On the Question of Nations and Nationalities- Moni Guha

On the Question of Nations and Nationalities.

"We have affirmed that it would be a betrayal of socialism to refuse to implement the self-determination of nations under socialism. (Lenin: The discussion on self-determination summed up.).

China is a multi-national country. She became a multinational country as a result of military expansion of the feudal empire by the Chinese emperors who annexed vast territories of non-Chinese people in the North, West and South of present-day China.

The Second Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in May, 1922, stated that the immediate aim of the revolution was to set up a federal Republic on the basis of equality of all the peoples inhabiting in the peasant territory of China. The declaration stated most clearly and categorically that China proper [ mark the word proper carefully] and Mongolia , Tibet and Chinese Turkestan [now Sinkiang] shall be united on the basis of a system of free federation and the Chinese Federal Republic shall be formed.

At the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in 1928, the Party regarded the right of self -determination up to and including secession as the principal means of ensuring the political unity and voluntary union of the peoples of different nations and nationalities of China. The Congress adopted a document whose Article 3 spoke of Chinas Union and the recognition of the right of self-determination.

The First National Congress of Chinese Soviets in November, 1931, held at Juichen, the then capital of the Chinese Soviet Government stated, The Chinese Soviet Republic unequivocally and unconditionally recognises the right of all nations to self-determination. It continued, "This means that the regions like Mongolia, Tibet, Sinkiang, Yunnan, Kweichow and others, in which the majority of the population belong to non-Chinese nationalities, the working masses of these nationalities have the right to determine whether they wish to secede from the Chinese Soviet Republic and set up their own independent state or enter a Union of Soviet Republic or form an autonomous region within the Chinese Soviet Republic.

The right of different nationalities of China to national 'self-determination' was recorded in the Constitution of the Chinese Soviet Republic that was adopted at the Second National Congress of Soviets. The Soviet power in China, Article 14 of the Constitution stated, recognises the right of small nations [mark the words small nations] to self-determination, their right to secede and form independent states.

Up to this period the stand of the Communist Party of China so far the question of the right of self-determination of the nations up to the right of secession and the question of China proper and conquered and annexed China concerned , were Marxist-Leninist, unambiguous and unequivocal.

On August 25, 1937, Mao Tse Tung, in his For mobilization of all nations forces for victory in the war of resistance wrote: Mobilize the Mongolians, the Hui and all other minority nationalities in accordance with the principles of national self-determination and autonomy in the common fight against Japan. (-Selected works, vol. 2).

Small nations became minority nationalities this time and naturally minority nationalities live in the territory of majority nationality having no territory of their own and as such, they have no right of self-determination, at best they can have autonomy! The departure from the Marxist-Leninist stand on self-determination began in 1937.

In the preamble of the Constitution of the Communist Party of China adopted at the Seventh Congress of the Party in 1945, it was stated that the Communist Party of China would fight for the establishment of a new democratic Federal Republic as an independent, free, democratic single and mighty alliance of all revolutionary classes and a free union of all nationalities.

Ambiguity, amorphousness, verbosity are the cover for opportunism. Federal Republic and free union of all nationalities without the recognition of the right of self-determination and secession is nothing but rhetoric.

However , after the nation-wide victory of the Chinese revolution in 1949 the Communist Party of China discovered that the Leninist-Stalinist principle of national self-determination and federal structure of the state organization was "unsuitable" for China and as such it revised its former Leninist-Stalinist stand (which was in the process of revision since 1937) on the national question , though, strangely enough it still advocates the principle of national 'self-determination' so far the other multinational countries of Asia are concerned, viz, the national 'self-determination' of Kashmiries, Nagas and Mizos of India and Kachins and Karens of Burma! The Communist Party of China did not explain why the principle of national 'self-determination' and secession was suitable for India and Burma and unsuitable for China.

Let us study the post revolution Constitution of the Peoples' Republic of China in this connection.

The preamble of the Constitution of the Peoples' Republic of China adopted on September 20, 1954 by the First National Peoples' Congress says: All nationalities of our country are united in one great family of free and equal nations. The unity of China's nationalities will continue to gain strength founded as it is on ever-growing friendship and mutual aid among themselves.

In his The foundations of Leninism Stalin said "formerly, the question of the oppressed nations was usually regarded as purely a juridical question. Solemn proclamations about the national equality of rights, innumerable declaration about the "equality of nations"- that was the stock in trade of the parties of the Second International..." This can be safely applied in the case of China. Without recognizing any right to be Free and equal the preamble declared China as One great family of free and equal nations. In spite of the fact that the husband and wife constitutes the basic unit of a family the right of divorce and separation for both, in case of need, is a recognized democratic right. Lenin said that the recognition of the right of self-determination and secession was like that of divorce and separation of husband and wife. The right is a security and guarantee in case of need. Without this right free and equal one great family were nothing but empty phrases.

Chapter one, Article 3 of Constitution of 1954 says: "The Peoples' Republic of China is a single multinational state." The "single" means the repudiation and rejection of the Leninist principle of federal structure of the multinational state as a "traditional step towards complete unity". This "single" means the repudiation and rejection of the Leninist principle of "voluntary union" on the basis of free and equal rights. It means forcible and compulsory union which has got no relation with Marxism-Leninism.

The Article 3 of the Constitution further says: "Regional autonomy applies in areas where people of national minority live in compact communities. NATIONAL AUTONOMOUS AREAS ARE INALIENABLE PARTS OF THE PEOPLES' REPUBLIC OF CHINA."

Comrade readers! Can you hear the voice of Morarji Desai in the Chinese Constitution? Article 14 of the Chinese Soviet Constitution and the Second Congress of the Communist Party of China called these people "small nations" and Mongolian, Tibetans, Yunnanese, Sinkiangese, Kewichewans were recognised as distinct nations, annexed territories and nations. Now, in 1954 Constitution they are called 'national minorities' within the territory of China! The Second Congress of the Communist Party of China, in categorical and clear terms said of "China proper" and conquered and annexed territory -- conquered and annexed by the feudal emperors. How can, then, the Communist Party of China, the Constitution of Peoples' Republic of China justify that it is following Marxist-Leninist path when its Constitution declares the conquered people as national minorities and the conquered territories as "inalienable parts of the Peoples' Republic of China? We do not find any difference between a Morarji Desai, an Indira Gandhi, who claim Kashmir, Nagaland and Mizoram as inalienable parts of India by virtue of British conquest and integration with India on the one hand and the Communist Party of China on the other. It means, like that of India’s integrity theory, the peoples of Mongolia, Tibet, Siankiang, Yunan, Kweichow have no right even to demand self-determination as they have got no territory of their own to set up independent states!

Perhaps the Fifth National People’s Congress of the Peoples' Republic of China, held on March 5(on the birth day of Karl Marx) 1978, after the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution for the restoration of socialist path changed this repugnant and reactionary nationalist clause? The Fifth National People’s Congress, of course, adopted a revised Constitution. Article 4 of this Constitution says: The Peoples Republic is a unitary multinational state. Instead of a single of 1954-Constitution the 1978 - Constitution says 'unitary: The latest constitution is mere explicit and un-ambiguous. However, the revised Constitution has not revised the last line of the Article 3 of the 1954 Constitution, which reads: All the national autonomous areas are inalienable parts of the Peoples Republic of China. The reactionary nationalist clause remains, as it was, in spite of tall claims of Cultural Revolution.

It is true that the communists do not favour atomised states of feudal days. Communists unite as many people of different nations and nationalities as they can, taking advantage of the former annexed areas of feudal or imperialist empires adopting, of course, Leninist-Stalinist principle of national self-determination up to the right of secession based on federal structure of state as free and equal voluntary partners as transitional stage to complete unity. Communists neither conquer forcibly nor colonise like those of feudal and imperialist robbers.

Lenin said, The way to the common goal complete equality, the closest association and the eventual amalgamation of all nations obviously run along different routes in each concrete case, as, let us say, the way to a point in the centre of this page runs left from one edge and right from the opposite edge. If a Social Democrat [read Communist] from a great oppressing, annexing nation [like that of China] while advocating the amalgamation of nations in general [as the Communist Party of China has done] were for a moment forget that his Nicholas II, his Wilhelm, George, Poincare etc. [and in case of Chinese Communist his emperor Ching and Republican Chiang Kai-Sheik and other warlords] also stand for amalgamation with small nations (by means of annexations Nicholas II for amalgamation with Galicia, Wilhelm II for amalgamation with Belgium etc.) [and Chiang Kai-Shek for "amalgamation" with Mongolia and Tibet] such a Social Democrat would be a ridiculous doctrinaire in theory and abettor of imperialism in practice.

In the internationalist education the workers of the oppressor countries, emphasis must necessarily be laid on their advocating freedom for the oppressed countries to secede and their fighting for it. Without this, there can be no internationalism. It is our right and duty to treat every Social Democrat of an oppressor nation who fails to conduct such propaganda as a scoundrel and an imperialist. This is an absolute demand, even where the chance of secession being possible and practicable before the introduction of socialism is only one in a thousand.

It is our duty to teach the workers to be indifferent to national distinctions, there is no doubt about that. But it must not be the indifference of the annexationists. A member of an oppressor nations must be indifferent to whether small nations belong to his state or to a neighbouring state or to themselves, according to where sympathies lie: without such indifference he is not a Social Democrat. To be an internationalist Social Democrat one must not think only of one’s own nation, but place, above it the interests of all nations, their common liberty and equality. Everyone accepts this in theory but displays annexationist indifference in practice. There is the root of evil.

On the other hand, a Social Democrat from a small nation must emphasise in his agitation the second word of our formula: Voluntary integration of nations. He may, without failing in his duties as an internationalist, be in favour of both the political independence of his nations and his integration with the neighbouring states X, Y, Z etc. But in all case, he must fight against small nation narrow-mindedness, seclusion and isolation, consider the whole and the general and subordinate the particular to the general interest.

People who have not gone into the question thoroughly think that it is contradictory for the Social Democrat of oppressor nations to insist on the freedom to secede while Social Democrats of oppressed nations insist on the freedom to integrate. However, a little reflection will show that there is not, and cannot be any other road to internationalism and the amalgamation of nations, any other road from the given situation to this goal.(The discussion on self-determination summed up; all emphases in the above quotations are of Lenin’s).

What should we call, then, the leadership of the Communist Party of China? Abettor of imperialism in practice? How should we treat the leadership of the Communist Party of China? As scoundrel and an imperialist?

The Peoples' Daily of China, in its editorial of November 18, 1954, hailing its Constitution wrote: Our country is a unified multinational country. How can it be called a unified country, if this union is not voluntary? Even in 1944-49 a large-scale rebellion against the Kuomintang domination took place in Sin kiang and a People’s Democratic Government was proclaimed there and they named that Government as East Turkestan Republic dropping the Chinese name Sin Kiang. They even expressed their resentment against the attitude and behaviours of the Chinese Communists. (We will again come to this point in our booklet Why was Stalin made a Controversial Figure?) During the Long-March, the Chinese communists had to negotiate and pacify the hostilities against them with many small nations and nationalities by promising to accord their rights. Tibet was brought, under control by military might and even in 1954 a great rebellion took place there against the forcible integration. A real union can only emerge on the basis of the recognition of the right of disunion whenever necessary as Lenin said.

The same editorial shamelessly said, Like the Soviet Union, we have not only proclaimed the principle of equality of nationalities, but have also insured the exercise of their, primarily, the right of equal participation in running the state by all nationalities. The Soviet Union was under the dictatorship of the proletariat whereas China was under the New Democracy, where the Constitution of 1954 did not make any provision for even nationalising the capitalist enterprises. On the contrary the Constitution safeguarded the property rights of the capitalists. There were eight democratic Parties uniting mainly 1,140,000 capitalists who were receiving a fixed interest totalling 120 million Yuan per annum. There were 1200 Deputies in the National People’s Congress of whom 265 represented the democratic Parties. And of the 1000 seats in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference 195 seats were held by these Parties. The state was the joint dictatorship of the bourgeoisie and other classes. It was not even the dictatorship of the proletariat in essence. The Soviet Constitution could insure, by dint of its proletarian character of the state, the principle of equality and the exercise of that right by granting the right of secession to those nationalities who were in a position to secede and form independent states, could grant independence to Poland and Finland, but the Peoples' Republic of China, could only make solemn promise because of the nationalist character of the state. Go through any bourgeois constitution, including the constitution of India, you will find all these high-sounding honeyed phrases like equality unified mutual benefit great family of nations unity in diversity etc. These are all abstract and empty rhetoric so long these are not insured and backed by the recognition of the right of national self-determination and secession.

What are the arguments in support of this volte face of the Communist Party of China? It offers the following bourgeois nationalist, big nation chauvinistic arguments: The Chinese (Hans) constitutes the overwhelming majority (94%) of the population, they are the principal nation in the country and occupy the leading position, politically, economically and culturally. The Hans constitute 94% of Chinese population the Journal Sing Kiang Hung chi wrote in its No 23 issue of 1960, and they are the most advanced as regards their political, economic and cultural development. The merging of nationalities should, therefore, be put into effect, on the basis of one nationality. The specifics of the Han nation the same Journal wrote will become the common national specifics of national minorities. The newspaper Sin Kiang Jhipao wrote in its March 21, 1960 issue that this merging is Marxist and Communist assimilation. It is an inevitable trend in society’s development. Those who oppose such assimilation oppose socialism and communism and oppose historical materialism.

This reactionary theory of assimilation through the superior culture and language is not at all a new one. Kautsky, a renegade, also advocated it. Let us quote Stalin on this point. Stalin said:

True, Mr. Kautsky, an ex-Marxist and now a renegade and reformist, asserts something that is the very opposite of what Lenin teaches us. Despite Lenin, he asserts that the victory of the proletarian revolution, in the Austro-German federal state in the middle of the last century would have led to the formation of a single, common German language and Germanisation of the Czechs because the mere force of unshackled intercourse, the mere force of modern culture of which the Germans were the vehicles, without any forcible Germanisation would have converted into Germans the backward Czechs petty-bourgeois, peasants and proletarians who had nothing to gain from the decayed nationality. (See, Preface to the German edition of Revolution and Counter Revolution) [Stalin, Political Report of the C. C. to XVI Congress of the C.P.S.U.(B); Vol. 12].

While Kautsky the renegade saw the possibility of Germanisation of the backward Czechs through assimilation by higher culture the Communist Party of China advocate and practices, Hanisation of the culturally and linguistically backward minority nationalities through assimilation by superior culture and asserts it as Marxism-Leninism, historical materialism. Why do not they call themselves Kautskyite, instead of calling Marxist-Leninists? That would have been fair and honest.

Regarding assimilation Stalin said the following:

The Beirut comrades raise the question of assimilation of the individual nationalities in the course of building a universal proletarian culture. Undoubtedly, some nationalities may, and certainly perhaps will, undergo a process of elimination. Such processes have taken place before. The point is, however, that the process of assimilation of some nationalities does not exclude but presupposes the opposite process strengthening and further development of quite a number of existing and developing nations for the partial process of assimilation of individual nationalities is the result of the general process of development of nations. It is precisely for this reason that the possible assimilation of some individual nationalities does not weaken but confirms the entirely correct thesis that proletarian universal culture does not exclude but presupposes and fosters national culture of the people, just as the national culture of the people does not annual but supplements and enriches universal proletarian culture. (Task of the University of the Peoples of the East, Vol. 7)

How beautifully the dialectical relations and the dialectical process of universal proletarian culture and national culture have been explained here! Those section of the people who has yet developed a stable written and spoken languages, who are more scattered and could not yet develop some stable elements of culture may be assimilated by process of elimination, but so far as the Mongolians, Sinkiangese and Tibetans and others are concerned the 'assimilation' as enunciated by the Communist Party Of China journals is absolute assimilation by the Hans, it is cultural and literary jingoism. To speak of one way assimilation "on these of one nationality" whose "backbone should be the Hans" is nothing but big-nation chauvinism.

Besides, this assimilation drive, the autonomous status of the minority nationalities of the compact areas has also been made extremely limited by the introduction of three types of autonomous units viz. (a) autonomous region, (b) autonomous districts and (c) autonomous county. There are all together five autonomous regions, twenty-nine autonomous districts and sixty-four autonomous counties. The compact region, where the non-Chinese live has also been divided into region, district and county, thus depriving the non-Chinese small nations of a single nation to unite in a compact region. In Tibetan region the People's Republic of China did not allow to unite all the Tibetans into one single autonomous unit and as a result a considerable number of Tibetans live outside the autonomous region, though they live in a continuous contiguous compact area.

This is the price for assimilation or Hanisation that small nations are paying. The recognition of the right of national self-determination up to secession is one of the cornerstones of proletarian internationalism. The repudiation of the Leninist-Stalinist theory and practice of the right of national self-determination is the repudiation of Marxism-Leninism.

10 Concluding Remarks

The 1949 Chinese Revolution was, undoubtedly, a great victory for the world people and world socialism in spite of its many contradictions and weaknesses. The Soviet Union, under the leadership of Stalin, played the decisive role in defeating Japan in China and Japans surrender. On August 13, 1945, Mao had to admit that the decisive factor for Japans surrender is the entry of the Soviet Union into the war. A million Red Army troops are entering Chinese North-East; this force is irresistible. (S.W. Vol. IV). Ho Chiao Mu, in his Thirty Years of the CPC, Peking, 1951, said The Soviet Army quickly annihilated the Japanese Kwantung Army and liberated North-East China. The Peoples' Liberation Army fighting in co-ordination with the Soviet Army energetically wiped out the Japanese and puppet troops, freeing a large number of medium sized and small cities from the enemy’s occupation. On August, 14 Japan announced its unconditional surrender. This made the Communist Party of Chinas position stronger. Besides this, due to the victory of World War II and general strengthening of the peoples' forces world over the U.S. imperialism was forced to engage its mercenary forces from Europe (France, Italy etc.) to Philippines against partisan forces led by the Communist Parties. The dispersal of the U.S. forces on the one hand, and the withdrawal of the Soviet Army from the Chinese soil thus compelling the U.S. to declare non-interference militarily in the internal affairs of China putting constant pressure to withdraw U.S. forces from China enabled the Communist Party Of China to move from strategic defence into strategic offence in 1947, against Chiang Kai-Sheiks regime. These lines are not negating the invaluable importance of internal factors, but only to show that own resources theory if it is carried too far, without recognising the external factors and international help, however indirect, can only lead to narrow nationalism.

However, sensing imminent victory of the revolution in China, the Chinese national bourgeoisie, joined with the proletariat in 1947 so that the Communist Party Of China may not establish the dictatorship of the proletariat in China, as a result of which the Peoples' Republic was established in 1949 without any war in five of the Chinese provinces and in her capital Peking. The ideological and political bases of this alliance was laid by Mao Tse Tung in his On New Democracy and On Coalition Government. The Maoists did never accept Lenin’s theory that bourgeois nationalism is the direct antithesis of proletarian internationalism. Mao on the contrary, attributed special characteristics to Chinese national bourgeoisie. Lenin said that the dictatorship of the proletariat is the key problem of the ENTIRE proletarian class struggle. He said, This is the touchstone on which real (Lenin's emphasis) understanding and recognition of Marxism should be tested. (Vol. 25, pg. 412). He further said The transition from capitalism to communism is certainly bound to yield a tremendous abundance and variety of political forms, but the essence will inevitably be the same: THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT. (Vol. 25, pg. 413). While Lenin defined the democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry (the bourgeois democratic revolution in the shape of Peoples Democracy) as the promoter of the revolutionary process to bring about the triumph of socialist revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat, Mao’s On New Democracy said nothing about the power growing into the dictatorship of the proletariat. Lenin wrote in 1905, in his article entitled Social democracy’s attitude towards the peasant movement in which he pointed out that after the democratic revolution we shall at once and precisely in accordance with the measure of our strength, the strength of the class conscious proletariats, begin to pass to the socialist revolution. We stand for uninterrupted revolution. We shall not stop half-way. (Vol. 9, Pg. 237). But, Mao said, for a long time to come there will exist in China a particular form of state and political power i.e., New Democracy based on the alliance of several democratic classes a system which is distinguished from the Russian system and which is perfectly necessary and reasonable thus creating a real Chinese wall between the democratic revolution and proletarian revolution and making the New Democracy a stable system.

Consequently, after the Chinese revolution the Peoples' Republic of China remained a four class dictatorship and the state power was shared with the national bourgeoisie and the rural bourgeoisie, under which the commanding heights of the national economy could never be socialist sector and state capitalism under this regime could never be a state capitalism controlled and guided by the dictatorship of proletariat and as such could not promote socialist revolution and socialism. As such, the character of the state of the Peoples' Republic of China qualitatively became not the dictatorship of the proletariat in essence in 1949-50. However, there was a force in the Communist Party of China who fought against Mao’s petty-bourgeois, non-Marxist theory and practice. In 1950-52, the Communist Party of China rejecting Mao’s petty-bourgeois line and relying on state sector that had already come into existence steered a line towards socialism and proletarian dictatorship in essence. In 1950-52, the Communist Party of China mapped out its general policy for the period of transition from capitalism to socialism in its historic document Theses for the study and propagation of the party's general line in the period of transition. It said, Without leadership of the Communist Party Of China armed with Marxist-Leninist theory of the laws of social development and representing the interests of the working class [Mark please, there is no mention of Mao Tse Tung thought here] in our country it would be impossible to implement socialist industrialisation and socialist reorganisation of agriculture, the handicraft industry and the trade and industrial enterprises owned by private capitalists. The theses, stressing the importance of establishing Leninist norms in party life noted, Collective leadership is the highest organisational principle of our party, unnecessary, excessive accentuation of the outstanding role of an individual, no matter, who he may be, cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. In these theses, the Communist Party of China set itself the task of educating communists and the people in a spirit of internationalist solidarity, and fraternity with the socialist countries. The whole people the theses stated must be educated in a spirit of understanding that assistance to our country from the Soviet Union and the Peoples Democracies and the powerful unity of the entire camp of peace, democracy and socialism are indispensable conditions for the successful building of socialism in our country. The first five year plan of China was chalked out on the basis of above General Line. It is to be noted that this "General Line" theses were discussed and accepted after Mao’s return to China from his Moscow meeting with Stalin and reporting against Stalin and the Soviet Union in the Chinese Party. It is also to be noted that the Second Plenary session of the Seventh Central Committee also banned on placing Chinese comrades at par with Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin. Mao also had to write These are several regulations which were adopted at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee but not written in resolution. The sixth is a ban on placing Chinese comrades at a par with Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin. Our relation to them is one of pupils to teachers and that is how it should be. (S. W., Vol. V, Pg. 111).

All these were great blows to Mao’s bourgeois nationalist line of self reliance and building socialism in own country in own fashion. But he could gather strength, after the death of Stalin and usurpation of the dictatorship of the proletariat by Khrushchevite clique in the Soviet Union to oppose the General Line of the First Five year Plan of China and thus could launch the Great Leap Forward movement together with his theory of Correct handling of the Contradictions among the people in which he advocated and practised the four class dictatorship and class peace and class collaboration with the national bourgeoisie thus burying of prospect of a socialist revolution in China.

Ray O Light a Marxist-Leninist organisation of the USA correctly concluded in its booklet The Dictatorship of the Proletariat in the International Marxist-Leninist Movement, Mao’s thought became a support for Khrushchev’s thought for the thought of a modern revisionism' based on the negation of Stalin and proletarian internationalism.

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