People's Democracy

Oriya Version of Capital, Vol 1, Comes out

Pradip Mohanty

PRAKASH Karat, general secretary of the CPI(M), recently released the Oriya translation of Volume I of Karl Marx’s magnum opus, Das Kapital, at Jayadev Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. As we know, the volume not only traced the genesis and development of capitalism till that time, but also signalled the doom of the capitalist social order and the inevitability of the advent of a socialist society.

On this occasion, Karat addressed a big gathering at Jaydev Bhawan, where people from all sections of society were present. He said that, contrary to the motivated bourgeois and imperialist propaganda, the views put forward in Das Kapital still hold valid in the today’s world situation. The value created by labourers goes to them only partly whereas another part of it passes away as surplus value to the capitalist class. A worker gets a wage for his labour power but is made to create more than what he gets. Karat further said the neo liberal economy of today is nothing but primitive accumulation of capital in a changed form --- a phenomenon which has been amply explained in Volume I of Das Kapital. The rampant loot of mineral resources from our country in general and especially from Orissa is a significantly example of the loot which the primitive capital accumulation today is. He called on people to oppose this capitalist loot. He added that the Oriya translation of Das Kapital, Vol. 1, is a remarkable task in respect to making people aware of this loot and preparing them to get up and resist it.

Renowned Marxian economist Prabhat Pattnaik was the chief guest at this release ceremony. He said capitalism today cannot bring changes to the life of the people. Whatever change is possible, can be brought by socialism alone. He emphasised that no amount of progressive policies can bring about radical social changes if they fail to absorb the concepts propounded by Karl Marx. Capitalism creates unemployment with low level of wages. It deprives peasants and other small producers from their respective properties, which are very small. In India, during the last few years alone, 80 lakh peasants have been evicted from their lands. This is a significant example of what consequences the capitalist path of development may bring about. Compared to the level of 1953, the per capita consumption of food has got drastically reduced. This is the ‘gift’ of capitalist growth path in India over the last 57 years.

Patnaik also pointed out that in today’s world finance capital is not prepared to tolerate the Keynesian theory of intervention to save capitalism from its downfall. The real course of development today cannot be properly understood without understanding what capitalism is. He said that the Oriya translation of Das Kapital, Vol I, by Lambodar Nayak is a timely effort, very different from the Oriya translation of Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto by Bhagabati Panigrahi in 1937. it is after a long period of 73 years that Oriya translation of such a valuable work has come up, and its credit goes to Lambodar Nayak.

Dr Dolgobinda Panda, a prominent intellectual and Marxist author, also eulogised the timely Oriya translation of Das Kapital, Vol I. Those in the release ceremony were also addressed by CPI(M) state secretary Janardan Pati, Sivaji Patnaik and state CITU general secretary Bishnu Mohanty.

At the outset, state CITU president and the translator, Lambodar Nayak, welcome the chief guest and the audience. The meeting was coordinated by Santosh Das,  sub-editor of Marxist Oriya weekly Samyabadi. He concluded the meeting with a vote of thanks for all the participants.

The Oriya version of Capital came out on August 16. It was a heartening event as it was on the same day 143 years ago when Karl Marx had presented his historic work the working class of the world.

The publication of this volume was taken up by one Progressive Publishing House, Lokshiksha Pratishtan, Orissa.