Comrade Swandip Bagchi, a leading forerunner of the revolutionary communist movement and the founder editor of Sandikshan, breathed his last on 20th April 2015. He was completely bedridden due to critical health issues for the last few years. Despite several attempts by doctors his condition did not improve. Finally he succumbed to this illness. He was 78. The Indian revolutionary communist movement lost an advanced, diligent warrior.
This is not the time to attempt a holistic evaluation of the life of a lifelong revolutionary communist like Com. Swandip Bagchi. But if we do not bring forth some major aspects of his sustained and active revolutionary life then our tribute towards him will remain incomplete.
Com. Swandip Bagchi was born in the year 1937. His political involvement started in the mid 1950s while he was a student at Jadavpur University. It was a time when the workers-peasants and the toiling masses gradually got disenchanted with the nationalist illusion and incipient struggles concerning their livelihood issues slowly emerged. The massive food movement, which shook the ruling class, took place in West Bengal in 1957. The corresponding international scenario was also under turmoil. The communist party of Soviet Russia led by Khrushchev had started moving down the reformist slide. During such a time Com. Swandip Bagchi held on to the dream of building a classless, exploitation-less, egalitarian society and started his journey of active politics through RSP. The communist movement of West Bengal was going through a difficult phase at that time. Following the Indo-China war of 1965 the ruling class unleashed an attack on the communists. The avid nationalist propaganda of the ruling class was successful in influencing a section of the people. The worker’s movement too was in a phase of temporary stagnation. However, these odds could not deter Com. Swandip Bagchi. From the mid-sixties, West Bengal and India was again bellowing with workers struggle. Internationally the signs of degeneration of the Soviet communist party became more obvious and the communist party of China upheld the flag of international communist movement and therein started the international great debate. In such a time, in the year 1965, Com. Swandip Bagchi left his job and dedicated himself to the revolutionary struggle, towards the struggle for socialism as a whole-time worker – a position that he held strong till the end of his life.
After winning the 1967 elections, CPI, CPM, RSP and other such parties decided to form the government. Com. Bagchi and his comrades within RSP did not find it difficult to realize that these parties were trying to restrict the fervent workers and peasants movement within the narrow confines of a parliamentary system and thereby destroying the emergent revolutionary potential of these struggles. Along with the issue of forming the government, the role of the leadership of these parties in restricting the workers movement, post government formation, increased the existing conflict. The disagreement ripened through many such questions centred on the revisionist-reformist path of RSP. Finally, the conflict reached its height when RSP took a nationalist stance in the Bangladesh liberation war. Com. Bagchi quitted the party in 1971 and initiated the publication of Sandikshan. According to previous plans his comrades left the party in 1972 to join him and built a communist revolutionary organisation.
Almost simultaneously, when the ideological struggle within RSP was ripening, revolutionary workers from within CPIM revolted and built the CPIML party, which was recognized by no other than the Chinese communist party. Consequently, almost all revolutionary workers felt a strong allure towards CPIML. But those who were carrying out the fight inside RSP easily understood that working class politics was largely neglected in the politics of CPIML. Therefore, Com. Swandip Bagchi and his comrades could not accept the politics of CPIML party. Soon afterwards, ultra-left, impulsive politics started dominating CPIML politics and finally due to the failure to undertake a resolute position based on class politics and in the face of state terror, CPIML got fragmented into multiple parts. Right from its inception Sandikshan launched a sustained ideological struggle from a working class perspective against the reformist-revisionist politics of CPI, CPIM, RSP, etc., as well as against the ultra-left, brazen politics of CPIML. It was of course not easy, particularly at that time, to simultaneously carry out a struggle against these two strong opponents. Nevertheless, there was no dearth of resolve and conviction to accomplish this work, as from the very beginning they had a clear and confident Marxist-Leninist position along with a deep conviction in the working class. Com. Swandip Bagchi served as the editor of Sandikshan from inception of the periodical and his leading role in the ideological struggle was incontestable. Sandikshsan brought forth the fundamental truths of Marxism-Leninism, which were being made obscure by the reformist-revisionists and which were never stressed upon by CPIML. On the one hand Sandikshan carried out a relentless fight against the different manifestations of revisionist-reformist politics, like the politics of government formation, politics dominated by elections or parliament, while on the other hand fought incessantly against the CPIML politics of election boycott, mass movement and mass organization boycott. Sandikshan not only fought against these two deviations but at the same time upheld the correct Marxist-Leninist positions as opposed to the left and right deviations with regards to the ensuing questions. Com. Swandip Bagchi played the cardinal role in this struggle. His fundamental stress was on making the advanced workers class conscious so that the working class may be organized as an independent class. Despite all the obstacles he held on this effort throughout his life.
For a long period following this phase, Com. Swandip Bagchi played a pioneering role with respect to different ideological questions existing within the communist camp. Though in the early days, Sandikshan had professed socialist revolution to be the stage of revolution in Indian, very quickly they changed their position. But they were not merely confined within this change of stand. During this time Com. Bagchi wrote several significant and illuminating articles in an attempt to remove the existing confusions regarding the tasks of the old bourgeois democratic revolution, new or people’s democratic revolution, socialist revolution, the yardstick to determine stage of revolution, etc., which can still be found in the older issues of Sandikshan. Alongside, we will also find a collection of noteworthy articles published in Sandikshan during this time concerning the position of the communists with regards to the agrarian question, particularly on what should be the role and tasks of the communists in connection to the reform measures of the ruling class, what should be position of the working class in the question of communalism, etc. Com. Swandip Bagchi had a very incisive and powerful pen, coupled with a thorough and insightful knowledge of Marxism and Leninism and a natural ability to delve deep into matters with impeccable meticulousness. This role of Com. Swandip Bagchi was one of the main factors that made Sandhikshan a journal that was held in high esteem within the communist workers belonging to the then communist camp.
Communist movement faced a major debacle at the end of the eighties decade. The regimes that existed in the name of socialism in Russia and east European countries suffered their final downfall. Though the process started much earlier, common people faced this bare truth following these incidents. It became clearer that China too had deviated from the path of Socialism. This particularly affected the intellectual communist workers coming from middle class families. The confusions regarding Marxism-Leninism assumed huge proportions. During this time Com. Swandip Bagchi took up the leading role in upholding the real concept of scientific socialism. He brought forward the fact that the post revolutionary social systems of Russia and the east European nations were not socialist systems but were in different phases of transition towards socialism, where the struggle between forces in favour of socialism and those in favour of capitalism remain unabated. Hence the re-establishment of capitalism in these countries does not refute Marxism-Leninism or the theory of scientific socialism. Subsequently, he delved deeper into the topic of transition to socialism by bringing forth the teachings of Marx, Engels and Lenin in newer light and thereby challenged the prevailing misconceptions within the communist camp regarding socialism and communism. No wonder we were enlightened by his profound analysis. Besides, he also assumed a significant role in determining the position of the communists in relation to the agrarian question. In addition to this, he also played a major role in investigating and determining the stand of the communists in several other crucial issues like rise of fascism in India, new economic policy, etc.
During this time he concentrated his thoughts on possible ways to turn around from the state of complete disarray of the communist movement. He was deeply pained due to the absence of a party and was very much concerned about the task of party building. On one occasion he had fought with the idea of building the party by uniting the existing communist revolutionary groups, while allowing them to maintain their group existence. In the later part of his life he concentrated in finding the reasons for the failure of the first venture of the international socialist movement.
The lessons from the life of Com. Swandip Bagchi will remain incomplete if we do not mention another important side of his life. His role in studying and understanding Marxism Leninism and in upholding their teachings is somewhat well known within the comrades of the communist revolutionary camp. He is by and large recognized as a theoretical leader. But his intimate and passionate association with the working class is probably less known. Right from the beginning of his active political life he associated himself closely with the workers movement. From the days of his association with RSP he was attached to workers movements of different factories in the Ballygunj, Tiljala, Park Circus locality. He was involved with the day-to-day work of the workers movement of Hindustan Development (later renamed as Hindustan Engineering), Bharat Battery, Calcutta Ware Works, etc., and also spent days together in the factory camps during the time of strikes or lockouts. Later too, in the eighties, despite his involvement in theoretical ideological struggle he played a role in the day-to-day nitty-gritty’s of factory unions of Bharat Tin and Enamel, Flora Bakery, etc. In as much, till the last day of his active life he was involved with trade union work of Bharat Battery. The worker comrades, who worked with him, still remember him for running the unions in a democratic manner on the basis of the workers opinions. They remember him for his ability to inculcate the fundamental aspects of Marxism Leninism within the advanced workers in an easy and lucid manner.
It would be a huge mistake not to mention another aspect. That is his organizational ability. Despite all his engagements in studying, writing and other theoretical work, he played a leading role in the organizational movement with dexterity.
His relationship with Sandikshan got severed during the last few years of his life. A debate concerning few political questions started within the organization in the later part of 2008. In 2010, as a consequence of this debate he resigned from the organization as well as from the editorial board of Sandikshan. But he was not deviated from the goal of resurrecting the communist movement or from the objective of building the working class movement. As long as it was possible, he worked diligently in accordance with his thoughts. In this phase of unprecedented failure of international communist movement, in this dark, adverse and difficult time, it is indeed extremely difficult to maintain the faith on the working class without any blemish. It is very difficult to prepare one’s life for simultaneously maintaining a close contact with the working class and continuously contributing both from a theoretical as well as practical standpoint, and at the same time to prepare for carrying out a struggle against the right and left deviations. This tremendously difficult work has become even more difficult in the present situation when the socialist movement has suffered a huge defeat and the incessant attack and decoy of capitalism following defeat has successfully shifted many from their declared position, and at times many of our positions are also somewhat shaken and influenced. In such a time it will not be possible to understand the importance and relevance of the previously mentioned contributions unless we are able to realize this aspect of a prolonged and extremely difficult struggle of life. Whatever be the debate or difference of our opinion with him, we, on behalf of Sandikshan (red) salute the life-long communist for his role in advancing the revolutionary communist movement. At the same time we pledge that Sandikshan will try its best to move ahead with the positive aspects of the teachings of Com. Swandip Bagchi.
Editorial Board, SandikshanComments:
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