Thick red lines

The Communist Party of India Marxist,which prides itself on inner-party fairness,and a scrupulous soliciting of views through the entire organisational chain for any major decision,appears to have drifted dangerously the centralism now speaks much louder than the democratic. The party constitution mandates that comrades be treated sympathetically,be judged by their work and whole record of service,rather than isolated incidents,in case of a mistake. But the treatment meted out to W.R. Varadarajan,a CPM veteran,would indicate otherwise. He was abruptly removed from all party posts and publicly shamed by the central committee no real proof of alleged sexual harassment was given even to other comrades on the central committee,though that did not deter them from a mechanical raising of hands when the leadership called for Varadarajans dismissal. While Varadarajan himself denied the charges,he knew he was pretty much on his own,up against a wall of po-faced communist solidarity. He resigned,and soon after,drowned himself in despair. It stands to sense that after a life seeped in the CPMs stern and hyper-extended work ethic,which regulates much of a members daily activity and personal life right from what percentage of his income goes to the party,this sudden fall from grace could leave Varadarajan feeling utterly alone,and bereft.

Of course,the Left has never been afraid of looking severely at its own navel. A few months back,the party undertook a vigorous rectification programme,to scour its organisation for signs of weakness. The last such exercise was conducted in 1996. At the recent discussions,it was felt that sections of the party must be purged of unethical and dishonest acts,a self-centric mentality and craving for sensual pleasures,to make sure the party emerged stronger and more unified than before.

But what did the party leadership achieve? Dark mutterings among party workers,including central committee members now openly questioning their leaders decision pointing out that even if the disciplinary action was warranted,the complete abandonment of a former colleague betrays a fundamental soullessness in the CPM. Rectification should concentrate on the Lefts failures of imagination and persuasion,which are reflected in its slipping hold on the electorate and its inability to ignite excitement. Poking its snout into the personal lives of party members is simply unnecessary and that level of obsessive control only reveals how desperate it is to fake some measure of command.