The comrades of Bangladesh have translated in English some documents of Siraj Sikder, which is a great contribution to the history of the International Communist Movement, but also to the active field of ideology which is ours.
In particular, the importance of the document called “On some slogans”, from January 1971, is to stress, because in it Siraj Sikder expresses the very fundamental approach of dialectical materialism.
Let’s see here in what it consists.
1.The affirmation of the law of contradiction
Siraj Sikder understood that each nation was build through the development of economy in a concrete situation, and that this was to consider to understand how the social changes take place.
Correctly, he points out:
“Dialectical materialism teaches us “The fundamental cause of development of a thing is not external but internal. It lies in the contradictoriness within the thing”. It further teaches us, “Changes in society are due chiefly to the development of the internal contradictions in society”.
That means, the basic reason why independent democratic East Bengal is the end result of social development of East Bengal lies inside the society of East Bengal. This is dialectical materialism.”
2.Slogans as expression of the thought
Nevertheless, Siraj Sikder wouldn’t be a great leader if he understood only the basic law of contradiction. He understood also the principle of direction.
Here, Siraj Sikder precises us the question of the slogans as the reflection of the necessity of East Bengal’s development.
“Proletariat as class is minority at present East Bengal society and even it will remain so till certain stage in socialist society too.
In that situation, how proletariat will lead whole masses of the country? “First, by putting forward basic political slogans that accord with the course of historic development and by putting forward slogans of action for each stage of development and each major turn of events in order to translate these political slogans into reality.” [Mao, Selected Works, Vol-I, P-274]
So, in order to lead the whole masses of East Bengal society, East Bengal proletariat has to make political strategy and tactics corresponding to the historic development of East Bengal on the one hand, and strategic and tactical slogans as reflection of respective strategy and tactics on the other, and they have to implement those as well.
In this context, they must study and analyze whether or not the slogans raised by different forms of revisionists of East Bengal properly reflect East Bengal society and its development.”
Even if a minority, the working-class, as it is at the avant-garde, indicates the correct way.
3.Matter is dynamic and this dynamism has its own law
So, slogans are expression – through the thought which formulates them – of the necessities of the movement of the social reality, i.e. of matter.
Here is what Siraj Sikder says:
“Dialectical materialism teaches us – matter exists independent of our consciousness.
Matter is primary while consciousness is the reflection of matter in our brain through five perceptual organs. Consciousness is created from matter and is secondary.
It further teaches us, matter is dynamic and this dynamism has its own law.
If there are many contradictions in process of development of a matter, in that case each contradiction has separate existence, they have mutual relations too and matter develops periodically through solution of principal contradiction.
This is the reflection of the law of development of mater that has been included in the law of dialectical materialism and principal contradiction.”
4.The materialization of the program
All this perfect understanding of Siraj Sikder makes him say an affirmation which is non-sense for revisionism and reformism:
“The People’s Republic will materialize the great program of East Bengal Workers Movement”.
Indeed, according dialectical materialism, this sentence means that the realization of the people’s republic is the product of the thought, thought who carried out the synthesis of the necessities of the matter, producing by this the great program.
In the logic of revisionism and reformism, which is idealist, “demands” produce a movement which makes a program. These “ideas” should be “accepted” and bring a “revolution”.
In fact, a revolution doesn’t happen like this. Revolution is the product of matter in movement, and there is a dialectic movement with the thought. The thought reflects this movement of matter, and dialectically, it throws forces in this movement, to accomplish the qualitative leap.
This is why Siraj Sikder raises the importance of the slogans, expression of the necessities of the movement of matter… And why the revolution will materialize the road map synthesized by the avant-garde.