What's Left in LEFT!

Since decades Indian Left front is becoming meek and negligible on the floor of Indian politics which is creating a serious threat to the whole ideological faction. Losing the battle inside the parliamentary structure have became the habit of Indian Left leaders. Indian state which is full of social and political mayhem would have been the bastion of Left but it is not  realized yet in practical. Contemplating on the disappointing performance of the LEFT in the current Lok Sabha Elections writes Vishank Singh-

While Sitaram Yechury was busy having his lunch in the office of SAHMET (Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust) and Prakash Karat was writing an article on Neo-Liberalism the Right wing was reaching the deep corners of the nation in order to leave its favorable imprints on the people.  This was the scene before the 16^th Lok Sabha elections which prepared the cemetery for the Indian Left. With people’s mandate the Right wing enlarged its foothold in Lok Sabha with a thumping majority of 282 seats (talking about NDA we can take this number to 336). But the camp of an antagonistic ideology (Left) experienced a mayhem which was expected within the political sphere since a long time. I am talking about the worshipers of Marx and Lenin who once obtained the stature of the second largest party in India after INC. What could be more disastrous that the Indian Left front who once had more than 40 seats in Lok Sabha after the 2004 general elections are now restricted to negligible digits (only 10 seats in Lok Sabha)? CPM (Communist Party of India [Marxist]) which is acting as the vanguard of the Indian Communists is just struggling in order to have some presence inside the Parliament. On the other hand, CPI (Communist Party of India) and AIFB (All India Forward Bloc) which had some excellent rhetoric against the Indian Capitalism are now crawling to witness even their maiden presence. Something went wrong which must be in discourse within the Left sphere but not for a very long time.

I think my suggestion of starting a discourse will again further contribute in the decline of the Left. The reason is that if you will give any suggestion of having a discourse to the Left Bloc then they will make themselves busy in writing books and theses on it. This was the mistake which they made in the past and motivating them to commit it again will put the last nail on their own coffin. In my opinion the tendency of Indian Left in involving itself in the activities far away from the common mass is one of the reasons behind its decline in the nation. Popular Communists all around the nation should realize that that they should convert their theory into actions in order to make people realize their presence. An ideology limited just to the academic circle will not bear any fruits and that too in a nation which is still having a low percentage of literacy. Along with this we can also witnesstheir incapability to launch any progressive movements inside the nation.This inability of the Left to reach the popular front of the nation has created a huge gap between them and the common citizens paving the way for its alienation from the Parliament. Implementation of what they say is necessary for them if they want to regain the lost battle field, though now it would be hundred times difficult than before but still not impossible. 

Left Leaders in India have not placed the young leftists on the Party's key positions. This has been a barrier to fresh Revolutionary ideas inside the Indian Left.

Photo Credits- www.hindustantimes.com

 Indian left is not just characterized by its tendency of incompetency but also for its divisiveness. Today in the nation we have more than fifty Left parties. This critical line could be realized with a fact that we have so many versions of the Communist parties that the common public is not able to concentrate on the agenda of any one of them. We have CPI (M), CPI and CPI (Maoists) and CPI (M-L) as one of the main vanguards of Indian Left but they are playing the games of names in the brackets without fighting for the needs of the Indian poor. Failure of the Indian Left no doubt lies not in the strength of its enemies but in the animosity within its own ideological spectrum. There must be an unconditional unity in the forefront. If Left has to do something immediately then it must first of all end up all its historical differences within itself. We can realize an increase in the goodwill of Left forces when there would be only one communist party fighting for the cause of poor in the multiracial political dynamics of India.   

Prakash Karat, General Secretary of CPI(M)

Picture Credits- www.livemint.com

An action is also needed not only to promote the cause of the party and its ideology but also in the direction of its rearrangement and reorganization. On the tip of most of the Left parties we can see the old age faces (most of them the revolutionaries of emergency era) sitting with the utopian attitude of old age rhetoric of class struggle. There is a need of new innovation in the sphere of Indian Left which is completely rotten under the shadow of outdated ideas. In that case the Indian Left could learn a bit from the Aam Admi Party. This party which grew out of the ashes of anti-corruption movements against the establishment easily built its popular mass base with the help of some innovative ideas which linked the party to an aam admi phenomenon. Indian Left could also take the path of French, Argentinian and Bolivian Left Socialists who gave motivation to the idea of New Left all around the globe. We must note that in these states the Left has modified itself into a more progressive faction based on the idea of inclusive development and democracy along with some basic modules of socialism intact. But here in India as we imported the idea of Socialism (from USSR) so we were never able to build the proximity of our own people with the ideas of Left. This statement of mine gained its perfect validity especially after the 16^th Lok Sabha Elections. Left Parties must attract the entrance of Youth in large numbers so that the pillars of its ideals and ideas are under strong defense. By promoting the entrance of Young Left leaders (having an experience of neo-mass movements and popular support) the Left parties can not only harness the energetic mindset but can also garner the creamy layer of potential revolutionaries who can implement the struggle in its practical form. If right things are not implemented at right time then we would witness a day when the Indian Left would only sustain in the pages of Wikipedia. For now I can only say that the red bastions of Kerala and West Bengal are no more!

Vishank Singh
(Student, University Of Delhi)

Contact- 9654751123
E-mail- vishanksingh1@gmail.com