The future of the Indian communist movement celebrating the centenary

The Communist Party of India is holding 25th Party Congress in Chandigarh as it is about to complete 100 years since various communist groups met in Kanpur in 1925 formally giving birth to the party. However, the CPM maintains that the Communist Party of India was founded in Tashkent in 1920 under the leadership of M.N. Roy, hence the party is now 105 years old. These differences of opinions are irrelevant from a more practical point of view. The relevant question is what the Indian working class party has gained, yet to gain in its ten decades of existence as part of a global communist movement. The question is all the more relevant as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, founded in 1926, is also celebrating its centenary. The RSS has been able to claim to be the largest organization in the world, thus taking over the total control of the India, 13 state governments and coalition rule in seven states, through the country's largest political party in the form of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a religious organization called the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a youth organization called the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha, an All India Vidyarthi Parishad for students, a workers' organization called the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a women's organization called the Bajrang Dal, a Durga Vahini, and many other Hindutva groups.The Sangh Parivar claims to have 14 crore members including two crore active ones across the country.

How is it on the other side? According to the figures submitted to the 24th Party Congress in Madurai last April, the CPM has 10,19,009 members in the country where farmers, workers and ordinary people make up the vast majority. More than half of them are in Kerala. In West Bengal and Tripura where it used to have a significant membership the numbers have fallen sharply. Even adding members of youth, student, farmer, labourer and women's organizations to it will make up only a few more lakhs. The latest membership figures of the CPI, which is yet to come, is unlikely to exceed seven lakhs. As for membership in Parliament, the communist parties are struggling to reach double digits. The Left is ruling just one out of the 29 states, that too with the help of some bourgeois parties. Even the handful of party members in Parliament came from the unwavering support of bourgeois parties. At this historic juncture of crossing a quarter of the 21st century, with the ultra-nationalist imperialist alliance posing a dangerous challenge to secular democratic social justice systems, there is no hopeful step from the communist parties in the direction to resist and defeat it, except for their repeated call to do so. While repeatedly claiming to be part of INDIA bloc, the communists are not planning any strategies or moves to strengthen the front even in Kerala where they are in power and where they have the largest number of members. Even the officially organized Global Ayyappa Sangam is seen to be an attempt to influence the majority community, already in tightening grip of Fascism, on the same ideological plank. The current topic of discussion is the invitation of the UP Chief Minister, a spokesman and practitioner of extreme communalism who does not hesitate to use bulldozers to eliminate minorities, to the Ayyappa Sangam and reading out his message to Swabhimanam Sangam audience. However, CPI General Secretary D. Raja said in his inaugural speech at the Chandigarh conference that only by removing the BJP from power and their ideology from society can India continue to be a democratic country. CPM General Secretary M.A. Baby, who participated as a friendly representative, also has no different opinion on this matter. But the important question is how long the communist parties can continue by adopting tactics inconsistent with their public announcements. It does not take much far-sightedness to understand that attacking the religious and political groups of the most persecuted religious minorities in the country to serve the tactics of humouring the fascists will end in their complete defeat. The communist movement completing a century of existence has no way if it does not want to repeat the tragedy that befell global communism happen in India as well but firmly stand by the INDIA bloc and join the struggle for secular democracy, social justice and the constitutional rights of minorities.