Resolution
Commemorate the Centenary Year of the Great October Socialist Revolution
Adopted at the Plenum on Organisation: Kolkata, December 27-31, 2015
This Plenum on Organisation reiterates with emphasis our 21st Congress resolution on the centenary of the Russian revolution that called for ‘celebrations to commemorate the centenary year in all-round way’, beginning November 7, 2016 by organising events ‘in the political, ideological, and cultural spheres’, and ‘to conduct a campaign to propagate socialism’.
The Great October Revolution had for the first time in human history, resoundingly vindicated Marxism-Leninism through the establishment of a proletarian State. Led by the immortal Lenin and the Bolshevik party, it has proved that the exploitative capitalist order can be overthrown by the working class led mass of the exploited people and vindicated the analysis of Marx. The October Revolution is an eternal example of the application of the creative science of Marxism-Leninism, whose living essence is the ‘concrete analysis of the concrete conditions’.
The October Revolution continues to teach many important lessons to the world communist movement – the importance of worker-peasant alliance, the indispensable role of the vanguard Party steeled on the principles of democratic centralism, proletarian discipline and having live links with the masses – that remain valid.
The October Revolution has immense achievements to its credit. It eliminated exploitation of man by man by establishing socialism in the USSR; guaranteed satisfaction of all the basic necessities of human beings – food, clothing and shelter; enriched and enhanced human life by taking care of all citizens – from cradle to grave; for the first time in human history. It completely eliminated illiteracy and ensured universal access to education; freed women from domestic chores to a large extent and ensured equal rights. It in fact gave women equal participation in the political process well before many capitalist countries had done and thus enabled them to play an active role in the economic and social development of the society. It secured the rights of the working class, involved them in administration, improved their work conditions, ensured sufficient leisure and guaranteed their post-retirement future. It eliminated unemployment and poverty. It encouraged scientific research and innovation for the welfare of the entire society, guaranteed advanced universal health care and made great advances in the field of sports.
This Plenum, while resolving to propagate these and many more achievements of the first socialist State, is conscious of the many mistakes committed during socialist construction. The Party will continue to learn from them.
The observance of this event assumes all the more importance today, when there is an intense attack on the validity of Marxism and on the very concept of socialism. In many East European countries, attempts are on to ban communist parties and even the usage of communist and Soviet-era symbols. There is a deliberate attempt to falsify history, negate the myriad achievements of the former socialist countries and even equate socialism with fascism and Nazism.
It is upon us, as adherents of Marxism-Leninism, to use this occasion to counter this slanderous campaign and re-assert that socialism is the only path ahead for humankind that ensures a world free of exploitation, oppression, environmental degradation and guarantees real freedom and liberty. It is upon us to establish that socialism is not a utopian dream, but a necessity that has to be realised.
This Organisational Plenum of the CPI(M) resolves to observe the centenary year of the Great October Socialist Revolution to not only educate its entire rank and file, but also engage the people at large by involving all the intellectuals, littérateurs, sympathisers and well-wishers of the Left by organising debates, discussions, seminars, symposiums, exhibitions and various other forms all across India, highlighting the contribution of the Great October Socialist Revolution in:
· influencing the Indian national movement by inspiring generations of freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Jawaharalal Nehru, Muzaffar Ahmed, and many others; nationalist poets like Rabindranath Tagore Subrahmanyam Bharati, Nazrul Islam and social activists like Periyar and others; its impact on the masses and the consciousness levels of many young freedom fighters who were influenced by its ideology that led them to the Communist Party and to the formation of various mass and class organisations, galvanising the socialist current in the freedom struggle;
· defeating fascism, signaled by the hosting of the Red Flag over Reichstag on May 9, 1945 by the soldiers of the Red Army of the USSR and thus contributing to the sustained peace in the world;
· bringing an end to the colonial world by openly siding with the various liberation movements across the world that eventually led to the freedom of various countries in Asia and Africa and in standing as a bulwark against imperialist aggression and attempts to trample upon national sovereignty through neo-colonialism;
· furthering the frontiers of science and technology, particularly by successfully sending the first artificial satellite, Sputnik and first human being Yuri Gagarin into space, which paved the way for the subsequent development of modern means of communication satellites, opening up possibilities for an in-depth study of earth, its surrounding atmosphere and in many other areas;
· developing peoples’ culture in contrast to the pursuit of culture as a preserve of the elite, as can be discerned in various performing arts, songs, music, drama, cinema, painting, literature, etc;
On the 7th November 2017, throughout the country, the culmination of the observance of the centenary of the October Revolution should be done by rallying people in large numbers to expose the danger of communal, reactionary, divisive and separatist ideologies, by safeguarding and advancing the unity of the toiling classes centered on the core of worker-peasant alliance. The occasion should be used to propagate the ideals of socialism and its necessity, particularly among the Indian youth, at this juncture.
This Plenum resolves to observe the 100th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution in a befitting manner, reiterating its commitment to Marxism-Leninism and its profound belief that the future of humanity and the world lies only in socialism.
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