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A Hard Rain Falling
Violence is the very grammar of exploitation and oppression related to class, caste, sex and race. It
has always borne the tendency to break free of institutional constraints and become a force in itself.
That is why bands of warriors are the most stable feature of class society. Capitalism thrives on
violence. Tragically however, the major communist currents in India today, instead of providing a
wholesome alternative to violent reality, have become an indistinguishable feature of it.
Dilip Simeon ([email protected]) is a historian and the author of Revolution Highway.
He went to bed, turned on the BBC World News and switched it off again. Half-truths. Quarter-truths.
What the world really knows about itself, it doesn’t dare say: John le Carre, in Our Kind of Traitor
A baleful feature of contemporary Indian politics is the subjugation of the mind to partisanship in the
narrowest sense. All commentary appears as the standpoint of this or that party, and hence not
worthy of consideration by anyone other than the faithful. Serious dialogue fades away, and all we
do is hurl ‘positions’ at one another. Communalism is identified with one party, caste-ism with
another, corruption with a third. Conversation is reduced to sloganeering. We forget that the polity
as a whole exhibits all these complex phenomena, regardless of which party commands power. And
we also ignore the more far-reaching inquiry, into the acceptability of controlled mobs, private
armies, vigilante groups and political assassination. These bloodthirsty practices are driven by
community honour, party loyalty, caste pride or pragmatic realism. One way or another, they signify
a return to a pre-political condition imbued by the dogma that might is right.
The term radicalism (going to the root of things) is usually taken in a positive sense, although “root”
explanations can be simplistic. But radicalism cuts across the political spectrum. What Right, Left
and “marketist” radicalisms have in common is dogma and fanaticism. It is not a Party but a
platform of political moderation that is lacking. I do not wish to gloss over the serious distinctions
between various radical doctrines, but will focus here on the similarities. These include the idea that
independence is incomplete until their dogma attains power; the view that the Constitution and
democracy should be used rather than respected (see below ); sustained attempts towards the
ideological infusion of state institutions; a self-fulfilling vision of civil society as a theatre of civil war;
and the maintenance of armed groups that can be “spontaneously” deployed when required. This is
the ground shared by enemies and it tends to remain unspeakable. All we have is the refrain: “my
violence is better than your violence”.
1
India has an old militarist tradition. It was called revolutionary terrorism in the early 20th century, and
was represented by organisations such as Anusilan and Jugantar. One of its first actions was the
attempt by Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose to kill judge Douglas Kingsford in 1907. This resulted in
the deaths of the wife and daughter of Pringle-Kennedy, a friend of the judge. Chaki and Bose are
martyrs for nationalist hagiographers, although their bomb resulted in the first piece of collateral
damage by Indian patriots in the 20th century. The tradition has many offspring, including Naxalites
and Hindu rashtravadis. The Maoist sensibility is deeply nationalist, and its basic conviction is the
doctrine of just war. The Hindu Mahasabha leader V.D. Savarkar’s favourite slogan was “Militarise
Hindudom!” This linkage is unpalatable to many, but the ideological osmosis between these different
forms of patriotic fervour was based upon their common belief in violent activism and the cult of
martyrdom. It is visible in the personal accounts of revolutionaries, some of whom (such as the
2
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members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army) were drawn to anarchism and communism in
the 1920’s and 30’s.
3
Subhas Bose’s attraction to military force is well-known, and he remains popular amongst both
rightists and leftists. For its part, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has been a paramilitary
since its inception - an All India Congress Committee resolution in November 1947 warned that "the
activities of the Muslim National Guards, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Akali Volunteers
and such other organizations…represent an endeavour to bring into being private armies, (and) must
be regarded as a menace to the hard-won freedom of the country".
4
5
The resolution dates from Sardar Patel’s time, as does the ban on the RSS after Gandhi’s
assassination. Since then, militarism has remained active across a broad spectrum. The Khalistanis
organised “commando forces” during the 1980’s. Islamist guerillas see themselves as warriors of
Allah, and flaunt words like lashkar and mujahid. The north-east is teeming with generalissimos; and
private armies such as the Ranvir Sena and Salwa Judum have been openly supported by
mainstream parties.
6
Normalisation of mass killing
By the late 1930’s, revolutionary terrorism had made an ideological impact upon politics. In an era of
global warfare, now there appeared dreams of liberation by an army of patriots, to be established via
a compact with the enemy’s enemy. One effect of Bose’s military adventure was to sanitise Nazism
in nationalist consciousness. The implications are disturbing. A Facebook site named Lets Speak
India recently posted a photo of Bose shaking hands with Hitler. At time of writing, 508 people
“liked” it, and many of the 68 comments expressed high admiration for Hitler. A decade ago a Delhibased columnist reported a conversation with the principal of an elite college, who recalled that over
60% of the applicants for admission cited Adolf Hitler as their role model for having “given selfesteem to Germany.” For many of our youth, the deaths of millions in wars and genocide are a mere
throw of the dice. The disdain for history and the mania for glory are bad enough, but the
normalisation of mass killing in the public consciousness should alert all democrats.
The communist attraction for People’s War became pronounced in the late 1940’s, when the
Communist Party of India turned the anti-Nizam struggle into an all-out war against the Jawaharlal
Nehru led government. After the army action in 1948, the stalwart leader Ravi Narayan Reddy
reportedly argued for a cessation of armed struggle. However by this time the leadership had hailed
Telengana as the “Yenan of India”, and denounced him as a traitor. One memoir recalls Reddy being
sentenced to be shot, and obliged to flee to Bombay.
7
In the scientific stance adopted by Marxian socialists, the ethical and emotional aspects of political
activity are not considered significant. Not only is this a deflection from the intensely moral roots of
their own politics, it also points to the baleful consequences of reducing rationality to a mathematical
dimension. Social consensus is a fragile entity, but how is it affected by partisan vigilantism? When
people are humiliated or killed for furthering some cause, the emotional effects carry political
ramifications. This is true even if the victims were “collateral damage”, and we know that
communists have no problem citing this defence of their actions.
8
T.P. Chandrasekharan was killed brutally, his face damaged beyond recognition. Whatever be the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPI(M)'s role in this, the fact remains that a party secretary
publicly avowed the practice of killing rivals - he even supplied details of the murders. Not long ago a
primary schoolteacher was murdered in front of his students – we may imagine the impact of this
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upon the children. There is little doubt that the party maintains and protects killer gangs in Kerala. In
2007 the CPI (M) deployed hundreds of armed men in vigilante actions in Nandigram. This happened
whilst it was in power and could prevent the police from doing its duty. This disregard for the law had
electoral consequences, but it also relates to broader questions regarding left-wing politics in India.
The Maoists have made matters worse. (I leave out the Jnaneswari train massacre for lack of space).
They beat the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act activist Niyamat Ansari to death after
abducting him from his home. They have been known to hang perceived enemies upside down to
die, and to kill policemen in their custody – one of whom was beheaded. What exactly is scientific
about cruelty? What is its class character? How do such acts bring us nearer to a just society? Who
amongst us looks forward to a state controlled by such people? Every such action creates a spiral of
bitterness. The relatives of the dead are affected for a lifetime – some dream of revenge, some
repress their feelings, but in any event, they are unlikely to be impressed by communist ideas. It is
time for human rights activists to start investigating the social aftermath of communist violence.
Given the partisan ambiance of all political speech, these matters will probably dissipate into a cloud
of jargon-laden accusations. Pejorative ‘isms’ will be flung about to rally the faithful. Ideologies
function as stones in the head, rendering their adherents devoid of human empathy and impervious
to dialogue. But if there were any link whatsoever between ordinary life and grand visions, that
connection is seriously damaged by the experience of cruelty. For the victim, and those close to him,
it is irretrievably lost - annihilation signifies the end of hope, beauty and meaning. Fascism,
Stalinism, nationalism, liberalism and communalism all merge into an undifferentiated nihilist
morass. Time itself is fractured - those of us who remain alive bear the loss even if we continue to
fight for good causes. This is what Gandhi meant when he said: “What difference does it make to the
dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of
totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?”
9
Death as punishment for loss of faith is reminiscent of the Inquisition, under which dissenters were
burnt alive. Theological concepts such as heresy and blasphemy still operate amongst leftists, giving
them the aspect of medieval popes or latter-day ayatollahs. Murderous activities brutalise activists
and create shock-waves in society. There is no doubt that goondas maintained by parties such as the
Samajwadi Party and the Trinamul Congress conduct violent campaigns to defend vested interests.
But left politics was meant to be the civic sense of a (potentially) just order. This was what was
implied in the saying: “there is another world, and it is in this one”. Surely leftists must hold
themselves to a higher standard than the ruling classes?
Violence is the very grammar of exploitation and oppression related to class, caste, sex and race. It
has always borne the tendency to break free of institutional constraints and become a force in itself.
That is why bands of warriors are the most stable feature of class society. Capitalism thrives on
violence. Tragically however, the major communist currents, instead of providing a wholesome
alternative to violent reality, have become an indistinguishable feature of it.
10
Reigning Impunity
All these historical vectors converge in their effect upon the public sphere, which is undermined by
the impunity of India’s numerous controlled mobs. In 1984 the Congress transformed itself into yet
another vehicle for communal hooliganism; and thereafter protected the criminals. This allowed the
RSS to drag the very idea of moderate constitutionalism through the mud and slime. The habit of
self-deceit progressed by leaps and bounds. For example, reports about communal incidents
generally tend to name (or hint at) this or that community, but for 1984, a political category came
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into play: “Congress killed Sikhs”. (Were there Bahais and Parsis in the streets?). Here too, mobs
shouting communal slogans were desecrating shrines and killing people to assert the superiority of
one religion over another. And many residents of Delhi were enjoying the spectacle. But judging from
the typical responses to any discussion of Gujarat in 2002, the RSS is delighted at the precedent – it
enables them to say “What of it? The Congress did the same in 1984”. For the Sangh Parivar, it
appears that one massacre deserves another. One little fact tells a big story however – the number
of BJP MP’s elected to the 1985 Lok Sabha was precisely two, because Hindutva ideologues and their
voters had switched to the Congress. This is why fascism cannot simply be reduced to partisan
affiliations, even if some parties propagate fascist ideas whilst others make pragmatic adjustments
to it. And the ruthless practice of certain leftists completes the picture. What we are witnessing is the
criminalisation of the polity – and I’m not referring to a head count of MPs. The process intensifies
with every instance of impunity.
In August 1939 the ex-Nazi Herman Raushning published a book named The Revolution of Nihilism.
Speaking of the dissolution of thought, he said:
To the conscious nihilist there are no ideas. But there are substitutes for ideas which can be foisted
on the masses…The great paradox of this revolution is that its lack of principle is one of the main
secrets of its effectiveness… how long can a State, a nation, a society, endure a governing elite
devoid of all principle, without disintegrating?
11
The great delusion of our time is that revolution is the totem of historical progress. There is indeed a
revolution underway, but not of the communist fantasy. It is the revolution of nihilism, wherein ideas
and virtues lose all meaning, human beings become mere instruments, “action” is always imbued
with violence, and everything is subsumed within a quest for absolute power. Those swayed by
absolute truths cannot understand that such language leads to an endless oscillation between
domination and chaos. From now on, no left-wing politics can carry philosophical conviction if it fails
to address the scourge of violence. The sad truth is that a faction-ridden communist movement has
proven itself incapable of self-reflection when it comes to understanding its own decline.
Speak the truth
Stop the killing
1 For example, the NDA’s surreptitious attempt to nullify Schedule 5:
http://www.pucl.org/reports/National/2001/samatha.htm
2 For more on this episode, see Permanent Spring, in Seminar # 607, 2010:
http://dilipsimeon.blogspot.in/2011/10/maoism-and-philosophy-of-insurrection.html
3 See Mallikarjuna Sharma (ed, five vols); In Retrospect: sagas of heroism and sacrifice on Indian
revolutionaries; Hyderabad, 1999. Religious symbolism was evident in the murder by Naxalites of a
police officer named Gorachand Sanyal in Baranagar in 1971. Sanyal’s severed head was placed on a
thali. Thereupon a female member of the squad decorated herself with his blood: A. P. Mukherjee;
Maoist Spring Thunder: The Naxalite Movement (1967-1972); Kolkata, 2007; p 16. Charu Mazumdar’s
incantation about communists needing to dip their hands in the blood of the class enemy is an
expression of the ritualist significance that bloodshed carried for the Naxalites. Also see The Other
Side of Maoism, where I argued that Hindutva was the Maoism of the elite:
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http://dilipsimeon.blogspot.in/2012/04/other-side-of-maoism.html
4 Though it must be remembered that in the 1920’s, Tatasons’ management found it a point in his
favour that the communists decried Bose as a “Mussolini of Bengals fascists”. See Dilip Simeon, The
Politics of Labour Under Late Colonialism; Delhi 1995; pp 64-67; 347
5 Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (online) vol 97, p 480
6 Find the text of the order in D.R. Goyal: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Delhi, 1979; 201-202; and
at http://www.sabrang.com/cc/archive/2004/aug04/cover1.html
Also relevant is Justice Kapur’s Report into the Conspiracy to Murder Mahatma Gandhi:
http://archive.org/details/JeevanlalKapoorCommissionReport
7 Mohit Sen; A Traveller and the Road: the Journey of an Indian Communist; Delhi, 2003; p. 125
8 “No people’s war can be so clinical, as to have no civilian casualty.. no class war can be conducted
with clinical precision. It is very tortuous and painful..” Maoists in India: A Rejoinder, EPW; 14/10/06,
by CPI (Maoist) spokesperson Azad.
9 Harijan, 29-9-1940. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi; (online) vol 79, 257
10 Force is the midwife of more force, whatever Marx may have thought of it. ‘What is granted under
fear can be retained only as long as the fear lasts’: M.K Gandhi. Hind Swaraj; Ahmedabad, 2003; p.
60
11 Hermann Raushning; The Revolution of Nihilism: Warning to the West; New York, 1939, p 24-5