The Struggle Pakistan

The Struggle (Urdu: طبقاتی جدوجہد‎) is a Trotskyist, Leftist organization in Pakistan which was found in Netherlands by Lal Khan and other Pakistani activists.[2] The group follows the ideology of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky.

The Struggle

طبقاتی جدوجہد
FounderLal Khan
Founded1980
HeadquartersLahore, Pakistan
IdeologyCommunism
Trotskyism[1]
Political positionFar-left
Colors Red
 Black
 White
Website
http://struggle.pk

Formation

The seeds of the Marxist politics was planted in 1980 in Netherlands, when a number of leftist Pakistani activists who had fled Pakistan to escape Zia’s repression found themselves in Amsterdam in the cold November 1980.[3] The country was ruled by the notorious General Zia.[4] These leftist Pakistani activists were Farooq Tariq, Tanvir Gondal (now better known as Lal Khan), Muhammed Amjad and Ayub Gorya who Brainstormed ideas and strategies to oppose Zia while in exile and came up with the concept for a progressive organisation they dubbed the Struggle Group which would keep the flame of protest alive, even in exile.[5]

In November 1980, the Struggle group decided to start a monthly Urdu magazine called Jidd-o-jehed or The Struggle[3]۔ The Struggle magazine soon developed a cult status among the Pakistani diaspora, and poets like Habib Jalib, Ahmad Faraz and Faiz Ahmed Faiz started contributing to the magazine by writing revolutionary and anti-dictatorship Urdu poems for the magazine.[3] In December 1984, the magazine published a poem[3] Main Baaghi Hoon, written by Khalid Javaid Jan.[6] The poem became a staple in popular culture due to its revolutionary tone and was used in underground protests as a weapon against Dictator Zia.[7]

The Struggle group continued their activism in exile against military dictatorship in Pakistan and went on to organise a mass funeral for Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in front of the Pakistani embassy in Holland with nearly 500 participants. The charged environment also saw participants throw stones at the embassy’s windows and Farooq was briefly arrested by Dutch police.[3] Arrests, activism and attempts by Pakistani authorities to get them arrested made them popular with leftist and progressive movements in Europe. They campaigned on worker issues, against racism, immigrant issues and anti-nuclearisation with local left parties.[3] The group was also in contact with the Committee for a Workers International (CWI), a Trotskyist “international.”

Pakistan base

In 1986, the Struggle group started working from Pakistani soil when Farooq Tariq and Lal Khan returned to Pakistan.[5] The Struggle followed a strategy known as Entryism, a theory that small militant groups should join mainstream workers’ parties in order to pull them to the left.[8] The strategy is employed in an attempt to expand influence and was advocated by Trotsky.[9] The Struggle at this stage was the official section of CWI in Pakistan and thus worked within PPP.[5]

In early 1990s, the Committee for a Workers International (CWI) split in two over the question of Entryism. Peter Taaffe, a prominent member of English section of the CWI advocated an “Open Turn,” implying the building of an independent organization and an end to “Entryism”.[9] Whereas, another faction led by Ted Grant wanted to maintain its “entrist” strategy.[9] The Struggle also suffered the split and Farooq Tariq, along with perhaps one dozen Struggle members, followed Peter Taaffe’s lead and went on to build an independent political party for workers in Pakistan.[5] The other faction, led by Lal Khan, continued with its "entryism" inside the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). According to this theory a small militant groups should join mainstream workers’ parties in order to pull them to the left.[10] The strategy is employed in an attempt to expand influence and was advocated by Trotsky.[11] In 2016 Lal Khan is expelled from International Marxist Tendency over differences on entryism inside the Pakistan People's Party.[12]

Current Work
Lal Khan addressing The Struggle congress.

Lal Khan continued to be the editor of the Struggle magazine and leader of the Struggle group. He also wrote articles regularly for the Daily Times[13] and Dunya.[14] Khan criticized the partition of India and advocated for Indian reunification through a common revolution, which he said would heal continuing wounds and solve the Kashmir conflict.[15][16] His views are described his book published by The Struggle, "Crisis in the Indian Subcontinent, Partition: Can it be Undone?" in which Khan stated that "revolutionary transformation of the economies and societies is an essential prerequisite for the reunification of the subcontinent."[17] After death of Mr Khan, they had their successful 38th annual Congress at Lahore and vowed to carry our revolutionary work.[18]

The Struggle group has their own publication agency and has published numerous books and leaflets on topics including Marxist ideology, history of Marxist struggle in Pakistan, and various books covering history of Bolshevik revolution. Some of the books are: Partition – Can it be undone?,[19] Pakistan's Other Story – The Revolution of 1968–69,[20] and Kashmir, A revolutionary way out.[21] Books in Urdu language include,[22] whereas translated publications from other language into Urdu include.[23] On centenary of Russian revolution; a 1,200-page translation of Leon Trotsky’s classic work, History of the Russian Revolution has been published into Urdu language by The Struggle group.[24]

The Struggle's trade union front is known as Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC), and multiple other fronts working among Youth, including Unemployed Youth Movement. In 2015, youth and students fronts of the Struggle started a campaign to bring together prominent left-wing students and youth organizations from across the country on a single platform.[25] It holds its regularly its congress which are held to analyse the performance of The Struggle and to formulate new strategies for social change and revolution.[26][27] In March 2013, Malala Yousafzai sent solidarity message to The Struggle congress.[28]

Recently, in 2018 Pakistani general election its prominent leader Ali Wazir has been elected as member of National Assembly of Pakistan.[29]

References
  1. "Leftist leader Dr Lal Khan passes away". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  2. "Remembering Lal Khan: Farooq Tariq has lost Yasrab Tanvir Gondal but not hope for a socialist Pakistan | Political Economy | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  3. "Blacked out - The Express Tribune". 12 August 2012.
  4. "Pakistan's Four Dictators: Same Legacy".
  5. "A View from the Pakistani Left".
  6. "نظم-میں باغی ہوں-ڈاکٹر خالد جاوید جان".
  7. "Dr Khalid Javed Jan: Dare to think, dare to write - The Express Tribune". 26 April 2012.
  8. "Anybody heard of entrism tactic?". www.revleft.space.
  9. "ZCommunications » Reading Trotsky in Pakistan". zcomm.org.
  10. "International Marxist Tendency in Pakistan | League for the Fifth International". fifthinternational.org. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  11. Struggle, the EC of The. "Pakistan: The IMT and Manzoor Ahmed ‑ Against unprincipled careerism!". www.marxist.com.
  12. Marxism, In Defence of. "Pakistan IMT Congress: Discussion on Organisation". In Defence of Marxism. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
  13. http://dailytimes.com.pk/search/test/%C2%A0/483/Lal%20Khan
  14. "Urdu Columns - Roznama Dunya". www.dunya.com.pk.
  15. Samaddar, Ranabir (27 February 2008). "Indian review of 'Partition - can it be undone?'". In Defence of Marxism. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  16. Khan, Lal; Ghosh, Paramita (24 October 2007). "Can Partition be Undone? – An Interview with Lal Khan". Radical Notes. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  17. Khan, Lal (2005). Crisis in the Indian Subcontinent, Partition: Can it be Undone?. The Struggle Publications. pp. 127, 128.
  18. "Pakistan: Marxists Bid Farewell to Lal Khan with Historic 38th Congress 2020". Asian Marxist Review. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  19. "The Sunday Tribune - Books". www.tribuneindia.com.
  20. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C12%5C30%5Cstory_30-12-2008_pg11_9
  21. "Lal Salaam - لال سلام". Lal Salaam - لال سلام.
  22. "سوشلزم: 50 سوال اور ان کے جوابات".
  23. "دیباچہ کتاب سی پیک: ترقی یا سراب؟".
  24. Rehman, I.A. (2017-11-09). "Soviet revolution's impact". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  25. PYA, the. "Pakistan: The activities of the Progressive Youth Alliance". www.marxist.com.
  26. "آئی ایم ٹی کے پاکستانی سیکشن کی 31ویں تاریخی کانگریس". 2012-04-25. Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  27. "The Struggle's Regional Congresses". Asian Marxist Review. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  28. "The Malala you won't hear about". SocialistWorker.org. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  29. "Meet Ali Wazir, The Lone Marxist Who Won Assembly Seat Despite Taliban Killing 16 Of His Family". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.