People's Democracy

THINKING TOGETHER

Q. You have reasserted the caste policy vide PD dated 26.10.2003. But with this policy we could not build unity of all the proletarians in India and also could not detect “subterranean” revolts and churnings which gave birth to more than three dozen regional parties. These regional parties were revolts against the “pro-caste” and “pro-Manuwadi” policies of the Congress regimes in the past.  It is the duty of the Left parties to unite all proletariats of India (dalits, STs, OBCs, Minorities) by changing the caste policies to suit the regional or proletariat parties.

Yes it is the duty of the Left parties to unite all the oppressed sections in order to save India and to change it for the better. The moot point is on how to work towards such a unity. This cannot be done as you suggest by changing our policies to suit the regional parties.

In the first place, it is not correct to attribute the birth of regional parties only to the caste question. Many regional parties have emerged when the regional vested interests – the growing bourgeoisie and the landlords – establish political parties to safeguard their interests.  That such parties utilise the caste divide in our society for their survival and advance is a different matter. But not all regional parties sustain themselves only on the basis of a caste appeal. This may be true for some but not necessarily true for all.

The continued oppression of the dalits and other backward classes has also resulted in a growing sense of revolt against such social oppression amongst these castes. Caste based parties however seek to confine such growing revolt within the parameters of the concerned castes. They do not permit and in fact seek to prevent the integration of this growing consciousness amongst the oppressed castes with the general democratic movement that seeks a radical change in our social order.

The unity of all the oppressed sections can only be possible when the issues of social oppression are taken up by the Left parties as vigorously as they take up the issues of economic exploitation. Social oppression and economic exploitation constitute two parts of the class struggle that is taking place in India today. It is such an integration of struggles on both these aspects that the CPI(M) seeks and it is through such an integration that the unity of the oppressed can be built.