THE CHURCH OF THE POOR AND THE CHURCH FOR THE POOR

THE CHURCH OF THE POOR AND THE CHURCH FOR THE POOR

Alex Tuscano

Pope Francis has come 800 and odd years after St. Francis of Assisi. Relatively long period has passed between the great reformer Pope John XXII and the Pope Francis. His choice of name, Francis of Assisi for himself is the announcement of his mission for the Papacy.

St. Francis of Assisi emerged at a time when the Church needed reform.  The Cross in the Church of St Damiano urged Francis to repair the Church which was falling in ruins. Jesus meant not the building of St Damiano's church, but the Church, the people of God.

During the times of St. Francis the Church was a militant Church. After triumphant Byzantine entry into the humble, persecuted Church of the early Christians the Church entered the mode of celebration and projecting Christ the King. Crucifixes used to be studded with diamonds. Monarchies were assuming leading role in the Church. It helped the Church to spread across in a rapid way. The militant Church was more a religion of power than the faithful following the life of the Gospel.

Emergence of St Francis of Assisi brought back to the centre of the Church the Jesus of Nazareth. By his first crib Francis reminded the Church that Jesus was born in a manger. The human Jesus, poor Jesus, the self emptying, kenosis of Jesus was brought to the forefront.

Today the Church Pope Francis has found is also in a deep crisis. For the Europeans Christianity is matter of culture. Wearing a cross round the neck is a symbol of cultural identity rather than a religious and spiritual aspiration. The majestic churches are empty.  Many of them are turned into museums or halls for cultural programmes. The monasteries and seminaries are turned into home for the aged. There are no vocations to the priesthood, much less to the religious life. Youngest religious nuns or priests are in their early seventies. There are no priests to celebrate Eucharist for a few Christians who believe in going for Sunday masses. The paedophilia scandal has hit the sky.  Priests have become unpopular.

Church has also become a political and financial power.  Vatican is a recognized sovereign state having its ambassadors all over the world. It has the best communication system.  Even during primitive stage of communication what was promulgated in The Vatican reached the remotest villages and tribal hamlets.  This is a power of tremendous organization and dedication.  It needs to be hailed on one side.  But on the other side it is an indication of tremendous power and a tight grip on the entire Catholic world, without direct political and military control.  Church excels in its capacity of mobilizing money from the remotest corner of the world.  Vatican bank is perhaps the richest bank on earth.  But it is also rocked by scandal of financial irregularity.

In the face of women's awakening and quest for gender equality there is a demand for women priests.  The protestant Church has heeded to this. Along with women priests there is cry for married priests.  In the light of rampant sex scandal paired with acute shortage of priests this demand seems to be justified.

Pope Francis has begun on the right foot. He speaks of “Poor Church for the poor”.  He knows poverty and the struggle of the poor.  He was caught in the midst of political crisis that sprang from the powerful to stamp out the revolt of the poor against injustice and exploitation.

If Pope Francis calls the Church poor it reflects his desire that the Church should be poor. But it is by no means a poor Church given its wealth and power.

The Church is conceived as a second Israel, the people of God, the people with whom God made a covenant and Jesus sealed this new covenant with his blood “This cup is the new covenant in by my blood.  Whenever you drink it do it in memory of me” (1Corinthians 11:25-26).

Who were the people of God?  In the Old Testament it has been made clear again and again.  It is the poor, the oppressed, those who are treated unjustly.  They are the people of God.

The Old Testament is based on the theology of ‘the people of God’, a history of the oppressed people struggling successively to reach the kingdom of justice, love and brotherhood.

Moses appeared in the midst of the people as their leader.  He fought with Pharaoh and led the people out of slavery into the land of freedom. God made a covenant with these poor slaves who had nothing left to carry with them.  These people became the “people of God”.  “You shall be my people and I will be your God”.

The Prophets who spoke in the name of God sided with the poor and for justice. They condemned exploitation of the poor.  The Bible gives the prophet more prominence than it gives to the kings of Israel. 

Prophets Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel were strong against the evils in the kingdom of Israel.  Prophet Isaiah declared himself as the one sent by God.  He announced as “The spirit of the Almighty Lord is with me because He has anointed me to deliver good news to humble people.  He has sent me to heal those who are broken hearted, to announce that captive will be set free and prisoners will be released … to comfort all those who grieve.”   It was Isaiah, who challenged the authorities in the Jewish society by asking them, “Yahweh asks what you mean by crushing my people”.  The phrase ‘my people’ is synonymous to the ‘chosen people of God’.  Here we see that the poor, the suffering and the exploited came to be identified with ‘the people of God’.

The language of Prophet Amos against the rich who lived by exploiting the poor is unparalleled.  He exposes the crimes of Israel against the poor.  “How terrible it will be for you who sprawl on ivory beds surrounded with luxury, eating the meat of tender lambs and choice calves.  You sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and you fancy yourselves to be great musicians, as King David was.  You drink wine by the bowlful, and you perfume yourselves with exotic fragrances, caring nothing at all that your nation is going to ruin.  Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives.”  “The people of Israel sell the righteous for money and the needy for pair of sandals.  They stomp the heads of the poor into the dust.  They push the humble out of the way… You have turned justice into something deadly and what is righteous into poison.  Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who live on Mount Samaria.  You women oppress the poor and abuse the needy. You say to your husbands, “get some wine! Let us Drink!”  Israel, you hate anyone who speaks out against injustice.  You are disgusted by anyone who speaks the truth.  You trample the poor and take their wheat from them for taxes.  You build houses from hand cut stones, but you will not live in them.  You plant beautiful vineyard but you will not drink their wine.  I know that your crimes are numerous and your sins are many.  You oppress the righteous by taking bribes.  You deny the needy access to the courts.”

On January 15, 588 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Jerusalem Temple, the centre of Israelites.  The monarchy came to an end. The Israelites were taken as prisoners in the Babylonian captivity.  All this happened because the kingdom did not live up to the covenant made with God by honouring justice.  They spent long years in Babylon.  Many settled down there and established big businesses and became rich.  They did not long to return to Israel, their homeland.  Only those who worked as wage earners, who were poor and did not have permanent shelter in Babylon, returned to their homeland, Jerusalem.  These people, the holy remnant, eventually were considered ‘the people of God’.

Pope Francis’ focus time and again is on building a "poor church for the poor", “the poorest, the weakest and the least important". Time and again the Pope has urged his fellow church men to leave their comfort zones and reach out to those who live at the margins of society. He demonstrated his desire to be with the people on the margin by washing the feet of 12 juvenile in mates, including two girls, during a visit to a Rome prison during the holy week.  Responding to the scandal in the Vatican bank Francis recalled that neither St. Peter nor St. Paul had any bank accounts. When Peter had to pay taxes, the Lord sent him to the sea to catch a fish and find the money in the fish.

Francis has repeatedly denounced consumerism and what he called the "culture of waste" of modern economies. He had been denouncing capitalism time and again for it focuses exclusively on profit.  He says that he is engaged in a spiritual fight for renewal and salvation.

New Alternative

NEW ALTERNATIVE?

Aam Aadmi Party has come up before the people promising an alternative politics.  It is evident that people in the whole country are fed up with all the political parties.  They are looking for an alternative.  A large number of people across India are looking up to Aam Aadmi Party.

AAP has formed a government at Delhi with outside support of Congress party.  But the question is ‘will AAP deliver’. Many are disappointed by what they see happening under AAP government.  Apart from their campaign against corruption, AAP seems to have to clear vision for the nation.  They have not spelt out their policies on number of very important issues.

If we look at UPA government dispassionately we may have to admit that UPA has achieved a lot in 10 years. No other coalition governments in the past have achieved so much.  The average economic growth has been much higher than the growth NDA had achieved.  The lowest economic growth under UPA was not very much lower than the average growth NDA had achieved in five years.  Apart from this UPA has given its people ‘Right to Information, Employment Guarantee to the rural poor (MGNREGA), Food Security Act, Lok Pal Act, The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition - Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act.

UPA is guilty of rampant corruption: corruption in Common Wealth Games, Adarsh scam, 2G scam, coal gate scam, to mention the most prominent scams among all.  UPA II was most inefficient government in tackling inflation and price rise. The UPA has suffered a terrible decline in its popularity.

BJP has put up Narndra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate to promise that it will take people to a paradise of good governance and development.  However, BJP can never claim to be above corruption.  Has Modi washed himself clean of his 2002 crimes?  Their communal agenda of bringing Hindu Rashtra would spell disaster for the nation.

The regional parties are coming together to hammer out an alternative to both BJP and Congress parties.  Their belief is that neither NDA nor UPA will get enough seats to form a government.  These parties also want to restrain Modi and BJP from forging ahead for power.  They believe Congress will not be able to restrain BJP and Modi.

If we look closely coming together of regional parties will not provide a cohesive alliance. Not a single regional party is innocent of corruption, caste and communal politics.  In UP SP is not only involved in corruption but it is also accused of promoting ‘gunda raj’.  Biju Janathadal is not innocent of corruption.  Jayalalitha is facing trials in cases of possessing dis-proportionate assets.

The left parties who speak in the name of the working people and the poor are running after corrupt political parties to form an alliance. This seems to be their efforts to somehow remain relevant to Indian politics.

To put simply, we are facing today is a deep political crisis.  Not a single party has any credibility to give the nation a government that will offer new hopes to the people.  All the political parties suffer from lack of vision for the nation and its people.  Political power has become a business.  Political parties use caste and religion to further their interests. The citizens of our nation need equal opportunities and access to resources to build their lives. No political party is working to build India that is truly democratic, secular, just and without discrimination under caste, community or creed.  

No political party will be worth the salt if it does not take care of the long term interests of the workers, farmers, dalits, adivasies and all excluded sections of the society. The real alternative the nation needs is a government that will ensure:

1.       

      Regulation: Government should regulate market, finance and to some extent production to ensure equitable distribution of goods and services to the citizens. There talk about ‘let the government govern and it should not interfere in the economic affairs is flawed.

2.       Food sovereignty:  It is not just ‘food security’ doled out to people by way of providing subsidised food grains.  People should be able to produce their food.  They should have control on the food production.  People should enjoy right to land.  They should get irrigation facilities and be able to get credit. They will be employed gainfully in agriculture and will produce food for the nation.  Food security will be guaranteed only through the universal public distribution system.

3.      

     Right to education: The present RTE seems to be designed to perpetuate discriminatory multilayered school system where the rich can get educated through private schools and exclude the poor from quality education.  It is the responsibility of government give quality education to all the children through uniform syllabus.  Privatization of education goes against the goal of universal quality education for all.

4.      

      Right to health:  Health care is being systematically privatised.  Health insurance helps the private players to make enormous profits.  The government hospitals are only an apology for government responsibility for health care. Government should fulfil its constitutional obligation to provide health care to all its citizens.

5.  

           Right to employment: The neo-liberal policies have marginalized the working people.  The rights of the workers, which they had gained through long history of struggles and sacrificing their lives, have been denied to them.  Out sourcing, contracting to the middle people has left the worker in the lurch without trade union rights to fight for job security and fair wages.  Right to employment means not only work but also right to association and bargaining power.

6.       

      Life with dignity: A government that will ensure equal status and dignity to the citizens of all origin, without caste and race consideration; that will put an end to atrocities against women, dalits, minorities and people of different races; giving them equal opportunities in social, economic and political sphere.

We need a government that will stand with the majority of our people!

THE CHALLENGE BEFORE THE AAP

                

            The AAP has undoubtedly posed a huge challenge to all the political parties in India.  There is not a single party in India which will not experience the impact of AAP‘s growth.  This challenge of AAP will be real when AAP take up the challenges facing before the citizens and before the nation as such.  Having entered into politics and forming a government at Delhi it cannot escape from the task of bringing the nation to the high ground from where they had been speaking.

Arvind Kejrival still talks about corruption. Looking at the problems of the nation from the point of view of corruption only is not taking the bull by the horns.  Corruption in my opinion is only an expression of greater problem, i.e. the problem of development in the country.   Arvind Kejrival and all other members of AAP, during their agitation against corruption did not come strong on the issues of aadivasies, daliths, land acquisition and depeasantization. 

However emergence of AAP has eliminated the extreme right forces from within itself.  People like Kiran Bedi who have their hearts with RSS and BJP have not become part of AAP.  They have stood opposed to AAP.  AAP are attracting people  who totally fresh, uncontaminated by corrupt politics or right wing ideology.

 By strong opposition to corruption and standing for aam aadmi they have, knowingly or unknowingly, stood for an economic order which will not favour neo liberal capitalist order.  AAP has not formulated its stand with regard to neo liberal economic order.  But by standing for AAM AADMI it has opposed a political and economic order that excludes aam aadmi.  By their opposition to corruption they have de-facto shot at the corporate houses and multinational corporations which have been primarily involved in corruption.  Corruption in the realm of politics and administration supports the cause of capitalist class.  The capitalist class is the principle beneficiary of corruption. 

If AAP opposes this kind of corruption then AAP should stand for economic order that will function for aam aadmi, keeping aam aadmi at the core of objectives of development.  AAP cannot announce sops for the poor and on the other hand give free hand for the corporate houses and multinational corporations to plunder the national resources and draw enormous profits from the labour power of aam aadmi.

The Congress party brought in MGNREGA and Food Security bill.  Through these legislations Congress wants to take care of the poor and the rural masses.  Congress has developed Special Economic Zones for industries by snatching the land of the dalits, aadivasies and peasant, driving them out of their livelihood.  They have resorted to privatization in all economic sectors.  Disinvestment in public sector, public private partnership, inviting foreign direct investments are the ways by which Congress and BJP have handed the economic affairs of the nation into the hands of profit hungry corporate houses and multinational companies.  All the talk of the Congress Party about inclusive development will eventually turn out to be empty.  Their neo liberal path of development will exclude the aam aadmi.  Their neoliberal policies will out do all the social policies like employment guarantee and food security. All that the Congress Party does is they take away the tax payers’ money to fund these socialistic programmes and on the other hand allow the capitalists free hand to exploit and make profits.  These socialistic programmes can not go along with their neo liberal policies.  There is not a single political formation, at the national level or regional level that has opposed these policies.  BJP has gone far ahead of Congress in articulating and implementing neoliberal policies.  The so called Gujarat Model which is offered as an ideal development model has no place for the poor.

All the programmes the parties initiate for the poor or aam aadmi are meant to win votes.  The modern democracy has a very contradictory facet.  On the one hand the governments have to show growth and progress in the economy.  For this it has to support capitalists and invite foreign direct investment.  Any state government which has attracted maximum investments, especially foreign investments is considered to be a very successful government.  It has to resort to privatization, hand over natural resources to the corporate houses.  On the other hand political parties need aam aadmi to vote for them and bring them to power.  For this reason they offer sops to the poor.  Fundamentally, the governments work for the capitalist class.  But to come to power they need take care of short term interests of aam aadmi.  Our political system can be characterized as one that ‘runs with the hare and hunts with the hound’.

This cannot go on long.  It is precisely this contradiction in our political system that has brought forth the Aam Aadmi Party.  If AAP has to be consistent with its goal and governance then it has to find a new path for economic development. Their governance should be characterized as “by aam aadmi, of aam aadmi and for aam aadmi”. 

  AAP should not fall prey to axioms like “There is no alternative to capitalism”.  Political parties like to express their concern for aam aadmi in the context of capitalism or via media the capitalists.  Almost all the parties, national and regional, believe that development and eradication of poverty can be achieved only through economic development understood in terms of industrialization and economic growth.  Give the capitalists land, water, forest and the minerals and they will give aam aadmi employment, food security, healthcare and education, as if all that aam aadmi needs is these things.

AAP’s paradigm of development should have no place for capitalism and exploitation.  In other words AAP has to follow a non capitalist path of development.  There have been efforts to follow non capitalist path of development.  Soviet Union stood for abolition of wage labour, private ownership of the means of production and establishing Socialism.  Though the USSR has gone away the sceptre of socialism has not become irrelevant.  Even today there are debates in European countries about the relevance of socialism.  France, U.K. are having nuanced socialist programmes in their economy.  Many Latin American countries like Cuba, Venezuela are trying to work along the Socialist path of development.  Even India experimented with Socialism.  AAP will have to invent a new path of bringing about Socialism.  Democracy and Parliamentary politics are most suited to realize this goal.  For this we have to translate seudo democracy into a genuinely participatory democracy.  AAP has been campaigning for such democracy.

There is a need to address the issue of caste not by playing to the gallery, offering sops and perpetuate caste system.  The adivasies who live on the fringe of our economy and social life and who are being systematically eliminated need a holistic remedy to protect their economic and cultural rights and integrate them into social, economic and political main stream.  The issue of land right, prevention of depeasantization and making agriculture to address the issue of employment, food sovereignty and food security of the nation.  It has come out in the open the kind respect we give to women and allow them their right on their bodies and integrity.  No development can be real if the women of that society do not enjoy equal rights and dignity along with men. 

One should not understand these issues as individual unrelated issues that can be solved by individual packages.  These issues are part of the whole problem of the feudal and capitalist form of our society.  These can be addressed by bringing about total transformation of society.  But we do not need to wait for the total transformation to happen to solve these issues.  The total transformation can be brought about by addressing these issues and relate the struggle of all exploited and excluded people into a struggle for total transformation.

The level of development the world in general and India in particular indicates that capitalism has run out its time. Capitalism has lost its capacity to take the world to the next height of and development.  In reality the capitalist and capitalism has become a hindrance to take our society to the next stage of progress.

If AAP has to live up to its name and claims it cannot afford to bypass this issue.  AAP needs to move away from of neoliberal economic development to more equitable, democratic and socialist economic organization.  Then we can truly say, in the word of Prakash Karat, that what the Communist Party began to do long ago and failed to do, AAP has taken this up as an undaunted task.

NARENDRA MODI

Modi is a big challenge to Congress, says Manmohan Singh.  Congress cannot afford to be complacent.  It is true that the popularity of Modi is increasing.  The corporate and big businesses want Modi to be the next Prime Minister.  They see in him a savior of the economy.  Young people seem to see a ray of hope in Modi.   What does Modi have to offer to the people of India?

Support of Vacillating Urban Middle Class:

The young people, particularly the middle class think Modi will give them unending opportunity for employment and Moll filled cities to enjoy life.  The urban middle class is a vacillating class.  It swings to the side that offers an illusion of prosperity.  They are devoid of link with the history of our nation.  They have no idea how India won its freedom and what happened around the time India became independent.  The youth are alienated from the history of India.  The history text books have been tampered by the BJP to suite their version of facts. 

They do not realize that the Congress party has worked much more for the urban youth than the BJP or Modi in Gujarat.  Foreign Direct Investment in retail, which BJP had opposed so vehemently, is meant to serve the interests of the urban youth.  Jawaharlal urban renewal mission (JNURM) was initiated by the Congress government.  It has brought immense changes in the big and medium cities in our country which has given a big space to the youth.  The state where BJP was ruling the funds meant for JNURM were diverted to other projects.

The Gujarat model that Modi is offering is not manufactured by Modi.  Gujarat was a prosperous state long before Modi assumed power.  The huge Diaspora of Guajaraties overseas and even in African countries has been bringing in quite a lot of prosperity to Gujarat.  Modi has only taken the same tempo of progress forward.  It is more the logic of development of business in Gujarat than Modi which is responsible for progress in Gujarat.  If Gujarat is grown at a faster rate the contradictions in the state have been growing even at a faster rate. The growth of industrialization and growth of capital has sharpened the inequalities in the society.  The adivasies, the slum dwellers live in abject poverty. There is wide spread malnourishment among children.  Gujarat ranks quite high in malnourishment of children.  If wealth grows in Gujarat poverty abounds at a faster rate.

Modi is making use of the present global slow down to make tall promises.  If he understands economy and has really any solution to the slow growing economy why does not spell this out?  In his speeches he has been hitting his opponents below the belt.  He has vulgarized the entire campaign by his abuses lies and distortions.

I wonder if the youth in whose name and for whose aspiration he speak will be disappointed when it is time for him to deliver.

Modi’s Statue of Vallabhbhai Patel:

Modi’s attempt to erect a large statue of Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat is an attempt to bring Patel’s idea of India to the nation building.  The reason why Modi is so keen to promote Patel is that Patel was a rabid communal and Hindu nationalist.  His dislike and even hatred for Muslims was very evident in the way he spoke about the problems and sufferings of Muslim during the partition.  He tried to prevent the Muslims who had fled to Pakistan in panic to return to their homes in Delhi.  He wanted the Muslims to be out of Delhi. Patel was a home minister and it was his duty to prevent Vir Savarkar’s conspiracy to kill Gandhi.  Even after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi he was very casual in his efforts to do a proper investigation and bringing the guilty to justice.  By the way, when Modi made a slip and said ‘Madanlal’ Karamchand Gandhi could this slip have been deliberate?  Madanlal by the way was one of members of the group which was responsible for killing Mahatma Gandhi.

To build a statue of Vallabhbhai Patel is to rejuvenate the legacy of Patel’s communal and Hindu Nationalist spirit.  When he said if Vallabhbhai Patel had become a Prime Minister, instead of Nehru, the destiny of our country would have been very different.  Knowing Vallabhbhai Patel, his Hindu Nationalist aspiration, his dislike for Muslims and his complicity in the murder of Mahatma Gandhi he would have turned India into a Hindu Nation.  Modi and BJP would like to make up for the failed opportunity of Vallabhbhai Patel and reboot efforts to build India into a Hindutwa Nation.  Modi shares the sentiments of Patel to the last coma.  He has even stated that Unity of Hindus will make the nation strong.  He wants to unite Hindus and divide the Muslims.

Modi and the Industrialists:

How come he has become a blue eyed boy of the Industrialists?  Almost all the big industrialists starting with Ambanies, Godrej and ending with Tata are singing eulogy for Modi.  They find him to be the best candidate for the post of Prime minister.  What do the industrialists want?  They want growth in their profits, expansion in their industries and growth.  Modi does not talk about inclusive development.  Industrialists want the trade unions to be restrained, social movements to be crushed, social securities to be minimum.

If we analyze all the scams that have taken place in the recent past it will be surprising to see that in all these scams the big business and corporate houses are involved.  The 2G scam, Coal Gate Scam, or any scam you name it is the corporate houses which have maneuvered the bureaucrats and even politicians to gain undue favours and profit.  Corrupt practices like bribing, tax evasion have been their standard way of operating their businesses. They think Food Security, Employment Guarantee is a big drain on the economy.  BJP has been chanting the same mantra.  Yeshwant Sinha has repeatedly stated that the country cannot afford Food Security bill.  BJP did not hide its opposition to both the MGNREGA and Food Security bills.  Freedom, democracy, human rights and trade union movement are looked up on by BJP, Modi and the industrial class as obstacle to the growth.  Is it a little wonder then why the corporate houses will prefer Modi?

Alex Tuscano

WOMEN AND THE 12TH FIVE YEAR PLAN:

WOMEN AND THE 12^TH FIVE YEAR PLAN:

 Our country has gone through 11 five year plans.  In all these plans it no attention has been given to the discriminatory status of women.  This amounts to gross injustice to women.

Thanks to Dr. Ambedkar and the dalith movement, the daliths have got some mention in the five year plans.  This is an admission of the fact that our society had practiced a wrong kind of reservation policy where the upper caste enjoyed all the benefits by oppressing the daliths.

When we come to women we have identical situation.  While men enjoy all power, position and privileges women were treated as second rate and lower human species.  The theory of patriarchy puts the question of women in a proper perspective.

Just as planning attempts at abolishing poverty and caste discrimination, in the similar manner and with greater determination planning should try to abolish the discriminatory status of women in the society.  Mind you women constitute 50% of the population.  If their proportion to men is coming down then it is a discriminatory planning on the part of the society to abolish women or reduce their number, as if they are probably necessary evil in the society and therefore less they are in number the better.

In the context of this unwritten principle ruling in the society, women should be recognized at least now while preparing the 12^th five year plan.

If you ask me what issues should be addressed in the 12^th five year plan to correct the status of women then I should say we should review women’s movements and try to understand their demands as legitimate and overdue since the beginning of humankind.  Women should get equal right to the property.  No stretch of imagination can deny that this is a central to granting the women equality with men in the society.  This right should be seen in action.  When we speak about equality of women with men it does not mean that there are no differences.  Differences should not result in the lower status for women.  The biological difference between women and men and therefore the biological role of women should give women greater consideration and status.

 The 12^th five year plan should work for giving women opportunity for education, nutrition and health care so that they can live and work in the society shoulder to shoulder with men.  Coming to the basics the nutrition of women is a matter of concern for all women in all levels of the society.  Similarly health care is of prime importance.   Given their biological role they should be enjoying a privileged position in health care.  It is often the opposite.  Women’s work at home should get due economic recognition as adding value to the national production.

The 12^th five year plan should ensure monitoring of implementation of programmes so that it will guarantee that women get these fundamental rights.  By the end of the 12^th five year plan a quantifiable change should be achieved in the position of women.

One very important requirement to achieve these objectives is the political empowerment of women.  This should not be the goal only of women’s organizations and movements but also a goal of the government.  Women then will ensure that they are in the centre stage in the planning process along with men.  Women are not just ‘planned for’ but they actually plan.  They will plan not just for themselves but for the society.  Because when women enjoy equal status with men it is then men become and the society becomes a sane society.  Women should be given equal role and responsibilities in the political, administrative and judiciary functions of the state.

There is no need here to go into individual items of the planning where by these above mentioned goals are achieved.  The women’s movements have done a better job in this.  One just needs to go through their demands over the history of the movement to get suggestions.

Climate Change, Profits over Life

The Copenhagen Summit did not take the right path?

                                                                                                                     Alex Tuscano

 “When the last tree is cut down, when the last fish is caught, when the last river is polluted then the humankind will realize that it cannot live by eating money.”

The heads of the states had been fighting among themselves at the meeting in Copenhagen last year  to make tough decisions about who will be willing to cut how much of carbon emission.  All are concerned and see that there is an urgency to save the planet from falling apart.

If the heads of the states restrict themselves to cutting down the carbon emission and preventing the rise in the global warming or trying to take decisions to reverse the climate change then it will be a poor show and no problems will be solved.   After a period the planet will land up again in Crisis.  Just as capitalism lands up in crisis periodically, one larger than the previous the same way the plant too will continue land up in crisis.

The fundamental question before the international community is not the climate change; it is not about global warming.  The fundamental question is about the destiny of human kind; it is about the path the humankind has chosen to follow.  There have been several indications to tell humankind that the path they have taken is wrong and therefore the solutions they will find will be ineffective.  The only solution is to change the path of development.

The humankind has seen two world wars.  The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and what happened after that did not prevent the humankind from building nuclear arms. It had piled up nuclear arms enough to destroy this earth twelve times over.  It has been waging wars even after the disastrous consequences of the world war two.  America did not learn anything from the lessons of Vietnam War.  Their wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have solved no questions.  The world community at large with massive power is powerless in solving the problems in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Terrorism has gripped the entire world and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.  Because the world community leaders have no intellectual honesty to recognize that the real problem is the path of development we have followed.

The world witnessed the global financial melt down and economic crisis.  It was rated to be worse crisis compared to the crisis of 1930ies.  What was the meaning they saw in this crisis?    The kind of solution they came out with and are trying to apply is bound to build up another crisis.

The world is facing the father of all crises, called the global warming, or climate change.  The world community sees all these crisis as separate and independent and is trying to find independent solutions.  One solution will not have any link with another as one problem is seen in isolation from the other.

The humankind essentially is facing the crisis of the purpose of collective life.  This civilization has seen great religions with very lofty ideals.  There have been great philosophers and saints on this earth.  Every nation has given birth to great leaders.  But collectively the humankind has failed to itself.  Humankind has lost sight of their destiny.

Humankind has removed themselves from the centre of their lives.  They have brought in a particular politics and economics in the centre.  They are busy gaining and retaining power so that they can use this power to maintain their supremacy in economic sphere.  What is economics is all about.  It is about production, consumption and finally making profit.  Profit sounds very innocent word but it the most explosive reality.  It defies all human values.  If the entire purpose of production is to make profit and if there is no profit in any production then that production will not take place.  People will produce those things that will give them maximum profit. As a result, the humankind not only produces useless things which will not solve the most central needs of their fellow people, like food, clothing, shelter and health care, but they have indulged in production of arms of the most deadly nature that will destroy themselves and the earth.

In the name of security they have produced arms of mass destruction and in the pursuit of profit they destroy the nature and environment that to day the earth is in danger.  The private property and private profit has left the common property resource to the mice.  There is no concern for the protection of environment.  In the production for profit what is counted is what they pay for.  The environment is no one’s property and no one pays for it and hence it is not any one’s concern.  But it has a cost.  It will cost the producers to ensure that while in the process of production if they are destroying the environment then they should ensure that they restore the environment or employ methods of production that will safeguard the environment.  This would mean that the producers have to incur costs for protecting the environment because they are the single largest agency that destroys the environment.  But this would mean cutting on their profit level.  To maximize the profits they employ means which are most disastrous to the environment.

The next central concern of the humankind after profit is growth.  They want to accumulate their profit to make their capital grow.  There is a great debate on the growth of the economies.  Growth is a growth of private entity, growth of private capital.  The growth is not measured in comparison to the harm done to the earth.  It is not measured in terms of poverty, starvation prevailing on earth.  It is not measured in terms of terrorism that is growing on earth.

The world is admiring the highest growth China has been able to achieve.  But what is the track record of China.  China is using cheap labour in their country and sells their product to the rest of the world cheap.  It is shutting down the businesses of the poor countries. Scores of people are loosing on their business.  They are becoming unemployed.

The Republic of China began with a noble goal of building socialism in China, to ensure that all have three square meals, clothing, shelter and health care.  The Republic of China had founded its nation with the sole objective of providing prosperity to the majority of the people in China.  The Republic of China did not talk about profit, growth.  It was even reaching out to the poor nations to help them bring about change so that these nations too could follow the foot steps of Republic of China to eradicate poverty and bring about equity and justice in their society.

To day China has gone the ways of the main stream world.  The Republic of China of 21^st century has gone all the way to exploit and plunder the poor and the weaker nation for their own growth.  “China has adopted an aggressive policy of extracting Africa's natural resources. China is giving aid and loans to African countries and obtaining rights to exploit the natural resources. t China National Petroleum Corporation is the single largest shareholder in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, which controls Sudan's oil fields. China has invested $3 billion in refinery and pipeline construction in Sudan since 1999. Beijing extended a $2 billion loan to Angola in exchange for a contract to supply 10,000 barrels of crude oil per day. PetroChina has concluded an $800 million deal with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to purchase 30,000 barrels of oil per day for one year. China National Offshore Oil Corporation purchased a 45 percent stake in a Nigerian offshore oil and gas field for $2.27 billion and promised to invest an additional $2.25 billion in field development. China is reported to give huge bribes to the leaders and officials to obtain the rights to extract resources. A report in the New York Times tells that a Namibian public service commissioner was arrested after a Chinese company deposited $4.2 million in the account of a consulting company she set up. "China is using this financing to buy the loyalty of the political elite... It is a very effective tool of soft diplomacy. But it is bad for the citizens who have to repay these loans for graft-ridden contracts."

Mankind is called the crown of the universe, the glory of evolution.  All material forms culminated and reached its perfection in the birth of humankind that stands tall with its mind and spirit, with its rationality and spirituality.  That crown and the glory of the universe has turned into its opposite.  It has become the enemy of the universe, the destroyer of the earth.  This stems from the most irrational matter called capital, profit and growth.

Politics has been turned into its opposite.  Instead of coming to the rescue of humankind, of the rational mind and spirituality, to the unity and collectiveness of humankind it has become a question of acquiring and exercising power – power to protect and defend capital, profit and growth which divides, separates and casts aside the great majority of humankind. Nay, it dominates and subjugates the great majority of humankind to slavery of wage labourers, uses them as mere tools to make profit, accumulate and grow. The people have been removed from the centre of their national goal and Growth has become their national goal.   Plato has been proved wrong.  Politics, for him was meant to be in the hands of philosophers who understand the dignity of humanity, who would nurture this humanity.  But it has gone to the hands of the demons (vulchers) who want to exploit and extract profit and torture humankind and even put them to death.

I think the time has come to recognize that the real need is to put the humankind, the majority of the humankind in the centre of all pursuits.  All plans and development should be focused on the well being of the maximum people.  There is an urgent need to fight poverty, hunger, disease and homelessness. This well being will also mean the protection of the home of the humankind, our Mother Earth.  There is no need to produce arms and nuclear bombs.  In the climate change summit they will talk about helping the developing and the least developed nations to implement carbon reduction.  This talk is again to make sure that the developed world will continue to exploit the rest of the humankind and maintain its position of supremacy in economic development and political power.

The earth belongs to all who are born on this earth.  They have right to this earth and should enjoy this right.  Capital, profit and growth of a few cannot deprive the humankind of their rights.

We need to question the path of development on which the most powerful nations are controlling the earth.  Some where Marx was right and the bloodless Russian Revolution had probably set on the right path. But the capitalists saw that it was defeated.  America’s war in Vietnam was principally aimed to checkmate Socialist path of Communism.  It is still holding Cuba under the universal boycott.  One can say that the socialism was turned into demon by Fascist war and the capitalist blockade. There is a need to rethink our priorities.  Look back on our history and take a path different from capita, profit and growth.

Was not the communism immediate out come of the Resurrection of Jesus and descending of the Holy Spirit on the followers of Jesus?  Does “The Acts of the Apostle” tell us a lie?

Maoism and Paradigm of Development

Maoism and Paradigm of Development

The May 27 2013 attack by the Maoist on the Congress ‘parivartan rally’ and elimination of top ranking Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh has brought the problem of Maoist extremism once again to the centre stage.  There are more condemnations of Naxalites and their attacks than before.  Some of the leaders who were not so vehement in condemning them have come out against them.  Jayaram Ramesh has even called them terrorists.  Kuldeep Nayar has also joined the queue with Jayaram in calling them terrorists. Persons like M. N. Buch would even like to take a gun and shoot Nandini Sunder and Prof. Hargopal whom he accuses of defending Maoist.  His anger is also directed to media which gives such people opportunity to speak on the TN channels.

Among the civil society members there is substantial amount of sympathy for the Maoists.  Some consider the Maoist as well meaning people who are committed and are sacrificing their lives for the cause of the Adivasies.

The Adivasies have very serious issues related to development.  The state has not given adequate attention to the development of Adivasies.   Great amount of natural resources of our country like coal, copper, iron ore and other minerals are located in the areas where Adivasies are living.  In spite of forest rights of the Adivasies they are far more vulnerable as they do not have patta land registered on individual’s name.   There is wide spread displacement of Adivasies taking place and the state governments and the central government are inviting corporate foreign companies to mine minerals located in the habitat of the Adivasies.  Maoists champion the cause of the Adivasies and mobilize them.  This makes the Adivasies to support the Maoists. They feel as if the Maoists are their saviours.

It is high time that we evaluate dispassionately the Maoists movement and the questions posed by their movement.  We should not make wrong diagnosis of the ills we suffer from the menace of Maoism.

1.       We hold that the Maoists do not believe in democracy.  This is something on which we cannot fault them.  The kind of democracy that exists in our country can be questionable.  Even the main stream politicians in India are questioning the democracy of India.  Half of the Indian population does not have faith in the Indian democracy.  The number of people who participate in the minimum democratic ritual of voting once in five years is less than fifty percent.  The political parties go about buying votes. The Aam Aadmi Party has been constantly repeating that the democracy in India is of the politicians, by the politicians and for the politicians. 

In many respect the Maoists are no different from our politicians and fifty percent of our citizens.  While most of our civil society members are not concerned about the issue of democracy the Naxalites would like to ensure a genuine economic democracy for the most excluded people.

Immediately after the attack of the Maoists Rahul Gandhi said the Maoists do not believe in a democracy.  To this the Maoists have asked him a question, “Does your ‘democracy’ only applicable (sic) to the mass murders like Mahendra Karma and ruling class agents like Nand Kumar Patel? Whether the poor Adivasies of Bastar, the elderly, children and the women come under the umbrella of your ‘democracy’ or not?” (Outlook, June10, 2013)

2.    The Naxalites do not believe in the Parliamentary process.  This is true.  So do the opposition parties!  They have demonstrated their disbelief in the parliamentary process by making sure that the Parliament does not function. Instead of Parliament debates they air out their views and condemnation in the studios of TV channels. Only the process of transferring regular salaries and the allowances to the parliamentarians functions well.

3.    The Maoists do not believe in Judiciary.  According to them the basis of justice is fraught with injustice. It is important for all to rethink on our judicial process.  The vast number of citizens and even the politicians question the judicial process.  There are so many corrupt judges which have brought down the sanctity of the judiciary.  Arun Jaitly believes that the judge who has been made the chair person of National Human Right Commission has been given this post as a reward for passing judgements favouring the Congress Party.  Appointment of judges is often questioned and people have expressed desire to change the procedure of appointment of judges.  When there is an involvement of mortal human beings fraught with weakness and vested interests playing its role, the judiciary cannot be sacrosanct.  Is it not a fetish which we have been promoting about judges and the judiciary process?

FIGHT AGAINST MAOISM:

Some hold that if we want to contain Maoism then the state should take up the task of development in the tribal areas.  These areas are highly underdeveloped and backward where schools, water, electricity, roads are absent.    If there are employment opportunities provided for the youth then they will not fall victim to the Maoists’ recruitment.  While undertaking development process we should hold dialogues with the Naxalites.

The main stream political and administrative class completely rule out development in the tribal areas as a strategy to contain Maoism.  There are many in the higher ranks of civil servants and police department who believe that the way to solve the menace of Maoist is to corner them under the state power, bring them to their knees and make them surrender.  Former Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwaranjan believes in all out war against the Maoists.  He believes that “the state should pile on constant pressure on the Maoists and batter them in to submission.  Keep them on the run till they get tired, till they have a rethink on their core ideology that seems to over throw the Indian state through violent means.  Development is something that can be carried out in a scenario of peace, not war.” 

  

Vishwaranjan and people like should wake up to the reality of thousands of innocent people who have been put in jail, tortured and shot out of suspicion of they being terrorists or Maoists.  Several young people have spent years in jail and finally let out as there were no evidence against them.  How many are killed under the pretext of encounter? The state kills innocent civilians.  The Maoists kill people from the security forces and the political bigwigs. When the Maoists killed Mahendra Karma it was specifically due to his institution of anti-Naxal militia called ‘Salwa Judum’.  Everyone knows that Salwa Judum had become a byword for terror for Adivasies. The Adivasies are between the devil and the deep sea.  But that Devil happens to be the state security forces.  If one goes by the experience of Binyak Sen one realises how sensitive the state machinery is.  As a doctor he was working for Adivasies, instead of taking a lucrative career elsewhere.  But he was suspected to be supporting Maoists.  If one fights for the rights of the Adivasies which are guaranteed by the constitution one gets branded as pro Maoists and may face charges of sedition.  In 2006 the congress government brought out Forest Rights Act by virtue of which the Adivasies get right of ownership of land in the forest either individually or community ownership.   It has become difficult to work for Adivasies, especially in the Naxal infested areas.

E.A.S. Sarma who was one of the legal petitioners in the Supreme Court to push for a ban on Salwa Judum is concerned about not letting a short term approach to problem solving lead to a long term problem, making it worse than the original one.  He states, “If the government moves away from development to treat this strictly as a law and order problem, it is not going to be a solution.  It will only worsen the problem; as the experience so far has shown.” Further Sarma states, “The government should know that any area where there is a governance deficit and where the local communities’ views are not respected becomes a space for people’s alienation and extreme tendencies.” (Outlook).  This is seen in the Kashmir valley.  We should be aware that governance does not mean presence of security forces.

WHAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENT NEEDED?

When people talk about developmental approach to solve the problem of Maoism they understand development in terms of building roads, infrastructure, water and electricity supply, giving employment to the tribal youth etc.  But some claim that the Maoist obstruct development efforts.  They are against development of the tribal area.  Some even go to the extent of stating that the backwardness of the Adivasies’ area serves the interests of the Maoists.

Some time I feel these people speak in the air.  It exhibits their paradigm rather than what Maoist would say about development.

The development that the Maoists conceive is not developing roads, supplying water and electricity. They have a problem with the path of development that our present state follows.  Like all left thinking people the Maoist oppose the Neo-Liberal economic policies of the government.  Whether it is in tribal areas or on the mainland our state is sponsoring the interests of the big capital, corporate and foreign capital.  Our government has handed over the wealth of the nation to the capitalists.  Capitalists are considered as saviours of mankind.  They will bring industrialisation, growth in the economy, generate employment for the people.  Capitalists believe that the wealth of the nation, be it land, minerals, forests, rivers or water all this, is their birth right.  The rest of the people should vacate this space and go away.  The capitalists will create jobs for them.  The capitalist want to own the earth and turn the citizens as labourers who will have to depend on the employment created by them.

When forest lands, minerals, rivers and water become a property of foreign capital and corporate whatever roads, infrastructure, employment provided will not mean any development for Adivasies.  At best the construction of roads will open the forests for all to come to cheat, exploit and rape Adivasies.  When the rights of the Adivasies to land, rivers, water and the resources on their land are not recognized and granted these superficial developments will only amount to eyewash and vote bank politics.

The Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) share everything with the Maoists on the need for Socialist paradigm of development.  The difference between the Maoists and the CPI/CPM is that the latter do not believe in armed revolution and mindless violence.  CPI & CPM do not hold that India is semi-feudal and semi-colonial state.  They strategically participate in the parliamentary democracy.  CPI holds that socialism could be brought about through parliamentary democracy. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.       A.  The Maoism is not a law and order problem.  Maoists or Naxalites are not some anti social elements fuelling social unrest and trying to create chaos in the society.

2.       B. It is not a problem of development.  The lack of development in the tribal areas is a serious concern.  For that matter lack of development in the slum areas is also a problem.  There is similar lack of development in many non tribal rural areas.  Whatever people are clamouring for in the name of development, such as roads, education, water, electricity, employment will not solve the problem of Maoism.  If the state kills the Maoists then from the ashes of these Maoists will raise a force that will challenge the state again.

3.       C. Irrespective of which party comes to power Indian state will not bring about development that will answer the long term interests of the poor, working class, Adivasies, dalits and even women.  The state will take care of the short term interests of these people.  And these short-term interests are: employment, food security, rural housing, water, electricity, subsidies etc.   In contrast, the state will take care of the long term interests of the capitalist class.  Their interests are land acquisition, control on the natural and mineral resources of the country, wage freeze, tax reduction, urban infrastructure like express high ways, airports, special economic zones, power generation, nuclear energy etc.  The state will give food to the poor to shut their mouths and turn them into labour force to be exploited by the capitalists.  The world will be owned by the capitalists and the rest will be daily wage labourers.  The state understands development in terms of growth and wait for the trickledown effect.  But the capitalist economy is not porous.  The profit of the capitalists will never get transformed into welfare funds.  The poor are citizens of our nation; they toil to create wealth of the nation and they do not need to live on welfare funds.  They have every right on the wealth of the nation as much as the capitalists have.

4.       D. The Maoists are saddled with an outdated socio-economic analysis of India.  Maoists characterize India as semi-feudal and semi-colonial state.  This is in line with how Mao characterized China and perhaps India before 1930ies.  This characterization is not valid today.  India has moved ahead from what it was before independence.  There is no trace of semi feudalism or semi colonialism in Indian economic system.  The Maoists have to wake up to this reality.  Given the level of democracy that prevails in our society there is no place for arm revolution.  By continuing their orthodox outdated analysis and politics they are doing disservice to the cause of revolution and to the people in whose name they carry out their armed struggle.

5.   E. The left parties like the CPI and CPM will be in agreement with Maoists with regard to what kind of paradigm should be followed in the development process.  Just as Maoism wants to over throw capitalism the Left parties also want to over throw capitalism.  For better acceptability let us use the term transform or revolutionise the state.  The left parties believe that the Parliamentary process would work to bring about this revolution.  But the Maoists do not believe in this path.  They believe only through armed revolution they can over throw capitalism and establish a rule of the peasants and the workers.

6.      F.  The dialogue with the Maoists should be initiated by the left parties.  At the beginning all these left parties and the Maoists were together in one party.  Their differences have brought about a spit among them. It is the left parties and the Maoists who should dialogue together to come to an agreement on the path of revolution.  This will strengthen the left forces and the cause of revolution.   The state cannot dialogue with the Maoists.  It is like two persons speaking totally different languages want to communicate to each other. 

M.N. Buch does not need to shoot Nandini Sunder and Prof. Hargopal.  They and many like them do not support Maoists or Naxalites either their analysis of the Indian State or in their belief in armed revolution.  All of them condemn the brutal killing and violence by the Naxalites.  What is needed is a rethinking on the path of development that our governments are following.