The Left is on its political deathbed, but its economic ideology still rules India, with Narendra Modi its newest torchbearer.
My first exposure to the Indian Left was the cricketing equivalent of a first ball duck. As a journalism student in 1975, I lost a ten-rupee bet with the lone comrade, in fact a near-Naxal, on whether E.M.S. Namboodiripad was dead or alive. I obviously thought he was dead.
Much later, while doing my first story out of Kerala (with the dada journalist Ramesh Menon there), on the Left government’s literacy programme, I finally came face-to-face with EMS, then general secretary of the CPI(M). I told him about the lost bet. He offered his hand to me, pointing to his wrist. “Why don’t you check my pulse,” he said, deadpan, “may be you were right and should get that money back.” There was much laughter.
The reason I was so ignorant on the Left even as a journalism student is partly because in small-town schools and colleges of Punjab and later Haryana, there wasn’t much politics. There were hardly any unions and none of the Left, though the odd teacher would like to be addressed as comrade so-and-so.
I learnt about the Indian political Left, therefore, on the job, as a journalist. I also grew to be a tough critic of the Left, especially of its economic ideology, and socio-political hypocrisy. How could an ideology that draws its power from authoritarianism so conveniently hyphenate itself with “democratic”, as in “Left and democratic”? Or worse, Left-liberal? And how could a leadership mostly controlled by upper-caste bhadralok (educated overseas or in the privileged Indian institutions) constantly talk of equality and weaker sections.
There was never a juncture through these decades, when I found myself in agreement with the Left’s policies. I resented also the intellectual and philosophical arrogance—that if you were not with us, you were an immoral bootlicker of the capitalists. The epithet neo-liberal came much later. Or maybe there was one. When the third, the bloodiest and the last round of terrorism was on in Punjab, between 1989 and 1993, the only political force which still had workers willing and motivated to stay back, fight and sacrifice their lives in villages in border districts that militants claimed were “liberated” were of the communist parties. The police had given them arms, in one case we recorded, even an LMG, which the young woman comrade had set up on the roof-top to protect her home. Several of her family members had been killed.
Barring that phase in one state, I found nothing to cheer about the Left. I chafed when CPI’s A.B. Bardhan made his infamous “bhaad mein jaye disinvestment” statement after the Vajpayee government lost unexpectedly in 2004. I cheered when Manmohan Singh won his vote of confidence over the nuclear deal, despite the Left joining hands with forces it would’ve held in disdain as communal, casteist and reactionary, including the BJP. And subsequently when Mamata Banerjee destroyed them in West Bengal. It was evident then, that the story of the Indian political Left was over, and the militant Left, in east-central India, was headed inevitably that way.
The one good thing I’d say about them is, the Left in India made the most accessible, open and big-hearted and affectionate leaders in a personal sense. From EMS to Harkishan Singh Surjeet and now on to Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat, through the Bengal pantheon. Manik Sarkar is one of our most decent contemporary public figures. But that doesn’t affect my low view of their politics.
I am not, therefore, someone you would expect to protest the destruction of one Lenin statue. That I do, is for different and obvious reasons. Everybody in India has the right to choose their Gods and nobody has the right to desecrate anybody’s deities.
In the late Eighties, the Soviet Union was heading for collapse, its war in Afghanistan was lost, Gorbachev had brought in perestroika and glasnost. Deng was opening up China. I came to Calcutta, working on a detailed piece on India’s unchanging Left. Saroj Mukherjee, then the CPM’s state secretary, sat in his headquarters under giant portraits of Lenin, Stalin and Marx. “Gorbachev and Deng are changing, sir, why aren’t you changing?” I asked the obvious question. “Because my communism is purer than that of Deng and Gorbachev,” said the strongman, arms raised, with the fullest conviction.
In just about two years, I was in Moscow, watching the Soviet Union unravel, with the republics breaking away, in Bucharest as tanks still stood in the streets but with tulips in their cannons and angry people in scores came to where Ceausescu had been killed: to curse and spit. A few weeks earlier, an Indian Left delegation had returned from the Romanian Communist Party’s National Congress, and some of its members had written an article in The Pioneer calling all news of Ceausescu’s brutalities and failing regime as Western propaganda. Evidence they cited: when the dictator finished his speech, the applause was deafening and wouldn’t stop for hours. Nobody asked: Would anybody dare to stop?
Exactly eight months later that year, I was back in Moscow, watching the busts and idols of communist icons pulled out with the Soviet equivalent of today’s JCBs. Very few—barring some really old World War-II veterans—showed regret. It was good riddance. If the ideology was gone, so should the images of tyrants who built their brutal dictatorships on it.
Politically, in its 34-year rule, the Left Front destroyed Bengal’s economy. It professed democracy and liberalism but built an army of thugs and extortionists that didn’t allow any opposition to survive. Kerala had a pan-party socialist temper, Left and Congress alternated and some balance was maintained, although not much survived by way of industry. In the rest of the country, the Left parties disappeared: from Punjab to Maharashtra to Bihar and even Assam. The 59 seats in the 2004 elections gave them a taste of national power, if vicariously. They blew it.
Since then, their political power is downhill. But here lies the rub: while they have terminally declined as a national political force, in one area, their victory has been total, pan-national and, it seems today, permanent. It is the imprint they have made on India’s economic thought and political economy. Even in today’s bitterly polarised politics, if there is one thing not just BJP and Congress, but all other parties agree, it is that socialist economics and povertarian politics is the only way to survive. The Left is dying, its icons are being JCB-ed, but its economic ideology rules, unchallenged. Narendra Modi is its newest standard-bearer, and most powerful such since Indira Gandhi.
Reporters are derided for their “as my taxi driver told me” stories. In Prague, where communism unravelled under Vaclav Havel’s Velvet Revolution, your driver could be an out of work computer engineer in a nuclear lab. As was one of mine.
Conversation was centred, inevitably, on excesses and failures of communism. He had many questions on how and why socialism was still so popular in India, and communists were often elected in important states. Then he gave his diagnosis. Your socialism was different from ours, he said. Ours took away our political and economic freedom while yours left your political freedoms intact. When these were taken away during the Emergency, you fought to win these back. But since you never tasted economic freedoms, you can’t realise what socialism has lost you. And you never fought to get these back.
He was right. We are now a deeply fake socialist political economy. It is the only, truly national ideology. One party is celebrating its destruction of a Left fortress and in the heady moment some of its workers demolished one Lenin statue. Little do they know, the last laugh is still with the tyrant they so hate. Lenin died in 1924, his country disowned his philosophy in 1990. In India, it lives on unchallenged.
I never find anything to disagree with Shekhar ji. Unlike some of the comments here, I cannot say that the article mis-diagnoses the permanent imprint left ideology has on our country. However, it must be noticed that our constitution was also partly inspired by the Russians and the successive Congress governments carried the flag of communism through good-hearted but never successful five-year plans. Blaming only Communist party is perhaps is a bit unfair.
In addition to permanent socialist imprint on our state machinery, there are other social factors at play which have contributed to our current economic malaise. Having worked very closely with senior government officials and ministers, I have noticed a distinct dispensation for risk averseness laced with backward looking tendencies. By backward looking I mean that quite often we over-diagnose the past rather than look forward towards solving the problems of future. This is of course manifested so dramatically in our complete inability to plan simple things, like roads, or more complex systems, such as GST.
If this country debated its future as much as we debate our past, we will have a much more glorious country in just a decade. We are obsessed with our culture, who said what to who, who got us independence and why cows were important to us one thousand years ago. We are constantly struggling to catch up with the rest of the world and never ahead of them in any way. All it is doing is creating two sets of citizens – people who want to move forward and those (like our dabangg hindu friend) who constantly look backwards.
Your views as editor seems to suggest one side only a capatalist. Political dynamics all over world is a fear of leftists because any revolution political or economical has benefited the working class abiding by their views. In India they are a check point which is very good for a better polity and supports the constitution in a democratic process.
Shekhar Gupta’s illiteracy knows no bounds. He means well, but like most journalists he is semi-literate. This is, to a large extent, due to the nature of his work. Journalism affords little time for deep study and reflection. The aberrations of left politics notwithstanding, a more nuanced appraisal of Lenin’s contributions would have enhanced the quality of the article. Likewise, an analysis of how and why Indian communists faltered would have been appropriate. Instead, what the article offers is a rant against Indian communists. Since when has Indian communism come to symbolize all of communism? Mr. Gupta, please take the time to read extensively. If you can’t do that, don’t inflict such half-baked assessments on your readers.
Haven’t you heard of what the famous British-American Poet , playwright and author W.H.Auden said some decades ago after visiting India and studying the situation of Indian communists that even when communism is dead and gone in all corners of the world , it would still survive with Indian Communists ? Their only agenda today in India is to cry wolf and block any kind of development , like irrigation projects , electricity , agricultural reforms , market reforms , industrial reforms , disinvestment of perpetual loss making PSUs , roads , digitalisation , tele-communications , removal of slums etc., Because they want the present chaos and sloth in Govt. to continue until the disenchanted general public rebel and take up arms against Govt . so that they can cash in the mele , confusion and break down of law and order , they can take control of the situation and usher in their pet ‘ Stalin Type Revolution ‘ in India !
At present I am reading a book ‘China Emerging: 1978-2008’. I would recommend this book to everyone. Though there is no reference about India in the entire book the uncanny similarity of situation in India and China during that period is obvious. And, so is the stark contrast between the role of the Communist Parties of the two countries. The quote used in this article from Saroj Mukherjee, the CPM state Secretary of West Bengal aptly sums up the arrogance and hypocrisy of Indian left. Very timely article by Shekhar Gupta.
In their purest form both capitalism and communism are exploitative. In Capitalism, market gradually excludes an increasingly larger section of population from the market and there by destroys itself from lack of demand. Communism which was borne as a counter narrative to Capitalism also exploits those who it profess to free from the eveil effect of capitalism. In this case, exploiter is not the capitalist but the State itself and the ruling Communist party is virtually identified as the State. Communism creates its own exploiter class. But in both the systems the exploited Are the same lower strata of the society and invariably comprise substantial majority of population. Therefore, neither system is designed to survive and sustain for ever. Socialism as practised is the golden median which attempts and has succeeded in keeping the exploitative aspects of both systems to a level which doesn’t lead to ‘sucide’ Of capitalism or ‘violent death’ of communism. Therefore, democratic Government of any country in a stage in which India is, can not afford to abandon this golden mean of socialism as being practised. Pure capitalism comes down the path of socialism some distance and pure communism goes up some distance towards socialism and the equilibrium is where both these system meet. That would be the only pattern sustainable.
It’s interesting to read your take on communism (socialism as we know it in India) and its survival in through economic policies. The real reason is hotchpotch of a constitution that we have been bequeathed. What India needs is a simple, inclusive and agile constitution that is suitable for India that we are and not what we are made out to be from the eyes of foreigners.
An excellent piece @shekhargupta. Nicely summed up many thoughts of millions of Indians about the failed social left liberalism in India. Hope was on the Modi Sarakar to get out of this rut. Not sure when will we realise the economic freedom to our fullest potential as said by your Czech Driver which is so true.
I would recommend for revolutionary unorthodox steps by MODI in next one year till May 2019 election.The Election be held in 1 day and the result be announced simultaneously .The One year of Govt needs to be highly result oriented and righitsist.All PSU PSB are denationalized and handed over to corporates for making them profitable. I Hope MODI JEE will work 24x7x365 days to make India economical giant.The PSB be liberated from bureaucratic hegemony and handed over to professionals. The PSU should be made free from govt control and administration with 49% in govt and 51% to corporates. The liberation ill make them healthy and new work force from Educated youth be recruited from IT sector will bring in new achievements and votes.JUST MUDRA and PMJDY are insufficient for the IT youth.
Communism is dead everywhere it existed in past. China Russia Cuba are now capitalists. China invited all world technology IT companies which manufactures their products in cheap labour and supplies to world including India. But Indian communists are still living in their paranoia. In WB TRIPURA and Kerala it existed by a class of peasants were misguided by Communism. In WB Naxal Movement started against the land lords and made hell of life.But it was eliminated by a strong congress administration of SS Ray which resulted in rise of Communists in WB. Communist are enemies of Country any where they exists.They never works fro people and country but in the name of them they enriched themselves. But gradually People understands them and slowly.Although Mr.Shekhar Gupta is a Left wing writer and congress agent but in this post he says the truth.I also deride and decry continuation of leftists ideology my Narendra Modi who hankers on his dramatis of removing 1000s of old laws but the fact is that those laws were non existent and never practiced. It were only on records from British era.I would have supported MODI if he would have worked with a missionary zeal and aggressive mind to remove all laws of Nehru Indira era.Both these father daughter had made such laws to keep Indian as slaves of Govt. Bureaucracy and Police.Still Now Indian police act of 1876 is working without it being removed and replaced by a modern Indian Police act.The Essential commodity act 0f 1955 was not yet removed. I doubly doubt the mindset intelligence IQ of MODI who is a real dramatic and escapists.HE ought work with a missionary zeal and revoutionary mindset fro a SAB CHALTA HAI NDIA ME attitude and bring in new legislation and change the whole edifice of democracy.ELSE he will face same result that ABV faced in 2004.
I was delighted to read your article: Lenin’s last laugh” published in today’s Business Standard analyzing decline of Communism, but, its economic ideology still ruling India.
I agree with your views and was reminded of the Essay, which I wrote on the topic: “We are all Socialists today” in the Question paper on “English Essay” in the Civil Services Examination in 1960, when I appeared for the Indian Police Service and was selected. The sum and substance of my essay was that neither was it practicable to follow pure Capitalism nor Communism for any democratic nation to progress, and the way forward was the middle path of Socialism. I feel that times, circumstances and political personalities have changed during the last 58 years, but, basic economic policies remain almost the same in our country.
I have been reading your articles with interest for over 20 years and like the in-depth analysis, unbiased views and being quite enlightening.
At least in urban India, there is a large and growing constituency for reform. Prime Minister is a gifted communicator. One of the themes for Mann ki Baat could have been the need to transform the economy. Starting by making the case for privatisation of the public sector, including the stressed banks. The edifice of administered prices and subsidies. Two terms were baked into the mandate of 2014. Some of the pain of adjustment could have been spaced out, as happened with the decontrol of fuel prices. By 2019, there would have been early successes to showcase, an economy well out of the woods. At least that is how I was expecting things to pan out, starting from September 2013. 2. Agriculture and rural India are another world. India’s proven administrator was Krishi Mantri for ten years, and Maharashtra led the country in farmer suicides. More fiscal support is just not possible. The power sector has been undermined by near free power to farmers. More Indians need to move to urban areas, to jobs in services and industry. That is where the absence of a truly reformist vision is blighting our future, with the demographic dividend melting like an ice cream cone in summer.
Wow, what an article! As you have correctly diagnosed, our intellectuals and political gurus do have a crazy hotchpotch understanding of socialism and market force driven society. Apparently the self styled right wing party, BJP, is going the Nehruvian way without possibly knowing it. Maybe, Modi is trying to be another Nehru, it looks like Nehru is his role model. Our left protested all these years against the govt plan to exit businesses like airlines, banks, factories, mines, God knows what not, but not launched any movement to educate our people through a universal education program. I have not seen any left or right worried about the pathetic state of our primary education system. Public Healthcare, just forget it, left or right. Inheritance tax, don’t even discuss. High import duties prevented us from integrating with the industrialized nations, we felt threatened, as if another east India company is going to conquer us. Overall a bunch of hypocrite and frauds.
Your explanation of the difference between our and that communism is correct. A woman diplomat friend belonging to a former Soviet Union countries recently visited India with her family including mother. She told me that when she saw communism signs, slogans and pictures of Lenin and Stalin, she was shocked. She could not believe that this ideology is still alive somewhere – and that too in India. The way she narrated it to me, it was obvious that she was also upset. It brought all her bitter memory of her own parents’ suffering in the 1917 revolution.
However, I also compliment our left for living a simple life. During my only visit to Hari Kishan Singh Surjit’s home in Delhi during his powerful time of Third Front Government, I remember how a street carpenter was fixing his about 30 year old wooden sofa chairs in the side of the lawn. I cannot believe that to happen with any other political party in India.
Very true