(Excerpts from the resolution adopted by the CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee on March 3-5, 2012, in the light of the discussion on the Draft Resolution placed before the first state-level workshop of Party whole-timers held in Mumbai on November 3-4, 2011.)
1. Party whole-timers have an extraordinary importance in the history of the Communist movement. The teaching of Lenin that a whole-timer is the backbone of the Party is well-known.
WHOLE-TIMERS:
THE BACKBONE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY
2.
“As to the structure and composition of the
Party itself, Lenin considered that it should consist of two parts: a) a close
circle of regular cadres of leading Party workers, chiefly professional
revolutionaries, that is, Party workers free from all occupation except Party
work and possessing the necessary minimum of theoretical knowledge, political
experience, organizational practice and the art of combating the tsarist
police and of eluding them; and b) a broad network of local Party organizations
and a large number of Party members enjoying the sympathy and support of
hundreds of thousands of working people.” (History of the CPSU(B), p 33).
3.
A
militant fighter against German fascism and General Secretary of the
Communist International, Georgi Dimitrov, wrote, “Our best resolutions will
remain scraps of paper if we lack the people who can put them into effect…In
their practical work our Parties are still far from realizing that people,
cadres, decide everything…Only a correct policy in regard to cadres will enable
our Parties to develop and utilize all available forces to the utmost, and
obtain from the enormous reservoir of the mass movement ever fresh
reinforcements of new and better active workers.”
4.
Further, while asking the question, “What should
be our main criteria in selecting cadres?”, Dimitrov replied:
·
First, absolute devotion to the cause of the
working class, loyalty to the Party, tested in the face of the enemy – in
battle, in prison, in court.
·
Second, the closest possible contact with the
masses. The comrades concerned must be wholly absorbed in the interests of the
masses, feel the life pulse of the masses, know their sentiments and
requirements.
·
Third, ability independently to find one’s
bearings and not to be afraid of assuming responsibility in making decisions.
He who fears to take responsibility is not a leader. He who is unable to
display initiative, who says, ‘I will do only what I am told’, is not a
Bolshevik.
·
Fourth, discipline and Bolshevik hardening in
the struggle...Our leading cadres should combine the knowledge of what they
must do – with Bolshevik stamina, revolutionary strength of character and the will
power to carry it through.
5.
After the formation of the CPI(M), the
fundamental Central Committee document ‘Tasks on Party Organization’ adopted in
1967 had said, “We must consider the selection, training, development of our
whole-timers as the main task and all other Party tasks as secondary to it. If
this is not done, a big weakness will remain in the entire work of the Party
and the whole progress of the movement will be affected. The state and district
committees must first prepare a list of whole-timers, they must then evaluate
the work of the whole-timers by checking their record, and they must then
handle all other questions according to the cadre policy decided.”
6.
All
subsequent Political-Organizational Reports of every Party Congress have
underlined the importance of Party whole-timers, and several other points about
their selection, training, development, nurturing and evaluation. The Central
Committee meeting held from December 14-16, 2005 laid down the following guiding
principles as regards Party whole-timers:
·
The selection of a Party whole-timer at any
level must be done by the Party committees; even if the selection is made by a
local committee, it must have the approval of the district committee. The
district committee must inform the state committee about such decisions. A
whole-timer must actually work for the Party the whole time. Special attention
should be paid to recruiting whole-timers from the basic classes and from
women, Dalits, Adivasis and minorities.
·
The whole-timer selected must be given
responsibility as per the organizational plan made by the concerned Party
committee.
·
The state committee must prepare guiding
principles about adequate wages for whole-timers and must make the necessary
arrangements to see that this wage is paid regularly.
·
The concerned Party committees must help the
whole-timers in their work and must encourage them to take the initiative to
implement the political-organizational policy of the Party.
·
The district and state committees must organize
political study camps to increase the political-ideological level of
whole-timers.
·
Party committees must make the proper arrangements
to keep a check-up on the work of whole-timers, to help them to integrate their
experiences, to take forward their achievements and to correct their mistakes.
·
The concerned Party committees must help
whole-timers during illness and in their domestic and other difficulties.
CHARACTERISTICS
OF WHOLE-TIMERS
7.
It is certainly a matter of pride to become and
remain a whole-timer of the CPI(M). In his speech paying homage to Lenin,
Stalin had said these celebrated words, “There is no greater honour in the
world than to be a member of the Party that was founded by Comrade Lenin.” If
this is applicable to Party members, it is still more applicable to Party
whole-timers.
8.
In today’s era of globalization, consumerism and
identity politics in different forms, it is even more difficult and appreciable
to become and remain a Party whole-timer.
9.
Today, thousands of dedicated Party whole-timers
in the country and over two hundred in our state are leading the struggles of
the working people with determination, overcoming the adverse situation in the
world and in our country. This adverse situation is seen in the fall of
socialism in the Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe two decades ago from 1989
to 1991, the resultant increase of aggressiveness and pressure of world
imperialism, the pro-rich neo-liberal policies being vigorously pursued by our
ruling classes, the increased influence of various communal and terrorist
forces and the temporary setbacks suffered by the Left forces in our country
from 2009.
10.
In such a situation, the characteristics of
whole-timers should be as follows:
·
For those whose profession it is to make the
revolution, such activists must have unshakable faith in Marxism-Leninism and
complete confidence in our Party that is committed to take forward this
ideology in India. They must be ready to devote their entire lives to the Party
and the mass movement. It is only if this is the case, will they remain
constantly active and will develop the capacity to surmount any adverse circumstances
in their personal or political life.
·
A whole-timer must have complete faith in class
and mass struggles. It is the experience of the whole world that a Communist
Party grows only through struggles. Only if we have live and regular contact
with the people can we understand the issues that are to be taken up through
struggle. For this, it is a very important duty of a whole-timer to be regularly
active and to take the initiative in some mass organization. He must be in the
forefront of the struggles led by the Party or mass organization, and must
strive to mobilize the maximum number of people in these struggles.
·
While leading the struggles of the people, whole-timers
must inculcate in themselves the ability to effectively impart political-ideological
education to them. It is only through such constant education that the
political consciousness of people can rise and a strong mass base of the Party
can be formed. Although struggles on economic issues are extremely necessary,
it is our old experience in elections that a mass base of the Party is not
formed merely through economic struggles. That is why the regular reading of, and
reflection on, the Party weeklies, Party literature and Marxist literature is a
must for Party whole-timers.
·
A very important task for a whole-timer is to
develop within himself/herself the science and the art of building the organization.
We must always remember Lenin’s dictum that “In its struggle for power, the
proletariat has no other weapon except organization.” Whether it is the Party
or a mass front, its political influence cannot increase without a strong organization.
It is extremely necessary to understand and skilfully implement the valuable guidance
given in the Party Constitution and in the book published by the state
committee “Fundamental Guidance about the Party Organization” (incorporating
the 1967 CC Resolution ‘Tasks on Party Organization’ and the Salkia Plenum
Report and Resolution on Organization).
·
A spotless character, transparent dealings,
clean behaviour, capacity for initiative, work efficiency, readiness to
sacrifice and simple living – these must be the other characteristics of
whole-timers of the CPI(M). If we see the lives of the ‘Navaratnas’, that is
the first Polit Bureau of the CPI(M), or other old Communist leaders, we will
see these characteristics in them in ample measure. Every whole-timer of the
Party must keep these leaders as his ideal and must try his/her best to give
such a direction to his/her own life. It is also through such individual
qualities that people initially get attracted to the Party and it is these
activists that gain a place of love and respect in society.
SELECTION,
FUNCTIONING AND EVALUATION OF WHOLE-TIMERS
11.
When selecting whole-timers, Party committees
must keep the above criteria in mind. Our stress should be on recruiting
whole-timers from the basic classes, i.e. the working class, peasantry and
agricultural workers and from the socially backward sections, i. e. Adivasis, Dalits,
minorities and women. Topmost priority must be given to recruiting young,
educated and dedicated whole-timers from the student and youth fronts, because
it is the experience all over the country and in our state as well that such
comrades make a long and valuable contribution to Party advance. That is why
the Party at all levels must pay the maximum attention to the healthy and rapid
growth of the student and youth fronts.
12.
In Andhra Pradesh and some other states, the
Party has decided upon a policy to appoint new whole-timers initially for one
year on a trial or probation basis. The comrade in question is given a clear
idea in advance to that effect. During that year, the Party committee concerned
keeps a close watch on the work of that comrade. If he/she is found fit, then
his appointment as whole-timer is confirmed. If not found fit, he/she is
discontinued and is advised to take up a job elsewhere. Since he/she has been
given a clear idea in advance, it does not create any problems. While
appointing Party whole-timers in future in Maharashtra, we must follow this
policy.
13.
As regards the method of functioning of
whole-timers, it is necessary to lay down certain guiding principles. The first
point relates to the very definition of whole-timers. Obviously, a whole-timer
is one who devotes his whole time to the Party. Someone who is in service or
who is running a profession or a business does not fit in the definition of a
whole-timer. It is, of course, true that there are certain exceptional comrades
who, although they are not whole-timers in this sense, nevertheless do
considerable work of the Party or mass organizations.
14.
Whole-timers can be of two types – those who
take wages from the Party and those who do not. Among those who do not take
wages from the Party are MLAs and ex-MLAs. Actually, these comrades give a
large part of what they receive as allowances and pension from the government
to the Party as levy. According to the Party Constitution, the remaining part
which they keep with themselves is to be considered as the wage that they get
from the Party. The financial position of some comrades is good, and hence they
work as whole-timers but do not take any wage from the Party by choice. There
is an old tradition of such comrades in the country and also in our state.
Henceforth, the concerned district committees must take a formal decision to
accord such comrades the status of a whole-timer.
15.
Since a whole-timer devotes his entire time to
the work of the Party and his/her mass front, it is clear that his must be a
major share in the development of the Party and the mass front. It is right
that the Party has such an expectation from him. In some districts, we can see
that such is indeed the case. But it is a fact that in some other districts,
this is not the picture. Some comrades are whole-timers for a number of years,
but there is stagnation or even decline in the Party and the mass fronts in
that district. Every whole-timer of the Party in Maharashtra must seriously
introspect upon the results of his/her work, self-critically draw concrete
conclusions and must take necessary steps for improvement. He/she must
accordingly make suggestions to the concerned Party committee. The Party
district leadership must also discuss with him/her and must render collective
help and assistance to him/her.
16.
Why is it that in some places the work of
whole-timers does not lead to the expected results? One important reason for
this is related to the method of functioning of whole-timers. For example, some
whole-timers have no short-term or long-term planning or direction to their
work. Their work lacks consistency. They are not ready to take the initiative.
The mentality of some of them is to just somehow finish the work that they have
been given. Some whole-timers do not keep a diary of the daily work that they
do. That is why they can never place what exactly they did last week or last
month. Due to this manner of functioning, the question of review of their past
work and planning of their future work just does not arise. This casual manner
of functioning must be changed forthwith.
17.
The second important reason for this stagnation
is the lack of attention to consciously build up class or mass struggles. As
mentioned above, a Communist Party has never grown anywhere in the world
without intense struggles. But in some districts where there are whole-timers,
not many such struggles have taken place. On the burning issues of the people,
we have not mobilised hundreds and thousands of people in struggles against the
government, police or our class enemies. We have not tried to search out
imaginative forms of struggle. We have not fought a struggle on local issues
consistently until it has achieved victory. At the state level also, there have
been such weaknesses in our work. Big improvements in this are necessary.
18.
Whole-timers must constantly pay attention to
increasing their political-ideological level, and they must persuade other Party
activists also to do the same. Reading, writing and speaking are the three
effective ways not only to increase one’s political-ideological level, but also
to reach out to and strike a dialogue with the people. Whole-timers must make a
conscious effort to develop themselves in all these three ways. Some whole-timers
certainly make efforts towards this end, and the results of this are also seen.
But there are some other whole-timers who do not even read the state Party
weekly ‘Jeevanmarg’ regularly, so any deeper reading than that is out of the
question. That is why we find staleness and the same old points in the speeches
and writing of some of them.
19.
Whole-timers must consciously make efforts to
place new and creative ideas for the advance of the movement, attract the
people by their own political-ideological sharpness, concretely analyse a
concrete local situation and thus give a boost to the movement on that issue, write
an effective leaflet or article and address a public meeting or a study-class
in line with the policy of the Party.
20.
The importance of the Party organization has
been underlined earlier in this resolution. This is an extremely important
responsibility of a whole-timer. We are well aware of our weaknesses in even
such a primary task such as completing Party renewal in time; in ensuring that
every Party member is regularly active in some mass organization; in seeing
that Party levy is collected as per the Central Committee rates; and in
increasing the circulation of the Party weeklies in several districts. We also
know the mad rush to somehow complete the membership of the mass fronts at the
end of the year. We are also well aware of the unforgivable lack of attention
to functioning Party branches regularly and keeping the mass front units
active. It is an important duty
of every whole-timer to take the initiative and pay proper attention to the
above key organizational aspects. This organizational work must be
carried out by developing collective functioning and eschewing individualism.
21.
In all the stronger states of our Party, one key
principle which is rightly stressed is that from the movements and the work
built by a whole-timer, Party funds must also be generated in one way or
another. This fund may be in the form of Party fund, or Party levy, or
subscriptions to Party weeklies, or mass front membership fees. This principle
must be strictly laid down in every district of the Party in Maharashtra. In
some districts, the Party state committee or the district committee gives wages
to some whole-timers for years, but there are never much financial returns to
the Party or the mass front. All whole-timers must pay conscious attention to
this aspect also.
22.
Our aim is to develop a whole-timer into an
effective political leader. Hence he/she should give such a direction and turn
to his/her entire method of functioning. While doing so, whole-timers must
stringently follow Party discipline, put an end to ‘loose talking’, be
completely clear and transparent in all their financial dealings, maintain
clear and regular accounts of the funds of the Party and mass front that are in
their charge, stay clear of bureaucratic practices and arrogant and egoistic
behaviour and generally behave with humility and in a way that will bring
people closer in unity. Just as a whole-timer should not behave in a
bureaucratic manner, so also the Party leadership should not treat whole-timers
in a bureaucratic manner.
23.
The last point in this section is related to the
evaluation of whole-timers. Since they are Party whole-timers, their
responsibility must be to the Party. So far as Maharashtra is concerned, in
earlier times, with the exception of Thane district led by Comrade Godavari
Parulekar, there was no method of evaluation of whole-timers either at the
state or district level. Last year, the Party state committee decided for the
first time that all whole-timers must submit their self-evaluation reports to
their respective district committees, the district committees should make their
own evaluation on the basis of these reports and send their consolidated
evaluation report to the state committee. The reports of whole-timers whose
wages are given by the state committee reached the state committee, although
some reached late. But so far as reports of the whole-timers paid by the
district committees and the trade union centres were concerned, very few
districts sent their evaluation reports to the state committee despite constant
reminders. This must be corrected.
24.
In order that the work of whole-timers becomes
more substantial and fruitful, they get regular assistance and guidance from
the Party committees and their mistakes are corrected, we must take the
following concrete decisions as regards evaluation:
·
Every whole-timer must compulsorily keep a daily
diary of his work.
·
District committees (tehsil committees if the
districts are large) must organize a separate meeting of their whole-timers
every three months. In this meeting, their past work must be reviewed and their
future work must be planned.
·
Every whole-timer must submit a self-critical
report evaluating his own work every year by the end of December to his/her
district committee without fail. The district secretariat and the district
committee must discuss these reports and must send a consolidated evaluation
report to the state committee every year by the end of March. On the basis of
these reports, the district committee must give concrete guidance and
suggestions to whole-timers for improvement in work.
CONCLUSION
25.
Let us conclude this Resolution on Whole-timers
with the last inspiring passage from the last testament of our immortal martyr
Shaheed Bhagat Singh. It is a call that is sure to touch the heart of every
whole-timer of our Party. Bhagat Singh writes:
26.
“If you start the work on these lines, you shall
have to be very sober...It requires neither the emotion nor the death, but the
life of constant struggle, suffering and sacrifice. Crush your individuality
first. Shake off the dreams of personal comfort. Then start to work. Inch by
inch you shall have to proceed. It needs courage, perseverance and very strong
determination. No difficulties and no hardships shall discourage you. No
failure and betrayals shall dishearten you. No travails imposed upon you shall
snuff out the revolutionary will in you. Through the ordeal of sufferings and
sacrifice you shall come out victorious. And these individual victories shall
be the valuable assets of the revolution. Long Live Revolution!”
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