The two day "debate" to celebrate the Indian Constitution and honor Dr Babasheb Ambedkar revealed a lot of hypocrisy and double speak that has become the lingua franca of political parties. BJP leaders leaders made ridiculous attempts to somehow project an impression that it (or its ideological parents like the RSS) played a significant role during the drafting of the Constitution. Congress President Sonia Gandhi told in as many words that only the Congress has rights over the Constitution. And Communist leaders added their own mythologies, and pathologies. Particularly interesting was the speech delivered by CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury who mocked the Sangh Parivar. Many points that he raised were valid. But Yechury conveniently chose not to speak a word about the perfidious role of the communists and Marxists in contemporary Indian history.
Despite being humiliated in election after election and being reduced to a fringe in Indian politics, the Marxist parties still proudly claim to protect India from "Imperialist" forces (read the US and its allies). According to them, Indian democracy, politics and economics has been hijacked by corporate and imperial interests. They denounce mainstream Indian parties for acting as de facto stooges of such powers. Makes for nice rhetoric. But how "home grown" are Indian Marxists? And what is their track record of not kowtowing to the "foreign hand"? It is very important for young Indians to learn a little more about Marxists in India since school and college text books still do not reveal their true colors.
Once upon a time, there was a Communist Party of India (CPI) that was ideologically and openly committed to the overthrow of the feudal state of India and the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat, a la Soviet Union. When the Second World War began in 1939, the CPI refused to to even nominally support Great Britain and its allies. The reason: Hitler and the then Boss of Soviet Union had signed friendship and cooperation treaties. The CPI world view changed almost overnight when Germany invaded Soviet Union in June, 1941. Suddenly, the CPI became the loudest and most hysterical supporter of the Allies and enemy of the Nazis! When an enfeebled and broke England granted India freedom in 1947, the CPI denounced the whole thing as a false freedom and actually tried to instigate armed resurrections in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu (followers of the Dravidian movement then too refused to accept India as their country) and Kerala. But sometime in 1950, after India became a Republic, it seems Stalin decided that India under Nehru could be a potential ally in the Cold War where the Soviet Union and the US led two ideologically opposed camps that sought global domination. The CPI promptly discarded the idea of an armed overthrow of the Indian State and participated in the first Lok Sabha elections of 1951-52. Do note: the Marxists who accuse others of being stooges of Imperial powers were in the habit of taking orders from Moscow.
By the 1960s, the Marxists' posturing became even more of a farce. By then, close allies Soviet Union and China had become bitter rivals. The 1962 war where China humiliated India created a wide rift in the ranks of Marxists. One section, taking orders from Moscow, supported India and denounced China. By then, a group within the CPI had started taking orders from Beijing ruled by Mao Ze Dong. And this group supported China during and after the war. In 1964, the conflicting orders a managing from Moscow and Beijing became too much for the Marxists to handle and they split. Thus was born the CPI (M) which is the Big Brother of the Indian Marxist Mafia.
The CPI started coming increasingly closer to Indira Gandhi after 1969 when her economic policies lurched decisively leftwards. It became a champion of Indira and a de facto ally of the Congress when India and the Soviet Union signed a strategic friendship treaty in 1971. Moscow approved. But Beijing and Mao liked neither Soviet Union nor Indira. So the CPI (M) was implacably opposed to Indira and the Congress. The CPI supported the Emergency while the CPI (M) became a champion of individual liberty! In 1979, China invaded Vietnam to teach it a lesson. The CPI cried foul (Moscow) while the CPI (M) demurred (Beijing). The same year, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The CPI (M) loudly condemned (Beijing) and even supported the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics led by the "Imperialist" America! Moscow inspired CPI demurred. The CPI started becoming irrelevant as the Soviet Union disintegrated. The CPI (M) continued to be a loyal camper of Beijing and kept unleashing rhetoric against Uncle Sam. It led the protests against the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Did you hear even word of all this from Mr. Yechury? Why would you? But simpletons as Indian voters are often made out to be, they seem to understand both their own and national interest better than so-called political pundits. The Bihar election was a short and cruel reminder to the BJP about this. But the real lesson that Indian voters have taught over a longer period is to Marxists. Perhaps Mr Yechury can spend time thinking about that rather than routinely denounce other parties as stooges of Imperial powers.
