not happening .
The Left has not able to strike the right chord with people . This is bad for Indian democracy . In our democracy , there is a place for all shades of political ideologies — Right , Left and Centre , even fringes . The burnout of the Left leaves large sections of society rudderless and voiceless . Tribals , Dalits , the downtrodden , landless laborers , peasants who looked up to the Left have to seek mentors . The Left is to blame itself for its current state . It turned against the very people it was supposed to protect and nurture .
The Left did some pathbreaking work in its early days . Operation Barga , the land reform programme , which gave a big blow to feudal agriculture , was one such programme . It managed communal harmony well . Barring a few skirmishes , no communal riots were reported from the Left-run States . It did instill in common people that they had a place in Indian society , but it all fizzled out soon .
It doesn ’ t take too many follies to kill you in politics . A single blunder is enough to push you out of the game . The Left has shot itself in the foot many a time . Its Politburo became a club of bhadralok out of sync with reality . It became deaf to new voices and failed to adapt to Indian conditions .
In 1977 , the Jyoti Basu-led Left dispensation came to power in West Bengal and went on to rule for 34 years . Its major election plank was to punish policemen and the Congress netas who indulged in excesses in the name of countering the Naxalbari movement . The Haratosh Chakravarty committee was appointed , which recommended action against certain individuals and policemen . Not only no action was taken against those involved and even indicted policemen were
In 1977 , the Jyoti Basu-led Left dispensation came to power in West Bengal and went on to rule for 34 years . Its major election plank was to punish policemen and the Congress netas who indulged in excesses in the name of countering the Naxalbari movement .
given promotion . The reason was , of course , that the Left wanted to show that it was mainstream and had nothing to do with the ultras . It abandoned the very people who were part once part of it . No efforts were made to bring them into the mainstream . The CPI ( M ) -led Government in West Bengal was using the Central armed forces and even seeking help from Israel to crush the tribal movement in Lalgarh .
The final blow in West Bengal came when Buddhadeb
Bhattacharya tried to forcibly acquire 997 acres of agricultural land in Singur . Thereafter , the Left became a relic of the past .
What Buddhadeb did in Bengal , Pinarayi Vijayan is doing in Kerala . There is anger among the farmers against the land acquisitions in Kerala . The Government is evicting farmers and acquiring land . The cadres are helping it by burning makeshift shelters of the protesting farmers . In a typical emperor style , Vijayan ignominiously shunted out KK Shailaja from his new Cabinet . But he might end up wiping the Left from the State instead .
The Left is caught in a quagmire . It missed the “ historic opportunity ” to have a Left Prime Minister . Its leaders fail to see things from an Indian perspective . Rather , it borrowed the template from China , for which it is often criticised . The Chinese goods and ideas don ’ t last in India . It made little effort to understand the Indian mindset . It couldn ’ t take on the Right-wing ; in an ostrich-like manner it never addressed the question of religion in politics . In fact , its vote bank shifted to the BJP . It contemplated a just society based on human dignity but never bothered to even ban the man-pulled carriages in Kolkata .
Not many Left leaders are visible today . In the era of TV , your presence matters more than your work . And right , now its presence and work are both suspect .
( The writer is a columnist and documentary film-maker . The views expressed are personal .)
www . legacyindia . in June 2021 | Legacy India 21