Report on Key Developments in the Current Political Scenario

(Adopted at the Central Committee Meeting of the Revolutionary Communist Party of India held on September 14-15, 2024)

The Economics and Politics of the Violence in Manipur

Riots are not as simple as they appear from a distance. Observing them carefully can lead one to recognise the forces behind them. A burning example is Manipur. By oversimplification, it is said that the Meiteis, who make up more than 50% of the total population and a majority of whom are Hindus, have been granted the Scheduled Tribe status, which has enraged the already existing ST communities in the state. The enraged people have thereafter been termed “violators of human rights” and the government as “irresponsible”; we do not say that these simplifications are wrong. However, there are further complexities that we should look into.

In August 2022, Godrej Agrovet, an agricultural business, announced that it had signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the governments of Assam, Manipur, and Tripura to advance and promote oil palm cultivation under a central scheme. In May 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Assessment Committee had identified 66,652 hectares across six districts in Manipur as suitable for oil palm cultivation. These districts include Imphal West with 14,516 hectares, Thoubal with 18,475 hectares, Bishnupur with 10,389 hectares, Churachandpur with 11,662 hectares, Chandel with 6,803 hectares, and Ukhrul with 4,808 hectares.

However, according to environmental scholars, palm oil cultivation requires a significant amount of water, which can deplete water resources. Palm is a water-intensive crop, with each plant requiring approximately 300 litres of water daily. The need for around 45,000 litres of water per hectare per day also poses a considerable risk to soil fertility, which renders the cultivation of other crops fruitless. Yet, under capitalism, there is little concern for the environment.

Incidentally, about 90% of Manipur’s land is in the hills, while the remaining 10% is in the valley. Therefore, the government’s palm-cultivation project necessarily targets the hilly areas for oil palm cultivation. In their final report, “Developmental Action Plan for Promoting Oil Palm in the North Eastern Region of India”, submitted to the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MoDoNER), the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi) stated:

“In states like Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, where oil palm is being taken up along the Assam plains, labourers may be engaged from amongst communities traditionally engaged for tea plantations in Assam, as many members of such communities are looking for work on account of reduced opportunities in Assam. In Manipur, the population of hill areas is adequate for the oil palm plantation.”

Having learned about the government’s project, certain youth groups began sensitising the local people about its impact on the environment. Consequently, a conflict was needed to dislocate the people from the hilly areas of Manipur.

On the 27th of March, 2023, the High Court of Manipur ordered the BJP-ruled state government to “consider the case of the petitioners for inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, expeditiously…”, which was questioned by the Supreme Court of India when tribal bodies appealed the High Court’s order. Eventually, the High Court had to withdraw it.

But the damage was already done. The order of the High Court led to protests by the Kuki people, which were attacked by Meitei vigilante groups like Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun. These groups, linked with broader networks like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), played a key role in the violence. The Kukis, a majority of whom are Christians, suffered the most. 

Section 158 of the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1960, talks about a “Special provision regarding Scheduled Tribes”. It says,

“No transfer of land by a person who is a member of the Scheduled Tribes shall be valid unless—
(a) the transfer is to another member of the Scheduled Tribes; or
(b) where the transfer is to a person who is not a member of any such tribe, it is made with the previous permission in writing of the deputy commissioner; or
(c) the transfer is by way of mortgage to a co-operative society.”

Granting the Meiteis ST status would thus give them easy access to land. The violence in the state has forced many tribals to flee the hilly areas. The Modi-led BJP government, with its Hindutva ideology, is using the Meitei community not only to attack the religious and ethnic minorities but also to seize land from the hill people. In Manipur, this purpose is served by its Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, who claims that the Kuki people are illegal immigrants from Myanmar. He also claims that the “conflict is not between communities but between Kuki militants and security forces.”

Even after hundreds of deaths in the state, Modi failed to speak a word on the situation. When a video of a naked woman being marched went viral on social media, he spoke, but again, not a single word on the political scenario. The Prime Minister, who boasts about denying rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, has failed to tackle the situation in Manipur. The Central Government could have implemented President’s Rule in the state, but how could it happen? Both governments, after all, are led by the same party!

Therefore, it is evident that the ongoing violence in Manipur is not only the consequence of the BJP’s Hindutva ideology, which excludes minorities but also its service to the bourgeoisie.

The Meitei community must understand the factors that led to the violence in Manipur. All communities of Manipur must unite and resist the handover of the hills, valleys, rivers, and lakes of their land to the bourgeoisie and work towards a sustainable environment. We must acknowledge the fact that nature and capitalism cannot coexist.

N. Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur, must accept his incapability and step down from his position. Justice for all victims is demanded. All those who have lost their homes must be compensated by the government. No to the confiscation of lands from the tribal people! Let all violators of human rights be punished!

Palestine Must Be Free!

On 7th October 2023, as a direct response to the continuous violent suppression of the Palestinians by Israel, the Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated as Hamas, attacked the Zionist state. Whenever the Palestinian people opposed the occupation of their state by the Zionists, they were brutally repressed by the Israel Defense Forces. Following this, Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the most reactionary government in the history of Israel, declared a “state of war”, resulting in thousands of casualties in both Palestine and Israel. 

While all the imperialist governments were blind to the atrocities of Zionist Israel for several decades, they have now woken up and are talking about Israel’s right to self-defence. Leaders like Biden, Harris, Sunak, Macron, and Starmer are now trying to frame Israel as a victim nation and are directly or indirectly supporting the genocide of the Palestinian people, calling it a war. Israel has been receiving military assistance from the United States since its creation in 1948, which clearly shows how shamelessly the US supports the genocide. We assert that this is not a war but a genocide against the Palestinian people.

However, now that the United States elections are approaching, Kamala Harris, the presidential candidate of the Democrats, has started changing her tone. As she shared with the world what she had told the Israeli Prime Minister in their recent meeting:

“I told him that I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from Iran and Iran-backed militias, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. From when I was a young girl collecting funds to plant trees for Israel to my time in the United States Senate and now at the White House, I’ve had an unwavering commitment to the existence of the state of Israel, to its security, and to the people of Israel.”

She also mentioned that she had expressed her concerns about the deaths in Palestine:

“I … expressed with the prime minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians. … The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety — sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time — we cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent.”

Such is the hypocrisy of our bourgeois leaders! This hypocrisy is clearly aimed at creating a vote bank of Arabs in the US. The world must recognise that Kamala Harris is not a friend of the Palestinians. 

India, on the other hand, has a very vague stance on this issue. On 10th October, Modi tweeted, “People of India stand firmly with Israel in this difficult hour.” Although India speaks about a free Palestine, it does not condemn Israel for its brutalities against the Palestinians. How could Modi condemn Netanyahu? Both of them share some remarkable traits! In fact, when people in India unite in protest against the genocide in Palestine, they are met with violence and arrests by the Indian state forces.

But what solution do we, as communists, have for this problem? Lenin, as early as 1920, understood the Zionist project. In his words,

“The Zionists’ Palestine affair can be characterised as a gross example of the deception of the working classes of that oppressed nation by Entente imperialism and the bourgeoisie of the country in question pooling their efforts (in the same way that Zionism in general actually delivers the Arab working population of Palestine, where Jewish workers only form a minority, to exploitation by England, under the cloak of the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine).” (Theses on the National and Colonial Questions)

He understood well that the western imperialists’ support for a Jewish state was just to dilute the unity of the Jewish and Arab workers in Palestine. However, although Lenin opposed the reactionary ideology of Zionism, things changed under the leadership of Stalin. While Lenin was against the Zionist project of a Jewish state, Stalin’s bureaucracy supported it, and the USSR, eventually, became the first country to grant recognition to Israel.

We must grasp the underlying class politics in this genocide. We must recognise that Western imperialism has always sought to victimise the Arab population throughout the world. To comprehend Islamophobia, we must acknowledge its roots in imperialism. Let us recall the last words of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old serviceman of the United States Air Force, who set himself on fire on February 25, 2024:

“I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force. And I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonisers—it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”

Bushnell, an anarchist, recognised that such a situation was created by the “ruling class”, in other words, the bourgeoisie.

Carrying the legacy of Leninism, we firmly stand with the people of Palestine and advocate their right to self-determination. We strongly believe that only a socialist revolution in both Israel and Palestine can end the Zionist regime, as no borders should divide them. The Palestinian people must recognise that it is the Zionists, not the entire Jewish population, who pose a threat to peace in Palestine. Likewise, the Jewish population must understand that Zionists are not advocates of Jewish rights but tools of imperialism. We sympathise with both the Arab and Jewish populations, many of whom have lost their lives in the attacks and counter-attacks in the region. We urge the Arab and Jewish workers of Palestine and Israel to unite and dismantle the Zionist project.

In view of our stand, we raise the following slogans:

• No to the war on Palestine!

• Jewish and Arab workers of Israel and Palestine, unite!

• Release all political prisoners!

• Transport workers of all countries, unite and stop shipping military goods to Israel!

• No more military relations between India and Israel!

• Intifada until victory!

End the Russia-Ukraine War!

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022, represents one of the greatest geopolitical crises of the 21st century, rooted in imperialism. To comprehend this conflict, we must delve into the political and historical dynamics of the nations involved.

Instead of calling it the Russia-Ukraine War, we should refer to it as “Russia’s war on Ukraine”. Having said that, we invite criticism from the so-called progressives in our society. Many who label themselves as progressive have failed to understand the root causes of this war. Let us briefly analyse the conflict.

We must recognise Russia as an imperialist force, while also acknowledging US imperialism. However, in this context, Russia cannot be justified in any way. Many leftists and anti-US liberals claim that the war is a consequence of NATO relations, but this is not entirely true. The war is rooted in Russian imperialism. Although Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, its imperialist agenda has existed for decades. From its occupation of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Chechnya to that of Crimea, the Russian Federation’s imperialist character is evident. The case of Crimea is ten years old. In February 2014, Russia invaded Crimea and overthrew the democratically elected government. However, less than 50% of the Crimean population, with a majority being Russian, wanted to join Russia.

In 1994, Russia had agreed to “respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.” However, in 2011, Putin reportedly told Bill Clinton, “I don’t agree with this deal. And I don’t support it. And I am not bound by it,” to which Clinton replied, “I knew from that day that it was just a matter of time.”

These instances indicate that Ukraine, not Russia, is the actual victim. Socialists must unite and stand in solidarity with Ukraine in its defence against Russian imperialism.

On February 25, 2022, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) stated,

“The efforts to get Ukraine to join NATO would pose a direct threat to Russia’s security. Russia is also concerned about its security due to the threat posed by the presence of NATO forces and missiles at its borders in Eastern Europe. Hence the Russian demand for security guarantees, including Ukraine not joining NATO, is legitimate.”

As we can see, they are more concerned about the security of Russia—a country that started the war—than about Ukraine’s resistance against such an imperialist force.

This war must be opposed by the entire working-class movement. We urge the working class in Russia to take to the streets against Russian imperialism. They must organise strikes against their government and stop the transport of weapons to Ukraine, which are intended to shed the blood of the Ukrainian working people. At this crucial point, they must adopt a revolutionary defeatist position and start a class war against the Putin-led government. They must also give a befitting response to the government and its armed forces for the repression of anti-war movements within their own country. We cannot justify any form of imperialism. Russia’s weakness as an imperialist power compared to Western imperialism does not make it a lesser evil.

Now, let us discuss NATO’s involvement in the war. Russian imperialism has consistently tried to justify the war by claiming that NATO’s expansion poses a threat to Russia’s existence, a notion echoed in the CPI(M)’s statement as well. However, this war has nothing to do with Russia’s security but rather its imperialist ambitions. While we acknowledge that Ukraine and NATO have strong relations, this should not overshadow the national and democratic rights of the Ukrainian people. Moreover, although the United States had been supporting Ukraine diplomatically, military aid from the former to the latter only began after 2014.

On one hand, we have Russia’s unjust and criminal invasion of Ukraine, and on the other, Ukraine’s right to self-determination. We firmly stand for the latter—the Ukrainians’ right to self-determination—which can be defended neither by Russia, NATO, nor the United States. While we do not support Ukraine’s membership in NATO, we extend critical support to the country in its resistance against an imperialist power. Furthermore, Ukrainians’ support for NATO membership has only increased since 2014, indicating that it is not Ukraine’s ties with NATO that caused the war, but rather the reverse—Russian imperialism is driving Ukraine towards NATO. Certainly, NATO would not miss this opportunity to expand, and the United States sees itself as the ‘saviour’ of the Ukrainian people.

We oppose not only NATO but also the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and any form of military blocs. These organisations, along with all their nuclear bases, must be dismantled! Furthermore, we make it clear that while we do not support Zelensky’s government in terms of political ideology, we stand with the people of Ukraine during these difficult times.

At this crucial moment, we demand:

• The right to self-determination of the Ukrainians!

• International solidarity with the people of Ukraine!

• Restrictions in transport of weapons to Russia!

• Withdrawal of all foreign military forces from Ukraine!

Power to the Students, Youth, and Workers of Bangladesh!

The students and youth of Bangladesh have shown us what can happen when oppressed people unite. Recently, they united and compelled Sheikh Hasina, who had ruled over Bangladesh for more than a decade, to resign and flee the country. We congratulate the people of Bangladesh!

The movement in Bangladesh erupted from protests against the government that wanted to introduce a quota system for employment to reward the loyal politicians of the ruling Awami League and their descendants. Realising the oppressive nature of this quota system, the students and youth of Bangladesh united against the Hasina regime, which finally led to her resignation. However, the military took power immediately, and Muhammad Yunus, a liberal economist, was appointed the Chief Adviser of the interim government, consisting of bureaucrats, military officers, academicians, student leaders, and the like, but without a single representative of the working class.

Although we acknowledge the victory of the united people of Bangladesh, who overthrew the Hasina government, we observe that Yunus cannot be relied upon. The victory of the Bangladeshi people, achieved at the cost of hundreds of lives, should not culminate in the continued rule of the bourgeoisie. The movement against the Hasina government, nevertheless, was organised against autocracy. It did not have any concrete political ideology. The people united against the policy of the government, followed by atrocities committed by the police and paramilitary forces of the state. These state-sponsored atrocities fuelled the uprisings, which resulted in the fleeing of Sheikh Hasina.

We reiterate that Yunus cannot be relied upon. He is a staunch advocate of neoliberal policies, which pleases his imperialist friends from the West. The people of Bangladesh might have trusted him because of his Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to him for his service to Western imperialism, and sympathised with him because of his distress caused by the Hasina government.

Even this government knows what the people of the country are capable of. This is why it has recruited a couple of leaders of the student movement so that the student community can be satisfied and indirectly silenced. The students of Bangladesh must understand that the interim government is incapable of solving the problems of the masses. They must realise the nature of the government, i.e. that the main purpose of this government is to serve the interests of the capitalist class.

We are hopeful that the student community will rethink the interim government and pressurise it to make reforms in the country, including conducting fair elections, funding education, etc. However, reform is not the solution. A more revolutionary platform must be built under the leadership of the working class, with a Marxist programme, to overthrow the capitalist regime and establish socialism. We hope the working people in Bangladesh will soon realise that the Yunus government is incapable of ensuring higher wages and job security. The students and youth must reunite, and the working class must come forward to take leadership of the movement and ensure the beginning of a socialist revolution in Bangladesh.

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