global capitalism takes first reprisals in india [Archive]

Reuben

17th May 2004, 15:17

For those who have ever wondered about the limits imposed in a bourgoeis democrac the current situation in India is an excellent example. The past few days india's electorate kicked out the BJP (a party characterised by a far-right mix of hindu chauvanism and neo-liberal economic polcy) and voted in Congress -as the party with the most seats - and the communist dominated left front with 60 seats and hte baance of power in parliament (congress rely on the communists to for ma majority in parliament).

SO today india's stock markets crashed in response perhaps due to a genuine fear o rediustribution of wealth on the part of the rich global corporations involved in india but also, in my opinion, as a warning a way of telling the new indian politicians that htem having a deemocratic mandate isnt sufficient, that unless they carry out policy dedicated to creating the optimum conditions for capital to operate in they will impverish the country by disruptng the economy.

Saint-Just

18th May 2004, 09:03

Here is a very good article on it, from www.ernesto-guevara.com/forum, originally posted at politics forum. It is from a bourgeois source.

http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=36070

14-May-2004

In India, Marx is alive and well

Indo-Asian News Service- NEW DELHI, India:
Karl Marx is dead and his ideology lies buried around
the world. But in India his followers are going strong
and are set to become kingmakers as the country
braces for a new coalition government.

In an electoral whirlwind that has left many breathless,
the Left, as the communists are known, have captured
an enviable 62 seats to become the third largest group
in the 545-member Lok Sabha, the lower house of
parliament. It is the best showing ever in parliamentary
elections by the Indian communists, one of the most
influential in the Third World.

Although the 62 seats have come from only six of India's
28 states, thus betraying the somewhat limited appeal of
the Left, it is a victory that has stunned even its worst critics.
Of this, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M),
among the most successful leftist groups in the
non-communist world, alone accounts for 43 seats. The
older but smaller Communist Party of India (CPI) holds
10 seats, while the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP)
and Forward Bloc have won three seats each.

An independent backed by CPI-M and two smaller pro-Left
parties account for the remaining three seats.

Doraiswamy Raja, deputy leader of the once pro-Moscow
CPI, explained why Marxism continues to have an appeal
in India despite the collapse of the Soviet empire and the
end of Cold War.

"One reason is ideological," Raja told IANS. "Communism
continues to attract, more so in the emerging economic
situation. It has its relevance. "Then, the Indian communists
have always identified themselves with the poor and working
people. Sometimes they may lose electoral battles, but as a
party and movement they survive and continue to grow."

And Raja, who is 57 and joined CPI in 1967, said the
ability of the Indian communists to forge crucial electoral
pacts with non- communist "friendly" groups gave them
seats even in areas where they may struggle to win on
their own.

The election tie-ups, however, are only one reason for the
strength of the Indian Left. Most of their seats have come
from their three traditional bastions: West Bengal, which a
Left Front headed by CPI- M has ruled since June 1977,
Kerala and Tripura.

Besides the CPI-M, CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc, there
are numerous smaller leftist groups with limited pockets
of influence. These include far-left Maoist outfits like the
People's War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Centre
(MCC).

There is also the Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist
(CPI- ML), an offshoot of the CPI-M that wields tremendous
influence in Bihar, adjoining West Bengal.

Many communists argue that their strength in India can
go up dramatically if the CPI, CPI-M and CPI-ML
overcome their ideological differences and merge.

The CPI is India's second oldest political party and was
founded in 1925. It remained strongly pro-Moscow until
the Soviet Union's disintegration, and in the 1930s was
the most powerful party in the country after the Congress.
After the first general election in 1952, the CPI was the
main opposition party. But ideological confusion led to its
steady decline, and eventually to a costly split in 1964
leading to the formation of CPI-M.

Then the CPI-M broke up in 1969 leading to the CPI-ML's
birth. In the 1970s, the three parties were at each other's
throat, often killing one another's members. The animosity
has since given way to close cooperation between CPI
and CPI-M, and to a live-and-let-live attitude towards the
dominant faction of CPI-ML. But Maoist groups like PWG
and MCC still consider the mainstream communists as
"betrayers" for taking to parliamentary democracy.

In 1996, the CPI-M's Jyoti Basu, who for a quarter
century was the West Bengal chief minister, almost
became prime minister of India at the head of a
centre-left coalition.

But a heavily doctrinaire CPI-M, which still worships
Joseph Stalin, decided not to let Basu become the
prime minister on ideological grounds.

"It was the best example that Indian communists are
essentially democrats," said Raja. "Jyoti Basu wanted
to become the prime minister, but the party decided by
majority vote against it. If this is not democracy, then
what is democracy?"