CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury on Friday presented the draft resolution on some ideological issues which deals with a range of issues, including crisis in capitalist countries, reforms in socialist countries, caste based mobilisation and gender issues. The resolution examines the process of reforms initiated by the socialist countries including Cuba and China. “While the Chinese consistent 10 per cent plus growth rate over three decades is unprecedented, this process has brought to the fore adverse changes in production relations and social relations,’’ it said adding that the future of reforms will depend on how these contradictions are dealt with. The ideological resolution lays stress on the parliamentary and extra parliamentary struggles. It cautions against deviations like neglecting extra parliamentary struggles or negate the role of parliamentary struggles. It also analyses the challenges posed by identity politics and the activities of foreign-funded NGOs, particularly the challenges posed by identity politics based on political mobilisation of caste. It underlines, “The CPI(M) stand is based on the recognition that there is both class exploitation and social oppression in society. Given the socio-economic formation in our country, class exploitation both capitalist and semi-feudal exists along with various forms of social oppression based on caste, race and gender.” The discussions on the report will continue on Saturday and Mr Yechury will reply to the points raised by the delegates. (courtsey : Ganashakti)

I am reproducing an article on Bhagat Singh, the martyr and icon of  the Independence struggle, written by Dr. st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
Bhagat Singh – Revolutionary Thinker and Not Just a Martyr

ON March 23, 1931, Bhagat Singh was hanged to death along with two of his comrades for waging war against the colonial State. Bhagat Singh had been valorised for his martyrdom, and rightly so, but in the ensuing enthusiasm most of us forget, or consciously ignore his contributions as an intellectual and a thinker. He not only sacrificed his life, like many did before him and also after him, but he also had a vision of independentIndia. During the past few years, it has almost become a routine to appropriate Bhagat Singh as a nationalist icon, while not much is talked about his nationalist vision. Even Dinesh Trivedi invoked Bhagat Singh while talking about his commitment to the nation over his political party. It sounds good, but Bhagat Singh was not just a patriot, with a passionate commitment to his nation, he was a visionary, with a clear perception of independentIndia.

The body of serious writings, philosophical, thought-provoking and critical, which Bhagat Singh has left behind, would place him in the ranks of Keats and Shelley who died as young. Unfortunately, romantic poetry puts you on a pedestal, whereas hard words, painfully true words, which questions society and systems are too uncomfortable to remember. Bhagat Singh not only set high standards as a great martyr, he also left behind a rich legacy as a journalist who worked for Kirti, Arjun and Pratap, well known papers of their times. Hardly anything is known about his vocation as a scribe and the issues he dealt with in his articles. These focused on the various aspects of the nationalist struggle, combating communalism, untouchability, students and politics, universal brotherhood etc.

Bhagat Singh did not merely wish to freeIndiafrom colonial bondage but dreamt of independentIndia, which would be egalitarian and secular. This was reflected in his revolutionary activities as well as in his commitment as a sensitive journalist. I will refer briefly to both his vocations and intellectual commitments.

A VORACIOUS READER

Before I share with you some of his journalistic writings  aboutIndiaof his dreams, let me point out that Bhagat Singh was a voracious reader, who read anything new which was published on poverty, religion, society and global struggle against imperialisms. He seriously debated and discussed what he read and also wrote extensively on issues of caste, communalism and conditions of the working class and peasantry.

The profundity of his ideas on some of the above mentioned issues is visible in his regular columns in Kirti, Pratap and other papers. In an article on “Religion and our freedom struggle” published in Kirti in May 1928, Bhagat Singh grappled with the role of religion in politics, an issue that haunts us even today. He talked of Tolstoy’s division of religion into three parts: essentials of religion, philosophy of religion and rituals of religion. He concluded that if religion means blind faith by mixing rituals with philosophy, then it should be blown away immediately but if we can combine essentials with some philosophy then religion may be a meaningful idea. He felt that ritualism of religions had divided us into touchables and untouchables and these narrow and divisive religions can’t bring about actual unity among people. For us freedom should not mean mere end of British colonialism, our complete freedom implies living together happily without caste and religious barriers. Bhagat Singh needs to be invoked even today to bring about changes he yearned for. Expressing his anguish in the second article, he held some of the political leaders and the press responsible for inciting communalism. He believed that “there were a few sincere leaders, but their voice is easily swept away by the rising wave of communalism. In terms of political leadership,India had gone totally bankrupt”.

Bhagat Singh felt that journalism used to be a noble profession, which had now fallen from grace. Now they give bold and sensational headlines to incite people to kill each other in the name of religion. There were riots at several places simply because the local press behaved irresponsibly and indulged in rabble-rousing through their articles. Not much seems to have changed since Bhagat Singh wrote these lines. He categorically spelt out the duties of  journalists and then also accused them of dereliction of  this duty.  He wrote that “the real duty of the newspapers is to educate, to cleanse the minds of people, to save them from narrow sectarian divisiveness, and to eradicate communal feelings to promote the idea of common nationalism. Instead, their main objective seems to be spreading ignorance, preaching and propagating sectarianism and chauvinism, communalising people’s minds leading to the destruction of our composite culture and shared heritage”.

CONCERN FORDEPRIVED SECTIONS

In the June 1928 issue of the Kirti, Bhagat Singh wrote two articles titled Achoot ka Sawaal (On Untouchability) and Sampradayik Dange aur unka Ilaj (Communal riots and their solutions). What Bhagat Singh wrote in 1928   looks relevant even today, which unfortunately proves how precious little has been done to resolve these questions. In the first piece, Bhagat Singh starts by saying that “our country is unique where six crore citizens are called untouchables and their mere touch defiles the upper castes. Gods get enraged if they enter the temples. It is shameful that such things are being practised in the twentieth century. We claim to be a spiritual country but hesitate to accept equality of all human beings while materialistEurope is talking of revolution since centuries. They had proclaimed equality during the American and French revolutions. However, we are still debating whether the untouchable is entitled for the sacred thread or can he read the Vedas or not. We are chagrined about discrimination against Indians in foreign lands, and whine that the English do not give us equal rights inIndia. Given our conduct, Bhagat Singh wondered, do we really have any right to complain about such matters?”

He also seriously engaged with the possible solutions to this malaise. The first decision for all of us should be “that we start believing that we all are born equal and our vocation, as well, need not divide us. If someone is born in a sweeper’s family that does not mean that he/she has to continue in the family profession cleaning shit all his life, with no right to participate in any developmental work”.

For him, this discrimination was directly responsible for conversions, which was a burning issue even in the 1920s. Despite his anti-colonialist fervour, he did not just condemn the  missionaries nor did he instigate Hindus to kill and burn all those who had accepted the new faith. He wrote self-critically “If you treat them worst than animals then they will surely join other religions where they will get more rights and will be treated like human beings. In this situation, it will be futile to accuse Christianity and Islam of harming Hinduism”. Bhagat Singh was convinced that “no one would be forced or tempted to change faith if the age old inequalities are removed and we sincerely start believing that we are all equal and none is different either due to birth or vocation”

Bhagat Singh institutionalised his thinking, when he founded the Naujawan Bharat Sabha in 1926 in Lahore, which was also a public platform for the otherwise secret group of revolutionaries. He saw to it that the Sabha remains above petty religious politics of the times. It is all the more important because the 1920s saw the emergence of the RSS and the tableeghi jamaat, leading to intense communal polarisation. But here was a group of young men who were thinking differently. They asked the member before enrolment  “to sign a pledge that he would place the interests of his country above those of his community”. Even Lala Lajpat Rai, the eminent pillar of extremist nationalism inIndia could not escape from the scathing criticism of the Sabha when he joined hands with the Hindu Mahasabha leaders. Rai was dubbed as a traitor by Kedar Nath Sehgal in a pamphlet “An Appeal to Young Punjab” while Lajpat Rai responded by calling Bhagat Singh a Russian agent who wanted to make him into a Lenin.

Bhagat Singh and his Sabha regarded communal amity as central to their political agenda but like the Congress, it did not believe either in the appeasement of all religions or in raising such slogans as Allah o Akbar, Sat Sri Akal and Bande Mataram to prove their secularism. On the contrary, they raised just two slogans, Inquilab Zindabad and Hindustan Zindabad, hailing the revolution and the country. Bhagat Singh questioned the policy of encouraging competing communalisms, which ultimately led to the partition of the country in 1947. He stands out in bold relief as a modern national leader and thinker emphasising the separation of religion from politics and State as true secularism. We should remember Bhagat Singh with pride and reflect on the alternative framework of governance he had in mind where social and economic justice — and not terrorism or violence – would be supreme. His commitment to socialism may not appear very attractive in the changing era of globalisation, yet his concern for the socio-economically deprived sections still commands attention. Moreover, his passionate desire to rise above narrow caste and religious considerations was never as crucial as it is today.

Thus, Bhagat Singh and his comrades have not left behind an easy legacy, which can simply be ceremoniously commemorated by anyone. They have bequeathed us an unfinished task of nation building, where no caste, class or religious barriers will ever exist.

Irfan Habib.

Addressing a function here, the CEC spoke in favour of reforms like auditing the accounts of political parties and ensuring that donations given to them are subject to checks but claimed there was resistance from political parties on these issues.

He said the biggest challenge for the Indian democracy is criminalisation of politics and black money.

“Criminals in politics and use of black money during elections are an embarrassment. Due to these two factors India is not able to become the greatest democracy in the world,” he said.

“Two basic reforms for the political parties I think would be that their transactions be made by cheque and their accounts should be audit by independent accountants appointed by the Election Commission of India,” Mr. Quraishi said.

He said that a discussion is needed to arrive at a conclusion on these issues as there is resistance from political parties.

On right to recall, he said, “It sounds good, but it not a practical idea. There are so many disgruntled people who can manipulate it. We all know how easy it to collect signatures against a particular candidate.”

Mr. Quraishi said that the idea is not feasible as, “Political parties are facing elections after an interval of every two or so years. For example, Samajwadi Party would be gearing up to face the voters for Lok Sabha election in 2014 again, which is much before its five year term.”

It was a pleasure to meet Comrade Hardev Bains again. He is the secretary of the CPI(M) Branch in London. When I went last to London in 2010 to visit my son there, I met Com. Bains on the advice of Com. M.K.Pandhe. Com. Bians was very hospitable. He took me to his home and we had breakfast together. Then he took me to many areas, where Indians are large numbers and explained about the lives and problems of the Indian community. There are a large number of indians, Pakistanis, Africans etc. in that area. In fact, people from most of the countries, which Britain subjugated earlier.

Com.Bains has now come to Calicut to attend the 20th Party Congress of CPI(M). I was happy to meet him again and we had very friendly talk.

Addressing a function here, the CEC spoke in favour of reforms like auditing the accounts of political parties and ensuring that donations given to them are subject to checks but claimed there was resistance from political parties on these issues.

He said the biggest challenge for the Indian democracy is criminalisation of politics and black money.

“Criminals in politics and use of black money during elections are an embarrassment. Due to these two factors India is not able to become the greatest democracy in the world,” he said.

“Two basic reforms for the political parties I think would be that their transactions be made by cheque and their accounts should be audit by independent accountants appointed by the Election Commission of India,” Mr. Quraishi said.

He said that a discussion is needed to arrive at a conclusion on these issues as there is resistance from political parties.

On right to recall, he said, “It sounds good, but it not a practical idea. There are so many disgruntled people who can manipulate it. We all know how easy it to collect signatures against a particular candidate.”

Mr. Quraishi said that the idea is not feasible as, “Political parties are facing elections after an interval of every two or so years. For example, Samajwadi Party would be gearing up to face the voters for Lok Sabha election in 2014 again, which is much before its five year term.”

Sensing an opportunity in national politics, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Wednesday saw the emergence of Left and democratic forces as an alternative to occupy the space being created by the failure of coalitions led by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. “The recent political developments showed the failure of the two combinations – the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) and the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) – to consolidate. The Assembly elections to the five States have reflected this trend. As more and more, the bankruptcy and venality of the present order becomes apparent, the people are looking for an alternative…[and] can be provided only by the Left and democratic forces”, party general secretary Prakash Karat said in his inaugural address at the 20th Party Congress in Kozhikode. Taking on the Congress and the BJP for pursuing neo-liberalism, he said there is little to choose between either party on corruption, considering the alleged nexus of the BJP-led Karnataka government with mining mafia and the Congress-led Central government with the 2G spectrum allocation scandal. While endorsing the need for an effective Lokpal Bill to curb corruption among public servants, he said the fight should also be directed against the neo-liberal regime. He promised that the CPI(M) will bring in a whole range of measures including electoral reforms to help curb money power in politics. The party and its leadership is clear that the brick and mortar for an alternative would come from first strengthening CPI(M) – expanding its base and influence across the country, working for Left unity – and then rallying other democratic forces to prepare a Left and democratic platform that can challenge the existing political arrangement. The futility of the Congress and the BJP to convert the national political arena into a two-party system was underscored by veteran Communist leader A.B. Bardhan, who said the people were not ‘falling prey’ to such an attempt. In his speech, Mr. Karat mentioned losses in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, but refrained from reiterating reasons behind it. He said the party has examined and identified the shortcomings in the political and organisational sphere and taken steps to correct them. He said the party had a solid mass base in West Bengal and was willing to counter the violence unleashed against its workers and supporters. On the ideological clarity the Congress seeks to give to the party, Mr. Karat said: “The CPI(M) has always believed in applying Marxism-Leninism to concrete conditions of India, to chalk out its revolutionary path. We have never tried to emulate models abroad. We have to constantly update our ideological understanding and equip ourselves to meet the challenges of the contemporary era”. Starting Wednesday, the party over the next five days will discuss draft political, ideological and organisation issues. The last session is slated to discuss for the first time an amendment to its Constitution setting a three-term limit for members, who occupy the post of secretary from the local to central committee level.  (courtsey: Ganashakti)

The first Communist Ministry in Kerala was formed on 5th April 1957 with Com. EMS Namboodiripad as Chief Minister. The Government introduced and passed  a lot of important legislations on land reforms, education etc.

That Government was one of the best government Kerala has ever seen. But the Central Government could not tolerate even a state being under the rule of another party. It tried all tricks to get some MLAs to defect from the government, but utterly failed even to get one MLA. At last with the money from USA etc. as also the support of the religious leaders and disgruntled elements, organised a ‘Vimochan Samaram’, but even then nothing could happen. At last the Central Government misusing its draconian poers dismissed it on flimsy gropunds.

But again after a few years Communissts got elected and formed another Communist ministry. Whether winning or losing in the elections, it is is the single biggest party in Kerala.