People's Democracy

  Halt The Dangerous Metamorphosis Of The Republic

THE results of every general election have an important bearing on the consolidation of the Indian republic. The outcome of the 14th general elections, however, will have an additional import. These will decide whether the politically rightward directional shift that has been put into motion during the last five years would be accelerated or retarded, if not reversed. This directional shift has, amongst other things, three important features.

First is the process of the communalisation of the entire administration and its various departments. From the largest number of RSS pracharaks being appointed as Governors to changes in the syllabi of textbooks, this process is evident in every sphere. This directional shift seeks not merely to undermine the secular democratic character of the Indian republic. It seeks to metamorphose, if necessary, by force and violence (as seen in Gujarat), the Indian republic into the RSS vision of a communal fascistic "Hindu Rashtra". In the final analysis, it must be recollected that the BJP is nothing else but the political arm of the RSS.

Secondly, the trajectory of economic reforms has left the country in a piquant situation. The outstanding debt of the government this year has mounted to over 17 lakh crore with an annual interest payment of nearly one and a half lakh crores. The living conditions of the vast majority of the Indian people, notwithstanding the cacophony of "India Shining", has sharply deteriorated. The mortgaging of India and heaping the burdens on the people has been the final outcome of the policies of the Vajpayee government. That India is `shining’ for a minority is more than corroborated by a wealth of official statistics. This is true for all sections, including corporate India, where only the top 10 per cent have registered phenomenal gains at the expense of the rest of the 90 per cent. Such a trajectory will surely reduce the Indian economy into one of the peripheral satellites of metropolitan capital.

Thirdly, India’s foreign policy has been reduced to be mainly Pakistan-centric. In the process, currying favour of US imperialism has become its hallmark. From being a leader of the third world countries in resisting imperialist political, economic and military hegemonic drive, India seeks to replace Pakistan as a US surrogate in South Asia.

Through a 14-part media exposure of the claims made by this government titled "Lies, damned lies and statistics", the CPI(M) has established the above conclusions. They have already been published in the People’s Democracy over the last month.

These elements of the directional shift are, by no means, accidental. It is a part of the ongoing battle between three distinct visions that sought to define the character of the Indian republic during the freedom struggle. The Congress vision sought to establish a secular democratic republic based on the foundations of self-reliance, social justice and federalism was the dominant vision. Pointing out the limitations of halting the transformation of independent India with these objectives alone, the Left vision argued for the transformation of the political independence into the economic independence of its people, i.e., socialism.

In complete contra-distinction emerged the third vision which argued for defining the character of the Indian republic on the basis of the religious affiliation of its people. This vision had a twin expression – the "Hindu Rashtra" and Islamic republic. Savarkar predates Jinnah in advancing the two-nation theory. While the RSS championed the "Hindu Rashtra", the Muslim League’s effort led to the painful partition of India ably assisted by the British who supported the stoking of communal passions. Jinnah’s vision divided the country, harmed the community that he led and with the break up of Pakistan in 1971, it completely exposed the falsity of the two-nation theory. Hindu communal fanaticism, on the other hand, claimed the life of Mahatma Gandhi after the partition.

The battle between these visions continues. The rightward directional shift that we have seen in the last five years is the motion of this metamorphosis of the secular democratic republic into the RSS vision of a communal fascistic "Hindu Rashtra".

Unless halted, this process may well lead to the Saudi Arabianisation of India. Saudi Arabia is a religiously fundamentalist medieval monarchy, an anachronism in modern democratic civilisation. Yet, it is one of the firmest allies of US imperialism as long as it protects the imperialist interests – economic, military and geo-political.

Given this, any amount of retrograde anti-democratic content domestically will be tolerated, if not, patronised by imperialism. India is in the danger of being converted into a modern Hindu variant of such a dispensation. It is this process that needs to be halted. Simply put, this means that the BJP-led NDA must be defeated in these elections.

Amidst the cacophony of spurious claims and fabricated data proclaiming "India Shining"; amidst the fast degenerating levels of debate whose mainstay has become slander and filth; amidst the strident and shrill high-voltage communal propaganda etc, the import of these elections lies in the ability of the Indian people to either accelerate this metamorphosis of the Republic or to halt it with the eventual objective of reversing it.

The often asked question is that whether an alternative dispensation that is capable of halting this metamorphosis can emerge. The CPI(M) has consistently worked to ensure that the division in the secular opposition votes be reduced to the minimum. It is such a division that had often permitted the communal forces to assume office.

In major states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Bihar and Jharkhand that account for 244 MPs, seat adjustments have been arrived at amongst major forces. In another 64 seats in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, the communal forces have not been able to get a single MLA elected under these parliamentary constituencies. Barring a few smaller states in Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, in the rest of India, the contest is mainly between the BJP and the Congress. There is a strong possibility for an alternative secular government to emerge in the post-election situation.

One is again asked as to who would be the leader of such an alternative? This is an issue that will be decided after the elections. In a democracy, the leader of a future government can only be decided upon once the people exercise their sovereign right by electing their MPs. Seeking to decide on the leader before the people decide whether to elect him/her is actually showing disrespect to the people’s right. Remember, even the mighty Indira Gandhi was defeated. Vajpayee has so far lost six Lok Sabha elections, forfeiting deposit twice. Neither would there be a dearth of competent leaders nor there would be any problems in forging an alternative secular arrangement in the post-election situation.

The need of the hour is to halt this dangerous meta-morphosis of the Republic that is in motion. India, whose character as enshrined in our Constitution, today needs to be saved in order to change it for the better in the future.