Socialist India

A Better Life For All

Quality education, health care, sanitation, and the basic necessities of life are rights, not privileges. These must be provided for all, free of cost. We demand an expansive social safety net that can provide for the immediate needs of all, including quality public education and adequate pensions for all, tied to the cost of living. We stand against the privatization of education, healthcare, the rail system, electricity and other services.

No More Evictions/No More Demolitions!  

No one should become homeless because of poverty, discrimination or eminent domain. In this same vein, we also condemn the use of eviction and demolition to wage a communal crusade against minority groups. Massive public investment in affordable housing is desperately needed, which will create well-paying jobs and green, climate change-resistant infrastructure.

Legalize and Legitimize Contract Labor 

Indian workers in the informal sector lack legal protections and benefits granted to those in unions. We demand an end to the exploitation and casualization of these workers and the guarantee of safe working conditions, a liveable minimum wage, and benefits, and the protection of a contract. The right to form a union must be guaranteed to all. We support the demand for a minimum wage of 31,500 rupees per month.

Land reform  

We need radical and democratic land reforms to break the grip of big landlords, food and agribusiness. We say no to liberalization and market “reforms”, and demand cheap credits for farmers. We want to bring the big banks under the control of the people through a democratically controlled nationalized banking sector. This should be run by workers and the community, including representatives of the farmers. Through voluntary cooperation of farmers we can increase productivity on a planned basis. Respect the hardworking farmers that feed India!

Against Communalism, Islamophobia, and Caste Oppression   

We demand recognition of the massive diversity of Indian society and stand for equal rights for its myriad of ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. We stand against Hindutva, the dangerous rise in Islamophobia and all forms of communal chauvinism. The right to self-determination is also a basic democratic right that must be fought for. We need an active struggle for the abolition of caste, and against all caste oppression. We also condemn discrimination based on religion, skin color, or communal background. Struggle in all fields of life must be taken to actively break caste and communal oppression.

Against Oppression of Women And LGBT+  

All people have the right to do with their body what they wish, from clothing choices to healthcare. No one should be unsafe in public or become homeless because of their sex, sexuality, or gender identity. We demand legal recognition of LGBT+ marital rights, gender-affirming healthcare, free and safe abortion and contraception for all. The right to privacy is fundamental to the realization of these rights and must be protected. The capitalist brand of feminism aims to dismiss the issues of working class and caste-oppressed women through the exclusive lens of the ruling class. We stand for a socialist feminist movement that unites all working class people against gender violence, abuse and harassment.

Environmental Justice

We must stop the destruction of human life on this planet with a transition to a green economy under the control of workers and poor farmers! Through bringing the energy sector under worker control, we can replace the fossil fuels destroying our planet with renewable resources. We demand free and decent public transport controlled by the workers and the community. Only through a socialist planned economy can we do all of this while providing fair paying jobs and training for all those involved, and without displacing or endangering the local residents and indigenous people who have tended the land for millennia.

For a Fighting Trade Union Movement! 

Union strategy must be based around organizing the totality of workers in their sectors. Rank-and-file members must participate in the decision making process and the larger political arena, and take an initiative to control the union from below, not from the top down. The unions must act in solidarity with the working class as a whole and the oppressed.

Workers Need A Political Voice

Massive struggles have broken out by students, farmers, and other underrepresented groups in Indian society which have demonstrated their willingness and ability to engage in acts of resistance to oppression. These struggles need to transcend isolated incidents and manifest themselves as definite political entities. Workers must stand in solidarity with the oppressed and powerless and use their greatest weapon–the strike, to bring about social change and resistance to the encroachment of the right wing. The right to vote safely and anonymously must be guaranteed to all, and we demand increased transparency to prevent voter fraud. Political representatives of the working class and oppressed must be held accountable for their choices, subject to recall, and earn the same wages as the average worker.

Against Militarization

We oppose nuclear weapons and the ongoing new arms race in the region. Stop the military build-up along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and pull India out of the Quad. Slash military spending — for defense production to be put under democratic and public control, and to re-prioritize public spending and production into socially useful sectors. The “Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act”, which provides impunity and a license to kill for armed forces, must be scrapped. Demilitarize the Jammu-Kashmir Valley — disband the “Village Defence Guards” and all other forms of state-sponsored militias. Only the united struggle and self-defense action of working people across communal lines can win against war, terror and occupation. Stop jingoism against China and Pakistan — for fraternal relations between the working class and the poor of all countries, and a common struggle against their capitalist exploiters and ruling classes.

For Socialism!

All of these struggles we face are not isolated issues we can tackle in a vacuum, but rather many threads of the same oppressive tapestry of capitalism. As part of an organization with branches in nearly 40 countries, International Socialist Alternative stands for true democratic and international socialism. We must unite working and oppressed people all around the world in the struggle for a permanent revolution, to bring an end to capitalism and build a new socialist future in India, the subcontinent, and the whole world. When we stand together, we can win!