CHARU MAZUMDAR
from Liberation July 1971—January 1972.
Class struggle is now entrenching itself deep among the working class and the poor and landless peasants. We must now make our Party organization stronger and rid it of defects. In a secret party the isolation of the higher committee from the general body of party members and units occurs at all times. As a result of this, the higher committee develops a bureaucratic outlook. A trend to run the Patty organization through orders, directives, mandates, etc., grows. All these are sins inherited from the old Party. We do not get anything done through directives. All our activities should be conducted on the basis of discussions with lower units and by convincing them of their significance. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the higher units always to carry on discussions with lower units and to obtain their views. It is in this way that the Party can increase its capacity for doing revolutionary work and the unity of the Party is strengthened. Chairman Mao has taught us that every communist must fight against conceit and arrogance, for conceit and arrogance destroy all communist virtues. We have united for making a revolution. That is why our relation should be one of mutual respect and co-operation. Each of us must study deeply the chapter entitled “Communists” in Quotations From Chairman Mao Tsetung and try to be a good communist. It is then that the unity of our Party will be as strong as steel. The lower units should be helped to criticize higher units and the opinion of the lower units should be taken at all levels. The struggle between the two lines exists within the Party and it will always be so. That struggle must be conducted in a principled manner. It is this way that the centralism of the Party will be strengthened. Party members must have the full democratic right of giving their opinions and making criticism. In many cases the Party members have complaints against Party functionaries. They should be given the full right to voice and discuss these complaints. It is then that the Party’s functionaries will be able to rectify their weaknesses.
As the struggle advances, the importance of political work also increases. One trend of thinking is that there has been enough of political work and that military work is now the main task. This has been stated clearly in the document submitted by Khokan and his associates. This deviation cannot take the struggle forward : it weakens the forces of the struggle. Our People’s Liberation Army will be able to achieve success only when the number of guerrilla units in the villages increases through political work. There is no way of building guerrilla units except through political propaganda. Political work must be given priority at every stage of the class struggle. This is Chairman’s teaching.
October 4, 1971
