Memorial meeting in Delhi hails the contribution of
Comrade Hardial Bains

August 24, 2007, marked 10 years since the passing away of Comrade Hardial Bains. A meeting of members and supporters of the Communist Ghadar Party of India was held on 15th August in Delhi, which was the 68th birth anniversary of Comrade Bains. The slogans that adorned the backdrop at the meeting were: Hindustan ki Communist Ghadar Party ke nirmata aur neta Comrade Hardial Bains ko lal salaam! Apni Party ko mazbut banayein! (Red Salute to the Memory of Comrade Hardial Bains, Founder and Leader of our Party! Let us build and strengthen the Communist Ghadar Party of India!)

Comrade Prakash Rao, spokesperson of CGPI, opened the meeting with a moving account of the life and work of Comrade Hardial Bains. He highlighted Hardial's contributions to the revolutionary movement in India, in Canada and on the world scale. Several comrades who had worked with Hardial shared their thoughts and experiences, and contributed to a rich discussion. Youthful comrades expressed their interest in reading some of the key writings of Comrade Bains, proposing that the Central Committee take steps to make them available in Hindi and other Indian languages.

Comrade Prakash recounted that Comrade Bains had been stirred by the vision of communism and the work of the Communist Party from an early age, born as he was in a well known revolutionary family of Punjab. He went abroad to pursue higher studies, at a time when the communist movement was being divided and several parties led astray by Khrushchevite revisionism and all kinds of opportunism. He studied microbiology in Canada, and plunged into the student movement of that time. He was subsequently a teacher in Ireland, during which time he worked with communist revolutionaries of several nations to form The Internationalists – an organization committed to work for enlightenment and reorganization of the revolutionary movement, to defeat revisionism and opportunism of all hues. After returning to Canada, he led the struggle for the establishment of a revolutionary party in that country, the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), whose Central Committee he headed until his death. He boldly led the struggle of South Asians in Canada against state organised racist attacks in the 1960s and 1970s. Through his personal example, Comrade Bains taught our people how to defeat racist attacks, on the basis of self reliance and self defence, by building the political unity of the community, within itself and with the working class and progressive forces of Canada.

Comrade Prakash highlighted the outstanding contributions of Hardial Bains to the Indian revolution, and in particular, to the founding of the Communist Ghadar Party of India. The Naxalbari uprising broke out in 1967, followed by the rise and spread of revolutionary opposition to the 'peaceful and parliamentary road to socialism'. In 1968, Comrade Hardial Bains led the effort to establish the Hindustani Ghadar Party (Organisation of Indian Marxist-Leninists Abroad), to popularise the Naxalbari path and build support for it internationally. Following the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) in April 1969, and the discussions between its leadership and the HGP(OIMLA), it was decided that the latter will function as the external wing of CPI(M-L).

When the CPI(M-L) had been split into numerous factions, and there was no central leadership in India any more, the HGP(OIMLA) convened its First Congress, in 1977. Led by Comrade Bains, this First Congress discussed the condition of the communist movement in India and decided to actively take up the task of reconstituting the revolutionary vanguard party of the working class on Indian soil. The implementation of this decision, with comrades from abroad returning and joining hands with many revolutionary communists in India, led to the founding of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, in December 1980.

Comrade Prakash highlighted the critical theoretical and ideological contributions of Hardial Bains during 1990-97, when the disintegration of the Soviet Union gave way to a new period. This is a period when the wind was blowing against the revolution and communism, a period when the reactionary forces were on the offensive. Comrade Bains contributed to the contemporary Marxist-Leninist analysis of this period, of the objective and subjective causes for the decay of socialism and ultimate disintegration of the Soviet state. He made invaluable contributions to the theoretical work of the CGPI in this period.

The post 1990 writings of Comrade Bains, such as on the "Problems of Contemporary Marxist-Leninist Thought", have become essential study material for anyone who wishes to play a leading role in society in the 21st century. Hardial called upon all Indian minds to break out of Euro-centric shackles, with his powerful essay called "Crisis of Values: for a modern Indian political theory." His last work, written literally from his deathbed, was the paper presented at the Conference on Building the Future, held in New Delhi on the 50th anniversary of independence, called "The Last Reform - Breaking with the Past" (an abridged version of this paper in Hindi has appeared in the inaugural issue of Ghadar Jaari Hai Magazine). This is a historic contribution that has had a profound influence, and will continue to influence all those who are seeking to bring about people's rule in India.

Since the passing away of Comrade Hardial, we have sincerely and steadfastly implemented the most important of his teachings. We have built and further strengthened the party as the most precious thing. We have established the supremacy of the collective, the leadership of the central committee, of party committees and units at every level. As a party, we have united firmly around the Central Committee, headed by Comrade Lal Singh, our most steadfast and consistent fighter for the principle of collective leadership. In this way, we have together overcome the irreparable loss created by the passing away of Comrade Hardial, said Comrade Prakash Rao in conclusion. He declared that what the revolutionary legacy of Comrade Bains means for us is to fight unwaveringly to build and further strengthen the Communist Ghadar Party of India, as the key subjective factor for the restoration of unity of Indian communists, and for the victory of revolution on Indian soil.

During the discussion that followed, several longstanding members of the party shared their personal experiences and impressions of Hardial Bains. One of them brought out what seemed to be contradictory features of his personality – his humble approach to scientific enquiry and his proletarian arrogance in dealing with the enemy. Another comrade recalled how on his first visit to Canada, looking at posters in which Comrade Hardial was shown with his fist held high, a Polish taxi driver had remarked how wonderful it is to see an Indian immigrant standing up so fearlessly. Several stories and anecdotes were shared among the comrades, which highlighted the fact that Comrade Hardial had always been proud to be an Indian and proud to be a communist.

The discussion was followed by the unveiling of the Hindi home page of the party website. Then followed some passionate rendering of popular revolutionary songs, including some that were special favourites of Comrade Hardial, such as "Utha ke Jhanda" and "Raste Pe Tumhare." The meeting concluded with the singing of the Internationale.