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By Ranabir Samaddar
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Wednesday, 27 February 2008 |
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The Economic and Political Weekly, the most academic
magazine in India, has published a review of Lal Khan's book, "Partition -
can it be undone?", written by Ranabir Samaddar. He gives a positive appraisal
of the book and asks a pertinent question at the end: "But are the official
communists listening to all these?"
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By Rajesh Tyagi in Delhi
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Friday, 07 December 2007 |
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West Bengal has been governed for many years by
the Left Front, whose main component is the CPI(M), one of India’s main
Communist Parties. Their past is one of support for Stalinism. Today the
leaders of this party have transferred their allegiance to so-called
“neo-liberal” capitalism, to the degree that they have actively organised
brutal attacks on peasants defending their land from being taken from them.
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By Rajesh Tyagi in Delhi
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Tuesday, 16 October 2007 |
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The dalits, the “untouchables”, of India are not one
homogenous bloc. Within them a bourgeois layer has risen and aspires to be a
part of the bourgeois class as a whole. With this aim in mind they promote the
idea that the dalits as a caste need their own “dalit party”. To do this they
try to isolate the dalit proletariat from the rest of the Indian working class
to promote their own selfish interests. Here Rajesh Tyagi explains that what is
needed is proletarian unity across the caste barriers.
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By Lal Khan
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Friday, 21 September 2007 |
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The editorial of the latest edition of the Asian Marxist
Review is dedicated to the situation in India, where we have an economic boom
benefiting only a minority and growing poverty at the other end of society.
Sooner or later the situation will explode.
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By Jamil Iqbal
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Monday, 27 August 2007 |
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In the 1940s the Communist Party of India (CPI) was a
prisoner of the policies imposed by Stalin on the international communist
movement. In backward and colonial countries, Stalin decreed, the movement had
to go through two stages - democracy, then socialism. This proved disastrous
for the workers of the whole of the Indian subcontinent.
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By Jamil Iqbal
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Wednesday, 15 August 2007 |
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Today marks the 60th anniversary of Indian independence from British rule. In reality, the
partition of India in 1947 cut through the living body of whole communities,
leading to untold death and misery. This was all part of the tried and tested
method of “divide and rule” and behind it lay the interests of privileged
ruling elites, not those of the poor masses.
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By Jamil Iqbal
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Wednesday, 27 June 2007 |
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In
this first article Jamil Iqbal outlines Marx’s analysis of how British
imperialism, by introducing capitalist methods, broke down the old Asiatic mode
of production and with it the old type of social structures. The British
capitalists did this simply to facilitate the exploitation of Indian resources
and labour, but by so doing also prepared the ground for the modern struggle
against British imperialism.
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By Supriyo Mukherjee in Kolkata
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Friday, 06 April 2007 |
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On March 14 up to 100 peasants in
Nandigram, West Bengal, were brutally
massacred by the police as they protested against land-grabbing operations. The
leaders of the CPI-M in the local government have justified this action as part
of their so-called “development model”. The contradictions between the leaders
of the Indian communist movement and the millions of workers who support them
are posed here sharply.
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By Lal Khan
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Wednesday, 13 September 2006 |
 Aakar Books in New
Delhi, India,
have just published an Indian edition of Alan Woods’ book The Venezuelan
Revolution – A Marxist Perspective. Here we provide the new introduction to the
book by Lal Khan in Pakistan
and details of the publishers for anyone who wishes to get a copy.
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By Lal Khan
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Wednesday, 12 July 2006 |
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There is a lot of hype in the media about India’s booming
economy. The truth is that this affects a small minority of the 1.2 billion
population. Some 300 million Indians survive on less than $1 a day. In this
situation there is revolutionary ferment taking place that will shake India to its
foundation.
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By Maya Valecha of the Inquillabi Comminist Sangathan
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Friday, 03 February 2006 |
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Four hundred thousand slum dwellers were rendered homeless within a period of two months just before the heavy rain season of this year in the city of Bombay alone. This is happening all over India, making millions homeless to open up land for speculative investment. We publish a contribution from someone who is active in fighting the demolitions. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Thursday, 19 January 2006 |
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A new Indian edition of Trotsky’s Revolution Betrayed has just come out, published by Aakar Books and will be available at the Delhi (January 27) and Kolkata (January 25) book fairs. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Wednesday, 02 November 2005 |
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Aakar Books in Delhi, India, have recently published a new edition of Fascism - what it is and how to fight it with a new introduction by Anindee Banerjee and Saurobijay Sarkar. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Friday, 30 September 2005 |
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Aakar Books in Delhi, India, have recently
published a new edition of The Permanent Revolution. Here we provide the
details and a picture of the cover.
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By Alan Woods
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Monday, 13 June 2005 |
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On February 24, an estimated 50 million people, including Government
employees, answered the call for a nationwide general strike in India. They were
demanding a review of the Supreme Court judgment on the right to strike and
reversal of the VJP government's economic policies. The strike was total in the Left-ruled States, and it disrupted normal life
in the whole of this vast country. |
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By Lal Khan, Lahore
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Tuesday, 01 June 2004 |
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The elections in India are a turning point in the class struggle in
India and around the world. The
Indian proletariat has time and time again shown its capacity, capability, will,
and determination to transform society. The record support for the Communist
Parties is a refelction of this fact. Lal Khan analyses the elections in India
and the reasons behind Sonia Gandhi's refusal to accept the priemiership. |
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By Phil Mitchinson
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Tuesday, 18 May 2004 |
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Last week's elections in India saw Congress defeat the BJP in spite of all
pre-electoral forcasts that said a BJP victory was a foregone conclusion. They
miscalculated because they ignored the real living conditions of hundreds of
millions of India's poor. Even more significant was the record vote of the
Left Front, which indicates a radicalisation of the working class. India is on
the move. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Monday, 09 February 2004 |
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Due to the extremely busy agenda of the Marxist MPs elected to the Pakistani
Parliament, we received this report on their intervention in the World Social
Forum with a little delay. In spite of this, we believe the report gives an idea
of how Marxist MPs – workers’ MPs – can have an impact far beyond the
borders of their own countries, and build links with workers around the world. |
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By Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, Member National Assembly; Pakistan
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Monday, 17 November 2003 |
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Today one fifth of the human race inhabits the South Asian subcontinent. This
region has one of the oldest civilisations and rich cultural traditions. They
contributed immensely in the development of human knowledge in various fields of
science and the arts. This region is one of the most fertile and rich places in
the world, yet hunger, starvation and poverty is on the rise. Around
1.5 billion people will continue to suffer in this quagmire. Is this the destiny
of this and future generations to come? This book very affectively answers this
question. |
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By our religious affairs correspondent
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Monday, 03 November 2003 |
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It is not easy to be a saint, and least of all in the sinful world of the
21st century - or so one might think. But this opinion is definitely not
shared by Pope John Paul II. In fact, he has already manufactured no fewer than
474 of them during his stint at the Vatican. So there can be no complaints about
his level of productivity. He has become an enthusiastic market leader in the
saint-manufacturing business.
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By Lal Khan
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Monday, 15 September 2003 |
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One of the most spectacular episodes of the intense revolt against the
British Raj was the uprising of the sailors of the British Indian Navy in 1946.
On February 18 of that year the sailors and shipmen of the British Indian Navy
battleship HMS "Talwaar"
went on strike. They invited the masses of Bombay to join in the
struggle they had started. As a result, anti- British imperialist sentiments
started to spread like wildfire throughout the region. |
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By Lal Khan, Editor of the Asian Marxist Review, in Lahore
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Monday, 15 September 2003 |
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As the scorching summer heat begins to recede, the lengthening shadows and
falling leaves announce the onset of another autumn. After blistering Asian
summers the autumn monsoons tend to bring some relief. Yet this year there is no
respite for the oppressed and the deprived of the region. |
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By Sajawal Khan
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Sunday, 14 September 2003 |
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The Indian film industry is the second largest in the world producing about
300 movies a year. Not more than 5 or six movies hit the box office. One wonders
why people keep on investing in an apparently money losing business. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Thursday, 22 May 2003 |
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On Wednesday, millions of workers in India went on a national strike protesting
against government plans to privatise state-owned firms. The one-day stoppage
heavily affected sectors such as banking, insurance, oil, power, coal mining,
telecommunications, engineering and textiles. |
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By Lal Khan, Editor of the Asian Marxist Review, in Lahore.
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Tuesday, 13 May 2003 |
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The sudden peace overtures
sent out by Vajpayee on April 18 have stirred the political landscape of the
Indo-Pak subcontinent. Most sections of the intellectual and political elites of
both India and Pakistan, and even far beyond, are astonished. Yet, if we take a
quick look at the post partition history of the subcontinent it is not
surprising at all. |
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By Lal Khan, Editor of the Asian Marxist Review
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Monday, 17 March 2003 |
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The United Nations have never been able to solve any serious
conflict. The present crisis over Iraq has exposed it as an empty talking shop.
But there is another conflict that has been festering for more than 50 years,
that between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir. Lal Khan pints out the
shortcomings of the UN on this issue and indicates the class struggle as the
only way of finally solving the problem. |
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By Lal Khan, Editor of the Asian Marxist Review, in Lahore
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Monday, 03 June 2002 |
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Lal Khan looks at the developing threat of war between India and Pakistan, and particularly at the question of Kashmir,
which has caused three wars in the last 54 years since independence. He looks at the catastrophic effects of the nuclear bomb,
and explains the necessity of a class struggle that cuts across national boundaries,
to create a a socialist federation of the Indian subcontinent, as the only way of ending forever the
threat of nuclear war. |
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By Lal Khan, Editor of the Asian Marxist Review, in Lahore
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Saturday, 11 May 2002 |
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In the last weeks India has seen some of the most horrific communal violence in the whole
of its post-partition history. There are more people killed in India each year due to
religious violence than in any other country in the world. At the time of partition in 1947,
more than a
million Hindus and Muslims were slaughtered in the communal frenzy ensuing from the act of
partition. Having utterly failed to provide a decent standard of living for the working people
of India, the Indian ruling class are resorting to
crude chauvinism to maintain their support. But over the last 50 years capitalism
has shown it is utterly incapable of providing the solutions to the problems
of the masses. The only way out of this nightmare is a socialist federation of South Asia. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Friday, 21 September 2001 |
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The first reports have started to arrive about the actions taken all over the world during the
Free Satish Kumar International Day of Action. The campaign for the release of Satish Kumar, however
must be stepped up. Check out the details of
what you can do to help. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Tuesday, 04 September 2001 |
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Left parties and unions in India, together with the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign,
are appealing for an International Day of Action on September 18th 2001 for the release of
the popular Indian left wing editor Satish Kumar. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Tuesday, 04 September 2001 |
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In the middle of August the well-know Indian journalist and publisher Satish Kumar
was framed and arrested in Faridabad, just outside Delhi. For more than 20 years
he has published a paper called 'Mazdoor Morcha', which is renowned for exposing
corruption and cases of abuse of power by the state authorities. Now he has been arrested
and the authorities have set the date for his bail hearing in December! |
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By Alan Woods
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Tuesday, 25 April 2000 |
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The arrogance of US imperialism is shown by its desire to dominate
every area of the globe. Asia is of special importance to
Washington's long-term economic and strategic interests. Alan
Woods reviews the aims and results of Clinton's recent visit to Asia
and its impact on India, Pakistan, Kashmir and Afghanistan. |
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By Sarah Glynn from Calcuta
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Monday, 31 January 2000 |
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During the month of January we saw some very
important strikes in India. The dock
workers paralysed Indian ports for 5 days, The UP
electricity workers went on strike for
11 days, etc. The state used harsh repression (including
sending the army to the ports)
against these movements. Yet very little of this was
reported in other countries. Sara
Glynn reports from Calcutta. |
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By Sarah Glynn from Calcutta
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Thursday, 16 December 1999 |
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While the streets of Seattle may have dragged some of the issues surrounding
liberalisation into a wider public consciousness, the newly elected right wing
Indian government, supported by the main Congress opposition, is driving full
steam ahead with its programme of economic reform. |
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By Lal Khan, Editor of the Asian Marxist Review, in Lahore
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Wednesday, 15 December 1999 |
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Even when the results of the exit polls of the 13th Lok Sabah (Lower house of
the Parliament) were pouring in, the caretaker government of Atal Bihari
Vajpayee announced a steep rise in prices of petroleum products. This was the
first harsh blow showing what was in store for the impoverished masses of India
under this reactionary NDA (National Democratic Alliance) regime. |
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By Lal Khan, Editor of the Asian Marxist Review, in Lahore
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Saturday, 05 June 1999 |
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The Indian subcontinent is bracing itself with the threat of
a fourth full fledged war
.The trumpets of war are being sounded on both sides of
the border and a frantical war
hysteria is being build up. The situation is tense with rapid
troop deployment and
movements especially along the line of control, the
temporary border dividing the
Himalayan state of Kashmir. Lal Khan, editor of the
Pakistani Marxist fortnightly paper
Jeddo Judh (Class Struggle) provides a socialist analysis. |
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