What are you opinions on the Naxalites, or the Maoist rebels in India?

[Always Curious J]

Here is a video I found interesting, but a google search should bring up some good results.
Sorry, can't post links yet:lol:, just look up India's Red Tide on YouTube.
Anyways! I have been doing some light reading and watching of videos about these rebels and have very mixed opinions. Of course I support revolution to create a better society, but I am not sure how dedicated to the ideas of Mao, Marx, etc. they are, or what their specific tactics are. So what are your thoughts

[Vercingetorix]

They're a natural reaction to the grave social injustices within India.

They're not unified, they're not effective, they wouldn't know what to do if they won, and they don't stand a chance against the world's second largest military force which is being actively armed by both the US and Russia.

Our hopes for progress are better served by Latin American leftism.

[Fourth Internationalist]

I am hopeful for them. Of course, I dont agree with the idea of looking up to Mao and others like him as ideological leaders, but they're fighting everyday for the working class. I gotta give them credit where credit is due. :)

[Always Curious J]

Of course, I dont agree with the idea of looking up to Mao and others like him as ideological leaders...

Thanks for the reply! As long as you don't blindly follow them and believe they are correct about everything (Mao and others I mean) it is no problem to learn about and believe in some of the things they did, believed in, and/or stood for, yes?

[Fourth Internationalist]

Thanks for the reply! As long as you don't blindly follow them and believe they are correct about everything (Mao and others I mean) it is no problem to learn about and believe in some of the things they did, believed in, and/or stood for, yes?

Yes, of course. No one tendency has all the answers; we, as communists, need to learn from both past and present struggles to help our own revolutionary struggle. They have indeed made many mistakes, but if they want to win, they must learn from them and so should we.

[Sir Comradical]

I'm not concerned with how familiar they are with Marx and Mao. Fact is they're on the frontlines of a brutal class struggle being waged against them by the Indian state and its bourgeois backers. They don't need to be educated about class struggle, they live and breathe it. If anything there's much we can learn from them.

[Always Curious J]

I'm not concerned with how familiar they are with Marx and Mao. Fact is they're on the frontlines of a brutal class struggle being waged against them by the Indian state and its bourgeois backers. They don't need to be educated about class struggle, they live and breathe it. If anything there's much we can learn from them.

You know what, you're right. They live and breath it, not just read it (not that learning is bad). I suppose my biggest concern really is if once they do gain more power will they fight for fairness equality less oppression and so on, or will they simply fall to corruption. I certainly hope against the latter.

[Yet_Another_Boring_Marxist]

[QUOTE=Always Curious J;2623951I suppose my biggest concern really is if once they do gain more power will they fight for fairness equality less oppression and so on, or will they simply fall to corruption. I certainly hope against the latter.[/QUOTE]

Of course, history is not a static or linear process and this can change as the situation in India unfolds. However we will never know how genuine our Indian comrades are if they never have a shot at power.

[Always Curious J]

Of course, history is not a static or linear process and this can change as the situation in India unfolds. However we will never know how genuine our Indian comrades are if they never have a shot at power.

Very true. Well now I have an even stronger hope they make much progress for their sake, and so we may observe what unfolds! Although, and maybe I am too soft or something of the sort, but I do hope there is as little violence as possible. Then again, they have been violently supressed as the louwer classes have almost always been... anyways! I am simply talking to myself, thanks!

[Sir Comradical]

You know what, you're right. They live and breath it, not just read it (not that learning is bad). I suppose my biggest concern really is if once they do gain more power will they fight for fairness equality less oppression and so on, or will they simply fall to corruption. I certainly hope against the latter.

God point, but in all fairness, at present they have no chance of seizing state power.

[Always Curious J]

God point, but in all fairness, at present they have no chance of seizing state power.
That is true, but everything has to start somewhere, and they seem like a fairly organized and well run start.

[Sir Comradical]

That is true, but everything has to start somewhere, and they seem like a fairly organized and well run start.

They've been around since the 60s and their support base is made up of dalits/adivasis whose grievances are primarily focused around land rights issues. Of course these people constitute an enormous chunk of India's population so that leaves a lot of potential. However because their issues are based around land rights, they can be bought off with concessions. Kerala used to have a significant Naxal presence (look up the Rajan case) but then reformist measures by the legal CPs have deescalated tensions.

[Ethics Gradient, Traitor For All Ages]

I don't think they'll be able to take power without some kind of monolithic urban movement on their side. But people have a right to defend themselves and to fight for a better future even if the odds don't look good.

[Beeth]

Maoists are India's only hope. They are at the forefront of class struggle - for them it is not just a theory to discuss over a cup of tea. It is a reality. Other political parties are just that - political parties. They merely use the common man to snatch power, take some populist measures to fool the masses. Nothing more. See how foolish Americans literally worship Obama as some kind of progressive visionary. Indian masses are no different, but luckily Maoists are changing that political atmosphere.

[Fourth Internationalist]

Does anyone know their stance on various social issues? Ie lgbt rights, etc.

[Yet_Another_Boring_Marxist]

Does anyone know their stance on various social issues? Ie lgbt rights, etc.

The first gay marriage in India was in the ranks of the Naxalites.

And I believe they support trans rights and even have a special brigade for trans people.

[Fourth Internationalist]

The first gay marriage in India was in the ranks of the Naxalites.

And I believe they support trans rights and even have a special brigade for trans people.

Yay! Thanks! :D