People's Democracy

  18th Congress Resolution On Communalism

THE 18th congress of the CPI(M) expresses its firm resolve to combat the communal fascist ideology of the RSS-VHP-BJP-Shiv Sena combine. The BJP and its allies may have lost the recent election, but the need to remain vigilant against the continuing threat of communal forces to national unity, democracy and the secular fabric of the country still remains. They are running five state governments, in which the state machinery is being widely used to convert the minorities to second-class citizens and institutionalise communalism. The communal ideology of the Sangh Parivar has struck deep roots in various sections of the people, including even sections of tribals and dalits. The RSS is using its control over its network of schools and colleges to instil hatred of minorities in the minds of the young. Amongst tribals, it is using the vanavasi kendras ostensibly for development but in actual practice to spread the agenda of religious hatred and attack the Christians in the name of fighting ‘conversions’.

After the electoral defeats, the BJP and its Hindutva allies have made successive attempts to create communal conflicts. It tried to use Uma Bharati’s arrest over an old case relating to her attempt to stoke communal fires in Karnataka by hoisting the national flag over the idgah maidan. She tried to capitalise on her arrest by taking out a tiranga jhanda campaign before the Maharashtra elections. The BJP and the VHP also tried to politicise the arrest of the Kanchi Shankarachraya on criminal charges, claiming that this was an attack on Hindu religion. Though the people have rebuffed these attempts, the potential for such acts to arouse communal tension still remains.

After the Maharashtra defeat and L K Advani’s taking over as the president of the BJP, the BJP is clearly reinforcing its hardcore Hindutva agenda. In his speech to the National Council of the party after assuming the presidentship, Advani declared that if Vajpayee had come back to power, the Ram temple would have certainly been built at Ayodhya. He has again reiterated BJP’s commitment to the Ram temple in the recent session of the BJP’s National Council. Advani’s exhortation to his ranks not to be apologetic about Hindutva and his attempts to present the Hindutva agenda as "nationalism" reflects the BJP’s necessity to keep its flock of NDA allies together.

Gujarat continues to mirror the real face of BJP rule. Even today, the Muslim and Christian minorities are being squeezed out of the state’s economy. The riot victims have not only received no or negligible compensation, they continue to be threatened with reprisals if they dare name those who were responsible for the Gujarat carnage. The role of the Modi government has become clear with the NHRC and the Supreme Court both indicting it for complicity in the riots and the consequent cover-up. A number of intellectuals, social movements and groups have fought along with the Left and secular forces to get justice for the Gujarat victims. This fight must continue to bring to book those guilty of the Gujarat pogroms.

After the Gujarat pogroms and other attacks, the minorities in the country feel insecure and isolated. This has encouraged fundamentalist and divisive forces inside these communities. Minority communalism and the growth of fundamentalism are inimical to the genuine interests of the minorities. It is by building a broad secular and democratic mobilisation that the right of minorities can be defended.

During the BJP led NDA rule, there was a communalisation of the various instruments of the state. In vital areas, such as those related to education and culture, RSS ideologues or those close to its core ideology of Hindutva were put in positions of authority. The bureaucracy, the police, the judiciary, the post of governors, the educational system, mass media and even the armed forces have been subjected to this infiltration. The governing bodies of Prasar Bharati, NCERT, ICSSR and a host of other institutions have been infiltrated by those owing allegiance to the communal fascist ideology of the BJP and its Hindutva allies. It is unfortunate that the UPA government has taken only some half-hearted measures and seems unwilling to detoxify this penetration of the Indian state by forces that are opposed to its secular and democratic character.

The CPI(M) and the Left today are the core of the resistance against the communalisation of Indian society. The Left Front governments have stood as a bulwark against the communal onslaught in protecting minorities and communal harmony in the Left ruled states. The 18th congress asserts the need of the widest unity of the secular and democratic forces possible in order to combat the communal forces in the country.

The Congress Party must live up to its pledge to fight the communal forces. It must give up its vacillating attitude it has shown in the past when faced with the communal offensive. The UPA government must also bring forward legislation to curb communal violence.

In the struggle against communalism, the BJP-RSS combine’s anti-dalit, anti-adivasi ethos based on their defence of Brahmanical Varnashram Dharma must be exposed. This congress calls upon the party to wage a consistent, political and ideological struggle against the Hindutva forces.

The 18th congress demands:

• Bringing to book the guilty of Gujarat pogroms

• The clear separation of religion from state and politics

• Prosecution of those who foment communal hatred and strife

• Freeing the state apparatus of RSS penetration

The 18th congress affirms on the need of to build the broadest possible unity of the secular and democratic forces to counter the BJP’s Hindutva agenda and for further isolating the BJP and its Hindutva allies.