History and faith

This was response to RSS defence of scrapping Ramanujan's essay on Ramayan

I absolutely agree with you, profs Anurag Mishra & Inder Mohan Kapahy, that ASBVP has right to protest something they think is wrong. I praise Voltaire for his view, " “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". But the crux of matter is what happened in History Dept in 2008 was not a protest but an act of hooliganism and vandalism by a gang of 15-20 ABVP lumpens led by Vikas Dahiya who roughed up the professors as is their culture and wont of treating non-RSS teachers. Talking to some of them revealed that none of them had read the essay but they knew for sure that it was demeaning to Hindu deities like Sita and Ahalya. Anyway, RSS forums do not encourage reading and thinking but following and acting. This opinion of mine is not born of hearsay but of my experience and observation of its functioning and practice as an office bearer of its student wing which claims, reflecting dual character of RSS and its eternal dichotomous contradiction of theory and practice, that ABVP is an independent student body while the supreme authority of a unit is Sangathan mantri who is not a student but RSS whole timer - a PRACHARAK. And tell me honestly Pofs Mishra and kapahy have you read the essay? I had not read it till the acts of vanfdalism by ABVP lumpens in 2008. Born and brought up in a staunch ritualistic Brahman family with my grand father an acknowledged scholar of and devout believer in Panchang, I spent most of early mornings reciting verses from Ramcharitmanas and Bhagvatgita, many of them still remain in memory. In teenage after reading a hindi translation of Valmiki Ramayan whose protagonist, Ram was not a divine incarnation but a super human hero, i was quite puzzled but could not dare asking my grand father as he disliked questions on divine issues. After reading Ramanujan's essay which is serious in content and product of tedious scholarly research, the materialist view of history gets further vindicated that all the historic communities creat their own language, idioms, phrases, culture, religion and Gods and Goddesses according bto their own historico-economic needs across the tome-space. encouraged by going Scot-free after their acts of vandalism, within a few days the damaged the van and vandalized a book exhibition organised by a group of students with due permission of authorities. Why do the fascists across the time-space try to destroy the books and libraries? Why are the so scared of ideas?? if you really want to fight it at the level of ideas, please read the essay and let us talk about the merits and demerits of the essay don't cry in abstract that it contains insult to "deities". I n Valmiki ramayan, Indra in disguise seduces Ahilya who knowing the reality could not refrain from the desire of sleeping with him where as in Kampan's Indra does not seduce Ahilya but ahilya knowing well could not refrain from being attracted to the king of Gods and having pleasure of making love with the divine king. Which version would you subscribe to?

Change

Marx and Engels were aware of the possibilities and potentialities of capitalism to revolutionize the methods of production that it has to for survival. But contrary to his stipulation of corresponding increase IN THE WORK PLACE leading to labor socialization conducive to transformation of the working class from class-in-itself into class for itself and their organization on the basis of the common interest, capitalism chose the other way -- in-formalization of the production process through outsourcing and logistic companies, placement cells and manpower agencies. The revolutionaries have to devise new strategies to organize the proletariat that has become more complex with destruction and dislocation of slums. The problems generated of info-tech revolution was anticipated by Marx that the workers create their own nemesis by continuously increasing the productivity per unit labor power and subsequent swelling of the Reserve Army of the Labor force.

Change

The history of human development has also been the history of modification of the tools of social production; comprehension; and change. Ruling classes and their covert allies, advertently/inadvertently overplay the minor, technical and mostly artificial contradictions to blunt the edge of the major contradictions. In the post Upendra is referring to does not talk of contradiction between conflict and struggle but their intimate linkage to be used interchangeably. Marxism is not based on any sacred text but is a dynamic science to comprehend the existing reality in the historical perspective on the one hand and a revolutionary ideology to change it on the other. Those who seek to look for all the developments after Marx are as fundamentalist as those who claim to have located all the modern scientific and philosophical developments in Vedas or Quran or Hadith for that matter. Had Lenin or Mao followed Marx's views on non-revolutionary character of peasantry great historic Russian or Chinese revolutions would not have occurred in a backward capitalist and a semi-feudal /semi colonial country as the peasantry was the main source of respective peoples' armies. There is no final truth and final knowledge. Truth has to be proved in practice and not by attribution to God or reference to Vedas, Hegel or Marx, as key to knowledge is questioning anything and everything including one's own mindset.

history and society.

True, the reality changes according to the needs and norms of historical societies and history in course of time evolves the dialectical laws of its dynamics but nothing moves on its own. despite the unprecedented progress in quantum physics, at macro level, Newton's laws are still applicable. history does not move on its own but in dialectical unity with the external force, the conscious human effort to change the reality based on provable facts and not on philosophically abstracted assumptions or ecclesiastical dogmas. The conscious human effort is related to historical progress in a cause-effect dialectical relationship. You must not forgotten couple of lines from The Theses on Feurbach: "consciousnesses is product of material conditions and chnged conciousness is product of changed material conditions." But who changes the material conditions? Concious human effort based on scietific comprehension of history and society.

GOLDEN PERIOD

Look at the course of history as it had been. Golden period is a myth created by the ruling classes. hitherto history has been the history of class-conflicts. The cliched concept of all the ruling classes has been"The past has been glorious and future is bright", just bear with the miseries of the present, he he hee. The societies looking for the golden period in the past are stagnant societies. The Hindutva forces under the tutelage of RSS want to take us to the highest glory of the past, without telling us, when was that golden past. History evolves the laws of its own dynamics and its engine does not have back gear. Knowledge is continuously evolving process, each generation consolidates and builds upon the achievements of previous generations, and hence every next genertion, in general is smarter. In Hindu mythological world the progress is so regressive that it begins with the "climax" -- Satyuga and rolls down to the lowest stage -- the Kaliyuga in which even the Shudra will assert rights and scholarship. That is followed by Treta symbolised by an "ideal", Lord Rama, without going into comprehensive details of this period, when a Shudra, Sambuk was meditating in the forest , it seemed the clamity had fallen on the system he represented, and instead of sending his trusted leftinents --Hanum , laxman, ..... -- went himself to kill him. In the next best phase, an ideal teacher destroys the talent by cutting the thumb of a tribal boy trying to learn archery, but tribals learnt the art of shooting arrows without the use of thumb. And historical golden period is Gupta period during which the Varnashram system got consolidated and Manusmriti, one of the most reactionary scriptures perpetuated its inhuman commandments. In Islam, Mohammad, an intelligent poor Arab with potentialities of great mass mobilization declared hiself to be the last prophet in the sequence of many preceding and found misery-stricken people simple enough to be3lieve him and hence the golden period. He combined the religious and political authorities in a single person Imam/emir whose most barbaric culmination was the fascist Khomeini. It was such a golden period that followers and kinsmen waged a bloody battle for the seat of power. therefore let us care for the struggles of today for justice and basic human rights against corporate-led plunder of the earth in connivance with their political agents across the countries. Religion by definition is retrogressive as it looks to past for inspiration an does not allow question and radical doubt.

INQILAB ZINDABAD

Capitalism creates illusions leading to mindless cynicism. escapism is a cowardice, Let us confront the world as it is and free the society including the corporate scoundrels and their political agents also from the shit of the society they have made the world. Their days are over, each system has the seeds of its own destruction. Imperialism, like Absolutism, survives on the jingoistic nationalism. The character of capital has changed from international to global in the sense that it is no more GEOCENTRIC either in terms of its source or its investment causing disillusionment with the national jingoism paving the way to a new kind of internationalism on the global scale. INQILAB ZINDABAD

failure of socialism

Reactionaries of the world are talking about failure of socialism.Not only in Asia, Africa and Latin America, what about success of capitalism, in terms of its promised goals, even in Europe and it's ex-colony and now self-claimed world leader US? The ruin of craftsmen/artisans and barbaric expropriation of peasantry leading to their proliterinization was dumped under the euphoria of the "Wealth of nation" marked its beginning. Disillusionment of the large working population kept under illusion/delusion of jingoistic nationalism has badly cornered and exposed the invisible hands of the market and occupation of the wall street and its satellites. This must mark the beginning of capitalism. I hope, these waves of spontaneous popular upsurges world over, more particularly in the head-quarters of the neo-liberal imperialism would lead to the formations of new kind of internationals at global level as the oppression is global, so must be the resistance. But as self-criticism is one of the key concepts of Marxism hence we must critically, honestly, seriously retrospect/introspect about the socialist experiments; why they went the way they did??

Martyrdom Day of the Great International revolutionary Che

Criminal Institution of America(CIA) cowardly assassinated Com Che on 9 October 1967 in the illusion of restraining the red march in the twin continents of Americas. The criminal states can kill the revolutionaries but not their revolutionary ideas and examples that of this international revolutionary continue and will continue to inspire the revolutionary upsurges globally till the last knell in the coffin of the capitalism.A roving philosopher, a visionary and a revolutionary strategist who redefined Mao's theory of guerrilla war in the contemporary Latin American context, Che stated after the success of Cuban revolution that one can be a complete human only if one does not have to sell one's labor power like commodities and gave priority to literacy and socialist education as a minster and policy maker. His emphasis on accelerated industrialization reminds one the "great leap forward" in China. After contributing his bit to consolidate the gains of the revolution and in putting the Cuba on the path of socialist reconstruction, he moved to the next potential venues on the way of the march to the world revolution. The Criminal Institute of America, with the help of traitors caught hold of him while sleeping in his hide out and with criminal cowardice got him executed by the puppet Bolivian regime. They physically eliminated him making him politically more powerful and today Bolivian people are emphatically challenging the US neocolonial hegemony under the leadership of a "Red Indian" .
Long live International Socialist revoltion. Long live Com Che, red salutes.

साथी चे को लाल सलाम

साथी चे को लाल सलाम

ईश मिश्र

पढ़ रहा था शहादतें नेपाली क्रांतिकारियों की

सहसा याद आ गयी शहादत चे ग्वेएरा की

भगत सिंह जब मौत को ललकार रहे थे

तीन बरस के तब थे चे

भगत की शहादत बनी चे की थाती

है हर अगली पीढ़ी आगे ही जाती

पैदा हुए धरती पर अर्जेंटीना की

साथ सपने के एक सुन्दर दुनिया की

किया कालेज में मेडिकल की पढ़ाई

ऐश-ओ-आराम की ज़िंदगी मगर, राश न आयी

निकल पड़े फटफटी पर लेने महाद्वीप का जायजा

चहुँ ओर देखा लूट, दमन, गरीबी की दुर्दशा

खोजने निकले जब कारण इस बीमारी के

खुल गए राज़ पूंजी की नव-उपनिवेशवादी महामारी के

गैर-बराबरी,गरीबी का कारण है पूँजीवाद

एकमात्र विकल्प जिसका है समाजवाद

बनाया मार्क्सवाद को औजार और हथियार

सोचने लगे जब इस रोग का उपचार

गुआटेमाला mein आर्बेंज ने जब शुरू किया सुधार

चे पहुँच गए वहां सुन बदलाव की पुकार

हो गयी यह बात अमरीका के बर्दाश्त के बाहर

सी.आई.ए. ने ढा दिया तख्ता-पलट का कहर

चे पहुँच गए मेक्सिको, मिले कास्त्रो बंधुओं से

ऐलान-ए-जंग किया था जिनने २६ जुलाई आन्दोलन से

थी क्यूबा में अमरीकी मुहरे बतिस्ता की तानाशाही

चलन में थे साम्राज्यवादी वर्चश्व और उगाही

फिदेल कास्त्रो ने छेड़ा जब निर्णायक अभियान

बन गए चे जन-सेना के उप-कप्तान

थे हालात लैटिन अमेरिका के चीन से

वे छापामार रणनीति को अंजाम देने में लग गये

दूर-दराज इलाकों से जब जनयुद्ध की शुरुआत हुई

चे ने हिरावल दस्तों को छापामारी की शिक्षा दी

देख मुक्ति सैनिकों का यह इन्किलाबी जोश

नव-उपनिवेशवादी भोंपू हो गए बेहोश

मुक्त करते गाँव चले शहरों की ओर

बौखला गए वाल-स्ट्रीट सारे हरामखोर

हिरावल दस्ते के पास था मुक्ति का ज़ज्बा और अज्म-ए-यक़ीं

दुश्मन थे भाड़े के,न थी वहम-ओ-गुमाँ की कमी

जंग-ए-आज़ादी के गीत गाते जब हवाना पहुंचा दस्ता

भाग खडा हुआ अमेरिकी गुलाम बतिस्ता

समाजवादी राज्य के निर्माण की जब शुरुआत हुई

चे पर कई जिम्मेदारियां आन पड़ी

कहा उनने होता है कोइ भी तभी मुकम्मल इंसान

बेचना पड़े न श्रम जब जैसे बिकते हैं सामान

मानव-मुक्ति के लिए जरूरी है समाजवादी चेतना

करना पडेगा आत्मसात श्रम के अपमान की वेदना

था आलम तब क्यूबा में निरक्षरता और अज्ञान का

चे ने सूत्रपात किया साक्षरता अभियान का

देखते-देखते सारा क्यूबा साक्षर हो गया

शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में काफी आगे निकल गया

वित्तमंत्री का जिम्मा जब चे को मिला

शुरू हो गया अर्थव्यवस्था की कायापलट का सिलसिला

किया त्वरित औद्योगीकरण की शुरुआत

याद रखा माओ की लम्बे कदम की बात

रोकना है यदि शोषण-दमन की पुनरावृत्ति

पैदा करना होगा आवाम में इन्किलाबी प्रवृत्ति

पड़ गयी क्यूबा में जब जनवाद की पुख्ता बुनियाद

निकल पड़े चे कराने बाकी दुनिया आज़ाद

पहुँच गए साम्राज्यवाद की कमजोर कड़ी कांगो में

सोचा था इसे क्रान्ति की पहली कड़ी अफ्रीकी देशों में

उनका आंकलन इस बार गलत निकला

बढ़ा नहीं आगे छापामारी प्रशिक्षण का मामला

हार-जीत है कई संयोगों की बात

महत्वपूर्ण है संघर्षों की गुणवत्ता की विसात

पकड़ी चे ne फिर बोलीविया की डगर

थी उनपर लगातार अमरीका की नज़र

बौखलाया था चे के इन्किलाबी विचारों से

घात लगाए बैठा था कायर कुत्तों जैसे

कर रहे थे वे जब हिरावल दस्तों का निर्माण

मुखबिर से मिल गया सी.आई.ए. को उनके ठिकाने का प्रमाण

हमला किया सोते में सरकारी कुत्तों के साथ

मरवा दिया चे को कठपुतली सरकार के हाथ

क़ानून बन जाये जब नाइंसाफी का सहारा

इन्साफ का फ़र्ज़ है विद्रोह का नारा

क्रांतिकारियों की शहादतें बेकार नहीं जातीं हैं

अगली पीढ़ियों के लिए समृद्ध विरासत छोड़ जाती हैं

चे की शहादत धीरे-धीरे रंग ला रही है

विद्रोह की चपेट में सारी दुनियाँ आ रही है

जलाई थी लैटिन अमेरिका में जो छोटी सी चिंगारी

आ रही है उसकी चपेट में अब दुनियाँ सारी

फ़ैल रहा है दुनियाँ में चे का मानव-मुक्ति का पैगाम

कामरेड चे को लाल सलाम; लाल-लाल सलाम.

०९.१०.२०११, २३.२०