‘We are the Indian Party of Lenin and Stalin, the great leaders of the people whose teaching and work finds living expression in the epic resistance … - Puran Chand Joshi

P. C. Joshi wrote in People’s War dated July 18, 1943 : “ The Axis Radio reports that Bose is no more in Berlin but has reached Singapore. On July 6, Bose himself announced that he has been appointed the ‘Commander-inChief of ‘Indian Independence Army’ and is coming with the Jap invasion force. The arch-traitor to India’s freedom and independence calls upon Indian patriots to open a ‘Second Front’ against British, to intensify ‘struggle’ and start a ‘Revolution’ in India while he, the ‘Commander in-Chief with Tojo’s grace, marches in with Japanese invading forces to ‘liberate’ India. But his lieutenants here in India know that here is no ‘struggle’ to be intensified and so they are making a trial start for this game on August 9. Their programme for August 9 must be looked upon as a dress rehearsal for the ‘Revolution’ which has to be started when ‘Commander-in Chief Bose comes to liberate India with the Jap Army. It will be suicidal blindness to celebrate August 9 th as we do any protest anniversary, e.g. Jallianwalah Bagh Day. ”

“ We would whole-heartedly participate in any call for satyagraha given by the Congress. We would oppose, if it ever gave, the Forward Bloc call of satyagraha for Swaraj because it would be qualitatively a different thing. Workers, peasants, students have already adopted the proletarian technique of struggle—mass action. They have already come under the influence of Socialism. The effort of the Forward Bloc to win over these movements for its satyagraha or political policy has to be resisted as the infiltration of bourgeois influence over the masses. Before the working class, Kisan and student workers, the Forward Bloc has to be opposed not as being too Left but as being the disruptive agency of the bourgeoisie. In fact the Forward Bloc exactly does what the Right wants done—remove their fear of the growing unity of the working class and kisan movements with the Congress.

We called it a transformation in the situation and not a mere change of degree. We said that the war which was so far an imperialist war now became a people’s war because of the changed re-grouping of forces, changed prospects before the world (P- 49).