-Sourav Bhattacharya/ 19.4.2017
On 10th April 2017, a Pakistani court has sentenced to death a former Indian Navy official, Kulbhushan Jadhav, accusing him of espionage on the territory of Pakistan while working for India’s external intelligence agency, RAW.
The question here arises, what should be our party’s stand regarding this issue?
First of all we should make it clear that a genuine Marxist can never take a stand inspired by nationalist considerations or sentiments. Looking back at history, we find that Marxists led by Lenin and Rosa had left the Second international in opposition to its leaning upon Nationalism and patriotism. Marxists are internationalists. Therefore, even if they belong to an oppressed nationality, they must seek to join with workers of all other nationalities, including the workers of the oppressor nation, in struggle against the national oppression and all exploitation! This is what Marx meant precisely by when he said, “Workers of the World Unite”. Ultimately genuine Marxists know that “no nation can be free if it oppresses other nation”. They also understand that national oppression cannot be ended until the elimination of class exploitation and that their own national oppression is just one particular aspect of the outrages of monopoly capitalism and imperialism.
Marxists oppose nationalism, a bourgeois ideology which promotes the privilege, primacy and exclusiveness of the nation.
It is nationalism that divides the workers so that the workers of one nationality are struggling against the workers of another nationality for a few illusory crumbs the rulers throw out exactly for that purpose! It is nationalism that can pit groups of workers against each other with the most hideous rage, while their mutual oppressors skip off with both their purses for a little sun and fun.
Nationalism is a bourgeois ideology which developed with the emergence of nations and the rise and development of capitalism. Nationalism served the bourgeoisie when they were seeking market for their goods, and their national market thus remained primary as capitalism developed. Nationalism thus served to help that bourgeoisie to carve out and secure a market territory for itself.
Bourgeois nationalism ultimately does not serve the real interests of the toiling and exploited mass of that nationality. As ironic as this may sound, nationalism does not ultimately serve the nation as a whole. This is true and has been proven so time and again. Bourgeois nationalism, isolates the oppressed masses from their class allies in other national sections, confines them in national cages and subordinates them to the exploiters and reactionaries of their own nationality. In today’s world, imperialism must be destroyed to destroy national oppression, a task that can be performed only through unity of proletariat of all nations.
Taking departure from above points, and coming back to the issue of Kulbhushan Jadhav, we must demand that Pakistani comrades must raise their voice for Jadhav because that would be their international duty that in turn would contribute to international fraternity. But if Indian comrades raise their voice for Jadhav, that would be licking the boot of the Indian bourgeois rulers because Jadhav is a tool of the Indian bourgeoisie. This stance would be completely against the proletarian internationalism. That is Kautsky’s line which is totally opposite to Leninism.
The pseudo-communists, in fact Stalinists like Kavita Krishnan are organizing online signature campaign in support of Kulbhushan Jadhav which is nothing but shameless act of blind nationalism, of sitting on the tail of one’s own bourgeoisie. These Stalinist parties have turned into a group of jokers who are in fact mocking at socialism. They have drowned their Marxist commitments long time ago. The Stalinist says, “Marx is okay, but I am an Indian first and after that a communist. Indians are my brothers and Pakistanis are my enemies”. The Stalinists have damaged the revolution a lot. They have no faith in Marxism and its strength.
Comrades, Nationalism is the fatal stranglehold around the neck of the world proletariat. Any adherence to it, is unpardonable for a communist. It divides the world into hunting grounds for nationally organized gangs of capitalists and prevents the emergence of an international revolutionary party of working class. Issues like that of Jadhav will continue with existence of the nation states. The solution only lies in the crushing of nation states through a socialist revolution.
On 10th April 2017, a Pakistani court has sentenced to death a former Indian Navy official, Kulbhushan Jadhav, accusing him of espionage on the territory of Pakistan while working for India’s external intelligence agency, RAW.
The question here arises, what should be our party’s stand regarding this issue?
First of all we should make it clear that a genuine Marxist can never take a stand inspired by nationalist considerations or sentiments. Looking back at history, we find that Marxists led by Lenin and Rosa had left the Second international in opposition to its leaning upon Nationalism and patriotism. Marxists are internationalists. Therefore, even if they belong to an oppressed nationality, they must seek to join with workers of all other nationalities, including the workers of the oppressor nation, in struggle against the national oppression and all exploitation! This is what Marx meant precisely by when he said, “Workers of the World Unite”. Ultimately genuine Marxists know that “no nation can be free if it oppresses other nation”. They also understand that national oppression cannot be ended until the elimination of class exploitation and that their own national oppression is just one particular aspect of the outrages of monopoly capitalism and imperialism.
Marxists oppose nationalism, a bourgeois ideology which promotes the privilege, primacy and exclusiveness of the nation.
It is nationalism that divides the workers so that the workers of one nationality are struggling against the workers of another nationality for a few illusory crumbs the rulers throw out exactly for that purpose! It is nationalism that can pit groups of workers against each other with the most hideous rage, while their mutual oppressors skip off with both their purses for a little sun and fun.
Nationalism is a bourgeois ideology which developed with the emergence of nations and the rise and development of capitalism. Nationalism served the bourgeoisie when they were seeking market for their goods, and their national market thus remained primary as capitalism developed. Nationalism thus served to help that bourgeoisie to carve out and secure a market territory for itself.
Bourgeois nationalism ultimately does not serve the real interests of the toiling and exploited mass of that nationality. As ironic as this may sound, nationalism does not ultimately serve the nation as a whole. This is true and has been proven so time and again. Bourgeois nationalism, isolates the oppressed masses from their class allies in other national sections, confines them in national cages and subordinates them to the exploiters and reactionaries of their own nationality. In today’s world, imperialism must be destroyed to destroy national oppression, a task that can be performed only through unity of proletariat of all nations.
Taking departure from above points, and coming back to the issue of Kulbhushan Jadhav, we must demand that Pakistani comrades must raise their voice for Jadhav because that would be their international duty that in turn would contribute to international fraternity. But if Indian comrades raise their voice for Jadhav, that would be licking the boot of the Indian bourgeois rulers because Jadhav is a tool of the Indian bourgeoisie. This stance would be completely against the proletarian internationalism. That is Kautsky’s line which is totally opposite to Leninism.
The pseudo-communists, in fact Stalinists like Kavita Krishnan are organizing online signature campaign in support of Kulbhushan Jadhav which is nothing but shameless act of blind nationalism, of sitting on the tail of one’s own bourgeoisie. These Stalinist parties have turned into a group of jokers who are in fact mocking at socialism. They have drowned their Marxist commitments long time ago. The Stalinist says, “Marx is okay, but I am an Indian first and after that a communist. Indians are my brothers and Pakistanis are my enemies”. The Stalinists have damaged the revolution a lot. They have no faith in Marxism and its strength.
Comrades, Nationalism is the fatal stranglehold around the neck of the world proletariat. Any adherence to it, is unpardonable for a communist. It divides the world into hunting grounds for nationally organized gangs of capitalists and prevents the emergence of an international revolutionary party of working class. Issues like that of Jadhav will continue with existence of the nation states. The solution only lies in the crushing of nation states through a socialist revolution.
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