Topic: Caste Annihilation & Historical Mission of Working Class
[Click here to read the Convention’s approach paper]
Delhi, 6th October 2024 :- A convention was organized by Proletarian People’s Front (Sarwahara Jan Morcha) on Sunday on the topic “Caste Annihilation & Historical Mission of the Working Class” at Ambedkar Bhawan in Delhi. It saw the participation of about 150 delegates from ten states – Delhi, UP, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand – which included social-political activists, students, researchers, professors, lawyers, workers and trade union activists.
The program started at 1:45 pm with a Hindi revolutionary song “Chale Chalo Dilon Ke Ghaav Lekar” presented by the ‘Arunoday’ cultural team. Pyarelal ‘Shakun’ presented the inaugural speech welcoming all the participants, and invited the Presidium – comprising Mukesh Aseem, Vidushi Prajapati, Pyarelal Shakun, Ramdayal Paswan, and Ramnaresh – on stage to conduct and preside over the proceedings to follow. Initiating the discussion, the base paper for this Convention titled ‘Towards a Program of Caste Annihilation’, prepared by Proletariat People’s Front, was presented by the Front’s Convenor Mukesh Aseem; following which various organisational representatives and individuals were invited to present their views on it.
In the base paper, a brief historical review of the ideas and efforts made so far in the direction of caste annihilation was presented, along with an analysis of their limitations. Had a democratic revolution taken place in India against feudalism and colonial rule by carrying out revolutionary land reforms from below under the leadership of workers and farmers, it would have weakened caste and caste-based oppression to a great extent. But instead of a militant democratic revolution, the Indian capitalist class came to power by making an agreement with imperialism and the landlords, and the basis of caste oppression remained almost unbroken as the land ownership remained largely with the upper caste landlords. Despite the limited right of reservation to the Dalit castes, the dismantling of caste-based occupations and the elimination of untouchability in public life to a large extent, Capitalism has also co-opted caste in electoral politics in the interest and security of its class rule, and in the era of fascism being upheaved due to the economic crisis and the increasing concentration of capital and wealth, a tendency of rising caste oppression on the toiling and deprived masses can be witnessed. Therefore, the struggle for caste annihilation has now become an integral part of the proletariat’s struggle to abolish capitalism. The working class will fulfill the task of abolishing all types of exploitation and oppression including caste as part of the task of completing its historical mission of abolishing private property and establishing a classless society. Although under this final goal, there are some immediate tasks of the anti-caste struggle for today as well. In the base paper, these immediate tasks along with a proposed outline of a caste annihilation program from the proletarian perspective were also discussed.
Representative speakers from various organisations while congratulating the Proletariat People’s Front for organising a discussion on this important issue, engaged in a serious and heated debate in which interventions were made even by the audience present. Various disagreements, criticisms and suggestions were put forward and the need to carry forward an even more extensive debate among the revolutionary forces of the working class in order to prepare a caste annihilation programme from a proletarian perspective was stressed.
The speakers included Tuhin Deb (CPI ML Red Star), JP Narela (Jaati Unmoolan Sangathan), Nanhelal (Jaati Unmoolan Manch/Charvak), Shovan Chakraborty (Professor, Patna Science College), Alok (Mazdoor Ekta Kendra), Shyam Narayan Singh (Manthan Magazine), Buddesh (Vikalp Manch, Saharanpur), Lakhwinder (Editor, Mukti Sangram newspaper), Vimal Trivedi (CPI ML Mass Line), Arjun Prasad Singh (Democratic People’s Front), Subhash (Shramik Sangram Committee), Amrit Lal (social activist in Jaipur), Pravendra (Mazdoor Sahayata Samiti), Saurabh (Samajwadi Lok Manch), Santosh (Mazdoor Magazine), Veer Bhagat (CPI ML), Sujoy (Communist League Fourth Internationalist), Shambhavi (Collective students org), Niranjan (AIRSO), Mahavir Poddar (social activist in Hazaribagh), and Ajay Sinha (PRC CPI ML). All the presentations are available on the Facebook page of Proletarian People’s Front.
Representatives of Communist Ghadar Party of India, Pragatisheel Mahila Ekta Kendra, IFTU (Sarwahara), Vimukta Stree Mukti Sangathan, PDYF, Bihar Grameen Mazdoor Union, Nirman Mazdoor Sangharsh Union (Patna), Khan Mazdoor Karmchari Union (WB), Mayapuri Mazdoor Union (Delhi) were also present. Apart from this, letters were sent to the organizers by Lal Jhanda Mazdoor Union (Samanvay Samiti), Inquilabi Mazdoor Kendra, and Karnataka Janashakthi wishing success for the Convention and expressing regret for their absence. Comrades of Gargi Prakashan, Mukti Sangram, Manthan Magazine, Communist Ghadar Party, Yatharth Magazine and Sarwahara Newspaper had also set up stalls for selling revolutionary and progressive literature.
Towards the end, on behalf of the presidium, Vidushi put forward a proposal that – considering the discussion successfully held in this Convention on the serious subject of caste annihilation as only the first step, and in order to advance this in the direction of formulating a revolutionary caste annihilation programme, a sum-up of all the ideas and points presented in the Convention along with a response paper will be prepared by the Proposer Committee of the PPF, which will be circulated among the revolutionary and progressive movements for an advanced and more intensive discussion. This proposal was passed with resounding applause and the Convention was successfully concluded at 7:30 pm with powerful slogans of ‘Inquilab Zindabad! Down with Capitalism-Imperialism! Destroy Casteism-Patriarchy-Fascism!’
Issued by:-
Proposer Committee,
Proletarian People’s Front (Sarwahara Jan Morcha)
Sarwahara 