Comrades,

Eight years back ... ... we had assembled in our last Congress to determine our political line, review our movement and to rededicate ourselves to the task of leading New Democratic Revolution in India to victory. Eight years is a long period, particularly under the conditions faced by our Party. Before all the delegates we sincerely regret the delay and wish that the new Central Committee holds the Congress on schedule unless prohibited by changed situations.

... ...

The period since the last Congress is marked by significant changes in the world, by the US imperialism’s war against the world people to secure its world hegemony, to stop the wheels of history from moving forward and to crush the revolutionary and democratic aspirations of the world people. This is bound to fail as it runs counter to the march of history, to the aspirations of world people. People of different countries particularly those of third world countries have already blunted the edge of this offensive and will undoubtedly bring down the emperor from the chariot. National wars of people of Iraq and Afghanistan, revolutionary movements of Nepal, Philippines, Colombia and other Latin American countries and rising struggles of the world people, including those of our country, are symbolic of the times. Over these eight years, in neighbouring Nepal the communist revolutionary forces have come to occupy the centre stage of political life there. We greet them on their heroic feats, rejoice in their victories and express our solidarity in their trials and tribulations.

The period since last Congress has been one of significant changes in the national scene. It witnessed rise to power of the BJP-RSS led alliance and its defeat, of communal pogrom in Gujarat, of opening the floodgates of Indian economy to MNCs and increasing neo-colonial loot and plunder of our country. The ruling class politics has moved away from single party rule with the accentuation of the contradictions in society and rise of regional parties of ruling classes. Ruling classes are now seeking stability through coalitions. But these coalitions too are implementing the pro-imperialist economic policies and anti-people policies at large. Despite change of guard at the Centre we should not become complacent of the danger of Hindu communalism and other parochial divisive trends. Revisionist parties have emerged as the new pillars of ruling dispensation at the Centre, once again proving them to be the supports of this anti-people system. Reformism has openly become the bedfellow of reaction.

The period witnessed increasing hardships of the people, suicides of peasantry, starvation deaths of rural poor in different parts, growing unemployment; in brief worsening conditions of the people. It also saw the rising struggles of the people, of peasants, workers, tribals, youth, oppressed castes and women. The people were and are being exhorted to feel good by showing growth figures while their real conditions are compelling them to feel miserable.

This period also saw the slow and steady growth of revolutionary movement in the country. Ruling classes’ attempts to crush the communist revolutionaries through brutal repression have come a cropper. With their increasing inability to carry out substantial reforms, the conditions for rise of people’ struggles are turning increasing favourable. We are in a period full of potentialities for the growth of revolutionary movement.

Over the past eight years we too have registered slow but steady growth. We are able to carry forward the task of unity based on revolutionary mass line and democratic centralism. We have organized some all India programmes to register the Party’s presence and project Party’s line at the national plane. Our stature among the communist revolutionaries has increased. We are able to maintain heroic Godavari Valley resistance struggle and move ahead to build it in an area in Bihar. We have formed all India organization of peasants and agricultural labourers and organized successful conferences of our all India organizations.

However, our growth is much slower than the demands of the developing situation. We have to redouble our efforts to expand our work quantitatively and qualitatively. We have to achieve unity of will, purpose and style to implement the line of our Party Congress and to develop revolutionary struggles and people’s movements. We have to redouble our efforts to make our presence felt in the country’s political life.  Revolutionary cadres and people are looking towards us with expectation and we should realise our duty to rise to their expectation. We should realize that no revolutionary theory is good enough if it is not translated into practice. It becomes a material force only when it grips the masses.

We have before us the task of moulding ourselves to meet the demands of the situation and expectation of ranks, revolutionary cadres and people. In order to change the situation, we have to simultaneously change ourselves. We are not mere supporters of revolution but its leaders, we must consciously realize and fulfil our role as part of the vanguard of the Indian revolution. We have to overcome our weaknesses and develop our strengths. We have to strengthen our unity and advance the task of unifying communist revolutionaries in India. We have to intensify struggles, particularly agrarian revolutionary movement under our leadership and unleash class struggles of the exploited and oppressed sections of people. We have to improve our theoretical knowledge and rectify our practice. We have to deepen the sense of self-sacrifice and going all out to achieve the goals set by us. In brief we have to equip ourselves not only to react to developments but to shape them.

We will be here for a week to decide our political line in the present situation, to decide our tactical tasks to advance in the direction of our strategic goals and to thoroughly discuss our shortcomings and ways to overcome them. Lenin stressed the importance of the attitude of a communist party towards its mistakes and we should live up to his teachings. Let this Congress prove to be a milestone in the life of our Party. Let us unite the whole Party to implement the tasks decided upon by the Party Congress. Let us usher in the era of thorough discussions and unsparing criticism at the Congress and unquestioned and unequivocal implementation of the Party line, in letter and spirit. We should follow the principle of “unity, struggle and unity” in the inner life of our Party, our struggles directed to achieve higher unity. Our struggle should be geared towards advancing the revolutionary movement in the country and our unity steeled and tempered in it. We should conduct our struggle with a sense of responsibility and forge real and fighting unity. Let us combine the monolithic character of the Party with the healthy two line struggle inside the Party.

Comrades, with the situation turning favourable for the growth of revolutionary movement, with the struggles of the world people against imperialism, particularly US imperialism, growing in breadth and intensity, with Indian people increasingly coming out in struggles and the mask of revisionists and reformists, various ruling class forces duping the people, being increasingly torn asunder, it is time for revolutionaries to forge ahead. Our Party as an communist revolutionary organization with revolutionary mass line, with the weapon of resistance struggle to advance towards launching armed struggle for liberation of our people, with a steadfast line and daring to go against antirevolutionary currents, has an important responsibility in this situation.

We should decide our goals basing ourselves on the concrete conditions and spare no effort to achieve them. As we move ahead after the Congress, we should be guided by the clarion call of Mao Zedong: “Don’t Fear Hardships, Don’t Fear Death.” This death-defying revolutionary spirit, the habit of plain living and hard work, is vital if we are to play our role in leading the New Democratic Revolution in India triumphantly to victory.

Long Live Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought!

CPI(ML) zindabad!

Intensify Struggle for New Democratic Revolution!

  About the Delegates

Report of the credential committee submitted to the Party Congress, gave a graphic picture of the delegates. Of the 114 delegates present 8 delegates were women. Of the delegates, 4 were less than 30 years of wage, 8 delegates were between 31-35 years old and another 8 between 36-40 years old, 20 delegates were 41-45 years of age, while 27 were between 46-50 years, 21 between 51-55 years, 16 between 56-60 years, 5 between 61-65 years, 1 between 66-70 years while 4 delegates were above 70 years of age.

3 delegates had no formal education, 33 had studied upto matric (class X), 21 upto intermediate (class XII). 33 delegates were graduates and 12 were postgraduates while 12 delegates had professional education.

6 delegates were from working class background, 35 from landless and poor peasantry, 39 from middle peasantry, 3 from rich peasantry. 2 delegates had landlord origin while 29 were from urban petty-bourgeois background.

2 delegates had a party age of less than 5 years (having worked in other organizations), 5 delegates had party age between 5-10 years, 8 between 11-15 years, 10 between 16-20 years, 23 delegates between 21-25 years, 28 delegates between 26-30 years, 22 delegates between 31-35 years, 10 delegates between 36-40 years, 3 delegates between 41-45 years and 1 delegate between 46-50 years. One delegate had a party life of above 50 years and another above 60 years.

Of the 114 delegates, 104 were wholetimers and 10 part-timers.  3 have been wholetimers since less that 2 years, 5 since 2-5 years, 10 since 5-10 years, 8 since 10-15 years, 13 since 15-20 years, 14 between 20-25 years, 25 since 25-30 years, 16 since 30-35 years, and 8 since 35-40 years. 2 were wholetimers since more that 40 years of whom one has been wholetimer for last 60 years.

15 delegates had spent less than 2 years as UG, 16 had a UG life-span of 2-5 years, 10 of 5-10 years, 8 of 10-15 years, 5 of 15-20 years, 1 between 20-25 years, 3 between 25-30 years, another 3 between 30-35 years. 3 delegates had a UG life period of 35-40 years.

56 delegates had been to jail for less than 6 months duration, 8 had a jail life of 6 months to one year, 7 of between 1 year to 2 years, 10 between 2-5 years and 6 between 5-10 years. 52 delegates had less than 5 cases, 10 delegates between 5-10 cases and 7 had more than 10 cases against them.

28 delegates worked primarily on peasant front, 19 on working class front, 1 among students, 2 on youth front, 4 on women's front, 1 on cultural front, 1 had primary responsibility of state organ. 50 delegates do primarily party organization work, 6 delegates work in squads while 1 delegate primarily works in a state party office.

15 delegates were CCMs, 49 delegates were members of provincial committees, 47 delegates were members of district committees and 1 delegate was a divisional committee member. 2 delegates were from committees of other level.

102 delegates were married while 12 were unmarried. 43 of the partners were party members, 4 worked in mass organizations and 53 were sympathizers