Dangerous politics

The editorial in the latest People8217;s Democracy accuses the Sangh Parivar of using the Amarnath land row to whip up...

The editorial in the latest People8217;s Democracy accuses the Sangh Parivar of using the Amarnath land row to whip up communal passions in a bid to consolidate its Hindu vote bank.

It says the conflagration 8212; with very dangerous implications for the unity and integrity of India 8212; is being created in order to reap electoral and political benefits. 8220;This has serious implications threatening the very security of our country in this border state and creating a fertile ground for cross-border terrorism to raise its ugly head,8221; it says.

It also criticises the Prime Minister for not convening an all-party meeting earlier to resolve the 8220;grave and serious8221; situation that has engulfed the state.

Adieu Surjeet

The issue carries an article written by veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu on Harkishan Singh Surjeet, who died recently. Basu, who had walked out of the CPI in 1964 along with Surjeet and twenty nine others to form the CPM, says he is feeling somewhat alone and lonely after his death. Though Basu talks about his experience of working with Surjeet and the former CPM General Secretary8217;s role in national politics, he is silent on the party shooting down a proposal to make him the Prime Minister in 1996, an idea strongly favoured by Surjeet at that time. Basu had since described the party8217;s decision as a historic blunder.

Ace strategist

An article by CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat titled 8216;Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet: an intrepid Marxist leader8217; says the bourgeois media has always sought to portray Surjeet as some sort of modern day Chanakya. By this they imply that he was a crafty politician devoid of any principles and there can be nothing further from the truth, he says. 8220;The fact is Surjeet was the most skilled in implementing the political-tactical line of the Party. He was a master tactician in creating the opportunities and exploring the avenues by which the Party8217;s tactical line would be advanced,8221; he notes. In doing so, he says, Surjeet did not lose sight of the tactical goals set out by the Politburo or the Central Committee. 8220;This skill was seen in the period when the Left sought to build an anti-Congress unity without compromising with the BJP in the period between 1987 and 1991 and later when a combination of secular parties had to be built against the BJP and the communal danger without allying with the Congress8221;, he says.