A national meeting of New Socialist Alternative, the CWI in India, was held on 10 and 11 January in the city of Pune. Comrades from the Chennai and Pune branches took part in the discussions. The meeting was further strengthened by the presence of TU Senan, from the CWI’s International Secretariat, who contributed significantly to the deliberations. A number of comrades from Chennai and Bengaluru, keen to join the meeting, could not do in person given the length of travel and costs involved.
In discussions on Indian perspectives, the mechanical labelling of the Modi regime as “fascist”, favoured across much of the left, was rejected with comrades discussing what the regime represents within the wider historical context of the peculiar process of capitalist development in India and Trotsky’s idea of ‘uneven and combined development’. Discussions focused on New Socialist Alternative’s role in strengthening working class struggle in the next period.
Discussions on international perspectives developed analysis of the tumultuous events unfolding globally, following the prolonged crisis of global capitalism. A separate session was organized to discuss the historical development and character of the right-wing BJP/RSS. This was followed by a session on branch building where comrades engaged in discussions on consolidating their respective branches and building new ones. The concluding session on party building laid out the political tasks of the organisation and the national roles and responsibilities.
The national meeting, in this crucial period, developed political clarity, gave organisational direction and collective confidence, marking a meaningful step forward in our ongoing journey towards building a revolutionary party in India.