Left needs a revolution if it intends to remain alive
The article first appeared on LiveWire.
In his piece on Live Wire, Rothin Datta made a point to move away from being an ‘elite’ liberal to being a leftist. While his category of liberals does constitute a large proportion of India’s populace, they are by no way, the only so-called liberals we have here. Like any other ideology, there are variations. The people ‘’who support the #MeToo movement on their social media pages but ignore the students at JNU who are protesting against the very real institutional sexism and misogyny of their university administration’’ in essence belong to the category who believes that it’s better to march on Twitter trends than on streets. And why shouldn’t they? Don’t our governments run on Twitter nowadays? Is it not the source of official press statements, policy announcements, virulent fake news and strong personal opinions?
But while the thought of going left is an attractive proposition, it’s easier said than done. For one, there’s no use of ideology if you lack a platform to put it forth or if there are so many platforms that you are split for choice (all equally defunct, BTW). Left is dying in India and many of the reasons for that is structural in nature.
Waiting for the student leaders to go grey
After the doleful incident at JNU two years back, many young student leaders came into the picture. Needless to say, they were far more articulate and charismatic than the present generation of left leaders in India. This is not to mean that they are awful or unfit to be a leader, it’s just that they are not that good at putting their point across. Being intelligent and ideology-driven doesn’t mean to be bland or ineffectual.
When we talk about young population and their ability to bring change, we are in some ways looking for people who are rational, unapologetic and are never afraid of standing up for what they think is important. We need leaders who can stand up to the bully and at the same time make the common people aware that the bully is not their savior either.
It’s time that some of these student activists, particularly the ones who have a more prominent presence in public sphere be inducted into the mainstream politics. They will do a far better job of taking the Left to public discourse than any Left leader. Don’t wait for them to go grey.
They have forgotten that’s there’s indeed a strength in unity
When I last searched for the number of left parties in India, it was more than 200. They were conveniently divided into pro — left, pro — UPA, pro — NDA, Left united and dozens other. When the going is already getting tough and your backyard is being increasingly filled by parties that stand in stark contrast to you, then what is stopping you from combining your might?
The party which started as a product of revolution is increasingly finding itself in the midst of indecision, infighting, and indifference. Last few elections have shown that they can reproach, but the ugly spat with regards to an alliance with Congress has once again brought their divisions to the forefront. Unless they paper over their differences and come together, no one can prevent the eventual slide of Left down the rabbit hole.
Propagate your ideology
It’s no surprise that many left leaders and parties are associated with simplicity (and weak financial strength). It is a product of their ideology which believes in equal distribution of wealth among its cadres. Tripura’s former CM Manik Sarkar is a case in point. In a society infested with inequality and poverty, it is a noble idea that needs to see the light of the day. By not bringing this quality to the fore, the left is concealing its biggest asset, perhaps.
Left will also have to make people understand that ideals like liberalism, economic independence, freedom of speech and expression are not something that is distinct from each other but are facets of the same dice and that Left is that dice.
At a time when there is so much divisiveness and filth in the society; when people are getting lynched for their religious beliefs, when women are receiving death and rape threats for speaking their mind, when dissenting voices are being stifled by trolls, life threats, legal notices, government agencies and media management, when independent institutions like ECI and Judiciary are being wrecked and when the ruling class and law enforcement agencies are shielding a rape accused, the time demands that the people must find an utterance. Left needs to act as a platform for that utterance.
The history of the Left movement in India is saddled with false starts and bad political decisions. They have failed in convincing the people that they might be the right choice. However, they shouldn’t be disheartened by their present status. Remember that history never takes a straight line. It twists and it turns but the broad contours remain the same and the broad contour has always favored the common man. All that the left needs to do is reinvent itself and wait for the right moment.
