The CPI(M) which is shedding tears for broken statues has remained largely indifferent to every day violence against minorities
The recent incidents of vandalism targeting the statues of Vladimir Lenin – a towering communist leader of the Bolshevik revolution in India by the supporters of the ruling Hindu right wing Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) have outraged Indian Marxists who took the streets.
This followed the defeat of the Marxists in the recently held Assembly elections of Tripura state – where the communists were in power for the past 25 years. Though the outgoing chief minister Manik Sarkar was known for his integrity and secularism, he was unseated in the election that resulted in the victory of the BJP- led coalition which won 43 out 59 seats in the Legislature ending the communist rule.
Not only did mobs of BJP supporters pull down two statues of Lenin in the state, some BJP leaders took to social media to applaud these acts of vandalism.
In Belonia town, one of the two statues was brought down with the help of an excavator. While this was being done, the miscreants chanted patriotic slogan, “Long Live Mother India.” As the statue fell, its head was dismembered from the body. A Marxist activist alleged that the BJP supporters were seen playing football with it.
One of the local BJP leaders claimed that this was the result of an anger of the people with the left government. Describing Lenin as a “foreigner”, who according to him, had nothing to do with the native population; he questioned why the statue was built with taxpayers’ money?
So much so, some senior BJP leaders went to the extent of welcoming these incidents unashamedly. Not to be left behind, the Tripura governor Tathagata Roy tweeted: “What one democratically elected government can do, another democratically elected government can undo. And vice versa.” This is despite the fact that he holds a constitutional post. Yet, he is known for his political affiliations with the BJP.
Another BJP leader H Raja posted on Facebook: “Who is Lenin and what is the connection between Lenin and India? What connection India has with communists?”
The entire episode obviously reflects very badly on the BJP which has shown its true colours of being intolerant. This also shows the hollowness of its so-called nationalism and disconnect with the freedom movement.
India that remained under British occupation for almost two hundred years was liberated by the efforts of both pacifist and revolutionary freedom fighters. The founding fathers of the ideology of Hindu India which is greatly cherished by the BJP remained away from both camps. With an aim to establish Hindu theocracy, they either openly or discreetly served the interests of the British rulers.
Rather, the Hindu extremists who are often glorified by many BJP leaders were involved in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi – the world renowned leader of the passive resistance movement. He was murdered for standing up against Hindu zealots who terrorised Muslims and treated “low caste” people as untouchables.
Contrary to these enemies within, Lenin became a guiding light for the Indian revolutionaries who were invited to Bolshevik Russia to learn how to liberate their motherland by organizing mass movement. He stood for the Indians who were fighting for the right to self-determination.
The BJP that is trying to impose its own brand of patriotism is doing nothing but scape-goating minorities, both cultural (read Muslims, Christians and other minority communities) and ideological (read left and secular parties) to polarize Hindu majority for political survival. Lenin is just one soft target they have picked to create divisions and re-frame the narrative of domestic nationalism. Every Indian should be indebted to Lenin for standing up for those who actually fought for our freedom rather than falling into the trap of the defenders of Hindu India something that was strongly despised by Gandhi and the revolutionaries who fought for a secular republic which had no place for bigotry.
What we need to recognize in these difficult times is the beauty of Lenin’s internationalism which can truly save humanity from falling apart and bringing all of us together while at the same time embracing all nationalities without any malice or discrimination.
That said, this whole episode also shows the true colours of Indian Marxists who have turned into idol worshippers. The top leadership of the Communist Party of India (Marxists) came out on the streets to protest against the vandalizing of the statues. The protests are not just confined to India. The CPI (M) supporters in Canada have also organized a demonstration in Surrey. The kind of outrage being displayed over the vandalizing of statues has remained missing for all these months while living men and women from minority communities were being lynched by the BJP supporters. The CPI (M) has even failed to acknowledge that these incidents and the defeat of Sarkar are both symptoms of majoritarianism that has become synonymous with democracy in India not just with the emergence of BJP but also because of political opportunism of so called secularist Congress Party that has also been involved in sectarian violence to garner Hindu majority vote in the past.
Unfortunately, the mainstream Indian left has been conveniently aligning itself with the Congress to keep BJP out of power and never dealing with the threat of majoritarianism as the real cause of the problem. If the Marxists really believe in what they preach in terms of scientific analysis of social and political situation then they need to stop whining over the vandalizing of statues and try to regain lost political territory by honestly standing up for religious minorities under attack and denouncing monolithic nationalism that is being imposed on a diverse and pluralist Indian society by the BJP.