-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.
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.
