Warning Against Hindutva Politics | 17th Party Congress

The 17th Party Congress was held in Hyderabad from March 10 to 24, 2002, against the backdrop of significant national and international developments—including the Gujarat pogrom, which left a lasting stain on India’s secular fabric, and the terrorist attacks in the United States. Harkishan Singh Surjeet inaugurated the congress. Prakash Karat presented the draft political resolution, while Sitaram Yechury introduced the proposed amendments.
The report underscored the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, launched after the World Trade Center attacks with allied support, as a pressing global issue. It also highlighted how imperialist forces were shifting the burden of a deepening global economic crisis onto Third World countries, even as global resistance against such exploitation continued to grow. Replacing the Cold War-era slogan of fighting against communism, the fight against terrorism has become the new war cry of American-led imperialism. The report suggested that progressive democratic forces must unite to counter this.
The BJP government is systematically eroding secular ideals, with the RSS increasingly infiltrating governance. Through attacks on minorities, they are exposing their true agenda. The government continues to push neo-liberal policies while aligning its foreign policy to position India as a strategic ally of the United States. The report identified this as part of Hindutva’s long-term plan. A section titled "A Decade of Liberalization – Disastrous Economic Policies" was also included.
The Political Organisational Report was presented in two parts, with Harkishan Singh Surjeet delivering the political section and S. Ramachandran Pillai presenting the organisational section. The first part contained a review of political policy implementation and an assessment of the political-tactical line based on united front strategies, while the second part stressed that developing the Party and expanding its influence remains the primary task. The Congress elected a 79-member Central Committee. The new Central Committee re-elected Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet as General Secretary and a 17-member Polit Bureau.