The communists
of India
strive forward into capitalism
By
Jonathan
Power
TFF
Associate since 1991
Comments directly to
JonatPower@aol.com
January 31, 2007
LONDON - India, every tourist knows, is a land of
paradoxes, of shifting colours and contradictory events, of heat and dust,
of great wealth and deep poverty, of historic monuments of unsurpassed
grandeur side by side with the planet’s worst hovels. Politically
too it is a mass of incongruities- the ruling Congress Party depends for
much of its support on the landlord class, business and even the princes.
Yet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is an ardent socialist who is constantly
troubled by the threat of rising inequality as the economy powers ahead.
The greatest of India’s political paradoxes is the Marxist government
of West Bengal based here in Calcutta, once the capital of the Asian British
Empire and still, with its grand Victorian Buildings and the Maiden, the
world’s largest city park, a testament to great aspirations. In
almost unchallenged power since 1967 the Communist government has become
“more capitalist than thou”. It is, of all the states, arguably
the pace setter for market-led reforms. Its growth rate is higher than
the nation’s. Its agriculture is growing at 4% a year, more than
any other state, in part thanks to a massive land reform program which
has dwarfed the half hearted attempts in other states. Its information
technology sector is exploding, increasing by over 70% last year and,
in the words of Radha Krishnan, the president of the West Bengal Chamber
of Commerce, “out to challenge Bangalore which is going from bad
to worse. It has outgrown itself. This government in contrast is planning
ahead and our infrastructure is getting better.” Poverty is also
falling which shows up in its impressive improvements in infant mortality
and its lowering death rate.
Indeed, if this government has a sin it is capitalistic hubris. The West
Bengal government had taken the lead once again in pushing forward the
central government’s plan for special economic zones, vast spaces
for companies to set up tax-advantaged enclaves similar to the ones that
have been pace setters in China’s industrial development. In West
Bengal a new Tata car factory and a chemicals’ hub led by Indonesia’s
Salim Group were all set to start land acquisition and construction when
peasants whose land was being compulsorily purchased decided three week’s
ago to resist. Violence erupted between peasants and Communist party cadres.
The local press called it “a bloodbath” and at least half
a dozen people died in the fighting. The next day the chief minister,
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, appealed for peace and ordered a stop to land
acquisition whilst policy was reviewed. In Delhi the prime minister announced
that the government too was reviewing its policies and would introduce
a “more progressive, humane” system. “It must be a win-win
process for all”, said Singh.
“Industrialization is the chief minister’s passion,”
commented Krishnan. And in an interview Bhattacharjee blamed local bureaucrats
for being ham fisted and insensitive to the peasantry whilst also blaming
Maoists groups for infiltrating from the neighbouring state of Jharkhand
and stirring things up. (Thirty-five years ago West Bengal had a major
Maoist uprising, abetted by Beijing. An incoming Communist administration
both repressed it and undercut it with its land reform program.)
The communists of India (they are also strong in the southern state of
Kerala) are a critical element in ensuring that the minority Congress
government survives. Antagonistic to Congress on such issues as land reform
and privatisation of what Bhattarcharjee calls “backbones of the
economy”, such as the railways, heavy electrical companies and the
national oil company, there is a large area of cooperation. The Communists
have gone along with the privatisation of the banking and insurance sectors;
also of loss making companies generally.
Somnath Chatterjee, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament,
and one of the pillars of the Communist party, points to a photo on his
wall of Singh laughing with Bhattarcharjee. I said I’ve never seen
Singh laugh. “Neither has anyone else!” says Chatterjee. “But
they do get on so very well. And see eye to eye on many things. We all
think Singh is a man of great integrity and commitment. Also he has the
confidence of the people and can be trusted”.
Chatterjee lists the main achievements of the CP/Congress alliance as
the national rural employment program which guarantees the unemployed
a 100 days of work each year, legislation projecting the rights of women,
more pro agriculture policies and, not least, “keeping communal
forces in check”.
But he is disappointed in the government’s cosy relationship with
Washington, its attitude (critical) towards Iran and he says the party
has reservations about the way the nuclear issue has been handled with
Washington.
But there is no question, both Bhattarcharjee and he insist, that this
government is going to fall for lack of Communist support. Meanwhile,
the paradox deepens as India goes racing down the road to becoming a great
capitalist power.
Copyright © 2007 Jonathan
Power
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