While the country is in various stages of lock down and overwhelming majority of people in dire distress due to govt. handling of Corona pandemic, RSS led Central Govt. has moved to celebrate bhumi pujan at Ayodhya for construction of Ram Temple. The decision shows the utter contempt the rulers have for the hardships faced by the people. Beside the heads of Centre and State Govts., the stage will have the RSS chief on the dias, publicly displaying that this Govt. and ruling party are controlled by the RSS.
The ruling dispensation is celebrating their ‘victory’, made possible by the Supreme Court which ended the seven decade old dispute created by majority communal forces. It is embracing the primacy of majoritarianism undermining secularism even to the extent enshrined in the Constitution and dispensing with the rule of law. It has been a victory for the ruling fascist forces and their Hindu Rashtra agenda. It has increased challenges before the people of the country who are facing deteriorating conditions of life due to attacks of the Govt. and steady unraveling of ‘welfare’ measures even to the extent hitherto implemented by the earlier ruling dispensations. It has increased challenges before the progressive and democratic forces who are facing increasing attacks due to the suppression of the existing democratic rights of the people.
Ruling RSS-BJP are celebrating their success in undermining secularism and in sidetracking the basic issues of the people who are groaning under increased exploitation, oppression, repression and suppression; who are losing not only their means of livelihood but even the right to demand it. Uttar Pradesh has been the main arena of the communal forces for more than a century and these have successively increased their hold under the patronage of colonial rulers prior to 1947 and with the indulgence of the successive govts that came to govern after transfer of power. Ayodhya dispute is a chronicle of this collusion between colonial rulers and the Indian elite. In the process, people’s culture which had taken shape over more than a millennium of joint efforts of the people of the region was undermined. This has been a composite culture, also called Ganga-Jamuna culture. This undermining was utilized for larger aim of subverting the genuine struggles of the people of India and keeping the country safe for imperialist loot and for anti-people elite who had been increasingly used by the colonial rulers for their rule. Communalism had been one of the main instruments to subvert the united will of the people of India against the yoke of colonial rule. It continued to be one of the main pillars of the rule since transfer of power to jettison the aspirations of the Indian people in addition to time tested policies of repression and reforms.
Ruling fascist forces have chosen August 5 for these celebrations to commemorate their doing away with Article 370 relating to relationship of J&K with the Indian Union and breaking up the very state of J&K. Over the last year, people of J&K are facing a complete lockdown- not only on physical movement but also on information flow; the forcible suppression of all political rights and total dislocation of economic life of the people; all to browbeat the people into accepting a demographic change in the state which is the underlying objective of the ruling fascist forces. Even after one year, the Govt. is continuing the total clampdown, which shows that the will of the people cannot so easily be undermined howsoever strong the rulers may think themselves to be. Even after a year they are continuing the clampdown, not even saying when they will be able to lift it. In fact, August 5 last year was the declaration by the RSS-BJP, who had returned to power nearly two months earlier and had extended their control over all the wings of the state, of their intent to trample over the existing constitutional framework in their march towards fascism. Since their return to power, ruling RSS-BJP have been in a hurry to do away with the five people’s principles which had crystallized during Indian people’s struggle against colonial rule, from which RSS had kept itself aloof, namely- anti-colonialism, secularism, democracy, social justice and federalism.
Since their return to power, RSS-BJP have moved to undermine whatever people of the country had gained through struggles over a century. Workers are facing attacks on their hard won rights including those enshrined in labour laws, peasants are facing unprecedented attacks on agriculture and their livelihood with increased entry of foreign capital and their compradors- the corporate, and people are facing unprecedented unemployment, tribals loss of land and means of livelihood, Dalits increased physical violence and attacks on reservation, women attempts at imposition of code of Manusmiti. To pre-empt struggles against these intensifying economic and social attacks, ruling dispensation has moved to annihilate the democratic rights, arming itself with even more draconian laws and strengthening the machinery of repression. A witch-hunt has been launched against those who support the democratic rights and oppose economic exploitation and social oppression.
RSS-BJP rulers are also trying to further take education away from the common people and bring up the new generation in unscientific and obscurantist mould, making them only fodder for the exploitative machinery of foreign capital and domestic reactionaries, big capitalists and landlords, suppressing all critical reasoning, scientific temper and inculcating subordination to those who wield economic, social and political power.
RSS-BJP rulers have cynically used the Corona pandemic to undermine rule of law and intensify attacks on the people. Rather than taking measures to control the pandemic, they have in fact further spread it; in place of giving relief to the people who are hit by medical and economic emergency, they have in fact launched further attacks on them while disregarding need to improve health facilities and take measures to counter economic contraction. And now to divert people’s attention from their all round failure and service to the rich and powerful, they have embarked on bhumi pujan at this very juncture. It is an attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the people.
Rulers are showing their construction of Ram Temple as fulfillment of the ‘aspirations’ of the majority community. It is rulers’ attempt to show that poor people, at least from majority community, do not need food, clothes, shelter, education and health care. They are utilizing the notion of people’s backwardness to further push them into backwardness, poverty and destitution. It is not the backwardness of the people; it is the drive of the rulers to keep them backward. It is not the question of religious feelings or even prejudices of the people, for that has never prevented Indian people from seeking advancement of their economic and social well being, never prevented them from striving for better life. It is the question of communalism which is a political and chauvinist mobilization on the basis of religion in the service of ruling classes, in the service of continuing rule of reactionaries. Secularism is need of the people in their common struggle against their enemies, in building a new democratic India of their common aspirations. Secularism is the need of the people to develop their struggle for an India of toiling people, self-reliant playing its due role in the comity of countries.
RSS-BJP Govt.’s drive to build a Ram Temple at Ayodhya is part of their project to consolidate their fascist rule. This is meant for terrorizing the people, for brutally suppressing them. It shows the need of ruling classes to divert, subvert and suppress the struggles of people which are rising and must rise in the face of s exploitation and oppression. It is the people’s struggles which are rising and are bound to intensify to challenge all injustice- economic, social and political. This is a challenging situation pregnant with possibilities. There is a need of systematic and persistent efforts, of the daring to challenge and basically to organize the people against economic hardships, social oppression and suppressions of democratic rights.
Down with RSS-BJP Fascist Rule!
Fight for Secularism; Fight for Democracy!
Mobilize All Forces against Fascist Rule!
Rally the people against economic hardships, social oppression and for democratic rights!
Central Committee
CPI(ML)-New Democracy
August 3, 2020