Siraj Sikder Works: The Role of Leaders and Cadres in Revolution

 

Siraj Sikder

Siraj Sikder


The Proletarian Party of East Bengal produced and published the original Bengali document in 1972

The Communist Party Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Bangladesh translated the document in English and published online via www.sarbaharapath.com on 23 July 2014. The party slightly edited the translation on 17January 2017


 

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A party consists of leaders and cadres. Leaders and cadres are two different aspects of a contradiction [1]. Leaders and cadres have specific role in revolution respectively.

Party line and leadership

Chairman Mao said, “Leadership involves two main responsibilities: to work out ideas, and to use cadres well”

“Such things as drawing up plans, making decisions, and giving orders and directives, are all in the category of ‘working out ideas’” [2]

That means, it is the responsibility of leadership to produce political, military, organizational, ideological, and methodological and other lines, and to use cadres to realize that. Leadership’s role in line-making and using cadres is determinant.

The most important thing for a party’s development and victory is determining correct line. If line is correct, inferior forces get stronger, if there is no army, it will develop, if there is no political power, that will be achieved, cadres are recruited, they are motivated to sacrifice, carry discipline and be obedient to center.

If line is wrong, cadres will not be motivated to sacrifice, they do not carry discipline, finally they leave and party loses pre-achieved success too.

If line is correct, cadres’ sacrifice and bloodshed succeed, while it fails when line is wrong. Therefore, correct line is the life of party. Great Lenin made correct line of the Soviet Communist Party and the party accepted and activated that. Therefore, proletariat and people’s sacrifice in Soviet Union became meaningful (later that sacrifice went in vain when the revisionists seized power there).

Chairman Mao Tse-tung produced the correct line of the great Chinese Communist Party; the party accepted and materialized it. Thus, Chinese revolution has been gaining victories continuously, and the sacrifice and bloodshed of the cadres and masses is being fruitful.

Comrade Siraj Sikder produced the correct line of the East Bengal Workers Movement and the Proletarian Party, the organization accepted that and cadres materialized that. Thus, the organization is constantly gaining victories and developments, and the sacrifice and bloodshed of the cadres, guerrillas and sympathizers are being fruitful.

Only because of that correct line, the Workers Movement got development, cadres were recruited, they were motivated to sacrifice; it sustained and developed in a critical situation of class and national struggle, and finally by completing its historic role, established the Proletarian Party of East Bengal.

The Proletarian Party, despite severe attack from internal and external class and national enemies and their agents, is sustaining because of its correct line, and developing constantly.

Thus, the Proletarian Party of East Bengal developed as whole East Bengal wide national mass based party and reached to the level of initiating massive Armed National Liberation War.

On the other side, the wrong and traitor lines of  Huq-Toha, Motin-Aluddin, Deben-Bashar, Kazi-Rono, Moni Singh-Muzaffar etc. various types of revisionist leaders have exposed their faces in front of common genuine cadres and revolutionaries; and the cadres, realizing their treason, are joining the genuine proletarian party huge in number. Thus, the variants of revisionists are seriously being isolated and have reached to the stage of final destruction. Bloodshed and sacrifice of general cadres affiliated to them, being misused in wrong path are going in vain.

Because of the wrong and betrayal line of the pre-1947 Indo-Pak Communist Party, sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of proletarian revolutionaries and masses went in vain, and the imperialist collaborator bureaucratic bourgeoisie and feudalists captured power of Indo-Pakistan.

The erroneous line of the leadership of the Communist Party of Indonesia resulted death of hundreds of thousands of communists and people.

The treacherous bourgeoisie line of the Soviet Communist Party transformed Soviet Union to a social imperialist country, a country for what’s establishing, millions of proletarian revolutionaries and people sacrificed their lives, and the Soviet Communist Party was transformed into a bourgeoisie fascist party. Consequently, sacrifice of millions of proletarian revolutionaries and masses went in vain.

Several East European countries [3] and the Mongolian party were transformed into revisionist parties by the treacherous line of the party leadership and those countries became Soviet Social Imperialist colony or dependent country.

That is why Chairman Mao said, “The most dangerous thing is the emergence of revisionism in central committee”. This is because the central committee is the supreme leading body of the organization, and the whole organization is subordinate to that. So, emergence and prominence of revisionism in central committee means, the organization became revisionist.

That is why the agents of class and national enemies of home and abroad, various types of revisionists and other reactionaries make all-out effort to seize party’s leadership to destroy revolutionary party of the proletariat and make it a party that protects the interest of domestic and international enemies.

The traitor Fazlu clique, the internal class enemy of the Proletarian Party of East Bengal, in collusion with domestic and international class and national enemies and their agent various forms of revisionists, made all-out effort to seize leadership of the Proletarian Party of East Bengal. His aim was to seize leadership to produce treacherous line, deploy all the cadres to materialize that, lead their sacrifice to wrong direction and serve class and national enemies of home and abroad and their agent various forms of revisionists.

He denied the role of correct leadership and correct line of comrade Siraj Sikder, mentioned sacrifice and bloodshed of cadres and carried hated effort to use that to meet his filthiest interest.

He wanted the cadres to not understand the importance of correct leadership and line of comrade Siraj Sikder, think that valueless secondary and be target of Fazlu clique’s general plan of seizure of party-power.

While forming clique, the traitor Fazlu opposed the popularization of the correct leadership of comrade Siraj Sikder. Popularizing correct leadership means to establish single center inside party and strengthen it, make center influential and powerful, make party cadres and people confident and obedient to leadership, terrorize enemies and make split among them.

The objective of the Fazlu clique was to break and weaken single center, diminish its influence and power, make party cadres and masses non-confident to leadership and help the enemies.

He opposed the popularization of leadership and made vilest slander against leadership, made hundreds of effort to crush and discredit, even made conspiracy to kill the correct leadership. His final aim was to seize power of party through those evil acts.

How the Leadership make the Correct Line

The correct line of leadership develops only after many times repetition of the cycle of matter to conscience, conscience to matter, that is, practice to knowledge, knowledge to practice. This is the epistemology of Marxism, that is, dialectical materialist epistemology.

Chairman Mao more elaborately discussed it in ‘Some questions concerning methods of leadership’. There he said, “All correct leadership of our Party is necessarily ‘from the masses, to the masses’. This means: take the ideas of the masses (scattered and unsystematic ideas) and concentrate them (through study turn them into concentrated and systematic ideas), then go to the masses and propagate and explain these ideas until the masses embrace them as their own, hold fast to them and translate them into action, and test the correctness of these ideas in such action. Then once again concentrate ideas from the masses and once again go to the masses so that the ideas are persevered in and carried through. And so on, over and over again in an endless spiral, with the ideas becoming more correct, more vital and richer each time. Such is the Marxist theory of knowledge.

From that we get the following process of development of knowledge:

A) Perceptual knowledge from matter – Practice

To collect ideas of masses, that is, going to contact of object, reflecting that in brain and collecting perceptual knowledge. For that, leadership needs to break the ice. That means to resolve all the problems regarding leadership in a unit or area.

B) Conceptual Knowledge – stage of Theory

This stage is to transform collected ideas into synthesized ideas, to make Conceptual Knowledge-Theory-Plan-General line, that is, to raise Matter-Perceptual Knowledge to Conscience-Conceptual Knowledge stage.

C) Contact with Matter – Practice

To bring Conceptual Knowledge-Conscience-Theory-Plan-General Line to masses, activate that, i.e. to apply Conceptual Knowledge-Conscience-Theory-Plan-General Line to Practice and test the correctness of Theory-Plan-General Line through perseveringly transforming matter according to that.

According to the Conceptual Knowledge-Conscience-Theory-Plan-General Line the transformation of matter happens in the course of practice is correct. In that stage, knowledge regarding matter completes.

If conceptual knowledge does not fully conform to the change and transformation of matter, then, we have to create perceptual knowledge in course of practice and application, clear the errors through making summation of experience and research, and make new Theory-Plan-General Line, that is, Conceptual Knowledge has to be made, again that has to be applied in Practice for verification; we have to apply that to change and transform matter.

Thus, correct line develops going through the repeated cycles of Matter-Practice-Perceptual Knowledge to Conscience-Conceptual Knowledge-Theory-Plan-General Line, and from Conscience-Conceptual Knowledge-Theory-Plan-General Line to Matter-Practice-Perceptual Knowledge. We have to apply method of mass line in guiding cadres too.

If we do not apply this method, leadership will be bureaucratic and subjective.

That means, bureaucrats only give order, but that becomes subjective because of not having any material basis.

Therefore, the correct line of leadership does not fall from the sky or it is not inborn. It comes from practice only.

The correct lines of class and national struggle only come from the class and national struggle.

Various forms of revisionists and the Fazlu clique is saying that the Proletarian Party of East Bengal and comrade Siraj Sikder is not connected to people while party-line is correct.

That means the correct line of the Proletarian Party of East Bengal is inborn with comrade Siraj Sikder or that falls from the sky. It proves that various forms of revisionists and the Fazlu clique are idealist.

Human’s Creative Role

Human’s creative role is to collect material experience, sum up, and produce correct line and apply that in general guidance.

It will vary man to man, that is, qualifications will vary man to man.

This creative role of leadership is utmost necessity. Such leaders are indispensable for revolution, who, with the help of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought, are able to sum up material experience, produce correct line and apply that.

As the creative role varies from man to man, some becomes great genius, some becomes great Marxist-Leninist.

Despite responsibilities are distributed on the basis of different qualifications, everyone should serve the people selflessly. If someone has more qualification, he or she has no right to be lord standing above people.

Chairman Mao taught the leaders and cadres, “We must all learn the spirit of absolute selflessness from him (Norman Bethune – Author). With this spirit everyone can be very useful to the people. A man’s ability may be great or small, but if he has this spirit, he is already noble-minded and pure, a man of moral integrity and above vulgar interests, a man who is of value to the people.”

The traitor Fazlu clique denied the creative role of party leadership and comrade Siraj Sikder, is saying such type of words that comrade Siraj Sikder has no role in party’s development and reaching at present stage, so that he may materialize his plan to seize party leadership. He thought he is the most qualified person in the world, so, ‘the earth will stop moving without him’. Other than being selfless servant of people, he wanted to stand above the party comrades and people and be lord. He was in illusion of establishing autocracy.

Collective Leadership and the Role of Individual

Leadership is composed of the most advance cadres of party. Every leadership has material role in revolution.

It is the responsibility of the proletarian revolutionaries and leadership to ensure full opportunity of development of qualification of every member of leadership, activate collective leadership by keeping democratic life among leadership at the same time, and thus make proper coordination between individual role and collective leadership. In course of the class and national struggle of the proletariat and people, the proletarian political leadership and leaders develop. Such a leader plays main role among leadership (For example, the Central Committee) in producing line and using cadres.

The Leadership body reviews and considers the line of this type of leaders, thereby accept that, activate democracy and collective leadership, and the whole party and revolution achieves victory.

Great Lenin in the Soviet Union produced the line of the party and how to utilize cadres, which the central committee and the whole party reviewed, considered and accepted. The whole party comrades materialized that.

Thus, the central committee gave opportunity to fully develop great Lenin’s personal role, and at the same time, maintained democracy and collective leadership.

In China, Chairman Mao Tse-tung composed the line and working method of the party, the party accepted and materialized that. Thus the whole China was liberated.

Enver Hoxha in Albania determined the party line and working method, party accepted and materialized that. Thus the whole Albania was liberated. The same thing happened in case of Vietnam and Korea.

In case of reactionaries and opportunists too, individual’s role gets prominence in collective leadership.

It is seen in case of the variants of revisionists and reactionaries too, some individuals in leadership determine reactionary wrong line and working method and use that. Kautsky, as leader of The Second International, used his reactionary revisionist line and working method and deceived cadres, proletariat and masses.

Khrushchev produced reactionary revisionist line, activated that, transformed the Soviet Communist Party and State to bourgeoisie party and state. Brezhnev is following his footstep.

Moni Singh, Mozaffar, Huq, Toha, Bashar, Motin, Kazi etc. variants of revisionists play main role in their own reactionary leading bodies respectively.

In the East Bengal Workers Movement and the Proletarian Party, Comrade Siraj Sikder produced correct line, the Revolutionary Council and the Central Committee accepted those correct lines and the whole party activated those. As a result, party gained constant victories and progress.

Democracy and collective leadership is being activated by the Central Committee through reviewing, accepting and granting general line composed by comrade Siraj Sikder.

Thus, in making correct line of party and utilizing cadres, among the collective leadership, comrade Siraj Sikder played the main and central role.

In the recent conspiracy of destroying the Proletarian Party of East Bengal, among Fazlu, Sultan, Humayun Kabir etc, the traitor Fazlu clique played the main role.

Like his predecessor Khrushchev-Liu Chao Chi, the Fazlu clique showed the role of correct leadership as absolutely zero, like Khrushchev [Khrushchev, in the name of opposing the so-called Personality Cult of Stalin, wanted to wipe off Stalin’s role in Russian revolution and marked him as reactionary], by saying of collective leadership, actually wanted to establish own reactionary leadership and autocracy, branded leadership as reactionary and played main role in making clique and treason.

Thus, we see, in both revolutionary or counterrevolutionary and reactionary cases, particular individual plays main and central role among collective leadership.

Correct Leadership: Creation of Revolution

The proletariat, in the course of class and national struggle against the bourgeoisie  and other exploiting classes, today or tomorrow creates own representative revolutionary political party and also creates capable leadership to guide the political party.

That means the creation of the correct political party and the leadership is inevitable end of motion of history.

So, the creation of the Chinese Communist Party and Mao Tse-tung is not any accidental event, rather inevitable end of class struggle and social development of China.

Therefore, the inevitable end of social development of East Bengal is the birth of the correct political party and the leadership of proletariat.

The leader of the Proletarian Party, either being member of central committee or local committee, comes from people through class and national struggle, endlessly they are obedient to people, have close contact with them and are good at centralizing and activating people’s views. This type of leader is the true representative of the proletariat, and having this type of leadership is the sign of the political maturity of people’s recognized, a proletarian party. The hope of victory of the cause of proletariat lies here.

Lenin absolutely correctly said, “Not a single class in history has achieved power without producing its political leaders….” He further added, “The training of experienced and influential party leaders is a long and difficult job. And without it the dictatorship of the proletariat, and its ‘unity of will’, remain a phrase”. [4] The Proletarian Party of East Bengal and its leadership developed in the course of class and national struggle of proletariat and people. This is not any accidental phenomenon.

Able to make correct line and activate that and recognized by huge party comrades and people, the correct leadership of comrade Siraj Sikder proves that the Proletarian Party of East Bengal has become politically matured.

By denying that history, the Fazlu clique, wanted to be leader by giving priority to opportunism and individual interest in class and national struggle.

Thus, he, other than being compatible with the motion of history, became hindrance of it by standing against it as a villain of history. Inevitably, like Bakunin, Bernstein, Kautsky, Khrushchev and Liu Chao Chi, he was thrown out to the dustbin of history.

Leadership is subject to change

Chairman Mao said, “In the process of a great struggle, the composition of the leading group in most cases should not and cannot remain entirely unchanged throughout the initial, middle and final stages.” That means, in the course of struggle, leadership is constantly dividing himself or herself into two. Some leading cadres are being opportunist, revisionist, degenerated, conspirator, clique or being disqualified compared to new comer cadres. Consequently, the opportunist, revisionist, degenerated, conspirator, clique and disqualified elements are being rejected and those are being replaced by new young blood and capable cadres.

It is applicable to supreme leadership, chief or chairperson of the party central committee too. If chairperson does not always grasp the struggle of two different aspects within himself or herself, does not struggle and discard non-proletarian aspects, let non-proletarian aspects to be principal, at last really that becomes principal, then his or her political and other activities will be directed on the basis of non-proletarian outlook, so everything will be wrong. Inevitably, party’s proletarian and pure elements will carry struggle against him/her, and the chairperson, if not corrected and qualified, will be abandoned.

In China and many proletarian parties of world, many times, because of being transformed into non-proletariat, the chairperson or chief secretary has been ousted.

Many related to formation of the East Bengal Workers Movement the preparatory organization of the Proletarian Party of East Bengal, were abandoned in the course of revolution. Many members of the leading body of the East Bengal Workers Movement the Revolutionary Council were abandoned because they were disqualified.

As member of the first central committee of the Proletarian Party of East Bengal, the Fazlu-Sultan clique, in collusion with domestic and international class enemies, carried conspiracy, clique and formed factions, so they were ousted.

The same process happened in various levels of the East Bengal Workers Movement too. The same process is happening in various levels of the Proletarian Party too. That means the process ‘Purge all dirt and Take green” is applicable to leadership too.

Evaluations of leadership and cadres

The Chinese Communist Party said when opposing the bourgeoisie reactionary line of Khrushchev:

“The Communist Party of China has invariably insisted on an overall, objective and scientific analysis of Stalin’s merits and demerits by the method of historical materialism and the presentation of history as it actually occurred, and has opposed the subjective, crude and complete negation of Stalin by the method of historical idealism and the wilful distortion and alteration of history.” [5]

From that, we get the point that we should evaluate leadership and cadres with the help of historic materialism through overall material and scientific analysis. We must put forward history as it happened.

Chairman Mao said in more summarized way here:

“Draw two lines of distinction. First, between revolution and counter-revolution, between Yenan and Sian.  Some do not understand that they must draw this line of distinction. For example, when they combat bureaucracy, they speak of Yenan as though “nothing is right” there and fail to make a comparison and distinguish between the bureaucracy in Yenan and the bureaucracy in Sian. This is fundamentally wrong. Secondly, within the revolutionary ranks, it is necessary to make a clear distinction between right and wrong, between achievements and shortcomings and to make clear which of the two is primary and which secondary. For instance, do the achievements amount to 30 per cent or to 70 per cent of the whole? It will not do either to understate or to overstate. We must have a fundamental evaluation of a person’s work and establish whether his achievements amount to 30 per cent and his mistakes to 70 per cent, or vice versa. If his achievements amount to 70 per cent of the whole, then his work should in the main be approved. It would be entirely wrong to describe work in which the achievements are primary as work in which the mistakes are primary. In our approach to problems we must not forget to draw these two lines of distinction, between revolution and counter-revolution and between achievements and shortcomings. We shall be able to handle things well if we bear these two distinctions in mind; otherwise we shall confuse the nature of the problems. To draw these distinctions well, careful study and analysis are of course necessary. Our attitude towards every person and every matter should be one of analysis and study.”

Leadership and cadres may have errors. We have to struggle against those through method of democratic criticism-self-criticism.

“We should lay the stress on the analysis of the circumstances in which the errors were committed, on the content of the errors and on their social, historical and ideological roots, and this should be done in the spirit of “learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones” and “curing the sickness to save the patient”, in order to achieve the twofold objective of clarity in ideology and unity among comrades.” [6]

Leadership and comrades have personal life of their own. Unless personal shortcomings are related to political and organizational mistakes, there is no need to be overcritical and to embarrass the comrades concerned. In this case, the Party members will concentrate entirely on minor faults, throw party in danger and forget the Party’s political tasks. That will only serve the enemy’s wish.

Like his master Khrushchev, the traitor Fazlu clique evaluated comrade Siraj Sikder and other genuine comrades through historic idealism, distorted history and truth by changing that according to wish, falsifying-imposed so-called errors and deviation and crime over comrade Siraj Sikder and other genuine comrades, spread rumor and slander especially centering on their personal life against them. Like Khrushchev, he (Fazlu) in the name of opposing personality cult, completely denied the role of comrade Siraj Sikder.

So, we have to oppose reactionary bourgeoisie method of Khrushchev and his pupil Fazlu clique in evaluating leadership and comrades, and follow Marxist method.

The role of cadres in revolution

Chairman Mao said about the role of cadres, “Once political line is determined, cadres are the decisive factor.”

After party-line is determined, party needs cadres, who by being determined in mind, fearless in sacrifice, crossing all the bends and obstacles, will apply party-line and struggle to achieve victory.

Party gets contact with masses through cadres and party-line is activated through cadres.

Hard effort, sacrifice and bloodshed of cadres bear fruit when that is used to materialize correct line of party; that means, party achieves development and success and at last the class proletariat and people achieve liberation. If party-line is wrong, their effort, sacrifice and bloodshed go in vain.

Therefore, cadres need to achieve the following minimum qualification:

“Whether or not a cadre is resolute in carrying out the Party line, keeps to Party discipline, has close ties with the masses, has the ability to find his or her bearings independently, and is active, hardworking and unselfish.”

The responsibility of the cadres is to affectionately take care of leadership, constantly verify leadership, achieve capacity to determine right and wrong, consciously realize the role of leadership in determining party-line,  abide by correct leadership and defend, strengthen and popularize that, constantly raise own working capability, more and more make themselves able to take responsibility to serve the people.

The method of how to use cadres

Chairman Mao said, “First, give them guidance. This means allowing them a free hand in their work so that they have the courage to assume responsibility and, at the same time, giving them timely instructions so that, guided by the Party’s political line, they are able to make full use of their initiative.

Second, raise their level. This means educating them by giving them the opportunity to study so that they can enhance their theoretical understanding and their working ability.

Third, check up on their work, and help them sum up their experience, carry forward their achievements and correct their mistakes. To assign work without checking up and to take notice only when serious mistakes are made — that is not the way to take care of cadres.

Fourth, in general, use the method of persuasion with cadres who have made mistakes, and help them correct their mistakes. The method of struggle should be confined to those who make serious mistakes and nevertheless refuse to accept guidance. Here patience is essential. It is wrong lightly to label people “opportunists” or lightly to begin “waging struggles” against them.

Fifth, help them with their difficulties. When cadres are in difficulty as a result of illness, straitened means or domestic or other troubles, we must be sure to give them as much care as possible”.

When judging their work, we should not only collect opinions from the level he or she belongs to, but also from his or her lower ranks and even if possible from people too. That means, we have to judge cadres’ work from both above and below.

Conclusion

“The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history.” To think otherwise is historic idealism.

Chairman Mao further added, “If the masses alone are active without a strong leading group to organize their activity properly, such activity cannot be sustained for long.”

This is why Chairman Mao said, “If there is to be revolution, there must be a revolutionary party.” A revolutionary party is the type of leading group that is the force at the core leading people’s cause. The role of party is to lead the proletariat and the masses in struggle against the class enemies (and the national enemies – Author), discover the laws of those struggles and guide them accordingly, and thus transform the society and the world.

The responsibility of party leadership is to discover the laws of class struggle and national struggle; produce correct line and guide cadres to materialize that. By being guided by leadership, the responsibility of cadres is to materialize party-line and lead proletariat and masses in class struggle and national struggle.

Revolutionary leadership is essential to make the cadres of the revolutionary party active. Without that, party-cadres cannot keep continue their activities and raise that to higher level. Nor there can be any revolutionary party.

Among masses and party, party is the principal aspect in guiding people and leading masses. People are the principal aspect in question of transformation of the society and the world; among the leadership and cadres, leadership is the principal aspect in making line and utilizing cadres in party, while cadres are principal in applying party line.

Note

1) Chairman Mao said, “Every difference is a contradiction.” Between leaders and cadres, there is difference of level and qualification. This is why cadres have contradiction with leaders. This is contradiction among the people. Leadership has to keep this contradiction non-antagonistic by discovering the laws of cadres, guiding them accordingly and properly applying democracy and centralism and method of mass line. The contradiction between cadres and leadership may take antagonistic form. When the whole leadership or a part of that becomes revisionist, reactionary or counterrevolutionary, their contradiction with general cadres may take antagonistic form. Those leaders are then purged or ousted.

2) Mao Quotation

3) Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany etc. Yugoslavia is dependent to US imperialism.

4) Polemics on the General Line of International Communist Movement

5) Do

6) Mao, Selected Works, Vol-III