Volume 2, No. 2, February 2001

To the beat of the drums, a hundred fighters and commanders raised their fists in salute to the red flag of the party, to the red flag of the People’s Guerrilla Army (PGA) and to the martyr’s memorial column.

The comprador feudal ruling classes of India had much to fear. It was the march of India’s People’s Guerrilla Army.

Comrade Srinivas, Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh State Committee unfurled the party flag. He made a brief speech underscoring the importance of the occasion.

Comrade Balakrishna of the AP State Sub-Committee on Military Affairs hoisted the PGA flag. As it caught the breeze it displayed the red flag bearing the rifle lodged in the embrace of the hammer and sickle.

Comrade Uma of the Jana Natya Mandali unveiled the martyrs’ memorial column. She spoke of the martyrs that laid down their lives for the cause of India’s democratic revolution.

Comrade Basavaraj, Central Committee member of the CPI(ML)[People’s War] and Secretary of the Central Sub-Committee on Military Affairs formally inaugurated the formation of the PGA.

He declared : "This is a turning point for the Indian revolution." He further stated that the formation of the PGA was a qualitative leap in the Indian revolution.

He added that "the three forces — the primary, secondary and base forces are the three component parts of the PGA."

Comrade Basavaraj then read out the message of the Central Committee to the AP detachment of the PGA.

The message reiterated the cardinal validity of Mao Tsetung’s evaluation that : "The people have nothing without a people’s army."

The message further stated that this was India’s first regular guerrilla army. That it was the army of the oppressed masses which sought the achievement of India’s New Democratic Revolution, by destroying feudalism and imperialism in the country.

Comrade Basavaraj then read out the PGA pledge. The men and women fighters and commanders of the PGA repeated the pledge.

A long standing dream of India’s oppressed masses had come true.

Speeches were also made by Comrades Suresh from Karnataka, Comrade Raghu from Tamil Nadu and Comrade Srikanth.

Comrade Suresh spoke on the question of Indian expansionism. He said that Indian expansionism was semi-feudal and semi-colonial in nature; and, that it brought the peoples and nations of South Asia in particular into a contradiction with the Indian state. This was a positive factor for the advancement of India’s protracted people’s war. It held out brilliant opportunities for the CPI(ML) [People’s War] and the PGA to forge unity with the peoples of South Asia.

Comrade Raghu emphasised the opportunities for the development of the revolution conducted by the PGA in the context of a centralised perspective for the protracted people’s war of India. He spoke of the importance of conducting the protracted people’s war at the all-India level by focussing on the strategic areas. He recollected the important role of Comrades Shyam and Mahesh in developing the people’s war in Tamil Nadu.

Comrade Srikanth spoke of the wars of national liberation conducted by the people of Kashmir and those of the North East. He drew attention to the fact that they had engaged the biggest part of the Indian armed forces, making the North East and Jammu and Kashmir weak points of the Indian state. He underscored the fact that the Punjab struggle demonstrated the prospects of conducting people’s war even in the developed plains. He called for the unity of the CPI(ML)[PW] with the national liberation struggles in fighting the Indian state and said that the PGA could learn from their military experience.

During the post-lunch session, Comrade Anand, Commander of the Special Guerrilla Squad (SGS) and Comrade Zaheer, another Commander of the SGS spoke. They hailed this historic event and said that the PGA will effectively counter the ongoing enemy offensive.

Comrade Gangadhar of the Central Committee then spoke. He said : "The PGA is the alternative for the imperialist fascist offensive. We can build a countrywide united front only with such an army." He then emphasised the need to concentrate forces in the strategic zones. He concluded his speech by calling on members of the Party and PGA to be prepared to go to the Special Zones of India in order to create the liberated areas.

Comrade Ramesh, Regional Committee member, South Telangana, was the president for the occasion. He traced the phases of the development of the movement since 1978. He spoke of the immeasurable support of the peasantry for the people’s war. He cited instances of how, in the most adverse of circumstances in Medak district in recent years the people extended their fullest support to the people’s war.

After the speeches, which went on till 4-00 p.m, the Jana Natya Mandali (JNM) cultural squads took the stage. They sang songs, performed dances and displayed skits.

Many new songs were written and dances choreographed for the occasion. However the most appealing was the candle-light dance before the martyrs’ column.

The stars were out in the sky by the time the celebrations were complete. Revolutionary slogans created a rustle in the leaves and awakened the forest to a new turn in the protracted people’s war of India.

The armed detachment of the international proletariat was born in India. The comprador-feudal classes of India presumed that by killing Comrades Shyam, Mahesh and Murali they had scored a victory in their war on the masses led by the CPI(ML)[People’s War]. But these three leaders were reincarnated as the primary, secondary and base forces of the PGA. From the Andes of Peru, the rain forests of the Philippines, the Himalayas of Nepal, the snow-clad mountains of Turkey, and now from the depths of the jungles of India, revolution has been unfurling its armed banner to the oppressed millions of the world.

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