Ram Swarup - Foundations of Maoism

FOUNDATIONS OF MAOISM

A Review and A Critique

By the Same Author

COMMUNISM & PEASANTRY: IMPLICATIONS OF

COLLECTIVIST AGRICULTURE FOR ASIAN

COUNTRIES

GANDHISM AND COMMUNISM

Distributed by Impex India, 5/1, Deshbandhu Gupta Road, New Delhi-1.

FOUNDATIONS OF MAOISM

RAM SWARUP

VOICE OF INDIA

New Delhi

First Published in India in December, 1966

Pdf: 2015.

All Rights Reserved

Publishers: Ashok Kaushik, Jyotsna Prakashan, 7F, Kamla Nagar, Delhi-7

TERMS OF THE DEBATE / v FOREWORD

During the Chinese aggression of India in 1962, the late Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, our then Prime Minister, said in one of his public addresses: "The Chinese threat to us is there for the next 10 or 20 or 40 years." This was not a light-hearted warning to the nation. He knew what he was talking about.

This book "Foundations of Maoism" by Shri Ram Swarup adds effective and convincing substance to corroborate Panditji's warning of 1962. The author has in his Preface given us, in lucid language, a clear picture of what Maoist China's doctrine is, in her attitude and conception of a Communist world order and how she plans to achieve her aims.

As the author rightly says, "According to Leninist-Maoist thinking, communism in a country does not come about spontaneously as a result of the sufferings of the people.

On the other hand, communist revolution has to be pushedthrough consciously by a cadre of professional revolutionists indoctrinated in the thoughts of Marxism-Leninism and trained in the art of subversion. Poverty and sufferings provide the objective conditions - subjective conditions are provided by an organised elite." The economic distress and frustration provide the fertile soil for Communism to thrive in - and we have, alas, amongst us some traitors who are the organised elite to exploit the illiterate masses in our present temporary economic problems.

This is all indeed alarming truth - alarming because of the manner in which communist tentacles seem to be entwining, apparently innocuously but quite effectively, the innocent minds of frustrated elements in our society who are led to imagine that a land of milk and honey emerge when

v i

FOUNDATIONS OF MAOISM

Mao's much advertised "New Democracy" gets into full play in due course in their own homeland. I well remember how this organised elite used to tell the thousands of innocent and illiterate tea plantation labourers in North Bengal during the 1962 Chinese invasion: "Daro mat, Cheenka mukti fauj araha hai. Jab aega woh tumko bahut khurak, kapra or subcheez dega" so on, meaning, "Do not be frightened. The Liberation Army from China is coming. When it comes, it will give you a lot of food, clothes every thing else," or words to that effect.

The author, Shri Ram Swarup, by his exhaustive and such thorough study and survey of China's imperialistic ambitions of communist pattern, of her methods to create internal unrest and disorder, by sabotaging railway lines, by inciting the labour and students to go on strikes and to show no respect for law and order, has given us a warning of the things to come to us, if we refuse to see the writing on the wall simply because we are a democracy where every one can say or do what he likes. If the authorities concerned and the people ignore all that has been said in this book so clearly with arguments based on irrefutable facts and do not take immediate measures to stave off the real danger to our principles of democracy, as enshrined in our constitution, by firm, practical and positive measures to nip things in the bud, we will all - those loyal to our heritage and to our sacred soil - be committing a national crime of depriving our future generations of the glories and the grandeur of our present democratic ways of life which we of to-day enjoy.

The military might of China of which the author has told us in this book is really frightening during this early stage of our planned big defence build-up. Added to her very formidable land, sea and air striking power and her nuclear threat, her detonating a nuclear device with a guided missile as recently as 27th October 1966, cannot be taken light-heartedly. Our defence problems are further increased by China finding a new close ally, who is our immediate

TERMS

FOUNDATIONS OF MAOISM OF THE DEBATE / vii neighbour and who may be used as China's tool to create for us some real defence anxieties and concern which we with our existing resources may find it not too easy to deal with on our own. Such use of her ally will certainly be in her own interests and definitely not of her ally's.

As I see it, I do not think Shri Ram Swarup has written this book with any passion or prejudice. He has only portrayed to us - in order to focus our attention to the threat to our security - Maoism and its dangers to democracies. His is a warning which cannot be ignored by us if we want to live as a free and independent people. Shri Ram Swarup has done our country a yeoman's service in writing this book. We must thank him. I congratulate him.

I hope this book will be widely read by the old and young, men and women who are loyal to our Motherland. I particularly hope that every single college student and other youth of our country will read this book from cover to cover; for, our youth are our hopes and leaders of tomorrow and they must be warned now not to sleep but to keep awake to ensure that we wil say till eternity "Jai-Bharat" only under our National flag - the Tri-colour with the Ashoka Chakra on it.

19th December, 1966.

K.M CARIAPPA

Roshanara,

General (Retired)

Mercara,

Coorg.

TERMS OF THE DEBATE / ix CONTENTS

Foreword

v

Preface

xi

Part I

I. New Democracy in New China

II. New Economy of New China

III. New Culture of New China

IV. The Myth of Socialist Food Surplus 25

V. Change-Brain Campaign

Part II

VI. The Chinese Menace to India & Asia 49

VII. Foundations of Maoism

VIII. Mao's Two Pronged Attack: Internal Subversion Joins External Aggression

1. Peking Army in Calcutta Streets

2. Police "Excesses" and Vested Interests 102

3. Lessons of the West Bengal Bundh

TERMS OF THE DEBATE / xi PREFACE

The present selection consists of two sets of articles.

The first set belongs to the early days of Chinese communism. In fact, four out of the five articles which constitute Part I of this book were written and published in 1952. They deal with internal developments in China.

The second set of articles, which constitute Part II, were written during the last 12 months. They discuss communist China in her external aspect. The two aspects cannot be separated. They interpenetrate each other.

In both the aspects, an attempt has been made to discuss Maoist practice in terms of Maoist theory and vice versa.

This may have made the discussion somewhat dry at many points. But this is unavoidable. In communism, theory and practice go together. Theory enlightens practice; and practice tests, embodies and illustrates theory. Theory provides a background, a perspective, a frame of reference.