[Reader-list] `Stranded Between Government and Opposition: The Politics of the CPI(M) Since 1989’

[radhikarajen at vsnl.net]

It would be really interesting to see how a western trained educationist, a student of political science and doctorate in on politics will see the dynamics of social changes and communism in general, CPI(M) in particular in India and its role in indian governance with the economic policies and their implementation.

  It would also be of interest to see and have a studied look at Indian national Congress in three phases, from 1947 to 1969 as it has had the full backing of all citizens except a few radical thinkers of "hindu nation" instead of a secular nation, INC and its workforce at the grassroot levels, Sevadal, its self less and selfish leaders in the governance, in this phase when mahatma wished that the INC should be dissolved and new outfits for political  existence should be formed,

  In II phase, when old and young "turks" had different vision for the nation, how the party got divided and the catch phrase of garibi hatao, became vote catching buzz word, to decieve very people for whom it was sought to be succour, the imposition of mergency, survival game of leadership at any cost to the nation, the period of 1969 to 1981 is another chapter of the nation where the grassroot of the party was completely replaced with hired slogan shouters, vehicles used for generating "public" presence at the leaders speech, thus leaders are those who could bring in "crowds".
  The next phase is of total de-generation, as morality shrunk to new low, to save his the uncle and aunties with kickbacks, uncle Qs sheltored and supported by the leaders, the phase also so india as big brother in the neighbourhood active in un-necessary deployment and death of soldiers for lost cause in lanka, regional parties and fuedal lords gaining acceptance to play king makers role in public life and governance.PV N Rao, and degenration in morals and ethics of public life went hand in hand as not taking a decision was also a decision, as no governance was bad governance.
   Then came the total chaos in governance, each fuedal and regional lords seeking their pound of flesh to be in governance or lack of it. Every political party talked of farmers, dalits, trodden and down trodden, but none performed the democratic rule of governance as political compulsions of coalition ruled the governance.

   It would be wonderful even to ponder over the role of left parties from 1962 when the walls of Kolkatta were painted red welcoming mao, to talk of nationalinterest of Nuclear deal ,as INC today talks of power, not energy but political power to it prince in waiting ?

  Regards.

----- Original Message -----
From: Rajesh Ramakrishnan <rajeshr at csds.in>
Date: Monday, July 28, 2008 1:46 pm
Subject:  [Reader-list] `Stranded Between Government and Opposition: The Politics of the CPI(M) Since 1989’
To: reader-list at sarai.net

> Monday, 4th August, 2008
> You are invited to a talk on:
> 
> `Stranded Between Government and Opposition: The Politics of the
> CPI(M) Since 1989'
> 
> By Sanjay Ruparelia
> at 3 PM in the Seminar Hall, CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi – 110 054
> 
> Since 1989, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has 
> sought to
> define its national politics through two principal objectives: to
> limit the advance of Hindu nationalist forces and to halt the
> deepening of neo-liberal economic reform.  For these reasons, the
> CPI(M) has provided external parliamentary support to anti-BJP
> coalitions in 1989, 1996 and 2004, without joining government.  It has
> also sought to block the advance of liberal economic reform at the
> Centre while pursuing it in the states where it governs, particularly
> West Bengal.
> 
> This paper investigates the origins, dynamics and consequences of
> these seeming contradictions.  It examines three causal factors in
> particular: the logic of political self-reproduction in India's
> federal parliamentary democracy; the narrowing of economic policy
> options in India's federal market economy; and the conceptions of
> power, political responsibility and political possibility that inform
> the strategies and tactics of the party.
> 
> Sanjay Ruparelia, Visiting Fellow at CSDS, is Assistant Professor of
> Political Science at the New School for Social Research.  Dr.
> Ruparelia received his PhD in politics from the Faculty of Social and
> Political Sciences, University of Cambridge. His present research
> analyses the relationship between economic liberalisation, militant
> Hindu nationalism and the rise of lower-caste, communist and regional
> parties. He is writing a book manuscript, provisionally entitled,
> "Divided We Govern: Federal Coalition Politics in India", which
> analyses the importance of institutions, power and judgment in
> explaining the politics of the 'third force' since 1989.  He is also
> co-editing a multidisciplinary volume of essays, "A Great
> Transformation? Understanding India's New Political Economy", which
> examines the preceding general themes.  His previous research on
> federal coalition politics has been published in Comparative Politics
> and Economic and Political Weekly.
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