Thank you for posting this. Today I read an Indian Express Exclusive on real life situation at Chengara. I could not find it online. request you to do a search and if possible enable it online.
On Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 12:14 PM, Anivar Aravind <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > Maya magic may not help CPI-M to stem Dalit desertions > BY BRP BHASKAR > > http://keralaletter.blogspot.com/2008/11/maya-magic-may-not-help-cpi-m-to-stem.html > > WHAT prompted the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to align > with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) > was the Samajwadi Party's (SP) going to the aid of the Congress-led > government at the Centre, virtually nullifying the effect of its > withdrawal of support. > > Since both the SP and the BSP are non-entities in Kerala politics, the > switch of allies at national level made little difference to the State > party. But there was reason for hope that Mayawati's clout among the > State's Dalits may help stem the party's growing alienation from the > community. > > Caste and religious groups have been active political payers in Kerala > even before independence. In 1946 the undivided CPI-M sent selected > senior leaders into their respective caste organisations with a view > to extending its mass base among the respective groups. The strategy > paid dividends at the highest and lowest levels. > EMS Namboodiripad became president of the Yogakshema Sabha and many > younger members of the Namboodiri community followed him into the > party. > > The Congress, on assuming power in the erstwhile Travancore state in > 1948, accommodated the leaders of the Nair Service Society, the Sree > Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam of the Ezhavas and Pulaya Mahasabha > of the largest of the Dalit groups in its ranks. Yet the party was > able to cut deep into the backward Ezhava and Dalit community on the > strength of the appeal of its ideology. > > It is now on record that shortly before the elections of 1957, the > CPI-M leadership sent emissaries to NSS chief Mannath Padmanabhan > seeking the Nair community's support. His response to the request was > positive, and the party rode to power for the first time. > > Ironically, Mannath Padmanabhan later became a major rallying point of > the so-called liberation movement, which led to the Communist > government's ouster and gave new life to the dying political ambitions > of communal organisations. > > The short-lived Communist government yielded a big benefit to the > Dalits, most of whom were landless farm workers, constantly living > under the threat of eviction by landlords. Its very first legislative > enactment put an end to evictions, removing a threat under which they > had lived for generations. > > The Dalits remained grateful to the Communist movement. However, some > who had placed implicit faith in the CPI-M have started questioning > the sincerity of its leadership's approach to their problems. > > What brought about the change in mood is the burning land issue. On > reassessing the Communist government's land reform, many scholars have > pointed out that it was not the revolutionary measure it was made out > to be. Abolition of landlordism, which was its biggest achievement, > benefited the tenants. It did not benefit the Dalits, who were only > farm workers. > > Dalit intellectuals are in the forefront of a campaign that exposes > the weakness of the land reform. They have argued that the Dalits were > betrayed while implementing the party's "land to the tiller" > programme. > > Land having become a scarce commodity in the State, its apportionment > has become a major issue. A powerful mafia is on the prowl grabbing > land to build industrial estates, commercial complexes and luxury > apartments. Adivasis and Dalits are engaged in agitations demanding > allotment of sufficient land for each landless family to make a living > through farming. > > Since the LDF came to power two and a half years ago, Industries > Minister Elamaram Kareem, who belongs to the CPI-M has been vigorously > championing the cause of the industrial land grabbers. So far as the > landless are concerned, the government has shown no inclination to > concede anything more than a housing plot. > > Recognising that Dalits and Adivasis have been moving away from the > party, the State leadership recently decided on a strategy to check > desertions. > Breaking with past practice, it organised meetings of these groups in > a bid to tighten the grip on these sections. > > The agitation which landless people have been conducting at Chengara > demanding agricultural land has proved to be an acid test for the > CPI-M. As the agitation entered the second year the party organised a > blockade of the area by mobilizing estate workers, to deny any kind of > succour reaching the squatters. > > Many squatters have fallen ill due to lack of nutrition. The district > administration deputed a medical team to the estate. The musclemen > enforcing the blockade did not allow the government doctors to go in. > Last week Health Minister PK Sreemathi the told the media that the > cabinet had decided not to send doctors to the estate to attend to the > sick. > > For Mayawati's magic to work, Kerala's Dalits must be ready to > overlook their own experience, which seems unlikely. –Gulf Today, > November 3, 2008. > > -- > Any responsible politician should be encouraging a home grown Free > Software industry because it creates the basis for future jobs. > Learning Windows is like learning to eat every meal at McDonalds. > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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