By Krishna Jha
At a time when we celebrate birth anniversary of our guide and philosopher Comrade V I Lenin on April 22, we are passing through a phase called as rule of finance capital. It is defined by Lenin as the higher stage of capitalism that takes away our democratic rights, our Constitution, right to elect our own government, and freedom to live and think in our own varied ways. It refuses to give us food instead offers a well organised famine. It refuses to give us jobs because its prime interest is not investment. Health and education are not in its priority list. Despite killing negligence of public welfare, it is also true that it is scared of people and their strength. And it is at this point we find a similar situation when Lenin stressed on alliance of all democratic forces that includes bourgeoisie too which is also facing a crisis and joins the struggle for a democratic state.
The government at the centre today realises the need for at least a semblance of democracy, through elections “without freedom to conduct agitation and on the basis of a restricted qualification,” but at the same time they refuse to allow the opposition to play its democratic role and become effective in the parliamentary democracy. These were the words of Lenin while defining the rule of finance capital. He said wherever there is finance capital with a significant presence, one element is common and that is national chauvinism. As if to prove it, in our country, V D Savarkar, an exponent of blind nationalism, had said in his book in 1923, “All Hindus claim to have in their veins the blood of the mighty race incorporated with and descended from the Vedic fathers, the Sindhus”. Summing it up, he wrote, “We [Hindus] are one because we are a nation, a race and own a common Sanskriti (culture).”
Hence all available opportunities must be used to further the cause of launching a united struggle for democratic rights, elections and parliamentary democracy. Lenin said communists must take part in elections like in any other country and insisted on getting together all democratic forces in action. There must be regular mass movements and a united front has to be formed to further the cause.
It is beyond doubt that any national movement has to be bourgeois democratic movement, said Lenin articulating the significance of united front that has become the need of the time. Communist Party of India has been coming to terms with the decision that has been truly Leninist. The stance to have a united front along with bourgeoisie has been prophetic and their significance stands valid. It was Georgi Dimitrov who helped the idea to evolve ideologically and also taking in the new turn the imperialism was taking as an objective force.
It was 1935, and anti imperialist front was emerging as the primary need. He said while speaking to the seventh World Congress of the Comintern, “…While maintaining their political and organisational independence, they must carry on the active work inside the organisations that are part of the Indian National Congress, facilitating the process of crystallisation of a national revolutionary wing among them for the purpose of further developing the national revolutionary movement of the entire people against British imperialism.”
Much before Dimitrov concretised the idea of united front, Lenin had visualised it especially in the era of imperialism. He saw it as a broad based stage in the process of transition towards socialism. In course of shaping it, he developed the concept and said that working class would be more interested in the transition. All the demands, even today, raised in the phase of bourgeois democracy are to support their cause only. The slogan for more employment opportunities strengthens the cause of maturity of capitalism only. Even in the agrarian sector, the demand for MSP is to further their cause only.
Democracy and parliamentary institutions have expanded as never before. For capitalism, establishment of democracy is an existential issue. Therefore there is greater need for broad based anti-imperialist struggle. In our country, our struggle is in defence of our Constitution that furthers the cause of a democratic set up. Hence, Lenin’s approach has become more relevant. Any democratic revolution is bourgeois democratic revolution in content. The very demands that are raised now in the process of moving towards democratic revolution, they are in reality bourgeois democratic.
It is because when monopoly capitalism develops it destroys non-monopoly sections of capitalism. The medium and the small scale industries too get crushed. Thus it is the class demand of the non- monopoly sections to oppose monopolisation of capital. Thus the very content of the democratic revolution is anti-imperialist. Here comes the dialectics, when the interest of the working class is aligned with that of the capitalist class. Historical development has taken a way when the working class has become the greatest defender of democratic rights, and thus of the bourgeoisie itself.
Following the path that Lenin had directed towards, Georgi Dimitrov had stressed that in India the communists must support, extend, and participate in all anti imperialist activities, not excluding those which are under national reformist leadership. While maintaining their political and organisational independence, they must carry on their active work inside the organisations of Indian national Congress, facilitating the process of crystallisation of a national revolutionary wing among them, for the purpose of further developing national revolutionary movement of the Indian people. (IPA Service)
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