Political murders are not new to Kerala. But who’s to blame?

Among the questions that plague one’s mind, two stand out: What are the reasons for singling out some people as victims? What are the gains and losses of such atrocious acts? Both questions take us back to the notorious murder of T P Chandrasekharan, a CPM worker who later left the party. Chandrasekharan was murdered by an organised group, some of whom had links with organised Marxist structures. Though widely criticised and condemned, Chandrasekharan’s murder is still a deep wound on Kerala’s political psyche. The murder showed the acumen of the powerful: They can justify almost any act within a set of beliefs and then direct party henchmen according to their wishes.

The recent murders in Alappuzha are, undeniably, motivated to ignite communalism. The communal forces that work within most political parties in India are a dangerous virus that disturbs social harmony. However, what can one do to prevent communalism? From Gandhi to Medha Patkar, we have been seriously debating this question. The sheer emphasis of communalism as the bedrock of our political system implies the non-democratic and autocratic nature of our democracy. The masses can be driven by promises. Ideological texts can be misread and misrepresented by the powerful and the crooked. Once the organised cadre of a major political party slips into action, they can’t be held back by any appeal to ideology.

Political violence is based, fundamentally, on ideas of singularity and extermination. Violence — in the form of arson, looting or murder — produces deep cleavages in the public. It questions even the basic notions of existence. This is the realm in which the idea of extermination operates. Political violence ultimately aims to exterminate the opponent and the dissident. Fear of the Self is the main reason for this. To have faith in a political party is to have your identity constituted in and by a set of practices in which understanding, believing and commitment emerge together. In other words, political parties are not free from threats that are looming large in our society.

The recent murders have sparked a lot of empathy. What is the source of empathy? Do we really empathise with the families of the murdered? Here, we are forced to offer a critique of ideology. When a set of ideas that prompts people to have faith in a party or a system collapses, it is the individual who is shattered. A disillusioned individual, thus, can either become an outcast or a rebel. Yet another possibility is she/he can become a tool for other dangerous factions. Given these possibilities, the coming together of many faiths can be a distorting process. One may be forced to embrace several faiths as one loses faith in ideology. This does not mean the death of ideology; or the emergence of a new system of beliefs. Our surroundings never question the root cause of violence. Petition after petition is dismissed by our courts. The so-called empathy stems from what we see in the media. Tears of the deceased and gloomy faces that surround the murdered generate empathy. Empathy generated in this manner never translates into a plan of action to stop political violence in our society.

Solely blaming the current government in Kerala will not stop the seamless continuity of political murders. There is an underbelly in public life that aims to spread communal violence. The need of our time is not a revision of political parties or ideologies. It is a thorough civic consciousness that will make those who are on the verge of committing the murder rethink. Political murder is inevitably the conclusion of a tapestry of actions. We need to ask what makes some actions a spectacle. The issue is not whether the “majority” or “minority” are involved in murders, but that they are happening more often. Next to civic consciousness, we need an urgent platform of democratic and liberal assembly. The idea of “secular” requires a more sensible understanding. Notions of secularism should not sink into impatience. As Henry James said, “the whole of anything is never told”.

This column first appeared in the print edition on December 22, 2021 under the title ‘Anatomy of political violence’. The writer is associate professor of English at Deshbandhu College, Delhi University