Nine Decades of Marxism in the Land of Brahminism
by S K Biswas
Other Books, Calcutta, 2008
With chapters titled 'Beware of Manuwadi Marxists', 'No Revolution Possible in India', 'Can a Brahmin be a Marxist Leader' and 'Communists rescued Hinduism', Biswas provides a pithy and provocative history of the communist movement in India, with a focus on Bengal. Right from M N Roy's founding of the Communist Party of India in Tashkent in 1920, the politburo has had a largely upper-caste composition, which has been inimical to the interests of the masses, the Dalit-Bahujan, he says. Caste struggle, as B R Ambedkar pointed out, was never part of the class struggle, because in the caste socioeconomic structure, there is no scope for social mobility, and therefore no possibility of changing one's caste. An interesting discussion on 'de-casteing', as opposed to de-classing, establishes the impossibility of the project in a movement dominated by the Brahmin Marxists who actively resist social change. Declaring that, "Liberty cannot be gained as the merciful alms from the oppressors or usurpers," Ambedkar strategically and on principle did not ally with what he termed "Brahminical political parties". Yet case studies of Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, while packed with information and establishing that upper-caste superiority is undiminished despite decades of Communist rule, do not give the impression that the Dalit-Bahujan are any worse off here than any of the non-communist ruled states. Unfortunately, convoluted writing, execrable editing and appalling proofing detract from this otherwise valuable contribution to the examination of the democratic and libratory potential of Marxism in a caste-ridden society. (Laxmi Murthy)
The Green Pen: Environmental journalism in India and South Asia
edited by Keya Acharya & Federick Noronha
Sage, 2010
Even at a time when the environment is a sexy topic, The Green Pen is decidedly unglamorous. Paying no lip-service to hip phrases such as 'going green' or reducing one's 'carbon footprint', the book focuses instead on the growing disconnect between people and their surroundings. The compilation draws connections between the environment and a range of ten broad issues (health, water, gender, etc), with a focus on the ham-handed and often cursory media coverage of these. Fortunately, the critical lens is largely turned inward, rather than merely heaping the blame on the 'profit-driven' media. Pointing to the trend of stories parroting press releases, covering issues that have a large lobby (why does the tiger gets so many columns while the Namdapha flying squirrel, an even more endangered animal, gets almost none?), and overall sloppy or non-existent on-the-ground fact-collection, the pieces lay much of the onus on individual journalists. "Till the lions have their historians," Lyla Bavadam writes in the anchor piece, "tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter." (Surabhi Pudasaini)