise. Rini is said to have “liked” Shaheen’s facebook posting. In an obviously co-ordinated move to terrorize these two girls, Police officials arrested the girls on false charges and Shivsena cadre vandalized the hospital run by Shaheen’s uncle Dr. Abdul Dhada.  The arrested girls were released on bail by a local court on the surety of 15000 rupees.
 
As rightly pointed out by Press Council chairman Justice Markandey Katju, if the state government fails to protect the two girls and punish the police officers who abused their power, it would simply mean that our state is not being run in a democratic manner as envisaged by the Constitution.
 
Congress-NCP rule in Maharashtra is characterized by brazen attack on the livelihood and economic rights of the people along with shameless looting of public wealth. This government consciously promotes semi-fascist Shivsena and MNS in order to disable the people from putting up united democratic resistance against corruption and neo-liberal economic policies that are causing misery to millions of poor and lower-middle class families. 
 
State patronage to Shivsena right from its earliest days is a well-known fact. The Shaheen Dhada episode is just another example of how government machinery under Congress rule connives with semi-fascist forces. 

We appeal to all democratic-minded citizens to unite in the great tradition of Samyukta Maharashtra movement and stand up against semi-fascist Shivsena, its break-away faction MNS and Congress-NCP regime who are out to take away basic rights of the people by terror tactics. We demand the following from the Maharashtra government:

1. Withdraw the case against Shaheen Dhada and Rini Srinivasan immediately.
2. Suspend from service and prosecute the Policemen who abused their power to terrorize Shaheen and Rini.
3. Arrest all the criminals who vandalized Dr. Abdul Dhada's Orthopeadic Hospital immediately.
4. Stop patronizing semi-fascist forces.

Adv.Bhagwan Bhojane (President)
Preethy Sekhar (Secretary) 
DYFI Maharashtra State Committee

=====================================================

Press statement from the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), dated 20th November 2012:

AIDWA DEMANDS STRICT ACTION AGAINST THE POLICE AND SHIV SAINIKS FOR ARBITRARY ARRESTS OF TWO YOUNG WOMEN

The Maharashtra State Committee of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (Akhil Bharatiya Janwadi Mahila Sanghatana) expresses deep concern and outrage at the high handed arrest of two young women in Palghar, Thane for expressing on ‘Face book’ their discomfort at the complete shutdown in Mumbai following the death of Bal Thackeray. The local Shiv Sainiks, true to the intolerance practiced by their party, intimidated them into giving a forced apology and complained to the police. Shockingly, the Palghar police, instead of providing them with security and taking action against those harassing them, arrested the two young women on serious charges of outraging religious feelings and posting an offensive message. These were later changed to an arbitrary charge of ‘creating enmity’ after a public uproar. This is a complete travesty of the Constitutional right to democratic freedom of expression available to every citizen of India. 

The complicity of the Police emboldened the local Shiv Sainiks and their supporters to vandalise two hospitals of a relative of one of the women and intimidate their families. The police did not act against, nor arrest, those responsible for breaking law and order. These developments seriously compromise our democratic functioning and weaken the law and order in the state. The AIDWA in Thane has continuously being raising the problem of arbitrary and false cases and lack of action by the rural Thane police who side with political elements and criminal forces.

We demand that the Maharashtra Government takes strict action against those responsible for the arbitrary arrest and charges. The Shiv Sainiks responsible for the harassment and violence must be arrested immediately. The Government must ensure protection for the young women and their families, withdraw the false cases and compensate them for the high handedness of the police.

Kiran Moghe, President
Sonya Gill, Secretary
Mariam Dhawale, Vice-President

The Shiv Sena: Ace Practitioner of Reactionary Identity Politics

The CPI(M) has always had sharp political differences with the Shiv Sena (SS) and its leader the late Mr Bal Keshav Thackeray. Under his leadership, the SS always played upon the reactionary politics of identity, which diverted attention from the grave problems facing the people of Maharashtra.  

First, the CPI(M) has resolutely been opposed to the violent culture of regional chauvinism practiced by the Shiv Sena, and now also by its breakaway organisation, the MNS. Mr Thackeray began his politics by portraying the south Indian community of Mumbai as stealing the jobs of Maharashtrians, and later expanded the same logic to migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Enmity, thus, became the basis of his party's programme, which was in complete contradiction to the spirit of unity put forward by the Samyukta Maharashtra movement that was effectively led in the 1950s by the Left and secular forces, comprising the Communist Party, Praja Samajwadi Party, Peasants and Workers Party and Republican Party.

Secondly, the Shiv Sena ideology was deeply communal and the CPI(M) has consistently fought this ideology. In 1992, Mr Thackeray welcomed the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The Shiv Sena was deeply complicit in the Mumbai riots and the violence against Muslims after the Babri demolition, and this role of the Shiv Sena and Mr Thackeray was detailed with evidence by the Justice Srikrishna Commission of Enquiry. Not surprisingly, the Srikrishna Commission Report was rejected out of hand by the then SS-BJP state government.

Thirdly, the Shiv Sena's politics was deeply anti-working class and anti-communist, and in this it received the full and consistent support of successive Congress governments and of the big capitalists of Mumbai. In the late 1960s, it were the Communists who were at the receiving end of Mr Thackeray's violent political practice. Offices of the Girni Kamgar Union were regularly attacked by Shiv Sainiks and Communist leaders were brutally assaulted. In June 1970, this violence against communists reached its peak when Comrade Krishna Desai, MLA, was murdered by Shiv Sainiks. But the communist movement in Maharashtra has survived in spite of these physical attacks and constant threats.

Fourthly, the Shiv Sena's politics was deeply anti-Dalit. This was made clear in the physical attacks by Shiv Sainiks on the Dalit Panthers in the early 1970s leading to the death of Panther activist Bhagwat Jadhav; in the SS stand opposing Dr Ambedkar's 'Riddles in Hinduism'; in the action of the SS-BJP state government withdrawing all the police cases of atrocities against SCs in Marathwada region; and most of all, in the shocking police firing by the SS-BJP regime at the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar in Mumbai, which led to the killing of 11 innocent Dalit people.

Finally, there was the Shiv Sena's opposition to democracy and support of dictatorship. This was made amply evident by Mr Thackeray's support to the Emergency; his open glorification of Hitler; and the constant SS attacks on journalists, cultural and literary figures and others who dared to be critical.

This last point has been repeated today with the arbitrary arrests of two young girls in Palghar, and the attacks on the hospital of the uncle of one of them. These young girls were arrested simply because they, on social networking sites, expressed disapproval of the bandhs of the last couple of days.

The CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee condemns the arbitrary arrests of these young girls, demands that the cases against them be dropped forthwith and further demands strict action against the police officers who instituted these cases and also against the goons who attacked the hospital. The Congress-NCP state government must take immediate action and stop pandering to the whims and fancies of the SS, as it has often done in the past.

The CPI(M) has always, and will in the future, continue to fight the chauvinist, communal, casteist and anti-working class policies of the Shiv Sena.  

Dr Ashok Dhawale
Secretary, Maharashtra State Committee,
Member, Central Committee,
Communist Party of India (Marxist) - CPI(M)

50,000 strong rally of CPI (M) in Talasari, Thane

Ashok Dhawale

A meeting of the CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee was held on October 9-10, 2012 at Talasari in Thane district. It was attended by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, MP, and central secretariat member Nilotpal Basu, ex-MP.

MASSIVE RALLY COMMEMORATES THREE HISTORICAL EVENTS

On October 10, the Talasari state committee meeting culminated in a massive 50,000-strong Thane district rally at Dapchari near Talasari. The maidan could just not accommodate the huge number of people who had come from 10 tehsils of Thane district, and also from Gujarat and Dadra & Nagarhaveli. Hence they overflowed into three adjoining fields and also near the national highway behind the maidan. The crowds were so huge that some large-circulation daily newspapers in their reports the next day estimated the rally to be 70,000-strong. An overwhelming majority of the participants were Adivasis, with women and youth being present in huge numbers. The people had come from all over the district by hundreds of trucks, tempos, jeeps, motorcycles, cycles, and also on foot. 

The rally commemorated three historical events – Comrade P Sundarayya Birth Centenary Year, Comrade Godavari Parulekar death anniversary and Martyrs Day in Thane district.

Comrade P Sundarayya had a special relationship with Maharashtra. His wife Leila hailed from Maharashtra. Comrades Shamrao and Godavari Parulekar were very close to Comrade PS and it was under his guidance that they joined the AIKS. He, along with other leaders, attended the foundation conference of the Maharashtra Rajya Kisan Sabha that was held at Titwala in Thane district on January 12, 1945 and also the 13th national conference of the AIKS held at Dahanu in Thane district in May 1955. Comrade PS once also addressed a large districtwide public meeting at Mahaluxmi village in the Adivasi belt of Thane district after the demise of Joseph Stalin in March 1953 and paid homage to his memory.

When Shamrao Parulekar, a member of the first central committee of the CPI(M), died of a sudden heart attack on August 3, 1965 while still in detention in the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai, Godavari Parulekar, who was also in the same jail at the same time, was completely shattered. All the other leading comrades from Maharashtra of the newly-formed CPI(M) were also in jail. It was at such a time that Comrades PS and Leila, in an exemplary humanitarian gesture, came to Mumbai and stayed with Godavari for over a week to console her and to give her the strength to tide over her great loss. It was thus in the fitness of things that the Comrade P Sundarayya Birth Centenary rally was held in Thane district.

October 10, 1945 was the day when the first five martyrs of the renowned Adivasi Revolt, including Comrade Jethya Gangad, were killed in wanton firing by the British police at Talwada, a village which is now in Gujarat. After that, there have been a total of 60 martyrs of the Red Flag in Thane district so far. The latest martyr has been a woman, Comrade Mathi Ozare, who was brutally killed on February 27, 2012 by BJP goons, only because she campaigned sincerely for the CPI(M) in the just-concluded local body elections.

By a remarkable coincidence, October 10, 1996 was the day when Comrade Godavari Parulekar’s remains were cremated at Talasari in the presence of tens of thousands of people. That is why October 10 has always been observed by large rallies in Thane district, both as Martyrs Day and also as Godavari Parulekar’s death anniversary. Every year, a call for struggle on people’s burning issues is given by the Party on that day. 

EXTENSIVE PREPARATIONS

The rally this year was addressed by Sitaram Yechury, Nilotpal Basu and CPI(M) Gujarat state secretary and central committee member Arun Mehta. It was presided over by CPI(M) Thane district secretary and state secretariat member Rajaram Ozare MLA, and was also addressed by state secretary and central committee member Dr Ashok Dhawale, central committee members K L Bajaj and Narsayya Adam ex-MLA, state secretariat members Mahendra Singh, J P Gavit ex-MLA, Ajit Abhyankar, Lahanu Kom ex-MP, Mariam Dhawale and state committee member and Talasari tehsil secretary Barkya Mangat. All the state committee members of the Party were on the tastefully decorated dais, which had photographs of Comrades P Sundarayya, Shamrao Parulekar and Godavari Parulekar.

Preparations for the rally were on for a month in Thane district. 50,000 leaflets were distributed, 7,000 printed posters and 100 large flex banners were put up. Hundreds of meetings were held in the villages. Activists of all the mass organisations – AIKS, AIDWA, DYFI, CITU and SFI – put in their best efforts.

To commemorate the Comrade P Sundarayya Birth Centenary Year, from September 4 to 30, an intensive Party education campaign was conducted and 14 study camps of two days duration each were organised in 10 tehsils of Thane district. Over 2,000 Party members participated in these camps. The subjects taken were ‘What is Marxism?’, ‘Glorious History of the Red Flag in Thane district’, ‘Current Political Challenges and Issues of Struggle’ and ‘Building the Party Organisation’. The classes were taken by Dr Ashok Dhawale, L B Dhangar, Lahanu Kom, Rajaram Ozare and Mariam Dhawale. These classes had a salutary effect and helped immensely in activising comrades for the great success of the rally.

Red volunteers – young men and women in red dresses – formed a double cordon at the rally venue to welcome Party leaders. The entire area of the rally had been turned red – with red flags, red banners, red bunting, red shirts, red caps, red sarees and red scarves.   

In this rally, over 2,500 copies each of a special issue of the state Party weekly ‘Jeevanmarg’ commemorating the life and work of Comrade P Sundarayya, and the second edition of a booklet on the life and work of Comrades Shamrao and Godavari Parulekar, written by Dr Ashok Dhawale, were sold by DYFI-SFI activists. The total sale proceeds of over 5,000 copies of these two publications in the rally exceeded Rs 51,000.

Three tehsil committees of the Party in Thane district – Dahanu, Talasari and Jawhar-Mokhada - that had succeeded in ensuring the maximum mobilisation of Party members in the September study camps that had just concluded, were honoured by presenting them with large red flags at the hands of Sitaram Yechury, Nilotpal Basu and Arun Mehta respectively.

Sitaram Yechury in his speech congratulated the CPI(M) Thane district committee and the participants for making this rally a magnificent success. The Forest Rights Act, he said, was passed after six decades of independence by the UPA-1 regime only because of the pressure exerted by the Left parties. But its implementation is in the doldrums in most states, and the need is for a militant struggle to ensure tribal rights over forest land and forest produce.

Sitaram flayed the Congress-led UPA-2 regime for its anti-people steps like the steep price rise of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, permission to FDI in retail trade, insurance and pension funds, and its disastrous drive to dismantle food security and privatise education and health services. A government that says it has no money for social welfare schemes for the poor, shamelessly doles out tax concessions of five lakh crore rupees to the corporates each year, and indulges in massive corruption scams that loot the government treasury by lakhs of crores of rupees. He called for an intense and determined mass struggle on these issues. At the same time he stressed the need for a concerted campaign against the communal conspiracies of the RSS, BJP, VHP and their ilk. Finally, he asserted that building a strong Left and a strong CPI(M) was the only way to change the current situation for the better.    

INAUGURATION OF COMRADE GODAVARI SHAMRAO PARULEKAR BHAVAN

The same morning on October 10, the new elegant office of the CPI(M) Thane district committee, called the Comrade Godavari Shamrao Parulekar Bhavan, was inaugurated by Sitaram Yechury in an enthusiastic function that was chaired by L B Dhangar and conducted by Lahanu Kom, both veteran leaders who had worked as Party whole-timers for several decades under the guidance of Comrades Shamrao and Godavari Parulekar. L B Dhangar had contributed historically invaluable old photographs of the movement in Thane district from his collection and these were attractively framed and put up in the new office.   

The foundation stone for this new office had been laid exactly two years earlier on October 10, 2010 by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar, who had also addressed another massive Party rally on this occasion. The Party’s Thane district committee had conducted two large fund campaigns among the common people, the peasants and workers, to raise the amount for building this spacious office.  

The enthusiastic inaugural programme was attended by the Party’s state and district committee members and by over 2,000 students and staff of the several educational institutions run by the Adivasi Pragati Mandal, an institution set up by Comrades Shamrao and Godavari Parulekar in the early 1960s. Sitaram Yechury expressed the confidence that this new Party office named after Godavari Parulekar would give a greater fillip to the Party, the mass organisations and the revolutionary movement in Thane district in the coming days.

On the previous day, October 9, a hall meeting of school and college teachers, small traders and small entrepreneurs was held at the Comrade Godavari Shamrao Parulekar Senior and Junior College of Arts, Commerce and Science, which is being run in Talasari along with several schools by the Adivasi Pragati Mandal. Sitaram Yechury and Nilotpal Basu addressed the gathering on the current political challenges and the way out.

STATE COMMITTEE DECISIONS

The state committee meeting began by paying homage to Captain Laxmi Sehgal, A K Hangal, Eric Hobsbawm, Mrinal Gore and Party activists in Maharashtra. After the political reporting of the current international and national political situation by Sitaram Yechury, the state committee discussed and adopted the political and work report.

The political report incorporated the following sections: (a) Neo-liberal policies of the central and state governments and their disastrous impact on the people; (b) Manifold corruption scandals engulfing leaders of bourgeois parties; (c) The threat of communalism and regional chauvinism; (d) Current political trends in the state.

The work report included: Mobilisation of 40,000 people in 20 districts in the state as part of the nationwide stir for food security from July 30 to August 3; Hartal against price hike of diesel and cooking gas and against FDI in retail trade on September 20; Struggle against repression on the working class movement in Nashik; District Party classes and statewide study camps for the Student, Women’s, Kisan and Trade Union fronts; State conferences of the Youth and Anganwadi fronts; and other important programmes and local struggles.

The state committee decided on coming struggles and campaigns on issues of food security, FDI in retail, high level corruption at both central and state levels, the joint trade union struggle, and agitations on burning peasant issues. It finalised the priority constituencies to be fought in the coming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in 2014 and called for serious electoral preparations in all these constituencies.

The state committee concretised the organisational tasks for the observance of the Comrade P Sundarayya Birth Centenary Year. A state-level three-day Party class will be held in Mumbai from November 19-21, and the various subjects in the class will be taken by CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, and Central Secretariat member Nilotpal Basu. Along with it there will be a half-day state workshop that will concentrate on the coming tasks. It was decided to hold two-day district party classes, one-day classes for branch secretaries and one state class for each mass front. 

A call was given to collect a Rs 50 lakh Party whole-timers fund (Rs 40 lakh was collected by the Party in the state for the same purpose in 2007-08), and it was decided to hold monthly meetings of Party whole-timers in each district to review and guide their work. It was also decided to launch a concerted campaign in the months of November and December 2012 to increase the circulation of all the Party papers. Finally, it was decided to hold the next meeting of the state committee at Surgana in Nashik district in January 2013, to be accompanied by another huge mass rally.

भारतीय क्रांतीची आमची कल्पना

पी.सुंदरय्या

मार्क्सवाद-लेनिनवादाच्या मते कोणत्याही क्रांतीचा मूलभूत प्रश्न म्हणजे शासनसत्ता काबीज करण्याचा प्रश्न होय. शासनसंस्था म्हणजे एखाद्या विशिष्ट अवस्थेत जो वर्ग आर्थिकदृष्ट्या वरचढ असेल त्याच्या हातातली जबरदस्तीची यंत्रणा होय. म्हणून शासनसंस्थेचे वर्गस्वरूप काय आहे, कोणत्या वर्गाने अगर वर्गांनी, कोणत्या वर्गाकडून किंवा वर्गांकडून सत्ता हिसकावून घ्यायची आहे यावरून क्रांतीची अवस्था व स्वरूप यांचा निर्णय होत असतो.

१९४७ साली ब्रिटिशांच्या राजकीय सत्तेचा अंत होऊन राजकीय सत्ता काँग्रेस पक्षाच्या पुढार्‍यांच्या हाती सूर्पूद करण्यात आली आणि नवीन शासनसंस्था स्थापन झाली. ही शासनसंस्था म्हणजे बड्या भांडवलारांच्या नेतृत्वाखालच्या भांडवलदार-जमीनदारांच्या वर्गीय राजवटीचे हत्यार होय.

भारतीय बड्या भांडवलदारवर्गाने जमीनदारशाहीशी युती वेत्र्ली आहे. तसेच परदेशी साम्राज्यवाद्यांशी सहकार्य चालवले आहे. साहजिकच जमीनदारशाहीचा अंत हा वर्ग करू शकत नाही. शेतमजुरांना तो जमीन देऊ शकत नाही, आपल्या देशावरची साम्राज्यवादी आर्थिक पकड नष्ट तो करु शकत नाही.

जनतेच्या क्रांतीकारक चळवळीची वाढ होऊन त्यांची राजवट उलथून टाकण्याइतपत ती बलवान झाली तरीसुद्धा हा बडा भांडवलदारवर्ग जमीनारांशी आणि परकीय साम्राज्यवाद्यांशी दोस्ती मोडून टाकील असा संभव नाही. त्यांच्याशी युती व सहकार्य करण्याचे सोडून क्रांतीकारक शक्तींशी हात मिळवण्यापेक्षा तो त्या वर्गांना शरण जाणेच पसंत करील. परंतु छोट्या आणि मध्यम भांडवलदारांची गोष्ट वेगळी आहे. एका बाजूला बड्या भांडवलारांचे आणि परकीय साम्राज्यवाद्यांचे दडपण तर दुसर्‍या बाजूला जनतेचा प्रचंड क्रांतीकारक उठावाचा रेटा अशी स्थिती ओढवेल तेव्हा हे भांडवलदार जनतेच्या बाजूला जाणे अधिक पसंत करतील.

म्हणून आमचे मत आहे की बड्या भांडवलदारांच्या नेतृत्वाखालील सध्याच्या भांडवलदारी-जमीनदारी शासनसंस्थेच्या जागी जनतेच्या लोकशाहीची नवी शासनसंस्था प्रस्थापित वेत्र्ली पाहिजे. जनतेच्या लोकशाहीची ही शासनसंस्था म्हणजे कामगारवर्गाच्या नेतृत्वाखालची कामगार, शेतकरी, मध्यमवर्ग आणि बिगर-बडे भांडवलार या वर्गांची शासनसंस्था होय. क्रांतीचा मुख्य प्रहार बड्या भांडवलदारांच्या नेतृत्वाखालील शासनसंस्थेवर करण्यात येईल. जमीनदारशाहीचे उच्चाटन आणि परदेशी भांडवल व देशी बडे भांडवलदार यांच्या सर्व वंत्र्पन्या ताब्यात घेऊन त्यांचे उच्चाटन ही क्रांतीच्या विकासाची मुख्य दिशा राहील.

स्वातंत्र्याची २६ वर्षे

गेली २६ वर्षे काँग्रेस पक्ष वेंत्र्द्रात सत्तेवर राहिला आहे. त्याने जमीनसुधारणेचे कितीही कायदे वेत्र्ले असले तरी संख्येने फक्त पाच टक्के असलेल्या जमीनदार वुत्र्टुंबांकडे चाळीस टक्के जमिनीची मालकी असणे म्हणजे जमिनीचे वेंत्र्द्रीकरण पूर्ववत कायम आहे आणि भूमिहीन व अन्य ग्रामीण गरीब यांची संख्या मात्र ग्रामीण  वुत्र्टुंबात शेकडा ७० टक्क्यांवर जाऊन पोचली आहे  उद्योगधंदे तिप्पट वाढले आहेत आणि कित्येक निर्णायक आणि मूलभूत उद्योगांचा विकास होत आहे असा दावा काँग्रेस करीत असली तरी तिने अजूनही स्वावलंबी असा औद्योगिक पाया तयार वेत्र्लेला नाही. साम्राज्यवाद्यांची  भांडवल गुंतवणूक, परदेशांचे कर्ज, परदेशी सहकार्य या गोष्टी अनेक पटीने वाढल्या आहेत. परदेशी मालमत्ता जप्त करून ही परकीय मगरमिठी नाहीशी करण्यास सरकारचा विरोधच आहे.

मक्तेदार आणि बडी भांडवलदार घराणी यांच्याकडे अफाट मालमत्ता साचली आहे. खाजगी क्षेत्रांतील भांडवली मालमत्तेपैकी जवळ जवळ १० टक्के मालमत्ता सर्वात वरच्या अवघ्या १० घराण्यांच्या नियंत्रणाखाली आहे. टाटा आणि बिर्ला यांची भांडवली मालमत्ता १९५१ साली १०७ कोटी रुपयांची होती ती १९७१ साली १३८९ कोटी रुपयांएवढी वाढली आहे. काळा पैसा १० ते १५ हजार कोटी रुपयांएवढा झाला आहे आणि त्यांत दरवर्षाला हजारपंधराशे कोटी रुपयांची नवी भर पडते आहे. हा काळा पैसा एक वेगळी समांतर अर्थव्यवस्थाच चालवत आहे. त्याच्या जोडीला बड्या भांडवलारांना करात सवलती मिळतात आणि वर कर चुकवण्यास मुभा मिळते. जनतेच्या वापरांतल्या सर्व आवश्यक वस्तूंवर भरमसाठ करवाढ झाली आहे, तुटीचा अर्थभरणा सतत होत आहे आणि परिणामी बेसुमार भाववाढ आणि सर्वव्यापी काळाबाजार आपला पिच्छा पुरवत आहेत.

बेरोजगारांची आकडेवारी झपाट्याने वाढते आहे. आतांच त्यात मॅट्रिकवर शिकलेल्या ४० लाख नोंदलेल्या बेरोजगारांची गणना आहे. निरक्षरता सर्वत्र आहे. संबंधित वयोमानाच्या गटातील मुलांपैकी अवघी २५ टक्के मुले सातव्या आठव्या इयत्तेपर्यंतचे प्राथमिक शिक्षण पूर्ण करीत आहेत. वैद्यकीय सोयी, राहत्या घरांची तरतूद सर्वच अपुरी आहेत. आमच्या जनतेची ही अशी दुरवस्था आहे.

१९४७ साली अस्तित्वात आलेली शासनसंस्था म्हणजेच बड्या भांडवलारांच्या नेतृत्वाखालची भांडवलदारी-जमीनदारी शासनसंस्था लोकशाही क्रांतीची, म्हणजे समाजवादी अवस्थेप्रत पोचण्यासाठी पूर्वावश्यक असलेल्या क्रांतीचे एकही कार्य पूर्ण करू शकत नाही हे आमच्या पक्षाचे म्हणणे या सर्व परिस्थितीवरून सिद्ध होत आहे. कामगारवर्गाने राष्ट्रीय भांडवलारवर्गाशी आणि सध्याच्या काँग्रेस पक्षातील प्रगतिशील लोकांशी दोस्ती वेत्र्ली तर भारतीय क्रांती राष्ट्रीय लोकशाहीच्या शासनसंस्थेच्या सांक्रमणात्मक अवस्थेप्रत पोचू शवेत्र्ल ही सर्व बडबड फोल ठरली आहे. कामगार, शेतकरी, मध्यमवर्ग आणि छोटे व मध्यम भांडवलदारी विभाग यांच्या विशाल आघाडीचे नेतृत्व करणार्‍या कामगारवर्गाने शासनसंस्था हस्तगत वेत्र्ली पाहिजे. त्याने जमीनदारशाही आणि बडी भांडवलशाही उलथून टाकली पाहिजे, सध्याची शासनसंस्था मोडून टाकली पाहिजे आणि नवी शासनसंस्था आणि नवी शासनयंत्रणा प्रस्थापित वेत्र्ली पाहिजे.

सरकारचे परराष्ट्रीय धोरण

इतर अनेक नवस्वतंत्र देशांप्रमाणे भारताच्या सत्ताधारीवर्गानेही आपल्या वर्गस्वार्थाच्या दृष्टीने अलिप्ततावादाचे धोरण स्वीकारले आहे. जागतिक समाजसत्ताक राष्ट्रसमूहाच्या वेत्र्वळ अस्तित्वामुळे ह्या देशांच्या राज्यकर्त्यांवर्गाना दोन्ही छावण्यांशी सौदेबाजी करून आपल्या आर्थिक विकासासाठी अनुवूत्र्ल शर्ती ठरवून घेण्याची आणि साम्राज्यवादी  हालचालींना व दडपेगिरीला तोंड देऊन आपले स्वातंत्र्य बळकट करण्याची संधी आहे. परंतु त्यांच्या वर्गस्वरूपामुळे ते साम्राज्यशाहीशी सहकार्य करण्याच्या धोरणाचा पुरा त्याग कदापी करू शकत नाहीत आणि समाजसत्ताक जगाशी अधिकाधिक निकटची दोस्ती जोडण्याचे किंवा साम्राज्यशाहीविरोध व शांतता यावर आधारलेले सुसंगत धोरण स्वीकारू शकत नाहीत. गेल्या २६ वर्षांच्या इतिहासाने हे सिद्ध वेत्र्ले आहे.

बड्या भांडवलदारांसकट एवूत्र्ण भारतीय भांडवलारवर्ग आणि परकीय साम्राज्यवादी यांच्यात विरोध व झगडे आहेत आणि आमचा पक्ष त्याची अवश्य खल घेतो. जागतिक भांडवलशाहीचे सर्वसामान्य अरिष्ट जसजसे अधिक खोल होत जाईल तसतसे हे झगडे आमच्या मते वाढत जातील. साम्राज्यवाद्याना अलग पाडता यावे आणि लोकशाही प्रगतीचा जनतेचा लढा बळकट करता यावा यासाठी अशा प्रत्येक मतभेदाचा, कुरबुरीचा, झगड्याचा आणि विरोधाचा उपयोग आमचा पक्ष करून घेऊ पहातो. जागतिक शांततेचे आणि वसाहतवदाविरोधाचे सर्व प्रश्न, साम्राज्यशाहीशी संघर्ष आणणारे सर्व आर्थिक आणि राजकीय प्रश्न आणि आपले सार्वभौमत्व आणि स्वतंत्र परराष्ट्रीय धोरण यांना बळकटी आणण्यासंबंधीचे सर्व प्रश्न या सर्व प्रश्नांवर सरकारला पूर्ण पाठिंबा द्यायला कामगारवर्ग कचरणार नाही. मात्र तसे करताना, राज्यकर्त्या काँग्रेस पक्षाशी व्यूहात्मक ऐक्य अथवा संयुक्त आघाडी करण्याबद्दल कसलाही भ्रम कामगारवर्ग डोक्यांत बाळगणार नाही.

संसदीय मार्ग

काही डावे पक्ष म्हणतात की सध्याची जागतिक परिस्थिती लक्षात घेता भांडवलदारी जमीनदारी शासनसंस्थेकडून सत्ता काबीज करणे ही गोष्ट वाढत्या जनचळवळीच्या जोडीला संसदेत बहुमत मिळवून साध्य होऊ शकते. सत्ता आणि समाजसत्तावादाप्रत संक्रमण शांततामय मार्गाने होऊ शवेत्र्ल असा त्यांचा विश्र्वास आहे.

आमच्या पक्ष कार्यक्रमात म्हटले आहे, ''जनतेच्या लोकशाहीची स्थापना आणि समाजवादी स्थित्यंतर शांततामय मार्गाने साध्य करण्याचा कम्युनिस्ट पक्षाचा प्रयत्न आहे. परंतु हे कदापि विसरता कामा नये की राज्यकर्तेवर्ग आपल्या सत्तेचा स्वखुषीने कधीच त्याग करीत नसतात. ते जनतेची इच्छा धाब्यावर बसवू पहातात आणि बेकायेशीर उपायांनी व हिंसेने ती उलटवू पाहतात. म्हणून क्रांतीकारक शक्तींनी डोळ्यांत तेल घालून सावध राहिले पाहिजे आणि आपल्या कार्याला असे वळण लावले पाहिजे की कोणताही प्रसंग आला, देशाच्या राजकीय जीवनाला कशीही कलाटणी मिळाली तरी त्या सर्व गोष्टींना तोंड देता यावे.'' चिलीतल्या अलीकडच्या शोकांत घटना याची पुन्हा एकवार ऐतिहासिक आठवण देत आहेत.

आपल्या स्वतःच्या देशात, १९५९ आणि १९६९ सालात केरळमध्ये व १९६७ आणि १९७० साली प. बंगालमध्ये, कम्युनिस्टांचे बळकट स्थान असणारी जी लोकनियुक्त डावी संयुक्त सरकारे होती ती वेंत्र्द्र सरकारने उलथून पाडली. राज्यपालांच्या आणि राष्ट्रपती राजवटीच्या द्वारे स्वतःची राजवट लोकांवर लाण्यासाठी त्यांनी पुनः पुनः घटनेच्या तरतूदीचा गैरवापर वेत्र्लेला आहे. १९७२च्या निवडणुकीत त्यांनी प. बंगालमध्ये अगदी सर्रास लबाड्या आणि गैरप्रकार वेत्र्ले. दडपशाहीचे कायदे, जनतेला संघटित करण्याचा लोकशाही अधिकार डाव्या पक्षांना हरप्रकारे नाकारणे, नागरी स्वातंत्र्याची गळचेपी, प्रतिबंधक स्थानबद्धता काय़द्याचा सर्रास उपयोग, आणीबाणी व भारत संरक्षण कायदा जाहीर करून त्यांचा अंमल बेमुत लांबवणे, डाव्या पक्षांच्या सदस्यांना आणि अनुयायांना त्यांच्या अड्ड्यामधून बाहेर काढणे आणि शेकडो विरोधकांना विनाचौकशी गोळ्या घालून ठार करणे हाच भारतात काँग्रेस  सरकारचा व्यवहार राहिला आहे. म्हणून संसीय लोकशाहीला भय आहे ते राज्यकर्त्या वर्गापासून.

तरीसुद्धा आमच्या पक्षाच्या मते ''संसदीय व लोकशाही संस्थांचे संरक्षण करणे अतिशय महत्वाचे आहे. कारण आपल्या हितसंबंधांचे रक्षण करण्याची, राज्याच्या कारभारांत हस्तक्षेप करण्याची आणि शांतता, लोकशाही व सामाजिक प्रगती यासाठी चाललेल्या लढ्यात संघटना करण्याची काही संधी जनतेला या संस्थांत मिळते.''

संसदेत भाग घेतल्याने संसदीय पागलपणा फक्त तयार होत असल्याने कम्युनिस्टांनी संसेत भाग घेणे वर्ज्य मानले पाहिजे, हा नक्षलवादी सिद्धांत आमचा पक्ष पेत्र्टाळून लावतो. संसदेवर बहिष्कार टाकणे आणि व्यक्तिगत सशस्त्र क्रांतीची  तयारी करणे हा क्रांतीचा मार्ग होय हा त्यांच्या विचारही आमचा पक्ष झिडकारून लावतो. हा सारा बालिशपणा आहे आणि त्याने क्रांतिकारक शक्ती विस्कळीत मात्र होऊन राज्यकर्त्यावर्गाचा फक्त फायदा होतो. सशस्त्र क्रांती शक्य व यशस्वी वेत्र्व्हा होईल ? जेव्हा जनता भाग घ्यायला तयार असेल, जेव्हा देशातली वास्तव परिस्थिती त्यासाठी परिपक्व झालेली असेल आणि जेव्हा मार्क्सवाद-लेनिनवादावर आधारलेला बलवान कामगारपक्ष संघटित होईल तेव्हा. आम्ही याबाबतीत मार्क्सवाद-लेनिनवादाचा सिद्धांत मानतो. बंड आणि क्रांती ही एक कला आहे. तिच्यावर प्रभुत्व मिळवले पाहिजे.

भावी विकासचित्र क्रांतीचा मार्ग

कित्येक वर्षांच्या चिकित्सेनंतर आणि विशेषतः तेलंगणच्या चळवळीची बारकाईने चिकित्सा वेत्र्ल्यांनतर अविभक्त कम्युनिस्ट पक्षाला सुद्धा १९५१ मध्येच काही निष्कर्ष काढता आले होते ते आपल्या ''धोरणात्मक निवेदनात'' मांडलेले आहेत. आमच्या पक्षाने १९६८ च्या कोचीन काँग्रेसमध्ये पुन्हा त्यांचा पुनरुच्चार वेत्र्ला आहे. त्यातील मुख्य मुद्दे असे आहेत.

भारताच्या क्रांतीचा मार्ग हा रशियन मार्ग असू शकत नाही. भारताची अर्थव्यवस्था मुख्यत्वे करुन शेतीप्रधान आणि मागास असल्याकारणाने शेतकरी लढ्याला अतिशय महत्व आहे, ते कमी लेखता कामा नये. म्हणून शहरांमधील आणि औद्योगिक वेंत्र्द्रांमधील राजकीय सार्वत्रिक संप हे आपल्या क्रांतीचे मुख्य हत्यार नव्हे आणि वेत्र्वळ सार्वत्रिक संप वेत्र्ल्याने देशव्यापी उठाव होऊन सध्याच्या शासनसंस्थेचा पाडाव होईल असे समजणे चूक आहे.

आपला मार्ग हा चिनी मार्गही होऊ शकत नाही. चिनी मार्ग म्हणजे गनिमी युद्धाद्वारे मुक्त प्रदेश प्रस्थापित करणे आणि शेवटी शहरे मुक्त करणे. तेव्हा भारतीय क्रांतीच्या विजयाची हमी देणारे मुख्य हत्यार म्हणजे शेतकर्‍यांचे गनिमी युद्ध होय हा समजही चुकीचा आहे.

चीनमध्ये ऐक्यबद्ध आणि उत्वृत्र्ष्ट अशी दळणवळणाची व्यवस्था नव्हती. देश भिन्नाभिन्ना साम्राज्यवाद्यांत  वाटला गेला होता. त्यापैकी प्रत्येक साम्राज्यशाहीचे स्वतःचे वर्चस्वक्षेत्र होते, स्वतःच्या प्रभावाखाली वेगळे सुभेदार होते. ते आपापसांत भांडत असत आणि ते कधी आपली एकजूट करून क्रांतिकारक तळांविरुद्ध एकत्रिक मारा करू शकले नाहीत. परंतु भारतात अधिक ऐक्यबद्ध, सुसंघटित आणि विस्तृत अशी दळणवळण व्यवस्था आहे. त्यामुळे गनिमी दलाविरुद्ध आणि तळाविरुद्ध मोठ्या फौजा झपाट्याने केंद्रित करणे राज्यकर्त्यावर्गांना सहज शक्य आहे.

परंतु त्याचबरोबर चीनप्रमाणे भारतही फार विशाल देश आहे. येथेही शेतकर्‍यांची संख्या फार प्रचंड आहे आणि म्हणून भारताची क्रांती आणि चीनची क्रांती या दोहोत पुष्कळच लक्षणे सारखी असतील.

भारतीय क्रांतीच्या विजयासाठी

शेतकर्‍यांच्या गनिमी युद्धाची दुसर्‍या प्रमुख शस्त्रांशी सांगड घातली पाहिजे. ते प्रमुख शस्त्र कामगारवर्गाच्या संपाचे, सार्वत्रिक संपाचे आणि कामगारवर्गाच्या तुकड्यांच्या नेतृत्वाखाली होणार्‍या शहरी उठावाचे. क्रांतीचे दोन मुख्य घटक म्हणजे शेतकर्‍यांचे गनिमी युद्ध आणि शहरांमध्ये कामगारांचा उठाव.

ह्या ठिकाणी प्रथम हे लक्षात ठेवले पाहिजे की हे भावी विकासचित्र आहे. त्याची आणि आजच्या वास्तवतेची गल्लत करता कामा नये. हे विकासचित्र प्रत्यक्ष आकार घेण्याची घटका अद्याप फार दुर आहे. जरी राजकीय असंतोष तीव्र असला, जनतेचे मोठे लढे होण्याची व त्यांचे राजकीय परिणाम होण्याची शक्यता असली तरी तो क्षण दुर आहे कारण लोकशाही चळवळीचा विकास फार विषम आहे. डाव्या आणि लोकशाहीवादी शक्तींची एकजूट अदयाप बांधायची आहे. तसेच जनतेचे व जनसंघटनांचे संघटन आणि ऐक्य, कामगार-शेतकरी एकजुटीची आणि जनतेच्या आघाडीची उभारणी या सर्व गोष्टी अजून फार खालच्या पातळीवर आहेत.

दुसरी गोष्ट गनिमी युद्धाच्या दोन अवस्था असतात. पहिली अवस्था आंशिक मागण्या अमलात आणण्याची आणि गरज पडल्यास शस्त्रांनी त्यांचे संरक्षण करण्याची, दुसरी अवस्था राज्यकर्त्यावर्गाला उलथून टावूत्र्न सत्ता हस्तगत करण्यासाठी मुक्तिलढा करण्याची. तेलंगण चळवळीच्या आमच्या अनुभवाने आम्हाला काय शिकवले ? चळवळ प्रथम सुरू झाली ती वेठबिगार आणि बेदखली याविरुद्ध. एक साधा आर्थिक लढा म्हणून. साध्या निर्शनांपासून व त्यांवर होणार्‍या  दडपशाहीला तोंड देण्यापासून. पुढे आपल्या आंशिक मागण्या अमलात आणण्यासाठी शेतकर्‍यांनी शस्त्रे हातात घेतली. त्यांना निझामाची राजवट उलथून टाकण्यासाठी लढणे भाग पडले आणि अशा तर्‍हेने निझामविरोधी गनिमी मुक्तिलढ्यात त्याची परिणती झाली. परंतु भारतीय फौजेचा हस्तक्षेप झाल्यानंतर तो वेत्र्वळ निझामविरोधी लढा राहिला नाही. तो स्वतंत्र भारताच्या वेंत्र्द्र सरकारच्या विरुद्ध लढा झाला. तेलंगणचा सशस्त्र संग्राम पुढे चालू ठेवायचा होता तो आधी ताब्यात घेतलेल्या जमिनी कब्जात टिकवण्यासाठीच, नेहरूंचे सरकार उलथून टाकण्यासाठी नव्हे. कारण समग्र देशातील परिस्थिती त्या अवस्थेत पोचलेली नव्हती.

मुक्तिसंग्राम  हा देशव्यापी असायला पाहिजे, तो देशाच्या काही लहान भागापुरता करता येत नाही. निदानपक्षी देशाच्या निरनिराळ्या भागांत काही मोठ्या प्रदेशांत तो सुरू वेत्र्ला पहिजे, जेणेकरुन राज्यकर्तावर्ग तो चिरडू शकणार नाही आणि तो विजयी होईपर्यंत क्रमाक्रमाने  विस्तारत जाईल.

तिसरी गोष्ट ही की गनिमी लढाई आणि वैयक्तिक दहशतवाद यांची गल्लत करता कामा नये. नक्षलवादी नेमके हे करतात. मार्क्सवाद-लेनिनवादाच्या मते वैयक्तिक दहशतवादाने जनतेचे गनिमी लढे सुरू करण्याच्या शक्यता मारल्या जातात आणि म्हणून तो क्रांतीला अपायकारक असल्याने त्याज्य समजला पाहिजे.

यशाचा मार्ग

आमच्या पक्षाच्या मते वेत्र्वळ कामगारवर्ग आणि त्याचा पक्षच भारतीय क्रांतीचे यशाप्रत नेतृत्व करू शकतील. कामगारवर्ग आपले नेतृत्वकार्य पार पाडतो तो वेत्र्वळ आपल्या स्वतःच्या मागण्यांसाठी नव्हे, तर सर्व शोषित विभागांच्या आणि वर्गाच्या विशेषतः शेतकरीवर्गाच्या मागण्यांसाठी प्रत्यक्ष लढे करून आणि सर्वसामान्य लोकशाही चळवळीचा सर्वात आग्रगण्य पाठिराखा म्हणून कार्य करून.

कामगारवर्ग हे कार्य वेत्र्व्हा पार पाडू शवेत्र्ल ? जेव्हा महत्वाच्या उद्योगातील कामगारवर्ग एकजुटीने ट्रेड युनियन्समध्ये संघटित होईल आणि समग्र जनतेसंबंधीच्या आपल्या कार्यासंबंधी तो राजकीयदृष्ट्या जागृत होईल तेव्हा.

शेतमजूर आणि गरीब शेतकरी यांवर विसंबून, मध्यम शेतकर्‍यांशी भक्कम दोस्ती जोडून आणि श्रीमंत शेतकर्‍यांना बाजूला वळवून कामगारवर्गाने जनतेच्या संयुक्त आघाडीचा आणि चळवळीचा पाया म्हणून कामगार-शेतकरी एकजूट बांधली पाहिजे. शेतकरीवर्गांच्या मागण्यांचा निर्भयपणे पुरस्कार करून कामगारवर्गाने पुढे आले पाहिजे आणि स्वतःच्या वृत्र्तीने शेतकर्‍यांच्या लढ्यांना सहाय्य वेत्र्ले पाहिजे. परंतु खरी गोष्ट ही की जेथे युनियन्स जोरदार आहेत अशा वेंत्र्द्रांच्या भोवतीसुद्धा जवळजवळ कसलीच शेतकरी चळवळ नाही आणि जेथे शेतकरी चळवळीचे तळ आहेत तेथे तेही कामगारवर्गांच्या वेंत्र्द्रांपासून आणि चळवळीपासून दुर आहेत.

शिवाय कामगारवर्गाने आणि त्याच्या आलाने इतर विभागांत, मध्यम वर्गात आणि विशेषतः विद्यार्थी व युवकांत काम वेत्र्ले पाहिजे आणि शहरांत तसेच ग्रामीण भागांत समग्र जनतेच्या लढ्यांचे नेतृत्व करून तिला जमीन आणि भाकर, रोजगार आणि शांतता याकडे नेले पाहिजे.

शेवटची बाब ही की हे सर्व करता येईल ते वेत्र्वळ एक वर्गजागृत, सुसंघटित, वेंत्र्द्रीयभूत असा कामगारवर्गाचा पक्ष बांधून. हा पक्ष कामगारवर्गाची आघाडीची तुकडी असेल. त्याची पाळेमुळे जनतेत खोल गेलेली आणि अभेद्य अशी असली पाहिजेत. त्याची शिस्त पोलादी असली पाहिजे. तो मार्क्सवाद-लेनिनवादात पारंगत असला पाहिजे. आत्मटीका आणि पक्षांतर्गत लोकशाही यांच्या सहाय्याने तो स्वतःच्या चुका दुरुस्त करीत असला पाहिजे. त्याचे कार्यकर्ते क्रांतिकारक शक्तींना नष्ट करू पहाणार्‍या राज्यकर्त्यावर्गाच्या सर्व प्रयत्नांना तोंड देण्यात पटाईत असले पाहिजेत. ते जनतेच्या हितासाठी आपला स्वार्थ बाजूला ठेवायला, एवढेच नव्हे तर जनतेच्या कामासाठी आपल्या प्राणांचीसुद्धा आहुती द्यायला तयार असले पाहिजेत.