China confuses comrades

China is causing ideological confusion among comrades. A few questions have been raised on the nature of China8217;s economic reforms and t...

China is causing ideological confusion among comrades. A few questions have been raised on the nature of China8217;s economic reforms and the country8217;s 8216;8216;lack of discomfort8217;8217; in dealings with the US at the 18th party congress of the CPIM.

At the debate on amendments, this issue came up for discussion. The larger question is whether a party which has always looked up to China for guidance and interpretation of Marxist-Leninist thought and even the Maoist line, should continue to do so in the changed scenario.

Obviously, the contentious issue has been forwarded by relative hardliners who don8217;t believe the Chinese have done the right thing by opening its economy to this extent. Even if some of them are willing to accept the sweeping changes that are being adopted by Beijing, they are unable to digest this 8216;8216;unquestioning8217;8217; pursuit of a pro-US foreign policy by the Chinese Communist Party.

The CPIM top brass would not reveal the precise nature of discussions but sources said the debate did consider if it the pro-US stance was a strategy of a relatively temporary nature which the Chinese felt compelled to adopt. They were agreeable to the logic that probably the strategy had to do with Beijing8217;s perception and assessment of the global security scenario. But then the question asked was would not such a pro-US stand become a contradiction with the very ideology that is driving the state 8212;Marxism-Leninism.

This issue had not come up for such detailed discussion at the last two congresses though the changes in China had begun more than a decade ago. Till now, the party has watched the economic policy changes from afar and never really tried to compare and contrast the Chinese experience in depth with its own.

Even senior Politburo member Prakash Karat said question has been raised on 8216;8216;how do we assess China8217;8217;.

This debate may trigger off a new way of evaluating the Chinese economic model by the Indian Marxists. They may not accept every economic change that is taking place in China without questioning them. And if that happens that could be politically significant for a party like the CPIM. For if one goes back to the Communist Party split in 1964, one can recall the keen debate among comrades on whether to go with the Russians or the Chinese 8212; and the CPIM had reposed greater faith in the Chinese model.