Saturday 22 September 2018

On the 44th death anniversary of Comrade S.N. Tagore

          On this 44th death anniversary of Comrade Saumyendranath Tagore, the founder of the Revolutionary Communist Party of India (RCPI), the party remembers the great Marxist revolutionary and theorist. Comrade Tagore stood as a challenge to world capitalism throughout his life as a world revolutionary. He was one of the boldest communist revolutionaries, who stood in opposition to Stalin and his chorus boys throughout the world. Saumyendranath was a critic of M.N. Roy. M.N. Roy did “not believe in the dogma of proletarian leadership of the anti-imperialist struggle” and thought that it was “sheer nonsense, at best revolutionary romanticism”. On the contrary, Comrade Saumyendranath disagreed with the idea of collaboration of the communists with the Indian bourgeoisie against the British imperialists. He wanted a Socialist Revolution in India under the leadership of the proletariat, which is the truly revolutionary class, rejecting the treacherous idea of tailism.

          Comrade Tagore advocated the theory of the Permanent Revolution against Stalin's idea of “Socialism in one country” and the idea of a “Two Stage Revolution”. According to him, “the theory of Permanent Revolution has two aspects, one relating to the revolution of a particular country, the immediate passing over from the bourgeois democratic phase of the revolution to the socialist revolution,” for which the leadership must be in the hands of the proletariat. He rejected the idea of “a special kind of alliance” with the bourgeoisie and considered it to be not only not necessary, but also positively harmful to the revolutionary cause, in the Imperialist epoch. In his words, “the second aspect” of the Permanent Revolution “is related to the international tasks of the revolution ... which makes it imperative for the first victorious revolution to operate as the yeast of revolution in the world arena. ... Trotsky became the target of Stalin's vengeance only so far as he drew the attention of the communists throughout the world to the betrayal of world revolution (Permanent Revolution) by Stalin.”

          He argued that the theory of Permanent Revolution is pure Marxism and Leninism. He points out that the term “Permanent Revolution” was coined by Marx and Engels back in 1850 in their Address of the Central Committee to the Communist League. According to Tagore, “Lenin was just as much a champion of the Permanent Revolution as Trotsky was, and with a much more sure grasp of revolutionary reality. But Trotsky certainly had done a great service to revolutionary communism by drawing out attention over and over again to the theory of Permanent Revolution since Lenin died in 1924, and the sinister anti-revolutionary reign of Stalin started. In the face of the next diabolical machineries of vilification and terror of Stalinocracy, he kept the banner of revolutionary communism flying in the best traditions of Marx and Lenin. Therein lies Trotsky's invaluable service in the theory of Permanent Revolution. So far as the Theory itself is concerned, it is pure and simple revolutionary Marxism.”

          Saumyendranath Tagore was a danger to the British Imperialists, the Indian bourgeoisie and the falsifiers of Marxism. He was a danger even to the Nazis, who had imprisoned him for his alleged attempt to assassinate Hitler.

          In the “Who's Who” prepared by Sir David Petrie which was appended to the main report on the Communist movement in the twenties of the 20th century, Saumyendranath Tagore was described as follows:
“Tagore, Saumyendra Nath, of Calcutta. Is said to have taken a vow of celibacy and asceticism until the freedom of India is achieved. A youth of avowed Communist sympathies, who had closely identified himself with the Labour movement in Calcutta and its environs; also associated with many dangerous revolutionaries and is said to be a party to their plans. Associated with George Allison alias Donald Campbell prior to the latter's arrest. Elected Chairman of the Reception Committee of the All Bengal Communist Conference held in Calcutta in February 1927 under the name of the Bengal Peasants’ and Workers’ Party. Proceeded abroad in May 1927 on a definite mission to the Comintern to obtain funds for Communist work in India and to make a practical study of the working of the Communist Party abroad and to enlighten them as to conditions in India. A zealous and dangerous Communist and revolutionary.”

          Saumyendranath Tagore considered that the policy of the People's Front adopted in the Communist International in 1935 in order to fight Fascism was a policy of betrayal. He realised that whenever and wherever the proletariat had entered into a coalition with the bourgeoisie, they found themselves politically disarmed and emasculated. Therefore, he opposed the idea of inclusion of the bourgeoisie in the anti-Fascist struggles in Europe as well as in the anti-imperialist struggle in India. He warned the  proletariat against such a treacherous United Front in India in the following words: “The 'leftist' pipers of the Indian bourgeoisie have piped the proletariat far away from their own trench towards the Congress trench—the trench of the enemy of the proletariat. Let the proletariat be aware.”

          May the working class get inspirations from the Revolutionary Marxist teachings of this “Dangerous Communist” to fight every injustice, exploitation and oppression.

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