The paradox of politics in Kerala is that all political parties swear by non-violence and democracy but, to ensure that their writ alone runs, they resort to unspeakable violence. May be this is because once they set off on the path to violence it is difficult or impossible for the political party to move away from it. It is like holding the proverbial tiger’s tail. Once a death squad tastes blood, they are inclined to disregard even the diktats of their leaders. The monsters of Frankenstein do no one’s bidding.
Vested interests make capital out of the situation, and the whole atmosphere is permeated with violence. Political parties, including the CPM and the BJP, ensure the backing of criminal elements. The all-party conferences give lip service to democratic methods, but in the confines of their own party offices they ask their cadres to dump homilies. In the course of time the public turns indifferent to politics, bringing anarchy and uncertainty. As early as 1921, when Mahatma Gandhi appealed for non-cooperation and civil disobedience, leaders like Chettoor Shankaran Nair had warned that once the people are taught to disobey laws, it would be difficult to bring them back as law abiding citizens. Chettoor Shankaran Nair also wrote a book titled ‘Gandhi and Anarchy’, warning of the addictive properties of disobedience. However, with Mahatma Gandhi’s moral authority reigning supreme, such advice fell on deaf ears. Throughout the freedom struggle, Gandhiji insisted on non-violence, but violence continued unabated.
The Quit India movement in 1942, when Gandhiji and Congress lost faith in the British declarations about the concept of Rule of Law, the Congress itself had given the call for creating a democratic constitution with fundamental rights and directive principles. But during Indira Gandhi’s time, when she felt her power was threatened by Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement, she declared Emergency which in effect meant the suspension of constitutional rights. It is important to note that the struggle against Emergency was not led by the highly literate people of Kerala but by the relatively illiterate people of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
There is an innate democratic tradition among the people of India born out of the panchayat system, but both parties on the right and the left resorted to violence in search of power. Though BJP on one hand and the Marxist party, on the other, swear by secularism and tolerance, the rank and file of all parties are in league with criminal elements. Even though some leaders may genuinely stand for tolerance, their followers might consider it too meek. The Marxist Communist Parties have an innate tendency to follow violence in the name of revolutionary spirit. Today the Congress has weakened itself by promoting dynastic supremacy. Though Sonia Gandhi was able to control the different groups in the Congress her idea of promoting Rahul Gandhi has destroyed the goodwill of Congress. The Communist-Marxist parties have not been able to overcome their internal conflicts.
The degeneration of Congress has created a vacuum and no alternative is provided by other parties. The Communists are committed to violence in the name of revolution and the Congress has now developed an obsession with dynastic succession. No other party has the general acceptance and goodwill of the people necessary to prevent anarchy and lawlessness. Consumerism has gained upper hand in society and money power has destroyed even the last vestiges of idealism in social and political life. In the circumstances, India has become conflict-ridden society, confusion and uncertainty prevails in politics, and there is no leader who can show the people a way out of the mess.
With the ascendance of the BJP, a path to dictatorship through democracy might soon be opened. The signs are loud and clear. Recent attempts to win power through undemocratic means and the spreading of hate among masses for political gains, hints at a complex era in the making. Hate campaigns and violence have been employed to build the bridge to power. You have to remember that Nazi and Fascist leaders came to power in the first instance by feigning allegiance to socialism and democracy.
