The Socialist Party (India) Is Formed

DOCUMENT

TO FIGHT THE NEO-COLONIAL ONSLAUGHT ON INDIAN ECONOMY, POLITY AND CULTURE, AND TO ESTABLISH A SOCIALIST ORDER

The following is the press release distributed at a press conference in the Capital on June 10, 2011 announcing the formation of the Socialist Party (India).

Democratic Socialism came up in the debate all over the world due to two events. After the disintegration of Soviet Russia the Communist Parties in many European countries transformed themselves into democratic parties and after the bubble economy in the USA burst along with the taking over of the Lehman Bank, many started thinking about socialism. Unfortunately there was no Socialist Party in India as the Socialist Party, an independent incarnation of the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) formed in 1934 within the Congress, and founded by JP, Acharya Narendra Dev, Dr Ranmanohar Lohia immediately after the independence, had merged itself into the Janata Party in 1977.

The efforts at reviving the Socialist Party started after the disintegration of the Janata Party; however, it got a boost with the Indian Socialist Meet held in Pune in 2002. The task of revival of the Socialist Party was entrusted to Surendra Mohan under the auspices of the Socialist Front. It took almost eight years to take a final decision in this direction. In June 2010, it was finally decided, again in Pune, that the Socialist Party will be formed without further delay. Surendra Mohan, along with Panna Lal Surana, tried very hard to bring together various socialist outfits till his untimely and unfortunate death. After year-long deliberations undertaken through a series of meetings held in different cities of the country, several socialist groups and individuals met at a two-day foundation conference held in Hyderabad on May 28-29, 2011 and formed the Socialist Party (India) to carry forward the legacy of Acharya Narendra Dev, JP, Lohia, S.M. Joshi, Yusuf Meharally, Kishan Patnaik and other genuine socialist leaders and thinkers. Around 600 delegates from 19 States were present at the conference. Veteran journalist and writer Kuldip Nayar and Justice Rajindar Sachar were also there to bless the occasion.

The conference elected the following office-bearers of the party: President—Bhai Vaidya, General Secretary and spokesperson—Dr Prem Singh, Treasurer—Jayanti Bhai Panchal, General Secretary—Nurul Amin, General Secretary— Onkar Singh and 28 National Executive members including Panna Lal Surana, Prof Keshavrao Jadhav, Dr Sanmath Nath Ghosh, Sandeep Pandey, Balwan Singh Kheda, Shiva Tripathi and Sunita Bakshi. Sandip Pandey and Prof Keshav Jadhav will be the Vice-Presidents and Panna Lal Surana Chairman, Parliamentary Committee of the party.

A Coordination Committee, having Panna Lal Surana as its Convener and Lingraj, President, Samajwadi Jan Parishad, as member, was formed to approach other radical socialist groups and individuals for joint actions and programmes. Socialist Janata Party President Smt Manju Mohan, and Loktantrik Samajwadi Party President Raghu Thakur have also given their consent to join the Coordination Committee.

Though there are a plethora of political parties in India, most of them, including the Congress, BJP and regional parties, are unfortu-nately committed to not only the market based education, health, mass media and even culture. The Western industrial model is being thrust upon an agricultural country like India at the cost of suicides of 2,50,000 peasants, malnutrition of millions of children, and growing unemploy-ment and disparity. The corporate sector is allowed to plunder jal-jungle-zameen and minerals at the cost of displacement of millions of adivasis. Globalisation of investment and corporate-led so-called development is playing havoc in India during the last two decades. The Rs 5000-crore family residence of Ambani is the glaring evidence of the concentration of the wealth of India vis-a-vis the abysmal depth of growing poverty. India is on the top of the world in hiding black money which has out-paced the national income. The menace of globalisation and neo-liberal policies has to be fought out on all fronts. The Socialist Party (India) is committed to challenge this onslaught of the capitalist-led destructive policies.

The following policies are the distinguishing features of the Socialist Party (India):

1. The party opposes the forced imposition of the Western industrial model upon the Indian peasants and pledges to develop the agro-industrial model to benefit the farmers.

2. The party adopts the objective the full employ-ment to give every able hand a means of liveli-hood.

3. Complete education from KG to PG should be free, equal and qualitative. The party will oppose the market-based profit-making education system.

4. Health service is the right of every Indian and the state must spend enough on health.

5. India must have a national wage policy.

6. The party is opposed to nuclear armaments and energy and it would pursue the policy of alternative energy development.

7. The villages have the environmental rights of jal-jungle-zameen and minerals.

8. The nomads of India have the right of habitat.

9. The party would strive to establish a new, common man-oriented political culture with the help of electoral reforms by abolishing money-muscle power and caste-communal influence.

10. Annihilation of the caste system is the prominent objective of the party.

11. The comprehensive social security for the unorga-nised sections should be implemented urgently.

12. The party will launch a struggle for food security.

13. The party will mobilise public opinion for the Women’s Reservation Bill.

14. The recommendations of the Sachar Committee will be supported by the party.

15. The party will support well-meaning civil society agitations against corruption but believes that the menace can only be removed by replacing the neo-liberal policies and development model.

The party is committed to the new Indian social culture devoid of selfishness, consumerism and based on humanity, efficiency and work culture.