Of Azaadi - The Left & The
Right
Kanhaiya Kumar is a rather captivating orator and the manner
in which he went about engaging the audience at JNU after his release was
simply outstanding. However, the whole saga is not about how he delivered his
speech, more so about the content of the passionate sloganeering – Both on the
9thFebruary by fellow sloganeers at the campus as well as his speech
last week , post his release.
As an intelligent politician under the vigilance of the
Delhi HC, he very sharply expressed his views of never wanting azaadi from India, but within India – at the
very outset of the dramatic outburst. Not wanting to invite the wrath of the left
brotherhood in India, he conformed by the usual leftist line by demanding azaadi from bhukmari (hunger), berozgari (unemployment), punjivaad (capitalism/big
business),brahmanvaad (brahminism) and manuvaad. It
would be naïve to doubt the political intent and acumen of the young man from JNU,
however, considering the “krantikaari” and messiah that he is, he might as well chant a slightly
varied set of azaadi slogans.
“Samaajvaad se azaadi ” - Policy making
has suffered for close to 50 years post independence due to the deep roots of socialism in governance. The never ending battles with hunger, unemployment
, struggling education and health sectors can be attributed to the policy
paralysis of the Nehruvian socialism of the bygone era . A quick glance and
comparison with the post liberalization data very vividly proves this point.
“Aarthik Niyantran se azaadi” – Thinkers from all political school
of thoughts agree that the poor are not economically independent . However, the
differences arise on the ways to alleviate the poor from this swamp – The socialists
do not find sense in removing obstacles to economic activity, ease of doing
business and free markets as a way forward but insist on economic freedom
brought about via government soaps and schemes.
The belief that the state alone had the wisdom to decide on
who should produce what and how much, that it should be the sole provider of
education and health services, is what is resulted in India lagging not just in
economic development but also social indicators.
Kanhaiya might also want to add a couple of more such
anecdotes to impress upon the stance for economic freedom – “License raj se azaadi” and “ Daphtar shaahi se azaadi”. It is amusing how a babu in the Indian
bureaucracy decides the destiny of a business – Knowing little about the
granularities of the “vyapar”, thus
killing the essence of “vyavsai” or entrepreneurship
and thereby job creation.
Kanhaiya spoke of freedom from capitalism – “poonjivaad”. He surely realizes ,
atleast we hope, that , economic freedom will open the doors for the
establishment of small businesses and industry – effectively reviving job
creation and income generation bottom up . Has the absence of poonjivaad and free markets turned the
tables for states like Bengal and Tripura? Has it stopped the outflow of talent
from Kerala to other parts of the world in search of jobs?
Look at the China of the late 1970s under Deng Xiaoping and
the subsequent reforms initiated thereon. If not that, look closer home in
Bengal – The steps taken by the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government to woo
industry and commerce after a pathetic 30 years no show.
Aarakshanvaad se azaadi - Kanhaiya says Rohith Vemula is his idol,
not Afzal Guru . He surely realizes that Rohith was a merit student of the
university not subscribing to the “aarakhshanvaad” of our times. He might want to give a thought to the
current reservation schemes in India and if they hold any relevance. More than azaadi from manuvaad, you might
want to seek this kind of azaadi first. Will his comrades and masters
allow Kanhaiya to chant “aarakshanvaad se azaadi”? Perhaps not.
Lastly, farmer suicides in the country is a grave matter of
concern given the distressed conditions of the agricultural sector. Kanhaiya
could have spared a thought for “kisanon ke
krushidhan ki azaadi” , to fight for the empowerment of the small time
farmer who fails to repay loans, cope with rising fertilizer and input prices. The inception sermons of the “laal” comrades
surely wouldn’t have educated Kanhaiya of the struggles of the small time
peasants since the larger farmers and middlemen( The major votebank for the
comrades in the hinterlands of Bengal , Kerala etc) do not allow this azaadi to
be passed on.
Hope Kanhaiya is granted this azaadi (abhivyakti ki azaadi??) to chant these set of slogans by his comrades
on real issues rather than rhetoric in
order appeal far beyond the limits of the JNU Campus.
Till then, just another
political game play, albeit a powerful one!
Laal Salaam!
