There is a famous poem by a man called Martin Niemoller that begins, “First they came for the communists, but I did not speak out, for I was not a communist.”
This is a warning to anyone who can see what’s going on - speak now, or let fascists speak for you. Silence is complicity, silence is death. This is the unifying call of the international anti-fascist movement which we proudly advance.
The poem is actually quite pessimistic, in my opinion. Once there is nobody left to speak for Niemoller, the story ends. However we know that history goes on. Hitler did not destroy all of the communists and Jews. The imperialist wars which America waged across the Earth in the 20th century did not annihilate the human fighting spirit. Neither will Netanyahu or Trump conquer Palestine.
Each time we see their patterns and plans for humanity fail - for it is the destiny of the decaying imperialist system which they serve to fail. I hope to explain my understanding, informed by the righteous struggle of the revolutionary Indian movement for liberation and peace, of the concept of Defeatism.
Time and time again, the conspiracies against the Indian Maoists failed. It is a unique struggle which has surpassed waves of revisionism and wrecking to become the greatest mortal threat to the Fascist Indian government under Narendra Modi. Amit Shah, the minister of Home Affairs in India, has declared his intention to eradicate political dissent by 2026.
The State of India has somehow become the largest importer of munitions, one of the most vile enemies of freedom on the planet, while also being called the “largest democracy in the world” by the capitalist media.
Western interests in the mineral-rich regions that the Adivasi people call home have funded a bloodthirsty campaign called Operation Kagar which has now resulted in the murder of 27 Indian Maoists. This is not the first time the Maoists have been persecuted to death in India, and in the context of increasing militarization of all imperialist and semi-colonial countries alike, there is even more reason to speak out in defense of their struggle.
It is not just their struggle. The United States funds Israel’s death machine, and Israel funds India’s death machine, and Western interests remain fixed in Asia. This is a dangerous axis which is sure to escalate fascist power across the globe.
People talk about the imperial boomerang, but here in the heart of imperial power this feels more to me like the falling of dominos. I watch as fate makes heroes into martyrs and the clanging of that struggle hurts my ears and it hurts to look. Gone are the days of secret exterminations - everything they do is an attempt to make warriors into examples and people into cowards.
They have evolved all the ancient and modern weapons of the empire into a global hostage situation where life on this planet teeters on the edge of extinction. Every bomb which explodes harms the environment and damages the future. Every domino which falls cannot make itself stand again. However, the clock has not reached midnight.
In 1938 Mao said, “For us defeatism is a crime and to strive for victory in the War of Resistance is an inescapable duty. For only by fighting in defense of the motherland can we defeat the aggressors and achieve national liberation. And only by achieving national liberation will it be possible for the proletariat and other working people to achieve their own emancipation.”
Defeatism is a crime. I don’t think Mao Zedong meant that we should arrest defeatists. I think that he only meant that if there is any strength in us, then we don’t have to let the domino fall. We can push! If you do not hit a thing, it does not fall. Fascism is unstable, but when people do not hit it it does not fall.
Labor which is not withheld is used to make more bombs and kill more people. The windows of ICE kidnapping vehicles do not smash themselves. Food which is not stolen rots on a shelf. Rent which is not withheld is used to buy more property and displace more people. People that are oppressed do not become free unless they dare to struggle! We must push against defeat and rebuke defeat! We can make every defeat a stepping stone towards victory.
Here is my revision of Neimoller’s poem. I have written it in my heart in the hopes that it will become our destiny. First they came for the communists. Then, the communists got organized. Then, the communists united with other communists around the world. Then, the communists rose up and defeated the fascists before they could come for anyone else! Let’s make it happen!
What we have here are our voices, minds, and souls. If the speeches I might give raise the people’s hearts, I will gladly give my heart and my voice. If my mind comes up with a good idea, then I will give it to my comrades and they will raise the people. If my soul can be moved by a massacre on the other side of the planet, then perhaps my soul can move my body to overthrow the murderers and enemies of freedom who commit such crimes against humanity.
The twenty seven martyrs including General Secretary Comrade Basavaraj have given their bodies as well as their entire beings to the future. We will remember them as long as we live and beyond. Thank you.