The delusions in being leftist
Ok. Here we go! I am probably going to get a lot of criticism on this, but I have to say it. The Left Front, its leaders, its politics, its ideology; they all anger, disgust and even infuriate me rather regularly. Its attitude towards the Nuclear Deal is a case in point. The Left Front, led by Bardhan, Karat, et.al have successfully held a nation to ransom, time and again. They opposed the oil price hike, when the only way to save the public-sector oil companies from sinking was to increase the price. They opposed disinvestment, opening up of sectors such as insurance, aviation, and retail marketing to foreign investment. In fact, they have opposed almost all essential second-generation reforms that will become indispensable, sooner rather than later, for India to sustain the current growth rate. They have single-handedly succeeded in halting, or at least slowing down India’s economic growth by this opposition.
And no, they have not done all this by sitting in the opposition. They have simply blackmailed an invertebrate government, dependent on its support, to get what they want: economic stagnation so that they can conveniently blame "capitalism" for everything from rising food prices to global warming. And frankly, I have had enough. I wish to see the Left go back to where it belongs: the opposition. I would, of course like to see it being confined to the "dustbin of history," as Acorn puts it so beautifully at NationalInterest. But, I suppose that is a bit too much to hope for given that our Indian voters never actually think before voting.
But, do the politicians of the Left actually believe the crap they say? Sadly enough, they do. Nobody can doubt their personal integrity, (well…most of them…) but their ideology gets in the way of clear thinking too often. They are fully aware that globalisation is here to stay and there is no way we can become protectionist again, but they do not want to believe it. Time and again, they lean towards a Russia that is incapable of giving anything more than moral support, and a China that is getting increasingly menacing. One key point is their insistence on the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline as an alternative to the deal. They criticised the Indian Government that voted against Iran on the nuclear issue, but opposed both Pokhran I and II, on the grounds that India was attracting sanctions unnecessarily. So Iran can make a bomb, but India should not? As if that is not enough, Prakash Karat actually said that he and his party wanted India to snap strategic ties with the US because such a union would mean that it would "counter-balance and encircle" China. Thanks to Nita for the link. I mean, can this get any worse? So, this actually means a "national" political party would rather ensure China’s welfare than India’s? Why are we still voting for such people? Is it not time to unceremoniously throw out such a party? I disagree with Nita there. They don’t belong in the opposition either. They belong to a "dustbin of History" as I said earlier.
I have said it once, and I say it again: it is in India’s interest to foster a reciprocal strategic relationship with the US. There is a very important reason for that. China, by pursuing an active "String of Pearls" strategy is gradually, but surely encircling India. Don’t understand what that means? Let me explain. China is establishing its bases, military or commercial, in the seas surrounding India. The first of them is the Pakistani port of Gwadar, which is strategically located between three important regions: oil-rich Middle East, highly-populated South Asia and the newly-developing Central Asia. Any gas pipeline from Iran via Pakistan can and will be accessible to the Chinese. The second pearl is the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh, which they are actively funding. The third is the Coco Islands that our esteemed first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru generously gave away to Myanmar, situated about 80 nautical miles east of the Myanmarese Coast. China now has a naval base on the Coco Islands. And, these Communists are worried about China being encircled??? I am sorry, but I do not approve of this ideology. I fail to understand how your political ideology can be directly in conflict with your country’s national security.
There is no way the Communists deserve any sympathy or understanding for their handling of the Nuclear Deal issue. They only deserve to be unilaterally criticised for what they have done.
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11 Comments
Ms Cris
I know very little politics so I cant really comment on the subject. But woah you impress me tremendously. I wish I could do a copy of all thats in your head into mine . You know just a copy. So we both will have it, no fear of information loss! I am glad I did your blog review long back. I didnt know you were so good back then. And yes you are indeed quite bold, go girl go! You make me proud of being a woman!
RK
Amruta,
Good post. There is only one point that I do not agree with – You wrote “Nobody can doubt their personal integrity…” and that’s where I don’t agree with you and I explain below why ?
When I was younger I used to never doubt the personal integrity of the communists although I had always felt that they were utterly stupid in their thinking. Now after having studied their actions for a couple of decades and after researching other facts I am now certain that they are all controlled by the Chinese and as such their personal integrity must be questioned. Just consider the following …
Have the communist parties and their leaders ever raised their voice against
1.China when it supplied (and still supplies) the nuclear weapon technology and missile technology to Pakistan
2.The continued Chinese occupation of one third of Kashmir
3.The countless incursions of the Chinese Army into Indian territory
4.The Chinese claim of the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh
5.The Chinese encircling of India
6.The Chinese use of Pakistan (and now Bangladesh as well) to contain India
How can one be an Indian and still never once feel anything was wrong about any of the above mentioned issues? That should tell us that our communist leaders are under total and complete control of the Chinese.
Now things have came to a stage where these communist leaders have in the last 4 years interfered and influenced several government decisions in favor of China. The communist leaders have forced govt. decisions in favor of China even when that decision meant thousands of jobs (positions) in India would be filled by the Chinese personnel. Just read the following column in rediff by Mr.B.Raman
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/aug/19raman.htm
Lastly, these communist leaders make regular trips to China. Can anyone explain me the need to make those trips every single year – year after year ?
So yes, we can and we should doubt the personal integrity of all the communist leaders, doing otherwise is being extremely naïve.
Amrutha
Ms Cris: This post is a ersult of my frustration with the stinking Left.
rk: Point taken. I was trying to be a bit generous and give them the benefit of doubt. 🙂 But otherwise, I quite agree.
kaushik
I had been in Red-Bengal for 17 years, and only when I left WB, did I realize how, frightfully backward Calcutta was. 5 year govts in TN/ AP/ Mah achieve much more than what 25 years of red rule in Calcutta could. And, later I realized that the CPI(M) and the left front, stayed in power because they could bully people, and buy votes by illegally-legalizing the illegeal Bangladeshi Migrants. They would give them ration cards and all in lieu of votes.
I don’t think that they will stop being a force in Bengal, kerala, tripura and will end up with around 50 seats anyway. I just hope, Congrees and the UPA realize their hogwash about keeping the Communal Forces out of power, and not let a party with 50 seats steal the government.
I think, some rule which commits all party to ONLY pre-poll alliances is necessary for India. Then, at-least there will not be any of these king-makers. And, we will know where each of the politicians stay. Also, it will discourage idiots like Deve Gowda who sways every which way. It may as well, help get a coalition majority.
A 3 pronged race (NDA, UPA, UNPA) in which it is made a rule that you cannot jump coalitions after election results should allow the aam-junta to vote for a government. And you cannot have paradoxes like CPI(M) supporting Congress, while contesting each-other in the elections. What does it mean for someone who voted for either of the parties. His vote has just become null (since it does not matter who he voted for)
But, I know all this is wishful thinking.
Indian Home Maker
I knew only this much that I find Globalisation and Nuclear Deal will benefit the country and cannot understand Left’s attitude. This post and the comments that follow it are very informative.Thank You.
Nita
I agree with rk that the communists have personal integrity. they are no better than the rest of the politicians. In fact worse, because they are hypocrites.
Arun Meethale Chirakkal
Yup,
You said it. And you might’ve noticed what Prakash Karat said on the day they withdrew support to the UPA government. It was goddamn funny “the UPA has gone back from the promise they’d given to aam admi”. Now, as they’ve withdrawn support, they are all of a sudden started to talk about the poor peoples plight. If they were that concerned they should’ve withdrawn support when inflation started to soar. shouldn’t they? They are a funny bunch playing for the gallery. Good writing. Keep up the good work. Kudos!
Prem Kiran
nice one. In fact I saw a TV show TV today where a left leader proclaimed that after the next election, a new power is going to arise under the Left at the national level.But the truth remains that they cant rule. They can just support from outside and oppose or just oppose. The motto is “We dont want responsibility. Power will do”
deepak
lemme summarize ur post..
1. we should sustain growth rate and economic growth at any cost.. left is against it..
2. they (left) are more loyal to china than india..
i obviously dont agree to (2), not because i am leftist (i have never voted for the left) but because over the course of years, i know that their loyalties is with the nation..
for (1), i think you would like to see GDP growth, soaring sensexes, and all that was part of the “india shining” campaign.. opening up of economies may be inevitable, but you can ask yourself whether the “opening up” and reduction of subsidies is happening even with the G8 countries.. and GDP growth is not a reflection of whether we are improving.. we can improve in pockets (with the common man still suffering) and still improve GDP growth.. sensexes matter only to, may be 1% of the total population.. of course, they are important, but, they should not happen @ the cost of other things.. for example, if we focus overly on IT/BT etc and agri growth reduces, it would still increase overall growth, but anybody would say thats not the way to go.. let the advocates of second generation reforms (G8) and others implement it themselves, before forcing a relatively poor country to implement it..
Amrutha
To all of you who say that the Left has no personal integrity either: Point taken. I was trying to be charitable. 🙂
Deepak: There are several flaws in your argument.
1)Would you care to explain why you feel that the left cares about India? Because they have not yet actively participated in Pro-China demonstrations? If Karat can claim that US-India partnership must be ditched because the US wants to encircle China, do you expect me to believe that the Left has Indian interests at heart?
2)GDP growth is indicative of economic progress. Per capita GDP is probably a more accurate measure. That said, I agree that distribution of wealth is not up to the mark. But, for that to happen, one must first allow the market to create the wealth right?
As for the G8 telling India to go ahead with reforms, that is not true. It is the WTO and the IMF that are asking India to proceed. They are also asking the US and the EU to liberalise their agricultural policy. They are some of the most regressive in the world. Just because the G8 does not do something, there is no reason why India should not.
Third, if the cooperative movement can work with milk in Gujarat and elsewhere, why can’t it work with vegetables, paddy and wheat? The problem is not liberalisation but political will.
Lastly, I do not understand your grouse against IT. It is a service. It is the means to an end. And the end can be both industrial and agricultural. You say you are not leftist, but certainly speak like one.
deepak
Amrutha
going by ur argument, left is Iranian and Palestinian also. Because not harming Iran and Palestine is also among the priorities of the left when they say India should re-consider relationsips with US. After 2 years, if and when US plans to invade Syria, u will say leftists have their loyalties with Syria. After maybe 4 years, when the talk the same thing about N.Korea, you should say left is anti-indian and pro-N.Korea.
the rest of the thing – will reply later in the evening. stuck in some meetings (but, yes, i couldnt resist replying to ur argument that Left is anti-national and pro-China).