The Left Conundrum
By Roshni Sengupta
05 December, 2005
Countercurrents.orgThe fact that Gurgaon, the high-end, part-urban, industrial suburb of Delhi, carried on business as usual through the bandh call given by left unions against the police atrocity earlier this year whereby scores of protesting, retrenched workers were beaten, their skulls smashed and limbs broken, leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. It appears as if the bloody faces on television and reports of riotous policemen maltreating workers have hardly touched a chord with those who matter, in the political echelons, among the masses and least of all with the trading community which dominates Delhi’s socio-economic landscape. Not uncommon, considering the manner in which the labour issue has been handled in India through the past fifty-eight years since independence.
The argument put forth by M.N Roy against the call for supporting all freedom movements across the world given by Lenin in the First International has stood like an edifice and witnessed the slow and silent marginalization of the working class movement in India and the subsequent ramifications for those who toil in mills and factories across the country. The transfer of power from the British elite to the English-speaking, Western-educated, Indian elite has had a bludgeoning impact on the manner in which labour issues are tackled in the country. The levels of sensitivity among the people have been even lower. Then of course, there has been a partial take-over of the worker’s universe by communal forces through their ipso facto labour friendly formations such as the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh.
Left unionism too has been languishing for a while now for want of greater support and encouragement from dissenting workers, the government machinery and various other sectors. The Gurgaon episode, however, has demonstrated that trade unionism can be revived if greater levels of commitment are displayed by all those involved. In fact, a high degree of effort is now required particularly in the face of the multi-national corporate onslaught. Rights of Indian workers need to be protected now, more than ever before.
Foreign companies thrive on repulsive and profit-friendly policies and show scant regard to the needs of millions of Indian workers who emerge as the backbone of their rising market credibility. Open economies moving towards liberalization regimes, such as India have more often than not, disregarded the plight of men and women labouring in multi-national corporate factories with little or no wage rights and facing a fair share of employer high-handedness.
Even though authorities might claim that the Gurgaon labour unrest was a on-off affair and nothing drastic needs to be done, some stringent action against the offending officials and the real perpetrator of the crime – the Honda Motor Co., could act as an incentive. It is not enough to gloat aver the bull-run at the Sensex and pay lip service to sloganeering relatives. This perhaps is difficult considering the tight situation in which the labour parties find themselves in. Being part of the ruling UPA, they are incapacitated to a great extent. A more pro-active role is expected from communist leaders.
Can they deliver? For one, by raising an issue with the government about the ongoing process of privatization. What will be in it for the worker? What can the working class expect from the left parties? Left leaders must understand the need to create a niche for themselves by turning the tide and making privatization more labour-friendly. The workers have had enough of haranguing with employers and the machinery, which somehow does not seem to pay any heed.
Critics might argue about the futility of the suggestion stating that the left movement has lost its bearings in India and should shut shop. There is vast, untapped potential in the form of students in left-oriented universities such as JNU who could be future leaders, grassroots workers or even simple voters. The sooner this rich and creative resource is brought into mainstream politics, the better it would be for the communists to gain ground in areas that have not been traditional bastions.
Being a student of JNU, I have to state that the level of commitment that is displayed during elections within the campus is exemplary. Months of preparations go into the strategies that are thought out and followed. Another striking element of JNU politics in the posters. Informing,
driving, exhorting and appealing, these posters bring life into the campus. And needless to stay, SFI posters are predominant. Past record proves that the campus is going to remain a red bastion for years to come. Such talent should not be allowed to waste. The communist movement must undertake to involve students in grassroots work.Strongholds only in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura do not do justice to the workers of India. We would like to see the left parties doing well in other parts of the country too. Just why did the communist movement slacken off in the last five decades after independence is difficult to understand considering the fact that India remains and will remain for a long time to come, an agricultural and labour-dominated economy.
Bigger political formations, dominated by the elite bourgeoisie, have on the other hand have made use of issues from religion to secularism to garner vote share and support among the masses. One only needs to look at Gujarat to figure out how the Hindutva forces have transcended all levels of constitutional decency and made waves across the state. It is a pity that the communist parties have been unable to gather momentum in the larger states.
Maharashtra is a case in point. The Indian labour movement grew and flourished in the mill yards, lanes and by-lanes of the middle-class suburbs of Mumbai. The same suburban milieu now seems to be have been taken over by the Shiv Sena and the NCP to some extent. It is thus not a co-incidence that the left has never been able to emerge as a forceful formation in Maharashtra politics. Again, the student community holds the key.
Roshni Sengupta is a Research Scholar, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
