A Nov. 15-16 convention here, called by the All India Anti-Imperialist Forum, condemned "U.S. imperialist attacks on the peoples of the world climaxed by the invasion, devastation and occupation of Iraq and the intensification of U.S.-backed Israeli brutality on the Palestinian freedom fighters."

A representative from the International Action Center of the United States joined in the historic conference.

Since 1995 the forum has held a yearly conference in Kolkata. Delegates represent every state in India, along with international anti-imperialist groups able to send representatives. AIAIF was organized by the Socialist Unity Center of India, a party formed in 1948.

The founders of SUCI participated in armed resistance against British colonial rule during India's struggle for independence. However, the pacifist movement led by Gandhi won the leadership of the independence movement. The result was an Indian government that preserved the class system and permitted most of India's wealth to remain in the hands of foreign and national capitalists. Conditions have only worsened since then.

SUCI headquarters are in Kolkata, a city of 10 million people, most of whom live in absolute wretchedness. One-tenth of the population is homeless. SUCI organizes thousands of people across India in women's groups, labor unions, student groups, peasant associations and anti-imperialist centers. Its members in every Indian state are involved in a variety of struggles, from defending the rights of rickshaw drivers to organizing massive student protests against the privatization of colleges.

SUCI is but one of many left parties in India. Millions of Indian workers, peasants and intellectuals consider themselves socialists and/or communists.

At the conference, anti-imperialists from France, Syria, Palestine, Bangladesh and the United States joined with representatives from India in calling U.S. imperialism the greatest threat to the people of the world. The audience of over 2,000 was rapt. Many were familiar with the anti-war marches in Washington organized by the International ANSWER Coalition, and with the International Action Center's anti-imperialist stance.

Conference resolutions called for the unconditional withdrawal of U.S. and British occupation forces from Iraq, a boycott of U.S. goods, and support for the Palestinian Intifada and right of return. They also called for worldwide resistance to U.S. threats against Syria, and for the creation of a "mighty global anti-imperialist struggle."

The Indian ruling party, the BJP, has done little to oppose the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq. Washington supports the reactionary BJP government, its nuclear buildup and its huge army. India is in the clutches of globalization, and U.S. transnational corporations are looting the country with government permission.

The Indian delegates denounced the willing lackeys of imperialism who are privatizing everything, from the water to the schools and hospitals. The BJP government is entirely indifferent to the suffering of the 70 percent of the Indian people who live at or near the poverty level.

The Indian ruling party was condemned for its connections with the U.S. and Israeli governments. The convention ended with a resolution that the delegates return to their home regions to "build up broad-based anti-imperialist organizations from the grassroots level."



Reprinted from the Dec. 4, 2003, issue of Workers World newspaper