TEXT- IX : On The Students and Youth Front

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A Manifesto of the Young Communist International to the Revolutionary Organisation of Youth

… Youth organisation must consist of worker, peasant and intellectual youths, who participate in the everyday struggle of toilers, and who have set themselves the aim of the revolutionary emancipation of India and the solution of economic and social questions.

Realising the necessity of organising the workers, peasants and intellectual youths, we must also point out the nature of such organisation.

A youth organisation must be formed on the basis of centralism and discipline.

Members of the Youth organisation must dedicate themselves to the cause of revolution and the liberation of the toilers from imperialist and feudal oppression, not heeding the difficulties, the conditions and the character of the work which they must accomplish.

Members of the youth organisations must have close contact with the youth masses; participating and leading them in their daily struggles. The youth organisation must become the real leader of the Indian youth and avoid the dangers of becoming a sect.

The work among the youth masses, to organise and to give them revolutionary enlightenment, and at the same time to train themselves to become real fighters in the Communist Party of India — leaders of the revolutionary mass movement in the country — these are the tasks which the youth organisation must fulfil and which also determine the nature of the organisation. …

Source: Masses of India, July, 1925

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Youth

… The youth is the only section of society able to free itself from the obsolete ideas of the older nationalist movement, and it is therefore upon the youth that the responsibility rests of forming and educating the new mass nationalist movement. The efforts of the old bourgeois school to retain its control over the Congress, the trade union movement, etc., can only be defeated by the new, more vigorous ideas developed by the youth. …

The rising generation is faced with two lines of action. It may pursue the path of traditional pure nationalism, which will inevitably lead it to the defence of capitalism and hence of imperialism and of political and social reaction. Or it may take the side of the historically progressive mass movement, assist it in its difficulties, and advance the cause of national independence, democracy and economic and cultural progress.

The youth of all India is now awakening to consciousness on a great scale. It is essential that the Workers’ and Peasants’ Party should attract to its banner the newly organising forces of the youth. It must take energetic measures to draw as large a proportion as possible to the side of the masses, and to give them its scientific social outlook and energetic radical policy.

There must be established an independent youth organisation which shall have as its main: functions to draw the youth into the political struggle, and to broaden the social basis of the traditional youth organisation by recruiting working class and peasant youths. It shall undertake the fallowing tasks:

(1) participation in the political nationalist movement, (2) advance the cause of trade unionism among young workers, and study their working conditions, (3) fight for the redress of the special grievances of the youth, especially the unemployed, (4) political study and self-preparation, (5) conduct of education in political and economic subjects among workers, villages and students, (6) act as a centre within the existing general youth organisations for the propaganda of radical ideas and the advancement of a sound policy.

The party must appoint a subcommittee to work with the youth organisation.

Source:

A Call to Action (a pamphlet published by Muzaffar Ahmad for the WPP of Bengal.) Meerut Record, P 523

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Statement of Program And Policy of Young ComradeS’ League

1. What is the youth movement ?

The youth movement has now been active in Bengal for some time, and has received much support and advice from its elders, but it has hitherto failed to establish itself. It has failed (a) to reach and establish contact with the masses, (a) to conduct any campaign for the real needs and grievances of the youth, (c) to break away from the ideas of the “elder statesmen” of the Congress, who in practice control most of the organisations, and to develop any new ideas of its own. A youth organisation is required which shall overcome these defects and shall do some real work on the basis of modern and correct social conceptions.

A youth movement has its main functions : (a) to combat the reactionary ideas which become crystallised in organisations run mainly by middle-aged or old men. The Indian national movement is in its thinking many years out-of-date. It is the duty of the organised youth to introduce to it ideas, policies and methods suitable to present conditions, (b) To educate and prepare the youth for the political and social work of the future, (c) To defend the special interests and needs of the younger generation. A youth organisation which does these things is entitled to the position of a genuine representative and leader of the youth.

2. Our grievances

We are called upon to defend the rising generation in this country from many evils and abuses. … Many matters require attention, among which the chief are:

(b) Education : … We do not want any longer to be educated in political subservience, or to be trained merely as clerks to our imperialist bosses. And our education must be universal.

(c) Working Conditions : … We need also the limitation of hours, proper pay, and other conditions improved for young workers.

(d) Social customs : For the physical and mental health both of the individual and of society, it is essential that many ancient and harmful customs be abandoned. It is the function of youth to see that both in theory and in practice the customs of early marriage, purdah, untouchability, etc., are abolished. For these and many other elementary demands the youth of this country has to fight. …

3. What is the remedy ?

… While pressing for redress of our immediate wrongs, we shall never forget that greater than all these are our ultimate objects. We have to work for complete independence and for the emancipation of the masses from their position of economic and political subjection — complete independence of the country from the foreign exploitation which is the root almost all our present ills, and the complete emancipation of the masses, without which independence is both unreal and unattainable. …

4. The ideas of today

… Youth, growing up in the twentieth century, in the “epoch of wars and revolutions”, can discard these relics of the past. It brings with it, in opposition to the mentality of our older leadership —

A true appreciation of our position in the world :

(b) A realistic revolutionism : … Revolution is no longer the dream of a few isolated intellectuals, scorned by all political realists; it is an actuality, already taking place all over the world, and requiring scientific study and practical organisation.

(c) Class-struggle as the mainspring of historical development, and the rise and organisation of the masses as the key to our problems. …

(d) Abandonment of the traditional attitude of hero-
worship …

(e) An active intolerance of the divisions and hostilities among ourselves, based upon ancient usages and customs having no reality or value at the present day : The traditional method of dealing with comimmalism has proved to be useless. It is absurd to intensify communal consciousness as a means of bringing about inter-communal unity …

6. Our programme of practical work for the immediate future is as follows:

(a) To launch by means of public meetings and other propaganda a campaign for the following chief demands:

(ii) limitation of hours for young workers (6-hour day up to eighteen),

(iii) state support for the unemployed,

(iy) universal primary education, compulsory physical and military training in schools, improved facilities for technical education,

(v) abolition of the practices of early marriage, untouchability, purdah etc.

(b) To establish study-circles in economic and political subjects.

(c) To organise public meetings and debates and to publish material relating to our economic, political and social problems.

(d) To cooperate with the trade-union movement in the organisation of young workers, and to initiate the organisation on similar lines of the youth of the villages.

(e) To establish solidarity among the various youth organizations and to initiate united work for common objects.

(f) To publish and distribute an organ for the youth.

(g) To recruit new members.

(h) To study youth movements, the working and other conditions of young workers, and other political and economic questions, to collect data and form a library.

Source: Meerut Record,? 158

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Excerpts from

Draft Platform of Action of the Young Communist League of India

… Naujawan Bharat Sabha. While it has in its ranks some groups of revolutionary students and peasant youth; is unable as a whole to carry on a real revolutionary fight. It limits itself to the carrying on of campaigns for the non-payment of taxes to the British Government, for the boycott of British materials, for the violation of Forest Laws, and does not, at the same time, arouse the peasantry to struggle for the seizure of the landlord’s lands, for the cancellation of indebtedness to the moneylenders, for the overthrow of the native princes, for the revolutionary struggle for independence.

The rule of British imperialism in our country will be completely and finally overthrown by the simultaneous destruction of its main support, the landlord system of the princes and moneylenders.

A lack of understanding of the class struggle and disappointment because of the treachery of the National Congress has led groups of the revolutionary youth to commit terrorist acts against representatives of British imperialism, landlords, moneylenders, etc. While greeting the heroism and self-sacrifice of the terrorists, the Young Communist League at the same time declares that victory will not be obtained by the method of individual terror, but by the revolutionary armed insurrection of the masses of the working class, the peasantry, the poor of the towns and the Indian soldiers, under the banner and leadership of the Communist Party.

All real revolutionary organisations which unite in their ranks the toiling youth, as well as the revolutionary students, will rally under the banner of struggle of the YCL of India.

The experience of the revolutionary struggle of the working youth of the Soviet Union, of China, Germany and other countries under the leadership of the Young Communist International has proved that the YCL alone leads the revolutionary struggle of all the toiling youth and that only the YCL represents and defends their interests.

Revolutionary youth of Naujawan Bharat Sabhas! Establish YCL cells. Through merciless exposure of Nehru and Bose, rally the toiling youth under the banner of the revolutionary struggle for the overthrow of British imperialism. …

The demands of the students

The YCL of India calls upon the revolutionary young students to struggle under the banner of the Communist Party and Young Communist League of India for :

2. Freedom of universities, free right to choose principals and teachers. Self-government in the universities and the secondary and elementary schools. The right to study in the native language.

3. General education free of charge wkh allowances at the expense of the state for needy students……

Source: Inprecor, 10 March 1932