A long road ahead

Another new welcome development of this 21st congress of the CPI (M) is that there has been a very much-needed realisation of the importance of social oppression in our country along with class exploitation. Earlier CPI (M) used to brand the struggles of Dalits, minorities, women and regional disparities, for their respective demands and even for identity, as negative features, because of the fact that they disrupt the unity of the working class. Moreover due to some historical, or otherwise reasons, the representation for such socially oppressed castes in the various organisations of the CPI (M) was meager or nil

Any conference of Communist parties, especially that of the CPI (M) is to be judged by two counts: One whether there were serious and analytical self-critical discussions, among the delegates leading to the common united understanding of the party’s Political Tactical Line (PTL); and secondly whether the delegates who gathered there from all over the country were impressed with the arrangements made by the reception committee and inspired by the huge rally and public meeting at the end of the conference.

On both these counts the 21st all India conference of the CPI (M) can be presumed as successful. Usually, the elections for the new Central Committee (CC), Politburo (PB) and especially for the post of General Secretary (GS) do not deserve very much public focus. But in this Visakhapatnam, it assumed significance, most probably by the overenthusiastic media as averred by the CPI (M).

Let us start with the last item of the election of General Secretary. Among the two contenders Ramachandran Pillai of Kerala is much senior by 14 years as a party member to Yechury Sitaram.Pillai was more steeled in the struggle, both on class and mass fronts.

Even before he joined the Central team at Delhi, Sitaram was more exposed to the press, people and party due to his initiatives, dynamism, and intimacy with the then top leadership at the Central office. His tenure as Rajya Sabha member earned him a deserved reputation. Of course, Yechury may not forget Sundarayya’s (PS) experience that it would be rather difficult for anyone to be the General Secretary of the party unless one hailed from one of the strong States i.e., West Bengal and Kerala.

The decision on the draft PTL resolutions, according to informed sources, was not only serious, self-critical but also severely critical of the leadership. Some delegates even expressed their doubts over the leadership’s capabilities in steering the ship of the CPI (M) in the present day troubled political waters. Needless to say that the Central Committee had to do a Herculean task with marathon debates to arrive at a unified common understanding. Here a brief sketch of CPM – its birth, its growth and its decline at present – is not out of place.

The CPM disassociated itself from the united CPI in 1964 blaming the latter as revisionist, collaborating with bourgeoisie Congress party and branding it as a national patriotic bourgeoisie. It envisaged a peoples’ democratic revolution under the leadership of the worker-peasant alliance along with middle classes. Within a decade, Puchalapalli Sundarayya who had been the founder-General Secretary of the CPM started feeling that the politburo leadership of the CPM had been gradually drifting away from the revolutionary path envisaged.

Anyway, the 10th congress of the CPI (M), where PS actively participated as officially its GS, declared the formation of Left and Democratic Front (LDF) with the aid of huge mass struggle by Left and Democratic forces along with strengthening the independent role of the CPI (M). This draft resolution of the 21st congress of CPI (M) accepts without mincing words that the twin tasks of building the LDF and strengthening of the independent role of the CPI (M) were given the ‘go-by’ in due course under the pretext of the then prevailing conditions or urgency and that they gradually settled for a ‘third electoral alternative’ at the Center.

It was a wide shift from a revolutionary throwing out the exploiting class state to the present slogan of a third electoral alternative government at the Center to both the UPA headed by Congress and the NDA lead by BJP! To be frank, this posture is nothing short of giving up revolutionary line in favour of a pragmatic and electoral parliamentary path. Of course, after realising their ideological blunder, the present conference again switched over to the good old twin tasks of the 10th congress.

This attitude of accepting the failure and accepting the correct path is no easy task and CPI (M) is to be complimented. But it is too premature to declare the future of the CPI (M) this way or that way, since it pursued wrong approach for three decades, which gave it a severe setback. Only tireless dedication can set right this fall, and it is hoped that the CPI (M) will regain its past glory, influence, reputation and representation in electoral bodies to show alternatives.

Though the merger of various Communist outfits, especially of the two parties of CPI and CPI (M), was postponed to a distant future by the CPI (M), it expressed its eagerness to build the unity among the Left forces and parties, with all the required earnestness. Given the ground realities, so far that task is not as easy as said, since a lot of ground is to be covered to overcome various misunderstandings and misgivings apart from overcoming egos, inter party rivalries, etc.

But the very desire to fight unitedly for the cause of the working class and the people itself is to be hailed, since to an extent this effort is exhibited in both the congresses of CPI and CPI (M). Moreover there is a strong pressure exerted by the sympathisers of both the parties and Left-oriented individuals.Another new welcome development of this 21st congress of the CPI (M) is that there has been a very much-needed realisation of the importance of social oppression in our country along with class exploitation.

Earlier CPI (M) used to brand the struggles of Dalits, minorities, women and regional disparities, for their respective demands and even for identity, as negative features, because of the fact that they disrupt the unity of the working class. Moreover due to some historical, or otherwise reasons, the representation for such socially oppressed castes in the various organisations of the CPI (M) was meager or nil.

A teacher who did his PhD on the political influence of these downtrodden sections in various parties in 1985 came to the conclusion that it is the least in CPI (M) and its secretariat is full of upper caste members. This situation created an avoidable gulf between the Communists in general – CPI (M) in particular – and those peoples’ movements of socially oppressed.

“This dichotomy between class and social movements should be given up and without synchronising both these types of struggles, Communists cannot reach out to all the exploited and oppressed sections of our people.” This realisation is a fresh welcome development of this 21st congress of CPI (M).

So far so good! The CPI (M) also realised this disastrous consequence of parliamentarianism and the electoral honeymoon with the bourgeoisie parties such as TDP here in AP. So CPI (M) should rule out any such electoral alliances with bourgeoisie parties at national level. This also is not a small correction. Anyway, drawing up a correct line is to be applied with dedication and revolutionary zeal.

Tail Piece: Perhaps inadvertently Com. Sitaram in his public speech, quoting the Aswamedha Yaga undertaken by Lord Rama in Ramayana, compared Narendra Modi to Rama and the workers and peasants to the twin sons of Rama – Lava and Kusa! Queer indeed.

(The author is a noted Marxist from AP and can be reached on Ph: 9848069720)

By Dr A P Vittal