In comparison to constitutional authorities deviating from the well-entrenched due process in one state, the current dispensation is trampling over all the democratic structures.
Published Mar 20, 2025 | 1:08 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 20, 2025 | 1:08 PM
A CPI(M) rally. (Facebook)
Synopsis: The CPI(M) has classified the Union government as a dispensation having “neo-fascist characters”. However, refraining from properly classifying the current dispensation in power and cooperating with the INDIA bloc only to cater to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will not send any positive signals to the public.
The recent release of the Draft Political Resolution by the CPI(M) and subsequent clarification by its interim coordinator Prakash Karat, regarding the party’s stance on the classification of the BJP-led Union government as fascist or neo-fascist, is confusing the rank and file of the Left cadre and sympathisers.
In its draft resolution ahead of its 24th party Congress, the CPI(M) said the BJP-led Union government is an “overbearing Hindutva-corporate regime” with “neo-fascist characteristics.”
Later, a clarification note by Prakash Karat said that the Union government was not considered fascist or neo-fascist but had neo-fascist characters. He reiterated that in his interview with The Hindu at Kollam, where he went to attend the State Conference of Kerala unit of his party.
The issue has ignited a debate regarding the current and earlier stance of the Left party regarding the BJP and its policies.
There is also a criticism that the CPI(M) formulates its policies to suit its interests in Kerala and West Bengal. Critics say the party is supposed to be an all-India party with international understanding, responding to events of a worldwide nature, but their tactical approach did not go beyond the interests of Kerala and Bengal.
This is also reflected in the current debate.
To give a brief understanding of the Left party’s assessment of India’s ruling party and their equations in terms of fascism, it is incumbent upon us to take an aerial view since the 1960s.
It was in 1964, after almost one and half decades of internal debate, that the Indian Left characterised India’s ruling class. Since then, the Indian ruling class also took a clear-cut antagonistic stand against the CPI(M). There comes the coining of semi-fascist terror in West Bengal against the CPI(M), about which volumes were written and commented upon.
Earlier, even after the Congress toppled the first constitutionally elected Communist government in Kerala under the leadership of EMS Namboodripad, the Indian Communist movement did not assess the then-Congress party which was a hegemonic force across the country.
However, the anti-CPI(M) tirade during the early 1970s forced the party to call Congress actions semi-fascist.
What were the major features of Congress’s actions at that time? Posing this question is very relevant and appropriate while addressing today’s questions that confront the Indian Left in general and CPI(M) in particular.
During the mid-1970s, the Congress and its state government in West Bengal unleashed anti-constitutional mechanisms to create a terror atmosphere intending to undermine the support base of the emerging radical and militant Left under the leadership of Jyoti Basu.
The make the actions of the State simple and accountable, the Constitution mandates due process of law. Not following, scuttling, or short-circuiting this due process of law is nothing but a violation of the Constitution and a deviation from the Constitutional mechanism.
The then-Congress leadership resorted to this kind of violation in West Bengal which forced the CPI(M) to term it semi-fascist.
It was also the time when the Congress, under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, was trying hard for the shift from a planning-dominated economy to market market-dominated economy. The shift warranted the State to dismantle all the forces that tried to oppose the process.
At the time Left movement in general and CPI(M) in particular, was on the ascendance — catching up with the imagination of the youth — and could rally lakhs of workers apart from the rural masses.
This capacity of the Left movement was what the then-ruling class of India wanted to thwart and it decided to go all out against the CPI(M), nipping in the bud.
Even though the Indian ruling class could not succeed in halting the march of CPI(M) in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, it succeeded in deflecting its support base in other strongholds like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
Thus, in the understanding of CPI(M) itself, semi-fascism means the deviations of Constitutional authorities from the due process established by the long-drawn struggle by the public at large, and the Supreme Court standing as rock solid support system to punish the guilty in cases of such deviations.
In comparison to constitutional authorities deviating from the well-entrenched due process in one state, the current dispensation is trampling over all the democratic structures.
Here the concept and meaning of democratic structure should not be read narrowly. A democratic process under any constitutionally administered country — that too one as vast and diverse as India — means not just holding elections once in five years; it should also reflect in various other means and forms.
The list includes, but is not limited to, the interaction between inter-governmental organs, regulating relations between different organs of the State, inter-institutional mechanisms, inter-state relations, relations between various communities and people of different identities within the State, Centre-state relations, the dispute-resolving mechanism between public authorities through Parliamentary means.
Currently, the due process of adhering to Constitutional mechanisms, on all possible counts of democratic processes and democratic structures and even adhering to transparent and sustainable electioneering is at stake.
The deviations from Constitutional responsibilities are evident in the raiding of CBI offices and unilateral decisions, often with dictatorial intent, like forcing to follow the mandatory instructions of the Union government, even in issues under the state or concurrent list.
The Union government is also repositioning its role and creating direct animosity with state governments, often provoking the latter to go against all the established norms of Centre-state relations. It has also mellowed down the judiciary at all levels.
All the institutions that once stood tall on the national horizon are now buckling under the pressure of the Union government and its agencies. This reveals the intensity of the anti-democratic and anti-constitutional approach of the ruling party at a national level.
This is not without changes in the economic structure of the country. While the 1970s opened up new spaces for market forces, what are witnessing now is the country’s surrender to those forces. This indicates a qualitative shift within the ruling classes and their approach towards the country and its position in the international community of nations.
In such situations, any kind of wavering in comprehending the role and nature of today’s ruling classes in India and their entrenched roots in the international financial system will lead to disorientation. It will also have a demoralising effect on those who look up to the Left parties, especially the CPI(M), for a ray of hope — in ideation and activities against Constitutional deviations.
In such a situation, refraining from properly classifying the current dispensation in power and cooperating with the INDIA bloc only to cater to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will not send any positive signals.
(This is the second part of the series discussing the CPI(M)’s stance on the current dispensation. The first part discussed the party’s differing view on classifying fascism and neo-fascism. The writer is a lawyer, and cultural critic. He was previously associated with the CPI(M). Views expressed here are personal. Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
