This is a statement by Socialist Alternative Canada’s Executive Committee.
Executive of Socialist Alternative Canada Socialist Alternative Canada stands in solidarity with our Sikh sisters, brothers, and siblings, who fight everyday for justice for workers and farmers and those facing oppression, both in India and here in Canada. We condemn the brutal and deadly attacks that some leaders of the Sikh community in Canada have been subjected to, most recently by the reactionary regime of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as has been alleged. We fully defend the democratic rights of Sikhs and other communities, both in Canada and India, to organize and speak out without the threat of state violence. Since first taking power in 2014, Modi and the BJP’s pro-capitalist, Hindu right-wing government have repeatedly attacked Sikhs, Muslims, and others, whipping up hatred to further a dangerous Hindu nationalist agenda. Modi’s government tried to put in place new citizenship laws to strip hundreds of millions of Muslims, poor people, and oppressed-caste communities of their Indian citizenship and all democratic rights, and placing large numbers in detention camps and prisons, as already seen in the state of Assam. The government carried out a major repressive campaign in the state of Kashmir, moving armed forces in, imprisoning activists, and enacting the world’s longest internet shutdown. This is also the same regime that allowed the pandemic to spiral into a catastrophe with avoidable loss of life and attempted to carry out a pro-agribusiness agenda against small and medium farmers. Modi has overseen unprecedented youth unemployment and skyrocketing cost of living, while the number of millionaires and billionaires in the country has grown rapidly. We also condemn Canadian imperialism, which alongside successive US governments, has interfered in other countries, including militarily. The Canadian government helped organize the 2004 coup in Haiti that removed the democratically elected President Aristide. Justin Trudeau’s government, which like Modi’s, represents the interests of the capitalist class, is a crucial ally of US President Joe Biden and American imperialism in the dangerous New Cold War. Capitalism’s drive to increase the profits of big corporations and the wealth of the billionaires, at the expense of the rest of society — workers, farmers, marginalized people, and the majority of youth — exacerbates nationalist tensions. Capitalism also fosters and intensifies oppression of many kinds: such as gender violence, caste discrimination, racism, transphobia, and sexism. Socialist Alternative is committed to ending capitalism and creating a democratic socialist society that meets the needs of the vast majority of humanity, rather than the greed of a few. We are committed to ending capitalism’s exploitation of workers, farmers and others. To do this, we need to build solidarity among the international working class and develop a fighting strategy and reject the divisions that capitalism aims to foist upon those who are exploited. This means uniting on working-class demands to raise the living standards of all with decent union jobs and basic needs such as high-quality affordable housing and education. It also means uniting working people to counter oppression, as tens of millions did in the historic George Floyd protests. The Sikh community in Canada has had a strong working-class and labour history, having played an important role in Canada’s forestry, agriculture, transportation and other sectors. The courageous farmers’ movement in India, with the solidarity of the labour movement rank and file, forced Modi to concede to their demands and defeated him in his attempts to further corporatize agriculture and impoverish farmers. This shows the power of an organized, determined class struggle by ordinary people to defeat the ruling elite. Similarly, the recent victory in Seattle of the first ordinance banning caste discrimination outside of South Asia took determined, organized political struggle to win. This struggle is now being waged in Canada, particularly in BC, where activists are leading the fight to include caste among the protected categories in BC’s Human Rights code. Working people internationally cannot afford to have illusions in any political parties of the ruling class. This is evident from the opposition Congress Party in India shamefully backing up the Modi government in response to the recent allegation against the latter, rather than standing with the Sikh community, not to mention the role of the Congress in the 1984 mass murder of Sikh people. While these victories are important, we are under no illusion that they will be enough to bring an end to discrimination, oppressions, and exploitation. It is only through an international movement determined to cast away the chains of capitalism that people and the planet will flourish. Socialist Alternative looks forward to building a common struggle with our Sikh community, working people, and activists to fight back against state violence, oppression, and capitalism.
