Marxist political parties in Bengal must look beyond outdated populist moves for emerging as the powerful force | Arun Srivastava

by Arun Srivastava

Is the modern Middle Class the vanguard for a Marxist agitation? This is the question that is making round in the academic and intellectual circles. Probably this question might not have attained so much of seriousness if the Marxists had not put huge amount of stake on the Junior doctors, who have been agitating seeking justice for their woman medic colleague and fighting corruption prevailing inside the health system for last 72 days, for reaching out to the urban middle class.

What was most interesting development to watch was the Marxist political parties in Bengal have been caught in a vicious war of supremacy with the BJP and RSS for using the junior doctors’ agitation. Saffron ecosystem indulging in such imprudent and reckless action can well be understood. But it is really shocking to witness Marxist desperation. Marx did not believe that the middle class was a revolutionary proletariat class because it lacked the collective benefits and ways of life that would allow it to develop class consciousness. He also believed that the lower middle class was a dangerous enemy of the proletarian revolution. Marx believed that successful members of the middle class would become members of the bourgeoisie, while the unsuccessful would be forced into the proletariat. Marx believed that revolutions occur when the possibility of developing productive forces within the existing mode of production is exhausted.

None of the tenets as underlined by Marx apply to the junior doctors’ agitation. In the wake of August 14 “Reclaim the Night” movement, middle class and especially women belonging from this class had whole heartedly supported the agitation and participated in it. The movement began in Leeds, England in 1977 as part of the Women’s Liberation Movement. The first march was a protest against sexual violence and the idea that women should stay indoors at night to avoid assault. The movement’s goal is to reduce the number of sexual assaults against women and to end gender-based violence. Marches are typically held at night in areas that women may avoid due to fear. The marches are a statement against curfews and a call for safer streets.

A section of the agitating doctors confessed that the moment the participants came to know of the hidden hand, obviously the Marxists behind the move, they distanced. The Marxists should have come to encompass this shift, the withdrawal symptom. They should have tried to analyse the reasons for urban middle class distancing itself from them. Their aversion to the Marxists is acute that they even did not come whole heartedly in support of the agitation.

The political craving of the Marxists to identify with the aspirations of the middle class is explicitly manifest in the October 14 letter of the Left Front chairman and senior CPI(M) leader Biman Bose to chief minister Mamata Banerjee. He had demanded that Mamata “call the agitating junior doctors for a meeting immediately to resolve their demands” and amazingly urged her to take a humane view of the situation as the indefinite hunger strike by the medics. He wrote: “We demand, you sit with the junior doctors immediately for a dialogue to resolve their ten-point demands.”

Following in the norms of electoral and parliamentary politics, Bose was correct in writing to Mamata. But his suggestion to her to sit with doctors had obtuse implication. Exactly a month ahead of his letter, precisely on September 16 Mamata had given fifth and final invite to them for a meeting at her residence. Till that day the doctors had submitted five demands. It was later on they raised the number of demands to ten. Incidentally Mamata unilaterally had accepted their four key demands. It was the contentious issue of removal of health secretary that was to be discussed. Bose’s Left Front government ruled Bengal for 34 years. It ruled Bengal from 1977-2011. Will Bose cite any single incident when his government first headed by Jyoti Basu and later by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had entertained this nature of coercive demand.

Through his letter Bose tried to identify the party with the middle-class sentiment. Bose’s approach to the issue is not different from the RSS or BJP. While the BJP managed to convey its message to the middle class, unfortunately for Bose, it failed to catch the imagination of the middle class. For September 16 meeting Mamata had sent an email to doctors inviting them at her residence to end the impasse. It is known to everyone in the political and social circle that it was the recalcitrant and inflexible attitude of the doctors that the meeting could not take place.

After this failed meeting almost all the top Bengal CPI(M) leaders descended on the site where the doctors were on hunger strike. But they had to leave after a couple of the agitating doctors objected to their presence. Doctors’ Front spearheading the movement is a heterogenous conglomeration, the doctors having close affinity to the CPI(M) dictate the dimension and dynamics of the movement. This is common scenario with all the agitations of this nature. The senior doctors who are members of the CPI(M), have been performing the task of ideologues. The Marxists nursed the view that they would eventually succeed in turning the Front as a tool to broad base the movement. But they were mistaken.

The protesting doctors are demanding justice for the deceased woman medic and immediate removal of Health Secretary NS Nigam. Their other demands include the establishment of a centralised referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, implementation of a bed vacancy monitoring system and the formation of task forces to ensure essential provisions for CCTV, on-call rooms and washrooms at their workplaces.

Some academics and even media persons having nice relation with Marxists have described Mamata as a failed Chief Minister after the October 21 meet. They also claim that roll-back of the junior doctors’ six-week cease work in West Bengal has been a huge relief to Mamata. While this is self-contradictory, it is also true. With Mamata accepting their all the demands, they had no other alternate, but to c all off their strike. If at all doctors had succeeded in their mission, then where has been the need for holding a convention on next Sunday to decide the nature and content of the future movement.

What really came as a brute shock was during their two hour interaction with Mamata, the doctors expressed their zeal for representation in various administrative bodies than providing justice to Abhaya. The issue of justice for Abhya was relegated by the doctors to the background. They were concerned of their own safety, but did not speak a single word on the manner in which they misbehave with the relatives of the patients. Patient is dying but they have no time to attend.

The junior doctors were quite vocal about the corruption in the healthcare system. They ought to be. This is punching pad for every one in the contemporary Indian political-economic scenario. It was sad to witness the doctors, even the seniors who extended support to them, doing politics on the dead body of the medic. A doctor on such panels and rubbing shoulders with the top bureaucrats would be rated high among the fraternity. They are the new elites of the medical fraternity.

The agitation would not have dragged for more than two months, if the doctors were really concerned of their safety. The agitation was being used to settle score with the doctors who have been opposed to the Marxist doctors and calling the shots. Their strategy was quite simple; drag the agitation, compel Mamata to use force and become heroes by projecting her as autocrat.

From the beginning of the agitation, people were surprised at Mamata adopting a docile and persuasive approach towards them. She was aware of the trap they had laid. She refrained from getting entrapped. Steering clear and treading cautiously is certainly not the sign of a failed administrator, negotiator and leader. On the contrary she foiled all the designs of the Marxists and Saffronites.

The junior doctors raised their pitch against corruption. But really shocking indeed, most of the agitating doctors and seniors supporting them were not ashamed of indulging incorrupt practices. While they were not ashamed of taking salary and perks even for the strike period from the government, they were working for private hospitals and nursing homes during this period. Mamata surprised every one by showing a list of such 563 doctors. She had detail info with her. But she promised not to act against such corrupt conscience keepers. Yet another information that tumbled out was the doctors had received a huge amount of 56 crores from the private hospitals and nursing homes for referring patients and also treating them.

The doctors arguing for transparency and corruption free ambience did not say a single word condemning their colleagues and mentors. Nothing could be more shameful than their attempt to present themselves as the most pious souls and painting others as scoundrels and criminals. The doctors consistently hang on the issue of “threat culture” on the college campuses. This term had come up repeatedly in the Supreme Court on 17 September, when Indira Jaisingh, representing junior doctors gave the bench a sealed envelope with names of 40 perpetrators.

This matter once again came up before Supreme Court on October 15. On that day too the doctors demand for student union election and other issues dominated the proceedings. Abhaya was as usual had no place. This had forced the SG, Tushar Mehta to tell the bench led by CJI D Y Chandrachud; “can we please focus on the child’s death? Where are we heading”

One thing is crystal clear; the doctors have some other issue to settle the score with Mamata Banerjee. They have been using the name of Abhya to gain public sympathy for furthering their interest. Even at the Oct 21 meet with Mamata, one of the doctors raised the issue of criminalisation of the R G Kar campus in a very strong manner. He even tried to cast aspersion on Mamata for not condemning such elements. He even maligned these students as hardened criminals ruling the R G Hospital campus. The doctors tried to force Mamata to commit for taking action these doctors.

But to the utter surprise of every one, the very next day the Calcutta High Court stayed the suspension and expulsion of 51 students and doctors of R G Kar who were implicated for alleged threat culture. These student leaders had forced the college administration and principal to take action against the 51 students. Ironically while the doctors Front want the government to finish the threat culture, the agitating doctors were resorting to the same tactics. The most ironical was the media and some leftist intellectuals and academics were patting these doctors. Agitating RG Kar students and resident doctors had filed complaints before a recently constituted special college council to look into allegations of “threat culture”. The council had ordered all 51 to vacate their hostel rooms and not enter the college campus unless summoned. Quite significantly most of the students who were suspended were from the ruling party’s students’ wing. Mamata told in plain wors that it would be handled by the state-level task force in an impartial manner.

Yet another significant and interesting development has surfaced in the wake of the Oct 21 meeting. While the agitating doctors withdrew their hunger strike citing the desire and suggestion of Abhaya’s parents/ But the father of Abhaya on the very next day of the withdrawal of the wrote to Amit Shah, seeking appointment for guidance and help. Her mother said that she would personally request him to guide them to get justice. In the letter the father said "I am (the) father of Abhaya and I am writing to respectfully request an appointment with you at your convenience or at any other location as you may suggest. After that heinous unforeseen incident happened to our daughter, we have been going through tremendous mental pressure and feeling helpless now. I along with my wife want to meet with you to discuss (a) few things regarding the situation and pray for your guidance and help.”

Undeniably Abhaya must get justice and per perpetrator must be penalised, but this letter has made people speculate about the real implication. The Kolkata Police, which was investigating the crime initially, had arrested one civic volunteer before the CBI took over the investigation following an order of the Calcutta High Court. The CBI in its charge sheet had only him as responsible for the crime.

One of the key leaders Debashsis Halder, after the meet said that they devoted so much time and energy to discussing “committees, task force, and (student) elections” with the pure aim to free the campuses of all the vices. “We want to ensure that what happened at RG Kar is not repeated. College committees, grievance redressal cells at college levels, and the task force are crucial to that end.... Our demands are aligned to that ultimate objective,” he said.