1. For some time, especially after Narendra Modi led BJP assumed power in the Central government with sole majority in the last Lok Sabha elections, the severity of the aggressive activities of the extreme Hindu communal forces have increased. The aggressive onslaught of the Sangha Parivar led extreme hindutva is nothing new. This onslaught is continuing for the last few decades, although its severity has been fluctuating, sometimes it has increased whereas at other times it receded somewhat. During the last election even though the BJP utilized hostile extreme hindu communal campaigns in some regions, in the main they kept aside the slogans of extreme hindutva and contested the elections on the plank of “development.”, After the massive win of BJP in the election, the Sangh Parivar, taking opportunity of the favourable situation has increased their aggressive, hostile activities of hindutva. On one hand by means of out-and-out falsification, distortion of history and facts they are continuing with their efforts to build up hatred among the people of Hindu community against the minority Muslim and Christian sections. Side by side in order to keep the people of minority religious communities, especially the Muslim masses, subjugated, they are carrying out aggressive onslaughts. With this aim, through actions like, attacking the religious places of Muslims, Christians and other minority communities, then conversions, etc they are curbing the freedom of these sections to follow their religious practices and even without any pretence they are physically assaulting the people of minority community, even killing them and carrying out riots in small scale etc. Through these activities, they are attempting to further increase the communal divide in society generally and trying to utilise the division to communally organize the Hindu masses in the line of their cherished Hindu Rashtra. Apart from this, there is another dangerous aspect of the activities of Sangha Parivar. The ideals of hindutva that they want to establish in society amounts to establishing of unscientific, religious superstitions as against scientific thought and the regiment of extreme hindu communal forces that they have built up based on this ideology is bent on demolishing any opposing view in society in a fascist way. In one word, Sangh Parivar is not simply extremely communal, they are in totality against progress and anti-democratic.
2. These two main aspects of the onslaught of Sangh Parivar i.e. intensifying the atmosphere of communal divide and hatred in society and the attempt to establish the reactionary ideology of extreme hindutva in society is a matter of grave danger for the proletariat and the toiling masses of the country and to even the comparatively progressive, democratic sections of the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois society. The biggest danger before the proletariat lay in the fact that extreme Hindu communalism and all other kinds of communalism increases further the communal divisions within the working class and the toiling masses which is a big hurdle for the building up of class unity. If the class unity remains weak, not only the resistance struggle against the attacks of the employer class remains weak, it also hampers the struggle for emancipation. Moreover, the ideology of extreme Hindutva diverts the working class from the struggle for emancipation from exploitation, in other words, from the struggle for socialism.
3. These activities of Sangh Parivar have naturally strengthened the discussions about the possibility of establishment of fascist rule in India. It is beyond doubt that Sangh Parivar is not merely an extreme communal organization, but is by its very character a fascist organization. The ultimate aim of Sangh Parivar is establishment of a hindu rashtra in India, a state which will not only keep the people of other religions subjugated and suppressed, but a state whose one of the main pillars/ props of power and authority will be a blindly faithful regiment organized on the basis of reactionary ideology of hindutva. Quite naturally such a state will abandon the minimum rights of bourgeois democracy as a result of which freedom of expression, the rights of women, and the democratic rights of struggle and organization of the exploited, toiling masses including the working class will be curbed. Although any form of religious state is not a fascist state, there is no room for any doubt that the hindu rashtra planned and cherished by the Sangh Parivar will be a fascist state.
4. However, whatever the plans of Sangh Parivar are, ultimately like any other country, in India also whether a fascist rule will be established or not that will be determined not by Sangh Parivar or any other organization, but by the ruling camp, mainly their leader the big bourgeois ruling class. The big bourgeoisie, in order to further increase the attacks of globalization-liberalisation with the aim of imposing the burdens of their crisis on the toiling masses, have brought the Narendra Modi led BJP to power. But that does not mean that they want to establish a fascist ruling structure by dismantling the parliamentary structure. For almost more than seven decades they have continued their rule through this parliamentary structure deceiving the masses very cunningly and craftily. And continuously through a series of reforms they are refining the parliamentary structure so that the people can be kept tied in a number of ways to this system. It is also being noticed that during this period after the Lok Sabha election, the extreme Hindu communal activities of Sangh Parivar has become a cause for concern for the big bourgeoisie. They are openly expressing their opposition to it and advising Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership to restrain these extreme hindutva elements.
On the other hand, the coming to power of BJP in the Central Government or in a number of states with the support of people does not imply that the people has accepted its ideology of Hindutva to the same extent as the support it has garnered in the election. The masses have lent support to the BJP mainly due to the problems of their life and livelihood. At the same time it is also amply clear that the people are very much confined within the parliamentary system. Consequently, till now there has not been any sign that the people are wanting to break the present structure.
Probably because of these two reasons, in spite of the fact that the Sangh Parivar could more and more acquire a position of importance during the past two decades in Indian politics, it cannot be said that the possibility of establishment of fascism in India has been greatly strengthened. But if the economic crisis of this country deepens further and due to that the crisis of the big bourgeoisie intensifies then at that time the big bourgeoisie may tilt towards a fascist rule if they feel for such a necessity and in that case the fascist Sangh Parivar may well become their appropriate weapon.
5. Even if the ruling class wants to impose such a system of rule, whether it will be possible for them in a big country like India, where different nationalities and communities are vying between themselves in all possible ways to represent their interests within the ruling system, is not beyond doubt. On the other hand, even though the adherents of Hindu religion are in majority in society, as they are divided into different castes and nationalities, whether it is possible to unite such a big society on the basis of the ideology of extreme hindutva and transform it into a weapon of fascism is also doubtful.
6. Being in government within a bourgeois system, the BJP is compelled to protect the interests of the big bourgeoisie and as the Sangh Parivar’s target of establishment of Hindu rashtra is not in consonance with the interests of the big bourgeois at present, the contradiction between the BJP leadership and Sangh Parivar has spilled out into the open from time to time. Just to rubbish it as something fictitious and ignore it will be wrong while on the other it is not very big a contradiction either. It is a contradiction between the different sections of the same family. From the necessities of parliamentary democracy the BJP cannot solely depend upon the agenda of extreme hindutva, while at the same time it is neither able to leave out its main support base, the upper caste, Hindu communal sections. On the other, even though there is an apparent conflict between the main aim of Sangh Parivar and the present activities of BJP, for the achievement of the ultimate aim of Sangh Parivar itself, it is also necessary that the BJP stays in power.
7. In spite of this role of the ruling class, it will be a grave mistake if we underestimate the dangers of onslaught of extreme Hindutva as have been mentioned before. Such mobilizations are intensifying the communal divisions and weakening the class unity. The extreme hindutva mobilizations act not only as an obstacle to class unity, it is not merely an obstacle to the development of the class struggle of the proletariat moving in the direction of socialism, it is a danger for democracy and progress in its totality.
8. As it is the communalism of the majority religious community and because of its extremely aggressive role, in the context of communalism, the extreme hindu communalism is the main danger for the toiling masses of India. But the forces of communalism and fundamentalism of the minority religions are also a danger for the working classes and toiling masses. On one hand, by communally organizing the toiling masses of their respective communities they are weakening class unity and on the other, their communal activities is helping to enhance the influence of Hindu communalism among the toiling masses of the Hindu community.
9. In undivided India, from the end of 19th century, along with Hindu communalism, the Muslim communalism had also developed simultaneously. The formation of Muslim majority Pakistan on religious basis has been a consequence of that. Quite naturally after partition there remained in India the legacies of Muslim communalism. These forces have always tried to confine the workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, the other toiling masses of Muslim community and the Muslim masses in general, within the influence of backward, unscientific and reactionary ideology of religious fundamentalism, keeping them caged within the boundaries of Muslim community. During the last 25-30 years Muslim communalism has further consolidated itself and it has more firmly spread its tentacles among the lower sections of the Muslim masses. One of the main reasons behind it is the growth of aggressive, attacking extreme Hindu communalism, whose aggressive onslaughts have been prominently manifested among other incidents, through such large-scale, horrifying incidents of tremendous assaults like the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, the 1993 Mumbai riots, and the 2002 Gujarat genocide. In reaction to such attacks of the extreme Hindu communal, fascist forces on the minority religious communities, especially the masses of Muslim community, the communal feeling among these masses is also increasing, utilizing which the fundamentalist, communal forces have been further able to spread their influence.
10. But regarding this aggravation of influence of the fundamentalist, communal forces on the Muslim masses, the so-called secular state of India and the bourgeois, petty-bourgeois political parties, known as secular parties, also cannot shirk from their responsibilities. In the present era of imperialism, being the state of the bourgeoisie dependent on and compromising with imperialism, the Indian state has never been able to adopt the true policies of secularism. From the start, the secular policies adopted by the ruling class of India, the big bourgeois, has not been the real secular principles of separating religion from the activities of the state. The so-called secular policies were declared to be the policies of giving equal treatment and encouragement to all religions. As the people of the Hindu community have always been in majority, de facto this policy has turned out to be that of giving comparatively more indulgence to Hindu religion. Such a role of the state has given encouragement to various fundamentalist, communal forces. Even the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois political parties, known as secular parties, including the reformist, revisionist ones, due to their inherent weaknesses could never stand up against the fundamentalist, communal ideas in its totality. On the contrary, in their electoral interests they have helped in the further spread of religious beliefs and communal aspirations of various communities and different fundamentalist, communal forces including the extreme Hindu communalism. These political parties have used the helplessness of masses of the Muslim community born out of attacks of extreme Hindu communalism for their electoral interests. But they have been unable to provide any security to the Muslim masses by building up effective resistance against extreme Hindu communalism. The more unfortunate fact of this period is that the proletariat also due to the disorganized, dispersed condition of its class has not been anywhere in the vicinity of building up some kind of resistance against extreme Hindu communalism. Due to this also the religious and communal identity of the lower sections of Muslim masses have been strengthened and using this favorable atmosphere the Muslim fundamentalist and communal forces have been able to strengthen their grip on the masses of Muslim community.
11. On another account, the influence of Muslim communalism has increased in India. The imperialist countries, especially U.S. imperialism, in order to spread their hegemony are continually attacking the countries of Middle-East and other adjoining countries for several decades. They are barbarically assaulting the masses of this region. Although the aim of imperialism is establishment of their hegemony in this region to loot natural resources, in order to cover it up they are carrying on attacks on the alibi of suppressing Islamic terrorism. To the Muslim masses this whole series of attacks is appearing as attacks on their Muslim community. Only the international proletariat could have built up the real resistance against imperialism. But after the defeat of the first campaign of the international socialist movement the proletariat at present is in a disorganized and dispersed state. In such a situation the anti-imperialist resentment of the Muslim masses is mainly being voiced by the Muslim fundamentalist organizations. As a result the influence of the Muslim fundamentalist organizations on the people of the Muslim community is growing.
Secondly, certain sections among these organisations, instead of building mass struggles against the tremendously powerful imperialism are mainly carrying on terrorist activities. This in turn is creating the basis for anti-Islamic or anti-Muslim sentiments among the non-Muslim masses. The imperialists and their stooges are exploiting this contradiction cunningly and stamping the whole of Muslim community to be terrorists. The common Muslim masses are frequently becoming victims of various kinds of harassment, torture and oppression. Such incidents are further increasing the community feeling among Muslims strengthening the influence of fundamentalist, communal forces on them.
There is another reason for the growth of Muslim fundamentalist forces in imperialist countries. Within the imperialist countries, especially within some countries of Europe, a large part of immigrants are Muslims. In recent times due to a number of reasons the contradiction of these people with the original inhabitants, who are mostly white and Christians, is also growing. This is also helping the growth of Muslim fundamentalist forces.
12. There are a number of reasons behind such rise of communalism in our country. Through a complex interrelation and interplay of these causes communalism has risen up to such an extent. Of course the main reason for this rise of communalism is socio-economic. In spite of the fact that there has been a development of capitalism in our country, it has occurred not through democratic revolution but through reform. Due to that reason, till now the remnants of pre-capitalist production relations exist to a large extent in society and the economy. As the development of capitalism has occurred through reforms therefore the influences of old values and ideals prevail to a large extent. Here religion is not merely a matter of personal belief. In social life a considerable influence of religion prevails. Due to that the religion based communities are firmly entrenched in society. On the other hand, out of the stunted development of capitalism, there has arisen the competition to corner for oneself the rights to the benefits emerging from capitalism, leading to the birth of religious communal existence, division and conflict.
13. British imperialism, in order to keep the Indian masses divided, has used this communal division and intensified it, as a consequence of which has occurred the partition of the country on the basis of religion. The incident of partition on communal basis has acted as an important cause for continued existence of communalism in India and the whole of the sub-continent. The ruling camp also, which under the leadership of the big bourgeoisie ascended to power, did not attempt to strike at the root of communalism by separating religion from the state. They were not capable of doing it. On the contrary, on different occasions, in the interests of their rule, they also utilized communal divisions along with caste and nationality divisions and thus through that further intensified it.
14. The big bourgeois parties of India, even all kinds of petty-bourgeois parties including the so-called communist parties who are steeped in electoral politics, have in the midst of the push and pull of electoral politics used communal divisions in various extents and are still doing the same. As it is not possible for them to acquire the support of the masses by attracting them towards some advanced ideology so they have played the dirty game of garnering support of the masses by utilizing the divisions of caste, religious communalism and the nationalities. And through this they have worked in favour of preserving and further boosting the prevailing communal divisions in society.
15. Another important reason for rise of communalism, especially extreme Hindu communalism, is the retreat of the revolutionary possibilities that emerged through the mass mobilizations of the workers and peasants in the decade of sixties. Looking back it can be understood that that retreat is linked up with the defeat of the first campaign of the international socialist movement. After that, on one hand, the class struggle, for long, has remained at a very low stage. To whatever extent the struggles of the workers and the rural poor masses have been seen during this stage, it has remained confined within the level of economic struggle and that also in isolation from each other. The other side of this is that after the fragmentation of the CPI (ML) into numerous sections, for the last 40 years, no revolutionary party exists; quite naturally there is no revolutionary movement in society and the stream of activities of the revolutionary communists that exist is so weak that it is unable to produce any impact in society. As filth accumulates in stagnant water in a similar manner in the absence of revolutionary movement and revolutionary ideology the identities of religion, caste or nationality has acquired importance/prominence within the worker and poor toiling masses. Not only the Sangh Parivar and various other communal organizations but even the various parties representing the ruling class have utilized the feelings of religious communities as wished by them according to their need and through that intensified the communal divisions and hatred.
16. As the objective causes behind the existence and intensification of communalism exist within society, similarly the objective elements for struggle against it also exist within society. Of course the most powerful force for this is the working class. The capitalist mode of production, irrespective of which community a worker belongs to, make them part of the same production process and by making them victim of the same kind of exploitation and oppression objectively prods the working class in the direction of liberation from religious communal divisions. It does not require much effort for the workers to understand from the experiences of their lives that the capitalists are their enemies, the workers and poor people of other religions are not enemies of one another. But such a realization can take a firm, effective form only when the workers in the course of their struggle advance in the direction of becoming class-conscious and when they understand in real terms the necessity of keeping the class unity intact, expanding and consolidating it. Objectively the working class is the only force in society which has the capacity to really resist the communal and fascist forces and defeat all kinds of communal forces including the extreme Hindu communal, fascist Sangh Parivar by building up class unity and developing class struggle. The agricultural labourer and poor peasants including the large multitude of toiling people of villages also oppose communal conflict and hatred, especially riots through the experiences in their life. The working class organized in the form of a class is able to unite all the toiling masses and build up anti-communal struggle.
17. The influence of communalism on the masses is in real sense an expression of influence of an ideology. On one hand it is an ideology whose manifestation occurs through religious bigotry, superstitions, belief in fate, reliance on god etc.., on the other side it manifests through such approaches like searching for some supernatural force for the problems of life instead of trying to find out the real causes or blaming the people of other communities, competing with other communities to prove the superiority of one’s own community, etc. If the poor, toiling masses are to be really liberated from the clutches of fundamentalist, communal forces then in opposition to their old, backward ideology the modern, scientific, and developed ideals, the ideology of socialism have to be highlighted. It has to be explained why only a communist society in real sense will not only liberate them from class exploitation it will also open up the path to development of a complete man.
18. But such an ideal is able to attract the poor toiling and exploited masses when there exists in society a strong current of class struggle of the working class and the rural proletariat, advancing in the direction of building up a communist society free from exploitation and of course there also exists a true communist party capable of leading the struggle consciously. The stream of that struggle is not there, neither is there any communist party. The working class has still not been able to rise up from the situation of defeat. Only some initial signs of its turning around has started appearing. This process of turning around has started in the level of economic struggle. Even in the level of economic struggle, although partially, the workers due to the necessity faced by them will attempt to build up struggling unity against communal division. But to build up real anti-communal struggles at the political level from a real class position in its totality, there is the necessity of developed class-consciousness, the necessity of comprehending the objective aim of building a society free from exploitation by the working class. The struggles of the working class that have presently started at the level of economic struggle will definitely proceed in the coming days towards a country-wide struggle in its totality. Through its advancement and the experience acquired from it, the working class will also advance taking lessons and thus proceed towards higher class consciousness. When a stream of revolutionary struggle and a party of the working class come into existence, by means of the united strength of the workers and peasant masses under the leadership of the party, the real anti-communal struggle will be able to gather steam. The anti-communal struggle is an inseparable part of the class struggle of the working class and toiling masses and it will be able to reach its cherished goal only by advancing in the direction of socialism.
19. In the present condition of class struggle, and absence of a communist party, it is impossible for a group to not only organize large sections of backward masses, but even the large mass of working class, on the basis of a real anti-communal position and build up anti-communal struggle. Only a real communist party can perform such a task. In such a situation, the task we can adopt is making the working class conscious about the extreme, Hindu communal and fascist politics of Sangh Parivar and carry on campaigns against all kinds of communal, fundamentalist forces to unite the advanced sections of workers and the rural poor of different communities isolating them from the clutches of their respective fundamentalist communal forces for consolidating and expanding the advanced detachment representing the interests of the working class. In spite of tremendous adversities it is possible to make the section of advanced workers think as it is possible for them to realize the commonality of interests of the exploited masses from experiences of their lives and the necessity of unity of the toiling masses irrespective of different communities.
20. The development of capitalism has given birth to scientific thought, improved life, individual freedom and democratic perceptions among the bourgeoisie and petty-bourgeoisie of society. Due to that even from the ranks of bourgeoisie and petty-bourgeoisie a section of intelligentsia emerge who because of their positions of individual freedom, democratic perceptions, and scientific thoughts stand up against communalism. Apart from the working class and other toiling masses they also objectively carry with them elements of anti-communal struggle in society. Even though small but presently such a section is observed who are opposed to the extreme hindutva ideology of the Sangh Parivar. A section of the petty-bourgeoisie intellectuals can be made to accept a position against the extreme Hindu communalism and fascist ideals of Sangh Parivar and generally against all kinds of communalism. Attempts to attract and make them think must mainly be from the perspective of an advanced ideology rather than from the perspective of class unity. But why the working class is only able to build the real anti-communal movement that must be highlighted before them.
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