Indian Communist issues plea for unity

HIRENDRANATH MUKERJEE,
leader of the Communist Perty
of India:

CANADA, once the passion

N
I of discovery had sent birch-

bark canoes down unmapped
waters, pushed railways acfoss
the Rockies and dropped men to
the frozen seas. Today you feel
no doubt the magnetism of your
moneyed neighbor but I’m em-
boldened by this invitation to
say that you are no dusty desert
of dollars and smartness, that
you are no spiritual dependency
of some external power, that
you wish to build something of
your own, that you -pull your
weight in the international-com-
munity...

* * *

For some seven or eight years
now, relations between my coun-
try and China have been strained
and four years ago, wé had a
short military - confrontation

which hurt then and huris even:

now...

I am afraid I have neither the
time nor inclination to enter into
a controversy as to the how and
the wherefores of what happen-
ed on the China-Indian border,
in October, November, 1962. I
want to write on a clean slate
and I say if hurts, what happen-
ed at that time, from the point
of view of both China and India.
But how can I on account of
the hurt which, even as a Com-
munist, I have received from a

Communist country, from which

I had the greatest expectations—
how can I 6 that account for-
get or undermine the stupendous
significance’ of the Chinese revo-
lution of 1949, and the massive
changes that have taken place
since? How can J as an Indian
and an Asian fail to share some-
thing of the-exultation that came
to the disinherited countries of
the world when China, in the
eyes of the imperialist countries
 “coolie’ nation, stormed the
heavens as ‘it were and opened
new perspectives that are lumi-
nous in their. renown...

_ As Asians, as inhabitants of
the continent which has been for
so many years petitioners in the
chancelleries of the West, we
were proud as Communists of
the  stupenous achievement
which China had made. And
India pressed nearer to China,
a great deal nearer than to the
Soviet Union, and a genuine
friendship with infinite poten-
tialities was opened up, 80 to
speak, before the eyes of our
people.

I think of Bandung, to which
reference was made, was the
high-water mark of India-China
cooperation. Bandung which
wiped out as it were eux ..sian
humiliation, the aumiliation of
Hiroshima aud Nagasaki. Don't
forget it was always Asia that
has beer. the target of American
and other Western “special war-
fare’ — atom bombs on Japan,
germ warfare in Korea ahd now,
acco ‘ding to reports, in Vietnam,
pcteon gases, napalm, “Lazy-
Dogs” and fragmentation bombs
and God knows what other enor-
mities. It is difficult for Asians
easily to forget and to forgive.

a
_. Life is hard and history is a
cruel goddess. There started the

rift in the lute—from 1959. on-
wards—but it is our people’s
wish whatever might have hap-
pened at that time—that the rift
be repaired, that India and China
and the entire world movement
for socialism—socialism which
is the fulfillment of freedom,
not just in the shape of affluence
but in the shape of the non-
acquisitive society, socialism
which means in scriptural lan-
guage, our being members of one
another.

I know that India made mis-
takes—I don’t hesitate to ack-
nowledge it—we made snail's
pace progress—there was more
talk than concrete programatic
advance toward socialism, there
was heavy western pressure al-
lied with Indian reaction, which

- continues today in a more aggra-

vated form.,.

But while India made her mis-
takes, China made mistakes, too.
China. calculated that India had
jumped on to the American
bandwagon. Some of our peopie
in the leading positions were no
doubt tempted—after all, you
can’t be astonished, that in a
country like India, emerging into
the light after centuries of de-
privation, there were people who
were tempted by the lure of
American brandishments. But
while India appeared to see the
way toward socialism and then
began to waver, her heart was
in the right place.

* * *

Sino-Soviet differences had
created an almost impossible
situation—which is fhe biggest
problem today as far as my coun-
try is concerned. Today, there is
in the Communist movement nei-
ther one nor more guiding cen-
tres, a guiding party or parties,

or other parties which are mere-
ly guided. Every national party
works its own way out, though
of course international consul-
tation and advice are very im-
portant. But, let this be remem-
bered, there never has been and
will never be a Communist move-
ment that is anti-Soviet, and I
am sure that deep down China
understands it too. At the same
time, at this hour of day, there
cannot be a triumphant world

advance toward socialism with-.

out China being in the vanguard,
along with the socialist third of
the world and other countries
recently emerging into freedom.

If we cannot reforge this com- °

bination, the future is dismal
and dark and whoever contri-
butes to the perpetuation of the
kind of difference which has
come about in the international
Communist movement, is no
friend to the advance of social-
ist forces all over the world.

I know that China is confront-
ing the United States as its pri-
mary enemy, and the United
States is the enemy of all that is
progressing in the world today.

The United States, despite the
fact that many of her people
are among the most decent in
creation, is today history’s most
diabolic military machine and
money power—fighting with a
ruthlessness that almost \ puts
Hitler to shame, a ruthlessness
that one wouldn’t normally cre-
dit, spending in South Vietnam
(15 million population) in fight-
ing during one year 21 billion
dollars. This means as far as my
country is concerned, that the
total gross national product of
India, with a population of 480
million people, is less than the
amount of money which the

United States spends in Viet-
Mam <<: :
* * « ay

As far as my country’s rela-
tions with China are concerned,
even in the dark days of late
1962, Jawarhalal Nehru, with
whom I had many differences,
did not hesitate to say that
China and India couldn’t con-
ceivably go on fighting. He
never hesitated to dissociate
India from the American design
that, in return for aid, India par-
ticipate in the task of containing
China and the advance of com-
munism in my part of the world.
His successors in government, in
spite of a conspicuous lack of
courage when faced with con-
tinuing political and economic
blackmail from American power,
still could not quite espouse such
containment policy.

And India does want the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China to be in
the United Nations, pushing out
altogether the puppets in Taiwan
which was part of China many
hundreds of years before Col-
umbus discovered America.

The president of the Indian
Union, in his Independence Day
address on the 15th of August

called for earnest efforts to-

settle outstanding issues be-
tween India and China by nego-
tiation. To ignore such things,
on the basis of their ultra-leftist
interpretation of the probable
motives of an Indian govern-
ment which has-been driven to
the wall by American pressure—
to ignore the reality of the de-
mg of the Indian people and
ven their representatives for a
rapprochement with China—this
is something utterly wrong. This
is something that goes against
the grain of decency and democ-

_ TEACH-IN VIEWS

Excerpts from four of the addresses de-
livered last weekend at the University of
Toronto's International Teach-In on the topic
"China: Coexistence or Containment?"

View ef the Teach-In’s Final Session in Varsity Arene.

racy. To ignore such things
would be to help the hands of
the CIA and other agencies who
are practising wetched depreda-
tions from Dominica and Cuba
to Ghana and Nigeria and 8°
many other countries.

* * *«

More than half the human
race haven’t enough food .. -

Food and Agriculture Organi-
zation statistics show that be-
fore World War Two, 38 percent
of the world’s population did not
have enough to eat; after the
war the figure has risen to 59
percent.

How Jong can a country Jike

India last if she has to spend

19 percent of her export earn: —
ings on debt-servicing alone? —

When the misery of the develop:

ing world is as U Thani said

“a progressive misery,” when —

out debts pile up and the trade

gap grows as the share of deve
loping countries in total world

raves

export of primary commodities —

drops from-44 percent in 1953- —

54 to less than 40 percent in
1963-64 — how long can Indian
masses be fobbed off with plans

that fail on account of hurdles.

inherent in the present political
and administrative systems?

It is not possible much Jongé!
to black out the story of the
economic recovery in China

after the setback which had fol-_
lowed 1958, a story as dramatic

as any that this dramatic age —

has seen? It is not possible much

longer to cover up the idea that

despite errors undoubtedly,

China, where lives a quarter of |

the human _ population,

priate adjustments.
* * *

As sure as the sun will risé

tomorrow socialism will triumph
over the world. But it will not
happen like a ripe plus falling
into waiting mouths. The Jaws
of artillery cannot be strongel
than the Jaws of history,

has to be dragged by the hand.

To that task, overcoming differ-
ences, we have to dedicate oul- —

selves—a task which pre-sup-
poses primarily unity in the

world Communist movement, —
and for myself, nearer home, ré-
‘forging of friendship betwee? —
our two ancient countries — —
countries that change and yet —
— India and

are changeless
China.

Nehru scribbled In his laste

hours the following poem by
Robert Frost:

The woods are lovely dark and .

deep
But I have promises to keep

_ And miles to go before I sleep —
And miles before I sleep.

We in the developing coun-

tries have miles to go and wé |

has
blazed a trail that countries like —
mine must folow, not mechank
cally of course, but with appro” —

have to be in a hurry—we need ©
20 Jeague steps. We in India —

have differed with China but we —
look up to her when we shall —
together. —

again be marching
The working. people are th

salt of the earth and to be part |

of their destiny is the greatest

adventure of our time—an ad-
venture to which I summon with ~
all humility the youth of Canada, —
which has proferred me this —

generous invitation to be here.

October 28, 1966—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 4

put
victory does not come itself, it —

—~—