Peoples’Concerns vs
Preoccupations of the Ruling Class:
Towards a viable political strategy
·
What are the
issues of critical significance for the people and what is the preoccupation of
the ruling classes, (which includes not only the ruling party and its allies
and adherents but also the main official opposition, its supporters and the
whole lot of beneficiaries of the present order, including large sections of the print and electronic
media) ?
·
First the
preoccupations of the ruling classes: On
the economic side, deceleration of the rate of growth of GDP and the
widening fiscal and current account deficits constitute their main concern.
While the ruling party’s embedded economists , seek to establish that the roots of the trouble lie
largely abroad, their critics in the official opposition point to the “ policy paralysis”, on the one
hand, and all- pervading corruption, on
the other. In other words, there is no divergence on policy goals. The critics
merely say that they would create greater investor confidence and accelerate
the process of “reforms”.
·
Both are
blissfully blind to the fact that two decades of “economic reforms” have
brought us to this pass! Let us take
some parameters for comparison. The current account deficit( i.e. what the
country’s economy owes to the rest of the world
in a given year on current
transaction basis) has now reached an unprecedented level of 6 percent of GDP.
In 1991-92 when the balance of payment “crisis” was used as the lever to
justify the U turn in India’s
economic policies, the magnitude of the current account deficit was almost
half, that is, 3 percent .At that time, the inflation was in the region of 10
to 12 percent as measured in terms of
consumer price index. And the rupee had to be devalued by twenty percent . Now
the consumer price inflation has been ranging close to 10 percent for the last
three years and no respite is in sight. And the rupee has been tumbling down rapidly,
reaching the lowest ever value in terms of US dollar. At that time the wholesale change of policies
was justified to remedy the situation.
Now the remedy has proved worse than the disease! Yet the mantra of “reforms” continues to
enthrall the ruling classes.
·
“Reforms”, in a
nutshell, call for drastic reduction in public expenditure; aligning the domestic prices of imported
essentials like fuel with the global prices ( both of which affect the masses
very adversely); opening up the economy further and further to the global
finance capital; ensuring that losses are borne by the state( i.e. the people
)and profits are guaranteed to the capital through the so-called “ Public
Private Partnership”; and , above all, legitimizing, facilitating and encouraging the loot of
natural resources ( land, water,
forests, minerals, spectrum) by the private capital, mainly the speculative
capital. All this in the name of releasing “ animal spirits” of the
business class. It does not need any profound knowledge of economics to see
that these policies will only aggravate rapacity, plunder and venality .
·
While the ruling
party continues to defend the indefensible policy of reforms and all it spawns,
the opposition merely seizes the symptoms of corruption and adopts a “holier-
than- thou” stance, despite skeletons tumbling out of its own cupboard ! Both
are unanimous on the goal; their only difference is about who wields the power
to push the process further and appropriates the resultant booty .
·
On the political
side, there is complete unanimity between the two when it comes to the question
of dealing with an iron hand what is described as “ the terrorist threat” to
national security. Both have promoted and legislated draconian laws to deal
with the situation. Both compete in the ultra- nationalist sloganeering. In
giving a free hand to big capital in resource- rich tribal areas and in
crushing all tribal discontent and resistance with a heavy hand, there is no
disagreement among them. When it comes
to the terrorist threat essentially
originating from the Islamophobic policies of the US-Israel combine, both are
equally shy of going to the root of the problem lest that may annoy the bosses
in Washington. The only difference is
that while the ruling party professes its pragmatic secularism , the
opposition has no qualms in using the
conjuncture to push its divisive communalism in an aggressive fashion. But in
actuality, governments of the states ruled by either of the two adopt the same
chauvinistic, anti-democratic, oppressive policies and practices.
·
On the side
of the international relations, both have clearly accepted the lode- star
direction of the US
strategic and economic interests. Some differences arise in the immediate
neighbour-hood, mainly out of their
different domestic political histories and trajectories.
·
The most tragic
consequence of this bi-partisan near- unanimity is the growing alienation of Kashmir. Which also casts a deep shadow on the very
integrity of our polity. The other dangerous consequence is the growing
jingoism vis-vis two most important neighbours viz; Pakistan
and China.
II
·
Growth in GDP is a
necessary but not sufficient condition for people-centric development. What is the main concern of people- centric development? Where sixty to
seventy percent of the workforce depends on the agrarian economy; where
two-thirds of the population lives in the rural hinterland; where ownership of
land is extremely skewed, with 8 percent of holders owning 56percent of land
and 92 percent holding the remaining 44 percent of land ; where 92 percent of
peasantry is small or marginal ,i.e. with landholdings less than two and one
hectares respectively; where two-thirds
of cultivable land is rain- fed with no
assured source of water; where access to water, better implements, and other
inputs is largely determined by the scale of operation; where farming is a loss
making proposition for the overwhelming majority of peasantry; where even the
better-off section of farmers is caught in
the double jeopardy of increasing input costs and un-remunerative/
volatile output prices and driven to despair and suicide; and where adequate
avenues of alternative off- farm employment are not in sight: obviously the
agrarian question is the most important concern
of people. And that finds no place in the preoccupations of the ruling
classes.
·
The Twelfth Plan document wishes away the
question. With its obsession with raising the rate of growth , reducing twin
deficits, generating “investor confidence”, attracting flows of global capital and the goal of acquiring global competitiveness,
the Question of Land seems alien to its thinking. The land is treated as just
one input, one resource at the disposal of capital and market. The rapid shrinking of arable land and its
serious long term consequences are overlooked. The undeclared but easily
decipherable path that underlies the thinking is the adoption of
contract/corporate farming as the eventual solution. Inevitable decimation of
peasantry that this would bring about is not on the radar of the Planning
Commission.
·
Only palliatives
are proposed in the name of new act on land acquisition, resettlement and
rehabilitation. Higher monetary compensation
in line with the prevailing market rate for the land acquired; token
provision of jobs/compensation/ shares
in the enterprise eventually set up for
those displaced/affected; eventual access to a fraction of the developed land;,
an attempt to eschew multi-cropped land; and mandatory provisions for
resettlement and rehabilitation are contemplated. The approach is essentially
defined by the dynamics of market. Its main objective is to legitimize the
process of loot of land by speculative capital.
Besides, this approach misses the woods for the trees. The problem of
Land Acquisition is only a subset of the larger Question of Land. No piecemeal
approach will do.
·
What is needed
is a National Land Use Policy which is
people-centric, scientific, environment friendly, livelihood enhancing. Enough
data and analyses are already available which should make it possible to
delineate such a policy for different agro-climatic zones in the country. We
need to set up a high level Commission
whose task will be to lay down such
policy norms. The whole question of land acquisition will fall in its
place, once such norms are set and appropriate policies are adopted on land
use.
·
One pre-condition
for the success of such an approach is that there must be an immediate moratorium
on transfer of agricultural land to non-agricultural purposes either through
the mechanism of land acquisition law or through the market process.
·
Simultaneously
equitable redistribution of land must be
brought back on the political agenda, particularly in regions where large scale absentee landlordism prevails
under one pretext or the other and where huge land holdings are owned by the
corporates for plantation or similar purposes.
·
But redistribution
though necessary is not enough. It is
essential to find an institutional solution to the problem of fragmentation of
landholdings which was always there but which has now acquired a crisis
proportion. Pooling of land is the only
lasting solution. A massive mobilization in favour of cooperative farming is
necessary.
·
Simultaneously,
creation of suitable avenues for absorption of
surplus labour released as a result of pooling of land will have to be
organized. Such avenues can be created through co-operativising both the procurement of inputs and processing
of output. Clearly, this would require a
fundamental redirection of the present mode of industrialisation which
is geared to global competitiveness. Instead the new mode will be yoked to
productive use of released surplus labour. It will be part of a wider vision of
social solidarity.
·
Closely related is the question of water,
forest and mineral resources. Present policies have resulted in large scale
displacement of people dependent for their livelihood on forests, mineral
bearing lands and rivers, ponds and coastal waters. The policies unabashedly
promote such displacement, on the one hand, and, on the other, encourage loot
of such natural resources which belong to people. The market is allowed to
determine the dynamics. Simultaneous initiatives will have to be taken in these
areas to restore peoples’ sovereignty over these resources and promote policies
which will enhance livelihood creation, conserve environment and promote social
solidarity.
·
Galloping inflation and burgeoning
unemployment are inevitable consequences of the policy of “reforms” set in
motion two decades ago. They have made the life of working people increasingly
intolerable. The ruling classes have been the greatest beneficiaries of the
dispensation of “reforms”. Their only worry is that the bubble of unprecedented
prosperity that they have enjoyed so far is somehow made to survive. To that end, they would not mind sacrificing
all policy space and tying the economic destiny of the country to the goals and
requirements of the global capital. They are not only blind to the misery of
the masses; they are also blind to the burgeoning crisis that is engulfing the
core of global capital.
·
What is needed is
a complete break with the policies of “reforms” and adoption of a new path of
people-centric development . At the core of such path will be a radical
resolution of the question of land and peasantry. Restoration of peoples’
sovereignty over natural resources will be the guiding principle. Enhancement
of livelihoods , protection of environment,
assurance of a decent living standard and a life with dignity for all
will constitute immediate
imperatives.
III
·
On the political
side, there are four main concerns of the people. They revolve around the central concern : The
idea of India
which inspired the long freedom struggle is under serious threat.
·
The latent or
patent communalism practiced by the ruling classes has resulted in a deep sense
of insecurity and alienation among the Muslims. The last two decades have
witnessed steep deterioration in the communal situation. Political opportunism
practised by the mainstream political parties is certainly responsible. However, there is other, more fundamental reason. US-Israel combine has
conveniently created and sustained the bogey of Islamic terrorism on a global
scale to mask its imperialist designs on the oil-rich West
Asia. It is also an economic and strategic necessity of the US
‘military-industrial complex’ to promote the concept and practice of a global
war on terrorism, as it comes handy to interfere with the regimes in the third
world and provides a strong stimulus to the US economy, particularly after the
end of the cold war era. The Islamophobia systematically generated by US-Israel
combine has its willing takers in the retrograde Hindutva politics. The revival
of majoritarian communalism poses a serious challenge to the integrity of
polity. This challenge has to be met
frontally and unambiguously. First and foremost this requires that we as a
country disengage ourselves from the
strategic objective of US-Israel combine.
·
Adivasis too are
getting alienated fast. It is true that they have borne disproportionate burden of the development
process ever since independence. However, in the era of economic reforms, they
are being dispossessed of their livelihood, their habitat and their very life
on a scale which has had no parallel before. Consequently, there has been a
strong reaction. In some places their discontent has taken the form of
challenging the Indian
State. This has provided
an excuse to the ruling class to treat the discontent as “threat to national
security” and use its armed might to eliminate the challenge. Neither the armed challenge to the Indian State nor the armed might of the ruling class
constitute the answer to the deep
alienation of the Adivasis. What is needed is a decisive break from the present
path of growth pursued by the ruling classes which has posed a threat to the
survival of Adivasis with dignity in their traditional habitat.
·
Dalits continue to
suffer atrocities, discrimination, insecurity and denial of access to life of
dignity, despite the Constitutional dispensation and various enabling laws and
measures. The most backward sections of other backward classes too suffer
exclusion and deprivation. It is necessary to carve out a sub-regime of
reservations for most backward classes. The policies of reforms, however, are
increasingly making measures such as reservations in public sector jobs less
and less meaningful. Even so, the
upwardly mobile sections spawned by the reforms are clamouring for ending
reservations in government jobs as well as in educational institutions. Recent court pronouncements are virtually
nullifying progressive measures such as reservations in promotions. The social
contract envisaged in the Constitution is
coming under stress. A decisive
break from the policy of reforms and a move towards a new paradigm of
people-centric development based on social solidarity will provide a conducive
environment to relieve this stress. But it must be recognized that no struggle
for transformation of our society and polity will be meaningful unless it
adopts the annihilation of caste and caste injustice as a goal in itself.
·
The situations of
deep alienation and seething discontent
have been exploited by the ruling classes to strengthen their armoury of black
laws and anti-democratic measures to intimidate and suppress all democratic dissent
which is an inevitable consequence of the economic, political and diplomatic
policies pursued by the ruling classes. The space for democratic dissent is
being circumscribed and narrowed. Police apparatus is being used to suppress
the rising political challenge to
the establishment. The people are
being denied the only means of protest
that they have against the injustices of the prevailing economic, political and
social order.
IV
·
The current
political scene is marked by loss of credibility on the part of the ruling
combine of political parties as well as the opposition. The regional political
outfits are trying to exploit the situation to their advantage. Barring the
parties of the Left, whose parliamentary strength has been reduced
considerably, none of the regional parties have any alternative political
vision. Therefore, even if they benefit because of the weakening of the main
political combines and thus succeed in
acquiring greater share of power after the upcoming General Elections,
little can be expected from them . On the other hand, unstable and opportunist
combinations may only strengthen the prospect of the main combines after
disillusionment with such experiment. That would only give a further lease of
life to the ruling classes. However, with the rising discontent among the
popular classes, such dispensation can not last long. In the circumstances, there is a clear
possibility that the ruling classes adopt more and more anti-democratic
measures in the name of maintaining “law and order” and “stability” and prolong
their hold on power. The other
possibility is that the discontent of
the popular classes is organized politically on the basis of a clear
alternative vision and programme rooted in peoples’concerns, through a radical, inclusive and broad democratic
political formation. Indeed, this is the only ultimately viable political
strategy .
·
It is time that
all parties, movements, groups and individuals who are in broad agreement with
the forgoing analysis and are willing to adopt the political strategy get
together to create such a political platform.
-----
S.P.SHUKLA
27.06.2013
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