10 thoughts on “AAP ಮತ್ತು ಕಮ್ಯುನಿಷ್ಟರು : ಮಾರ್ಕ್ಸ್ ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ಸರಿ”

1. Ananda Prasad January 4, 2014 at 12:32 pm

   ಸಮತಾವಾದ (ಕಮ್ಯುನಿಸಂ)ದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲವು ಗಂಭೀರ ಲೋಪಗಳು ಇವೆ. ಇಲ್ಲದೇ ಹೋಗಿದ್ದರೆ ಸಮತಾವಾದಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯು ಸೋವಿಯತ್ ಯೂನಿಯನ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಸಿಯುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಮತ್ತು ಬಹುತೇಕ ಪ್ರಪಂಚದ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಗಳಿಂದ ಮಾಯವಾಗುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಸಮತಾವಾದಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯು ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದ ಮೌಲ್ಯಗಳಾದ ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಹಾಗೂ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಕಿತ್ತುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದು ಅಂತಿಮವಾಗಿ ಇಡೀ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯೇ ಕುಸಿಯುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಬಂಡವಾಳಶಾಹಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯು ಸಮತಾವಾದಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯಂತೆ ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ಹಾಗೂ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಕಿತ್ತುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಇಂದು ನಾವು ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಹಲವು ಹೊಸ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ, ಆವಿಷ್ಕಾರಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಂಡವಾಳಶಾಹಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯು ಪ್ರೇರಕವಾಗಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಇಂದು ಅತೀ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಉಪಯೋಗಕಾರಿಯಾದ ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದ ಹಲವು ಆವಿಷ್ಕಾರಗಳು ಬಂಡವಾಳಶಾಹಿ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಗಳು ಜಗತ್ತಿಗೆ ನೀಡಿದ ಕೊಡುಗೆಯಾಗಿವೆ ಮತ್ತು ಇವುಗಳು ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಉಚಿತವಾಗಿ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಲು ಲಭ್ಯವಾಗಿಸಿವೆ. ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗೆ ಗೂಗಲ್, ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ, ವೆಬ್ ಬ್ರೌಸರ್ಗಳು, ಯೂಟ್ಯೂಬ್, ಫೇಸ್ಬುಕ್ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ. ಸಮತಾವಾದಿ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಜಗತ್ತಿಗೆ ಉಪಯೋಗಕಾರಿಯಾದ ಮಹತ್ತರ ಆವಿಷ್ಕಾರಗಳು ಆಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಬಂಡವಾಳಶಾಹಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯೊಳಗೆ ಆದರ್ಶಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರೇರಿಸುವ ಕೆಲಸ ಇಂದು ಜಗತ್ತಿನಾದ್ಯಂತ ಆಗಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ. ಇನ್ನು ಮುಂದೆಯೂ ಸಮತಾವಾದ ಜಗತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಯಶಸ್ವಿಯಾಗುವ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲ. ಮಾನವನು ಸಮತಾವಾದದ ಆದರ್ಶಗಳನ್ನು ಅರಗಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಷ್ಟು ಮನೋವಿಕಾಸ ಹೊಂದಿಲ್ಲ. ಸರಾಸರಿ ಮನುಷ್ಯರು (average human beings) ಸಮತಾವಾದವನ್ನು ಯಶಸ್ವಿಗೊಳಿಸುವಷ್ಟು ವಿಕಾಸ ಹೊಂದಿಲ್ಲ. ಇದನ್ನು ಯಶಸ್ವಿಗೊಳಿಸಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಬಹುತೇಕ (majority) ಜನತೆ ಮನೋವಿಕಾಸ ಹೊಂದಿರಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಂಥ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಮಾನವ ಜನಾಂಗ ಇನ್ನೂ ತಲುಪಿಲ್ಲ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ ಇನ್ನೂ ಹಲವಾರು ಸಾವಿರಾರು ವರ್ಷಗಳವರೆಗೂ ಆ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಮಾನವ ಜನಾಂಗ ತಲುಪುವ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆ ಕಂಡುಬರುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ.

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2. Umesh January 4, 2014 at 12:43 pm

   ಶ್ರೀಪಾದಭಟ್,

   ಯೂರೋಪಿನ ಪ್ರಖರ ಚಿಂತಕ Bertrand Russell ತನ್ನ In Praise of Idleness ಗ್ರಂಥದಲ್ಲಿ communismನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿಸ್ತೃತವಾಗಿ ವಿಮರ್ಶಿಸಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಆ ಪುಸ್ತಕದಿಂದ ಆಯ್ದ ಕೆಲವು (೮ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಪಾಯಿಂಟಗಳಿಂದ) ವಿಚಾರ ಹೀಗಿದೆ –

   (In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell, Unwin Books, second impression 1962, page 70)

   1. I cannot accept Marx’s theory of value, nor yet, in his form, the theory of surplus value. The theory that the exchange value of a commodity is proportional to the labour involved in its production,which Marx took over from Ricardo, is shown to be false by Ricardo’s theory of rent, and has long been abandoned by all non-Marxian economists. The theory of surplus value rests upon Malthu’s theory of population, which Marx elsewhere rejects…..

   4. Communism is not democratic. What it calls the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ is in fact the dictatorship of a small minority, who become an oligarchic governing class. All history shows that government is always conducted in the interests of the governing class, except in so far as it is influenced by fear of losing power. This is the teaching, not only of history, but of Marx. The governing class in a Communist state has even more power than the capitalist class in a ‘democratic’ State. So long as it retains the loyalty of the armed forces, it can use its power to obtain for itself advantages quite harmful as those of capitalists. To suppose that it will always act for general good is mere foolish idealism, and is contrary to Marxian political psychology.

   5. Communism restricts liberty, particularly intellectual liberty….

   8. There is so much of hate in Marx, and in Communism that Communists can hardly be expected when victorious to establish a regime affording no outlet for malevolence.

   ನೀವು ಹೇಳಿರುವ ಸರಳತೆ ಕೇವಲ ಒಂದು ತೋರಿಕೆ ಮಾತ್ರ, ಮತ್ತು ಆ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಬಲವಂತ ಹೇರಿಕೆ. ಪಕ್ಷವು ಬಡವರ ಪರ ಅಂತಾದರೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಮಾರ್ಕ್ಸ್ವಾದಿಗಳು ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಬಂಗಾಳದ ನಂದಿಗ್ರಾಮದಲ್ಲಿ, , ಬಂಡವಾಳಶಾಹಿ ಪರವಾಗಿ ನಿಂತು, ಬಡ ರೈತರ ನರಮೇಧ ನಡೆಸಿದರು? ಇದು ಒಂದು ಉದಾಹರಣೆ ಮಾತ್ರ. ಕೇರಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಇವರು ನಡೆಸುವ ಹತ್ಯಾಕಾಂಡಗಳು ಯಾಕಾಗಿ?

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3. Ahamed January 4, 2014 at 12:44 pm

   ಭಾರತದ ಜೆ.ಪಿ ಚಳುವಳಿ, ಪ್ರಫುಲ್ಲ ಕುಮಾರನ ಎ.ಜಿ.ಪಿ ಎ.ಎ.ಪಿಯ ಘೋಷಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡೇ ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಪರ್ಯಾಯವಾಗಿ ಹಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು ಆ ಯಾವ ಚಳುವಳಿಗೂ ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಚಿಂತನೆಗಳಾಗಲಿ, ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ-ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಧೃಷ್ಠಿಕೋನಗಳಾಗಲಿ, ಅಂತರ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಪಾಲಿಸಿಗಳಾಗಲಿ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಕೇವಲ ಸ್ಥಳೀಯ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯ ಅಸಮದಾನದ ಕೂಸುಗಳು ಮಾತ್ರವೇ ಆಗಿದ್ದವು. ಎ.ಎ.ಪಿ ಹೊಸ ಅಸಮದಾನದ ಭರವಸೆ ಅಷ್ಟೆ ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಅದನ್ನು ನಮ್ಮಂತವರು ಗೌರವಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ ಆದರೆ ಆ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಮೇಲಿನ ಮೂರೂ ನಿಲುವು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಠವಿಲ್ಲ ಮಾಥ್ರವಲ್ಲ ಈ ಪಕ್ಷ ಕಾರ್ಪೋರೇಟ್ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯನ್ನು ಬೆಂಬಲಿಸುತ್ತದೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಸಂವಿಧಾನದ ಪ್ರಜಾಸತ್ತಾತ್ಮಕ ಮೌಲ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಗಟ್ಟಿಯಾಗಿ ಧ್ವನಿಸುವುದೇ ಇಲ್ಲ ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಬಾಳಿಕೆ ಆ ಎರಡರಂತೆಯೇ.

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   1. Ananda Prasad January 4, 2014 at 2:38 pm

      ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಚಿಂತನೆಗಳು ಇಂದು ಇಲ್ಲ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ ಅವು ಯಶಸ್ವಿಯಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಸಮತಾವಾದಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯೂ ಇಂದು ಉದಾರೀಕರಣ, ಜಾಗತೀಕರಣಕ್ಕೆ ತೆರೆದುಕೊಂಡಿದೆ (ಉದಾ: ಚೀನಾ). ಬಂಡವಾಳಶಾಹಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯೇ (ಅಥವಾ ಕಾರ್ಪೋರೇಟ್) ಇಂದು ಹೆಚ್ಚುಕಡಿಮೆ ಪ್ರಪಂಚದ ಬಹುತೇಕ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವುದು. ಭಾರತವೂ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಒಗ್ಗಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಸಹಜವಾಗಿಯೇ ಆಮ್ ಆದ್ಮಿ ಪಕ್ಷವೂ ಅದನ್ನೇ ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ಹಾಗೆಂದು ಇದು ಬಂಡವಾಳಶಾಹಿ ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರ ಹಾಗೂ ಅನೈತಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಬೆಂಬಲಿಸುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ಇದುವರೆಗೆ ಕಂಡುಬಂದಿದೆ. ದೆಹಲಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅದು ೭೦೦ ಲೀಟರ್ ಉಚಿತ ನೀರು ಹಾಗೂ ಅರ್ಧ ಬೆಲೆಗೆ ವಿದ್ಯುತ್ ನೀಡುವ ಕ್ರಮ ಕೈಗೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ಇದು ಬಂಡವಾಳಶಾಹಿ ಲಾಭಕೊರತನವನ್ನು ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಸುವಂತೆ ಕಂಡುಬರುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಬಂಡವಾಳಶಾಹಿಗಳು ಒಂದು ಸೀಮಿತ ಲಾಭಾಂಶವನ್ನು ಉದ್ಯಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ತಪ್ಪಲ್ಲ. ಉದ್ಯಮವನ್ನು ಬೆಳೆಸಲು, ಯಶಸ್ವಿಯಾಗಿ ನಡೆಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗಲು ಇದು ಅಗತ್ಯ. ಆಮ್ ಆದ್ಮಿ ಪಕ್ಷವು ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಕೋನವನ್ನು ಹಾಗೂ ವಿದೇಶ ವ್ಯವಹಾರ ನೀತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟೇ ಬೆಳೆಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳ ಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಇಂಥ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಕೋನವನ್ನು ಬೆಳೆಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಜನಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರು ತಮ್ಮ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ನೀಡಬಹುದಾಗಿದೆ. ಜನತೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ವಿಚಾರವಿಮರ್ಷೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಅದನ್ನು ಅಳವಡಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ನೀತಿಯನ್ನು ಪಕ್ಷವು ಹೊಂದಿರುವುದು ಒಂದು ಉತ್ತಮ ಅಂಶ. ಇದುವರೆಗಿನ ಆಮ್ ಆದ್ಮಿ ಪಕ್ಷದ ನಡವಳಿಕೆಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡುವಾಗ ಪಕ್ಷವು ಸರಿಯಾದ ದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಅಧಿಕಾರವು ಯಾವುದೇ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಅಹಂಕಾರಿಯನ್ನಾಗಿ, ದೊಡ್ಡಸ್ತಿಕೆಯ, ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠೆಯ ಗುಲಾಮನನ್ನಾಗಿ ಮಾಡುವ ಗುಣ ಹೊಂದಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ಆಮ್ ಆದ್ಮಿ ಪಕ್ಷವನ್ನೂ ಜನರೇ ಸರಿಯಾದ ದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಗುವಂತೆ ಕಾಲಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಇದೆ. ಪಕ್ಷವು ದಾರಿ ತಪ್ಪಿದಾಗ ಅದನ್ನು ಸರಿದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಗುವಂತೆ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳು ನೋಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ.

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4. Gn Nagaraj January 4, 2014 at 1:32 pm

   ಫೇಸ್ ಬುಕ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತು ಖಾಸಗಿ ಮಾತುಕತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬಂದ ಪ್ರತಿಕ್ರಿಯೆಗಳಿಂದ ಪ್ರಚೋದಿತರಾಗಿ ಶ್ರೀಪಾದ್ ಭಟ್ ಈ ಲೇಖನ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ .ಅವರ ಕಳಕಳಿಗೆ ಸ್ವಾಗತ .ಫೇಸ್ ಬುಕ್ ಕಾಮೆಂಟ್ ಗಳನ್ನು ನಾನು ನೋಡಲಾಗಿಲ್ಲ.ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮೇಲಿರುವ ಕಾಮೆಂಟ್ ಗಳು ಹಾಗೂ ಶ್ರೀಪಾದ ಭಟ್ ರವರ ಲೇಖನವೂ ಕೆಲವು ಮುಖ್ಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಎತ್ತಿವೆ. ಇವುಗಳಿಗೆ ಪ್ರತಿಕ್ರಿಸಲು ಒಂದು ಲೇಖನವೇ ಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ. ಒಂದೆರಡು ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಬರಲಿರುವ ಕಾಮೆಂಟಗಳನ್ನೂ ಸೇರಿಸಿ ಪ್ರತಿಕ್ರಿಸುವುದು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು ಎಂದು ನನ್ನ ಭಾವನೆ.ಚರ್ಚೆ ಸ್ವಾಗತಾರ್ಹ.

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5. B.Sripad Bhat January 4, 2014 at 3:46 pm

   ಅರ್ವಲ್ ನ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ “1984” ಎಂದಿರಬೇಕಿತ್ತು.” 1948” ಎಂದು ತಪ್ಪಾಗಿ ಟೈಪ್ ಆಗಿದೆ.ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ.

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6. Umesh January 4, 2014 at 4:29 pm

   ಸಂಪದ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾರ್ಜ್ ಆರ್ವೆಲ್ ನ “ಅನಿಮಲ್ ಫಾರ್ಮ್” (Animal Farm) ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಕುರಿತು ಒಂದು ಲೇಖನ ಇವತ್ತು ಪ್ರಕಟವಾಗಿದೆ. ಆ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಕುರಿತು ಲೇಖಕರು ಈ ರೀತಿ ಬರೆದ್ದಿದ್ದಾರೆ –

   “.. 1945ರಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಕಟವಾದ ಇ೦ಗ್ಲಿಷ ಕಾದ೦ಬರಿಕಾರ ಜಾರ್ಜ್ ಆರ್ವೆಲ್ ನ ಕಾದ೦ಬರಿ ’ಅನಿಮಲ್ ಫಾರ್ಮ್’ನ ಸ೦ಕ್ಷಿಪ್ತ ಸಾರಾ೦ಶವಿದು.ರಷ್ಯನ್ನರ ಸಮತಾವಾದ ಮತ್ತು ಜೊಸೆಫ್ ಸ್ಟಾಲಿನ್ ರನ್ನು ಗುರಿಯಾಗಿಸಿಕೊ೦ಡು ರಚಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ ಈ ಕಾದ೦ಬರಿ ಕೆಲಕಾಲ ಕಮ್ಯುನಿಸ್ಟ್ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಷೇಧಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿತ್ತು.ಕಾಲ್ಪನಿಕ ಕಾದ೦ಬರಿಯೇ ಆಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಕಮ್ಯುನಿಸ್ಟರ ವಿಫಲತೆಗಳನ್ನು,ಬಲಹೀನತೆಗಳನ್ನು ’ಅನಿಮಲ್ ಫಾರ್ಮ್’ನ೦ತೆ ಎಳೆ ಎಳೆಯಾಗಿ ಬಿಡಿಸಿಟ್ಟ ರಾಜಕೀಯದ ವಿಡ೦ಬನಾತ್ಮಕ ಕೃತಿ ಬಹುಶ; ಇನ್ನೊ೦ದಿರಲಾರದು…”

   ಲೇಖನ:

   ಆರ್ವೇಲ್ ನ ಕಾದ೦ಬರಿ ’ಎನಿಮಲ್ ಫಾರ್ಮ್’ನೊಳಗೊ೦ದು ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಭಾರತವನ್ನು ಕಾಣುತ್ತ…

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7. suresh G Deshapnde. January 4, 2014 at 9:05 pm

   I was part of a socialist forum and had campaigned for one decade on these issues. Today also I feel, out of this globalization what has happened? Majority of the countries have become weak. soviet Russia became a collapsed economy. India though has strong foundations is reeling under pressure. The challenges are many fold. The solutions are rare.Indian country has one more vicious cycle that is belief in corrupt practices. Corruption has become rampant. Even one has to bribe for cremating the dead or to obtain a death or birth certificate. The capitalism has found a new base but it is also facing challenges. A pizza which may have a production cost of say Rs.100 is sold for Rs 350 etc. This type of consumerism cannot last long. a biscuit packet which cost 1 rupee went to 5 rupees. Now the rate remains same but the quantity has gone down from 100 g to 40g.
   You cannot hide these realities for long. Why did foreign Insurance comapnies went back. No one protested them. At the entry there was resistance but in the process they found that the viability is not possible under prevailing situations.
   One side FDI limit has gone up and other side there is no FDI at all. These are the realities. Pharmaceutical industry is captured by the multinationals on one side and on the other doctors have started to recieve money and prescribe sub standard medicines. This is the emergent picture.
   Only one conclusion can be drawn whether you live in flat or bunglow or hut the basic needs remain the same. Exploitation has been a face of human race. Once it was on knowledge and power now on market
   when you look the picture it appers like a kaleidoscope presentation.so long as one remains within the basic needs he is free from tensions. Dominos would sell pizza but not haravi palle. What is needed by me? If liquor costs1000 or cigarette costs 20 till you do not use them you are free from all that.
   Similar is the position of globalization. Teach our people to live within their range. One day these multinationals would go without any sound. The proponents of the model would also become poor.But today the world has moved from prosperity to poverty for majority. Exploitative class may be enjoying but it is not permanent.
   Bhagavad geeta says AAgama anitya tan titikshasva bharata.
   No ism dies so also marxism. With time it may become less radiant or more radiant but both are passing phases. This world can cater to the needs of its creation but not the greed. Whether it is aam admi or marxism or the religious foundations, they have preached peaceful existence with minimal requirements. Globalization preaches maximum utilization and go for that and end up in turmoil….

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8. suresh G Deshapnde. January 4, 2014 at 9:15 pm

   In the above article there is one error. Second para- Why did foreign Insurance companies go back? It is typed as went back.Iregret for the error committed.

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9. vageesh January 5, 2014 at 3:15 pm

   Left parties should update otherwise aam admi party will fill that gap. please read this article.

   Why The Left is not Right About Mass Movements
   LEFT PARTIES LOOKED DOWN AT THE JP MOVEMENT They were too late in grasping North India’s caste dynamics and continue to remain fidgety about striking pacts with like-minded outfits such as AAP. Result: they’re shrinking as an electoral force

   At Arvind Kejriwal’s swearing-in last week, a few of the hundreds of banners that floated against the sky in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan were in Malayalam, brandished by groups of enthusiastic young men from Kerala, where CPM is looking to improve its Lok Sabha tally in 2014 to retain its national party status. In the previous general election, the Left bloc won a historical low of 24 seats, and the two key constituents, CPM and the CPI, almost lost their national party status. The Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has now emerged as a non-Congress, non-BJP alternative in Delhi. And the new worry is: thanks to its socialist rhetoric, will AAP eat into the Left’s vote base in its strongholds? Not in the near future anyway, feels University of Delhi professor Achin Vanaik, who has closely followed the Left’s political trajectory. Pradeep Chhibber, political science professor at University of California, Berkeley, says AAP poses a bigger threat to the Congress than any other party. AAP is challenging the Congress’ centrist narrative, he notes. Yet, what comes to the fore whenever a new entity successfully taps into the fear and trauma of the have-nots is the Left’s repeated failure at expanding its presence beyond three states: Kerala, Tripura and West Bengal. Which is perhaps why CPM general secretary Prakash Karat is now being asked the question, are you ceding political turf to AAP? Of course, all is not well in these states. In West Bengal CPM was thrown out of power in 2012 after 34 years of uninterrupted rule; in Kerala factionalism has dented the image of its leaders despite being in the opposition; in Tripura, the only state the Left is in power, a local leader was recently expelled after sleeping on a bed of cash, and incidents of corruption abound.
   Reluctant Politicians
   Karat was at his perfunctory best when he answered the question, in a recent interview to a television channel. He praised AAP for its poll win, but said he was closely watching to see if it emerges as “serious” political alternative. Several of his colleagues respond differently, giving away the frustration of not being able to do what AAP has done, in Delhi. They are also upset that from the Left’s Lok Sabha tally of 61 in 2004 – a historical high – it lost “so much of its clout” within five years. A CPM central committee member – who voted for Kejriwal, going against the party diktat, in Delhi – is of the view that AAP is populist, and doesn’t encroach onto the Left’s political space. “But my party, like others, underestimated AAP, and like the radical Left in Europe and Latin America, we also need to align with populist parties to gain an electoral edge,” he says asking not to be named. Typically, CPM cadres in Delhi – where it does not field candidates — vote for the Congress. “But most party workers were in favour of AAP,” says this leader. In Kerala, VS Achuthanandan, 90-year-old highly popular CPM veteran, praised AAP for its spectacular electoral debut and hoped that “a broom wave” swept Kerala, too, purging corrupt elements in the state. In fact, AAP leader Prashant Bhushan met the former Kerala chief minister to seek his support to fight corruption, triggering speculations that the rebel Marxist icon — who has repeatedly attacked the state leadership of the CPM –may enter into a truck with AAP.
   Long List of Blunders
   In the long run, whether AAP comes out with a bang or with a whimper, what is appalling is the CPM central leadership’s failure to help the party grow, asserts a Kerala-based politburo member. “It is 35 years since the party (CPM) vowed to expand aggressively in the north, but it is sad that nothing has come of it,” he rues. This leader, who was in favour of Jyoti Basu becoming prime minister in 1996, was referring to the Salkia Plenum of the party held in December-end of 1978 which outlined ways to transform the party into a mass movement with countrywide presence. Vanaik says for the Left parties to expand, they need to mobilise mass movements, and that the CPM is completely languishing in parliamentary politics. “It is the CPI that is involved in some bit of mass mobilisation, and that too only on a small scale,” the Delhi University professor notes. Within the confines of parliamentary politics, too, the Left has scored badly. Political analyst and former JNU professor Sudha Pai blames it on key leaders at the Centre not having any grassroots links. She was referring to Karat and senior colleague in the politburo, Sitaram Yechury, both pitchforked into national leadership straight from the university. She is only partly right, contends a senior CPM leader from Bengal. “Even their predecessors weren’t good at comprehending the nuances of coalition politics though the likes of EMS Namboodiripad talked a lot about it and practised a little,” he says. Historically, he avers, the Left parties have looked down upon populist, mass movements such as the one led by none other than Jayaprakash Narayan against Indira Gandhi in the early 1970s. “In Bihar, the CPI had failed to understand caste dynamics; in Uttar Pradesh (where Karat has been in charge for a long time), both the CPM and the CPI couldn’t adapt themselves as politics became more caste-obsessed. In Andhra Pradesh, there was no Left unity, and they had in the beginning looked down upon NT Rama Rao. In Rajasthan, CPM couldn’t retain seats because it couldn’t step up mass mobilisation movements. The list of woes is endless,” he says.
   Agony of the Left
   The problems within the Left go beyond cracking the caste calculus, says a Delhi-based CPI leader who regrets that “Prakash & Co rejected an offer served on a platter”. While the CPI joined the 1996 United Front cabinet in which Indrajit Gupta was Union home minister, the young brigade of the CPM voted against Basu becoming the PM. Basu himself called it a historical blunder. “Look at AAP, it has taken support from a party it had fought against, Congress, to form the government. If Congress pulls out, the blame is now on them. We should have realised it in 1996,” says the West Bengal leader. CPM leadership still maintains that its decisions were right. Besides squandering away the opportunity, Karat and others also brought in more of what a CPM leader calls “rigidity” in the party apparatus at the top level, and restricting key powers in the hands of a few. Meanwhile, Vanaik says that the Left in India only has to look at its counterparts in Latin America and other countries to learn how to forge ties with popular movements such as AAP. “This has happened in Brazil, for instance,” he says. Notably, communist parties have often fought alongside national movements and often “controlled” such movements. In South Africa, for example, South African Communist Party, had the reins of the leadership of the African National Congress. “Blindly dismissing populist parties that also encourage direct democracy isn’t good politics for the Left,” says an RSP leader who asked not to named. RSP and Forward Bloc are two other constituents of the Left Front besides CPM and CPI.
   Waltz with Incompetence
   In fact, the Indian Left’s follies don’t end there. In 2004, according to a CPM insider who has worked in the party’s central committee office, then general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet wanted the Left to “correct and make up for the blunder” and join UPA-I. But he was, once again, “outwitted by the charming hardliners. Back then, Surjeet went home, and refused to come back to the party office (AKG Bhavan in Gole Market, Delhi) for many weeks. Out of despair, he had said that ‘these young leaders are behaving like Naxalites’,” the person said. Karat didn’t reply to specific queries from ET, but said he would soon write about AAP and its political significance in the CPM mouthpiece, Peoples Democracy. Karat, who replaced Surjeet as general secretary in 2005, has incurred the displeasure of key state units. The Karat-led politburo overruled in 2006 a proposal by the Kerala state leadership to ally with a Congress breakaway group. The West Bengal unit of the party has often been vocal of its disenchantment with Karat over issues such as Somnath Chatterjee’s expulsion from the party in 2008. A section of the party leadership across states was against the Left withdrawing support from the Congress over the India-US nuclear deal. “We underestimated the adversary and party had to admit it,” says the CPM politburo leader from Kerala. He agrees with Vanaik, the renowned Left scholar, that “progressive movements (such as AAP) are largely temporary”.
   Left In The Lurch AAP is clearly socialist, and its spectacular poll debut comes at a time when the Indian Left is facing rapid decline as an electoral force
   SCORE CARD AAP’s victory in Delhi was largely
   unexpected. The
   one-year-old party decimated the Congress in Delhi and stopped the BJP’s victory march in Delhi
   Vs The Left suffered a huge setback
   in the 2009 Lok Sabha
   election, winning a
   historical low of 24 seats;
   in 2011 it lost power after 34 years of being in power in West Bengal; the Kerala unit is faction-ridden. There are troubles in Tripura as well
   TREND SPOTTING
   While AAP is still new, its poll triumph, on its own, puts the spotlight on the failure of the Left to align with like-minded parties –successful Left movement overseas have often tied up with populist, pro-democracy parties
   SIMPLICITY QUOTIENT
   The Left has in the past boasted itself as a cadre party led by leaders who have led simple lives and shunned the trappings of power
   However, Left leaders in West Bengal and Kerala have come under sharp attack over their affluent ways and the way they court corporates and shady businessmen
   Lately, through symbolic measures, AAP leaders have earned a name for being pro-people and selfless

   ACHIN VANAIK Professor, University of Delhi
   The Left in India only has to look at its counterparts in Latin America and other countries to learn how to forge ties with progressive movements.

   PRAKASH KARAT General secretary, CPM
   We are closely watching AAP to see if it emerges as serious political alternative.

   YOGENDRA YADAV
   AAP leader in an interview to The Indian Express
   The Left-Right spectrum never made sense in the Indian context. The Right cannot have a viable politics here and the Left did not have an intelligent economics.

   http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=ETM&showST=true&Enter=true&Skin=ETNEW

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