Terrie Albano is a member of the National Committee of the Communist Party USA, and is representing our party at the national congress Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M)

COIMBATORE, India In a city at the center of Indias textile industry one that is full of working class history and struggle the Communist Party of India (Marxist) concluded its six-day congress April 3 with a mass rally of close to 200,000 people.

The meeting opened with a rally punctuated by political speeches, tributes to veteran Communists active in the struggle for independence (many jailed for years), and a riot of music and Red Salutes (Lal Salaam) chants. Nearly 800 delegates discussed political and organizational reports and resolutions that went into detail about the current situation in India and the world.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is the larger Communist Party in Indias Left Front governments elected in three states: West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. Even in the framework of a capitalist India with large landlords and a major agrarian economy, Communist governments have been able to make strides in improving the lives of the working people, farmers, women and oppressed castes.

The Communist Party of India, founded in 1925, was a unified party until the early 1960s when internationally there was a break in Communist unity between China and the then-Soviet Union. The CPI split into CPI and CPI(M). The two parties work closely together on mass issues, elections and governing the three left-led states.

CPI General Secretary A.B. Bardhan spoke at the CPI(M)s opening rally March 29. The main issues discussed at the CPI(M)s congress were the Indo-U.S. nuclear pact, food insecurity, hunger and the crisis in agriculture, fighting religious communalism, building a Third Alternative in the 2009 elections and a review of the partys work in the governments of West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala. Social issues like championing the rights of dalits (formerly known as untouchables/low caste), adivasi (forest peoples), women and religious minorities, especially Muslims were given special attention.

The CPI(M), CPI and other left parties have supported the Congress Party-led national government elected in 2004 to keep the far-right communal party, the BJP, from coming to power. The left parties hold some 65 seats in the Parliament. They agreed to support the government but not join it based on a Common Minimum Program. But the left is critical of the government for not meeting even the minimum left demands.

The far-right extremist forces, the RSS and BJP, have attacked CPI(M) offices, beat up and even killed its members. As recently as April 2 the RSS attacked a CPI(M) office in another state. The step-up of attacks comes at a time when the left has gained ground and been re-elected by significant margins in the three states. Last month Tripura broke a record for voter turnout some 94 percent (mostly women) and the CPI(M) and left won reelection by a significant margin.

The CPI(M) and the left here have blocked the passage of the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal which they see as impinging on Indias longstanding independent foreign policy. CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said U.S. imperialism seeks to make India a junior partner in its plans for the region. The Indian people have a long and proud history of anti-imperialist struggles, he said. We will not allow our country to become a junior partner in U.S. imperialisms aims.

The Indian media has been covering the congress with half a dozen or so satellite TV vans parked outside the meeting venue. Numerous photographers and reporters from newspapers all around this country of more than 1 billion people covered the congress in several of the 17 Indian languages, including the language spoken here, Tamil.

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