I. In the considered opinion of the R.S.P.I. the fact that the U.S.S.R. has become involved in the imperialist world war as a victim of Nazi Aggression and the military strategic co-operation of the belligerent Anglo-American Imperialism with the U.S.S.R. against Nazi-Fascist Imperialism has undoubtedly initiated a new historical phase of the war. The latent and ever-present antagonism of the imperialist-Capitalist Powers against Soviet-Socialism, which was one of the main objective (political) factors in determining the course of imperialist diplomacy since the very inception of the U.S.S.R., now takes a deadly direct shape in the armed intervention of Nazi Germany against the former-the imperialist and anti-socialist character of the war becoming all the more manifest thereby. The Anglo-American Imperialist Bloc engaged in its life and death struggle with the Italo-German imperialism obtains a strategic respite in the entanglement of the Soviet in the war, which diverts for the time being the fury of the Nazi war machine away from itself towards the Soviet Union. Hence the offer of “all-out-aid” to the Soviet on the part of the late sponsors of the “Baku Plan”. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the attack of Nazi Germany upon the Soviet initiates a new historical phase of the Second Imperialist World War for the following reasons:-
(a) The fundamental contradiction between Socialism and Capitalism-in spite of the latter being torn within itself by reason of its own inner contradictions and in spite of its inabilities to launch a united onslaught against the Soviet-becomes a direct factor in the war and determines to a very large extent its military, political and Socio-economic out-come.
(b) The workers of all Capitalist countries and all oppressed colonial national peoples (along with the workers and people of the Soviet Union) now become directly interested in the overthrow of Nazi Germany as well as in the overthrow of the particular imperialism under whose domination they may, for the time being, be.
(c) The war front becomes extended to the West and to the East on both sides of the Eurasian Continent directly involving both the U.S.A. and Japan and the war becomes a world war in a more complete and objective sense than ever.
II. In the opinion of the R. S. P. I. the fundamental character of the war as an imperialist war for the redivision of the territories of the globe and of the colonial areas amongst the rival finance- capitalist blocs has undergone no qualitative change in this new historical phase of itself, so far as the rival belligerent groups of imperialist powers-whether Great Britain and America or Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (or Japan) are concerned. The fact of the engagement of the U.S.S.R. in the war as a victim of unprovoked aggression from one of the rival belligerent imperialist groups (Nazi Germany and its underlings) and the military strategic co-operation of the other group (Great Britain and U. S. A.) with the Soviets, does not in any way change the imperialist character of this latter group (Great Britain and U. S. A.) or the qualitative character of the present war-viewed as world historical phenomena from a predatory war amongst rival finance-capitalist and imperialist powers for the possession of colonies and markets into an anti-fascist democratic crusade or a ‘Peoples War. Nor do these facts involve the necessity for the revolutionary socialist working class movement in imperialist countries, of any change-over from the fundamental Leninist slogan of ‘turning the Imperialist war into a civil war’. As pointed out above, the new historical phase of the war has only revealed its imperialist and fundamentally anti-socialist character more fully than ever.
The notion of a qualitative change in the character of the war which is finding currency in certain so-called Marxist circles since the attack upon Soviet Union by Nazi Germany follows from the basically non-Leninist and reformist distinction between Fascism and the so-called “Democratic Imperialism” of Great Britain, France and the U. S. A. which became fashionable in these circles since 1934. Com. Lenin, long ago, defined fascism as “nothing but the naked dictatorship of finance-capital” while democratic imperialism was in his opinion “nothing but the veiled dictatorship of finance-capital”. The fundamental identity of fascism and the so-called “Democratic” imperialism as to their fundamental socio-economic contents and objectives was clearly and most accurately brought out in these definitions and have been since then emphasised repeatedly by the various declarations and theses of the Communist International (upto 1934) so as not to leave any scope for misunderstanding. As a matter of fact the above mentioned definitions were substantially adopted by the 1922 manifesto and programme of the Communist International and have formed the basis of all Socio-Political analysis of the contemporary events by Communists and Marxist-Leninists all the world over since then. Viewed from this fundamental Marxist- Leninist stand-point fascism is nothing but decaying and most morbid form of imperialism; any distinction that subsists between it and so-called democracy of Great Britain and U. S. A. being a matter of outward constitutional form only and not one of fundamental Socio-economic contents and objectives. The cloak of bourgeois democracy does not make the so-called democratic imperialism of Great Britain and America any more preferable than fascism, while the naked political dictatorship of latter does not thereby render it any more despicable than the former. The so-called democratic imperialism had even more than facism darkened the prospects of human freedom in all corners of the Globe and has acted as the most persistent enemy of self- determination of weak and oppressed nationalities of the colonial countries and of the interests of the workers and the toiling masses all the world over (including the workers and toiling masses of their own home countries).
The sponsors of the thesis of qualitative change analyse the present alignment of world forces in the back-ground of the war on the false criterion of the alleged distinction between fascism and democratic imperialism and try to make out that since the invasion of the U.S.S.R. by the Nazi Germany and since the inception of the alliance and co-operation of Great Britain and the U.S.A. with the U.S.S.R. the forces of democracy have become ranged on the one side with the U.S.S.R. and Great Britain as their leader and those of fascism and reaction on the other with Nazi Germany as their leader. And logically and quite consistently with this false premise they come to the false conclusion that the qualitative character of the war has, thereby, become fundamentally transformed-it is, even considered from Great Britain and U.S.A., no longer an imperialist war of aggression to be countered and opposed by the world revolutionary war of all toilers and conjoint national revolutionary war of colonial peoples, but a war of democracy vs. fascism. The immediate task before the world working class, in their opinion, is not one of proceeding to help the Soviets and to widen the basis of the dictatorship of the proletariat in the Soviet Union through world revolution and establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, as Com. Lenin laid down, outside Soviet Union, but one of defending bourgeois democracy against the onslaught of fascism (which means defending one species of imperialism against another) as if even in this phase of decaying imperialism bourgeois democracy has not already ceased to be progressive and has not ceased to be anything more than a profession, a cloak and convenient make- belief of the imperialist-capitalists for facilitating the exploitation of the masses.
It hardly needs to be pointed out that this view is a gross deviation from the basic text of Marxism-Leninism and invariably results in a gross confusion of the basic political issues in the context of the imperialist war. If pursued to its logical extremes we have to conclude that with the signing of the pact of alliance, Great Britain and U.S.A. as well or even prior to that (according to Royists) have ceased to be imperialist powers and have become by some unknown process of social alchemy transformed into people’s democracy in every fundamental sense. If, however, we remind ourselves of the Leninist definitions of fascism and the so-called democratic imperialism, and if we do not lose sight of the limited significance of the Anglo-Soviet alliance which does not (and as a matter of fact, cannot) in any way detract the imperialist character of Great Britain and its war aims, the falsity of the thesis of qualitative change at once becomes apparent. As Lenin pointed out more than once the eagerness of any particular capitalist and imperialist state at any particular time to seek the alliance of U. S. S. R. does not signify any sudden accretion of democratic virtue on its part or any qualitative change in its socio- political objectives rather than a profound crisis in the imperialist- capitalist system as a whole which compels that particular capitalist state to conclude an alliance even with its class enemy (against its class rival) in order to save itself. As soon as it would feel secure it would lose no opportunity to hurl its whole strength against the Soviet.
A mere alliance with U. S. S. R. does not make an imperialist-capitalist state a friend of socialism and democracy or prevent it from backstabbing the Soviet for all times. Such alliances are rather the cloak under which capitalism prepares and sharpens its daggers to betray the Soviet-to wit the Soviet-German Non- aggression Pact. It is more than evident that the mere fact of an Anglo-Soviet alliance proceeding from their common military strategic necessity against Nazi Germany cannot change imperialism into real people’s democracy or the imperialist war into a democratic “crusade” or “Peoples’ War” in any sense.
It needs, moreover, to be emphasised here that from the Marxist-Leninist stand point the question of qualitative change is absolutely irrelevant in this case. The qualitative socio-historical character of the war is determined with reference to the fundamental socio-political traits of imperialism itself, viz. aggression against the working classes of the capitalist countries for perpetuating their wage-slavery, aggression against the colonial
masses and weak and oppressed nationalities for perpetuating their national slavery, aggression against the Soviet Union for the destruction of the basis of Dictatorship of the Proletariat and socialism therein. On that criterion no change has occurred in the character of the present war from the point of view of either of the rival belligerent imperialist groups. Neither Great Britain nor U. S. A., far less Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and military Zingoist Japan have ceased to be imperialist or given up their aggressive character although the former have kept their hostility to the Soviets in the cold storage for the present, just as the latter had done at the outbreak of the war. So long as imperialism-capitalism subsists as a world system, imperialist rivalry and aggression must inevitably give rise to imperialist wars and the task of the revolutionary working class and of Marxist-Leninists all the world over of “turning the imperialist war into a civil war” remains imperative, unaltered and continuous till world imperialism is finally overthrown. This slogan indubitably holds good as the general line of action of all Communists and Marxist-Leninists for the entire period of imperialist wars which is but another name for the period of world revolution.
III. From the point of view of the revolutionary working class of the world, the colonial national peoples and weak and oppressed nationalities ranged and fighting side by side with the working class and the toiling people of the Soviet Union, the war of Soviet Union against Nazi Germany does, of course, assume the character of a world revolutionary war (or we might say people’s war) against the system of imperialism-fascism in general; but this is not identical with so-called war of democracy and fascism as is being alleged by the above-mentioned pseudo- Marxists. This latter characterisation cuts across the Marxist- Leninist conception of the fundamental contradiction between socialist world revolution and the world domination of imperialism capitalism and thus opens the way to the grossest confusion of ideas and reformist direction. From the fundamental Marxist- Leninist standpoint, the attack of Nazi-Fascist powers against the U.S.S.R. and the present alliance of Soviet Union, Britain and America does in no way involve the necessity of postponing the anti-imperialist movement in the so-called democratic countries or in the countries held under their imperialist domination. The world-struggle against imperialism-capitalism, whatever its national name or national form-fascism or democracy-must go on unabated in all countries in Nazi Germany as well as imperialist Britain, in Nazi-dominated Europe and in the British Empire, in India, Asia and Africa.
IV. The Soviet Union has become a victim of imperialist aggression along with the workers and masses of toilers in capitalist countries, small and weak nationalities and backward colonial peoples of the world. Soviet Union, the citadel of socialism and world revolution, directly threatened by the career of conquest of the Nazi war-machine at once becomes, in its war of self-defence, the central battle-front of the world revolutionary struggle of the toilers against the very system of imperialism-capitalism. It has been the central battle-front of the workers and oppressed masses of the world ever since it came into existence but now by its direct participation in the war it becomes such a front in a far greater degree and in a far more direct way. It, therefore, devolves upon the revolutionary masses and Marxist-Leninists in all countries to render as much moral and concrete material help to that central battle front in the fight of the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany, without at the same time postponing or abating in any way their own struggle against imperialism-capitalism in the geographical boundaries of their own countries.
V. The struggle of the U. S. S. R. against Nazi aggression and the struggle of the Indian toilers against British Imperialism must necessarily be viewed in the perspective of the imperialist world war, now waging, and the inevitably impending revolutionary crisis which is sure to follow the war and from that fundamental world revolutionary perspective, the basic unity of the Indian struggle and the struggle of the Soviet Union is obvious and from that angle, the duty of the Indian masses of over-throwing imperialism and proceeding to help European workers in their effort to turn the imperialist war into civil war-not only remains unaltered and unaffected but becomes all the more imperative.
In other words, the struggle of the Indian masses against imperialism must continue unabated and this is the only sure way in which the Indian people can help the U.S.S.R. in its fight against Nazi Germany in particular and the world system of imperialism- capitalism in general. Fundamentally the struggle of the Indian people against British Imperialism is an integral and inseparable detachment of the world revolutionary struggle against imperialism-capitalism which is being waged to-day on three different political fronts, namely, by the Socialist workers and the people of the Soviet-Union in the U.S.S.R., by the revolutionary workers of the advanced capitalist countries outside Russia and by the oppressed colonial, national peoples in countries subjugated and dominated by imperialism-fascism. This fundamental Socio- political objective and interest of all these three fronts, namely, the Soviet front of Socialist construction and socialist statehood, the revolutionary class front in the advanced capitalist countries and the colonial national front in countries held under the heels of imperialism-fascism are one and identical, namely, the overthrow of imperialist-fascist world-domination. Hence national struggle of India does in no way contradict or oppose the fundamental interest of the struggle of the Soviets against Nazi Germany and its allies, for, the overthrow of imperialism in India cannot but in the long run strengthen the ultimate cause for which the Soviets are fighting. If the Indian people succeed in overthrowing their imperialist yoke, the present fighting front of the Soviets against fascism will thereby be directly extended (not only politically but militarily as well) upto the shores of the Indian Ocean, and no- power on earth, far less Nazi Germany, with all its inner contradictions, can hope ultimately to survive the struggle against the united world revolutionary front of Soviet Russia and Soviet India. Long before it can finally overcome this united front of world revolution the economic strains and reactions of the war itself the revolutionary onslaught of the German and European working classes and the national revolt of the European nations, now crushed under the heels of the Nazi Germany must inevitably cause the collapse of the Nazi economical military machine which has already been subjected to the highest strains during the course of the 22 months of the war.
VI. The fundamental perspective of the coming revolutionary crisis must never be lost sight of. According to the Marxist-Leninist analysis the war will not only inevitably fail to solve the fundamental crisis of capitalism, it will inevitably intensify it a hundred fold and subject the entire economic and political system of capitalism to the most severe succession of the revolutionary shocks as soon as it reaches a conclusion, whatever that conclusion may be and in favour of which so ever imperialist power or coalition of powers, its military out-come be decided. Viewed in the background of that inexorable world revolutionary denouement any temporary set back to the Soviet military, howsoever, deplorable that may be, would not affect the coming of that denouement, which develops out of the objective logic of the world situation in the epoch of the imperialist wars. Even if the Soviets are faced with a military defeat it would mean nothing more than this that the forces of the world revolution have suffered a set back in one front only, despite which the world’s struggle against imperialism-capitalism will continue unabated in the other fronts. Even in the land of the Soviets it will continue as a people’s war-a war of people’s opposition against imperialist-fascist domination of their land. The coming of the world revolutionary development depending as it does, upon the fundamental social, economic and political forces-working in the wombs of the imperialist-capitalist system would not be, and can not be delayed by the immediate military defeat of the Soviets-although the maximum effort must be made to prevent that eventuality. The R.S.P.I. and the Indian people cannot therefore, slacken their revolutionary efforts in their own national sector within the geographical boundaries of their own country, but to intensify the mass-struggle therein, and for the transference of all powers to the Indian people whenever that opportunity would present itself in the stage of national and international revolutionary crisis which is being continually hastened by the war. If they slacken their efforts they will simply betray their own fundamental political interest and those of the Soviet Union itself and become no more than powers in the hands of British Imperialism.
VII. The R. S. P. I. and the Indian people must express their deep feeling of sympathy and steadfast solidarity with the Soviet Union in its fight against Nazi Germany and render all possible immediate and concrete help to it that lies in their capacity, recognising, at the same time, that their capacity of helping the Soviet Union in any tangible way is utterly restricted-almost nil-so long as India remains subject to the British Imperialism. Any cooperation with British Imperialism under the present circumstances, which imperialism on its part will always seek cravenly in the name of helping the Soviets will only be utilised in safeguarding its own interest strategically and militarily, in perpetuating the slavery of the Indian people and their importance in helping their comrades fighting on the other side of the barricade on the Soviet front. It can hardly be emphasised that from the mouths of Messrs. Churchill, Roosvelt and Co. this slogan is nothing but clever ruse to hoodwink the masses in order to bind them more securely to the chariot-wheels of the imperialist military machine and to suppress the colonial national movement against the imperialist vested-interest. As pointed out above the slogan of rendering all help to the Soviet must be interpreted in a revolutionary way and the only tangible help that the Indian people can render to the Soviet Union in its struggle against Nazi Imperialism and against world imperialism-capitalism as well is by liquidating imperialism in India and by establishing the rule of toilers here. This would not be led away and diverted from their purpose by any superficial consideration; they must remember that it is the toiling masses of India who are the real friends and champions of Soviet Union and not Messrs. Churchill & Co.
