By Imran Kamyana
With a ceasefire brokered by the Americans taking effect at 4:30 PM on May 10, the recent armed conflict between India and Pakistan appears to be drawing to a close. Nonetheless, regardless of how this war-like episode ultimately concludes, it offers several important lessons worth reflecting upon. A brief summary of those is presented below:
1) First and foremost, the current circumstances have laid bare the national chauvinists who hide behind the veil of socialism in both countries—most notably the CPI and CPI(M) in India, but also a substantial segment of the left in Pakistan. This “social patriotism” is a vile, opportunistic and detestable remnant of the Second International—a political crime against which Lenin and Trotsky waged a lifelong struggle. Its hands are stained with the blood of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, and its “socialism” is nothing more than a tool for reformism, careerism and betrayal.
According to these currents, the “other” state is the aggressor, while their “own” state is merely acting in self-defense. They then attempt to sugarcoat this reactionary stance with token criticisms of their own government and abstract, pacifist anti-war slogans. For instance: “Although our government is far from ideal, this time the other side struck first!” Or, in Pakistan’s case, the military is portrayed as waging a battle against Hindutva-Zionist fascism in South Asia! This line of argument flies in the face of the most basic principles of Marxist method, which directs attention not to the immediate trigger of a conflict, but to the broader historical role and strategic aims of the warring states.
The irony is striking: when it comes to Russia’s imperialist invasion of Ukraine, these same voices either abandon the distinction between aggression and resistance altogether or shamelessly align themselves with Putin. The fate of this “official” and campist left—then, now and always—is the dustbin of history.
2) The imperialist liberal order established under U.S. leadership after the World War II was never a just or equitable arrangement. For over seventy years, it has subjected the vast majority of humanity to oppression, exploitation, devastation and humiliation. However, the problem today is that the Trumpist far/hard/alt-right is not replacing this system with anything better. Instead, it is throwing open the gates to even deeper chaos, anarchy and unchecked aggression. In effect, it is substituting an exploitative order with an exploitative disorder—one that threatens even greater catastrophes, including the potential annihilation of humanity itself.
At the same time, many self-styled Marxists and “communists” remain incapable of drawing a meaningful distinction between traditional right-wing forces and the emerging ultra-right—a failure of analysis that borders on willful ignorance. The conduct of the philistine Trump clique currently at the helm in Washington—particularly during the recent Indo-Pak conflict, when J.D. Vance declared at a critical moment that the U.S. would not intervene and that it was “none of our business”—exposes the extent to which this lumpen imperialist bourgeoisie is either dangerously oblivious to the gravity of the situation or actively complicit in engineering it. In either case, it represents an alarming and deeply perilous turn of events.
3) First the Russia-Ukraine war and now the ongoing genocide in Gaza, have significantly raised the world’s threshold for war, aggression and bloodshed. Under these conditions, not only are wars becoming more frequent, but large-scale and terrifying wars are increasingly normalized. For the first time since the Second World War, we are witnessing open and unabashed discourse around the eradication of entire nations—Ukraine and Palestine being the most chilling examples. In this climate, far-right parties and governments are emboldening one another. The global treaties, tacit and explicit understandings and international institutions built over the past seven decades—however hypocritical or precarious—have been rendered effectively meaningless. Against this backdrop, the Modi government’s belligerent posture in South Asia, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, and the overall atmosphere of war must be understood in their broader geopolitical and historical context.
4) In the recent Indo-Pak clash, with the downing of at least three Indian French-made Rafale fighter jets by Pakistan, Chinese military hardware demonstrated its effectiveness against Western technology—an important development that cannot be overlooked in the broader international context. While China still lags behind Western imperialism economically, it is far ahead of countries like Pakistan and India, and it is steadily closing the gap—or even proving its superiority—in cutting-edge fields of science and technology, areas long considered the exclusive domain of Western powers. Western capitalism, grounded in crisis-ridden market economies, is undergoing a historic decline and deepening crisis. What we are witnessing is an explosive global situation defined by the decline of one imperialist power/bloc and the ascent of another. Such transitions in human history have rarely—if ever—occurred without major confrontations.
Whether the Trump gang truly seeks to contain China or merely hopes to extract a lucrative “deal” is an open question. What is clear, however, is that their erratic, care-free behavior, abandoning of historic allies and endless U-turns are pushing an increasing number of countries toward closer alignment with China.
5) India harbors even more ignorance, backwardness, fundamentalism and superstition than Pakistan—a fact plainly evident to anyone who spends just fifteen minutes watching Indian news media. Like Pakistan and Bangladesh, India too is a product of historically crippled, crisis-ridden and belated capitalism. The clearest proof of this is Modi himself—though the current wave of war hysteria may well mark the beginning of his political decline. It is important to note that the way this entire episode concluded, following a major military strike by Pakistan, can be regarded as a significant setback for the Modi regime. The Indian masses will have to come to terms with the harsh realities on the ground once the war frenzy subsides. The much-hyped narratives of India’s unprecedented development over the past decade are, for the most part, exaggerated or outright deceptive.
We have been making this argument since the days when Pakistani liberalism and the reformist left sang the praises of Indian democracy, development and secularism, elevating it as a regional role model. Like many of our other positions, this one was met with mockery, and we were dismissed as orthodox, dogmatic and out of touch with reality. Yet, time and events have proven us completely vindicated.
6) This system of commodity production and market economy, in its death throes, is dragging all of humanity toward total annihilation (through environmental destruction, intensifying inter-imperialist conflicts, more wars and proxy wars, possible nuclear confrontations, unprecedented economic crises, etc.). Neither is historical materialism a ready-made blueprint for history, nor is it guaranteed that socialism will be humanity’s destination after capitalism. Barbarism, with all its signs and warnings, looms overhead. Without consciously overthrowing capitalism and laying the foundations of a socialist society, the chances of salvation are nonexistent.
