Being a Keralite and from a family, though rooted in the congress traditions, that had close associations with many of the founder fathers of Indian communism, I wonder as to how the communists of India have lost the plot so easily. Thanks to an accident of my birth, I’ve had the privilege of having received the largesse and unrestrained love from the stalwarts of the communist party, like EMS Namboodiripad(EMS), AK Gopalan(AKG) and though later from the perspective of time, EK Nayanar.
All of them, whenever they came to my grandparents’ house to spend time with them, would bring along lots of chocolates for me, that they were aware that I was fond of! Without my knowledge, I was the recipient of unrestrained love from the stalwarts of communism, who were paradoxically feared by many, during those times. But what I deduce from my childhood memories of those people is that they were men of high thinking and simple living, for whom the betterment of their downtrodden brethren was of paramount importance and I can vouch for the fact that none of them amassed wealth for themselves or for their succeeding generations. Yes, they’d one flaw about which I shall dwell upon later in this narrative of mine.
From the flashback to the present, the communists of today are a confused lot as they seem to have got into a time warp. Otherwise, how does one justify any of the following:-
(a) Amitabh Bachchan is sent a letter by the tourism minister of Kerala to be the state’s
brand ambassador to promote the industry, only to be negated by the central leadership
of the party because he had agreed to be the promoter of Narendra Modi’s Gujarat!
Now, don’t tell me that these commies that include the biggest mallu fraud of ‘em all,
Prakash Karat, doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘professionalism’?
(b) It should not be forgotten that the government of Kerala, along with that of
Orissa and Gujarat – yes, the very same Modi’s Gujarat – have got into a joint venture
for producing electricity from coal, to tide over the prevalent power deficiency, not
too long ago.
The problem that I see with the communists is that many of them have got used to the
cushy life that capitalism provides and they have been tamed by its ‘so called
grandeur’ and have amassed wealth, incommensurate with their sources of income. Their
children study in educational institutions in the US – paradoxically, a country that they badmouth the most, while they insist that the others’ children must study in the local linguistic institutions and attain enlightenment to prevent western culture from coming into this country. The dichotomy in their thoughts and deeds are depressingly discernible!
But the beauty of the whole thing is that if one were to ask them the reason, each one of them would blame it on or take cover of the adage, ‘it’s the party’s decision’ and shrug their shoulders in utter exasperation – a trend followed since its inception! To me, this failure is a clear indication of their weakness to face reality and a reluctance to accept that they could be wrong fundamentally!!
Tailpiece.
(a) Years back in 1978, when my Muthachan was deeply hurt by a very demeaning article on him written by Mr. Thayattu Sankaran, a man of letters and a CPM activist, in a leading Malayalam fortnightly 'Kalakaumudi', he asked EMS to intervene and counsel the gentleman. EMS' reply was, 'Mr. Panicker, I respect you a lot and know that the article is a pack of lies but these are party affairs and I wouldn't like to interfere'. Later, I understood that it was a euphemism for, 'Sorry Mr. Panicker, I don't have any control over the party lumpens. I'm helpless' - and sadly, my love and respect for the chocolate giving, ever smiling EMS uncle died that day.
(b) And also, wouldn’t it be surprising to note that most of the news channels on the Indian television
like NDTV 24x7, to give one example, are owned by the communists? So, what’s this egalitarian society that these guys are bandying about?
All of them, whenever they came to my grandparents’ house to spend time with them, would bring along lots of chocolates for me, that they were aware that I was fond of! Without my knowledge, I was the recipient of unrestrained love from the stalwarts of communism, who were paradoxically feared by many, during those times. But what I deduce from my childhood memories of those people is that they were men of high thinking and simple living, for whom the betterment of their downtrodden brethren was of paramount importance and I can vouch for the fact that none of them amassed wealth for themselves or for their succeeding generations. Yes, they’d one flaw about which I shall dwell upon later in this narrative of mine.
From the flashback to the present, the communists of today are a confused lot as they seem to have got into a time warp. Otherwise, how does one justify any of the following:-
(a) Amitabh Bachchan is sent a letter by the tourism minister of Kerala to be the state’s
brand ambassador to promote the industry, only to be negated by the central leadership
of the party because he had agreed to be the promoter of Narendra Modi’s Gujarat!
Now, don’t tell me that these commies that include the biggest mallu fraud of ‘em all,
Prakash Karat, doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘professionalism’?
(b) It should not be forgotten that the government of Kerala, along with that of
Orissa and Gujarat – yes, the very same Modi’s Gujarat – have got into a joint venture
for producing electricity from coal, to tide over the prevalent power deficiency, not
too long ago.
The problem that I see with the communists is that many of them have got used to the
cushy life that capitalism provides and they have been tamed by its ‘so called
grandeur’ and have amassed wealth, incommensurate with their sources of income. Their
children study in educational institutions in the US – paradoxically, a country that they badmouth the most, while they insist that the others’ children must study in the local linguistic institutions and attain enlightenment to prevent western culture from coming into this country. The dichotomy in their thoughts and deeds are depressingly discernible!
But the beauty of the whole thing is that if one were to ask them the reason, each one of them would blame it on or take cover of the adage, ‘it’s the party’s decision’ and shrug their shoulders in utter exasperation – a trend followed since its inception! To me, this failure is a clear indication of their weakness to face reality and a reluctance to accept that they could be wrong fundamentally!!
Tailpiece.
(a) Years back in 1978, when my Muthachan was deeply hurt by a very demeaning article on him written by Mr. Thayattu Sankaran, a man of letters and a CPM activist, in a leading Malayalam fortnightly 'Kalakaumudi', he asked EMS to intervene and counsel the gentleman. EMS' reply was, 'Mr. Panicker, I respect you a lot and know that the article is a pack of lies but these are party affairs and I wouldn't like to interfere'. Later, I understood that it was a euphemism for, 'Sorry Mr. Panicker, I don't have any control over the party lumpens. I'm helpless' - and sadly, my love and respect for the chocolate giving, ever smiling EMS uncle died that day.
(b) And also, wouldn’t it be surprising to note that most of the news channels on the Indian television
like NDTV 24x7, to give one example, are owned by the communists? So, what’s this egalitarian society that these guys are bandying about?
No comments:
Post a Comment