Resurrection of Hindu Fundamentalism

[shaikhmohammadsadullah]

Since its independence India has vehemently been trying to project
itself as a secular state with equal rights to all religious minorities,
but is it so? Have the religious minorities lived as comfortably in
India as portrayed by its successive leaders and governments. An
analysis of Indian Psyche, her social and political milieu depicts the
other side of the horizon, which is bleak, and gruesome -- a far cry from
the truth. The simmering waves of Hindu fundamentalism in the recent
years have posed a serious threat to the entire Indian nationhood; the
Muslims, the Sikhs, the Dalits, the Christians, the Budhs and all other
minorities, who have become victim of Indian Hindutava. The Hindu
fundamentalists in the garb of Hindu revivalism emphasize the teaching
of Vedas, which describes Dalits (the low caste Hindus) as the
untouchables. They are only to perform menial jobs. The other religious
minorities are no better.

Caste System - Dalit vs. Brahmins

India is unique as regards its caste system is concerned. It is like a
pyramid. While the Brahmin is sitting on the top, the scheduled castes
(SCs) are at the lowest level of the socio-economic ladder. The SCs and
scheduled tribes (STs) which constitute 15.75 % and 9.12 % of the total
population respectively, are commonly known as Harijans (children of god
- A name given by M.K Gandhi). They are also called Dalits, (Hindi word
for "oppressed"). There are more than 150 million Dalits who
constitute one fifth of India's population. The Dalits and Harijans
are regarded as untouchables and treated as sub-human. They are deprived
of all the basic rights. There is no law which could provide protection
to these down- trodden against inhuman treatment of the upper caste
Hindus. In the so called secular India, a Dalit is not supposed to wear
a shirt, cap or shoes in the presence of a Brahmin. He must pass with
his head bowed and hands folded through the streets inhabited by upper
class Hindus. Dalits have separate wells for drinking water, separate
hotels for food and tea. There are frequent cases of poor Dalit girls
being kidnapped and gang-raped by high class Hindu boys. A Dalit
pollutes the house of a Brahman, but a frail and a helpless Dalit girl
is just a toy of joy for Thakurs, Brahmins and their henchmen. They draw
pleasure and satisfy their animal instinct by humiliating a Dalit girl.
Recently the statue of a renowned Dalit leader Dr. Ambedkar (an
architect of Indian constitution) was disfigured, and a number of Dalits
who protested against this desecration of their leader, were killed by
police. Many Dalits who converted to Christianity and embraced Islam
experienced that these two religious minorities were subjected to even
worst treatment.

At the other extreme are the upper castes who constitute approximately
10% of the total population. Most prominent of this upper stratum of the
society are the Brahmins who are a mere 3.5% of the total Indian
population. According to a report quoted by Khushwant Singh, they held
3% of all posts in 1935, which increased to 70% in 1982. In the senior
echelons of the civil services from the ranks of deputy secretaries
upwards, out of 500, there are 310 Brahmins i.e. 63%; out of 26 state
chief secretaries 19 are Brahmins; of 98 vice-chancellors 50 are
Brahmins; of 438 district magistrates, 250 are Brahmins; and out the
total of 3300 IAS officers, 2376 are Brahmins. A Dalit politician in
Tamil Nadu said, "The Dalit would rather die than live without self
respect". Upper-caste Hindu landlords, often in league with local
police, keep the Dalits at bay under most uncivilised conditions. Their
plight in the rural areas is pathetic to the extent that they are
running from pillar to post for minimum self-respect and security. They
want to live without being humiliated and harassed.

According to a report prepared by the chairman India's Commission for
Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes, Hanuman Thapa, "There has been an
increase in atrocities committed on members of the SCs and STs in
Maharashtra. As many as 2,500 cases of atrocities are pending in courts
besides 3647 cases which are under investigation at various levels".
Dalit International Newsletter of Jun 97 reveals, that the untouchables
are victims of atrocities which include murders, grievous hurt, arson
and rape. The report further adds that during 1989 the figure of these
crimes was 19422; in 1990, 21245; during 1991, 22424 and during 1995 the
figure rose to 35262. In Chundur (Andhra Pradesh) upper caste Hindus
slaughtered innocent Dalits, put their body pieces in gunny bags and
threw them away. In an interview to the "Hindustan Times", former UP
minister and founder- president of State Bahojan Samaj Party ( BSP), Raj
Bahadur, stated that the Dalits had been deprived even of their
fundamental rights, which led them to abandon Hinduism. They are treated
worse than animals. Even the constitutional provisions have failed to
ensure their fundamental rights. They had been deprived of education,
security, property and health by the upper caste - dominating Hindus.

A horrifying report by UK based "Dalit Atrocity Committee of 1992
reveals that in October 1992 in village Kumber (Rajisthan), over 6000
upper caste Hindus from 45 villages gathered at a Chaumanda Devi temple
with the intention to teach them (Dalits) a lesson. These included
politicians and a superintendent of police. Armed with weapons they
killed 60 Dalits in a Dalit village. They used soaked rags with petrol
and burnt them alive besides demolishing their houses. They gang-raped
women and mutilated their genitals. Recently in Jul 97, upper caste
police shot dead 10 Dalits in Ramabai, Ambedkar colony at Ghatkopar,
Bombay, and wounded several others. According to the Indian media
reports, a considerable number of Dalits have embraced Islam in southern
India. This conversion is due to their disenchantment with false
promises made by Hindu leaders to improve their lot. The only course
left open for them to shake off their misfortune was enmasse conversion
to Islam - a religion of peace, equality and tolerance.

Communal tension - Sikhs vs. Punjabi Hindus

The Sikhs under the leadership of Master Tara Singh strongly opposed the
partition of India in 1947. A new communal tension arose at the first
census in 1961, when large number of Punjabi Hindus declared Hindi as
their mother tongue, even though most of them could not speak the
language. The attempts of Punjabi-Hindu organisation to make Punjabi
Hindus give false particulars of their mother tongue, further enhanced
Sikh fears. In the united Punjab, the Sikhs could have held a balance of
power between the Hindus and the Muslims, but after the partition of
Punjab, they were reduced to the position of a minority. They hoped that
the Congress government, would be generous enough to accommodate them
and provide them equal opportunities in every sphere of life, which
proved to be a nightmare.

Punjabi Suba. Jawaharlal Nehru at the beginning of 1947 said that there
was nothing wrong in conceding, "A political area in northern India,
where the Sikhs might also freely experience the glow of freedom". When
the plea for a Sikh state within India was criticized as communal, the
Akali Dal put forward an alternative demand of creating a Punjabi-
speaking state. With the creation of a new Andhra Pardesh State on Oct
1, 1953 the demand for linguistic realignment of state boundaries became
popular. Due to increasing sentiments of the public, the government of
India constituted a State Reorganization Commission in Dec 1953, which
rejected the demand of Punjabi speaking state. It was taken by the Sikhs
as a breach of the commonly held and deeply cherished secular ideals.
This was all the more infuriating to the Sikhs, when the principle of
demarcation of state boundaries on a linguistic basis was accepted by
the government and implemented everywhere in India, the sole exception
being Punjab. In respect of their demand, they were perturbed as to why
the wishes of the Hindu minority (45 %) should prevail over the Sikh
majority (55 %). Jawaharlal Nehru strongly opposed the demand of a
Punjabi-speaking state. After his death on 27th May 1964, Lal Bahadur
Shastri, the new Prime Minister appointed a parliamentary committee in
Oct 1965, under the chairmanship of Sardar Hukam Singh, the speaker of
the lower House to look into the issue of "Punjabi Suba". But Shastri
also continued the policy of Nehru and was deadly against the by-passed
the committee and forestalled its report. Making the 1961 census as the
basis and the Tehsil ( instead of village) as the unit was a deliberate
design to punish the Sikhs. The demarcation was done on communal rather
than on a linguistic basis. Consequently merit was again ignored and
justice denied. It not only increased tension between the two
communities, but also led to grave situation and communal rioting,
instigated by the Hindu revivalist "Jan Singh". To defuse the situation,
the demand of Punjabi suba was accepted under the Punjabi Reorganization
Act, 1966. However, it was found highly unsatisfactory by the Sikh
leadership, who alleged that the Suba was much smaller in size than what
facts would have determined.

Operation Blue Star - 1984. The 6 Jun, army operation on the holiest
shrine of Sikh religion - Amritsar's Golden temple, on the orders of
then Prime Minister Mrs Indra Gandhi, highly annoyed the Sikh community.
To them it was beyond belief that the Golden Temple - the very symbol of
their faith, could be desecrated by the armed forces of a free and the
so called secular India. For the last 400 years this temple had been a
symbol of Sikh strength, pride and self respect. Therefore, 6 June
assault was taken as an attack on the Sikh faith and religion. The
extremist Sikh leader, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala and his followers
died defending the sanctity of their holy place. The five Sikh head
priests declared 15 July "Martyrs Day" for those who laid down their
lives defending the Golden Temple.

Besides the general humiliation suffered at hand of the army, there were
two fostering sores. First, the attitude of local Hindus (they account
for about 48% of million population), who welcomed the army action and
celebrated by distributing sweets as if attending a festival. They feted
the troops as if they had just won a victory in a war. Second, the
Indian government and official media also projected that the Sikhs as a
whole were seeking secession, backed by foreign power, and that India's
unity was threatened if the army crack-down on Golden Temple was not
undertaken. The Sikhs had been the trusted soldiers of the Indian Army.
Operation "Blue Star" frustrated and demoralized Sikh community to such
an extent that Sikh soldiers rebelled and the then Indian Chief of Army
Staff Gen A.S. Vaidya had to appear on national TV and Radio to
broadcast an appeal to Sikh soldiers saying, "Do not believe rumours
being spread to undermine the confidence in your leaders and
comrades-in-arms". An unusual move and the one implying some uncertainty
in the normal chain of command to enforce discipline.

Indian Muslims

The Muslims of India, who make about 12 percent of 960 million
population, are the largest oppressed minority in the so called secular
India. These Indian Muslims are being treated as second class citizens.
In those parts of India where the Muslims were in majority, enjoying
superior social and economic status for centuries, special police force
was created to suppress them. The local Hindu population was encouraged
to instigate communal riots in which Muslims were not allowed to protect
themselves and were subjected to merciless torture and cruelties.
According to Jai Prakash Naraian, "The Muslim population has been so
much cowed and demoralized that they are not acting according to their
convictions. They are afraid that if they expressed their real feelings,
their loyalty will be suspected". A prominent Hindu writer S. Harrison
claims that, "Hindus have a natural right to rule in modern India as a
form of long overdue retribution for the sins of the Mughal overlords".

Anti- Muslim Riots. Since its very inception India has witnessed Hindu
Muslim riots which belies the claim of religious harmony and secular
stance of the successive Indian governments. In the recent anti-Muslim
riots in Mumbai (Maharashtra), armed marauders of the "Army of Shiva"
inflicted death and destruction on terrorized Muslims, with the police
often conniving with the Hindu extremists in the killings of Muslims.
Recent reports in some Indian newspapers show that the notorious
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( R.S.S) for whose Muslim-baiting gurus
master-minded the murder of Gandhiji in 1948, have built a power-base in
the ruling caucus of the BJP. The R.S.S. for whom a united India (Akhand
Bharat) is an article of faith, wants the BJP in case it sweeps power in
1998 elections, to run India as a Hindu state and leash the Muslim
minority.

Writing in "Hindustan Times," of 31 July 97, a Hindu Journalist, C.P.
Bhambhri comments, "The BJP, RSS, VHP and other allied organisations,
without any shadow of doubt, re using the culture and history of India
to promote the concept of Hindu nation which was a victim of Muslim
rulers and their purpose is to consolidate Hinduism around a specific
religious ethos selectively chosen by political leaders". He further
comments, "The BJP hate list of Muslims continues to unify the Hindus
against their religious enemy as revealed by Indian history. The BJP
will like to re-write the Constitution for establishing a strong Hindu
state". The BJP advocates Hindvata, an India based on Hindu culture,
though it claims to respect other religions. Many, especially India's
large Muslim minority, are concerned about the BJP coming to office.
They remember it as the party responsible for the 1992 destruction of
the 16th century Babri Masque in Ayodhya (UP), which led to bloody Hindu
- Muslim riots.

Hindu Claim on Kaaba. Inspite of half hearted efforts made by Indian
authorities during the last fifty years, the question of the Muslim
minority continues to be complex, critical and in many ways unresolved
due to growing influence of the Hindu fundamentalist parties. Every
communal riot has contributed to the creation of the siege mentality and
the feelings of social outsider among the Muslims. The moving accounts
in the book of M.J Akbar "Riot after Riot" published in 1988 leads one
to conclude that the problem of Physical insecurity really haunts the
Muslim community. Every assertion of the forces of Hinduvata and retreat
of secular political formations have strengthened the feelings of
insecurity among the Muslims. Khalful-Suleman, in an article titled
"Kashmir is the first defence line against Hindu march," published in
"Al-Bilad" of Saudi Arabia, dated 3 Feb 98 opines, "During the past 50
years, there has been tremendous human rights violations and desecration
of Muslim shrines and mosques in Kashmir." Referring to Hindu designs
versus Islam, he further adds that, "Hindu writers in their books have
claimed that the Holy Kaaba was in fact a Hindu temple of Rama, which
was occupied by the Muslims' prophet and changed into a Muslim place".
The Hindu authors claim that this is essential for the Hindus to
retrieve Kaaba from the Muslims.

Rise of BJP and its Aganda

The Bhartia Janata Party is the strongest political party in today's
India. Its ideological roots go back to 1925 when RSS came into being as
a Hindu revivalist organisation on non political basis. In 1951, the
emergence of Jana Sangh was its political birth which merged with the
amorphous Janata, a conglomeration of diverse parties to fight the
Congress of secular ideology. In Apr 1980 Jana Sangh group of the Janta
decided to re-emerge under its present name of BJP. The BJP had an
advantage over Jana Sangh in that it was more respectable and acceptable
to the masses. In addition, it had grown to become a national party in
real sense. It started to capitalize on the killing of Hindus by the
Sikhs and the mass conversion of Hindus to Islam in Tamil Nadu in 1982.
It was during this period that the BJP made itself financially sound
with the help of contributions from Non -Resident Indians (NRIs) and by
bringing to its fold a part of the Indian bourgeoisie and feudal who
used to be the backbone of Swatantra Party. Even after discouraging
results of 1984 elections, the BJP went on consolidating its position
with the help of RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal combine. It fully exploited
the weakness of Hindu masses by concentrating on the issue of restoring
Hindu temples, with the Ramjanambhoomi Mandir heading the list. This
offensive was combined with the anti- Congress (I) and anti-Rajiv
campaigns. The Shah Bano case was a testimony to the Congress (I)'s
concern over the ever growing strength of the BJP. How successful were
these tactics and strategies of the BJP?

This was conspicuously apparent in the election results of 1989, where
after it is a story of march toward victory. Its political ascendancy in
quick succession from a mere 12 seats in the Lok Sabha in 1984 to 88
seats in the Nov 89 elections and to 123 in the May 1991 elections and
about 250 to 255 seats in 1998 elections, is seen by a faction of the
Indian society as a challenge to the secular basis of the Indian
constitution, as well as to the image by which India wants to be known
in the international comity of nations. The phasing out of the so-called
secular forces like Congress and emergence of Hindu fundamentalist
forces like BJP is a clear manifestation that India is likely to become
a Brahmanic state, with no rights for minorities in near future.

BJP vs. Indian Minorities

The spectacular rise of BJP, since its formation in 1980 in Indian
politics is an unfortunate event for Indian minorities. The party is not
only anti-Muslim but it is determined to establish a strong Hindu state.
In 1990, its president, Lal Krishna Advani toured the country in a
chariot (Rath Yatra), calling on Hindus to destroy the historical Babri
Mosque in Ayodhya - a Muslim landmark built on the birth place of the
Hindu god (Ram). After a mob razed the Mosque on 6 Dec 1992, Hindu
-Muslim riots spread throughout the country and the BJP's strength grew.
Six years after the party goaded Hindu mobs into destroying the Babri
Mosque, the BJP still demands that a temple of Ram be built on the site.
Sometime its leaders opine that they would put up the new structure only
after some kind of consensus with Muslims. But recently its hard liner
and militant leaders changed their stance in the rallies of Hindu masses
and again pledged to built a magnificent temple, thus creating an alarm
of communal violence. The Muslims fear that under a BJP government,
their separate laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance would be
scrapped. The slaughter of cow, which is sacred to Hindus, will be
banned. K.S Sudarshan, joint general secretary of the RSS opines, "
There are other meats for Muslims to eat". He further states, "For too
long the Muslims have been appeased. They divided our country and now
they are demanding job reservations. Hindus are blamed whenever the
Muslims start trouble". The BJP's manifesto, released in the second week
of Feb 98, pounded home its commitment to, "One nation, one people and
one culture". The BJP has grown and thrived on divisive politics. As
discussed earlier the party is an arm of the RSS, a secretive group of
militants who aim to transform secular India into a Hindu state. From
moderator like Vojpayee to hard-liner like Advani, all are members of
the RSS, a disciplined civilian militia that fights for the cause of
Hindu nationalism with about 1 million active members. The RSS is
interested only in creating ideal Hindu citizens, yet its
ultra-nationalist regiments, wearing khaki shorts and white shirts,
represent the ideal of a decidedly militant kind of citizenship. The
BJP's extended family also includes the Wishwa Hindu Praishad (WHP), a
group of religious extremists who help finance political operations and
enforce ideological purity. BJP takes up the Hindu cause by supporting
WHP's stand to retrieve 300 Muslim places of worship and convert them
into Hindu temples.

Sum Up

The Hindu politics since the partition of India in 1947 has been based
on three different themes. First, that the Muslims were responsible for
vivisection of Mother India, hence they are anti-national. Added to this
are their "historical grievances" against Muslims, which makes the
situation really pathetic. Second, Nehru and the Congress accepted the
Muslims demand of Partition, and later introduced secularism in India to
appease the minorities, that is why Hindus have every right to fight
against the Congress for their rights. Third, is the dream of Hindu
Rashtra (Hindu State), which will satisfy the demands and rights of the
Hindu majority. In other words the ultimate desire of Hindu majority
seems to fulfil the dream of Ram Rajya (Ram's rule). The BJP's
manifesto, though much changed and reformed, still revolves around the
same objective. India is totally a closed society, fundamentalist in
nature, with secularism as a front piece to deceive the world community.

[andy_jam]

Hey,
Look at Bangladesh first! Your country is a harbinger for Islamic terrorism. Go to www.mayerdak.com, and International Human Rights for Bangladesh, to check out the trials and tribulations for minorities (i.e. Hindus and Christians and Buddhists) in "Sonar Bangla". You cowards are so fundamentalist that you even are attacking Rabindranath Tagore because he wasn't a Muslim (if u don't believe me check this out: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/pahela_baishakh_jaffor.htm. In India, the defense minister is a Christian (even though Christians are 2% of the population)! Can u show me ONE EXAMPLE LIKE THAT IN BANGLADESH? Show me a top ranking Christian cabinet member? Show me a top ranking HINDU cabinet member? Ha, you make me laugh! U want India to be perfect, yet Bangladesh can slaughter minorities, right! Give me a break!

Put Hindus, Christians, Buddhists in top positions in Bangladesh, then come and ***** about India!


AJ

[Palashmahmood]

MAOISTS OF SOUTH ASIA: India, the common enemy
by B. Raman

The Indian exploiting and ruling classes and the Hindu chauvinists are the common enemy of the deprived classes and revolutionaries of the South Asian (SA) region and unless they unite against it, the Maoist revolution will not succeed. That is the message emerging from the recent debates among the Maoist organisations of the region.

2. A declaration adopted in August,2002, by the second annual conference of the Co-Ordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organisations of South Asia (CCOMPOSA---it is not known definitively where it was held) said: "The correctness of Mao's pronouncement that Asia, Africa and Latin America are the storm centers of revolution is still relevant and applicable and this is clearly seen in South Asia today. South Asia with more than 1/5th of the world population is a huge reserve of natural resources and manpower, for which various imperialist powers are contending. The whole of South Asia has been subjected to neo-colonial forms of rule and exploitation generally reproducing and reinforcing semi-colonial‚ semi-feudal stage of development‚ placing the New Democratic Revolution on the historical agenda with even greater urgency than before.

3." The centralized Indian state‚ which is working as heir to the British colonialists, is instrumental in dominating the neighboring countries and her people and internally oppressing people in various nations and nationalities by enforcing them to come under its yoke. This internal oppression is buttressed by big nation Hindu chauvinism which is aimed at suppressing minorities‚ including religious minorities. Indian expansionism, which is subservient to the big imperialist powers, has become the dominant regional reactionary power to oppress the nations and the people of SA. Indian expansionism, which was working hands in glove mainly with Soviet social imperialism for many decades, has now shifted more towards the US imperialism. Now, Indian expansionism backed by world imperialism‚ mainly US imperialism, is the common enemy of the oppressed nations and people of SA.

4." Revolutionary uprising burst out in Naxalbari under the guidance and leadership of Charu Mazumdar (CM) as a 'spring thunder' which placed Marxism-Leninism-Maoism at the forefront, established the highest pinnacle of the development of Marxism, and fought against all shades of revisionism. The drums of Naxalbari are reverberating till today throughout SA and beyond. Now the ongoing People's Wars of Nepal, India (Dandakaranya, Bihar, Andhra and elsewhere) and intensive preparation going on in other parts of SA, should be objectively grasped as the continuation and further development of Naxalbari and teachings of CM. People's War in Nepal is advancing in leaps and bounds and facing the prospects of nationwide seizure of power. The level of People's War advancing in Dandakaranya, Bihar and Andhra is also higher than that of Naxalbari during the early seventies. Nevertheless, it was Naxalbari, which ignited the fire and provided generally correct orientation.

5." Apart from the revolutionary class wars, powerful national liberation movements/ nationalities struggles are also continuing and developing in SA; among them national liberation movements/nationalities struggles of Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur and other North-East states, Tamil Eelam of Sri Lanka and Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh are well known. Among problems faced by the national liberation movements/nationalities struggles are lack of proletarian leadership and continuing inability to subsume national liberation struggle within proletarian democratic revolution. Communist revolutionaries of this region should confront this problem and make genuine efforts to resolve this.

6. " Even though there are some historical, geographical, economic and cultural specificities in this region‚ Indian expansionism backed by world imperialism‚ mainly US imperialism‚ is the common enemy of the people. Hence the revolution taking place in particular countries of this region are closely inter-linked and inter-related. Though revolution in any particular country may achieve its goal of establishing nationwide people’s political power depending upon the specific situation, it will need active support of the revolutionary movements in the region to sustain‚ advance and consolidate it. Thus, in South Asia, where New Democratic Revolutions are advancing in a new wave and there are strong possibilities of some of them succeeding‚ this will depend on the ability of the Maoists to collectively wok out a correct line of united action. Therefore, building unity among genuine Maoist forces in this region has become an immediate task. As real successors and disciples of Marx, Lenin and Mao, it is necessary to seize this rare opportunity to accomplish New Democratic Revolutions in this region and advance the world revolution to socialism and communism.

7." The unity of Maoist forces must primarily be based on upholding M-L-M‚ not only in theory‚ but more particularly in its application to practice‚ of which advancing People’s War is the principal task. Besides‚ as one of its main tasks‚ CCOMPOSA has to focus its attack on Indian expansionism‚ which is the main bulwark of reaction in this region. It is only on the basis of intensifying the class struggle/People’s War in this region‚ that the unity of the genuine Maoists of SA can deepen and grow‚ basing on M-L-M principles. Apart from fulfilling its responsibilities in the region‚ CCOMPOSA is part of the international proletariat and must see its growth as part and parcel of the growing unity of the Maoist forces internationally. “Workers of all countries unite”‚ as declared in the Communist Manifesto‚ always reminds us of the need and scope of our unity. We‚ Maoist Parties and Organisations of South Asia‚ cannot deviate from this dictum. Therefore‚ CCOMPOSA must be part and parcel of the attempts at unification of all Maoist forces internationally." (End of citation)

8. In a joint statement, the conference called upon the Maoist organisations of South Asia to build a strong anti-imperialist resistance movement‚ particularly against US imperialism and Indian expansionism; build a broad front with the on-going armed struggles of the various nationality movements in the sub-continent; lend mutual assistance and exchange experiences and deepen bilateral and multilateral relations amongst Maoist forces in the sub-continent; and coordinate and consolidate the unity of Maoist Parties and Organisations in South Asia."

9. The CCOMPOSA, which was formed at its first inaugural conference in June, 2001, consists of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War), the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) of India, the Revolutionary Communist Centre of India (MLM), the Revolutionary Communist Centre of India (Maoist), the Communist Party of India (ML)(Naxalbari), the Purba Bangla Sarbahara Party (CC), the Purba Bangla Sarbahara Party (Maoist Punarghathan Kendra), the Bangladesh Samyabadi Party (ML) and the Communist Party of Ceylon (Maoist) .

10. Continuing the strong attack on India, a resolution on the political situation in South Asia passed by the second conference said: "The US has entered into a strategic alliance with India in order to extend & consolidate hegemonic dominance in the South Asian region. In this context‚ this strategic alliance has set out to assist the feudal comprador- autocratic monarchist state in Nepal in its desperate attempt to militarily crush the blazing protracted people’s war led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)‚ CPN (M). Since November 2001‚ under a state of emergency the Nepalese state has carried out a genocidal war against the people‚where on an average a dozen people are killed every day. In the period of one year‚ more than 3‚000 people have been killed. The Nepalese state has carried out mass massacres‚ gang- rapes & inhuman torture on an expanding scale‚ while carrying out a campaign of disinformation to cover its trail of blood. The Nepalese state has suspended all fundamental human & democratic rights‚ while killing & arresting progressive journalists and activists. In its effort to centralize‚ concentrate & monopolize state power‚ the monarchy has marginalized the parliament and all other institutions & agencies of the state‚ while strengthening the role of lackey forces such as the UML (United Marxists-Leninists)
.
11."The Indian expansionist state backed by US imperialism has collaborated in these fascist genocidal policies by capturing oppositional journalists and deporting them to Nepal. People who have come to India seeking medical treatment have been abducted & delivered to the torture chambers of the Nepalese state. The strategic alliance between the US and India has led to the establishment of an FBI office in Delhi to better facilitate & co-ordinate this counter- revolutionary strategy throughout South Asia. The political machinations of the imperialists global terrorist war agenda has brought India & Pakistan to the brink of a nuclear confrontation which would have the most devastating consequences for the people of the region. Through the machinations of a peace process and the active connivance of the Sri Lankan ruling class both the US and India have gained access to strategic military facilities in the island and penetrated the political life of Sri Lanka as never before. Those moves have violated the sovereignty of the people and the country and introduced even more intensive forms of domination & control.

12."The Indian expansionist state has been militarised on a new level and its repressive & ideological apparatus has been geared up to crush all resistance and opposition by revolutionary forces and by the people‚ which is bound to increase and intensify in the face of the combined strategy of globalisation & counter-revolution. The central state has established new mechanism to coordinate the counter-revolution at the state & district level. Under the heinous Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA)‚the Indian state has banned the Communist Party of India – Marxist-Leninist- People’s War (CPI-ML-PW) and the Maoist Communist Center (MCC) in a desperate bid to stop the rising tide of people’s democratic revolution & protracted people’s war led by Maoist vanguard detachments. True to their class character‚ the revisionist parliamentarist “left” parties have all colluded in this counter- revolutionary agenda.

13."The Indian ruling class is whipping up big-nation chauvinism to aggressively push their reactionary counter- revolutionary agenda. This has been accompanied by anti-Pakistani war hysteria and unleashing fascist Hindu chauvinism. These have now taken an extreme and dangerous form by the ruling B.J.P. and their fascist goons. The policy of targetting minorities in general‚ and Muslims in particular has become routine & institutionalized within the state. The Conference specifically condemns the recent state sponsored anti-Muslim pogroms in Gujarat unleashed by the BJP rulers in the state." (End of citation).

14. While the CCOMPOSA, with its debate largely influenced by the Indian Maoist groups and by the analysis of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM), has thus been strong in its criticism of India, the Nepalese Maoists themselves in their statements have used a more moderate language.

15. In an appeal to the Government and people of India issued on June 22,2002, the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPN (Maoist) said as follows: "Gyanendra Shah‚ the hated double murderer of‚ firstly‚ his own brother King Birendra and his entire family on June 1st ‚ 2001 and‚ secondly‚ the nascent parliamentary democracy in Nepal on May 22‚ 2002‚ is on a state visit of India from June 23rd to 28th‚ 2002. In whatever diplomatic niceties this visit may be clothed‚ it is obvious to all discernible eyes that it is primarily designed to gain overt and covert military‚ economic and political assistance from India to crush the ever-raging people’s democratic movement in Nepal and provide legitimacy to and bolster the illegitimate and unpopular royal military dictatorship thrust upon the Nepalese people. It is‚ therefore‚ imperative that the great Indian people with a glorious republican and democratic tradition may be foretold and forewarned in time about the dark conspiracy being hatched by certain Western imperialist powers in connivance with their allies in India to raise despotic rulers like Gyanendra Shah for their own ulterior motives and that this conspiracy may be thwarted jointly by the democratic and progressive forces of Nepal and India.

16." What the international community‚ in general‚ and our most important neighbour India and its friendly people‚ in particular‚ ought to grasp correctly‚ however‚ is that Gyanendra and his despotic gang is consolidating absolute powers by systematically destroying the limited democratic institutions and marginalising the parliamentary forces in the pretext of fighting Maoist communist revolutionaries. Should not the great Indian people who have a strong republican tradition and have abolished even the privy purses of the ex-kings and princes way back in 1969‚ empathise with the neighbourly Nepalese people in their just struggle to abolish the antiquated monarchy and create a democratic republic? We definitely expect an emphatic affirmative answer.

17." It is quite disturbing to note that a section of the Indian ruling classes is oblivious of this grand imperialist designs and is bent upon to appease the little despot by flattering him as “Nepal’s far-sighted monarch” so as to further its own expansionist ambitions as a junior partner to US imperialism. Every layman in Nepal knows that there is nothing ‘far-sighted’ about Gyanendra‚ except for the common eye disease which he may have carried! It is high time that the Indian ruling classes change their old strategic perception over Nepal and stop seeing the medieval monarchy as a factor of ‘peace and stability’ in the geo-strategically sensitive region. In the present era of enlightenment and democracy only the goodwill of the Nepalese people can safeguard genuine security and other interests of India in Nepal‚ and not any despotic monarch. It would be pertinent for the Indian ruling classes to remember that their short-sighted policies of appeasing the anti-people rulers in Nepal has created a strong anti-Indian sentiment among the masses there‚ and the sweeping people’s democratic movement now has created a strong objective basis for reshaping a mutually beneficial Indo-Nepal relations on an entirely new basis."

18. In an article in a party journal on September 4, 2002, Baburam Bhattarai, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPN (Maoist), and Convenor of the United Revolutionary People’s Council of Nepal, said: "The interventionist approach of the sole superpower of the world in a geo-strategically sensitive zone sandwiched between two super states, India and China, naturally heralds the danger of the country getting sucked into the vortex of intermittent conflict.

19."The growing strategic stranglehold of US imperialism in Nepal is basically designed to encircle China in the long term and to oversee India. This way both the giant neighbors are bound to get provoked and Nepal would be in an unenviable position of antagonizing everybody. Though in the shorter term the pro-US monarchist forces may boast of support from all foreign powers, that is just transitory and soon the regime would be isolated from all. Even in India there is growing resentment against the pro-US tilt of the Hindu fundamentalist BJP-led regime, and the recent support gained by the monarchist regime from the expansionist ruling classes of India may not last long. It is in this context that the CPN (Maoist) and URPC have addressed to all foreign powers, particularly our two giant neighbors India and China, not to bolster the feudal autocratic regime and hinder the all round democratization process in the country. The days of seeing the feudal monarchy as the factor of stability and peace are already over and now only a fully democratic and republican Nepal can guarantee sustainable peace and stability in the Himalayan region. Similarly, only by keeping the foreign powers out and letting the Nepalese people decide their own destiny themselves can the current conflict be resolved satisfactorily."

20. One should not, however, read too much significance in the comparatively moderate language used by the CPN (Maoist) as against the strong criticism of India emanating from the CCOMPOSA. The CPN (Maoist) has always believed that the third and final stage of its fight to achieve power in Nepal would have to be against the Indian army since India, in its perception, would not tolerate a Maoist Government in Kathmandu and would try to have it overthrown through military intervention. Hence, in its view, it is necessary to network with the Maoist organisations of India in order to keep the Indian security forces preoccupied in dealing with their activities. There has been no change in this perception of the CPN (Maoist). In its view, the first stage of the struggle was against the Nepalese police which it believes it has already won. The second stage, presently on, is against the Royal Nepal Army, which it is still to win before it could capture power in Kathmandu.

21. The RIM, which is believed to be based in the USA (Berkeley, California ?), was formed in 1984 by some Marxist students from Peru, Nepal, India, the USA and other countries studying in the USA. It now consists of the Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist), the Communist Party of Afghanistan, the Communist Party of Bangla Desh (Marxist-Leninist) [BSD(ML)], the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the Communist Party of Peru, the Communist Party of Turkey Marxist-Leninist [TKP ML], the Marxist-Leninist Communist Organisation of Tunisia, the Maoist Communist Party [Italy], the Marxist-Leninist Communist Organisation of Tunisia, the Proletarian Party of Purba Bangla (BPSP) [Bangladesh], the Revolutionary Communist Group of Colombia, the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, the Communist Party of Iran, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Naxalbari) and the Maoist Communist Centre of India. It publishes from London a bi-annual theoretical journal called "A World To Win ".

(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-Mail: corde@vsnl.com )

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