p A new round of mass struggles of working-class actions has developed in our country in the recent period, centering around the question of wages, trade union rights, unemployment and land. The Communist Party is heading this new wave of mass struggles and strengthening the forces of Left and democratic unity through these struggles.

p The dl-India one-day strike action of central government employees of September 1968 which had to confront severe repression and mass shooting; the great "March to Parliament" led on May Day this year by the united 481 front of all Indian trade union centres and independent federations around the issues of wages, job security and trade union rights (barring only the trade union centre controlled by the ruling Party, the National Congress); the marches and demonstrations of youth and students against unemployment organised in the month of March to May, 1969; the mass movement for occupation of fallow and waste lands by agricultural workers and poor peasants in different states of India last year and this year: these are among the symptoms of the sharpening of the class struggle in the days ahead.

p We want to tell you, comrades, that in this situation, when the task of building unity of the Left and democratic forces to hurl back the challenge of reaction has become so urgent, our Party has come out with new initiatives to forge unity in action of the communist movement in our country.

p The division in the Indian communist movement that came in 1964 was mainly due to the splitting activities launched by the Chinese Party leadership against the international Communist and workers’ movement, following the letter of June 14, 1963, where they launched their disruptive alternative line and platform. These splitting activities have done the greatest damage to the revolutionary movement in our country. Our Party from that time on has been constantly fighting to build up unity in action beetwen our Party and the parallel Party which calls itself the Communist Party (Marxist).

p Both at the Bombay Congress of our Party held in 1964 and at the Patna Congress of our Party held in 1968, our Party made such appeal for united action.

p The Communist Party (Marxist) has constantly been rejecting our appeals and denouncing us as “revisionists” who, according to them, should be fought to a finish.

p At the Fourth General Election held in February 1967, the Communist Party (Marxist) concentrated their main attack against our Party. They refused to form a single united front with us in West Bengal and other states with the result that the Congress and reactionaries benefited from this division and disunity.

p Similarly, in all other states also, with the exception of Kerala, the CP(M) concentrated on defeating oUr Party—even by allying themselves with reactionary forces.

p The results of the 1967 General Election proved the correctness of our Party’s policies and slogans and dealt a severe blow to the calculations of the CP(M). Our Party emerged stronger than the CP(M) both inside Parliament and in most of the state assemblies.

p It is this chastening experience that led to the beginnings of some serious rethinking within that Party. The formation of a single united front in W. Bengal and its resounding victory in 1969 was a signal triumph for the political policies and unifying role of our Party.

p Experience therefore has led to a situation when our Party’s appeal for united action is now beginning to secure some response from the CP(M). Recently our Party at the session of its National Council held in April 1969 decided to appeal to the CP(M) that the leaders of our Party and of their Party should meet and discuss the question of closer co-operation and understanding 482 between the two Parties and closer unity in action, in order to forge unity of the Left and democratic forces on an all-India plane, to meet the challenge of reaction and offer a viable alternative to Congress rule at the centre. We put forward three concrete proposals: the formation of an all-India co-ordination body between the two Parties; the formation of a joint bloc of the’ two Parties in Parliament and in the state assemblies where no united fronts yet exist; unity in action on the mass fronts and in the mass organisations.

p Although the CP(M) leadership did not accept the specific points put forward by us for joint discussion, the meeting between representatives of the two Parties was held in Calcutta on May 24, 25 and 26 and led to the signing of a joint Communique.

p Our Party regards the meeting and the Communique as a good beginning and will do everything possible to carry forward this development.

p Having split the Indian communist movement once in 1964, the Mao leadership has continued the good work since then. Under Maoist inspiration, a sizable section has now split away fron the CP(Marxist) and formed the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) which publicly proclaims its allegiance to Mao’s thoughts. This Party includes several misguided young men and militant elements. The Mao leadership has now come out denouncing the leadership of the CP(Marsist) as “revisionists” and "agents of the Indian bourgeoisie", the very epithets which the CP(M) leaders hurled at us when they split away.

p The task of unifying the communist movement in India has thus been rendered still more complicated.

p The leadership of the CP(M) has now come out in open criticism of the leadership of the CPC and of the ideology of the thought of Mao Tse-tung being a negation of Marxism-Leninism. But it must be remembered that they still regard what they call "Soviet revisionism" as one of the main impediments to political ideological unity of the world communist movement. In this they once again stand on the side of Maoism.

p Even while criticising some decisions of the 9th Congress of the CPC the CP(M) leadership reiterates its broad agreement with the so-called general line of the Chinese leadership contained in the Chinese June 14, 1963 Letter.

p Our Party, despite all this, will continue steadfastly with its policy of working step by step for re-unification of the Indian communist movement. We regard the task of building closer unity in action between our Party and the CP(M) as the first urgent step in this direction. The limited success we have achieved so far we regard as a success for our political and tactical line as corresponding to the realities of the developing Indian situation. We venture to say that more and more people are rallying to this line of our Party.

p If there are friends here who think they can help in this direction, we and our Party shall welcome such help, "^e shall not regard such help as “ interference” in the internal affairs of our Party.

There are friends here who have appealed that in the interest of unity there should be no criticism of the Chinese leadership at this conference. We are sorry we are not in a position to respond to this appeal. The damage done to the Indian revolutionary movement by the splitting and disruptive policy 483 of the Mao Tse-tung leadership has been too serious, costly and extensive for us to keep silent about it. And that damage is continuing even today. It is impossible to report on our movement in India without referring to the harm done and the problems created by the Peking leaders. Even at this very moment over the Peking radio and otherwise they are instigating provocations and attacks against the united front governments in Bengal and Kerala, and in this respect the positions of the Maoist leaders coincide with those of reactionaries within our country.