Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Party and the initiation of Maoist People’s War

Central Committee,
Proletarian Party of Purbo Bangla (Purbo Banglar Shorbohara Party — PBSP/Bangladesh)
(March, 2021)

(Republished in revised and extended form by CC, June 2021)

Proletarian Party of Purbo Bangla (Purbo Banglar Shorbohara Party — PBSP) was founded 50 years ago, on June 3rd, 1971, with the leadership of the then leader and the founder of the party, Comrade Siraj Sikder (SS). That was the period of Liberation War of East Bengal against the national oppressor state of Pakistan. The then main bourgeois party Awami League fled to india, leaving people helpless under the genocide of Pakistani genocide. Before that, at the eve of genocide, their main leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman surrendered to the Pakistanis. Other leaders, exploiting the movement, struggle, sacrifice abd self-dedication of the people, sold the country to India, for their own self-interest of power, while fleeing there.

At that time, Maoists, as a newly risen force, despite their various political and sujective weaknesses, stuck out for the people in danger. Contrary to fake Indian-Awami liberation war, they waged an actual/revolutionary war of liberation in various parts of the country. Siraj Sikder, the founder of our party, in a situation of absence of power, organizing a revolutionary army at Peyarabagan area in Barishal, created a short-lived liberated area. There he founded the «Proletarian Party» on June 3. Earlier during Pakistani rule, he founded «East Bengal Workers’ Movement» as a preparatory organisation for founding a party of its kind. He transformed it into the Shorbohara Party, a proletarian party, in the middle of the sound of shelling of cannon in 1971.

As we are celebrating 50th anniversary of founding of the party today, we must remember the consistent heroic struggles under the leadership of the party and the sacrifice and self-dedication of numerous leaders, ranks and people, with the leadership of the party, during this half a century. We must remember the contributions, teachings, sacrifices and heroic martyrdom of Comrade SS, the founder of the party. The guiding light of these, were the revolutionary ideological-political and theoretical positions of our party. On the other hand, we must be tremendously conscious about various mistakes and historical limitations of party’s ideological-political-military line and struggle during the time of it’s foundation and various stages later on. In order to become conscious about the positive bases and negative aspects of the party, and to continue the Maoist revolutionary struggle in this country, Com. Anowar Kabir, party leader after SS, had led the party for almost four decades. He relentlessly summarized vast experiences of the party, in that process, overcame newly commited mistakes also, and step by step, equipped the party with the correctness of Maoist line. The developed form of which has been primarily contained in the «New Thesis» approved in 2011, and in the report of the Fourth Congress in 2017. In a new perspective of international communist movement, these presented a qualitatively higher direction in national communist movement. Which paved the way of development of lines and struggles of later period, and established their new foundation.

This direction is teaching us that, we could not see the foundation and struggle of our party in the perspective of overall Maoist movement during ’70s, and for a long time later on as it’s continuity. That is why, Maoist unity could not have been built. During those times, beside our party, some other Maoist centers worked in this country at that time. The main parts of those had revolutionary contributions in the liberation war of 1971 as well. We must asses overall Maoist movement including them as well. However Maoist movement began even before that time, including the preparatory measures for founding our party. Although big parts of the Maoist forces of the movement of that time, later were in down-fall due to various national-international jeopardy, at various periods, including a part of our party also.

It is very important to grasp, how in this long adverse period, our party struggled against various revisionist and deviationist lines in national and international sphere, and how it corrected it’s own mistakes and developed our party line. Because without this, ultimately it wouldn’t be possible to comprehend any revolutionary line or struggle today. Neither is it possible to give real meaning to the celebration of the anniversary of the foundation of the party or Maoist people’s war.

In these struggles, there were various aspects of ideological-political-military line and various complex paths of international line. Where, with the leadership of Comrade Anowar Kabir, our party played a leading role and made itself actually an almost sole Maoist revolutionary center in this country. Despite there are still some Maoist centers and dedicated Maoists outside our party, but it is beyond doubt that this party of ours is established in the country as a self-assesment oriented, dynamic, creative and revolutionary Maoist party. The bases of this, are the teachings of Comrades SS and AK, which have been synthesized in our `New Thesis’, Report of the 4th Congress and in other documents.

Similarly, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Maoist People’s War also. In reality, our party initiated Maoist people’s war in 1970, as well as some other centers. But in special situations of 1971, maoist people’s war greatly appeared as a distinct and special entity in the political spheres of this country. As it’s continuity, in the first half of ’70s, people’s war turned into a heroic tumultuous struggle around the country, with the leadership of some Maoist centers; our party was the foremost among them.

But everybody knows, that upsurge couldn’t last long. The reason for it was, on one hand, brutal suppression by anti-revolutionary enemies of the people, on the other hand, mistakes of the Maoists themselves (including our party), some of which were very serious. Similarly, the later risings of ours and others’, specially the struggle of Madaripur in 80s and country-wide 2nd armed upsurge a bit later in our party’s leadership, had become destroyed. In addition, there is the serious crises in world revolutionary struggle due to the disasters in worldwide Maoist movement, during the last one and a half decade.

In order to overcome these, our party is working with all the dedicated revolutionary and revolution-aspirant forces over the world for a long time. RIM was founded as the new center of Maoists worldwide, and with its impact and leadership, a new revolutionary wave was being created around the world. But, despite it’s significant contributions in reconstruction and development of world communist movement for two decades, RIM became inactive for various reasons, from the end of the first decade of this century. The important reasons among them are: (1) the appearance of a rightist anti-people’s war line in Peru, where a big part of central leadership of Peru were involved, in some way or another; (2) abandonment of people’s war and betrayal of revolution by Prachanda-revisionism in Nepal; and (3) deviation from proletarian class outlook, the essence of MLM, by Avakian Leadership with «New Communism,» in America. Besides these, lack of consciousness about the necessity of forming RIM, namely an International Center for revolutionary communists, by some important Maoist forces of the world also weakened our international unity and strength.

But dedicated Maoist revolutionaries worldwide, including our party, are re-evaluating the problems, and trying to create anew an international center/agreement. Our party is also contributing to this initiative.

Meanwhile, international and national socio-economic and political situations have changed vastly, which is exerting huge impacts on the strategy & tactics of people’s war. Specially, in most countries like ours, socio-economic situation immensely changed. Although agriculture basically remained semi-feudal, centering which the huge changes must be comprehended.

Due to the above-mentioned things, vast development of communication system, mobile, IT, military technology, technology in general, and the tremendous strengthening of centralised state machinery, has presented the military questions in very different ways than before; the solution of which is not yet complete. Only through consistent and cumbersome practice of peoples war in various countries can these problems be overcome. Principle and strategies of war and struggle must be developed. Carbon copies of previous struggles would not work. Although the only way this is possible, is by making country sides the base, making peasants the major force, sticking to the principle of protracted people’s war — not in any other way.

We must be conscious about the changes in the national and international situation. Since there is no socialist country any more in the world, there are three basic contradictions active worldwide. Among them, the contradiction between imperialism and oppressed nations and people is the principal one. Inter-imperialist contradiction is showing hints of a bi-polar world once again. On one hand, there is US-led imperialists and their allies, and on the other, Chinese social imperialism, Russian imperialism, the the forces led by them. It is exavatating the crisis in them. As a result, people’s struggle against imperialism and their various policies and their war mongerings is rising up in various countries of the world. Imperialists and their agents are resorting to fascism to avoid the crises. They are immensely expanding their preparations for war. All of these are emphasising the significance of guiding people’s struggle according to correct ideology, programs and path. Subjective ability of our MLM forces are trailing behind the objective revolutionary situations. We must increase our efforts manifolds in order to reduce the difference by developing revolutionary party, struggle, and people’s war.

Our tasks must be clear on the occassion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the party and of people’s war. Which are: (1) Forming a single Maoist party of a new type by uniting all the dedicated Maoists; (2) building a successful people’s war with the leadership of this party; (3) organising and uniting huge number of people in various vivid organisations and fronts; and (4) creating a new ‘International’ of maoists worldwide. The basis of these tasks would be a qualitatively higher ideological-political line, and military and international line. Regarding these important tasks, we, all the leaders, ranks, supporters and people must move forward towards greater struggle. And must keep working for materializing the dream of all revolutionaries. They must continue doing so until the end, until the last breathe. They must be always prepared for self-dedication, for sacrifice of any kind, for serving the people. And for that, they must grasp Marxism-Leninism-Maoism more deeply. They must entirely dedicate themselves to the struggle for the liberation of the proletariat and oppressed people all over the world.