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POLITICAL
RESOLUTION ADOPTED
AT THE 18TH CONGRESS OF THE CPI(M) (Held
at New Delhi between April 6 and 11, 2005) INTERNATIONAL
1.1
The world
has witnessed a sharp escalation in the aggressive moves by US imperialism. On
the pretext of a global war on terrorism, the US unleashed a major war of
aggression on Iraq, part of its plan to reorder West Asia to suit its global
hegemonic plans. 1.2
The
political resolution of the 17th Congress had correctly warned that
utilizing the September 11, 2001 attacks, the US would seek to expand the
imperialist offensive. The occupation of Iraq followed the attack on
Afghanistan. The US is targeting the two other countries in Bush’s ‘axis of
evil’ – North Korea and Iran. Syria has also been threatened. The sanctions
and blockade of Cuba have been tightened; the progressive government of
President Chavez in Venezuela has repeatedly been sought to be destabilized. 1.3
Characteristic of this phase of US imperialism is its brazen readiness to
use military force, violating the UN charter, international law and
national sovereignty. The US has set out a doctrine of pre-emptive war. Under
its direction, the eastern expansion of NATO has taken place. NATO has adopted
the new strategic doctrine of intervention outside Europe. 1.4
During this
period, the world has seen imperialist war and aggression, the unilateral
flouting of international laws and trampling of national sovereignty. This has
made the world more unsafe, spawned rather than suppressed terroristic violence
and has encouraged a host of sectarian ideologies. Significance
of Iraq
1.5
The war and
occupation of Iraq has dramatically exposed the predatory nature of US
imperialism which has no compunctions in trampling upon national sovereignty and
in resorting to brute force to garner a vantage position to consolidate its
hegemony. The British government played the shameful role of aiding and abetting
this aggression. The occupation has exposed the true nature of the US war on
terrorism. Iraq had no al-Qaeda, nor any weapons of mass destruction. What it
has is the world’s second largest oil reserves and a regime that was not
willing to bow to US diktat. 1.6
The
decade-long sanctions inflicted a terrible toll on the Iraqi people. The
invasion and occupation regime has led to deaths of over 100,000 Iraqis, mostly
civilians. Thousands of children have been killed, and an equal number maimed
and permanently disabled. The brutal torture of prisoners by the American troops
was starkly exposed in pictures of Abu Ghraib prison. Violence against women is
spiralling and the secular nature of Iraqi society is being seriously
undermined. The elections to the national assembly held under US occupation on
January 30, 2005 have little legitimacy as it is clear that all policies will be
dictated by the US. 1.7
Iraq
highlights the central position of West Asia in the US global strategy. The
control of the oil resources of West Asia and Central Asia is a key factor for
the US to maintain the imperialist system and its own hegemony of the
imperialist bloc. Iraq has therefore become the centre-point in the struggle
against imperialist hegemony. Imperialism
under US Hegemony
1.8
American
leadership and dominance of the imperialist system was established after the
Second World War in 1945. That remains intact despite some vicissitudes in the
past when the decline of US economic power led to challenges from the other two
centers, Europe and Japan. The US with its vastly superior military power is
playing the role of hegemon and arbiter in the imperialist bloc. The US alone
spends nearly fifty per cent of the total global military expenditure. It has in
the nineties and after September 11 extended its military reach and established
military bases and presence in new areas like Central Asia and former Soviet
republics. It promotes the militarisation of Japan which prompted the Koizumi
government to send troops to Iraq and embark on production of new weapons. 1.9
The United States shares with the advanced capitalist countries of
Western Europe and Japan, the common interest of backing global finance
capital and the transnational corporations. Being the strongest power, it acts
as the hegemon of the imperialist system. 1.10
But while
doing so, the US makes sure its national interests are served and its
pre-eminent position protected. The US seeks to hegemonise the resources of the
world. The control of oil resources is not confined to the middle-east. It
extends to the Caspian Sea basin and the policing of the oil-pipelines being
laid from the Caucasus and Central Asia. The absence of the Soviet Union and the
ascendancy of the neo-conservative right wing circles in the US have led to the
open advocacy of the imperialist role for America and the efforts to impose an
imperial order by use of force, economic coercion, blockades and illegal
threats. 1.11
The US has
in this period adopted a new strategic doctrine which spells out how it will
seek to retain world domination. For the first time, the strategy declares that
the US will not allow any other foreign power to catch up with the huge lead the
US has established since the fall of the Soviet Union. Further, the strategy
calls for use of force to desist potential adversaries from surpassing or
equalling the United States in military strength. It advocates preemptive
military strikes against countries or terrorist groups who supposedly threaten
America’s security interests. 1.12
The US
withdrew from the anti-ballistic missile treaty of 1972 in order to build new
weapons and missile systems such as the National Missile Defence. It refused to
ratify the biological weapons convention. While reserving the right to produce
new weapons and expanding the use of nuclear weapons, the US embarked on a
counter-proliferation campaign targeting countries such as Iran, North Korea and
Brazil to prevent them from developing nuclear technology. In contrast, Israel,
under the special protection of the US, is allowed to keep nuclear weapons. 1.13
The role of
the United Nations has been increasingly subverted. The United States has
brazenly disregarded the UN Charter. The United Nations has to be restructured
to prevent unilateral dictates, without which no rule-based and democratic
international system is possible. Democratization of the UN system assumes
importance as a check to imperialist hegemony. 1.14
With the
re-election of President Bush, the aggressive reactionary sections of the US
ruling classes will continue to espouse the doctrine of a neo-liberal
imperialism which intervenes globally to establish ‘democracy’ and free
markets and goes about this business with a big stick in hand. 1.15
Fighting this dangerous face of US imperialism, opposition to war
and the imperialist sponsored suppression of movements for national liberation,
defence of national sovereignty and opposition to economic coercion and
blockades are the key tasks of this period. Contradictions
of the Capitalist System
1.16
The
current aggressiveness of imperialism is fuelled by the crisis in the world
capitalist system and by the contradictions of world capitalism today.
Programmes of liberalization and structural adjustment are a response to the
present crisis of capitalism. At the same time, the drive to impose programmes
of liberalization and privatisation indiscriminately on the people of the world
has aggravated the crisis of capitalism just as the offensive of international
finance has increased the instability of the world capitalist system. 1.17
The 17th Congress was held at a time when the global economy
was in a recession. This specific period, which began in 200l, ended by
mid-2003. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the annual rate of
growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world rose to 3.9 per cent in 2003
and was estimated at 5.0 per cent in 2004. This recovery, however, was far from
uniform, and the average figures for the world conceal great unevenness and
variation in the economic growth experienced by different countries and regions.
1.18
On
the one side, the annual rate of growth in the United States rose to 3 per cent
in 2003 and has been estimated at 4.3 per cent in 2004. The main reason for the
change from recession to growth in the United States was the increase in
military expenditure, which increased more than 40 per cent in 2003 alone.
Another reason for income growth at the international level was robust growth in
China and growth in some Asian countries. By contrast, increase in national
income was limited or even non-existent in many advanced capitalist countries,
and economic growth bypassed many less-developed countries entirely. In the euro
currency region, the annual rate of growth of GDP was 0.8 per cent in 2002 and
0.5 per cent in 2003, and an optimistic estimate of growth in 2004 is 2.2 per
cent. Japan has faced recession for a decade, and the annual rate of change of
its GDP was actually negative, - 0.3 per cent, in 2002. Although this figure
rose to 2.5 per cent in 2003, by the end of 2004, analysts predicted that
Japan’s economy was slowing down again. 1.19
Recent
economic growth in the United States has been driven by military expenditure.
This military expenditure was financed by public borrowing, which led to a
decline in the fiscal surplus and the creation of a fiscal deficit. In 2000, the
US had a fiscal surplus of 2.0 per cent of the GDP; this was converted into a
fiscal deficit of 3.3 per cent in 2003 and 4 per cent in 2004. As a result of
the fiscal deficit, there was a sharp increase in imports, which, in turn,
widened the balance of payments deficit. This phenomenon of ‘twin deficits’
- fiscal and balance of payments – in the US is the underlying cause of the
recent decline in the value of the dollar and of fears of a collapse. The
‘twin deficits’ illustrate the unsustainable nature of the recent capitalist
boom. 1.20
The US has
been able to finance this deficit because of its position as the leading
imperialist power, which makes the dollar the world’s reserve currency, and
the currency in which the world’s financial wealth is mainly held. The status
of the dollar helps attract capital flows into financial assets that are
denominated in dollars and in the US. This perception by international capital
of the United States being a safe haven is, clearly, not determined by the
economic strength of the US but by its military might, which strengthens the
conviction that it has the brute power to rearrange world economic relations to
sustain its economic growth. The advanced capitalist countries realise that a
decline in the value of the dollar is inevitable; nevertheless, they do not want
a sudden crash in its value. In other words, efforts to ensure a soft landing
rather than a crash are under way. 1.21
The current
recovery in the world capitalist economy, such as it is, has been characterised
not just by jobless growth, but by ‘job-loss’ growth, thus showing that
capitalism is unable to transfer any of the benefits of growth to the working
people. In the US the unemployment rate rose from 4.0 percent in 2000 to 6.0 per
cent in 2003. In the advanced capitalist countries as a whole the corresponding
figures were 5.8 per cent and 6.6 percent. 1.22
The fierce
onslaught of modern finance-driven capitalism against the working class and its
hard-earned gains continues to characterise the advanced capitalist countries.
In the countries of the European Union, and in Russia and Eastern Europe, where
capitalism has been restored, the public sector is being privatised, the
remuneration of workers reduced, and social security cut back. 1.23
Increasing
unemployment, tax cuts for the rich and massive reductions in welfare measures
for the poor are among the pernicious features of contemporary capitalism. 1.24
The global
power of finance capital and its mobility tends to mute inter-imperialist
contradictions. But this does not prevent conflicts occurring as during the Iraq
war between the US and France and Germany. Cooperation and conflict now coexist
in inter-imperialist relations. The European Union has been expanded and now has
25 countries. The expanded European Union with the new draft Constitution is
constructed in a manner to serve the interests of big business and finance
capital. Such a set up contains the basis for cooperation with the US while
conflicts remain. The Communists endeavour to shift Europe away from the grip of
transnational capital and the Atlanticist alliance as against the social
democratic stance of integration with transnational capital. 1.25
The seamy
side of US-style predatory capitalism has repeatedly been exposed. The exposure
of fraud led to the collapse of the Enron Corporation; subsequently, a series of
big corporations were found to be cheating the public and cooking their books.
Thousands of employees lost their jobs when such companies closed down or had to
be merged with others. 1.26
The Bush
administration’s close links with the oil and arms industry shapes its
anti-environmental outlook. It is not surprising that the U.S., which promotes
wasteful and environmentally harmful policies to fuel the super profits of big
business, has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol. The drive for profit and the
consumerist nature of contemporary capitalism cause and intensify the now
serious problems of depletion of the ozone layer, climate change and loss of
bio-diversity. 1.27
The
morals-free pursuit of wealth is closely linked to the burgeoning of corruption
and crime. The degeneration of human values can be seen in the pornography
industry, now worth billions of dollars, and in the enormous growth in
trafficking in women and children. The drug and narcotics trade generates funds
that are ploughed back into pernicious business activities. Assault
on Developing Countries
1.28
Finance
capital dominates current-day capitalism. Its expansion drives the imperialist
assault on the economies of less-developed countries. Its current offensive
involves not just opening the markets of less-developed countries to commodities
and foreign direct investment from the advanced capitalist countries, but also
opening up the financial sector to permit free play of speculative finance in
stock and capital markets in the search for superprofits. The inflow of such
capital imposes a sharp decline in public expenditure in the recipient
countries. 1.29
Finance
capital is against deficit-financed state spending for a variety of reasons. The
strategies pursued by dominant classes in the Third World countries have
increased their dependence on global finance capital. In order to appease global
finance, Third World governments have had to open their economies and cut back
on state expenditures, especially expenditures on capital formation and welfare,
in order to curtail deficits. Such policies have had the effect also of reducing
national income-growth in the less-developed countries. In addition to these
stresses and strains, the steep rise in oil prices from mid-2004, fuelled mainly
by speculation, has hit the oil-importing developing countries very hard. 1.30
Evidence of
the harmful results of such policies is overwhelming. Large parts of the
developing world are characterized by persistence of poverty, hunger, disease
and illiteracy. Of the 4.9 billion people in developing countries in 2000,
around 1.1 billion lived on less than a dollar a day, more than 950 million were
illiterate, 1.2 billion lacked access to an improved water source and 2.7
billion lacked access to basic sanitation. Nearly 104 million children of
primary-school-going age were out of school. The gap between the richest strata
in the developed world and the developing countries widened rapidly. In 2001,
the wealth of 497 billionaires was greater than the combined incomes of the
poorest half of humanity. The GDP of the poorest 48 nations (i.e. a quarter of
all nation-states) is less than the wealth of the world’s three richest people
combined. The contradiction between imperialism and the developing countries has
further intensified.
Resistance 1.31
The picture
of the imperialist offensive will not be complete without underlining the
intensifying resistance to it. US imperialism has the power to intervene
militarily and politically around the globe, but contrary to its expectations,
it is unable to achieve a smooth conclusion and consolidation. The centre-piece
of the current resistance to the imperialist offensive is the struggle against
the US occupation of Iraq. In the last twenty-one months, the popular resistance
has grown in intensity and scope. It has succeeded in upsetting the US plan to
plant a pliant regime in Iraq which is the first step towards
‘democratising’ West Asia. Contrary to the US blueprint, holding elections
to the national assembly has not led to any let up in the resistance. The new
regime itself is under pressure to demand an end to US occupation. The US plan
to plant a pliant regime as a first step towards ‘democratising’ West Asia
is being challenged by the forces of resistance. 1.32
The other
important centre of resistance is the Palestinian movement for independence and
statehood. During the past three years, the US backed Israel in its military
attacks in the occupied territories, subverting the peace accord and in its
efforts to sideline Yasser Arafat. The Israelis committed heinous crimes through
continuous military attacks and by building a security wall across the West
Bank, an act declared illegal by the World Court. Despite the connivance of the
client Arab rulers with the US, the Palestinian struggle has gone on. The death
of Yasser Arafat will not weaken the resolve of the Palestinian people. 1.33
The
struggles in Latin America against imperialist globalisation, the unequal
agreements like the Free Trade Area of Americas, enforced by the US, the
imposition of neo-liberal reforms and attacks on national sovereignty form an
important part of the world-wide resistance. Important struggles against
privatization of electricity, water and natural resources took place in Bolivia,
Peru, Colombia and of the landless people in Brazil. The defeat of every attempt
by the US-backed opposition forces to topple President Chavez in Venezuela is an
important landmark. Venezuela under the progressive leadership of Chavez is
taking steps to break up the power of the oligarchy, undertake land reforms and
provide health, education, food and housing for the poor. The election of Lula
as President in Brazil on a left platform and the election of a leftwing
candidate in Uruguay for the first time reflects the political impact of these
movements. 1.34
Working
class struggles against the attacks on jobs, social security and livelihood are
taking place in all the major capitalist countries. The trade union movement and
the working class resistance constitutes the core of the movement against
imperialist-driven globalisation. 1.35
The mass
mobilizations against imperialist globalisation which began in Seattle in 1999
during the WTO meet, became a regular feature subsequently when meetings of the
Fund-Bank or G-8 took place. With the threat of war looming on Iraq, this
movement became an anti-war movement. Millions of people joined the anti-war
protests of 2002–03 with unprecedented mobilization being seen on February 15,
2003 in major cities around the world. The World Social Forum and the regional
forums became broad platforms for bringing together the anti-globalisation and
anti-war forces. 1.36
In the WTO
arena, the advanced capitalist countries sought to impose onerous conditions in
the Doha round of negotiations. The fight against such imposition met with some
success when China, India, Brazil and South Africa decided to coordinate their
stand and were joined by other countries, making the group of 21 during the
Cancun summit. Faced with this setback, the rich countries sought to regain
ground through the recent Framework Agreement arrived at in Geneva. Socialist
Countries
1.37
China’s
rapid economic growth and all-round progress has led to its emergence as a major
power in the international arena. China has been registering over 9 per cent GDP
growth annually in the last decade, making it the fastest growing economy in the
world. The Chinese government and the Communist Party are engaged in tackling
the problems of unemployment, regional disparities and the rise of corruption
which are a product of China’s rapid growth and engagement with the global
capitalist system. Vietnam has maintained steady progress after adopting
measures to reform the economy and its management. Vietnam achieved 8 per cent
annual GDP growth from 1990 to 1997 and around 7 per cent from 2000 to 2003
making it the world’s second fastest growing economy. 1.38
Cuba has
withstood a new spate of hostile measures and sanctions by the Bush
administration. It has steadfastly adhered to the socialist system and has not
allowed the sanctions and blockade to erode its public health and educational
system. The DPRK has refused to be intimidated on the nuclear issue by the US
blackmailing tactics. It is pursuing the line of engaging South Korea for
normalization of relations and creating the atmosphere for progress towards
reunification. The socialist countries have to continue to work in an
international situation which is hostile to the existence of the socialist
system. They have to strengthen their economic base and raise the living
standards of the people while safeguarding the socialist system and its
ideological base. South
Asia
1.39
It is in
this international setting that we have to see the developments in South Asia
and India’s neighbourhood. 1.40
Imperialism
has spread its tentacles further in the countries of South Asia. The United
States has strengthened its grip and influence over Pakistan after getting the
Musharraf regime to cooperate with the war on Afghanistan and to eliminate the
Al Qaeda. In Nepal, the United States supplied military equipment to the King to
fight the Maoist insurgency. The King has utilized the situation to suppress
democracy, impose emergency, and arrest leaders and activists of political
parties. In Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the United States has signed military and
security collaboration agreements and is regularly conducting joint exercises. 1.41
In both
Pakistan and Bangladesh, the forces of Islamic fundamentalism have grown in
strength. The growing US influence and the Islamic fundamentalist activity in
Bangladesh have repercussions in the region. The fundamentalist forces are
launching murderous attacks on secular and democratic personalities. In Sri
Lanka, the halt to hostilities and ceasefire between the Sri Lankan armed forces
and the Tamil tigers have not yet yielded any substantial progress in peace
talks. In Myanmar, the military regime continues to suppress the democratic
rights of the people. In all these countries, the conditions of the working
people have deteriorated under the impact of imperialist globalisation and the
anti-democratic measures taken to suppress the struggles of the working people. 1.42
Sectarian
and divisive trends have been on the rise in the region. The struggle for
democracy and the rights of minorities is an important issue in many of these
countries. The Party supports the Left and democratic forces of Nepal who are
struggling to restore democracy there. It is necessary to strengthen regional
cooperation in South Asia through the SAARC forum and to promote bilateral
trade, economic ties, as well as encourage people-to-people contacts between
India and its neighbours. The CPI(M) stands for increased cooperation between
the anti-imperialist and Left democratic forces in South Asia. Struggle
against Imperialism
1.43
Imperialism
poses the greatest threat to humanity. US imperialism is the spearhead of the
reactionary offensive. Predatory finance capital and neo-liberal reforms have
intensified the exploitation and poverty of billions of people. Imperialist war
and aggression are a threat to the national sovereignty of countries.
Imperialist oppression and violence spawns terrorism promoted by fundamentalist
and sectarian ideologies. With the dismantling of socialism in some countries
and the entry of imperialist finance capital, ethnic and sectarian conflicts are
the results. Terrorism motivated by religious fundamentalism which wreaks havoc
on innocent people has to be firmly combated. But the elimination of all forms
of terrorism requires an end to imperialist aggression and violence, state
terrorism and the rapacious exploitation and abject poverty perpetuated by an
unjust and hegemonic world order. 1.44
The fight
against US imperialism cannot be conducted by a fundamentalist jehad,
or by relying upon sectarian ideologies. Imperialism can be fought only by a
progressive mobilisation of all the Left, secular and anti-imperialist
nationalist forces. The CPI(M) will support all the currents of resistance
against imperialism – the struggles for national liberation, the fight against
neo-liberal economic policies and for the defence of national sovereignty,
opposition to imperialist aggression and for the defence of the interests of the
developing countries against imperialist capital. 1.45
The CPI(M)
will actively support and establish relations of solidarity with the national
liberation movements. It will support the socialist countries and espouse close
relations with them. It will cooperate with all the platforms set up to fight
against imperialist globalisation and will actively participate in the anti-war
movements. The anti-globalisation and the anti-war movements should converge
into a broad and powerful anti-imperialist movement. 1.46
The CPI(M)
will continue to strengthen relations with the communist and progressive forces
in different countries so that experiences are shared and a common outlook
develops. The CPI(M) is committed to building up the worldwide struggle against
US imperialism. Mobilizing the Indian people, who number 1.02 billion, against
imperialist hegemonism and in defence of national sovereignty will be an
important contribution to this global movement. NATIONAL
2.1
The most
significant political development at the national level since the 17th
Congress has been the clear defeat of the BJP-led NDA government in the Lok
Sabha elections of May 2004. The people of India overthrew the RSS-controlled
regime on account of its anti-people and pro-imperialist economic policies, its
communal and divisive platform, its massive corruption scandals and its attacks
on democratic rights. The simultaneous elections to the Andhra Pradesh assembly
saw the even more decisive defeat of the TDP government, which had all along
acted as the foremost agent of the World Bank. Three months later, the BJP-Shiv
Sena communal combine was humbled in the Maharashtra assembly elections. 2.2
The Lok
Sabha elections resulted in the formation of the Congress-led UPA government at
the Centre, which is dependent for its majority on the outside support of the
Left parties. The CPI(M) and the Left increased their representation in
Parliament to the highest figure so far. All these are welcome developments,
which testify to the correctness of the political line adopted by the 17th
Congress and of the electoral tactics employed in consonance with that line. 2.3
The BJP-led
government ruled uninterruptedly for six years from March 1998 to April 2004.
The danger posed by the RSS-guided BJP controlling the levers of power was
evident during this period. The 17th Congress Political Resolution
termed it as “the most reactionary government in independent India.” The
policies of the BJP-led government in the economic, political, social and
foreign policy spheres in these six years confirm this assessment. After the 17th
Congress of the Party, the last two years of BJP rule witnessed the horrific
fallout of the Gujarat pogrom. The Modi government, with the patronage of the
Vajpayee government, actively worked to cover up all the crimes and refused to
punish the guilty by subverting the police and prosecution machinery. After the
victory of the BJP in the assembly elections the state continues to treat
Muslims as second class citizens. The Christian community is also targeted and
continues to live in insecurity. 2.4
The
Vajpayee government sought to undermine the judicial process on the Ayodhya
dispute and sought to push the VHP agenda for handing over the disputed site to
the Hindu communal outfits by utilizing intermediaries to persuade the Muslims
to give up their claim. The Vajpayee government continued the work of
communalization of the educational system by introducing anti-secular ideologies
in the curriculum and text books. History books were rewritten on communal
lines. Artists, writers and cultural institutions who refused to accept the
sectarian communal outlook were subjected to intimidation and assaults. RSS
personnel were given key appointments in different institutions and promoted at
different levels of government. Economic
Policies
Agrarian
Distress 2.5
Under the
BJP rule, neo-liberal economic policies were pushed with greater vigour. It was
claimed, falsely, that these policies result in higher growth. Actually, the
decade of the nineties had a lower rate of growth in agriculture and industries
than in the eighties. The growth rate in the three years 2000–01 to 2003–04
was lower than the decade of the nineties. Whatever output growth that took
place was not accompanied by any significant growth in employment. The annual
rate of growth of rural employment was 0.58 per cent between 1993–94 and
1999–2000 compared to the rural population growth rate of 1.5 per cent. The
unemployment situation in rural India has worsened drastically while urban
employment growth has come down markedly. 2.6
In rural
India, worsening unemployment has been caused by the decline in agricultural
growth rates and in particular foodgrains. Foodgrain production has in fact
fallen below the rate of population growth during the nineties leading to an
absolute decline in per capita food output. The average number of days of work
for agricultural workers has sharply declined in most parts of the country.
Rural development expenditure which was 14 per cent of GDP during the 8th
plan period stands at only around 5 per cent currently. This drastic cutback is
the most immediate cause for the acute distress among the rural poor. 2.7
Rural
distress is not confined to the rural poor alone. Large sections of the
peasantry, caught in a pincer between higher input prices and lower output
prices, are faced with acute crisis. The withdrawal of subsidies on a host of
inputs, the rising costs of electricity, irrigation, seeds and the decline in
priority sector lending by banks have forced peasants to go to moneylenders to
borrow at exorbitant interest rates which has resulted in increased costs of
production. 2.8
Procurement
operations by the government that provided some succour to the peasantry have
got progressively whittled down; extension services by the government that were
so important a feature of Indian agriculture have been virtually withdrawn from
large parts of the country leaving the peasantry to the mercy of MNCs and
spurious seed distributors; and lack of investment by the government has run
down the infrastructure that sustained agricultural growth. 2.9
Steps to dilute
land reform laws were taken in a number of states either by raising the ceiling
levels or handing over surplus land to private parties. After acquiring
agricultural land in the name of road construction, substantial portions are
handed over to corporates including multinational companies. Such steps would
make farming by large owners and corporate houses a certainty. Such policies
would reduce the extent of land for redistribution, accelerate the loss of land
by poor peasants, and worsen inequalities in the rural areas. 2.10
The volume of rural credit declined and the distribution of credit
shifted further in favour of large landholders. Village level data show that the
exploitation of the poor in the informal credit market – that is, by
moneylenders – intensified as a result of financial liberalisation. 2.11
The new trade regime (and in particular, the removal of quantitative
restrictions on the import of agricultural products) and the emphasis on
export-oriented production intensified the struggle of the poor and middle
peasantry for their very survival while also leading to a decline in food
production. This problem is particularly intense in the present context of a
sharp fall in the prices of primary commodities internationally. The new trade
regime also has very serious implications for land use, cropping patterns and
the future of self-sufficiency in food. 2.12
The new trade and patent regime as well as the seed bill leaves the field
of agricultural research at the mercy of multinational corporations, thus
weakening public sector national agricultural research systems as well as
open-access to international research institutions. Further, this regime
infringes on the rights of farmers and indigenous plant breeders and threatens
to lead, as has been written, “from biodiversity to genetic slavery.” 2.13
Continuing failure to deal with problems of water management, and to cope
with problems of drought and floods has increased the suffering of the
peasantry. The agenda of privatizing water resources is being pushed through
which will drive the small peasantry who can’t afford the rates, off their
lands. In addition, the failure to resolve inter-state water disputes has
aggravated the water scarcity in some states. 2.14
The country
is experiencing the worst agrarian crisis since independence. The entire
agricultural sector is in disarray, and thousands of peasants have committed
suicide. This crisis is the direct result of neo-liberal economic policies:
these policies dictate the withdrawal of the State from all supportive roles
other than the support of international finance capital; and agriculture cannot
survive the withdrawal of the support system of the State. Adverse
Impact on Industry 2.15
While the
agrarian economy has been the most visible victim of the neo-liberal economic
policies, large sections of the urban petty producers and small capitalists have
also been hit by the policies of “trade liberalization” enforced under the
WTO, and by higher input costs (including for credit and electricity). This has
had a direct bearing on urban unemployment. The BJP-led government accelerated
its onslaught on the public sector in its last years in power. After privatising
VSNL, Balco, Maruti and IPCL, the government was poised to go ahead with the
privatisation of the HPCL and BPCL oil companies before it was ousted from
power. Practically every sphere was opened up for privatisation and entry of
foreign capital. Defence production was opened up for 100 per cent private
enterprise with 26 per cent FDI. Even in the print media, 26 per cent FDI was
allowed. 2.16
The fiscal
policies of the BJP-led government reflected in its successive budgets, led to
India having one of the lowest tax-GDP ratios in the world. Tens of thousands of
crores were gifted as concessions to big business and the rich while indirect
taxes were heaped on the common people. Public expenditure in the social sector
and agriculture was cut to contain the fiscal deficit. The Fiscal Responsibility
and Budget Management Act signifies the surrender to IMF dictates on fiscal
management. Liberalisation under BJP rule meant a bonanza for the rich and
growing deprivation and unemployment for the common people. UPA
Government on Same Path 2.17
The UPA
government is pursuing the same policies of liberalisation and privatisation.
Notwithstanding certain policy announcements in the Common Minimum Programme,
the government is unwilling to change course and, in essence, pursues the same
policies as that of the Vajpayee government. Some instances of this are: the UPA
government wants to further liberalise the financial sector by facilitating the
takeover of Indian private banks by foreign banks by implementing a proposal to
allow 74 per cent FDI in Indian private banks announced by the previous
government. It is pushing for merger of PSU banks as a step towards
privatisation. It has hiked the FDI cap in telecom to 74 per cent. It seeks to
permit FDI in the retail sector. It desires to privatise the insurance sector
further. It is going ahead with the privatisation of the Delhi and Mumbai
airports, a step initiated by the BJP-led government. It proposed the raising of
the FDI caps in telecom and insurance in the Union budget of 2004–05 which has
been halted due to opposition of the Left. It seeks to circumvent the commitment
not to privatise profitable PSUs by gradually disinvesting shares in these units
to meet its budgetary deficit. 2.18
The UPA
government has shown itself eager to fashion policies favourable to big business
and international finance capital while being tardy or negligent in protecting
the interests of the working class and the working people. For instance, it
first cut the EPF rate of interest to 8.5 per cent and it was only the Left
opposition that forced a hike of one per cent to 9.5 per cent. It is pushing
forward with the plan to privatise the pension fund of government employees.
Contrary to the CMP commitment, the government is trying to push through the
implementation of the Electricity Act, 2003, without any review. It has
abolished Press Note 18 which provided some protection for Indian companies
which enter into joint ventures with foreign companies. It’s fiscal policies
seek to curtail expenditure by cutting down subsidies necessary for the common
people, while proposing tax concessions to the corporate sector and the rich. It
has resorted to successive increases in the prices of petroleum products which
are leading to price rise of essential commodities, while being reluctant to
revise the excise and import duty structure which gives undue benefits to the
oil companies. The government seeks to fulfil the CMP commitment to adopt an
Employment Guarantee Act but has prepared a bill which dilutes the provision of
providing minimum 100 days work for one adult in every rural household on
minimum wages. It was only the intervention of the Left that ensured important
amendments to the disastrous Patent Bill moved by the UPA government based on
the original NDA bill. Conditions
Of The People 2.19
The
most visible symptom of the agrarian rural distress among the rural poor is the
drastic curtailment of their per capita food availability and consequently its
intake. Per capita foodgrain availability which stood at 180 kgs at the end of
the 1980s has seen a drastic decline to an average of 155 kgs in the three years
2000–01 to 2002–03. This is the result of the “reforms” under BJP rule.
In fact the per capita foodgrain availability in the country as a whole is now
down to the level of what it was on the eve of the Second World War. 2.20
The number of farmers’ suicides has reached levels unheard of since
independence. Such suicides have taken place in major parts of the country, with
Andhra Pradesh topping the number of peasants ending their lives in desperation.
More than 7,000 farmers committed suicide in the state in the space of three
years. Thousands of farmers died in a similar way in other states, including
Kerala. The big increase in migrating families looking for work is a measure of
acute rural distress. 2.21
The “targeted” public distribution system actually led to the
dismantling of the existing public distribution system which itself was
inadequate. Under the BPL scheme, a large number of poor people have been
deprived of rations. This dismantling of the public distribution system has hit
the poor the hardest, with the worst affected being the tribal areas where
hunger and starvation deaths have become a regular feature. 2.22
Lakhs of families working in traditional industries whether they are in
handloom, beedi, coir, cashew, fishing, or artisans have been rendered jobless
and are forced to live in hunger and deprivation. Small scale and tiny sector
units have closed by the thousands and the plight of the unorganized workers
worsened. 2.23
The urban industrial workers have experienced not only growing
unemployment but also a substantial increase in lockouts, cuts in the social
wage, increase of insecurity and a reduction in their bargaining strength
through attacks on trade unions and through attempts to deny them the right to
strike. Labour laws, which offer limited protection are being undermined.
Contract and casual work is being introduced on a large scale to deprive workers
of legal benefits. Pension funds are sought to be privatised. Minimum wages and
other protections are denied to workers in the unorganised sectors. The plight
of the workers in tea gardens and coffee plantations has worsened with thousands
rendered jobless and their families starving. The urban poor living in terrible
conditions are becoming homeless due to slums being demolished in the name of
urban development. 2.24
Children up to 18 years constitute 44 per cent of the population. The
record with regard to children’s welfare is shocking. 47 per cent of children
below three years are malnourished. 40.7 per cent of children enrolled at the
primary school stage drop out. Child labour is rampant with children undertaking
arduous and hazardous work with no rights or protection whatsoever. 2.25
Unemployment has become the single largest problem for the people. This
is a result of the liberalisation and privatisation policies pursued over the
years. Rural unemployment, unemployment for the youth, educated unemployment and
unemployment for women have blighted the lives of millions of families. The rate
of growth of employment under BJP rule was a dismal 1.13 per cent. Existing jobs
in the public sector and organised sector are being done away with. Centre-State
Relations 2.26
The fiscal crisis of the Centre, which is precipitated by the neo-liberal
reforms through its various tax measures is sought to be passed on to the state
governments. The Centre compounds the problem by charging exorbitant rates of
interest on loans given by it including those given from small savings and loans
raised within the states themselves. When the state governments are reduced to a
mendicant status, the Centre then thrusts upon them neo-liberal policies. During
the nineties, the tax revenue raised by the state governments together as
proportion of GDP did not decline while the tax revenue raised by the Centre
did, and yet at the end of the decade it was the states which faced the fiscal
squeeze. 2.27
Accentuation of uneven development has led to the growth of inter-state
and intra-state disparities. This is giving a fillip to the demands for separate
states based on the argument of backwardness, such as Telengana and Vidharbha.
The Party will fight for the development of backward regions while adhering to
the principled position of opposition to the division of linguistic states.
Another aspect of growing concern is the inter-state problem with regard to the
sharing of river waters and water resources. Such conflicts are growing given
the increasing demand for water in agriculture and the unscientific use of water
resources. Issues
of National Unity North-East
2.28
The
situation in the North-East is characterised by the continuing activities of the
armed separatist groups and ethnic conflicts. The situation is complicated by
the fact that the neighbouring country of Bangladesh has become a sanctuary for
most of these extremist groups and imperialism is very much active in aiding
them. Of particular concern is the role of the ISI of Pakistan which is
well-known for its links to the US intelligence agencies. The ULFA leadership is
based in Bangladesh and most of the ULFA cadres who fled Bhutan after the army
operation are sheltering there. The two major extremist groups of Tripura, the
NLFT and the ATTF and the separatist groups in Manipur have their camps across
the border. The heightened intervention of foreign agencies poses a serious
threat to national unity. 2.29
The growth
of separatism and extremist activities are also the result of the wrong policies
adopted by the Centre towards the North-East over the decades. The lack of
special attention to develop the region which has unique characteristics, the
reliance on a nexus of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats to implement
developmental work, and the insensitivity to the cultural and nationality
sentiments of the different communities has created the space for separatism and
foreign intervention. Excesses committed by the security forces have alienated
and angered the people. In Manipur, a popular upsurge took place after the
brutal killing of a woman by the para-military forces. The political process of
providing regional autonomy to substantial tribal communities and a genuinely
democratic set-up needs to be taken forward seriously. Steps have to be taken to
protect the identity of the various peoples by stopping illegal migration from
across the border. The North-Eastern region requires priority in building
infrastructure, communications and generating employment for the educated youth.
The serious problem of recurrent floods and river bank erosion in Assam is a
national problem which requires urgent attention. Jammu
& Kashmir 2.30
The
elections in late 2002 saw the formation of the PDP-Congress coalition
government headed by Mufti Mohd. Sayeed. The National Conference was defeated,
being discredited by its joining the BJP alliance at the Centre and its corrupt
misrule. Elections were held in a relatively free manner compared to the past.
But the BJP-led government did not utilise this situation to advance the
political dialogue. Its resolute opposition to autonomy and the RSS backing the
idea of a trifurcation spoilt the chances of a dialogue. The extremists sought
to disrupt the peace by repeated attacks. After the UPA government assumed
office, there has been no notable initiative to revive talks, along with the
Indo-Pakistan dialogue. The excesses against ordinary people by the security
forces heightens the alienation of the people suffering from the abnormal
conditions. Such excesses should be curbed firmly. 2.31
The CPI(M)
strongly advocates the provision of maximum autonomy for the state of Jammu and
Kashmir. Without assuring the Kashmiri people that their identity and culture
will be fully recognised and their aspirations met in a democratic set-up within
the Indian Union, the feeling of alienation cannot be removed nor the
separatists countered. An autonomous set up should be created, with the regions
of Jammu & Ladakh being given regional autonomy within this framework.
Meanwhile, efforts to restore people-to-people relations between the two parts
divided by the LoC must be encouraged. The steps taken by the Indo-Pakistan
dialogue of a ceasefire on the LoC and reduction of military forces should be
accompanied by suitable political measures. The J&K state needs serious
efforts by the centre to reconstruct its shattered economy especially in the
sphere of employment generation. Foreign
Policy 2.32
The BJP-led
government had steered foreign policy on to a pro-American path. It proclaimed
that Indo-US relations were the history of “fifty wasted years” implying
that non-alignment was a mistake. It sought to subordinate India to the global
strategic interests of the US, provided India was given de facto recognition as
a nuclear power and a preeminent status in South Asia. The only result of this
was to place India at the same level as Pakistan as one of the two allies of the
U.S. The Bush administration belied the BJP’s hopes by relying on Pakistan in
its war on terror and giving it the status of a major non-NATO ally. The
Vajpayee government also cultivated strategic ties with Israel and went to the
extent of advocating an India-US-Israel axis. 2.33
The UPA
government has to adhere to an independent foreign policy as declared in the
Common Minimum Programme. To achieve this, the Manmohan Singh government must
make sure that issues such as the joint missile defence programme with the US
are not pursued as they are not in the country’s interests. Nor should India
make any commitment to join the US proliferation security initiative or accept
continuance of US military forces in Iraq. To promote multipolarity in
international relations, India should have close ties with Russia, China, Europe
and Japan. Special emphasis has to be placed on ties with major developing
countries in Asia, Africa and South America. India’s ties with its South Asian
neighbours have to be strengthened. It is essential to review and end the
strategic military and security cooperation with Israel, which is one of the
most lawless states in the world and which continues to defend its occupation of
Palestinian and Arab lands. The CPI(M) will endeavour to see that the harmful
legacy of the Vajpayee government’s foreign policy is removed. Women’s
Issues
2.34
The one and
a half decades of liberalisation have worsened the conditions of women in terms
of access to employment and being marginalized in the market. The closure of
factories and the decline of traditional industries have led to women losing
jobs on a large scale. The female work participation rate in urban India is
extremely low, between 13 and 15 per cent. Women in the organized sector
constitute only 18 per cent. 93 per cent of women workers in manufacture are in
the unorganized sector where there is no protective legislation. Patriarchal
values and traditional prejudices coupled with market values have reinforced
gender discrimination which is revealed in the most glaring form in the
declining sex ratio. The 2001 census has shown that in the juvenile age group
there is a considerable decline with the sex ratio being 927:1000.
Discrimination and prejudice against women is reflected in the elimination of
the girl child. 2.35
Promotion
of market and consumerist values depict women as being sex objects while
traditional feudal attitudes are responsible for vicious violence against women
as witnessed in honour killings which are taking place in states like Haryana
and Uttar Pradesh. The atrocities against women whether they are through dowry
murders, sexual assault or domestic violence are on the increase with the legal
machinery unable to promptly punish the perpetrators. The CPI(M) will continue
to fight against all forms of discrimination and violence against women. It
calls for new legislation against domestic violence, sexual assault and child
sexual abuse. Women must be entitled to equal property rights including in
ancestral property and the long delayed one-third reservation for women in
parliament and state legislatures must be passed into law. Caste
Oppression and Dalits
2.36
The caste
system contains both social oppression and class exploitation. The dalits suffer
from both types of exploitation in the worst form. 86.25 per cent of the
scheduled caste households are landless and 49 per cent of the scheduled castes
in the rural areas are agricultural workers. Communists who champion abolition
of the caste system, eradication of untouchability and caste oppression have to
be in the forefront in launching struggles against the denial of basic human
rights. This struggle has to be combined with the struggle to end the landlord
dominated order which consigns the dalit rural masses to bondage. The issues of
land, wages and employment must be taken up to unite different sections of the
working people and the non-dalit rural poor must be made conscious of the evils
of caste oppression and discrimination by a powerful democratic campaign. There
are some dalit organisations and NGOs who seek to foster anti-Communist feelings
among the dalit masses and to detach them from the Left movement. Such sectarian
and, in certain cases, foreign-funded activities must be countered and exposed
by positively putting forth the Party’s stand on caste oppression and making
special efforts to draw the dalit masses into common struggles. Fight
Caste Appeal 2.37
The
intensification of the caste appeal and fragmentation of the working people on
caste lines is a serious challenge to the Left and democratic movement. Taking
up caste oppression, forging the common movement of the oppressed of all castes
and taking up class issues of common concern must be combined with a bold
campaign to highlight the pernicious effects of caste-based politics. The Party
should work out concrete tactics in different areas taking into account the
caste and class configurations. Electoral exigencies should not come in the way
of the Party’s independent campaign against caste-based politics. Reservation
is no panacea for the problems of caste and class exploitation. But they provide
some limited and necessary relief within the existing order. Reservation should
be extended to dalit Christians. In the context of the privatisation drive and
the shrinkage of jobs in the government and public sector, reservation in the
private sector for scheduled castes and tribes should be worked out after wide
consultations. Adivasis
2.38
The 8.43
crore (84.3 million) tribal people are the worst victims of the new phase of
capitalist development under liberalisation. They are subjected to the predatory
exploitation of not only moneylenders, traders and contractors but also big
business and multinational companies who are being given access to the mineral
wealth in tribal areas. Recent years have seen a sharp cutback in the public
distribution system and welfare schemes which have driven tribals to starvation
and hunger deaths. The Forest Act and the bureaucracy deny them access to the
forest and evict them from their traditional habitats. BJP rule saw the deep
penetration by RSS outfits in tribal areas with efforts to communalise the
adivasis and pit them against Christians and Muslims. The provision of regional
autonomy in tribal-majority areas is necessary to protect tribal interests in
land, culture and self-development. 2.39
The Party
formulated a tribal policy document in 2001. This should be the basis for work
in the tribal areas and for countering the disruptive forces which seek to
foster separatism or communal tendencies among the tribal people. The UPA
government has not scrapped the objectionable tribal policy document of the NDA,
nor the eviction orders of tribals from forests which were issued by the NDA
government. In the name of development, tribals are being displaced. No such
projects should be implemented without a comprehensive relief and rehabilitation
project acceptable to the project affected people. The Party will have to take
up these issues. The Party must take up the issues of land, access to forests,
wages and development of the tribal areas as well as development of languages
and cultures so that tribal people are ensured educational and employment
opportunities. Breaking
New Ground
2.40
The Party
must identify with the aspirations and assertions of all the socially and
economically oppressed sections. The Party bases itself on the basic classes,
the working class, the semi-proletarian masses in the urban and rural areas, the
poor peasantry and agricultural workers, both men and women. In order to link
the Left with the other socially oppressed sections, the Party should champion:
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