CPI(M) Organises Jyoti Basu Centenary Lecture

New Delhi, 30^th July - THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) organised a lecture by noted economist Prof. Prabhat Patnaik on "Capitalism, Inequality and Globalisation" in New Delhi's Constitution Club on July 30, as part of the Jyoti Basu birth centenary celebrations.

In his short welcome address, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said Jyoti Basu symbolised the working class movement in India and its achievements. He said Basu, who was first elected to the Bengal Provincial Assembly in 1946 from the Railway Workers constituency, was an outstanding leader of the Communist movement in India.

Giving the Jyoti Basu centenary lecture, in the light of French economist Thomas Piketty's empirical book Capital in the Twenty-First Century which has attracted much international attention, Patnaik said "inequality has a tendency to increase under capitalism", and it is intimately linked to the process of globalisation.

Patnaik argues, though Piketty's hypothesis that inequality is set to rise in the coming year is agreeable, his theoretical basis -- the "neo-classical" paradigm -- within which his argument is set is a largely discredited one; and even within this paradigm his specific position is based on assumptions which are highly untenable.

The theoretical basis of Piketty is "wrong" having "dangerous political implications", he says.

The "neo-classical" paradigm, Patnaik said, blames trade union activities for persistent unemployment and advocates for "labour market flexibility". He says it is a pity that Piketty, despite his concern with wealth inequality, adopts this theory that only serves the agenda of corporate capital. He said the votaries of capitalism want to stamp out trade unions through "free hire and fire", which the BJP government in Rajasthan is at present trying to introduce.

Patnaik says mobility of capital in the present age of globalisation and large-scale privatisation have contributed to the weakening of trade unions. In support of his claim, he says while, in the USA, 33 percent of workforce in the public sector is unionised, it is only seven percent in the private sector.

He says the expansion of big capital across the world and, on the contrary, restriction of workers' movements to a particular country have further weakened the effectiveness of trade unions.

Patnaik says while world wealth and income inequalities are all set to rise sharply in the coming years as Piketty prognosticates, but, he argues, these are for reasons which are exact opposite of what the French economist believes.

He argues that the rise in income and wealth inequalities could not be attributed to, as Piketty has done in his Capital, the slowing down of world population growth leading to tightness in world labour markets, but for precisely the opposite reason – namely that there will be no tightness in world labour markets and no diminution in world labour reserves.

The programme was well attended. Veteran CPI leader A B Bardhan was among others who attended the lecture.

Jyoti Basu’s Birth Centenary - Call to Defend Democracy

KOLKATA, 8^th July, 2014: The birth centenary of Jyoti Basu - one of the most revered Communist leaders, was celebrated in West Bengal on 8^thJuly with a variety of programmes including blood donation camps, seminars and cultural programmes. A central public meeting was organized by Jyoti Basu Birth Centenary Committee in Nazrul Mancha in Kolkata, attended by thousands and addressed by Left leaders and intellectuals. Jyoti Basu's photos were garlanded outside CPI(M) offices and those of its various mass organisations in the city and the districts

The public meeting began with a short documentary on Jyoti Basu. The meeting, presided by veteran Forward Block leader and Chairman of the centenary committee Ashok Ghosh, witnessed the presence of people from all sections of life and leaders of various left organizations.

Biman Basu, addressing the meeting highlighted the sacrifice of Jyoti Basu in his early life when he travelled to all parts of Bengal to develop the trade union. Biman Basu said, Jyoti Basu left personal happiness and luxurious life to serve the toiling people. Biman Basu also deliberated how Jyoti Basu fought ceaselessly to defend democracy. His thoughts and ideas on the struggle for democracy are important now as West Bengal and the country are facing an attack on democracy.

Elucidating the contribution of Jyoti Basu to parliamentary democracy, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said, Jyoti Basu had brought the struggle of peasants and working classes to the centre of politics in West Bengal.  “He brought the issues of peasants and the workers to the fore in parliamentary democracy. Its origins lay in the workers movement which was followed by strikes and protest in factories. These protests turned into a phenomenon which engulfed the entire industrial sector and workers were successful is ascertaining their rights,” Bhattachrarjee said. When the Left Front assumed office,  unlike any other Chief Minister, he made it clear that the government will have to stand for the rights of farmers and agricultural workers. “The fight for land went ahead with giving pattas (land rights) to the farmers and then identifying the rights of share croppers,” Bhattacharjee said.

Bhattacharjee reflected on how Mr. Basu ensured that the State remained insulated from the communal strife in 1984 after the murder of Indira Gandhi and 1992 after demolition of Babri Masjid. “He was secular to the core of his heart. He knew that Communist movement and secularism has to go hand in hand,” Bhattacharjee said.

 “Jyoti Babu has an unwavering faith in democracy.. Despite himself being arrested a number of times for false charges when the Left Front government came to power in 1977 all political prisoners across political lines were freed. It was like a general amnesty,” he said.

Referring to present times Bhattacharjee said that it is clear that the politics in the country has taken a “right turn” with the alliance of corporates and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha (RSS) ruling the nation but added that it is imperative for the Left forces to take lessons from Jyoti Basu's life and put up a fight.

Noted economist Prabhat Patnaik outlined the features of contemporary Indian politics and said, neo liberal policies have created a situation where growth of industrial production has reached almost  negative, rate of inflation has risen to almost ten per cent. Corporate elite have chosen Modi to come out of their own crisis. On the other hand, the rapid growth of unemployment has contributed to growth of lumpen proletariat. The dangerous repercussions of the process is already evident in West Bengal where the attack on women and criminal activities are on rise. This situation can give rise to fascism. Only the Left can counter the threat of fascism through struggle on alternative policy trajectories.

Patnaik said, unlike P Sundarya, Jyoti Basu was born in an elite family. But he identified himself with the working people of the country. He was one of the most popular Communist leaders after Castro brothers. The crisis in Bengal was the backdrop in which the Left movement in Bengal developed and leaders like Jyoti Basu emerged. The Left could play its role as real initiator of Bengal renaissance.

Veteran CPI(M) leader Hasim Abdul Halim, CPI leader Manjukumar Majumdar, RSP leader Khisti Goswami, intellectual Azizul Haque emphasized the need of Left unity in this hour of difficult struggle.