[Reader-list] anti corruption movement in india a different view

[asit das]

this is outright stifling totalitarianism more dangourous than thought
police
how shamelessly you people talk about pluralism, difference, democracy and
liberalism.
You just cant tolrate a different view point, different from the media
frenzy and right wing
euphoria.

What do you mean by left extremism left is left, right is right. One has to
make a choice.
Do you mean that the list should only subscribe to right wing ideas,
communal, castiest and pro-corporate view point or should the list be
reserved for the Sangh parivar.


Regards


ASIT

On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 11:56 PM, Rajkamal Goswami <rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com
> wrote:

> It is highly disappointing to read this piece of trashy propaganda
> literature in Sarai. Before I begin my comprehensive critique of this
> propaganda, I just wish to ask the folks who are subscribed to the
> list: Is this list dominated by persons holding left-extreme left
> ideology?
>
> regards
> Rajkamal
>
> On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 12:16 PM, asit das <asit1917 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Manufacturing Dissent, Making Mahatmas: Manu, Market, Media
> > And The Anti-Corruption Sham
> >
> >  *By Democratic Students' Union (DSU) *
> >
> > *All historical struggles, whether they occur in the political,
> religious,
> > philosophical or some other ideological domain, *
> > *are in fact only the more or less clear expression of the struggles of
> > social classes – Engels *
> >
> >
> > *When two events occur in the same space and time, more often than not,
> > there is a correlation between the two. *On the one hand the Indian Army,
> > paramilitary and police forces — acting so plainly and clearly on behalf
> of
> > the Indian ruling classes and multinational corporations—which continue
> to
> > mount a war on the people of central and eastern India in order to
> > facilitate a naked appropriation of the region's resources is given
> marching
> > orders to fight the most dispossessed yet resilient masses. Then there
> are
> > 80% of the country's population forced to eke out a living on a mere
> Rs.20
> > per day and over half of the children suffer from the permanent
> > malnourishment because of the genocidal famine conditions their families
> > have been placed under; land acquisition of a mammoth scale affects
> millions
> > of people whose sole means of livelihood is being alienated from them;
> > thousands of small peasants are forced to find ‘escape' from an endemic
> > agrarian crisis by committing suicide; over 2700 bodies of Kashmiris
> > murdered by the Indian army once again reveals a Kashmir under occupation
> by
> > India and the crushing of its struggle for national liberation—to name
> but a
> > few instances revealing the brutal and systemic exploitation, oppression
> and
> > occupation. And people are waging resilient struggles in many parts of
> the
> > country against the ruling classes. On the other hand a base, distasteful
> > drama is unfolding in front of us—the drama of an ‘anti-corruption
> drive',
> > which is supposed to serve India a ‘second independence'. Needless to
> say,
> > although this latter ‘struggle' seldom refers to the first set of
> struggles,
> > events and phenomena, there is so simple a connection between the two
> that
> > the silence over the relation between the two sets is nothing but
> > deliberate.
> >
> > *The ‘Second freedom struggle' is nothing but an attempt of the ruling
> > classes to consolidate themselves. *The Indian ruling classes today face
> an
> > immense crisis, and are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain the
> > mask of ‘world's largest democracy'. Given the onslaught on the people
> and
> > their livelihood—through the acquisition of resources such as land,
> forests
> > and other means of livelihood; the steep price rise of basic commodities;
> > the privatisation of health, transport, water, electricity and education
> —
> > the state faces the resistance of militant peoples' movements. And
> > everywhere, the state is responding to this discontent and resistance
> with
> > brute force. In addition to this central crisis, the ruling classes were
> > reeling under the exposure of a series of scams such as 2G, Commonwealth
> > Games, Adarsh Housing, etc. involving unimaginable amounts of money. It
> is
> > precisely these circumstances that have given rise to an ‘anti-corruption
> > drive' led by the so-called civil society and made it possible for the
> > corporate media to project a reactionary like Anna Hazare as a hero in
> the
> > eyes of the urban middle classes. Sweeping under the carpet more urgent
> > structural issues affecting the vast majority of people and their very
> > survival, ‘Team Anna' has projected corruption as the central issue
> plaguing
> > Indian society. The anti-corruption drive and the Jan Lokpal have been
> > likewise offered as the solution to all the problems. By seeking a
> solution
> > within the existing system and by demanding a more coercive institution
> > within it to check ‘corruption', the Anna Hazare-led mobilisation has
> > appeared in the political scene as a much-needed respite to the
> > crisis-ridden ruling classes. This ‘second freedom struggle' led by ‘Team
> > Anna' is nothing but the mobilisation of a section of the ruling classes
> > aiming to rid themselves of the deep contradictions and the crises that
> > threaten them to sweep off their feet. Through a draconian bill
> > (government's Lokpal bill and the ‘Jan' Lokpal bill are the two sides of
> the
> > same coin), the ruling classes are aiming for further centralisation of
> > authority. No legislation can provide an answer to the deep-seated
> > exploitative structures of the society and the social relations which are
> > the root cause of so-called corruption.
> >
> > *Corruption: A Mere Symptom of Structural Exploitation and Oppression.
> *Through
> > its exclusive focus on corruption, 'Team Anna' in effect blinds us to the
> > system where wealth created by peasants and workers is appropriated by
> the
> > ruling classes. No doubt, a bribe running into crores is mind-boggling.
> Yet,
> > we are asked to ignore a simple fact—the amount of wealth appropriated by
> > the corporations in the first place, which enables them to provide bribes
> of
> > such an amount. Corruption itself is not a new phenomenon in India; it
> has
> > been endemic to the exploitative and oppressive semi-feudal semi-colonial
> > system which concentrates wealth and power in the hands of a few. But
> just
> > as imperialist globalization has heightened the exploitation of the
> masses,
> > resulted in the intensified feudal appropriation of the rural labouring
> > people, massive corporate loot of resources, the selling of the country's
> > land and other natural resources at ridiculously low prices to corporate
> > houses already reaping benefits in the form of tax holidays, the scale
> and
> > intensity of corruption has also increased in proportion. A disease
> cannot
> > be cured by suppressing its symptoms; rather, the symptom subsides only
> when
> > the disease is cured. Similarly, corruption will only disappear with the
> > revolutionary transformation of society.
> >
> > *A Special Drama, its Sponsorship and Mobilisation: *Corporate Funding
> and
> > RSS Backing of the Anti-Corruption Drive. That the anti-corruption drive
> is
> > a diversionary tactic of the ruling classes is clear not only from its
> > programme and its goals, but also from its funding. It was clear from its
> > very inception that this drama is funded by the corporations and business
> > houses –Ambanis, Tatas, Jindals to real-estate developers – that are
> > involved in the most massive of scams. It is now also public knowledge
> that
> > among the list of sponsors funding the key figures of this drama are the
> > likes of Lehman Brothers and Ford Foundation. Hazare claims to have the
> full
> > support of army and the police: the two most corrupt institutions of the
> > country. Moreover, the chief engineer of this Gandhian and so-called
> > non-violent mobilisation is the fascist RSS. The same fascist force that
> > killed thousands of Muslims in the Gujarat pogrom, massacred Christians
> in
> > Kandhamal, and organised the Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid, Malegoan
> and
> > Ajmer Sharif blasts is now mobilising for this ‘peaceful' second freedom
> > struggle. As usual, the rhetoric of nation and nationalism is deployed to
> > serve the interests of the ruling classes. The imagery, the slogans, the
> > objectives of the movement are all brazenly replete with right-wing
> ideology
> > which are proudly casteist and communal. The lead actors of this drama
> have
> > notorious histories of being anti-reservation and pro-sangh parivar. The
> > corporate media is therefore comfortable in exalting this movement with
> its
> > ceaseless hyperbole. They have projected this movement as ‘unprecedented
> > mass movement'. Last time it was the anti-reservation reactionary
> movement
> > which had caught its attention. When huge masses had hit the streets of
> > Kashmir demanding azadi, or in Lalgarh, Odisha, Chhatisgrah against
> > corporate loot, the media remained silent.
> >
> > *AISA/CPI(ML) Liberation: The cheerleaders of ‘Team Anna' *. As far as
> > AISA-Liberation is concerned, history is repeating itself, but this time
> as
> > a farce. AISA was formed in the context of the anti-Mandal agitation—not
> as
> > a progressive force in support of reservations, but using all the tricks
> in
> > the book to oppose the Mandal recommendations through a sleight of hand.
> > Liberation's Vinod Mishra, who opened up the portal through which the
> party
> > forever exited its role as a communist vanguard, and instead became a
> > trickster serving the ruling classes, went to extent of stating at the
> > juncture of AISA's unholy birth that ‘just as we do not approve of those
> > politicians who want to take revenge on the present-day progeny of Babar,
> we
> > also reject those theoreticians who would punish the present-day
> offsprings
> > of Manu for the crimes of their ancestors'. This is evidence not only of
> the
> > party's characteristic double-speak, but is also blatantly right-wing —
> in
> > short, Muslims are being called ‘Babar ke aulad'; reservations are seen
> as
> > crimes against ‘upper'-castes; and the caste system itself is projected
> as a
> > crime that occurred only in the past. Thus, while AISA in fact rode on
> the
> > crest of the anti-Mandal mobilisation to consolidate itself in
> campus-spaces
> > in pockets of north India, it is trying desperately to repeat its
> ‘success'
> > formula — this time, by wedding itself to this RSS engineered and
> corporate
> > funded anti-corruption drive of ‘Team Anna'. Indeed, they cry foul of the
> > ‘undemocratic' Annas for not allowing them enough space to participate!
> > Although in JNU they have maintained a crafty silence on Anna Hazare till
> > now, the degeneration of AISA became blatant when on 16th August, they
> > joined hands with ABVP in Delhi University's north campus in a
> ‘spontaneous
> > protest' against Anna Hazare's detention, shouting together ‘patriotic'
> > slogans like ‘Vande Mataram' and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai'!. When they filled
> the
> > walls of DU with anti-corruption slogans, these were all appropriated by
> > ABVP by a simple brushstroke — in each case, by simply replacing AISA's
> > insignia with its own. The justification put forward by Liberation/AISA
> and
> > some ‘enlightened' intellectuals for joining the cacophony of ‘I am Anna'
> is
> > to save it from RSS and to replace ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai' with ‘Inquilab
> > Zindabad'! Social-democrats of Germany also gave similar justifications
> for
> > allying with the Nazis which ultimately helped the rise of Hitler and the
> > crushing of the German revolution. The convergence of the
> communal-fascists
> > and the ‘Marxist-Leninists'/civil-society/NGOs therefore speak volumes
> not
> > only of AISA /Liberation's political bankruptcy, but is also a wake-up
> call
> > for the progressive, democratic and revolutionary forces to prepare for a
> > new phase of battle.
> >
> > *Hazare is a convenient blindfold for the middle classes. *Many of the
> > people who are out on the streets now, genuinely want an end to the
> brazen
> > corruption and the scams. But Hazare and his team have been entrusted not
> to
> > raise the real questions but to shroud the real struggles. The end to
> > corruption can only take place when the current economic policies are
> > repealed, when the MoUs signed with various corporate giants are
> scrapped.
> > And the Indian state, a loyal lapdog of imperialism will never change its
> > policies on its own. To end corruption, the corrupt system needs to be
> > overhauled. And that is what the revolutionary armed movement which is
> > spreading like prairie fire across the country is fighting for. It is the
> > resilient struggle of the revolutionary masses and not the
> corporate-funded,
> > RSS-backed and media-hyped theatrics that will resolve the burning
> problems
> > afflicting the people of this country.
> >
> > *Democratic Students' Union* (DSU) is an independent students'
> organisation
> > active in JNU and Delhi University in the state of Delhi. It is a
> > constituent of the All India Revolutionary Students' Federation (AIRSF),
> and
> > works towards attaining the ideals of the New Democratic Revolution.
> > _________________________________________
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>
>
> --
> Rajkamal
>