An article by Mitrilu Cherukuri Satyanarayana appeared in Andhra Jyothi on the occasion of the 99th birthday of the CPI. Summary “The communists in India have failed in the armed struggle. “How much is the truth in this? This is the right time to examine it.
With the enthusiasm given by the October Revolution, the CPI was formed in India on December 26, 1925, as in many other countries in the world. Party leaders served long prison sentences in many “conspiracy cases” filed by British imperialism. It formed public organizations and fought on the issues of workers, farmers, intellectuals, artists and students. It achieved many rights. It achieved victories. I will not go into the details of them.
The CPI started the armed struggle in the Hyderabad state in September 1947. That was not a call for a socialist revolution. After India gained independence, the Nizam declared the Hyderabad State an independent state, and there was a struggle to merge it with the Indian unions, abolish serfdom, and abolish the feudal system.
Lakhs of people participated in the armed struggle. 4500 people died. Mainly as a result of the armed struggle, the Union armies captured Hyderabad under the name of “Police Action”. The Nizam announced that it was merging with the Indian unions. The CPI waged an armed struggle in the Travancore Cochin princely state. The princely state was abolished. It was merged with the Indian Union.
It was not right to continue the Telangana armed struggle after September 1948. The objective of the armed struggle was achieved. It was not right to overestimate its successes and expand it to other areas. Land centralization was achieved through the armed struggle. But the poor people did not get fair land. Justice was done to the tenant farmers. With the Union armies giving nominal punishments to the Razakars and hunting down the communists, the struggle could not be stopped immediately.
In addition to trying to come to power through parliamentary democracy, conducting mass movements through legal methods and making the voice of the people heard were equally important.
The CPI achieved many successes within the limitations of parliamentary democracy. It became the main opposition in the first Parliament. The voice of the people was heard effectively.
It came to power in Kerala for the first time in the world through a ballot. After that, the party suffered a split. However, the communists came to power in the states of West Bengal and Tripura. In a country with a population of 140 crores, it shared power through the United Front and took charge of the Home and Agriculture ministries.
Both communist parties played a major role in the abolition of royal regalia and the nationalization of banks and coal mines. They stood at the forefront in protecting the public sector. During the UPA-1 regime, as part of the Common Minimum Programme, it achieved the Food Security Act, the Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Right to Information Act, the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, and the Forest Rights Act. It brought the government to bear in continuing the non-aligned foreign policy. It fought for the rights of workers, the rights of students and youth. It achieved linguistic states.
It fought for the unity of the secular and democratic left parties to defeat the fascist-style regime. These are just a few.
Are all these failures? Think for yourself. It is not that we as communists did not make mistakes. Some mistakes were made. Historical mistakes were made. We are still unable to achieve the unity of the communist movement. There may be some more mistakes. Tell us. Let us think. The new generation should revise these and move forward.
Many more struggles and movements should have been organized. More militant struggles should have been waged. We humbly accept these. These are all my personal opinions. We will march forward with the red flag in our struggles.
Today, we will regroup to fight together with all the forces that come together to protect the Constitution and protect the people from the puppet government in the hands of the RSS and corporates, which is terrorizing the people of the country and making anti-working class and anti-development laws. Is there another ideology and political forces in the country that can handle these responsibilities? Let's discuss. No pessimism. Let's march forward with confidence towards bright goals.
Communist ideology is immortal.
