Grave crisis and turmoil in India

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Others like to depict him as a brilliant individual who because of his 'individualism' was no match for Stalin. These descriptions of Trotsky are entirely inadequate, and in the latter case completely false.

Falsities

His greatest contributions to the teachings of Marxism undoubtedly began when he took up point by point the falsity Stalin's theories in the period following Lenin's death.

Despite the continuous witch-hunt which raged against him and his immediate followers, he poured out pamphlets and hundreds of articles and books, analysing the bureaucratic. degeneration which was then developing under Stalin's leadership in the Soviet Union.

He was the great Marxist specialist on bureaucracy. To him Stalin was not just a tyrant, who practiced murder for the love of it. To him Stalin was the leader of the bureaucratic degeneration which destroyed Lenin's Bolshevik party after Lenin died in 1924.

But Trotsky Publicly of such governments as Italian, Belgian and Dutch.

RESERVATIONS

The strongest reservations have come from France, where the pressure of US business methods on a structure of small-scale, family firms has been most acute.

Recently, too, there have been some misgivings in West Germany. At government level the main consideration has been the taking over of key sectors of industry by a dollar backed by a Communist members or were engaged in struggle against Stalinism. He became of Hitler's wnich 1 rOISKI continuous v class internatona 1 ne achievenent of his life was un and une dwindling gold reserve.

The dollar investment in European industry has been one of the main contributors to the US balance of payments problem. But it has also contributed to the supply of dollars for the finance of international transactions.

INTENSIFY PROBLEM To stem this flow, either by action in the States or by the ction of European governments, ould only intensify the growing problem of international liquidity.

Cynics

'But what happened to the Fourth International?' say those tired old cynics of the fake left and centrist movements. The answer to the question cannot be provided within the scope of this article. But this much can be said.

When Trotsky founded the Fourth International he brought with him all the experience of the pre-revolutionary situation in Russia, the Russian revolution itself, the wars of intervention and a life-time of collaboration with. the world's leading Marxists, all of whom Even de Gaulle's advisors, who Even de Gaulle': see French industry being taken over with paper dollars, are unable to do anything about it. Meanwhile, although the gold reserves of France and other countries have been going up, US control of the international monetary system has actually prevented the depreciation of the dollar by as much as the franc and other currencies.

European businessmen view the dollar invasion with mixed feelings. The bigger fish are not seriously worried. In some fields the capital required for research and development is so great that there are just no takers for serious competition with the US ciples, despite his brilliance and experience, had come into the movement under conditions of defeat where they were unable to develop and to fight consciously for dialectical materialism.

They accepted his writings, and in some countries built working organisations which, though small in numbers, were extremely active. But Trotsky's death cut them off from the fountainhead of Marxist knowledge. His last great struggle to defend dialectical materialism was in 1939.

Thereafter those who

claimed to be his disciples and heirs merely contented themselves with reprinting his books, but failed to develop the main field of his teachings, in the realm of philosophy.

When Stalin murdered Trotsky he dealt a most powerful blow at the Fourth International. It is only now, 25 years after this terrible disaster, thạt the Fourth International is beginning to recover.

Virtually destroyed

During the major part of this quarter of a century the Fourth International was virtually destroyed by the anti-Marxist revisionists of the Pablo and Cannon schools.

This was brought to a halt in 1952 when the French Trotskyists challenged and defeated Pablo inside their organisation.

Trotsky's real teaching and work is now being carried on by the International Committee of the Fourth International, to which the Socialist Labour League is an affiliated member.

The work of the International Committee has been steadily strengthened by the adherence of large groups of young Marxists, especially in Western Europe, who are now politically preparing a real international. congress to continue the work which Trotsky began in 1938.

Those who have deserted our movement beHARDLY had the Ranbe ef Kutch agreement been signed between Pakistan and India than a new border dis pute emerged, this time in the remote mountains and valleys of Kashmir.

When India was partitioned one of the first acts of Nehru's government was to forcibly occupy Kashmir against the expressed wishes of its predominantly Muslim peasantry.

The Kashmiris, under the leadership of the legendary Sheikh Abdullah, wanted autonomy, but the Indian army annexed this strategically vital territory. Sheikh Abdullah himself was arrested in the early fifties and gaoled for 12 years, and emerged from obscurity only recently to be arrested once again in May this year and placed under housearrest in South India.

NEHRUS POLICY

Nehru's policy provided the Pakistani landlords, capitalists and religious fanatics with a convenient pretext for intervening in Kashmir's internal affairs. Kashmir's politics reflected quite clearly the division and conflict of the two powers.

One group, led by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed, fought to keep Kashmir under Indian domination, while the secessionists, led by Sheikh Abdullah and after his arrest by Farouk and Massoudi, strove to take Kashmir out of the Union.

In the second week of August an uprising assisted by the Pakistan government was launched. A clandestine radio called Voice of Kashmir' operated by the Revolutionary Council of Kashmir began daily broadcasts.

"GOVERNMENT'

Since then a 'National Government of the People of Jamnu and Kashmir' has been proclaimed by the Revolutionary Council, and sporadic fighting between Indian-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan-held territory has been going on. There are now over 100,000 Indian police and troops in the area.

Indian press attempts to depict the uprising as Pakistaninspired are grossly exaggerated. The Kashmiris want independence from India-and Pakistan.

It is reported that the greatest discontent is in the Pakistan-occupied part of Kashmir. Food shortages and forcible conscription of peasants are the main causes of resentment.

Kashmir, however, is by no means the only grave problem facing prime minister Shastri. There are graver problems at home. In Bihar huge demonstrations of hungry workers, peasants and students marching on government warehouses and police stations have been fired on, resulting in numerous deaths.

IN SOUTH INDIA In Andhra province inflation and increased lay-offs caused by factory closures sparked off massive demonstrations of government employees. In June government employees demonstrated in a 2-mile long march against the state government for increased allowances.

IN NORTH INDIA In Uttar Pradesh a row is looming over the denial of the use of Urdu as a second language of the state.

IN THE EAST Attempts to prevent Pakistani infiltration into Assam and to pacify the Nagas have proved difficult and unsuccessful.

The terrible food shortage and the foreign exchange crisis combined have brought Indian economy to a virtual halt. Even the sedate 'Times' remarked laconically:

'A cow-dung economy does not move upward in an even graph ..: (sic!).

If India is moving rapidly towards a pre-revolutionary situation then it is true to say that the Communist Party of India is evolving even more rapidly towards reformism and chauvinism.

PATRIOTIC

During the Rann of Kutch fighting the Stalinist Executive was as patriotic as the capitalist Congress party and even opposed any thought or suggestion of cease fire. Party Chairman, Dange, in an article in 'New Age', implied outright war against Pakistan.

(The same man also wanted war against China.)

The Left-wing pro-Chinese party continue to attack Dange and the Right-wing - as well as the Centrists led by Bhupesh Gupta — and refuse to be drawn into any unity manouvres. But their opposition is blunted by their complete identification with the Chinese bureaucracy, and prevents them from working out a genuinely Marxist analysis and programme for the Indian Socialist revolution.

Such a task can be achieved only by the Indian Trotskyists.