Marxism 13

Deepti Sreeram Its not Devdasi lamenting about mistakes and down falls, that is part of the game but a self-critical retrospection, one of the core principles of Marxism. Success or failure are incidental depending upon so many external factors, what is important is the quality of the struggle. Lost battles do not go waste but create legacies and inspirations for future revolution. Paris Commune was crushed but not before providing an alternate model of self governance by workers. We probably don't know each other, I am over optimist and keep saying that the engine of the history doesn't have reverse gear, there might be temporary U turns. (Please read my long article on JNU in April issue of समकालीन तीसरी दुनिया may be available at Jawahar and Maurya's). Circumstances have provided an opportunity to correct the mistake of not separately addressing the issue of social justice and theoretically consolidate the unity of struggles. I was editing another long article on JNU in English but you provoked me to write this comment. Its not a self-eulogy and nothing great about it as it is just that coincidentally I was born some 4 decades earlier than you, I am am into student activism for a time almost twice of your age with distinction of rustication from 2 universities including from JNU in 1983, the only so-long protracted struggle in JNU before this. You would not meet any one who joined JNU in 1983, 1983-84 was a zero year. I had passed the word to JNUSU and JNUTA about my desire to share my views on nationalism with a Marxist perspective and experiences of 1983 but they didn't want to give the platform to an ordinary JNUite in the wake of availability of big names. The distance between rustication and no-rustication was a 2 liner apology but that would have meant condemning the movement we are proud of. In all around 20 people refused to write 2 liner and were rusticated for 2/3 years. Most of them the first generation learners from poor families of rural north & south and most of them SRF holders that was decided by center wise merit. Most of them, may be coincidentally, were from one or the other ML factions. I salute to those contemporaries, who now as faculty members for making up for their apology/compromise by solidly standing with students. The imaginative posters/slogans new songs of this movement brought us the memories of 1883 a fresh. Newer and newer ideas for posters and slogans emerge out of movements, if there is conviction. We salute the present generation of JNUites for making us proud of them and our legacy.I have immense trust in the radical potential of young generations as every next generation is always smarter. What, in my opinio, is need of the time, is to address the crises of socialism rooted in theory and to theoretically consolidate the unity of all varieties of the left students and the Ambedkarites to synthesize the issue of social justice and economic justice along with the ongoing cultural war with Brahmanical fascism. I am writing a review article to address these issues but obstructed by JNU nostalgis and fb. But tomorrow is extended dead line and shhall be met. I hope against the hope the good senses would prevail on the leadership of CPs to allow the students to take the lead and begin a new era of politics from below in place of present politics from above in the for of party line, an anti-Marxist concept that obstructs the radicalization of social consciousness and thereby hinders the transformation of the "class-in-itself" into "class-for-itself". Please feel free to be ruthless critical to my comment. If I said any thing wrong forgive for that as 10 साल पहले कभी कभी भूल जाता था कि 30 साल पहले 20 साल का था, सठियाने के बाद अक्सर भूल जाता हूं कि 40 साल पहले 20 का था. जयभीम, लाल सलाम.