Contribution to the 13th
International Communist Seminar
Brussels, 2-4 May 2004
www.icsbrussels.org , ics[at]icsbrussels.org
The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
[Liberation]
India
by Daya Varma
Introduction:
Simply put, imperialism means interference in the internal affairs of other nations, ruthless exploitation, colonization, neo-colonization and war. All of this is going on at the present time. Peace and imperialism cannot co-exist. When imperialism does not actually wage war, it prepares for one. War provides the greatest convergence between imperialist economics and politics. The only time imperialism refrains from using force is when it can save lives such as in Rwanda 10 years ago and Sudan now.
All aspects of imperialism are operative at all times. However, some aspects become its dominant manifestation at specific period of history. Currently, the US imperialism is in the period of an all out drive for world domination, nearly 65 years after the axis of three failed during World War 2.
At this juncture, the US is the dominant world power. Inter-imperialist contradiction are secondary and cooperation primary. Likewise, contradictions between the Third World, the worst victims of imperialism, and the US imperialism are simmering while compliance by the leaders of most Third World countries to the US dictates is the order of the day.
Notwithstanding certain variations in the US foreign policy from President to
President, continuity is its essence. With the state becoming the instrument
of capital, the dominance of finance capital in production, favorable terms
offered by the IMF, World Bank and WTO to imperialism particularly US imperialism
and the dominance of multinational corporations in the world economy, the US
is poised to exert control over world resources, specially energy. In this endeavour
of the US, other imperialist powers as well as the ruling elite in the Third
World are adjusting their policies and competing with each other for a more
lucrative reward within the framework of the US world domination. The Indian
case is a good example of this readjustment.
Evolution of Indian foreign policy:
The British colonial rule of India ended in 1947. Initially, the foreign policy of independent India retained footprints of the long anti-colonial struggle, which was highly influenced by the Bolshevik revolution, the glorious struggle of the Indian Communist Party and popular demand to end feudalism. Consequently in the two decades following the independence, Indian ruling classes did not develop a decisive alliance with US and attempted to distance themselves from both the Soviet Union and the USA. The foreign policy of both India and Pakistan revolved around mutual conflict. At the same time, India took several steps to gain international importance in its effort to emerge as a regional superpower. It played a role in developing the movement of nonaligned countries and in the Bandung conference of 1955, which was attended by leaders of India, Indonesia, Yugoslavia, Peoples Republic of China and Egypt. In its ambition to become the central figure in South Asia, India has made some attempts to improve ties with China, Russia and European powers such as Germany and France. While in the wake of its nuclear explosion in 1998, India cited China as the enemy number one, both the Defense Minister and the Prime Minister of India paid friendly visit to China. Notwithstanding these developments, India’s dependence on and loyalty to the US has grown so enormously during the last few years that it overshadows India’s relations with other major powers like China, Russia or the European Union. For the Indian government, ties with other powers constitute merely a minor extension of the US-oriented Pakistan-obsessed core of its foreign policy. Occasional speculations about an India-Russia-China axis notwithstanding, the dream of playing second fiddle to a US-led coalition, a US-Israel-India axis for instance, has come to stay as the defining vision of India’s foreign policy.
India-US-Israel Axis:
The change in Indian economic policy in favor of liberalization, which started in the 1980’s led India to opt for a distinct pro-US policy in the 1990’. It picked up a momentum in late 90’s with Hindu fundamentalist government of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) coming to power. The pro-US policy acquired a feverish pace in the wake of September 11, 2001 with New Delhi going out of its way to curry favor with Washington hoping to use its status as a junior partner or regional ally of the US in contention with China. The present warming up of relations between India and Pakistan is a favorable byproduct of the America’s need for both countries in its central Asia and Middle-East policies. In essence however, India has emerged as a strategic ally of the US.
During a visit to Washington last year, India’s National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra openly advocated the idea of a US-Israel-India axis claiming that all these three countries are faced with the common threat of modern day terrorism and such an alliance would have the moral authority to take bold decisions in extreme cases of terrorist provocation. Essentially Mishra was saying that India, Israel and the US have the moral authority to launch aggression, separately or jointly as the need be. Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee called for an alliance of the three "embattled democracies".
The Indian government is increasingly building up military alliance in different fields - both with the US and Israel. Several thousand Indian soldiers are getting specialized training in Israel for containing ‘insurgency’. The US has cleared the sale of Israeli falcon airborne rudder system to India and the Government of India is expected to acquire arrow missile defense system, which is a product of joint US-Israeli cooperation.
Despite mass poverty, some of the worst figures for child malnutrition and female illiteracy anywhere, and mass unemployment, successive Indian governments have been spending massive amounts on purchasing expensive arms to bolster their self-image as a regional power and maintain anti-Pakistan hysteria. According to the latest Yearbook of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India's arms imports increased 72 percent in 2002, making it the world’s second largest buyer of arms from abroad. Between 1993 and 2002, India spent a total of over US$9 billion on purchase of arms, making it one of the top clients of the global arms industry anywhere. Over the next decade, Indian armed forces will receive 140 new generation Su-30 combat planes, over 300 new tanks and a dozen new warships from Russia. Talks are on to acquire an aircraft carrier from Russia, new submarines from Russia and France and a US$1.2 billion Falcon airborne warning system from Israel. India has become one of the biggest customers for Israel’s arms industry in recent years. Thus the US sees India as a well-armed ally.
Washington has invited New Delhi to be a part of the multinational "stabilization" force in Iraq. It is reported that Albert Thibault, Deputy Chief of Mission, and Steve Sboto, Military Attaché at the US Embassy in Delhi, met the Indian Army brass recently and discussed the "stabilization" force proposal. The US ambassador to India Robert Blackwell has also floated the issue at the highest levels with the Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes. Thibault hinted to the possibility of the Indian Army administering one of the four military sectors in Iraq. The Indian Army Chief recently visited the USA and several important US military personnel have been visiting India.
The Pentagon and Government of India are conducting a series of joint military exercises on land, sea and in air, in hilly and jungle terrain of the North-East India, joint paratroopers exercise in Alaska, air-lift operation in India with US Air Force C-130 Cargo Aircraft and Indo-US joint 'peace-keeping' exercise. Encouraged by the US, Indian Navy has launched a 3-year program to construct a fleet capable of projecting power into South China Sea. Recently the US and India have also agreed upon to hold naval exercise with atomic submarine in Indian Ocean. Such close cooperation between Washington and New Delhi implies that the US feels confident of a long-term relationship with India since both the major political parties of India, the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the official opposition, the Indian National Congress.
These developments are contrary to the interest of South Asian and Third World unity. Already Pakistan has started complaining about the India-Israel nexus and apprehensions are being expressed from all of South Asia about the impact it will have on the strategic equilibrium in the subcontinent. Naturally these developments have resulted in a reversal of India’s traditional support for the Palestinians. In its place India has offered both formal and informal support for Israel, and despite mass protests, the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was invited to visit India and welcomed by Prime Minister Vajpayee and the leader of opposition Sonia Gandhi.
The relevance of India in American strategy:
The US is increasingly losing its grip on its traditional allies in Europe, barring UK, both in the economic and military fields. European Union, mainly under the leadership of Germany, is coming up as a strong competitor to the US in world capitalist market. In Asia, China and Japan are becoming a threat to US economic hegemony. In the military field the position of NATO also is not cohesive. In the Iraq invasion, the US could not involve NATO. In such a situation US imperialists are more and more looking to Asia and searching for a strong new ally like India. The visit of India’s Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Advani to the US in June of 2003 culminated in informal understanding between the two countries to work together in a global and regional architecture that accepts American pre-eminence but recognizes India's own sphere of influence.
For the US, India is the most attractive alternative. India has a relatively developed infrastructure in espionage and military operations. India has a large army, which has fought wars against Pakistan, was successful in bringing independence for Bangladesh (former East Pakistan). Indian army has been the busiest in the world in internal suppression of people’s struggle starting with the Communist Party of India-led armed peasant struggle in Telangana in late 1940’s to North East and Kashmir since then. India and the US have taken several steps to suppress the peasant struggle in Nepal under the leadership of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists).
Of all the consideration leading to the US patronage of India, the US fear of China is perhaps the main factor. With the rise of China as a strong competitor in world market as also its rise as a mighty military power, the US imperialism is keen on using Indian resources against China. India too sees China as a main threat to its hegemonic aspirations. China’s ability to meet the basic needs of its population while developing its economy ahead of India despite its starting with a weaker industrial base at the time of liberation in 1949 is perceived by the Indian people as a weakness of India’s internal and external policy.
In the past, the people of the third world, especially of the Middle-east looked towards India as a source of moral and political support. The US imperialist hold on India is bound to isolate India. As well, the huge expenditure on military coupled with the policy of liberalization and privatization will increase the deprivation of the toiling masses approximately 30 percent of whom (nearly 300 million) already subsist on less than one dollar a day.
Fundamentalism in the service of imperialism and reaction:
Reactionaries all over the world have fanned religious fundamentalism and ethno-nationalism, which in all its forms serve imperialism and reaction. Islamic fundamentalism has practically paralyzed all Muslim-majority countries. Hindu fundamentalism in India is on way to destroying the very fabric of the Indian society.
The West led by the United states initiated the construction of anti-Muslim culture in mid 1990’s. Many of its consequences are already apparent. This anti-Muslim climate was a gift to Hindu fundamentalists in India. They embarked on systematically obscuring every relevant issue of the country by invoking the need for Hindu identity and a Hindu Rashtra (country). The most reactionary section of the Indian bourgeoisie excelled all others in using religious fundamentalist as a shield in its anti-people, anti-minority and pro-imperialist policies. Given that India has historically been a multi-religious, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-nationality society, the Indian bourgeoisie is aggressively using Hindu fundamentalism to erect India on the pattern of Israel. A byproduct of this Hindu nationalism, among other adverse consequences, is the construction of a pro-imperialist atmosphere specially among the Indian middle class. Consequently in the Indian context, the struggle against imperialism is intricately linked with a struggle against fundamentalism on one hand and that for the imminent material needs of the masses on the other.
The struggle against imperialism and for peace:
We think that a three pronged-movement is essential to thwart US imperialist policy of world domination through various mechanisms including direct military intervention such as in Afghanistan and Iraq and threats of war against Iran and North Korea.
First, there is a great merit to general international movement to oppose the US and expose its acts of aggression and intervention at a global level. Such a movement in the past was expressed during the Viet Nam war and has surfaced again against the US war on Afghanistan and more particularly against Iraq. Millions of people all over the world specially in Europe and North America came out on the streets to express their disgust at the US-led war on Iraq. These were mass protests involving all sections of the society; these were not limited to the traditional left. Although these movements have not succeeded in ending the US occupation of Iraq, they have forced both the US and its closest ally Britain to tell more lies and to begin thinking in terms of finding a way out of the crises they have landed in. Nothing in Iraq is going in favor of the US. Even the traditional corporate media is divided over the whole issue.
Second, there should simultaneously be important movements within specific countries demanding that their governments distance themselves from US policy of war and aggression. The former government of Canada led by Chrétien refrained from becoming a part of US-led coalition against Iraq precisely because of the anti-war sentiment of the masses. The anti-war movement in Spain led to a change in the government and may lead to withdrawal of its troops from Iraq. Mass protests have forced several governments including the Indian government to refrain from offering full scale open support to the US-led war on Iraq. Because of the popular pressure, the Indian Parliament had to pass a resolution condemning U.S.-led war on Iraq and reject the US invitation to send Indian Army in Iraq. The anti-US mass movement within the country might be crucial especially within imperialist countries of the European Union. The broad masses in the developing countries suffer from all round deprivation because of the repressive policies of their own ruling classes and are generally deprived of news of international developments; consequently the anti-imperialist response in the Third World is invariably tied to demands for social justice and reflects in their opposition to ruling class policies of liberalization, privatization and globalization. Consequently the struggle often takes the form of strikes and other forms of protests. Our Party has consistently mobilized workers and peasants aside from other sections in anti-imperialist and anti-war protests with the slogan "Save Democracy, Save India" as well as to oppose the Indian government’s policy of privatization of public sector and anti-labor laws. On February 24 of this year, responding to a call by left trade unions, nearly 50 million workers participated in a general strike paralyzing government functioning to protest a Supreme Court ruling banning strike by government employees. Our Party led numerous anti-war demonstrations in several parts of the country. On November 7, 2002 we staged a 45-km long anti-war march in Jharkhand state, which was recently carved out of Bihar and where our party has been waging relentless peasant struggle for the last 30 years.
In our opinion, the third and the most relevant aspect of the struggle in developing countries such as India calls for intensifying the struggle for democratic revolution of which anti-imperialist struggle is an integral part. Given the uneven economic development within India and its other national characteristics, there exist several influential regional political parties besides the Congress and BJP. Despite marginal differences, all these political parties hold more or less similar position with regard to collaboration with imperialism and on economic policies. With the emergence of Hindu fundamentalist forces on the forefront of the Indian polity, most of these political formations highlight their adherence to secularism, which too is a shallow proclamation because they ally with the Congress one day and with BJP the next day. They practice ruthless anti-people policies whenever and wherever they form the government while trying to allure the minority community, especially the 15 percent of India’s Muslim population, with their secularist slogan. We think that a consistent unwavering anti-imperialist program cannot be separated from social justice at all levels. Secularism is merely an assertion of democratic state principle. Secularism divorced from full democratic rights to peasants, workers and other toiling masses is an empty slogan with little content and destined to fail. For this reason, our Party has entered the present Parliamentary elections in frontal opposition to all bourgeois reactionary parties on a thorough-going democratic anti-imperialist platform.
Conclusion:
It is true that the world today is not a bipolar one like in the Cold War era. At the same time, the world is also not in a steady unipolar state. Bush’s Iraq war has highlighted the acute isolation of the Anglo-American axis from the rest of the world. Trends towards a multipolar, or maybe again a bipolar order, are now quite discernible. While this present period of transition is opening up more and more space for foreign policy initiatives, the present Indian government remains committed in favor of a US-dominated unipolar world. From various statements of Congress Party leadership, which is now the main opposition with a slim chance of forming the next government in mid-May, it is clear that there will be little change in Indian foreign policy. This has pushed India into a tight corner, drastically limiting the range of foreign policy initiatives. Our Party has consistently stood for an independent foreign policy and solidarity with the entire developing world including China and believes this should be an integral part of its domestic policy. By its wars of aggression, especially the illegal and unjust war on Iraq, the US imperialism has also created condition for its own demise. The collapse of US imperialism may not be imminent but is certain. The united struggle by the people of the world will make this possible.