Bombings in Varanasi (Benares): Terrorism today - The worst product of decadent capitalism

Terrorist bombs exploded again on 7th March 2006 in the temple city of Varanasi. Two bombs exploded almost simultaneously in a crowded temple in the evening prayer time and in the cantonment railway station, which also remains very much crowded in this period of the day. These sudden explosions left at least 20 persons dead on the spot and 50 persons injured some of them very seriously.

No safety of life for the common masses of working class and exploited people in decadent capitalism

This is the latest in the endless series of barbarous imperialist and terrorist attacks on the defenseless, innocent common masses of working class and exploited people. This barbarous act in Varanasi is in continuity with the bombing in the world trade center, the Madrid train, the London tube, public places in Bangladesh, markets and bus terminal in New Delhi, the mosques and market places in Pakistan and Iraq, public places in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel, the resorts in Bali and Egypt etc. Terrorist bombs are exploding in offices, workplaces, markets, railway stations, bus terminals, airports, trains, buses, airplanes and places of worship. Common masses of working class and exploited people throng these places. These are the people who are killed and maimed everywhere in their tens and hundreds in these most barbarous and inhuman acts irrespective of the ideology of the terrorist outfits and their declared political goal which can not but be capitalist and thus counterrevolutionary in essence in the present historical phase. So there is no safety of the life and livelihood of the working class and exploited masses of people in the present historical phase of the decadent capitalist system. These are the people who have died and are dying in their millions in the first and second imperialist world conflagration and butchery and then in China, Korea, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, Afganistan, Serbia, Bosnia, Sudan etc. They have been killed most barbarously by the major imperialist powers directly or indirectly through regional imperialist powers simply in the sordid pursuing of respective, ambitious imperialist goals. The ‘humanitarian’ and ‘democratic’ US imperialism has proved itself to be in the topmost position in killing hundreds of thousands of common masses of working class and toiling people by dropping the first atom bombs on the population of Hiroshima and Nagasaki even when there was no military necessity for that thoroughly barbarous massacre. After this in the ‘peace period’ China, Korea, Vietnam etc. became the new killing fields in which both the imperialist blocs led by the US and Soviet super powers emerging in the new international imperialist situation and inevitable imperialist conflict in the phase of decadence actively involved themselves in massacring the working class and exploited masses. This massacre went on unabated in the period of the blocs and has again been going on not only unabated but in much more barbarous way ironically in the name of protection of human rights and serving the humanitarian cause in the historical period with only one superpower and no imperialist blocs.

Who the perpetrators are

So far no known terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the blasts in Varanasi. A little known group of the Indian occupied part of Jammu and Kashmere has claimed responsibility. But the official investigating agencies and some political leaders are pointing the accusing finger to the Pakistan based LeT(Laskar e Taiba). Some other political leaders are pointing the finger to the terrorist groups of Bangladesh and Bangladeshi connections of the perpetrators of this height of barbarism. All the above are nothing but unfounded assumptions. There is a general tendency in the Indian ruling class to accuse in the first place the Pakistani counterpart and then the Bangladeshi counterpart for the terrorist violence erupting very often in various parts of the country. This does never mean that the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ruling cliques may not be involved in these acts of terrorism against the Indian ruling class whom they regard as their enemy no 1. But terrorist activities are also taking place in various parts of Pakistan and Bangladesh and the governments and political leaders in those countries are similarly expressing suspicion about the Indian hand in those equally barbarous acts. Lying and hiding reality is in the very nature of each and every national fraction of the bourgeoisie.The Indian bourgeoisie is consistently carrying out political diplomatic offensive against the Pakistani and Bangladeshi counterparts with the accusation of their indirect involvement in the terrorist activities in its soil. Its strategy is to isolate and humiliate the two neighboring capitalist states in the ‘international community’ and to score a point over them in overall strategy of strengthening its imperialist position. So these terrorist acts come in handy as powerful weapons to beat its imperialist immediate neighbours with. The Indian bourgeoisie is the sole gainer politically and diplomatically in the ‘international community’ through propaganda offensive against the Pakistani and Bangladeshi bourgeoisie highlighting this heinous crime against humanity and showing profound humanitarian concern in the same way as the US bourgeoisie after 11th September or the British bourgeoisie after the July bombings in the London tube.According to a LeT spokesman “the blasts at Varanasi were aimed at defaming ‘jehad’ in Kashmir”, the blasts at public places in India including Jammu and Kashmir are being engineered by “Indian secret agencies” and they “have no hand in such acts”. He also denied any link with the persons arrested in this connection.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]-->This may also be simply propaganda and lying in which both the Indian state and the terrorist outfits cannot but be equally involved. But from the consideration of the important political and diplomatic profit reaped by the Indian bourgeoisie, the allegation against it may not be wholly unfounded. The blasts may also have some link with the inter factional fights of the Indian bourgeoisie. For sometime past BJP, the extreme rightist and fundamentalist political organization has been in a state of disarray. Infighting within its ranks has been openly exposed. Its president had to be quite unceremoniously removed. The ex and the present presidents of the BJP have pounced upon this heinous terrorist act and jumped into the political battleground to derive the maximum political gain and to put its divided house in order just after the explosion as if they were eagerly waiting for such an opportunity in the same way as the US bourgeoisie seemed to have been eagerly waiting for 11th September for the execution of its previously decided world imperialist strategy.There is no dearth of other political groups and movements in India such as the ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam), Khalistani and Maoists etc. who have clearly shown their efficiency in carrying out spectacular terrorist acts and glaring lack of concern for the life of the common masses of the population. The terrorists, the state or whoever else is the perpetrator is serving the cause of decadent capitalism and counterrevolution and thus is the biggest enemy of the working class and the exploited masses of people.

Decadent capitalism in its phase of decomposition is the breeding ground of terrorism

In this historical phase of decomposition of the decadent world capitalist system without any imperialist bloc and bloc discipline imposed by the superpower bloc leaders leading to the qualitative development of the predominance of the inherent capitalist tendency of everybody for himself and each against all, there is terrible disarray of the world capitalist organizations like the UNO set up to contain the inevitable imperialist conflicts between major capitalist powers within certain limits, breaking down of the legal framework of both the ‘national’ and ‘international community’ of the world bourgeoisie and the policy of ‘might is right’ is becoming more and more openly the norm in both the spheres of the national and international relations of the factions and fractions of the decadent bourgeoisie. Instability in relations in the ‘international community’ is intensifying with the further intensification of the imperialist conflicts among all the capitalist states without any exception, major or minor, big or small, strong or weak, all of which are bound to be imperialist in essence today. Inevitable conflicts among the various factions of the bourgeoisie in the national arena are also intensifying and bound to be more intensified with each passing day. The petit bourgeoisie and other exploited masses of people are finding it more and more difficult to make arrangements for a decent living. They see no solution to the increasing problems of life and livelihood in the present social system. Most of these people are being compelled to live in very inhuman conditions in slums and ghettoes. The number of the unemployed and retrenched is increasing everyday with no sign of any possibility of any light at the end of the tunnel. The social situation is becoming more and more unbearable for increasing number of people each passing day. The decadent capitalist system has failed miserably to put forward any convincing perspective for betterment of living and working conditions of the working class, unemployed and exploited masses of people and particularly the youth. All social relations, norms and rules of behavior are breaking down. The state seems to be moving steadily in the way of losing its ability to enforce the rules of social life. It is becoming more and more clear to everyone that gangsters are there everywhere in controlling positions in social and political life of the decadent capitalist system. The extreme hypocrisy and corruption of the political leaders are being more and more exposed. Increasing part of the population is becoming more and more disgusted with the existing situation and losing any faith and confidence in the democratic political apparatus and parties of the left and right. Society finds itself in a situation without any viable perspective. This is particularly true for the petit bourgeois masses, which constitute a considerable portion of the population. Historically this class is without any revolutionary perspective and thus characteristically impatient, superficial and runs after immediate causes and solutions. Terrorism has a special attraction for this class historically. Moreover and most importantly terrorism has become a very important weapon in inter imperialist conflict today. All the capitalist states being compelled to be imperialist without any exception are embracing and provoking terrorism and resorting to this means of secret warfare to harass, weaken and destabilize each other. It has come to be known as the atom bomb of the weaker states, which are unable to go on frontal attack and aggression against its imperialist adversary. This does not mean that it is not resorted to, provoked and aided by the powerful imperialist states against their opponents. The US superpower excels in this. It created, trained, equipped, aided and utilized the services of now most detestable Bin Laden in its imperialist war against the Soviet imperialist power. All other major imperialist states are also provoking, equipping, aiding and abetting terrorism in the same way to advance the cause of their respective imperialist strategy and interest. After the terrorist attack on the school children in Beslan in Chechnya, the peripheral part of Russia, Putin, the president of Russia accused its western imperialist rivals of adopting double standards in dealing with terrorism. In fact every capitalist state, big or small, is resorting to and using terrorism against each other in settling their inevitable imperialist scores. Thus in such a historical phase of decomposition and intensifying imperialist conflict and confrontation terrorism has got a more fertile soil, new boost, become more ubiquitous, more barbarous, murderous and devastating particularly against the common masses of working class and exploited people. Consequently all the terrorist groups today and political movements for ‘national liberation’ or new democracy based mainly on terrorist methods of warfare irrespective of their sociological composition, can not but be the willing accomplices of one or the other imperialist power.

The war against terrorism — the other name of imperialist war

Both terrorism and the war against terrorism are the two inseparable aspects of the same imperialist war of each capitalist state against all others. The bourgeoisie of the USA and its state, the biggest terrorist of the world today was the first in launching this war against terrorism in the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center on 11th September, 2001. It now seems quite clear that the US bourgeoisie allowed this attack to take place as it was eagerly looking for an excuse to pursue and fulfill its pre-planned world imperialist design and strategy. All other major global and regional imperialist powers have quickly taken this cue from the imperialist guru. They have taken lessons from its political ideological experience. Every capitalist state is now declaring itself quite vociferously as strong adherents of this war against terrorism and everybody is using both terrorism and this war against terrorism to settle its own imperialist score. India’s war against terrorism is directed mainly against Pakistan. It is trying to utilize fully the shock, sentiments and concern about the increasing lack of security of the working class and exploited masses of people to rally them behind its own imperialist design against Pakistan or Bangladesh.

Working class cannot and should not take sides

Terrorists and the states today, terrorism and war against terrorism are nothing but two sides of the same imperialist coin irrespective of the ideology and political structure of the terrorist groups or the states all over the world. Both sides are equally imperialist, counterrevolutionary, hostile and inimical to the working class. Both are not only massacring the working class at the slightest opportunity, intensifying their exploitation and repression but also trying their best to derail the process of coming to consciousness, the sole weapon of the working class. Thus the working class cannot and should not support any side in any situation.

Ousting the decadent capitalist system –the only way out

The imperialist world wars of decadent capitalism have killed millions among the civilian populations. Since then innumerable local bloody imperialist wars have been massacring more millions the overwhelming majority of whom are the working class and exploited masses. Terrorism, decadent capitalism’s offspring today, has added to and further intensified this uncertainty of life of these people. Nowhere there is any safety of life and livelihood also. Redundancies, retrenchment, closures, lock outs, intensifying exploitation and repression are the order of the day. The decadent capitalist system is not only totally unable to provide any relief but is bound to further intensify the problems. So the only relief and way out is in the ousting of the decadent world capitalist system.Only the working class is capable of doing this.   The lifeblood of the capitalist system comes from the working class. The capitalist system cannot exist without this lifeblood in the same way, as any person cannot live without air and water. The working class involved in collective production occupies the crucial position in the whole productive machinery of world capitalism. It is directly exploited and repressed by the capitalist system. It is only able to come to further deepening and precision of consciousness in an unlimited way, offer the perspective of a society qualitatively and fundamentally better than the best form of the capitalist society achieved in its phase of ascendance, launch the indispensable organized revolutionary onslaught on the decadent capitalist society to oust it and build the foundation of the world communist society on its grave. Thus whatever its relative weights in the total world population, it is the only social class who can overthrow the world capitalist system and build the world society of communism. So the working class must not take sides either for terrorism or for the war against terrorism. It must intensify its class struggle against each and every attack of capital on its living and working conditions, unify and develop these struggles internationally to the point of decisive revolutionary onslaught on decadent capitalism. This is only way out.

Communist Internationalist, India, March 2006 

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<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--> The Statesman, March 13,2006