Statement From the Editors of Demarcations: A Journal of Communist Theory and Polemic—"On the Arrest of K. Murali (Ajith) by Indian State Authorities"
Posted May 24, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
May 23, 2015
On May 8, the Indian state arrested K. Murali, also known as Ajith. He was undergoing treatment in a hospital near Pune in southern India. Murali, along with an assistant, was seized from the hospital by the Anti-Terrorism Squad, hauled before a court, and remanded to police custody. Murali has been publicly associated with the Communist Party of India (Maoist). As of this writing, no formal charges have been filed against Murali and he is facing draconian conditions of detention, with his health and safety matters of grave concern.
The arrest by the reactionary Indian state of K. Murali is utterly unjust. We support demands that he be immediately released and that he receive all necessary medical care and legal representation.
We say this even recognizing that Ajith has recently played a very negative role in the international communist movement. Writing under the name Ajith, Murali has unfolded an attack on the new synthesis of communism brought forward by Bob Avakian. While containing issues of substantive disagreement his essay “Against Avakianism” is marked by rank distortions, baseless accusations of “revisionism” and ad hominem attacks against Avakian. Its purpose is to block the vital advance of the science of communism that is concentrated in Avakian’s work.
Demarcations, which bases itself on and fights for the new synthesis of communism, has featured three responses to Ajith’s essay. These carefully dissect and comprehensively refute his philosophical outlook and method, political line, and program (demarcations-journal.org).
This is a sharp ideological struggle that has great implications for the international communist movement. In carrying out this struggle with Ajith, we proceed from the interests of advancing the world revolution to emancipate humanity; and we demarcate right from wrong on the basis of principled and substantive analysis, argumentation, and polemic. These are standards of debate that we insist on for this journal and that we fight for in the international communist movement.
Our criticisms of Ajith are acute. At the same time, we give no quarter to reactionary state authority and attempts to suppress and silence voices, including those with whom we have severe disagreements. Here too we stand on principle. The arrest of Ajith must be strongly condemned.
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