Work Culture, Survival And Class Struggle

தோழர் ஆர். நாராயணன் அவர்கள் நமது AIIEA வின் அகில இந்திய துணைத் தலைவராக இருந்தவர். தற்போது வயது 86. தீவிரமான வாசிப்புக்கு இன்றைக்கும் சொந்தக்காரர். திண்டுக்கல்லில் வசிக்கும் அவர் இப்போதும் அந்நகரத்தில் ஓர் கூட்டம் என்றால் முதல் வரிசையில் அமர்ந்து விடுவார். இன்சூரன்ஸ் ஒர்க்கர் இதழில் 2006 ல் வெளியிடப்பட்ட இக் கட்டுரை இன்றைய சூழலுக்கும் பொருந்துவதாகும். R Narayanan THE Secretariat of the AIIEA, in its recent meeting held at Nagpur, has come out with a clarion call to the employees to mobilize the mass of the people against the looming dangers (listed out in the Editorial of the Insurance Worker 1 February, 2006) and to rededicate to the cause of the public sector by rendering conscious service to the policyholders with more dedication. This cannot be termed as a debt of gratitude for the handsome wage revision achieved; but the truth is, in a way, it was the employees’ work culture that was legitimately compensated in the form of handsome wage revision, no doubt through hard bargaining by the AIIEA. The handsome wage revision, amidst other things, was a product of the impressive and magnificent business performance of LIC and the public sector general insurance companies, without which all the militancy and even the favourable change in the political scenario could have at best given some rise in the wages commensurate with the business performance. One can eat the pudding only when it is there. There was a big pudding, thanks to the given general economic situation in which only the public sector insurance industry was there as an attractive destination for investment of their savings by the middle class - though they form a creamy layer of just 15% - commanding absolute confidence with prompt settlement of claims and efficient servicing. The AIIEA played a very crucial role for the sweep and spurt in the business of the nationalized insurance industry. Through its more than a decade of tireless campaigning against privatization of insurance, the AIJEA placed its members among the public at large, both insured and uninsured, propagating and convincing them how the private insurers could not be trusted with the nature of the industry being fragile in the private sector as one could witness the failure of the companies even in countries like the USA and those in the Europe to earn the confidence of the people due to their fraudulent practices. The soundness of the public sector insurance industry was focused with facts and figures to convince the public beyond doubt about their stability and efficiency in servicing. The movement of AIIEA was often converged in ‘Policyholders Servicing Campaign’, ‘Policyholders Week’, etc., through special counters manned in offices by the employees. The soundness of the public sector insurance industry was sowed in the psyche of the whole nation. The powers that which stand for the privatization of the industry could never have imagined a middle class trade union, commanding a membership of less than a lakh, could have roused a nation’s will against privatization despite the political will of the ruling classes under pressure from the imperialist power and their agencies like the IMF, World Bank, etc. the AIIEA could successfully stall the flagship of private insurers from entering into the harbour. The unshakable confidence on the nationalized insurance industry in the hearts and minds of the people was a byproduct of the massive campaign. The result was the unprecedented performance on allcounts by the LIC and the public sector general insurance companies. The AIIEA played the glorious role of a master salesman, which is being accoladed by the officers at all levels. One cannot be under the misapprehension of having raised a Chinese wall impregnable by the offensives of the private insurers, who are ready to bring into play giant international finance capital. Any complacency on the part of the employees would only cost the industry and the employees very heavily. Even as early as the 1960s, the AIIEA had taken up seriously the cause of policyholders’ servicing. During meetings, in particular after each wage revision, the leaders of AIIEA used to drive home the importance of rendering prompt service to the policyholders - another name for “work culture”. Serious discussions and debates were held and resolutions adopted on the subject of policyholders servicing in all Conferences of the organization at all levels. “A day’s honest labour for a day’s decent wage earned” were the words of Com. Saroj which are still ringing in the ears. He used to assert that only an employee who puts forth his very best would feel indignant if his wage revision got delayed and those who contributed very little labour could not seriously think of struggle for upward wage revision. No doubt, by and large, such speeches brought about all round improvement in “work culture” in the public sector insurance industry. To bring more thrust to the campaign for efficient and prompt policy servicing, Com. N M Sundaram went a step further and called upon the employees to start their anti-privatisation campaign from their individual office desks. After private insurers were let loose in the field, there has been a tremendous change in servicing the policyholders, which has helped to silence the adversaries who proclaimed that the acme excellence in both cost cut and quality were their exclusive preserves. “Work culture” need not be denigrated as anti-class consciousness. Such assertions are pure and simple scholasticism, dogmatism. Work culture contributes for the survival of the class without whom there could be no class struggle. The working class cannot just wish away capitalism and its modus operandi to survive somehow as a system of exploitation. The working class necessarily has to chalk out its own forms of class struggles to defend themselves against all forms of attacks by the ruling classes. The ‘Right to Property’ clause enshrined in the Constitution of India helped us to wrest our bonus through the legal process in the Supreme Court. This strategy of the AIIEA came to be applauded by the entire trade union movement of our country. To do all that is possible is struggle, life. Not to do the thing that is possible is anti-struggle, death. The AIIEA consciously contributed its share to increase the size of the pudding, helping the LIC to record a premium income of Rs.75,OOO crore in the financial year 2004-05 and succeeded in securing to the employees what they legitimately deserved, of course through hard bargaining - a dialectical approach to all problems, wage revision not exempt. Long live AIIEA! [This is another angle from, which Com. R Narayanan has looked at the wage revision in the insurance industry, This article is published with the hope that his deep analyses would help to supplement the efforts of AIIEA to further improve the policyholders’ servicing by the employees and thereby defend the public sector insurance industry and the interests of its employees in a more effective way.]

பழமை வாதம் -ஒடுக்குமுறை- வர்த்தக மயம் எதிர்த்துப் போராட ஜனநாயக மாதர் சங்க மாநாடு உறுதி

கான்பூர், நவ. 12-

உணவுப் பாதுகாப்பு, தனியார்மய எதிர்ப்பு, உழைக்கும் வர்க்க உரிமை பாது காப்பு உள்ளிட்ட மக்கள் பிரச்சனைகளுக்கான இயக் கங்களை தீவிரப்படுத்து வோம் என்ற உறுதிமொழி யுடன் அனைத்திந்திய ஜன நாயக மாதர் சங்கத்தின் ஒன்பதாவது மாநாடு முடி வுற்றது.

மாதர் சங்கத்தின் ஒன் பதாவது அகில இந்திய மாநாடு நவம்பர் 9 முதல் 12 வரை கான்பூரில் நடைபெற் றது. அனைத்து வடிவங் களையும் கொண்ட பழமை வாதத்தை எதிர்த்து பிரச் சாரங்களை வலுப்படுத்த மாநாடு தீர்மானித்தது. வாழ்க்கைத் துணையைத் தேர்வு செய்யும் இளை யோரின் உரிமைகளைப் பாதுகாப்பதென்றும், மத வெறி தாக்குதல்களை எதிர்ப்பதென்றும் மாநாடு முடிவு செய்தது.

மகளிர் உரிமைகளைப் பாதுகாப்பதில் இடதுசாரி இயக்கங்கள் முன்னிலை யில் உள்ளன. எனவே, ஆளும் வர்க்கங்கள் நாடெங் கும் குறிப்பாக மேற்குவங்கத்தில் திரிணாமுல் - மாவோ யிஸ்ட் கூட்டணி கட்டவிழ்த்து விடும் இடதுசாரி எதிர்ப்பு பிரச்சாரங்களை நேருக்கு நேர் மறுக்க வேண்டும் என்று ஜனநாயக மாதர் சங்க அமைப்புகளுக்கு மாநாடு அறைகூவல் விடுத்தது.

எதிர்வரும் மூன்றாண் டுகளில், தலித், சிறுபான்மை யினர், பழங்குடிப் பெண்கள் ஆகியோர் சந்தித்து வரும் அடக்குமுறை வடிவங் களை முன்னுரிமை அடிப் படையில் மாதர் சங்கம் எதிர்த்துப் போராடும். மேலும் இளம் பெண்களும் தனிநபராக நிற்கும் பெண் கள் பிரச்சனைகளிலும் இயக் கம் கவனம் செலுத்தும்.

பெண்கள் மற்றும் சிறுமியர் மீது நடத்தப்படும் பல்வடிவங் கொண்ட வன் முறைகளை எதிர்த்தும், பாலியல் அடிப் படையில் நடைபெறும் கருக்கலைப்பு களை எதிர்த்தும், வரதட் சணை முறையை எதிர்த் தும் இயக்கங்கள் நடத்தப் படும். தந்தை வழிச் சமுதா யம், நுகர்வுக் கலாச்சாரம் ஏற்படுத்தும் தாக்கங்களை எதிர்த்தும், திருமண அடிப் படையில் சொத்துரிமை உள்ளிட்ட சட்ட உரிமை களை பாதுகாக்கவும் இயக் கங்கள் நடத்தப்படும் என் றும் மாநாடு முடிவு செய்தது.

வர்த்தகமயமாக்கப் பட்டு வரும் ஊடகங்களை எதிர்த்தும், சம்பிரதாயங் கள் மற்றும் மத நம்பிக்கை களை சந்தைப் பொருட் களாக்குவதை எதிர்த்தும் மாநாடு தலையிட முடிவு செய்தது. நாட்டின் மதச்சார்பற்றத் தன்மையை யும், ஜனநாயக மரபுகளை யும் வலுப்படுத்தும் வகை யில் கலாச்சார மாற்று நட வடிக்கைகளை உருவாக்க வும் மாநாடு முடிவு செய்தது.

கான்பூர் மாதர் சங்க மாநாடு நிறைவு

கான்பூர், நவ. 12-

கான்பூரில் நடைபெற்று வந்த அனைத்திந்திய ஜனநாயக மாதர் சங்க 9வது அகில இந்திய மாநாடு வெள்ளியன்று எழுச்சிமிகு பேரணியுடன் நிறைவு பெற்றது.

மாநாட்டில் சங்கத்தின் புதிய தலைவராக சியாமளி குப்தா, பொதுச் செயலாளராக சுதா சுந்தரராமன், பொருளாளராக பானனி பிஸ்வாஸ் ஆகியோர் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப் பட்டனர். 12 துணைத்தலை வர்களில் ஒருவராக என். அமிர்தம், 7 அகில இந்திய செயலாளர்களில் ஒருவராக உ.வாசுகி மற்றும் 3 துணைச் செயலாளர்கள் உள்ளிட்ட 102 பேர் கொண்ட புதிய மத் திய நிர்வாகக்குழு தேர்ந்தெ டுக்கப்பட்டது. (ஐஎன்என்)

Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010

from P.ESAKKIMUTHU-CITU The Union Cabinet today approved the introduction of the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010 in the Parliament to ensure a safe environment for women at work places, both in public and private sectors whether organised or unorganized. The measure will help in achieving gender empowerment and equality. The proposed Bill, if enacted, will ensure that women are protected against sexual harassment at all the work places, be it in public or private. This will contribute to realisation of their right to gender equality, life and liberty and equality in working conditions everywhere. The sense of security at the workplace will improve women's participation in work, resulting in their economic empowerment and inclusive growth. Salient features of the Bill are as follows: • The Bill proposes a definition of sexual harassment, which is as laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997). Additionally it recognises the promise or threat to a woman's employment prospects or creation of hostile work environment as 'sexual harassment' at workplace and expressly seeks to prohibit such acts. • The Bill provides protection not only to women who are employed but also to any woman who enters the workplace as a client, customer,apprentice, and daily wageworker or in ad-hoc capacity. Students,research scholars in colleges/university and patients in hospitals have also been covered. Further, the Bill seeks to cover workplaces in the unorganised sectors. • The Bill provides for an effective complaints and redressal mechanism. Under the proposed Bill, every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee. Since a large number of the establishments (41.2 million out of 41.83 million as per Economic Census, 2005) in our country have less than 10 workers for whom it may not be feasible to set up an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), the Bill provides for setting up of Local Complaints Committee (LCC) to be constituted by the designated District Officer at the district or sub- district levels, depending upon the need. This twin mechanism would ensure that women in any workplace, irrespective of its size or nature, have access to a redressal mechanism. The LCCs will enquire into the complaints of sexual harassment and recommend action to the employer or District Officer. • Employers who fail to comply with the provisions of the proposed Bill will be punishable with a fine which may extend to ` 50,000. • Since there is a possibility that during the pendency of the enquiry the woman may be subject to threat and aggression, she has been given the option to seek interim relief in the form of transfer either of her own or the respondent or seek leave from work. • The Complaint Committees are required to complete the enquiry within 90 days and a period of 60 days has been given to the employer/District Officer for implementation of the recommendations of theCommittee. • The Bill provides for safeguards in case of false or malicious complaint of sexual harassment. However, mere inability to substantiate the complaint or provide adequate proof would not make the complainant liable for punishment. Implementation of the Bill will be the responsibility of the Central Government in case of its own undertakings/establishments and of the State Governments in respect of every workplace established, owned, controlled or wholly or substantially financed by it as well as of private sector establishments falling within their territory. Besides, the State and Central Governments will oversee implementation as the proposed Bill casts a duty on the Employers to include a Report on the number of cases filed and disposed of in their Annual Report. Organizations, which do not prepare Annual Reports, would forward this information to the District Officer. Through this implementation mechanism, every employer has the primary duty to implement the provisions of law within his/her establishment while the State and Central Governments have been made responsible for overseeing and ensuring overall implementation of the law. The Governments will also be responsible for maintaining data on the implementation of the Law. In this manner, the proposed Bill will create an elaborate system of reporting and checks and balances, which will result in effective implementation of the Law.

TWO READERS RESPONSES IN rediff.com ON Dr Amit mitra- CII STATEMENT ON OBAMA VISIT TO INDIA

What are India Inc's expectations of the Obama visit?

The Obama visit can be a defining moment because this is a man towards whom India looks up as somebody different -- a man with a vision. Dr. Amit mitra

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RESPONSES-

THIS IS EXHIBITION OF INDIA SALES AT DISCOUNT PRICE ON DIWALI BONANZA FOR OBAMA WHO IS ON SHOPPING SPREE TO INDIA.

OUR POLITICIANS, BUREOCRATES AND BUSINESS COMMUNITIES ARE LOOKING FOR NEW WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITIES HOW, WHERE, WHEN, THEY CAN MINT MONEY.......JAI HO

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Indians companies bought 143 US companies in the last two years.

HCL technologies has helped developed safety and navigation equipment for Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner jet aircraft. In America since 1989, HCL employs 3,000 in 21 US locations and serves clients in 200 US cities.Jet Airways has purchased 72 airplanes from Boeing. With 120 direct employees, the company, which has offices in New York, New Jersey and California and branch offices in Illinois and Texas, has paid out $36 million to the US market in total wages, taxes, and fees to airports.

Tata Group has invested more than US$ 3 billion in the US economy. It has bought ‘Eight O’Clock Coffee’ for US $ 220 million. The Tata Group operates 16 businesses and employs 19,000 in America.

AIDWA CONFERENCE AT KANPUR

SZIEF greets Com M Girija Joint secretary, SZIEF who leaves from Chennai to Kanpur today as part of 70 member strong delegation of Tamilnadu to attend All India Conference of ALL INDIA DEMOCRATIC WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION at KANPUR from Nov 9th to 12th (2010)

Thanks to Com RK Gopinath for forwarding this wonderful picture

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

THOMAS ISSAC INTERVIEW ON KERELA POLITICS-PRAGOTI

ஆரோக்கியமான அரசியல்

கேரளா நிதி அமைச்சர் டாக்டர் தாமஸ் ஐசக் அம்மாநில உள்ளாட்சித் தேர்தல் முடிவுகள் பற்றி இந்நேர்காணலில் பேசியுள்ளார். இதன் உள்ளடக்கம் என்ன என்பதை விட அரசியல் விவாதத்தின் தரத்திற்கு மிகச் சிறந்த உதாரணமாக இப்பேட்டி அமைந்திருக்கிறது. இதை அனுப்பிய இந்திய சமுக விஞ்ஞான கழகம்-சென்னை , ஒருங்கிணைப்பாளர் திருமிகு. ஞானகுரு அவர்களுக்கு நன்றி.

"Strengthen the unity of the Left - foremost political task" - Interview with Thomas Isaac

Wed, 2010-11-03 13:21 | R.Ramakumar

Interview with T. M. Thomas Isaac, Finance Minister of Kerala and Central Committee Member of the CPI (M), conducted on 2nd November 2010 by R.Ramakumar, following declaration of results to the 2010 local body elections in Kerala. The results to the elections can be seen here .

RR: How would you analyse the results of the 2010 local body elections in Kerala? There is an argument that while the Left has gained compared to 2009 Loksabha elections, it has lost compared to the 2005 local body elections.

TI: I completely agree with that statement. When compared to 2005, it has been a major setback for the Left Democratic Front (LDF). In 2005, we got about 49.2 per cent of all votes polled. In 2010, this has come down to 42.3 per cent – a fall of 6.9 per cent. Now, in 2005, the Democratic Indira Congress (DIC), a breakaway group of the Congress led by K. Muraleedharan, was with the LDF. They collected something like 4.7 per cent of the popular votes at that time. That group has left us now, and in addition, a number of other political parties have also exited the LDF between 2005 and 2010. These include the Indian National League (INL; which had 0.4 per cent of votes in 2005), Kerala Congress (Joseph) (which had 1.8 per cent of votes in 2005) and the Janata Dal (which had 2.4 per cent of votes in 2005). Together, all these four parties accounted for about 9 per cent of the votes in 2005. This time, all these parties, or a majority section in these parties, contested in alliance with the UDF. So, it comes as no surprise that we have a setback when compared to 2005.

In 2005, the Left had won a huge majority of local bodies in the State, at all levels. That was, of course, an unusual outcome for Kerala. In Kerala, the balance of power between political fronts is not one where anyone has brute majority. So, we are also not new to setbacks. Even in 2000, when we had a setback in the local body elections, we obtained only 42.6 per cent of the votes.

But yes, when compared to 2009 Loksabha elections, there is a definite improvement. In terms of vote share, we have gained by 0.4 per cent. But in terms of votes, the situation is better. In 2009, we got about 67.2 lakh votes. Now, in 2010, we have got about 77.8 lakh votes – an increase of about 10.6 lakh votes. In Kannur and Alappuzha, the UDF has actually got lesser number of votes than in 2009.

Now, the UDF has got only 3 per cent votes higher than the LDF – a difference of about 7 lakh votes. That is a normal margin given the balance in Kerala.

RR: Do you see any kind of pattern in the results of 2010? By pattern, I mean both geographically and across classes?

TI: Yes. Class-wise, there has been a shift of upper-class Christian votes away from the LDF. But we should also not read this as a shift of votes of the entire Christian community. Across the coastal areas of Kerala, the LDF has made decisive improvements and this is where the poor Christians, who are mainly fishermen, live. They have not heeded to the Church’s call to vote against the LDF. Basically, we see that sections of Christians in central Travancore as well as in the highlands have voted for the UDF.

The bottom 30 per cent of the people of Kerala – the poor – has always voted for the Left. That base has not been shaken in any way in these elections. The fact that the Left has got 42.3 per cent of the votes shows that its mass base has remained intact.

What has happened is, actually, a shift in the votes of the middle class votes away from the LDF. That has indeed happened. It is one issue that the Left has to sit and address. Two factors have contributed to this phenomenon. First, the decisive movement of the upper strata of the religious minorities away from the LDF. A part of the middle class have followed them. Secondly, the Left has to introspect whether it has been able to address the real concerns of this large and growing section of Kerala’s population.

RR: That is one of the things one has heard repeatedly after the election results were declared; that while the Left has been able to address most of the concerns of the poor, it has lost its grip over the middle class. The problem is posed as one of employment generation, infrastructure, condition of roads and so on. Generally, the failure in bringing in new investment, which the middle class has not taken kindly to. Would you agree?

TI: Yes, this is partly true. The present LDF government has considerably expanded the welfare and social security system of Kerala, which has had broad acceptance among the poor. But let us take other sectors. I will name two for illustration. One, the need to create better infrastructure. Two, the expansion in the new-growth sectors, which creates “high-quality” employment. Regarding infrastructure, major steps have been taken, but it will take some time to show up. Major projects in drinking water supply are also well on their way.

The condition of roads has seen deterioration. But this has been a crisis in the making for a while. In Kerala, the nature and pressure of traffic has changed dramatically in the last two decades. The number of vehicles per kilometre has risen. Then, the number of heavy trucks that ply in the roads today, containing export commodities and construction materials – even on the village roads – has risen sharply. So, even though local and district roads have seen improvement, it has not been adequate to meet this kind of traffic density rise. This has led to a breakdown in the conditions of these roads. We have now started a major repair and maintenance plan. Now, it will take some time for Kerala to get out of it because we would need to have a different set of new technologies for road construction, which is costly in investment. So, it will take a few years for this transition to be complete.

But I must tell you that, on an average, even if we leave out the major projects, the amount of investment from the State budget – the total expenditure in public works and drinking water – has always been somewhere near Rs 500 crore a year. But last year, as part of our fiscal stimulus package, we gave administrative sanction for public works worth about Rs 6000-7000 crore. This is something unparalleled in the history of Kerala’s economy. The results of this investment and its multiplier effects would be visible very soon in the State’s economy.

So, we are making efforts to address the concerns. Roads and infrastructure are going to improve. This year, Kerala had a very heavy monsoon and the rains have just subsided. No repairs could be done till the rains stopped. We would definitely see a change in the next few months.

As regards the generation of quality employment the new growth sectors, there has been growth. But as regards IT and some high-value sectors, well…there have been some problems. We have not been able to meet the expectations of the people. We are going to do serious introspection on how it has happened, why it has happened, and will take a very definitive policy stand on this before the assembly elections in 2009.

RR: Let me come to another general perception. This is about the mediating role of non-developmental factors. One has been surprised by the defeat of the LDF in many panchayats, where the developmental achievements were so much appreciated and visible. I am referring to panchayats like Elappully in Palakkad. So, does development matter?

TI: See, one has to understand that after the rise in devolution to panchayats in 1996, the power of panchayats has considerably increased. So, one would begin to see the anti-incumbency factor at work even in the panchayats. Performance and good governance have become important criteria. If you don’t govern well and not meet the aspirations of local people, you will pay for it.

But that is not all. There can be very powerful political factors that could upset the local balance altogether, even if you provided excellent governance. You spoke about the Elappully panchayat. Here, the Congress and the BJP had come to an understanding to defeat us. This was not an isolated aspect in Elappully. Take Vallachira panchayat in Trichur or the Kannadikkal panchayat. In Vallachira, the Congress and BJP candidates contested on a common symbol – Mango. In some other panchayats, the common symbol was Apple. In general, the BJP transferred their votes enmasse to the Congress, in return for Congress votes in a selected number of seats here and there, where the BJP had interest. So, if we take the BJP votes in 2010, it is much lower than in 2005. Still, their geographical spread is much wider in 2010 than in 2005. So, one important reason for our poor performance in our best-performing panchayats was the tacit understanding between the BJP and the Congress.

In some other panchayats, where we lost in spite of good governance, we have to self-critically examine the factor of factionalism, which persists in some regions of the State within the CPI (M). This also may have played a role in our defeat in some places.

RR: Talking about factionalism, are you referring to internal issues, or the recent exit of some persons from the party? I am referring to Onchiyam, Shoranur and so on…

TI: I am talking about internal issues. The influence of those who have left the party recently – in Onchiyam and Shoranur – is greatly exaggerated. In Kerala, in the more recent periods, greater leaders have left the party. M.V. Raghavan left the party. Gouriamma left the party. They all had much more respect among people than those who left recently. Those renegades have not been able to defeat us even in their strongholds. The overall impact of persons leaving the party has been very limited.

But there are hangovers of internal factionalism. The root cause of factionalism in the party has been identified as parliamentary deviation. Parliamentarianism continues to be a major deviation to be addressed during our rectification campaign. This has resulted in the wrong choice of candidates in many places, without looking into their character and popular aspirations. These are the issues that we will be addressing during our rectification campaign. We are taking it up as early as possible.

RR: What is the status of the implementation of the rectification document?

TI: Self-critical assessment is completed at the State Committee level. On the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th of November, all the district committees are going to introspect and discuss the document. So, effectively, the rectification campaign is going to start now.

RR: It is clear that the Left faced significant gang up against it from two sources: one, the communal forces (of all varieties) and two, the mainstream media. How would you see their relative importance?

TI: There has been a very formidable gang up against the Left in these elections. One, as I told you, some political parties have shifted away from the LDF. Two, the Church came out openly against the LDF, mainly due to the efforts of the government to ensure social control in the higher education sector. In central Kerala, the Church very actively campaigned against the Left; also among the migrant farmers along the highlands.

Among the Muslim community, there has not been a consolidation as among Christians. But even here, you would find that the upper strata of the Muslim community have shifted away from the Left. There has been Jamaat-e-Islami, SDPI and many such communal outfits that have openly taken a stand against the LDF. So, it was a very powerful gang up of communal forces – both Hindu as well as minority.

One of the accused in the case, where a Professor’s hand in Thodupuzha was chopped off by SDPI activists – his name is Anas – has won from the Jail. He contested as the SDPI candidate in the Vanchinad block-panchayat division in the Vazhakkulam block in Ernakulam district. Follow this carefully: in the elections to the lower tier (panchayat wards), the UDF swept 7 out of 8 wards here (the one ward won by the LDF was for just 3 votes). But when it came to the second tier – the block divisions – things changed. The UDF had won 4309 votes in the panchayat wards. This came down to 2089 votes at the block level. At the same time, the votes of the SDPI candidate went up by 3992 votes. Clearly, there was a trade between the UDF and SDPI. The SDPI voted for the Congress at the panchayat ward level; the Congress voted for the SDPI at the block level. So, the gang up was strong.

Despite this, we have improved over 2009.

RR: Can you please state in summary the policy of the Left in Kerala as regards minority politics. I mean, the nature of politics that the CPI (M) pursues vis-à-vis the minority-identity-based formations.

TI: See…in the last two decades, there has been a steady increase in the support of the minority community towards the Left. Our influence among the minority community was very limited, and it had begun to expand even in the Muslim-dominated districts like Malappuram. This happened due to three reasons. One, the special attention that the Left paid to certain concrete demands of the Muslim community, such as the implementation of the modified Sachchar committee report, pensions for madarsa workers and so on. Two, the uncompromising position taken by the Left against the BJP at the national level. Three, at the international level – this is important in Kerala because of our strong connection with West Asia – our unrelenting opposition to imperialism was appreciated by the Muslim community, because of the way the community has been targeted by imperialism.

This shift was halted by the 2009 Loksabha elections, when the threat of the BJP receded considerably and there was an improvement in the relationship between the Congress and the Muslim community. This was also a time when the Left began to take sharp positions vis-à-vis the strands of extremism within the Muslim community in Kerala as well as against the Jamaat-e-Islami, which was attacking the Left. A few vested interests have, successfully, portrayed this as an anti-Muslim stand of the Left.

But still, there has not been any pan-Kerala consolidation of the Muslim community against the Left in 2010. In so many Muslim-dominated panchayats and regions, the Left has won decisively. Take the results from the Kozhikode and Trivandrum. Muslims in Vadakara and Quilandy in Kozhikode and in Beemappally in Trivandrum have all voted enthusiastically for the Left. So, unlike the Christian community in central Travancore, there was no consolidation against the Left among Muslims.

RR: And the media?

TI: Absolutely. The media has influenced voting patterns in Kerala tremendously. And, for the time being, the entire mainstream media is ganged up against the Left. Now, we have about 5 24*7 news channels and 16-17 channels in all. Three new channels have applied for registration. We have two major anti-communist newspapers in the State – Malayala Manorama andMathrubhumi – printing more than 20 lakh copies everyday. You know the kind of vitriol that they print against the Left everyday. So, the media has been a major ally of the UDF in the elections.

So, the Left is forced to search for (a) media literacy programmes; (b) search for alternative media forms; and (c) the possibility of intervening in the mainstream media itself. In a recent book that I co-authored, we had taken three case studies of the role of media in Kerala: the SNC-Lavalin case, the Indo-ASEAN free trade agreement and decentralisation. We tried to objectively analyse the media campaigns in all these three cases, and our findings fit well with Chomsky’s propaganda model. So, we have started to take the critique of media rather seriously.

RR: One of the things played up by the media recently was the agitation in Kinaloor in Kozhikode over a road widening plan…

TI: Yes…and we have won there with great majority. I had gone there myself and talked to people. It was a game played on us by the UDF and Jamaat-e-Islami. A lot of misinformation was spread and the people there have rejected the designs of the media, UDF and Jamaat-e-Islami.

RR: So, what do you think is the path that the Left would tread from here to the 2011 Assembly elections? Anything specific?

TI: One, and the most important, is the completion of the implementation of the rectification process. We want to strengthen the unity within the party. That is our foremost political task. Two, we are going to have a comprehensive discussion on why certain sections of the minority community voted against us and undertake corrective measures. Three, we want to state unequivocally the Left’s developmental position, not just with respect to welfare measures, but also with respect to generating quality employment and improving infrastructure. We are going to have our third edition of the International Congress on Kerala Studies in the first week of January 2011. Finally, many measures that we announced in the last budget are yet to be fully implemented. We will do that. The road repairs have to be urgently addressed. We also have the final budget coming up next year; you can see what is going to happen there.

RR: Are you hopeful of a good result in 2011?

TI: Definitely. As I told you, the difference between the two fronts this time is just 3 per cent of the votes. This gap can be filled by the Left just by putting its own house in order. And also addressing a number of misconceptions about the Left among the minorities and exposing the relationship between the UDF and the communal forces. I am hopeful.

RR: Thank you very much.

IN THE MEMORY OF Com R KARUPPIAH

AT THONDAIMANALLUR


THE ANNIVERSARY WAS OBSERVED AT THE

THONDAIMANALLUR-THE BIRTH PLACE OF COM.R.KARUPPAIAH.
ON 3.11.10, A PADIPPAGAM WAS OPENED IN THAT VILLAGE FOR

THE BENIFIT OF POOR YOUTHS. NEW DRESSES WERE DISTRIBUTED

TO NEARLY 60 POOR STUDENTS OF THAT VILLAGE.

THE FOLLOWING COMRADES SPOKE INTHE MEETING.

COM.R.EASUDOSS,PRESIDENT ICEU TJ DN

COM.M.ASOKAN VP ICEU TJ DN

COM.N.KANNAMMAL SZWW CONVENOR.

COM.L.PRABAHARAN FORMER PA TO DIST.COLLECTOR.

COM.T.SIVARAMAKRISHNAN TAMILNADU SCIENCE FORUM

COM.GANAPATHY ICEU KEERANUR

COM.R.GANESAN ICEU ARANTHANGI

COM.A.SELVENDRAN PG TEACHERS ASSN

COM.R.PUNNIAMURTHY GENL SECY ICEU TJ DN.

COM.M.A.RAGHUMAN SECY ICEU PUDUKKOTTAI PROPOSED VOTE OF THANKS

AND
COM.T.ILAVALAGAN WELCOMED THE GATHERING.

COM.P.ARANGASAMY RTD DEV OFFICER ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THE MEETING.

PUNNIAMURTHY.