polcol

Economist Column
Insurance Bill to woo foreign investor

1999
A possible turning point in Indian Politics

Ringside View
To everybody's amusement, VHP finds motives on Amarty's Noble

Loud Thinking
Ignoble Intentions

AS we enter 1999, a question naturally comes to mind as to what this new year will be like. To a significant extent the answer would depend on the important developments that took place in 1998.

As we all know, the most important development of the year gone by was that the BJP, a rabidly communal-reactionary party controlled by the fascistic RSS, came to power, even though with the support of over 15 allies, apart from the outside support extended by the TDP. Here one cannot help noticing the contradictions inherent in the BJP-led alliance. A number of parties of this alliance swear by federalism and secularism, the two pillars of Indian unity, while the BJP is opposed to both. Yet the BJP was able to cobble up an opportunist alliance and ascend to power. However, even the most enthusiastic supporters of the BJP cannot be sure of the longevity of the present regime.

And there is a reason to it. If the BJP was able to emerge as the biggest party in the Lok Sabha, it was because it was able to exploit the discontent created by the earlier Congress government's and then the United Front government's economic policies. At the time of parliamentary elections in February-March 1998, the people too got swayed by the BJP's slogan of an "able and stable government" under the leadership of Atal Behari Vajpayee, and widely felt that the party must be given a chance. However, within a very short span of just seven months, the party got thoroughly exposed and demonstrated in practice that it was totally incapable of providing an efficient and stable government or take any pro-people step. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that no other party has exposed itself in so short a time span. Dissensions have now started growing not only in the BJP-led combine but within the BJP too as well as within what is generally called the Saffron Brigade.

It all began with the BJP's performance on the economic front where the party has miserably failed. While during the Lok Sabha polls the party was able to exploit the discontent generated by the new economic policy that was initiated by the Narasimha Rao government and continued by the United Front government, the BJP-led government surpassed both of its predecessors in pursuing the same bankrupt policy based on privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation. It started demolishing the public sector with a vengeance and began to invite foreign multinationals in several core and strategic sector. Contrary to its own earlier protestations, the BJP is out to open even the insurance sector to foreign capital to the detriment of our national interests, and effect such changes in our Patent Act as would kill our technological self-reliance once for all. And all this is being done to please the World Bank-IMF-WTO trio that is controlled by the US-led imperialist powers.

At the same time, what to talk of addressing the vital problems of poverty, unemployment, starvation, education, health, housing and the like, the BJP-led regime launched a most severe attack on the people's livelihood by giving the traders, hoarders and blackmarketeers a free hand to fleece the people. The prices of vegetables and other essential commodities of daily consumption escalated sky-high all over the country; onion became the symbol of this government's abject failure on the price front and of its basic anti-people character. Even chapatis and chatani, the bare minimum diet on which the poorest of the poor used to survive, went out of their reach. To what extent the traders and hoarders, sure about the backing from the government, could go became clear from the more than 70 cases of dropsy deaths in Delhi, as the mustard and other oils were adulterated with impunity in order to reap super profits. In Gujarat, the oil barons were allowed to hike the groundnut oil prices, in return for the monetary contributions they had made to the BJP's coffers.

It was therefore not for nothing that in the assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in November, the people voted against the BJP with a vengeance; even what is called the incumbency factor failed to operate in favour of the BJP in case of Madhya Pradesh, contrary to what the party had expected.

True to the character of a reactionary party, the BJP has been trying from the very beginning to divert the people's attention from the real problems they are facing. Soon after coming to power, the BJP-led government resorted to nuclear jingoism by conducting five tests at Pokharan in May, and attempted to instil among the population a sense of what they call "national pride." However, to their dismay, the whole country resented to this sort of adventurism and the people saw through the real game of the BJP. All the attempts to capitalise on Pokharan II came to a nought. The BJP tried to utilise it as an election issue in November, but it failed to click altogether.

On the other hand, Pokharan II brought several negative effects in its wake. During the United Front regime, the process of improving relations with our neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, had gone much ahead; but now it received a setback. There was a sudden reversal of our foreign policy on which there existed a consensus all these years, as a result of which our prestige among the NAM and developing countries grievously suffered. The danger of a nuclear as well as conventional arms race in the subcontinent has become acute. And most importantly, the RSS-BJP's nuclear jingoism has rendered a singular disservice to the nation by internationalising the Kashmir issue at a stroke.

This nuclear adventure also gave the US imperialists a golden chance to impose sanctions against both India and Pakistan which have significantly contributed to crippling the latter's already weak economy. However, Indian economy too has not been unscathed either. But the most important thing is that Pokharan II has emboldened the US imperialists to put pressure on India to accede to the CTBT; at the time of the seventh round of Indo-US negotiations at Rome, the US president even suggested that India must accede to the NPT.

And what has been the BJP government's attitude to the imperialist blackmail that is going on in the name of negotiations? Instead of standing firm against it and defending the nation's vital interests, the government is surrendering to the US diktat inch by inch. In fact, the government has given ample indications that it is prepared to sign the CTBT (and, maybe, NPT later), provided the US-led imperialist bloc agrees to give a few sops so that the government could save its face. The country was never so vulnerable to imperialist pressure as it is now, thanks to the foreign and defence policies of the BJP-led regime.

Rousing communal passions has been another method of the RSS-led combine to divert the people's attention from their genuine day to day problems. While the Muslims were already being attacked all these years by the majority communal forces, now the minuscule Christian community is under a serious threat from the latter. Churches, Christian houses and missionary educational institutions are now being attacked by the hoodlums of the VHP and Bajrang Dal, copies of the Bible have been publicly burnt, and bodies have been exhumed from the Christian graveyards. But the most heinous aspect of this sordid story is that the majority communal forces are feeling bold enough to openly justify all their misdeeds.

The Muslims too are not able to feel safe despite the temporary lull in anti-Muslim violence. On and off the VHP has been issuing statements on the issue of temple construction at the Babri site and demolishing the mosques at Mathura and Varanasi, adding to the threat perception of the Muslim minority. Recently, the VHP tried to occupy a Dargah in Karnataka that has been a symbol of communal harmony in the state. That the VHP failed to do so is a tribute to the strength of the composite Indian culture, but yet the episode does underline the need of exercising constant vigilance against the designs of the RSS-led combine.

The last eight months have also witnessed an increase in the attacks on leading personalities from the world of art and culture. Eminent painter M F Hussain's House at Bombay was attacked and ransacked, as was an art gallery at Delhi. Renowned Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali was not allowed to perform at Bombay while leading thespian Dalip Kumar was dubbed as a Pakistani agent. Fire, a film by Deepa Mehta, came under fire simply because it did not fit in the framework of Indian culture as defined by the communal forces.

But what is most reprehensible and worrying is that the administration has been directly colluding in all these law-breaking activities of the communal forces. As per a report in The Indian Express, December 29, several police officers in Gujarat said, on condition of anonymity, that illegal actions like the attacks on Christians could take place only because the law-breakers had had the political backing. This is the real danger inherent in the present dispensation.

These attacks on the minorities, etc, are in fact an integral component of the Hindutva drive to create a theocratic state in the country, a Hindu Rashtra.

But this is also precisely what prompts the Saffron Brigade to saffronise the entire education system in the country, as was witnessed at the time of the education ministers conference in September. The ministry of human resources development (MHRD) is now under the control of a staunch RSS man, Murli Manohar Joshi, with another hawk, Ms Uma Bharati, as his assistant. Academic bodies like the Indian Council of Historical Research, Indian Council of Social Science Research and Indian Institute of Mass Communication have been packed with the hand-picked loyalists of the Saffron Brigade. Syllabi of various courses like history and even mathematics have been changed to poison the young minds. Attempts are on to make the singing of Saraswati Vandana and Vande Mataram compulsory in schools.

In short, a concerted attack is being launched on the composite culture of the country which has never allowed a theocratic state to flourish here.

To divert the people's attention from their real problems, the BJP government is resorting to another gimmick as well -- of creating new states out of the present ones -- which will prove very disastrous for national unity by giving rise to parochial and fissiparous tendencies. Even though the BJP has been posing itself as a patriotic party and swearing in the name of national unity, the fact is that its actions belie its professions. How much the BJP is concerned with the nation's integrity and unity is evident, for instance, in the case of Tripura where the centre is refusing to send additional paramilitary forces simply because that state is ruled by a CPI(M)-led Left Front, even though the foreign-funded, armed extremists are posing a serious threat to national unity there.

But the way the central government is trying to divide the three states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh bades ill for the nation's unity in the long run. Already the demands of creation of a separate Vidarbha, Telangana, Bodoland are being raised. And if the centre succeeds in its drive, it will only unleash a tendency that will be hard to control. However, the BJP, which has always been opposed to the concept of linguistic states and a federal structure of polity, is totally oblivious of the consequences that its actions may led to.

Yet, the fact is that all these diversionary activities of the BJP and its government have been unable to mislead the masses who are now realising its real character. This was patently clear in the recent assembly elections in November, following which even the leaders of the allied parties are having second thought as to whether an alliance with the BJP is an asset or a liability.

On the other hand, not to talk of consolidating itself, the RSS-led combine is now in the grip of internal dissensions. The BMS and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch are openly opposing the insurance and patent bills; BJP president Kushabhan Thakre too opposed the insurance bill in the beginning though he was soon compelled to fall in line. The AIADMK, an ally of the BJP, openly supported the December 11 strike call given by the National Platform of Mass Organisations.

And now the indications are that, even though the BJP has been able to enlist the Congress Party's support as on the patent bill, dissensions within the RSS-led combine are not going to easily subside.

Nor are the people going to take all these attacks lying down. Resistance to the economic policies being pursued by the BJP-led government is gradually developing. This was evident during the December 11 strike which proved a big success all over the country. The coming days are bound to witness this resistance further intensifying.

In such a situation, questions are being raised about the possible life span of the BJP-led regime, even though the people of India do not want another election in such a short time. Taking advantage of this popular feeling, the BJP as well as some Congress leaders are pleading for a constitutional amendment to make the dissolution of Lok Sabha impossible before its term expires.

On the other hand, emboldened by the Congress party's successes in three states in the November assembly polls, a section of that party too has started bidding for power at the centre. They possibly do not realise that their recent victory was more due to negative voting, instead of a positive mandate from the people. Even though the Congress and the BJP are now posing as alternatives to each other, the fact is that the Congress cannot provide a real and lasting alternative with its present set of policies. Even though the Congress extended support to the government on the issue of the patent bill under the pressure of the big business houses and the landed interests, it has already created a division of opinion within the party, which is not going to be easily overcome.

It is here that one can see the relevance of the slogan of a Third Alternative whose need was never before felt so acutely. Even if other parties extend issue-based support to the Congress if it forms an alternative government in case the BJP-led government falls under the weight of its own contradictions, that by no means obliterates the need of a Third Alternative.

It is in the midst of such significant developments that we have now entered 1999 which is going to be a crucial year for the country. Indeed the year 1999 can be a turning point in the political history of India provided the Left and democratic forces act concertedly and properly project their alternative policies for the defence of national unity, for tackling the basic problems facing our people and protecting the interests of the common man.

The Left and democratic forces have to wage their struggle on three fronts -- ideological, economic and political -- simultaneously. They have to continue exposing the threat from the communal forces whose gravity has been further underlined by the recent conclave of the RSS. The danger is that, because of the panic which has gripped them, the communal forces may further step up their nefarious drive to arouse passions and divert the people's anger into fratricidal channels. At the same time, the Left and democratic forces have to educate the people about what economic mess the BJP-led government has created and how it is pursuing the same IMF-dictated economic policies that have landed the South East Asian countries, Philippines and South Korea into a veritable crisis. People have also to be educated about how the BJP-led government is preparing the ground for signing the CTBT and thereby jeopardising our sovereignty, how it is eager to accept the humiliating terms the imperialist powers are trying to impose on us. The complexity of this task increases because various constituents of the RSS-led combine may adopt seemingly different lines with one and only one aim -- to mislead the masses.

This is a big challenge for the Left and democratic forces today. At the movement, even though the Congress is a major force, it lacks firmness in so far as opposing the BJP-led government and its policies is concerned. Also, its economic policies have not changed, and are not basically different from those being pursued by the present government.

At the same time, the non-Congress secular parties too do not have any different economic policy. Therefore, the need of the hour is that we must cooperate with them to defend secularism, federalism and the foreign policy based on non-alignment and anti-imperialism, while bringing mass pressure on them on the question of economic policy.

All this requires that we intensify struggles on all fronts -- for pro-people economic policies and measures; in defence of self-reliance; in defence of secularism, federalism and for more autonomy to the states; in defence of our consensual foreign policy; for land reforms, proper wages for agricultural workers, implementation of various labour laws, etc; for remunerative prices to the peasantry and for subsidised agricultural inputs; to protect the interests of various sections of the people; and so on. All sections of the toiling people have to be mobilised in these struggles so that the retrograde economic policies are defeated and the communal threat smashed.

It is only through the process of such mass struggles that we can project and popularise the Left and democratic alternative as a real alternative. At the same time, the Left parties too have to further cement their unity and act concertedly in order to better intervene in the developing situation. For, it is this Left unity that would be at the core of the mass struggles to be launched.

It is in such a circumstance that the Party is required to play a big role in the developing situation in order to eventually bring about a change in the correlation of forces and usher into a new society for the better. Its role hitherto in the national situation has been well recognised and it enjoys a lot of prestige all around. However, the Party's strength is not commensurate with the prestige it enjoys. The Party has to get its organisation streamlined on the basis of democratic centralism and widen its influence by initiating and leading the sustained and militant mass struggles on all fronts. At the same time, the Party has to fight against the various alien influences in its ranks that threaten to corrode its revolutionary character from within, while fighting the pernicious feudal, semi-feudal and bourgeois ideologies which have gripped the masses at large. This is what the recently held 16th Congress of the CPI(M) has enjoined on all of us.

It is high time we discharge all these tasks effectively and bring the country and its people out of the morass the BJP-led government has landed them into. Let us all rise in unison to make 1999 a turning point in the history of India's democratic movement and move forward to People's Democracy and socialism!