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CPI(ML) in the anti-war movement

CPI(ML) characterised the US war on Afghan people as an imperialistic war of aggression even when the war preparations were underway and launched a nationwide campaign against war well before the US airstrikes began. Party’s “anti-war campaign” from 24 to 29 September evoked a good response from left, anti-imperialist, democratic and peace-loving people.

In Bihar, the Party organised an anti-war people’s march in Patna and several other district headquarters on September 26. Led by Party GS Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya and several other Party leaders, the Patna march culminated in a mass meeting, where Com. Dipankar called upon the peace-loving patriotic and democratic Indians to reject and resist the US war of aggression and saffron Vajpayee Govt.’s shameless surrender to the US. He said that whereas in the ‘80s the US priority was to defeat USSR in the cold war, the focus had now shifted against China and Islamic countries. He expressed solidarity with the anti-war demonstrations and agitations building up in Washington and other centres of US against the US war games.

In Delhi, large number of Party activists and supporters took out an impressive anti-war protest march on September 29 from Mandi House to Parliament Street. Carrying placards reading “Killer US has struck again, it is Operation Total Injustice”, marchers shouted slogans “Bush-Vajpayee, hands off Afghanistan”, “Asia will be turned into the graveyard of imperialism”, etc. An anti-war meeting was held before Parliament Street Police Station, addressed by Party leaders Com. Swadesh Bhattacharya, Kumudini Pati, Rajendra Pratholi and others. Com. Asit Ganguli, an RSP leader, also addressed the meeting. The agitators burnt an effigy of George Bush.

In U.P., Party and all its mass organisations took out a massive anti-war march in Lucknow on September 27 attended by hundreds of people from several districts. Starting from Char Bagh and passing through main streets of the city, the march reached State Assembly where a meeting was held, addressed by Party State Secy. Com. Akhilendra Pratap Singh, Lal Bahadur Singh and others. Similar marches were also held at Varanasi on September 28 and Kanpur and other places on September 29. In Lucknow, a mass meeting against US war jingoism was organised at Kakori on 6 October.

At Jaipur in Rajasthan, hundreds of people took out an anti-war march on September 29. It reached Raj Bhawan, where a meeting was held, addressed by State Secy. Com. Mahendra Chaudhary and others.

At Kakinada in East Godavari and Visannapeta in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, anti-war marches were taken out. State Party Secy. Com. N Murthy led the march at Kakinada.

At Port Blair in Andaman, anti-war people’s march was held on Sep 29. It was led by Com. NKP Nair, Sadasivam and Gopal.

In Assam, anti-war marches were organised on 29 September in Guwahati and several other districts. As the part of the programme, citizens of Guwahati brought out a procession. At the end of the procession a brief meeting was held addressed by eminent citizens like Dr. Amalendu Guha, Anil Rai Choudhuri, Preeti Baruah, Dr. Manirul Hussain, veteran artist Dilip Sarma, Biswajit Chakravorty, Nitya Borah, and Adip Kr Phukan. A citizens’ peace committee against war was also formed. SUCI and an ML faction also took part in the procession. In Sonitpur, the CPI(ML) district committee brought out a procession against war and held street meetings. A procession was brought out in Tinsukia where effigies of George W Bush and Vajpayee were burnt.

In Tripura, marches were taken out in Agartala, Udaipur and Amarpur.

Everywhere the speakers condemned the Vajpayee Govt. for endangering India’s sovereignty and independence by turning into a pawn in the US war game and diverting the attention of the people from their struggles against hunger, unemployment and poverty. They also lambasted at RSS-BJP for fanning another round of communal frenzy by vitiating the atmosphere already surcharged with jingoism.

AIPWA observed anti-war day on 5 October and organised marches in Delhi and Patna.

After the airstrikes began

While strongly condemning the commencement of US bombing of Afghan capital and other densely populated cities like Kandahar and Jalalabad on the night of 7 October, CPI(ML) termed this barbaric act of the US as “continuity of the US politics of imperialist hegemony over the world, third world countries in particular”. The Party called for an immediate halt of the airstrikes and an end to the war of aggression against Afghan people.

The very next day, on 8 October, the CPI(ML) activists and supporters organised a protest demonstration at Parliament Street in New Delhi where they burnt the effigy of Bush.

In Patna, a protest march against airstrikes started from the State Party office and covering a 6-km route ended in a mass meeting at AIR square. It was led by Party leaders Com. Ram Naresh Ram, Ram Jatan Sharma, and Ramji Rai. Agitators burnt the effigy of US President Bush.

Protest marches were also taken out in Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar, Allahabad, Gonda and Varanasi. In Lucknow, the effigy of Bush was burnt in a demonstration held on 9 October. In Bihar, marches were held in Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Arrah, Jahanabad, Siwan and Samastipur. In Kakinada, RYA activists burnt an effigy of Bush.

In Jalandhar of Punjab, six Marxist-Leninist organisations including CPI(ML) Liberation, New Democracy, AIPRF, Inquilabi Ekta Kendra, etc. organised a well-attended anti-imperialist war convention on 8 October at Deshbhakt Yadgar Hall. Com. BB Pandey addressed the convention. Later a joint anti-war march was taken out.

In Andhra Pradesh, nine left parties, including CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) New Democracy, CPI(ML) Unity Initiative, CPI(ML) Janashakthi, SUCI, and MCPI took out a rally at Hyderabad on October 12 condemning US bombing of Afghanistan.

An anti-war protest rally and a public meeting were organised in Bangalore on October 20 by a broader platform called ‘All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation’ (AIPSO). The rally was attended by many organisations including CPI, CPI(M), SUCI and their mass organisations along with CPI(ML) and AICCTU. T.M.Poonacha, Bangalore unit secretary of AICCTU, addressed the meeting representing our stream. Peoples Democratic Front (PDF), PUCL, Vimochana and Manasa (women’s organisations), Sangama, etc. are the other prominent organisations that took part in the programme.

A massive rally against war and WTO by All-India Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (AIKSS) is scheduled for November 9 at Delhi. The same day CPI(ML), AIKSS and AICCTU will hold a south zone rally at Vijayawada.

Anti-war demonstrations by AICCTU

AICCTU HAD scheduled its national conference on 8 October in the industrial township of Dhanbad. A massive rally of workers had been planned on that day. With the beginning of US airstrikes on Afghanistan the previous day, the rally was converted into a massive anti-war procession which was led by CPI(ML) Gen. Secy. Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya. Addressing the rallyists, Com. Dipankar urged the workers to take the lead in the unfolding anti-war movement. Terming the US attack as “enduring terror and enduring hypocrisy”, he called upon all peace-loving patriotic and democratic Indians to rise in vigorous protest against imperialist loot, terror and aggression.

As part of 5th National Conference’s decision to hold anti-war demonstrations everywhere on 15 October coinciding with the visit of US Secretary of State Colin Powell to the subcontinent, AICTTU held a demonstration and burnt the effigies of US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair at Parliament Street in New Delhi. AICCTU leaders Com. Swapan Mukherjee, NM Thomas and others led the protesters. Addressing the mass meeting Com. Swapan Mukherjee said that the Indian govt. has surrendered national sovereignty by pleading before US Secy. of State Gen. Collin Powell to arbitrate on Kashmir issue. He said that while even the US was forced to accept that innocent civilians had been killed in the bombing, the Indian govt. had not openly condemned the killings of civilians in Afghanistan. A spirited demonstration of 200 workers was held in Ambattur industrial area of Chennai despite torrential rains. In Neyveli of Tamil Nadu, an anti-war demonstration was held in front of NLC’s Thermal Power Station II on 15th Oct. by AICCTU. About 750 workers participated. Leaders of AITUC, UTUC-LS also participated in this. Similar demonstrations were held in Patna and Ranchi and other centres.

Anti-war protests in West Bengal

WEST BENGAL, keeping up its tradition of anti-imperialist protests, has witnessed a vibrant anti-war movement. The CPI(ML) plunged into this anti-war campaign at a very early stage, targeting the US imperialism and the Vajpayee Government. It undertook numerous programmes, under its own banner as well as with other left groups to demonstrate its opposition to what Bush has called the first war of the new century.

On 24th September eight organizations – CPI(ML) ND, Sramik Sangram Committee, COI(ML), CCR, Marxist Readers’ Forum, CPI(ML) Unity Initiative, CPI(ML) Janashakti and CPI(ML) Liberation – organised a militant demonstration before the American Information Centre at Calcutta. More than a thousand people started marching from Subodh Mullick Square at Central Kolkata shouting slogans against the US and Vajpayee Government. The rallyists carried placards written in Bengali, Hindi and Urdu and the slogans read: “Foil Vajpayee government’s efforts to embroil India in US war machinations”, “US imperialism, hands off Afghanistan”, etc. The rally covered a few kilometers before culminating at the American Information Centre. Effigy of George W Bush was burnt, and the leaders of the eight organisations addressed the gathering.

Responding to the party’s all-India call, anti-war demonstrations were observed in almost all major towns of the state on 29th September including in Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Raiganj in North Bengal, and Krishnanagar, Bainchi, Dhaniakhali, Bhadreswar, Barasat and other towns in South Bengal. In North Dinajpur of W.B., a torchlight procession was organised on 20 September.

Broadening anti-war coalition

Nearly 50 mass organisations and cultural organisations including those associated with CPI(ML) organised a procession from Shyambazar to Park Circus in Kolkata on 13th Oct. against the war unleashed by US imperialists against Afghanistan and against BJP govt.’s decision to become a part of the war design of imperialists. Led by com. Arijit Mitra, Basudeb Bose, Santosh Rana, Debabrata Panda and other leaders the procession covered a distance of 7 KM. Workers, youth, women, students, cultural activists and others participated in this. The procession drew the attention of the people, particularly when it was passing through the Muslim-dominated areas.

– Joydeep Mitra

CPI(ML) activists storm Dumdum airport protesting against refueling by Japanese military planes

Six Japanese military aircraft, supposedly carrying “relief materials” to Afghanistan, landed at Dumdum Air Port on 8 Oct. 2001 for refueling. Vajpayee government has permitted this despite its public pronouncements that no concrete assistance was sought for by the US and its allies and none had been offered. The State Committee of CPI(ML) severely condemned the Central Govt. for permitting this. It also criticized the LF Government for not publicly coming out against this. The Party had organized a protest demonstration at Dumdum Airport the same day, which started at 9 a.m. At 10 a.m., the comrades suddenly rushed into the international terminus of the airport breaking the police cordon and started demonstrating and shouting slogans inside. Eleven comrades were arrested by the police in this connection.

If you oppose the US war… You commit ‘sedition’ against India!

THOUSANDS OF people worldwide have hit the streets in protest against the US war – even in New York and London. But in India, the Vajpayee Government, desperate to kowtow to its US masters, is proving “more loyal than the king”! Six students of Delhi University, belonging to DSU, have been arrested for distributing anti-war leaflets issued by AIPRF and DSU in Bhajanpura, Delhi, and have been charged with sedition! Since Bhajanpura has a predominantly Muslim population, they were also accused of “inciting communal tension”. A week later, three more students belonging to DSU were again arrested for distributing anti-war leaflets inside their college (Shyamlal College in Shahdara). The AIPRF office was also raided, and its leaders interrogated for ‘links with terrorists’.

The BJP, in line with Bush’s declaration that “If you are not with us, you are with the terrorists”, is labelling all anti-war protests as anti-national. AISA participated in the protests which followed the arrests of the students, declaring that BJP’s crackdown on democracy and dissent in the name of warmongering will not be tolerated.

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