Funeral
pyre is still burning with a flame. Time is speechless. Rumination of past
glory is going on in deaf silence. Everyone in the funeral rally is struck with
dumb. Why does it happen so? The condition was becoming gradually gloomy. But
so sharp, none of us perhaps anticipated it. It was the virus of carcinoma. Everyone
is well conversant of the virus being a malignant one. Question of survival of
a carcinoma victim is undoubtedly a remote chance. But an attachment of long 34
years can never be torn out so easily without a shocking pain in aggrieved
heart. Erosion was started slowly and stealthily. But none understood that the
downfall was so close. Yet it happened. The left Front Government led by
Communist Party of India (Marxist) was practically washed away from West Bengal
with a never-to-imagine humiliating profile. It’s a horrible experience.
So
many opinions, wanted or unwanted, are flooring up to justify the debacle.
There runs a very common saying - “A Great Civilization Never Destroys Unless
It Destroys From Within”. Civilization develops in exchange of many Cry, Sweat
and Blood. No civilization can be destructed if the seeds of destruction are
hidden inside it. The history of the world is always ready to exhibit so many
instances in support to this quotation. If the reliability and credibility of a
civilization are eaten away in due deliberation, the destruction of it is the
ultimate inevitability. No panacea can defer the ruining of that. Now it is a
striking query why did it take place and what were the irreparable lapses or
better be termed as flaws in 34 years regime of the Left Front Government, considered
as a civilization. Analytical searching of it is the call of time. It can never
be bypassed because future and future generation will not then forgive us, on
the contrary they will ensure our placement in the liter bin of history.
I
do admit that I am not a political analyzer. I am yet to understand the tits
bits of politics. I am not at all ashamed of my low profile. Someone may call
me a novice in this context. I care a fig for that. But one thing I understand
that politics aims at to do the well being of all, especially for the oppressed
and have-nots. Politics out of Marxian philosophy aims at the true emancipation proletariat from the grip of exploitation and deprivation. This philosophy
teaches us the lessons of sacrifice for the interest of others. Intense mass
movements are the basic formula of Marxian movements to defeat the reactionary
forces that accelerate the propensities of exploitation and deprivation.
Marxian philosophy is not a relative concept. It is well tested and the result
of the litmus test approves the justifiability and appropriateness of Marxism
so long the oppression of common people will continue. The more the Marxism is
challenged, the more it approves its rising importance in the soil of our
society, beyond doubt decaying out of the erosion of moral values. Marxism is
infallible, yet that got collapsed in West Bengal.
Many
of the aspirant think-tanks are confused to find out the reasons behind the
debacle. Confusions there may be, but fact is fact. I openly declare that I am
a left personality and I am proud of it. I dream true emancipation of proletariat. I dream the shackles of captivity of them being torn out. It is
my lifelong dream and I don’t want to be spared of my dream even at the cost of
my life. Yet I am undone but to expose my explicitly clear views as it is the
call of time to go for criticism from within. Right way of criticism does not
enfeeble the foundation of the ism, on the other hand it emboldens the
foundation of the ism especially based on Marxian Philosophy. I invite a strong
debate, obviously in an unbiased way if my placement interprets wrongly to
anybody else.
Marxism
does not count whether it is in power or not. It is not static. It moves on
dialects. The society is changing, the social ingredients are changing, the concepts
of social interactions are changing and Marxism will remain static, it is
absolutely impractical to think. But basic elements of Marxism are not at all
amenable. Tactical lines may be changed with the changing scenario, but
strategic outlines can never be altered.
I
would like to go back few decades. As the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
took the leading part to form the Left Front Government, a new concept of
coalition government on left orientation, my analysis will spin round this
political party in particular. I would like to start from the Salkia Plenum of
the party. After a long debate on the reschedule of the party ideology it was
decided from the views of the majority of the participating senior and
responsible party members that the party would move now onwards on quality and
quantity both, only quality consciousness would not satisfy the demand of the
time. Let common people be allowed to come inside the party and after that
their quality would be raised through continuous cultivation of party
philosophy. The party cannot be owned by a few people only. The approach was
undoubtedly supportive. If quantity and quality move side by side the
magnificence of the party is sure to be delightful. As an aftermath effect of
the resolution being taken the doors of coming inside the party were opened and
common people took a great interest to come inside the party. The volume of the
party was increased with representations of general people from different
sections of the society. So long it was all right. The party leaderships were
also happy to experience the good effects of the political resolution.
Problems
came in the next phase. In question of party followers and party activists
being educated in party education from the base level that was not taken much
care of. Comrade Lenin told in several times that the communist party can never
stand on its strong foundation if party education is sidelined. A party
activist must learn the philosophy of the communist party by heart either by
reading or by attending party classes. The then leadership emphasized more
importance to take part in party programmes in order to build up emotions and
attachments to party organization. But no emotion or attachment is everlasting unless
that is well synthesized with party education. Party loyalists may increase by
participating in party programmes, but real party comrades are thus not built
up. It is party education with even participation in party programmes
rocksolids the foundation of party comrades. Party education helps to step up
the party knowledge. A party comrade without proper party education or party
knowledge can never propel his functioning inside the party in exact form. Reluctantly the party gets ideologically enfeebled, though in consideration
with numeric the party is advancing. We all know that knowledge fertile the
ideas and it promotes the dialectical concepts. Absence of true dialectical
approaches eats away the immense potential of the party organization. Without
party education servile flatters to any leader in particular can be generated
without raising any contradiction, but that does not substantiate the benefits
of the party organization itself. This unadultered truth is still not
understandable to the present party leaders.
When
some higher tire party leader is expelled from the party organization, no doubt
justified in accordance with the assessment of party think-tanks, his band of
followers, not party followers or activists, quit the party organization as a
body. This is the clear indication of the dearth of party education. A party
activist, truly educated in party education can never be a servile flatter to
any leader in particular. Why does it happen? What are the sources of these
happenings in renewal from long back to today even? How do such deviations crop
up? Marxist ideology is still unchallenged because Karl Marx is the only social
philosopher who has correctly established the Dialectical Materialism within a
society in consonance with Historical Materialism. Marxism is science because
it deals with both social practice with disparities and economic crisis evoked
thereby out of it. Now it is high time to invite debates and discussions on it
in a liberalized look and with no biasness and prejudices.
“Power
to More Power and More Power to Supreme Power” – is very common trend of each
and every individual. The corridor of power is always illusive. If any man,
dignified or undignified no matter, is in the habit of walking in the corridor
of power he wants to enjoy the absolute power and gradually the vices
bureaucratic power nest in him safely. It is same in the party organization
too. The leadership of the communist party is well tested. Their sacrifices for
the party can never be underscored. Following the principles of inner party
struggle the differences of opinion in party line will very much exist in them.
They have gone through different litmus tests in order to endorse their
dedication and commitment to the party organization. In communist movements
they are the milestones. How do their deviations in many cases be explained? It
is simply because of self thinking and aspirations in excess. Ego problem is a
factor to be counted. It is nothing wrong in self-aspiration. But if that
aspiration is hyped up in unrealistically that is liable to be criticized. Over
ambitious leadership always wants to remain at the nucleus of absolute power.
It is so wished because they always want to have a long listing of their own
followers instead of the followers of party organization. It is thus happened
because of bureaucratic trend in the party organization. It is a vice and the
leadership of the party did not take adequate care, I may be wrong, to
eliminate it. And thus virus of groupism breaks out in an epidemic form in the
party organization. Critics will iconize it as inner party struggle. There
exists no narrowness and meanness in this struggle, on the other side the inner
party struggle flourishes the party organization in a liberalized look. There
is no room for orthodoxy or vested interest thinking in a communist party
organization and it is discovered gradually on the rife. So the party suffers.
Communist
Party organization flourishes when the cultural wings of it function evenly
among common people. Every communist party organization has a definite stream
of culture. Different cultural activities promote the concept of party
organization among general mass. Many conceptual ideas of the party
organization can be communicated effectively to the general people through
cultural programmes. It is needless to mention that the cultural activities of
the party organization are underscored and the reason is still being unknown to
me. Wrangling of Marxian theory appears in many cases insipid and dull to
common people. People don’t want to hear always the long educational lecturing
on substantiality of Marxian Philosophy. Reason is always reason binding. In
this fast moving world all are now very busy with their tight schedule of work.
A shot street drama is liked by all because of its audio-visual display. People
accept it by default. The word gang rape is a very common phenomenon of the
day. When we read in the newspaper that a teenage girl is brutally raped by a
group of rapist we become angry, but we visualize that in a street drama we
become infuriated. The need of street drama can never be unworthy then. We can
distinctly remember the significant role of Group Theatres during emergency
period. These Group Theatres raised mass awareness against the atrocities of
emergency period. The Group Theatre personalities had to face strong
oppositions at the time of staging the drama publicly. But they didn’t flinch
back and contributed chiefly to raise mass awareness against the Emergency. How
strangely that cultural field remains almost mute in recent past on unknown
reasons. Who is going to explain it?
Fact
remains that different Group Theatre Organizations has received Grant-in-aid
from M.P. or M.L.A. quota. But that is not enough to activate an organization.
The existence of a cultural organization comes into being by constant
nurturing. There appears a basic shortcoming. Mere funding Grant-in-aid is not
enough for the survival of a cultural organization. The party organization
should be an associative power of such organization. It requires a constant
touch of the cultural forum of the party organizations with those cultural
organizations, no doubt the reflector of the society with all its problems, for
the honest exposure subject to the problems of the society. But sorry to say
that the party organization did not give much importance to its cultural forum
and resultantly the party organization enfeebles. Who is going to take the
responsibility of slow poisoning the party organization? That is none but the
party think-tanks. I can cite one example. Safdar Hasmi was brutally murdered
on an open road of Delhi when he was staging a street drama “Halla Boll”. This
episode rocked the cultural arena of India with ushering in protest. It
rendered a tremendous influence in the mind of toiling mass. After that under
the attraction of time and age the memory of that sordid episode gradually
faded out from our mind. Safdar Hasmi is now a forgettable memory in the mind
of present generation of the party activists. But some memories require to be
always enlivened for the interest of the party organization. Mere writing a
column in the party spokesman is not enough to pay homage to the contributions
of those martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the cause of the party.
Electronic
media is now reigning unchallenged. It is always delivering a culture not in
consonance with the culture of the common people. Youths, the helmsman of
future, are now addicted to T.V. culture. The electronic media including the
print media is always subscribing a culture that contradicts the main stream of
the culture of the working class force. Without ruling out the necessity of
T.V. in present world for updating of information it is often found that party
activists are sitting in the party offices tuning on the T.V. set. It is the
ideal way for pastime. Sometimes it is felt that the storehouse of our thinking
is running with paucity and electronics media will refuel our level of
thinking. A communist party survives with its originality and innovative
thinking. Party culture injects innovative concepts in us and that very
cultural front is neglected. It is absolutely unwanted.
We
often experience the party leaders moving with a disguised gravity. This
disguised gravity ensures separation from the common mass. The pleasing
personality is the first requisite of a party leader. That does not mean that I
defend resoluteness. If higher leadership is not easy accessible to party
activists even, what is about the common mass? Sometimes it appears that our
leaders are fenced with iron fencing. There runs two ways thinking while anyone
sits to analyze the reason of such disguised violence. The first one is to earn
the prestige of the party activists as the pedagogue of the party organization
and the second one is not to keep in close touch with them as they represent
the subordinate class. They don’t want to accept their accountability to be
answerable to the party loyalists or common people. If my contention stands
wrong none but I will be the happiest person. Now it is the turn of the higher
leadership to define it.
For
some obvious reasons some faces are denied to the common people. Common people
are not ready to accept right words at all from denied faces. Common people
discard some faces out of their experience of life. Their credibility to the
common people is bottom touching. The existence of such faces in our party
organization is not uncommon. People perhaps listen to them, but do not give
much importance to their words, whatever relevancy or subjective material in
his speech does exist because the face itself is denied. A denied face can
never be a party spokesman. Credibility, reliability and trustworthiness are
the three fundamental criteria of a party leader. None can overrule this
axiomatic truth. Yet these non-accepted leaderships will speak and resultantly
common people will repel. Every higher tire leadership admits it, but the
vanity of power does not allow them to take appropriate steps. Water comes down
following the slope. If the water is found dirty at the bottom level it
explicitly defines the water in the up-level is dirty. A decomposing brain
never breeds anything better and it is always to be remembered.
There
appears an erosion of moral values in the floor level leaderships who are
entrusted to keep liaison between common people and the higher tire
leaderships. They act as the linkman. Their responsibility is enormous. If they
fail to execute their duties precisely and perfectly party organization
suffers. Their role is now experienced standing before question marks. Truly
speaking this scrupulous leadership seeks the prestige of the left, but relies
upon the privilege of the right. That is the real fallacy of mass separation.
Many may question, should higher tire leadership be exempted of this virus. I
prefer to remain noncommittal in this context. The flowing stream of events
approves privilege of the right dominates the prestige of the left in usual
cases. It is a traditional thinking that I will enjoy comforts of life. And it
is the gateway of corruption. Earning against hard labour is always ethical,
but if earning is indulged by means of easy money capitalizing position and
power it’s a crime. It is a factor to be counted levying much importance.
The
influx of unwanted people inside the party realm is also a reason for grim
setback of the communist party in West Bengal. West Bengal has long been the
citadel of radical thoughts of communist party in India. Underprivileged and
exploited millions rely upon Left as the source of inspiration and guidance of
their struggle. The assiduity with which CPI(M) welded together all sections of
people deserves high acclaim. The party has been trying hard to build up a well
knit bonding between the organized and unorganized forces by subscribing
frontline leadership to their struggles and agitations. It also deserves high
appreciation. To take up the baton of leadership standing in the front line is
the long heritage of the CPI(M) party. It has been our long observation and
toiling mass lends their profound support to this party. But unwanted forces
inside the party spoil the fruits of party struggle for long. Different
activities of them, not in tune with the party line and philosophy and coupled
with corruption distorted the image of the party organization. In many cases
toiling mass did not find any conformity with their speech and line of action.
Naturally they began to withdraw their support from the party out of
sensitiveness and grief. The leadership of the party organization came to
understand this but nepotism and corruption appeared before them as an
insurmountable barrier and this did not allow them to take any stern decision
for the well being of the party organization. Rome was not built in a day and
at the same time was not collapsed in a day. The vastness of the organization
of the CPI(M) has not built up in a day and the erosion of the organizational
base is not a bolt from the blue. It was felt, but untimely intervention
delayed rapture curing procedure. So the party organization is now suffering.
Nothing will come back so soon. The party organization will come back in power
in exchange of profuse bloodshed. It is now very much needed to amputate the
wings of evil forces inside the party, failing which the party organization
will succumb.
Recurring
electoral triumphs for long 34 years with brute majority in the West Bengal
Assembly Election had made top brass leadership of the party in the
understanding that they have taken the lease to rule West Bengal. The
invincibility of the Left Front Government can never be challenged. In fact
they began to run in self-complacence. It is self-conceit that prevents doing
self-analysis and self-criticism. The insolence of repeated victory in the
electoral fight made the party leadership totally blind of their own deviation
from the party line and philosophy. They failed to understand that lending
concession to the toiling mass or common people within the prescribed format of
the parliamentary democracy is not enough to remain in power for good.
There
is a breakeven point of every exchange policy. As soon as that point is crossed
trouble starts shooting. It was very much in need to change character and
attitude of the common people in respect to demand and supply policy. Common
people started thinking that Left Front Government is a milky cow with a
capacity to fulfill all their demands. With a steady change in the global
infrastructural scenario the characteristics of the demand change its
complexion and dissatisfaction of general mass initiates. It is now the era of
consumerism. It gears up the demand of us with no consideration to our capacity
or ability. As a result of this, there starts a greater self-contradiction in
everybody’s within. Dissatisfaction is such a thing that extends its boundary
in a galloping way.
The
assumption of invincibility and supremacy in not-to-care attitude indulged
stagnancy both in ideology and praxis in the party organization. Sense of
discipline and militancy went down out of over confidence. The behavioural
language of many vanity stricken leaderships got abruptly changed. Even they
were not conscious in selection of the words while delivering their speech. It
is not becoming for the communist leadership. Common people do not like it
though opposition leaders are in the habit of using filth languages. We all
want to see the restrained leadership in the communist party organization. Leaders
began to talk freestyle. They framed different opinions on the same issue.
People got confused with their statements and became suspicious with veracity
of their statements. The agendas of the secret party secretariat meeting and
the outcome of the discussions are coming out publicly in the daily newspapers.
How does it happen? Who is responsible for it? Is it called the militancy of
the communist party? Ground level comrades will be punished for minimum flaw
and upper tire leadership will remain exempted. It is really an enigma. This is
also a reason of erosion in the vote-bank of the party.
The
chemistry of democratic centralization still runs with ambiguity. The decision
of the majority party members inside the party is definitely to be carried out.
Sometimes it is well felt that the word democratic centralization is not
convincing. The voice of the dissenters is either ostracized or thrown out. The
leadership tells what they love to tell. But the consequences come upon the
party organization and general cadres.
Once
confidence begins eroding it erodes as a landslide. Consequently the mass
support to the Left Front Government started running at low ebb out of the demand
not being fulfilled according to expectation. Media terrorism took the full
advantage of this unrest situation. Constant vituperation of different
Electronic Medias and Print Medias came into being. Those Medias capitalized
the minimum flaws and shortcomings of the Left Front Government with larger aperture
and brought those to the attention of common people without assigning the
actual reason behind it. Truly speaking, common people hardly understand the
reason and they always seek benefit. Oppositions took this opportunity and
allured common people with unrealistic, false and hyped up promises. These
promises did not have any base to materialize. Yet common people misunderstood
the line of action of the Left Front Government and casted their vote against
anti-incumbency. The Left Front Government was thus toppled. Actually the
result of the Assembly vote reflected negative polling. Common people were
vexed with so-called non dignified party leaderships and they went against the
government to teach a lesson.
Administrative
lapses and indecision are also a vital factor to account for the debacle. The
fruits of different pro-people decisions taken by the Left Front Government are
hijacked in the midway in many cases and it did not reach to the ground level.
There was a steady lacuna on the part of administrative monitoring. Questions
are coming up very honestly what does the administration do if party leaders or
influential directly intervene in the course of action of the administration? The
freedom of administrative work in so many cases got stalled because of
unauthorized intervention of the party leadership. The distribution of benefits
was contaminated with the virus of nepotism. The surveillance of the higher
tire leadership was not at all appropriate. Besides this, people are not ready
to accept in any indecisive action on the part of the left government. When the
highway was obstructed days after days on Singur issue stern administrative
step was required to bulldoze the movement for the greater interest of the
state. If the automobile factory by Tata would have been set up a new message is
sure to go to the industrialists that West Bengal is industry-friendly state
and the doors of the possibilities of industrialization in west Bengal would
have been opened further wider. In this juncture period any kind of indecisive
step is definitely to be condemned. But that was happened. What was the
yardstick of measurement of this strange decision being taken by the
government? There exists a sharp difference between the government led by the
communist party and the government formed by other national or regional parties
of India. People count this difference. When it stands negated people withdraw
their support from that left government out of frustration. Thus it happened.
The
catastrophe in West Bengal does not nullify the importance of an ideologically
resolute left formation to mobilize the strong resistance against the
plundering of our national economy in the term of economic liberalization. The
situation greater collaboration, greater confederation and greater left
orientation to come out from the apparent crisis left thinking. Now it requires
absolute consolidation of left forces. Shaking of all the political prejudices
every left and democratic force should come forward in order to consolidate
their strength against imperialistic force led by the U.S. Imperialism. Different
progressive forces should not be exempted to form greater collaboration. The
CPI(M) Party should take the best initiative to form greater confederation and
greater collaboration of left, democratic and progressive forces without
assigning any “DADAGIRI” (commanding) attitude. Prestige and dignity of the
small parties are definitely to be well protected and well fortified. The
rejuvenation of the left and democratic forces are very much mandatory not for
the welfare of the West Bengal only, but for the nation as a whole. Even
encountering unwanted not unexpected debacle many leaders of the communist
party are consciously not spared of bureaucratic vises. Should the party
organization [C.P.I. (M)] allow it to continue without any restriction being
imposed? I feel that the higher tire party leadership is desperately thinking
to come out of the crisis. Please do come forward. Let us all try to retrieve
the glory of the LEFT & PROGRESSIVE FORCES.
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