A Very Public Sociologist

A Very Public Sociologist

subtitled: Sociology Politics Sectariana Introversion

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Comrade Gaurav Speaks At Goldsmiths College In London

From WPRM

"Professor John Hutnyk of the Goldsmiths College Centre for Culture Studies gave a brief introduction.

Comrade Gaurav (C.P. Gajurel), who is in charge of the International Bureau of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)-CPN (M)-made an important speech at Goldsmiths College in London on Thursday 15/11/07. Comrade Gaurav made a series of important and inspiring points. His speech was well-received by an audience of students and British sympathisers with the revolution in Nepal.

Comrade Gaurav urged a united struggle by the CPN (M) and the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) against the Congress-led Interim government.

However, Comrade Gaurav stated that the CPN (M) did not want to take power at this current time. He argued that in the present situation, the party could do little to benefit the people, if it was part of the government. However, he was confident of the CPN (M) achieving power at the appropriate time.

Comrade Gaurav explained that Nepal Congress was in a serious dilemma at the moment. This is because of the fact that they have lost a recent vote in the Interim Parliament on the issue of the establishment of a republic and a fully proportional voting system. If Congress sticks to its position, it will be going against the will of the people. If it changes its position, this will be seen as a significant reversal of its policy.

It was made clear by Comrade Gaurav that the CPN (M) only sees the parliamentary struggle as one front in its fight for revolution. As Marxists, they do not believe that power can be achieved by parliamentary means alone. The decision to engage in parliamentary struggle arose from the need to win over the urban masses. Critics who ask why the CPN (M) did not continue the People's War in 2006 fail to acknowledge this need. Despite its power in the countryside, the CPN (M) was not politically strong enough to lead an urban revolt in 2006 to complete the revolution.

Comrade Gaurav spoke of the dangers of foreign intervention led by US imperialism to prevent the success of the revolution in Nepal. Comrade Gaurav pointed out that Nepal was perfectly able to withstand an economic blockade by means of economic self-reliance and through the determined spirit of the people. Comrade Gaurav also pointed out that the disruption to the regional balance of power caused by intervention in Nepal would not be tolerated by interested parties among the Asian nations.

Finally, Comrade Gaurav stressed that the CPN (M) was making its revolution for all the people of the world. The main enemy of the people of Nepal is U.S. imperialism, he stated. Comrade Gaurav hoped that the example of the CPN (M) would inspire people around the world in the struggle against imperialism.

The meeting was hosted by Goldsmiths College Centre for Culture Studies, Nepali Samaj and the World People's Resistance Movement"

Dangerous times demand courageous voices. Bob Avakian.

The following statement is from Engage! A Committee to Project and Protect the Voice of Bob Avakian…

Dangerous times demand courageous voices.

Bob Avakian is such a voice.

Bob Avakian combines an unsparing critique of the history and current direction of American society with a sweeping view of world history and the potential for humanity. He has brought forth a fresh, relevant and compelling approach to Marxism, deeply analyzing the history of the Communist movement and the socialist revolutions and upholds their achievements. At the same time, he honestly confronts and criticizes what he views as their shortcomings, opening up new paths of inquiry in the process and initiating dialogue with people who hold a wide range of views. He’s addressing the burning problems before society from a unique vantage point, and we consider his revolutionary analysis and solutions to be an important and necessary part of the ferment and discourse required in this society and the world in this dark time. While those of us signing this statement do not necessarily agree with all of his views, we have come away from encounters with Avakian provoked and enriched in our own thinking, and we invite others to hear and engage that voice.
Bob Avakian is also the leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA; as such he not only theorizes about the world, but plays a special role in organizing and leading that change. He’s been called a “long-distance runner in the freedom struggle against imperialism, racism and capitalism” and he draws on deep connections and engagement with people from all walks of life and all corners of the earth. All this informs and animates his work.

Unfortunately, such voices in this country are, and have been, all too frequently the objects of suppression and repression. This repressive edge in American society has been particularly brought to bear against those who advocate revolution and especially those who do so effectively. Surveillance, harassment, suppression, political trials, prison terms, exile and even assassination have been the fates of many revolutionaries throughout U.S. history and many of those measures have, in fact, been visited upon Avakian. The current administration has instituted serious repressive measures like the Patriot Act, instituted the use of preventive detention and isolation of those whom the president deems to be “terrorist”, and has created a climate where, for example, radical or even liberal professors find their reputations and even their livelihoods under assault; all this makes the ability of Bob Avakian to freely function even more of a concern. The statement by the German pastor Martin Niemoller – which begins “first they came for the communists, and I did nothing because I was not a communist” and which goes on to describe how Niemoller did nothing while Hitler peeled away the victims of the Nazi regime one at a time, until there was no one left to defend Niemoller when his time came – sounds with particular resonance today.

Thus, in addition to calling on people to engage with the thoughts of Bob Avakian and bring them into what needs to be a rich and diverse dialogue, we are also serving notice to this government that we intend to defend his right to freely advocate and organize for his views, and to engage broadly with people about those views

engagewbobavakian@yahoo.com
http://www.engagewithbobavakian.org

'Dangerous times demand courageous voices. Bob Avakian is such a voice' has been signed by many - See Here.

Release Jose-Maria Sison!

CoRIM received the following urgent message:

Release Jose-Maria Sison!

The Committee of the Revolutionary
Internationalist Movement learned with anger and
outrage of the arrest in the Netherlands of
Jose-Maria Sison by the Dutch authorities.
Comrade Sison was the founding Chairman of the
Communist Party of the Philippines in 1968 and
has remained a life-long opponent of imperialism
and reaction and leader of the Filipino people's
struggles. It is for these reasons and no other
that comrade Sison has been hounded by successive
reactionary governments in the Philippines. US
imperialism and the European Union have also
tried to stick the "terrorist" label on comrade
Sison, despite the fact that the struggle he has
been associated with in the Philippines is widely
known, even by the reactionary news media, to
have the support of millions of Filipinos from
all walks of life.

The arrest of comrade Sison is not only a major
blow to the struggle of the Filipino people, it
is also an attack on the thousands of
revolutionaries and other political activists
from around the world who have settled in Europe
because of severe political persecution in their
home countries. If the Dutch authorities succeed
in bringing comrade Sison to trial, it will have
ominous, more widespread implications.

The CoRIM, on behalf of the entire Revolutionary
Internationalist Movement, calls upon all
communist, revolutionary and progressive forces
and individuals to raise their voices in protest
to demand that the Dutch authorities release
Jose-Maria Sison, drop all charges, and cease
their political persecution of him.

Committee of the Revolutionary Internationalist
Movement
30 August 2007

Marx had time for Chess in 67

Having revised the first version of Volume One of Das Kapital for the press, Marx took time out to play a certain Meyer...

I have nicked this from Eli Wong, who got it via another fiendishly diligent fan, so this trace of Old Beardo from the annals of Chess history is gonna circulate like the endless adventures of the dialectic (sacrifice the wonky the knight or the promoted pawn, I dunno - reckon its a job for Harpo):

Karl Marx vs Meyer
Casual Game 1867 · King's Gambit: Accepted. Double Muzio Gambit Paulsen Defense (C37) · 1-0

There is some entertaining discussion on the board where this appears, I excerpt some here, mostly from 2005-2006:

Ziggy2016: Marx played like the romantic he was.

Ron: It seems that Karl Marx's chess play was historically conditioned.

euripides: Marx's play shows good knowledge of opening theory. However, Games Like K Marx vs Meyer, 1867 shows that he might have got this theory from games in the 1830s or from recent games in the 1860s. So we can't be sure that 'Capital' took so long because Marx was studying opening theory, though it is quite possible.

euripides: I note this game's authenticity has been questioned. According to Francis Wheen's biography, Marx attended a part given by the chessplayer Gustav Neumann in Berlin in 1867 and this game is meant to have been played there. He acknowledges the help of the Karl Marx Museum and their attached study centre for helping him find it.

WPRM

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The people of the whole world are confronted with a global challenge by imperialism aiming to solidify and expand a world-wide empire. They have declared their right to use military force to intervene anywhere and everywhere, to destroy peoples and their lands, to slander the people's struggles as "terrorist" in order to legitimise snuffing out any resistance to their vicious military, political, and economic order.
The World People's Resistance Movement has been formed to help the struggles all over the globe flow together into a mighty torrent. The WPRM provides an international vehicle to promote and facilitate the world wide unity against imperialism. Today people of the world need to oppose the imperialist crusade carried out under the sign "war on terrorism".
The WPRM does not seek to supplant or compete with any other people's organisation on a national or international level. All those on the same side of the barricades are welcome.
Help us to build WPRM everywhere in the world. North and South, East and West, unite the people's struggles! http://www.wprm.org

Maoist Revolutionary parties and organizations in India

The abundance of this site is truly wondrous:

Maoist Revolutionary parties and organizations in India: "massline.info
Maoist-Influenced Revolutionary
Organizations in India
[Last revision: Feb. 18, 2005. This information is subject to further correction and updating.
For more information about a specific organization, click on its name if highlighted below.]

Current Maoist or Mao-influenced Organizations in India
NameakaPublicationsPolitical
LineNotes
All India Peoples Resistance ForumAIPRF

Founded in 1992. Focuses mainly on democratic rights, opposition
to imperialist globalization, etc. Viewed by some people as a
front group for CPI(ML) People's War. Some of its adherents,
however, view its program as an alternative to that of the PW Group.

Communist League of India (M-L)CLI(ML)Lal Tara
Founded on Feb. 20, 1978.

Communist Party of India (Maoist)CPI (Maoist)
Engaged in
guerrilla
war in many
states.Formed on Sept. 21, 2004 as a merger of CPI(ML) People's
War and MCC(I). This is by far the largest and most
important revolutionary party currently engaged in guerrilla warfare
in India.

Communist Party of India (M-L)
[A new formation as of 2005]CPI (ML)
(?)
Centrist This new party will be formed in January 2005 by a merger of
CPI(ML) [Sanyal Group] and CPI(ML) Red Flag. Both of
these groups are substantial, so the new party will be one of
the more important middle-of-the-road Maoist organizations in India.

CPI (M-L) Bhaijee GroupS. R. Bhaijee Group
Formed in 1990. Active in Bihar.

CPI(ML) Central Team
Surkh Rekha
Formed in 1977. In Aug. 1994 the Punjab section of Central Team
merged with 3 other groups to form the CPRCI(ML), but the
Maharashtra and W
West Bengal sections refused to go along.

CPI (M-L) Janashakti — Rajanna group — Ranadheer group — Chandra Pulla Reddy group — Other factions
CPI (M-L)People's Power
Janashakti
Guerrillawar.
Formed in July 1992 by merger of 6 CPI(ML) groups. There are nowmany independent groups with this same name. Active in at least8 states. The Rajanna faction is critical of the "mass line" groupswhich it says do not really seem to be advancing toward people's war.After a period of internal confusion, it seems to have settled ona strategy of guerrilla warfare.

CPI (M-L) Jan Samvad
CPI (M-L)People's Dialogue

CPI (M-L) Liberation
Liberation,ML Update,WWW
Electoralfocus.
Claims to be the main continuation of the original CPI(ML). Backedaway from armed struggle in the 1970s. Probably the largest CPI(ML)group. Active in many states including Assam, W. Bengal and Bihar.

CPI (M-L) [Mahadev Mukherjee]
CPI (M-L) [MM]
Bharater Iskra,WWW
Split from CPI(ML) 2ndCC. They claim to be the "real" CPI(ML).Small, doctrinaire and idiosyncratic; they continue to support Lin Biao!

CPI (M-L) Maharashtra
[Maharashtra is a state in west India.]

CPI (M-L) Nai Pahal

CPI (M-L) Naxalbari
Naxalbari
Advocatesimmediatepeople's war.

CPI(ML) MUC merged into this group in April 1999. After 2000,a splinter group from the CPI(ML) Red Flag, led by someone namedRauf, merged with CPI(ML) Naxalbari. Rauf is the current Secretary ofthis group. It is affiliated with CCOMPOSA and RIM.

CPI (M-L) New Democracy
CPI (M-L)Prajapandha
New Democracy,Pratirodh ka Swar
Possiblyin flux.
Formed in 1988 by Yatendra Kumar. Active in Bihar and elsewhere.Say they favor the "revolutionary mass line", but also leaning moretoward guerrilla warfare lately.

CPI (M-L) New Proletarian

CPI (M-L) Organizing Committee
CPI (M-L) OrganizationCommittee
Said to be active in Bihar under the leadership of B. N. Sharma.(Unclear if this is the same group that merged into CCRIin 1988.)

CPI (M-L) Praja Pratighatana
People'sRetribution
Engagedin armedstruggle.

CPI (M-L) Prajashakti

CPI (M-L)People's Power

CPI (M-L) Prathighatana

CPI (M-L) Retribution;CPI (M-L) [PhaniBagchi]
Pratighatana
Engagedin armedstruggle.
Split from CPI(ML) Praja Pratighatana.

CPI (M-L) Provisional CentralCommittee
CPI(ML)PCC
For a New Democracy
Prob.centrist
Formed in 1977 with the merger of the CPI(ML) S.N. SinghGroup and the CPI(ML) Unity Committee. The CPI(ML) CentralTeam split off in 1978. In 1980 the C. P. Reddy Groupsplit off. Active in Bihar, etc.

CPI (M-L) Shantipal
CPI (M-L)Santi Pal Group
Formed around 1972 in northern West Bengal. Also activein Bihar, etc.

CPI (M-L) Second Central Committee
CPI(ML) 2ndCC
Formed in 1972 by Mahadeo Mukerjee, who was later expelled.Active in Bihar, etc.

Communist Party of the UnitedStates of India
CPUSI
Engagedin armedstruggle.
Split from CPI(ML) Janashakti in 1997. Wanted more attentionto caste issues.

Communist Party ReorganizationCentre of India (M-L)
CPRCI(ML)
Surkh Rekha,The Comrade
Advocatesthe "revolu-tionary massline".
Formed in 1994 by merger of 4 groups: the Punjab unit of CPI(ML)Central Team; Centre of Communist Revolutionaries of India;Communist Unity Centre of India; and the Marxist-LeninistOrganising Centre.
Communist Revolutionary Centre

Communist BiplabiKendra

Communist Revolutionary Leagueof India
CRLI
Small party in West Bengal. Founded and led by former CPI(ML) studentleader Ashim Chatterjee. May now lean towards social democracy.

Marxist Communist Party of India
MCPI
People's Democracy
MCPI is a splinter group from the revisionist CPI (Marxist). Althoughits Maoist credentials are weak, it seems to be exploring unity withseveral centrist Maoist groups.

Marxist-Leninist Committee
ML Committee
Seems to be a small middle of the road group (i.e., not engagingin guerrilla warfare) in the eastern part of Andhra Pradesh.

Revolutionary Communist Centre,India (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist)
RCCI(MLM)
This may be a separate organization from RCCI(Maoist) which mergedwith MCCI in Jan. 2003. It is also affiliated with CCOMPOSA.
Revolutionary Socialist Partyof India (M-L)

RSPI/ML
Formed in 1969.

Unity Centre of CommunistRevolutionaries of India (M-L)
UCCRI(ML)
Proletarian Path
"Massrevolutionaryline."
Formed in 1975 and led by T. Nagi Reddy (who died in 1976) andD.V. Rao. The Punjab Coordination Committee of CommunistRevolutionaries merged with UCCRI in 1976.

"

Everyday Life of Revolutionary Movements

Alpa writes:
Dear All,
If anyone is interested being involved in a panel on 'The Everyday Life of Revolutionary Movements' at the forthcoming September meeting of theEuropean Association of Social Anthropologists, please see further details at: http://www.nomadit.co.uk/easa/easa06/easa06_panels.php?PanelID=49

The idea is to explore the contradictions between ideology and livedexperience of revolutionary movements in different parts of the world.Abstracts should be submitted through the above web-site and the deadlineis 1 May.Please don't hesitate to get in touch for further information.And do pass on to anyone else who you think might be interested.

Best, Alpa
--Dr Alpa Shah,
Department of Anthropology,
Goldsmiths College, University of London
London, SE14 6NW
.