Left8217;s apostasy

Despite Harkishen Singh Surjeet8217;s protestations, the CPIM is clearly in the process of bailing out of its position on reservations and accepting OBC reservations within women8217;s reservations. But as usual, the only political grouping to pride itself on its ideology is not doing this out of conviction, but in the interests of political expediency. Just as it is slowly aligning with the Congress, which it has always declared as its natural enemy, to topple the BJP government at the Centre. Of course, this is not the first time that the Left has supped with the devil. There was Somnath Chatterjee8217;s drive to attract foreign capitalist money to the industries of West Bengal, after years of anti-corporate sentiment which saw a wholesale flight of capital from the state.

There is, of course, a certain tenuous logic to this new readiness to align with the Congress. The Congress had represented the monolith of the establishment. It spearheaded the Independence struggle and looked set to remain in power for ever.The pre-Independence Left set itself apart from it with its internationalism. After Independence, it maintained its distance, except in lending support to the more socialistic policy measures of Indira Gandhi, like the nationalisation of banks. But the Emergency put an end to any hopes that the Congress and the CPIM could ever join hands. This is what forced Jyoti Basu8217;s government to remain antagonistic to the Centre even though a show of friendship would have won sops for the state. But today, the whole scenario has changed. The Congress is only the second-biggest monolith, and the biggest, the BJP, is clearly defined as an ideological enemy of the Left. It is easy for the Left, therefore, to offer a convincing ideological argument for its change of stance.

Perhaps Surjeet and Basu do not realise that they are opening the portcullis to yet another ideological problem. By declaring themselves to be open to the idea of OBC reservations, they are tacitly admitting that caste is a reality in Indianpolitics. This, from a political grouping that has always strenuously denied the validity of caste and class. The fact that caste lives will not come as a revelation to the Left, of course. The very apparat has always been stratified by it. The leadership is invariably of more fortunate birth than the cadre. The Kerala unit of the CPIM is still dominated by the upper castes, notwithstanding the rise of V.S. Achuthanandan. In its heyday, the CPI leadership in Bihar was dominated by one caste: the Bhumihars. In West Bengal, the leaders were well-heeled and impeccably educated. Caste is not a factor in the state, so its role was taken over by class. But that is where the influence of the caste factor ended 8212; in the party hierarchy. It was never used for political advantage. Now, it will be, and the cadres will have to be trained in an unfamiliar school of thought. It is doubtful if they will be convinced, and that is not their only problem. In the three states where it still enjoys influence, the Left is inopposition to the Congress. Having to support it at the Centre, they may lose their standing at the state level. It appears that the Left8217;s latest apostasy will bring on more problems than it will solve.