Author: Tarun Vijay
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: October 22, 2004
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/archive_full_story.php?content_id=57410
Introduction: India is not Russia.
So all they can do is to unfurl their red flags in the safe precincts of
their South Delhi lawns.
There's no point arguing with Comrade
Harkishen Singh Surjeet. What he wrote in People's Democracy was perfectly
in order, really, considering what the Left has always been doing. The
practice of listing and de-listing people has been an inseparable part
of communist purges everywhere. Funny though, the only two countries the
communists are active in today are ones with a Hindu majority - India and
Nepal.
So here they work to bring about
the rule of the proletariat, usher in a revolution, bring succour to the
subjugated, exploited millions. But whenever in power, they have failed
to create even a single model of rural or urban development, a tiny hamlet
or a miniature industrial town in tune with the great communist dream.
Yet they continue to demand changes - even if it is through the backdoor,
or on the shoulders of the same Congress with whom they have fought many
a bitter battle elsewhere.
But I would still defend Comrade
Surjeet's right to write what he wants to write in his own party journal.
We are not friends of his ideology and if he wishes to use his powers against
people like us, he should go ahead and do so. However, should the government
of the day fall in line with his diktat? When the Centre should be addressing
issues like terrorism, poverty and unemployment, why is it getting stuck
in concerns like sacking Anupam Kher or censoring Prakash Jha's film on
JP?
The Leftists don't just want to
remove some people and bring in their own favourites. They want to make
sure that the ''other side'' is kicked out of the public domain, whipped
and packed off to a Siberian wilderness. Left to themselves, they would
like the whole nation to be subjected to a great purge like those their
hero, Josef Stalin, presided over: a mass elimination of the bourgeois
(read saffronites). Sadly, the junior Stalins are too small in stature
and India is not Russia. So all they can do is to unfurl their red flags
in the safe precincts of their South Delhi lawns.
It will be interesting to see how
this government faces up to Left pressure. If it succumbs in the name of
saving itself, it will be seen by the nation as being driven by "outsiders"
who have refused to take any responsibility for their stances. Although
not a part of the government, the Left has succeeded in getting the ban
lifted on those communist terrorists against whom a special cell in the
home ministry was once created under a Congress regime as Sidharth Shankar
Ray's relentless campaign to eliminate the Naxal menace brought much awaited
relief to the hapless people of West Bengal. According to home ministry
sources, the People's War Group and their affiliates have killed more than
9,000 people over the last ten years. The main purpose behind the latest
unity moves within their fold is to carve out a ''Compact Revolutionary
Zone'' from Nepal through Bihar and the Dandkaranya region to Andhra Pradesh.
This arrangement also ensures imparting training and supplying arms and
ammunitions to Nepali Maoists.
Such people are now getting government
protection, even as others are harassed and humiliated for no other crime
than holding a different set of beliefs. And, yet, they say we are a free
democracy!
The authority of the government
to appoint or remove any member on the committees it sets up is unquestionable
because apart from merit - which in any case is always a matter of subjective
inference - the trust of the people in power is a major factor in ensuring
that such committees yield a positive result. However, I earnestly believe
that those of us who had links with the organisations should have never
accepted any memberships on these committees. No meaningful purpose is
served and, on the contrary, needless bickering and jealousies break out.
Nevertheless, questionable certainly would be the attitude of any government
that attacks a citizen for his personal views. Till the person appointed
discharges his duties within the assigned framework and does not act against
the state or the Constitution, is there a need to pull him up just because
he votes for a different party? Well, in the end it may be a lonely battle
and the Left will prove right only if we give up the middle ground.
The writer is editor, Panchjanya.
He can be contacted at: tarunvijay@vsnl.com
