Reader’s View
Dear Editor,
I am delighted to read the 7th edition of ‘The Anvil’. Staying true to its character, the latest issue of ‘The Anvil’ has shed light on some of the most pertinent questions of the communist movement. The article on feminism by comrade Shivani provides one of the most insightful critiques of feminism from a Marxist perspective. Today, owing to the dominance of post-modern and post-colonial ideologies and pervasiveness of identity politics in progressive intellectual circles, it has become almost common-sensical to view feminism and Marxism as mutually complementary ideologies — the results of which have been disastrous for not only the women liberation movement, but also for the working class movement in general. I am looking forward to the subsequent parts of this series on feminism. The ongoing series on Naxalbari continues to provide a detailed analysis of the left-adventurist line that dominated the revolutionary communist movement in India. I think it is one of the most comprehensive critical writings on the history of the Indian communist movements written till now and I generally suggest this article to anyone who wants to read on the topic. Great work! I must also add that the article on Kavita Krishnan was much needed, not only to expose the ideological and political degeneracy of the revisionist parties like CPI(ML) Liberation, but also to defend the revolutionary legacy of Stalin, which the bourgeois academia is most eager to attack.
Here, I would also like to request the editorial board of ‘The Anvil’ to consider publishing some materials on the experiences of Soviet and Chinese socialist experiments. I have seen many students and new comrades particularly interested to know how things exactly changed in these countries after the revolutions.
Finally, considering the significance of a revolutionary Marxist journal in the communist movement and the influence that ‘The Anvil’ has had on the serious students of Marxism, I would like to see the journal being published more regularly. Having said that, I completely understand the hard work and diligent efforts that go into the publication of such a journal of high quality.
Eagerly waiting for the next edition…
With revolutionary greetings,
Sarthak
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Dear Editor,
Had pleasure reading Comrade Sunny’s article in the seventh issue of ‘The Anvil’. The fact that there’s a Marxist journal promoting rigorous analysis in defence of materialism fighting tooth and nail against the neo-Kantian smokescreen of ‘crisis of materialism’ is enough to convey the commitment of the editors. In the era of imperialism, when modern science is used to execute a cold-blooded genocide, interventions like these are the need of the hour. While the fascists have permeated science institutes and labs, we need committed scientists, in the words of Lenin, as you quoted, who are adherents of modern materialism represented by Marx.
Being a student of science, I’m eagerly waiting for the next issue, hoping there might be more such articles. However, it’s been 1 year, and the wait continues…
Regards,
Arsh Verma
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Hello,
I have been a regular reader of ‘The Anvil’ and have found the seventh issue to be an invigorating read. While the issue treads a vast ground, and I found all the articles to be timely and quite thought-provoking, I found ‘Fragmentary Critical Notes Towards a Preliminary Investigation of Althusser’s Concept of Ideology’, which not only investigated Althusser’s concept but also related it to Marx and Engels’ notion of ideology and precisely through this also moved towards a critical appraisal, to be particularly enriching.
I also found the critique of the CPI(M) to be very effective, in particular the sections that explained the nature and character of Indian society and state, and exposed the distortion of Marxist theory and history that the CPM dabbles in, and revealed the contradictions that their own arguments suffer from. In the same vein, the exposure of Kavita Krishnan and her anticommunist drivel as well as the depths of political bankruptcy that the CPI(ML) Liberation has fallen to was very important. The fact that there is a serious Marxist journal in India today which is boldly defending the revolutionary core of Marxism and is asserting the proletarian line is significant and serves to guide students like me.
Greetings,
Kumar Kartik
