1. US imperialism, the number one global enemy of the world people, has unleashed a vicious military-political onslaught on the entire world, the third world in particular, in the name of the so-called global war on terror. The economic offensive of imperialism
has also intensified under the banner of globalisation. Imperialist ideologues seek to legitimise war and racism by demonising Islam and invoking the dubious concept of clash of civilisations. We reject this demonisation of Islam and this racist theory of clash of civilisations and instead focus on the underlying reality of sharpening contradiction between imperialism and the third world and between capital and labour all over the world, including the advanced capitalist countries. We stand for strengthening the international communist movement as the leading current within the worldwide anti-war anti-globalisation awakening. To this end we will have to step up our own anti-imperialist role and develop ties of solidarity and cooperation with all positive forces in the internaional Left and anti-imperialist movement with special emphasis on the South Asian Left and on progressive sections in the Indian diaspora.
2. The fascist offensive in India is growing in tandem with a growing imperialist intervention in various aspects of our naional life. This combined fascist-imperialist offensive has to be beaten back by intensifying patriotic democratic resistance on the basis of a powerful mobilisation of the working class and the rural poor. In contrast to the liberal-opportunist concept of building a Congress-led pan-opposition unity, we must emphasise the task of strengthening the initiative and intervention of Left and democratic forces on the basis of a broad-based movement-oriented unity of the Left. We recognise the growing urge for and possibility of joint action with a whole range of Left and democratic forces. Not all these forces however operate on the same political plane and hence it is not possible to unite with all these forces on a single common platform. United front practice should therefore be grasped and pursued on a multi-layered basis. While pursuing the goal of a broad-based Left confederation on the basis of a common minimum programme we should also remain open to possibilities of issue-based joint action with a wider range of Left and democratic forces as well as certain sections of the non-Congress non-BJP opposition, especially at the national level.
3. We must reemphasise the primacy of agrarian struggles and extensive mobilisation of the rural poor on basic issues of radical agrarian reforms and democracy. Without a massive expansion of basic work and struggles, there can be no major improvement in our electoral performance or in terms of effective political intervention by other means. To develop agrarian struggles to new heights, we have to intensify mass resistance to feudal-kulak violence. We have resolved to organise agricultural labouers in an all-India organisation on a strong membership foundation. We must also intensify our efforts to organise the middle peasantry and small farmers in our peasant associations and organise periodic national campaigns under the banner of the Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sangharsh Samiti. In carrying out development work as part of MP/MLA local area development schemes or under panchayati raj institutions, we must see to it that such work is subordinated to the perspective of strengthening the broader revolutionary political mobilisation of the masses. Popular perception about development work is that it breeds corruption and promotes an unhealthy bureaucrat-politician-contractor-criminal nexus. We must maintain strict vigilance against such trends and firmly uphold the policy of transparency and public accountability.
4. Most of our mass organisations are still functioning on a narrow base and there is little emphasis on developing area-based mass work. In the absence of properly functioning bodies of mass organisations, there is a lopsided dependence on Party committees for fulfilment of tasks assigned from above. Party committees must seriously take up the task of building effective mass organisations and guiding them in a way that mass organisations can organise and lead the masses in ever larger numbers. Mass organisations must evolve their own language, slogans and style and not replicate Party programmes and slogans. Emphasis must be laid on integrating with the masses, studying their conditions, formulating their demands and building sustained agitations. Periodic campaigns called from above will not yield any result in terms of expanding our mass influence and raising the level of mass consciousness unless such campaigns are backed by painstaking daily work, numerous local agitations and small victories that inspire confidence in the masses.
5. We must make all-out efforts to make the Party bigger, stronger and more revolutionary. A growing, organised and conscious membership and a consolidated contingent of dedicated, energetic and efficient cadres are the two most essential requirements for building a powerful and revolutionary communist party. To ensure a rapid and sustained increase in the Party’s membership base, we need a strong network of functional Party branches. While expanding Party membership we must also accelerate the Party’s rate of growth in weak states and recruit more women members. Special attention must also be paid to the task of recruiting more members from students, youths and the working class. To develop new batches of party cadres we must ensure systematic Party education, close supervision, sympathetic guidance and effective delegation of suitable responsibilities. The Party has strengthened its propaganda network by launching magazines in different languages including several weekly organs and newsbulletins. All attention must now be paid to improving their quality and increasing their circulation. q