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The 7th conference of
the All India League for Revolutionary Culture (AILRC) was held in Calcutta on
April 22nd and 23rd in Com. Arun Sanyamat Hall. The two-day conference focused
on the need to build an alternative people’s cultural movement against the
fascist culture of the Sangh Parivar, particularly after the demolition of the
Babri Masjid and since the BJP’s coming to power at Delhi. The BJP, after coming
to power, at its National Executive in Ahmedabad, declared its intention of
implementing an agenda for National Culture. This, of course, is nothing but
Hinduthva culture. That’s why the keynote paper presented by AILRC was a call to
people to resist the Hindu fascist culture which is promoted in the name of a
national agenda for culture.
All the constituent
units of the AILRC, from Kerala to Delhi and Punjab to Assam (except Jana Kala
Mandali, Karnataka), attended the conference, in teams and with their cultural
troups. The conference was inaugurated by Com. Paresh Dhar a veteran singer and
composer, who represents the 60-year-old people’s cultural tradition, from the
days of IPTA and the Progressive Writers’ movement, upto Naxalbari and the
current Andhra, Dandakaranya, Bihar people’s cultural Struggles. A 90-year-old
Freedom Fighter from UP also participated in the conference and paid homage to
the martyrs taking pledge to continue the struggle till the NDR is achieved.
There were messages
from fraternal delegates. Significant among them was that from the Nepal’s
People’s Cultural movement.
All the constituent
units paid homage at the martyrs column and the immortal song of Panigrahi,
‘Kashta Jeevulam Memu Communistulam’ (We are toilers, we are communists) was
sung in collective chorus in all Indian languages.
After the secretary’s
report on the activities of AILRC since the Chennai conference (August, 96),
Com. Sherif (VIRASAM) presented the keynote paper on behalf of AILRC.
Comrade Suman
Chatterjee, the well-known people’s singer and composer from Bengal, presented
some of his songs and emphasised the urgent need to fight back the imperialist
cultural onslaught.
In the afternoon
session on 22nd April Com. Venugopal of Jana Keeya Kala Sahitya Vedi, Kerala,
presented a paper on the imperialist connivance in promoting Hinduthva culture
in the name of national culture; tracing the colonial rulers’ ties with the
feudal system right since the 1857 independence war.
Com. Suman Chatterjee
presented a paper on the culture industry, saying that the exploitative culture
of the ruling class is trying to vulgarly grow into a monopoly industry crushing
the heterogenous cultures of different nationalities, ethnic groups and
democratic forces. He emphasised that the cultural workers should take up
cudgels against this industry just as the political activists take up direct
action against imperialism.
On 23rd morning there
was a long session about representatives of the people’s culture from around the
world, since the 1930s. Com. KA Mohan Das presented a paper on Bertolt Brecht;
Com. Chalasani Prasad on Lorca; Com. Khagen Das on Nazrul Islam and Com. Raj
Kishore on Premchand. Com. Kanchan Kumar’s paper on Paul Robson, though ready
could not be presented because of the time factor.
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