Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
A single company ITC produces in India many brands of cigarettes that compete with each other inasmuch as none of the ads of a brand ever mentions a word of praise for the other. They seem to be archrivals. But their sale proceeds go to the same manufacturer. A question may arise as to why a single company has developed so many brands and has been investing money for separate advertisement for each one of them instead of advertising for all of them in a single take at a time? The answer is very simple. The manufacturer knows that no single brand of cigarette can keep addicts satisfied for all time to come; because, basically the addicts are fickle and they cannot be tagged to any particular brand for a longer period than getting disillusioned with its taste. The disillusionment comes quick because cigarette is harmful to health and an addict takes cigarette while even hating to take it. So there must be an alternative available to the addicts and thereby whenever whosoever of them shifts preference to any of the alternative brands, the company should be in a position to continue fetching its profit. This is why there are so many brands of cigarettes, rival to each other but belonging to the same owner.
Indian political scenario is just like this. The looters have developed a multiple party system. Mainstream parties wedded to political economy of capitalism, contesting with each other, even as the communists act in alliance with them, at times joining the cabinet of V.P.Singh and at times, supporting Man Mohan Singh, make it crystal clear that notwithstanding their differences all these parties are one and the same in their mission. And that mission is nothing but making India a plutocracy, where the looters are the real rulers.
Agents of the looters are in power in India since independence. We are to look back to know it.
Under compulsion of situations that history had clamped on us, our struggle for freedom was bourgeoisie dominated. And, therefore, our freedom was nothing but a transfer of our country from the hands of white-colored bosses to black-colored bourgeoisies. In other words, we witnessed our countrys transition, in the guise of freedom, from the white commercial community to the black commercial community. In Oriya one may say: GORA BEPARINKA HATARU ASI DESHATI KALA BEPARINKA HATARE PADIGALA.
Everybody knows that the first decision as a free nation we took was to retain the British system of administration. Needless to say, British system was a pro-business system and by retaining that system, we ensured that the country would remain subjugated to business empires. Communists, then in their ideology, were the strongest obstacles to retention of this system. Therefore, Nehru, heading a bourgeoisies government as he was, had to ban the Communist Party of India, which, when the entire leadership of Congress was imprisoned following Gandhijis calculated Quit India call, had led the most heroic battle for our freedom from 1942 to 1947. If we are honest, we must admit that after independence, the communists had valiantly fought for merger of princely states with Union of India and to the pride of us Oriyas, legendary communist revolutionaries like Veer Baishav Pattanayak of Dhenkanal, Braja Kishore Pattanayak of Athgarh, Banamali Das of Nilagiri etc had raised revolutions of so much velocity that the kings of these states were bound to express willingness to merge with India and then that developed into reality to be followed by other kings. Let it be remembered that there were 618 kings in India after partition that had been declared as sovereigns after the British Empire had freed them from their bonds. Had the kings not been compelled to merge their states in the Union of India, we would have seen our motherland fragmented in 619 independent parts. After compelling the kings to merge with India, the communists put priority on abolition of zamidaris and bestowal of ownership of lands on the tiller. This was not acceptable to the bourgeoisies. So they conspired and succeeded in banning the Communists in 1948 and hence, when we finally drafted and adopted our Constitution, the political watchdogs of the toiling peoples were kept away from adding their wisdom to it. As a result a hundred percent anti-people agenda has been enshrined in our Constitution as Fundamental Right on Property. This Fundamental Right has reduced India to a grazing ground of avaricious people and has eventually transformed our democracy to a plutocracy. And, plutocracy has polluted our political horizon so much that the present generation of communists is serving the imperialists!
Like the ITC owning multiple cigarette brands that compete with each other to hoodwink and keep addicts under its grip, the looters have developed multiple political parties that are marshaled as rivals with the same creed but different colors, in order to ensure that notwithstanding how jealously people exercise their franchise, that would be nothing but Hobsons choice. Elect may whomsoever they like, but thereby only the rich or the agent of the rich is elected and whatever law or policy parliamentary forums formulate, frame and enforce, serves the purpose of the rich, the looters.
This is where we now stand.
To me, therefore, there is no difference between BJP, BJD and the likes and Congress.
So I am far away from the game political parties play. I cannot say who is acceptable from amongst them.
But I am sure; time is coming when people will build up their own political weapons on basis of their needs. The random and absolutely apolitical uprisings that we witnessed in Kashipur or Kalinganagar in Orissa are sample precursors of the class war trying to take shape. When it happens it may precipitate mayhem. But that cannot be stopped unless the states resources are addressed to the bare needs of the masses and the lootraj ends.
To me, to avoid mayhem, the resources of our country must now be addressed to the most essential program that is of basic utility. And, that is conservation of natural resources and provision of irrigation facilities to cultivable lands.
The planners and their elite supporters are saying that the country needs to concentrate on many areas of development. They may be right according to their own dose of avarice, their own feeling of well-being, their acceptance of training and their orientation. But they are doing wrong to India by engaging attention to areas that are not of primary importance. We shall have to, if we need peace, put priority only on areas of primary importance. And, these areas are (1) conservation of natural resources and (2) provision of irrigation to agricultural fields.
When we were fighting against Britishraj, there were many necessities for which parallel priorities could have been fixed. But Bapuji put emphasis on only one item. That was salt. Had there been no movement for salt (known to history as LAVAN SATYAGRAHA) we would never have got our independence till date. If other necessities had been stressed upon at that time, the movement for salt would have been diluted.
So, let us not dilute the real issue. Let us truly stand with our peoples. Let us not put any emphasis on anything other than these two. Our people are basically cultivators. If eco-systems are conserved and water supply to our agricultural fields is ensured, we will soon be a land of real prosperity.
Let the elite of us stand with our poor brothers and sisters, though massive in majority who are bereft even of the ability to speak up for themselves.
Let us not allow individuals to build up their private territories in the guise of SEZs, by taming the team of persons we have put in charge of our country. Let us punish the traitors who have allowed economic kingship to grow after we abolished geographical kingship.
Let us understand that the country belongs to its inhabitants who are bereft of their assets as a few looters, by taming our politicians and top brass of bureaucracy, have looted them.
Let us foresee that time is coming when the looted majority will reach the last limit of tolerance and assert its wrath.
And then, howsoever many political parties be in their cheating best, no protection would be available to the looters and their tamed dogs looking like leaders in their attires as well as to the bureaucrats that are acting now as scavengers.
That time is on the anvil.
This is a stage of transition where we now stand. Let us take note of it and try our best to extricate our country from the looters so that the silent majority no more perishes under abysmal wretchedness, agriculture no more ends in draughts, tribes no more miss their eco-systems, inanition no more affects the workers, villagers no more face famines, corruption no more cripples our nation.
Let there be only one slogan now: STOP EVERYTHING AND STAND FOR ECO-SYSTEM AND IRRIGATION.
.