ವಿಷ್ಣು ನಾಯ್ಕ ಅವರ ಬತ್ತದ ತೆನೆ : ತೆನೆಗಟ್ಟಿದ ವೈಚಾರಿಕತೆ - ವಿಠ್ಠಲ ಭಂಡಾರಿ, ಕೆರೆಕೋಣ

ವಿಷ್ಣು ನಾಯ್ಕ ಅವರ ಬತ್ತದ ತೆನೆ : ತೆನೆಗಟ್ಟಿದ ವೈಚಾರಿಕತೆ

          ಮೂಲತಃ ಕವಿ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ವಿಷ್ಣು ನಾಯ್ಕ ಅವರು ಗದ್ಯವನ್ನೂ ಕಾವ್ಯದಷ್ಟೇ ಸಲೀಸಾಗಿ, ಆಪ್ತವಾಗಿ ಬರೆಯಬಲ್ಲರು ಎನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕೆ 'ಬತ್ತದ ತೆನೆ' ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ. ಕಳೆದ ಐದು ದಶಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಷ್ಣು ನಾಯ್ಕ ಈ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡುಬಂದ ವೈಚಾರಿಕ-ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ಸ್ಥಿತ್ಯಂತರದಲ್ಲಿ ತನ್ನದೇ ಆದ ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ನಡೆಯ ಮೂಲಕ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡವರು. ಸಂಘಟಕರಾಗಿ, ಪ್ರಕಾಶಕರಾಗಿ, ಕವಿಯಾಗಿ, ನಾಟಕಕಾರರಾಗಿ, ನಟರಾಗಿ, ಹೋರಾಟಗಾರರಾಗಿ ಅವರು ಪಡೆದ ಅನುಭವಗಳು ಅವರ ಒಟ್ಟು ವೈಚಾರಿಕತೆಯ ಬೆನ್ನಿಗಿದೆ. ಈ ಅನುಭವಗಳು ತೆನೆಗಟ್ಟಿ, ಗಟ್ಟಿಕಾಳುಗಳಾಗಿ ಈ ಪುಸ್ತಕದಲ್ಲಿ ನೆಲೆನಿಂತಿವೆ. 

ಸಾಂಕೇತಿಕವಾಗಿಯೂ ಇದು ಬತ್ತದ (ಒಣಗದ) ತೆನೆ. ಎಂದೂ ಬತ್ತದ ತೆನೆ: ಬತ್ತ ಬಾರದ ವೈಚಾರಿಕತೆಯ ತೆನೆ. ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಗಟ್ಟಿಯಾಗಿ ಹೇಳಿದರೆ ಭತ್ತದ ತೆನೆ ಕೂಡ. ಭತ್ತ ಅನ್ನ ಕೊಡುತ್ತದೆ; ಅನ್ನ ಜೀವ ಕೊಡುತ್ತದೆ; ಬದಲಾವಣೆಗೆ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಕೊಡುತ್ತದೆ. 

ತಟ್ಟನೆ ಈ ಸಂಕಲನ ಓದಿ ಮುಗಿಸಿದಾಗ ಆಗುವ ಅನುಭವ ಇದು. 

1. ಸಂಶೋಧನೆಯ ಶಿಸ್ತು, ಒಳನೋಟ ಒಂದೆಡೆಯಾದರೆ ಅಪರೂಪದ ಮಾಹಿತಿಗಳ, ದಾಖಲೆಗಳ ಕೋಶ ಇನ್ನೊಂದೆಡೆ.

2. ಪ್ರತಿ ಆಲೋಚನೆಯೂ ಪ್ರಾಯೋಗಿಕ ನೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ರೂಪುಗೊಂಡಿದೆ. 

3. ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ ಬಹುತೇಕ ಲೇಖನಗಳು ವರ್ತಮಾನದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕವಿ ಹೃದಯದ ಅರ್ಥಪೂರ್ಣ ಮುಖಾಮುಖಿಯೇ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಸಂಭವಿಸಿದ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಬಿಕ್ಕಟ್ಟಿನ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಅದನ್ನು ಮೀರಿ ಹೊಸ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯೆಡೆಗೆ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಇಡುವ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟ ಆಶಾವಾದ ಲೇಖನದ ವೈಚಾರಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ರೂಪಿಸಿದೆ. 

         ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ, ಕೋಮುವಾದ, ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ, ರಾಜಕಾರಣ, ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ, ಚರಿತ್ರೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ 22 ವೈವಿಧ್ಯಮಯ ಚಚರ್ೆಯನ್ನು 3 ತೆನೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಜೋಡಿಸಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಮೊದಲ ತೆನೆ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ-ಚಳುವಳಿ-ಚರಿತ್ರೆಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ್ದಾದರೆ, ಎರಡನೆ ತೆನೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ್ದು. ಮೂರನೆ ತೆನೆ ಪ್ರಚಲಿತ ವಿದ್ಯಮಾನಗಳಿಗೆ, ಬಿಕ್ಕಟ್ಟಿಗೆ  ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ್ದು. 

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     ಸಂಶೋಧನಾತ್ಮಕ ಲೇಖನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ 'ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಳುವಳಿ: ನಿನ್ನೆ, ಇಂದು ಮತ್ತು ನಾಳೆ'ಎನ್ನುವ ಲೇಖನವನ್ನು ಹೊರತು ಪಡಿಸಿದರೆ ಉಳಿದ 5 ಲೇಖನಗಳು ಉತ್ತರ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ್ದು. 

     "ಒಂದು ಭಾಷೆ ಒಂದು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಯ ವಾಹಕವಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ" ಎನ್ನವು ನಿಲುವಿನಿಂದ ಹೊರಡುವ ಚಳುವಳಿಯ ಕುರಿತ ಲೇಖನ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ಪೂರ್ವದಿಂದ ಈವರೆಗೆ ವಿವಿಧ ಕಾಲ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ಎದುರಿಸಿದ ಬಿಕ್ಕಟ್ಟನ್ನು ಮತ್ತು ಅವನ್ನು ಚಳುವಳಿಯ ಮೂಲಕವೇ ಪರಿಹರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ ಒಂದು ಹೋರಾಟದ ಕಥನವನ್ನು ನಮ್ಮ ಮುಂದಿಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಸೋಕಾಲ್ಡ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಂಘಟನೆಯಂತೆ ಎಲ್ಲೂ ಭಾವಾವೇಶಕ್ಕೆ ಒಳಗಾಗದೇ ಕನ್ನಡ ನೆಲ-ಜಲ-ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದ ಕುರಿತ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯನ್ನು ಸದಾ ಪೋಷಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಲೇ ವಸ್ತುನಿಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ವಿಸ್ತರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಲೇಖನವಿದು. ಅಂತಿಮವಾಗಿ  'ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಳುವಳಿ' ಎನ್ನುವುದು ನಿರಂತರ ಇರುವಂಥದ್ದು. ಇರಬೇಕಾದುದು. ಇವನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಾ ಆಗುಮಾಡುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ನಾಳೆಯೂ ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಳುವಳಿ ಬೇಕೆ ಬೇಕು. ಹೊಸ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳು ಹುಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡಂತೆ ಪರಿಹಾರಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಹೋರಾಟವು ಇರಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. (ಪು.33) ಎನ್ನುವ ಅರ್ಥಪೂರ್ಣ ನಿಲುವನ್ನು ಮಂಡಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇದೊಂದೇ ಲೇಖನವಲ್ಲ, ಹಲವು ಲೇಖನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಚಳುವಳಿಯ ಅರ್ಥಪೂರ್ಣತೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ, ಹೊಸನಾಡು ಕಟ್ಟುವಲ್ಲಿ ಚಳುವಳಿಯು ವಹಿಸುವ ಪಾತ್ರದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಲೇಖಕರು ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. 

           1800 ರಲ್ಲಿ ಮನ್ರೋ ಏಕೀಕರಣದ ಕುರಿತು ಆಡಿದ ಮಾತಿನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿ ಕನರ್ಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಏಕೀಕರಣ ಚಳುವಳಿ, 1890 ರಲ್ಲಿ ವಿದ್ಯಾವರ್ಧಕ ಸಂಘದ ಉದಯ, 1915ರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಪರಿಷತ್ತಿನ ಹುಟ್ಟು, 1924ರಲ್ಲಿ ಕನರ್ಾಟಕ ಸಭಾದ ಉದಯವನ್ನೂ ಒಳಗೊಂಡಂತೆ ಇಡೀ ಏಖೀಕರಣ ಚಳುಳಿಯನ್ನು ಸಮೀಕ್ಷಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಏಖೀಕರಣಕಾರರ ಆಶಯದ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಸಕಾರ ರೂಪಿಸಿದ ಹಲವು ವರದಿಗಳು, ಅದರ ವಿರುದ್ದ ನಡೆದ ಚಳುವಳಿಗಳ ಪೂರ್ಣ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಕನರ್ಾಟಕದ ಪರವಾಗಿ ದೋಷರಹಿತವಾದ ಮನವಿಯೊಂದನ್ನು ಸಲ್ಲಿಸುವುದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಏಕೀಕರಣ ಪರಿಷತ್ತು ಕರಡು ಸಮಿತಿಯೊಂದನ್ನು ರಚಿಸಿತ್ತು. ಆ ಕರಡು ಸಮೀತಿಯ ಕಾರ್ಯದಶರ್ಿಯಾಗಿ ನಿಯುಕ್ತರಾದವರು ಕವಿ ದಿನಕರದೇಸಾಯಿ(ಪು.12) ಎನ್ನುವ ಅಪರೂಪದ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಗಮನ ಸೆಳೆಯುತ್ತದೆ.

               ಹಲವು ಅಪರೂಪದ ದಾಖಲೆಗಳನ್ನು, ಮಾಹಿತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಒದಗಿಸುವ ಲೇಖನ 'ಉ.ಕ ಅಂದು, ಇಂದು, ನಾಳೆ.' ಕ್ರಿ.ಪೂ. 3ನೇ ಶತಮಾನದಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ಹೋರಾಟ, ರೈತ ಹೋರಾಟ ಸಮಾಜವಾದಿ ಜನಾಂದೋಲನ, ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ರಂಗ, ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ವಿಭಜನೆ, ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಭವಿಷ್ಯ- ಹೀಗೆ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಹತ್ತು ಹಲವು ಮುಖಗಳನ್ನು ಇವು ಚಚರ್ೆಗೆ ಎತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡಿವೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ ದಲಿತ ಚಳುವಳಿ ಮತ್ತು ಮಹಿಳಾ ಚಳುವಳಿಯನ್ನು ಎತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರೆ ಬಹುಶ: ಲೇಖನ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. 

          ಹಲವು ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಿಂದ ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ರಂಗದ ಕುರಿತ ಭಾಗ ಮುಖವಾದದ್ದು. ಲೇಖನದ ಒತ್ತು ಕೂಡ ಇದಕ್ಕೇ ಇದೆ. ಡೇಂಗಾ ನಾಯ್ಕ, ಲಕ್ಷಣ ಬಾಬಣಿ ಪೈ, ಗಜಾನನ ಭಟ್ನಾಗರಾಜ ಶಂಭು ಹನುಮಂತರಾವ್ ಮಾಂಜ್ರೇಕರ್, ಮಗ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ, ನಾಜಗಾರ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಅಪರೂಪದ ಮತ್ತು ಚರಿತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮರೆಯಾದವರ ಹೆಸರು ಮತ್ತು ಅವರ ಕೃತಿಯ ವಿವರಗಳು (ಪು.39ರಿಂದ43) ಉಕ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಚರಿತ್ರೆಯ ರಚನಾಕಾರರಿಗೆ ಒಂದು ಆಕರದಂತಿದೆ.

                  'ನಿರುದ್ಯೋಗ ಬೆಳೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ, ರೈತದ ಭೂಮಿ ರೈತರಿಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಖಾಸಗಿಕರಣದಿಂದ ದುಬಾರಿ ಆಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಹಾಗಾದರೆ ಮುಂದೇನು?' ಎನ್ನುವ ಉ.ಕ ದ ನಾಳೆಯ  ಪರ್ಯಾಯದ ಕುರಿತ ಚಚರ್ೆಯನ್ನು ತೀರಾ ಸಂಕ್ಷಿಪ್ತವಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿ ಬಿಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ವಿಸ್ತರಣೆಯ ಅಗತ್ಯವಿತ್ತು ಎನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. 

            ಪರಸ್ಪರರು ದ್ವೀಪವಾಗಿ ಬದುಕುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಕೂಡಿಬಾಳುವ ಮನೋಭಾವ ಬೆಳೆಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು; ದ್ವೀಪ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ ಪ್ರಗತಿಗೆ ತಡೆಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ನೆಲೆನಿಂತಿರುವ ಬೌದ್ಧಿಕ ದಾರಿದ್ರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಕಳೆದು ಕೊಂಡಾಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಈ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗೆ ಭವಿಷ್ಯವಿದೆ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಕೂಡಿಬಾಳುವ, ದಾರಿದ್ರ್ಯ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಮಾರ್ಗ ಯಾವುದು? ಎನ್ನವುದೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಮುಂದಿನ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ. ಈ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ತರ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣದಾಗಿದೆ. 

               ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಅವರನ್ನು ಕಾಡಿದ್ದು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ವಿಭಜನೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಂಬ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ. ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ಚಳುವಳಿ, ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಚಳುವಳಿ, ರೈತ ಚಳುವಳಿ, ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಚಳುವಳಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಟ್ಟಾಗಿಯೇ ತೊಡಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ವೈವಿಧ್ಯತೆಯ ಆಗರ. ಇದನ್ನು ಇಬ್ಭಾಗಿಸುವ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಪಟ್ಟಭದ್ರ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಕಾರಣಗಳನ್ನು ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮವಾಗಿ ಗ್ರಹಿಸುವ ಲೇಖಕರು ಉತ್ತರ    (48) ತಲಾವಾರು ಅನುದಾನವೇ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಇರುವ ಗುಡ್ಡಗಾಡು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯಾದ ಉ.ಕ ಕ್ಕೆ ಇದು ಅನ್ವಯಿಸದು. ಒಂದುವೇಳೆ ಇಬ್ಭಾಗವಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವ ಅನುದಾನ ನಮ್ಮ ಗ್ರಾಮೀಣ ಜನ ಆಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ಅವಲಕ್ಕಿಗೂ ಸಾಲದು ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇದು ಸತ್ಯವಾದರೂ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ರಾಜ್ಯ, ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ ಎನ್ನುವ ರಾಜಕಾರಣದಿಂದ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಸಾಧ್ಯ ಎನ್ನುವ ಭಾವವೂ ಸರಿಯಾದುದಲ್ಲ. ಹೀಗೆ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ ಹಿಂದುಳಿದಿರುವಿಕೆಗೆ ಅದರ ಭೌಗೋಲಿಕ ವ್ಯಾಪ್ತಿಗಿಂತ ಆಳುವ ವರ್ಗ ರೂಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಭ್ರಷ್ಟತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಯ ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆಯಾಗಲೀ, ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಮಾಡುವ ಇಚ್ಛೆಯಾಗಲೀ ಹೊಂದಿರದ ಬಂಡವಾಳಶಾಹಿ ರಾಜಕಾರಣದ ವೈಫಲ್ಯ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಬಲವಾಗಿ ನಾವು ಜನರ ಮುಂದಿಡಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ. ಜನರೆದುರು ತಮ್ಮ ವೈಫಲ್ಯವನ್ನು ಮರೆಮಾಚಲು ಇಂದು ಶೈಕ್ಷಣಿಕವಾಗಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ ಬೇರೆಮಾಡಿದರು, ನಾಳೆ ರೆವಿನ್ಯು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ ಬೇರಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ವಿಭಜನೆಯ ರಾಜಕೀಯದಲ್ಲಿ ದನಿ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಜೋಯ್ಡಾದಂತವು ಬಲಿ ಆಗಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ದಿಗೆ(ಪು. 47)'ಅಂಕೋಲೆಯ ಕನರ್ಾಟಕ ಸಂಘ : 50 ವಸಂತ' ಲೇಖಕರ ಆತ್ಮಕಥೆಯ ಭಾಗದಂತಿದೆ. ಒಂದರ್ಥದಲ್ಲಿ ಇದು ಅಂಕೋಲೆಯ ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ಇತಿಹಾಸ. 'ಉಕ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದ ಸಮೃದ್ಧಿ ಮತ್ತು ಬೀದಿ ನಾಟಕ ಮತ್ತು ಉತ್ತರ ಕನ್ನಡ' ಲೇಖನಗಳು ಅಪರೂಪದ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಒದಗಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ನಿಲ್ಲುತ್ತವೆ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇರಬೇಕಾದ ಹೆಸರುಗಳ ಪಟ್ಟಿ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ದಾಖಲಾಗದೇ ಉಳಿದುಬಿಡುವ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿದೆ. 

            ಒಂದೆರಡು ಲೇಖನ ಹೊರತುಪಡಿಸಿದರೆ ತೀರಾ ತಾತ್ವಿಕ ಚಚರ್ೆಗೆ ಮುಂದಾಗದ ಲೇಖಕರು ತಾವು ರಚಿಸಿದ ಚರಿತ್ರೆಯ ಸಹಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರು ಎನ್ನುವುದನ್ನು ಅಲ್ಲಗಳೆಯಲಾಗದು. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಈ 'ತೆನೆ'ಗೆ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ಚರಿತ್ರೆಯ ಏಳು-ಬೀಳುಗಳನ್ನು ಹೇಳುವ ಒಂದು ಅಧಿಕೃತತೆ ಪ್ರಾಪ್ತವಾಗಿದೆ. 

                                                              -2-

                 ಬದುಕಿಗೂ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣಕ್ಕೂ ಇರುವ ಅಂತಸ್ಸಂಬಂಧವನ್ನು ಲೇಖಕರು ಪ್ರಾಯೋಗಿಕವಾದ ನೆಲೆಗಟ್ಟಿನ ಮೇಲೆ  ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇದು ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದ ಸುಖದುಃಖದ ಕಥನವಾಗಿದೆ. ಪ್ರಚಲಿತ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯ ಸಾಧಕ-ಬಾಧಕಗಳನ್ನು ಚಿತ್ರಿಸುವ ಲೇಖಕರು ಸ್ವತ: ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರಾಗಿ, ಉಪನ್ಯಾಸಕರಾಗಿ, ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ತಜ್ಞರಾಗಿ ಸುಮಾರು 4 ದಶಕಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಪಟ್ಟ ಪಾಡು, ಉಂಡ ನೋವು, ಆವರಿಸಿದ ನಿರಾಶೆಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಒಂದಿಷ್ಟಾದರೂ ಬದಲಾವಣೆ ತರಲೇಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಆಶಾವಾದಿ ಚಿಂತನೆಯ ಫಲವಾಗಿ ಈ ತೆನೆ ರೂಪುಗೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರಾಗಿದ್ದು ಕೊಂಡು ಅವರೂ ಕೂಡ ಹಲವು ಪ್ರಯೋಗವನ್ನು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಲೆ ಇಡೀ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣರಂಗದ ದೋಷಗಳನ್ನು ತೆರೆದಿಡುತ್ತಾರೆ.

1. ಅನ್ನಕ್ಕೂ ಅಕ್ಷರಕ್ಕೂ ಸಂಬಂಧವೇ ಇಲ್ಲದಂತೆ ತರಗತಿ ಪಾಠಗಳು ಓಡುತ್ತಿವೆ.(ಪು.115)

2.  ನಮ್ಮ ತಾಯ್ತಂದೆಯರಿಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಓದುವ ಕಲೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ಕರಗತವಾಗದಿರುವುದೇ ಈ ಅನಾಹುತಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣ(ಪು.120) 

3.  ವಾಷರ್ಿಕ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆ ಎಂಬ ಪದವನ್ನು ಮೊದಲು ಅಳಿಸಿ ಹಾಕಬೇಕು.(ಪು. 101)

4. ಒಬ್ಬ ವಿದ್ಯಾಥರ್ಿಯ ಬಳಿ ಇರುವ ಕರ ಕೌಶಲಕ್ಕೆ ಅಂಕಗಳಿಲ್ಲ, ವಕ್ತೃತ್ವ ಶಕ್ತಿಗೆ ಅಂಕಗಳಿಲ್ಲ, ಇಂಪಾದ ಕಂಠಕ್ಕೆ ಅಂಕಗಳಿಲ್ಲ, ಮಿಂಚಿನ ಓಟಕ್ಕೆ ಅಂಕಗಳಿಲ್ಲ, ನಾಯಕತ್ವದ ಗುಣಕ್ಕೆ ಅಂಕಗಳಿಲ್ಲ, ಸಾಹಸಕ್ಕೆ ಅಂಕಗಳಿಲ್ಲ, ಲಲಿತ ಕಲೆಗಳ ಸೃಜನಶೀಲ ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗೆ ಅಂಕಗಳಿಲ್ಲ.(ಪು. 115)

- ಹೀಗೆ ಅವರು ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ ಪಡೆದ ದುರಂತಕ್ಕೆ ಪಾಲಕರು, ಪಠ್ಯಪುಸ್ತಕ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರಚಲಿತವಿದ್ದ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ನೀತಿ ಕಾರಣ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿಯೇ ಅವರು ಜಾಗತಿಕರಣ ಸೃಷ್ಠಿಸಿದ ಕೊಳ್ಳುಬಾಕ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಹಿಂದೆ ಕುದುರೆ ಓಡಿಸಿಬಿಡುವ ಪಾಲಕರಿಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣವೆಂದರೆ ಕೇವಲ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಕಲೆಯಿದೆ, ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ ಇದೆ, ಆಟೋಟಗಳಿವೆ,  ಅವು ಯಾವುದೂ ನಮ್ಮ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪಾಲಕರಿಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಅನಿಸುವುದೇ ಇಲ್ಲ ಯಾಕೆ? (ಪುಟ 99) ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸುತ್ತಲೇ ಮನೆಪಾಠ, ಟ್ಯೂಶನ್,ಅಂಕಗಳ ಭೇಟೆಯ ಮೂಲಕ ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ಹಿಂಸೆಗೆ ದೂಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಆಕ್ರೋಶ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.

          ಈ ನೌಕರಿಗಾಗಿ ಓದು ಎಂಬ ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನಾತ್ಮಕ ದೋಷವೇ ಇಂದಿನ ನಮ್ಮ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ರಂಗದ ಉಳಿದೆಲ್ಲ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳ ಮೂಲ ಎಂಬುದು ನನ್ನ ನಿಲುವು. (ಪು. 121) ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುವಾಗ ಕೂಡ ಕಲಿತವರಿಗೆ ನೌಕರಿಯ ಅಗತ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬ ಭಾವವೇನೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಬದಲಾಗಿ ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗೆ ಪಾಲಕರು ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರು ಒಟ್ಟಾಗಿಯೇ ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ನಡೆಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿರುವ ಅಮಾನವೀಯ ರೀತಿ ಒಂದಾದರೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರೆಲ್ಲಾ ಹೀಗೆ  ಎಂಬ ನಿಲುವು ಲೇಖಕರದಲ್ಲ. 'ಆರದ ಕೈದೀಪ' ಲೇಖನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾದರಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕ ಜಿ. ಜೆ. ನಾಯಕ ಕುರಿತು ಪೀತಿಯಿಂದ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ.ಪು.127-139 ನೋಡಿ) ದೇಶದ ಕೆಲವು ವಿದ್ವಾಂಸರು ಶಿಕ್ಷಣರಂಗದ ಕ್ರಾಂತಿಕಾರಕ ಬದಲಾವಣೆ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುವ ರಾಜಾರಾಮಣ್ಣ ವರದಿಯ ಅವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕ ಸಲಹೆಗಳನ್ನು ತಿರಸ್ಕರಿಸುವ ಭಾವವಿದೆ. ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಸುಧಾರಣೆಯ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ನೆಲದ ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ-ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟತೆಯ ಅರಿವಿಲ್ಲದ ವರದಿಯನ್ನು  ಆಧಾರ ಸಹಿತವಾಗಿ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ನಮಗನಿಸುವ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಭಾಷಾ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮದ ವಿಷಯವಾಗಿಯಾದರೂ ಗಣಿತ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಗಳಂಥ ಎಲ್ಲೆಡೆ ಏಕರೂಪವಾಗಿ ಸಲ್ಲಬಹುದಾದ ವಿಷಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರಾದರೂ ಇಡೀ ದೇಶಕ್ಕೆ ಏಕರೂಪದ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ನೀತಿಯನ್ನು ಯಾಕೆ ಅಳವಡಿಸಬಾರದು? ಯಾಕೆ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ನೀತಿ ಎಂದಿರಬಾರದು? (ಪು. 125) ಎನ್ನುವಾಗಲೂ ಅಧಿಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದ ಪ್ರತಿ ಸರಕಾರ ತಮ್ಮ ಅಜೆಂಡಾಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುಗುಣವಾಗಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ನೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಡುವ ಅವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕ-ಅವೈಚಾರಿಕ ಬದಲಾವಣೆಯ ಕುರಿತ ವಿರೋಧ ಎದ್ದು ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ.

        ಹೊಸ ನಾಡುಕಟ್ಟುವ ಹೊಸ ಸಮಾಜಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಎದುರುನೋಡುವ ಲೇಖಕರು ತಾವೇ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಂಡಂತೆ 'ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದ ಕುರಿತ ಪ್ರೀತಿ   ಮತ್ತು ಒತ್ತಾಸೆ'ಯನ್ನು ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದ ಕುರಿತ 8 ಲೇಖನದಲ್ಲೂ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು.

                                                              -3-

                   'ಬಿಡಿ ಬಿಕ್ಕಟ್ಟುಗಳು' ಮೂರನೇ ತೆನೆ. ಒಟ್ಟು 8 ಲೇಖನಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿವೆ. ನಾಡು ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಹಲವು ಬಿಕ್ಕಟ್ಟುಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಚಚರ್ೆಗೆ ಒಳಗಾಗಿವೆ. ಇದರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಮೊದಲೆರಡು ತೆನೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಇರುವ ಲೇಖ

ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಬಹುದಿನಗಳ ಯಾಕೆ ಬಹುದಶಕಗಳ ಬೇಡಿಕೆ ಅಂಕೋಲೆ ಹುಬ್ಬಳ್ಳಿ ರೈಲು ಮಾರ್ಗದ್ದು. ಇದರ ಮಹತ್ವದ ಕುರಿತು ದಿನಕರ ದೇಸಾಯಿ ಮೊಟ್ಟ ಮೊದಲ ಬಾರಿಗೆ ಲೋಕ ಸಭೆಯ ಗಮನಕ್ಕೆ ತಂದಿದ್ದನ್ನು ನೆನಪಿಸುವ ಲೇಖಕರು ಈ ಮಾರ್ಗದ ಅಗತ್ಯತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಅರ್ಥಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಹೆಸರನ್ನು ಮತ್ತು ದುಡ್ಡನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಕೆಲವು ಪರಿಸರವಾದಿಗಳ ಟೊಳ್ಳುತನದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಗಮನಸೆಳೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಮುಂದುವರಿದು ಈ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಜನಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಗಳ ನಿಷ್ಕ್ರಿಯತೆ ಮತ್ತು ನಿರಾಸಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಖಂಡಿಸಲು ಮರೆತಿಲ್ಲ. 

            ಸುಗ್ರಿವಾಜ್ಞೆಯೊಂದರ ಮೂಲಕ ರಾಜಧನ ರದ್ದು ಮಾಡಿದ, ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಆದಾಯ ತರುತ್ತಿರುವ ಖಾಸಗಿ ಬ್ಯಾಂಕುಗಳನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಕರಣ ಮಾಡಿದ ಸಕರ್ಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಕಪ್ಪುಹಣದ ಕೊಳವಾಗಿರುವ ದೇಗುಲಗಳನ್ನು ತನ್ನ ಸುಪದರ್ಿಗೆ ತಂದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಇಚ್ಛಾಶಕ್ತಿ ಯಾಕಿಲ್ಲ? (ಪುಟ 192) ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಕೇಳುವ ಲೇಖಕರು ಮಠ ಮಂದಿರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಗ್ರಹವಾದ ಸಂಪತ್ತು ಪ್ರಾಮಾಣಿಕ ದುಡಿಮೆಯದ್ದಲ್ಲ; ಜನಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರ ಬೆವರನ್ನು ಕದ್ದಿದ್ದು (ಪುಟ 193) ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಸಂವಿಧಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಸೂಕ್ತತಿದ್ದುಪಡಿಯನ್ನಾದರೂ ತಂದು ಈ ಆಸ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ವಶಪಡಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಒತ್ತಾಯಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. 

                  ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ ನೆನಪಾದಾಗೆಲ್ಲ ಕೆಂಡಾಮಂಡಲವಾಗುವ ಲೇಖಕರು ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರ ನಿಮರ್ೂಲನೆಯ ಪ್ರಕ್ರಿಯೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯಿಂದಲೇ ಮೊದಲಾಗಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿ ಲೋಕಪಾಲ ಮಸೂದೆಯ ಕುರಿತು ಚಚರ್ಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹೋರಾಟ ಮಾಡಲು ಅಣ್ಣ ಹಜಾರೆ ಅವತಾರ ಎತ್ತು ಬಂದಿದ್ದಾನೆ ಎಂದು ಮಾಧ್ಯಗಳು ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವಾಗ ಲೇಖಕರು ಅಣ್ಣಾ ಹಜಾರೆಯನ್ನು ಒಪ್ಪಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಲೇ ಅವರ ಬೇಡಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಖಾರವಾಗಿಯೇ ವಿಮಶರ್ಿಸುವದು ಗಮನಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಸಂಗತಿ. ಈ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಬದಲಾವಣೆಗೆ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾದ್ದು ಯುವಕರೇ ಆಗಿರುವುದರಿಂದ 'ಯುವ ಮನಸುಗಳೇ . . . ಲೇಖನದಲ್ಲಿ ಯುವ ಜನರ ಋಣಾತ್ಮಕ ಅಂಶಗಳನ್ನು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಲೇ ನಾನು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕುರಿತು ಆಶಾವಾದಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ ಎಂದು ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯ ಕೊರತೆ ನೀಗಿಸುವ ಹೊಣೆ ಹೊರಲು ಕರೆಕೊಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. 

                  ದೇಶದ ತುತರ್ು ಹಸಿವು ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ನ್ಯಾಯದ್ದು. ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ನ್ಯಾಯದ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಕೇವಲ ಉಳ್ಳವರು ಮತ್ತು ಇಲ್ಲದಿರುವವರು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ ನಮ್ಮ ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ನಾವು ಎಷ್ಟು ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ನೀಡಿದೇವೆ ಎಂಬ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕೂಡ ನಾವು ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ. (ಪುಟ 170) ಆದರೆ ಇದರ ಬದಲಾವಣೆ ಹೇಗೆ ಎನ್ನುವ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗೆ ಅವರು ವರ್ಗ ಸಂಘರ್ಷದ ಕಡೆಗೆ ಕೈತೋರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ವರ್ಗ ಸಂಘರ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ ಹತ್ತಾರು ಮುಖಗಳಿವೆ. ಆಥರ್ಿಕ ಕಾರಣ, ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಕಾರಣ, ಲಿಂಗ ತಾರತಮ್ಯದ ಕಾರಣ, ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಮೇಲಾಟಗಳು, ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಷ ಭಾಷೆಯ ವ್ಯಾಮೋಹ ನಿಮರ್ಿಸಿದ ವರ್ಗ, ವರ್ಣ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ, ನಿರುದ್ಯೋಗ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ- ಹೀಗೆ ಹತ್ತು ಹಲವು ಕಾರಣಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಇಂದು ಸಮಾಜದಲ್ಲೊ ಮೇಲು-ಕೀಳು ಭಾವ ಹೆಚ್ಚುತ್ತಿದೆ, ವರ್ಗರಹಿತ ಸಮಾಜವೇ ನಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲರ ಪರಮ ಗುರಿಯಾಗಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ. (ಪುಟ170) ಎನ್ನುವ ಅವರ ಬರವಣಿಗೆ ತಲುಪುವ ಕೊನೆ ಇದು. ಬಡವರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ, ರೈತ ಬಗ್ಗೆ, ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ, ಹಿಂದುಳಿದವರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆಯುವಾಗಲೂ ಅದರ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ವರ್ಗ ಗುಣದ ವಿವಿಧ ರೂಪಗಳ ಕುರಿತೇ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ವಹಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. 'ಉ.ಕ ಅಂದು, ಇಂದು, ನಾಳೆ' ಎನ್ನುವ ಮೊದಲಭಾಗದ ಲೇಖನದಲ್ಲಿ  ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಗತಿಯ ಕುರಿತು ಚಚರ್ಿಸುವ ವಿಷ್ಣುನಾಯ್ಕ ಅವರು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ನಿರಾಶ್ರಿತರ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ (ಪು.45) ಬುಡಕಟ್ಟುಗಳ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ (ಪು.44) ರೈಲು ಮಾರ್ಗದ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ (ಪು.46) ಭೂಮಿಯ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ (ಪು 44) ಕೈಗಾರಿಕೆಯ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ (ಪು.47)ಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿವರವಾಗಿ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಾ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಯಾವೊಂದು ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಯನ್ನೂ ಜೀವಂತವಾಗಿಯೇ ಉಳಿಸಿರುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸಕರ್ಾರದ ಕಣ್ಣು ತೆರೆಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಆಯ್ಕೆಯಾಗಿ ಹೋಗಿರುವ ನಮ್ಮ ಜನಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಗಳು ಸೋತಿದ್ದಾರೆಂದೇ ಹೇಳಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಪರಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ಪಂಗಡಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿಸಬೇಕೆಂದು ಕೇಳುತ್ತಲೇ ಈ ಜನ ಎರಡು ತಲೆಮಾರನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡಿರುವುದು ನೋವಿನ ಸಂಗತಿ (ಪು.45) ಎಂದು ಸರಿಯಾಗಿಯೇ ಗುರುತಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ದೇಸಾಯಿಯಂಥ ಓರ್ವ ಹೋರಾಟಗಾರ ಇಲ್ಲದಿರುವ ನೋವು ಅವರದು. 

              ಖಂಡಿತವಾಗಿಯೂ 3-4 ದಶಕಗಳಿಂದಲೂ ಹಾಲಕ್ಕಿ, ಕುಣಬಿಗಳನ್ನು ಬುಡಕಟ್ಟು ಎಂದು ಘೋಷಿಸುವ ಚಚರ್ೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ. ರಾಜ್ಯ, ಕೇಂದ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ರಿತಯ ಸಕರ್ಾರಗಳು ಬಂದು ಹೋದರೂ ಅವರು ಭರವಸೆಯಲ್ಲಯೇ ಬದುಕುವಂತಾಗಿದೆ. ಸಾವಕಾಶವಾಗಿ ಅವರು ಬುಕಟ್ಟಿನ ಚೆಹರೆ ಕಳಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ದಶಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರನ್ನು ಬುಡಕಟ್ಟು ಎಂದು ಗುರುತಿಸಿದರೂ ಆ ಸಮುದಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಯಾವ ಪ್ರಯೋಜನವೂ ಆಗದ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಇದೆ. ಈ ಬೇಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ ತನಕ್ಕೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಜನಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮನುಷ್ಯತ್ವದ ಕೊರತೆ ಎನ್ನುವುದುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾವ ಅನುಮಾನಗಳೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಇನ್ನು ಕೆಲವೇ ವರ್ಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಉಕ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ ನಿರಾಶ್ರಿತರ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ ಎಂದು ಹೆಸರು ಪಡೆದರೆ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. 

ಆದರೂ ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚಳುವಳಿ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭವಾಗಿದ್ದೇ ಅಂಕೋಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ. (ಪು.37) ಎನ್ನುವುದಾಗಲೀ, ದೇಸಾಯಿಯವರೇ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಮೊದಲ ರೈತ ಹೋರಾಟಗಾರ ಎನ್ನುವ ಕೆಲವು ಭಾವನಾತ್ಮಕ ವಾಕ್ಯಗಳೂ ಆಗಾಗ ಬರುವುದೂ ಉಂಟು.  ಭಾವವಾಗಲೀ ಪೂರ್ಣಸತ್ಯವಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ಇತ್ತೀಚಿನ ಅಧ್ಯಯನದಿಂದ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿದೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮೊದಲೇ ಕಾರವಾರದ ಕಾಳಿನದಿಯ ಇಕ್ಕೆಲಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಮ್ಯುನಿಷ್ಟರು ಸಂಘಟಿಸಿದ ರೈತ ಹೋರಾಟವೇ ಮೊದಲ ಸಂಘಟಿತ ಚಳುವಳಿ ಎನ್ನುವುದನ್ನು ದಾಖಲಿಸದೇ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ. 

ಕತೆ, ನಾಟಕ, ಕಾವ್ಯ,ವಿಮಶರ್ೆಹೀಗೆ ಜಗತ್ತಿಗೆ ಪಾಠ ಹೇಳಲು ಯಾವೆಲ್ಲಾ ದಾರಿಗಳಿವೆಯೋ ಅದನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಾ ಬಳಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿರುವ ಉತ್ತರ ಕನ್ನಡ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕ ಪರಂಪರೆಯ ಮುಂದುವರಿಕೆಯಾಗಿರುವ ವಿಷ್ಣು ನಾಯ್ಕ ಅವರ ಗದ್ದೆಯಿಂದ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಬ(ಭ)ತ್ತದ ತೆನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಎದುರು ನೋಡುತ್ತೇವೆ.

ವಿಠ್ಠಲ ಭಂಡಾರಿ, ಕೆರೆಕೋಣ

LOKSABHA ELECTION: DEFEAT BOTH THE POLITICAL CLIQUES DECISIVELY FIGHT FOR THE ALTERNATIVE - Tapan Sen

LOKSABHA ELECTION: DEFEAT BOTH THE POLITICAL CLIQUES DECISIVELY

                                                                                                FIGHT FOR THE ALTERNATIVE

                                                                                                                                           Tapan Sen

The country is heading towards the General Elections for the 16^th Lok Sabha. The people have to decide as to how they will exercise their right in this crucial political battle.  

CITU calls upon the workers and the toiling people in general to seriously reflect on their bitter experience of sharp deterioration in all aspects of their life and livelihood through continuing price rise, declining real wages, declining employment opportunities, attack on their rights at place of their work, both individual and collective, degradation of quality of employment etc arising out of brazenly anti-people policies of the Govt at the centre. While exercising their right to vote, they must assert their urge for a total reversal of the present anti-people policy regime and express their firm rejection to the politics of all brands behind such policy regime. The present policy regime is not only making the life and living of the common people miserable but also bringing about a severe distortion, perversion and disruption simultaneously in the entire economy, polity and society at large.

As the political atmosphere in the country is gradually getting charged with electioneering mode, the Govt of the day led by Congress as well as the principal opposition BJP are both seeking to project the need for a ‘strong and stable’ Govt. And they minced no words. They openly declared for more aggressively pursuing the so called “developmental” path based on the same disastrous neoliberal policy regime. The BJP vying for power at the centre is not questioning the basic framework and direction of the policies at all being followed by the present UPA-II Govt, but arguing that the country needs a strongman like Narendra Modi with absolute power to strongly push through the  same so called “reforms” more aggressively and with more determination.

Both Congress & BJP: Working on Same Project

On the one hand, the hot pursuit of the policies of deregulation, liberalization and privatization under UPA-II rule promoting the interests of corporates and big-business houses, both domestic and foreign, and big-landlord and hoarders’ lobby is going on. This, while bringing miseries to mass of the common people, is also bringing about a gloom and decline in the economy as a whole. On the other hand, the BJP led camp is attacking their political rival in governance, the UPA-II regime, for so called policy-paralysis, i.e., for not pursuing the same pro-corporate/big-business policies more aggressively. And through such exercise in the process of electioneering, both the political combines, one led by Congress and the other by BJP have been jointly working on a single fraudulent and deceitful project. The project is one of making the neoliberal policy regime an unavoidable destiny for the nation, thereby putting the national economy on auction to the interests of the corporate and big-business, both domestic and foreign and simultaneously throwing the mass of the populace in fiercer exploitation and deeper miseries in perpetuity. The project is one of loot and plunder on the people and the national resources of our country in the name of development. To both the political combines, development means adding to profits and surpluses of handful of corporate and big-business, both foreign and domestic, windfall gains for the foreign and domestic speculators through ups and downs of the stock market and commodity exchanges-- all at the cost of fast deteriorating level of livelihood and lives of millions of people.

            

Both these major political combines, one led by Congress and the other by BJP might still have followings among the common people, but they are operating at the behest of corporate interests, of the interest of international finance capital while striving to legitimize their project of crime on the national economy and the mass of the people through the forthcoming General elections. They are trying to engineer such fraud on the people by creating an illusion among the people, as if the neoliberal reforms of deregulation and privatization etc are the only means to improve their lots. And the most active facilitators of such fraudulent and deceitful exercise is the corporate-run media, both print and electronics. It is not without any reasons that almost all the leading national print media have started publishing their own manifesto on policies to be followed by the forthcoming government which prescribes the same disastrous policies in order to build public opinion in its favour.

The working class movement must have to act in exposing such nefarious game plan of both the corporate-serving political combine—the UPA and the NDA, led by Congress and BJP in collaboration with corporate-run media in order to make people assert for a total reversal of the present policy-regime. We must fight for  people-centric alternative policies and decisively defeat both the corporate serving political combines perpetuating deception and fraud on the people, on the economy and on the society as a whole.  

 

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Fraud & Deception on People

Crucial task begins with exposing the fraud and deception being played by the both the political combines led by Congress and BJP while touting for the neoliberal policy paradigm.

In their neoliberal project of economy management, growth is simultaneously accompanied by stagnation, suppression and decline in wages and social security benefits and faster growth of unemployment finally pushing the growth rate to decline, creating gloom and crisis in every aspect of the economy. Common people become the victim of the worst kind while handful of rich and the big-business make windfall gains, both in white and black. Is the democracy meant for such brazenly unjust system ?    

Growth: Poverty for Millions and Gains for handful

 The last three decades of under neoliberal policy regimes, more particularly during NDA and UPA rules have witnessed GDP growth of above 5 to 6 per cent on the average and during some period as during the 11^th Plan period (2005-10), above eight per cent plus annually. The workers and working people, despite fully contributing to such growth of production and wealth generation (in fact without workers, no production of goods and services or wealth generation is possible at all) are being consistently looted and deprived. The real wages have gone down through the entire period. Labours’ share in value added in production in the organised manufacturing sector,  which was 30 per cent in the late eighties, have come down to around 10 per cent in 2010 while profit’s share have increased more than three-fold from 20 to 60% plus. In services and informal sector situation is more precarious. This means that the entire gains in production or GDP growth have been appropriated and looted by the employers and big-business. The Government and the administration in centre and most of the states, both under UPA and NDA facilitated that loot through pro-corporate policies, suppression of minimum wages level and repression on trade union movement. The workers and working people, who are creating growth in the economy, revenues for the exchequer and profit for the employers are being subjected to inhuman exploitation through drastic cut in regular employment, cut in their wages and social security, mass scale contractorisation and casualisation of work and brutal suppression of their struggle with the active support of the Govt and administration. Violation of all laws of the land relating to labour with the active support of the law-enforcing machinery has become the hallmark of the neo-liberal reforms regime.  

In agriculture sector, involving more than half of the country’s population, the situation is even worse. More than two lakh peasants have committed suicide during the UPA rule alone. Landlessness is increasing alarmingly demonstrating the loot on land-asset by the Govt in favour of corporate and business. On the other hand the small and marginal farmers who account for more than two-third of the farming community are thrown in a  totally unviable situation and got severely indebted to private money lenders who are practically looting their produce at throw away prices and this is promoting private hoarding  of foodgrains and black-marketing in a big way. The agricultural workers are not getting even 70 days work in a year. On the other hand average man-days of work under MNREGA remained well below 50 days instead of 100 days as per the Act. The Govt saves money allocated for MNREGA while millions of people in rural India go destitute and hungry. Such a tragic situation haunts rural India despite the agricultural sector marking an improvement in production consecutively for last three years at least.

Continuing price rise of all essential commodities including food is further adding fuel to fire. And the price-rise is not just happening as claimed by the Govt but is being deliberately made to happen as an integral part of their policy regime to keep the speculation lobby happy. While people are being compelled to buy foodgrains at a high price in the market, the direct producers of the food-grains in agriculture are not getting even one third of that market price for their produce to cover up the cost of production and on the other hand the hoarders and traders in food-grains are making windfall gains through speculation. To facilitate this process, speculative trade is being allowed in food crops both legally and illegally and the Govt is continuing to hold a big stock of food-grains in the market much above the buffer norm (for PDS and emergencies) while allowing the private money-lenders and hoarders also to hoard in a big way just to keep the price level high and corporate traders make fortune at the cost of hungry millions.  

The net outcome for the mass of the people under this neoliberal regime, both under UPA and NDA, is further worsening of the poverty situation, a bigger squeeze in the purchasing power of the common people, which in turn is generating gloom and slowdown in the market, in the economic activities, deceleration in investment and employment generation, pushing the economy towards further decline and gloom. The loud claim of the Govt in lifting 130 million people above the poverty line is nothing but an unalloyed bluff. Fact remains that as per NSSO data, 73 per cent of the people or 87.6 crore people do not have access to official poverty line of  2100/2200 calories and this very situation explodes their fraudulent claim.  

The situation is made more precarious by systematic cut in public expenditure and subsidies on peoples’ welfare and basic utilities like health, education, irrigation, housing, water-supply etc, and pushing those sectors for exploitation by private business interests--all on the plea of containing fiscal deficit, making the daily life more difficult and costlier for the common people at large. And the manner the Govt is making its expenditure-management clearly exposes the gang-up between the corporate/big-business and the Government administration to suck the common people and the national economy for their private gains. It is not without reason that despite a GDP growth rate of above 5 per cent during last three decades, India’s rank has gone down among the developing countries in terms of human development indices published by UN agency. In the matter of almost all human development indicators like literacy, infant-mortality, maternal mortality, anemia among women and children, availability of potable water, incidence of hunger etc, India’s position is by no way respectable and does in no way match with its GDP growth standards. And at the same time handful of major corporate and big-business groups has amassed huge wealth in unprecedented pace taking brazen inequality in the society to an obscene level. Number of dollar billionaires in India have more than doubled in a span of last four year, and as reported by Hindustan times, eight top billionaires in India got their wealth multiplied by more than 180 per cent and four of them got their wealth increased by above 300% on the average.

Deceit through Budget

            Promoting Pilferage from Exchequer by Big-Business

Such a situation also exposes the fraud being played upon the mass of the people by the present regime. Almost all the budgets of the UPA Govt, the UPA-II in particular, every year demonstrates a fraud on the people. The budget every year allocates funds for rural development, health, education and other welfare programmes for the social sector, of which only a part is spent. They make big noise in claiming credit while making allocations in the budget but silently under-spend which is nothing but a deceit. At the same time, it deliberately allows the defaulters in big-business, both foreign and domestic not to pay their due taxes and this is continuing year after year. As per the budget papers presented at the time of last interim budget (2014-15), which happens to be the pre-election one, the UPA-II Govt has drastically cut the expenditure budgeted in 2013-14 by around Rs 66000/- on rural development, health, education, social services etc-all relating to common people. But at the same Govt preferred to allow a default on payment of corporate tax and income tax alone of a huge amount of Rs 5.1 lakh crore as on December 2013, of which around Rs 75000 crore/- is not under any dispute as admitted by the Govt itself. How a Govt so concerned about fiscal deficit could allow year after year a direct tax default ranging from Rs 3.5 lakh crore to 5.1 lakh crore (last four years) of which Rs 50000 crore to Rs 75000 crore were undisputed claims ? Is it not cutting expenditure on welfare and development of aam-aadmi while allowing pilferage in public exchequer by the khas-aadmis to the Govt, the corporate and big-business group? What else can expose the brazen anti-people bias of the corporate servant government, making so loud noise on “inclusive growth? In fact this is a regime of the Corporate-big-business-Govt gang-up to exploit the mass of the populace for private gains of foreign and domestic business groups and also private gains of those in governance actively facilitating that process of loot on the people. If this is not corruption in governance, then what else ?

The explosion of big ticket corruptions during last ten years, both in centre and states, both under Congress and BJP rule are the inevitable reflections of this shameless pro-rich-corporate bias in the governments and administration. Besides huge tax concessions, accompanied by huge tax-defaults increasing every year being actively aided and abetted by the Govt, these big ticket corruptions of 2G, CWG, KG-basin, iron-ore-mining, Adarsh housing scam, Chit-fund scams etc are also instruments of pilferage in national exchequer and resources by big-business houses in complicity with the Govt machinery. This process cannot be separated from the very neoliberal policies and processes which both the Congress and BJP combines are vying to promote more forcefully. 

Negative Impact on Society

Such anti-people bias in governance under neoliberalism is also getting reflected in the society as a whole in an utterly negative manner. When the entire governance is busy in single-minded project to serve only the handful of vested interests in corporate-big-business lobby neglecting the concern of millions of common people, it is bound to have degenerating impact in the governance, polity, society and human values as well. The criminalization in politics is one such reflection. Consents and consensus and many-times political support are being sought to be manufactured forcibly by using all dubious and disruptive means including money power. It tantamount to commodisation of politics, manufacturing of opinions etc undermining and sometimes distorting the democratic process as such.    

It is bound to have negative impact on the society in various ways. Spread of crime, incidence of crime among youth, increasing violence against women including alarming rise in incidence of rape etc are the disastrous reflections of such degeneration. Such negative features are raising their heads with greater arrogance in the midst of frustration and desperation sprang in the society from total insensitivity and neglect towards common peoples’ miseries and their basic right to lead a humane living on the part of those who run the governance. When market is being worshipped as god and determinant of policy decisions, everything including opinions and consents are being weighed and priced like commodities, truth is being bartered with opportunities and returns on the same,   the human values and dignity also become a victim of the said market philosophy facing distortions, perversions and degeneration.   While we have to fight against those degenerations and perversions in values and resultant crimes in the society uniting the people against those negativities, we must also to expose the character of the regime that provokes and promotes such degenerations as an integral part of that battle.    

 Communal and Divisive Forces Vying for Power

Another crucial aspect which deserves pointed attention is the danger of the communal and divisive forces raising their heads taking advantage of the crisis that has engulfed the economy, polity and the society, its impact on the people and also in the face of increasing isolation of the political combine in governance. The irony is that the present day crisis is the inevitable outcome of the neoliberal policies being pursued by the UPA-II Govt, and the other political combine led by the Communal BJP vying for power is also an ardent rather more aggressive votary of the same policy regime. And that is why as the BJP combine projected Narendra Modi, present Chief Minister of Gujarat as the Prime Ministerial candidate, it received warm welcome from the corporate and big-business circles including various foreign agencies. And Narendra Modi is being projected by their combine as well as the media as ”Bikash Purush”, i.e., the man of Development citing his performance as Gujarat Chief Minister. The nefarious role of that State Government of Gujarat under Narendra Modi in patronizing rather promoting the mass massacre on the minorities in the state following the Train-blaze in Godhra, killing several thousands of men, women, children alike, which can only compare with the mass annihilation programme of Hitler in the concentration camp in terms of inhuman criminality, is being sought to be pushed under carpet. And the corporate-run media, in its agony and anxiety of protecting the interests of corporate serving neoliberal policy regime, has been deliberately underplaying and whitewashing the communal fascistic face of Modi-led BJP combine. 

Any prospect of BJP led governance will mean a grave danger for the country as well as democracy. The governance has already been hijacked by corporate interests under present neoliberal regime. In case of BJP’s coming to power, the whole system and machinery of governance is fraught with the danger of getting communalized too. And what may happen thereafter is understandable from what has happened at the time of post-Godhra massacre in Gujarat and subsequent communal progromes on minorities engineered by the same clique.  The communal and divisive forces of all hues will get added advantage in weakening the unity of the people and national integrity with the communal force-led combine occupying power at the centre. The unity of the working people will also be threatened with disruption in the divisive atmosphere fuelled by the communal force in governance. It must have to be resisted by defeating the communal and divisive forces in the forthcoming electoral battle.

Modi Model of Development and the People

At the same time, it is important to lay bare some of the myth on so called development of Gujarat under Modi regime. It was also the same neoliberal trajectory subjecting the common people to fierce exploitation. No doubt, Gujarat had attracted more foreign and private investment as a result of the aggressive corporate friendly policies pursued by both the central govt and also the liberal concessions and giveaways by the state govt. Gujarat ranks 5^th in attracting FDI among the Indian states and in growth rate of state domestic product Gujarat performed well compared to other states in the country –it being above the national average. But again what does it mean for the common people of Gujarat. It has been the same commentary of gains of growth being totally appropriated, rather in a more aggressive manner.

Some highlights can be given here. As per NSSO report 32% of the state’s population was below poverty line in 2001 which has jumped to 39.5% meaning thereby that along with GSDP growth, poverty also got widened and as per the same NSSO data, reduction of poverty is the lowest in the state particularly during 2004 to 2010. Despite comparatively higher growth of GSDP, growth of employment remained negiligible during last ten years. Gujarat ranks 20^th (the bottom) among the 20 major states in the percentage of women with severe anemia, 15^th in malnourishment in children, 16^th in children’s anaemia (Human Development Report, 2011-12).  Close to half of the state’s children under the age of 5 (44.6%) are known to be suffering from malnutrition. 70 per cent are said to be anemic while 40 per cent are underweight. (Source: Planning Commission report – 2012-13). Health expenditure by Gujarat has fallen down from 4.25% in 1990-95 to 0.77% in 2005-2010. Gujarat occupied second position from bottom in terms of allocation of health in state budget.  (Source: planning commission report-2012-13 and National Health Profile – Central Bureau of Health Intelligence).

This highlights the precarious conditions the toiling people in general are facing in the state despite their signal  contribution to state’s GSDP growth. Added to that, is the discrimination being faced by minorities in the state by the Hindutva brigade Govt. Just few examples among many: As per Human Development Report, 2011-12, poverty headcount ratio among the muslims is highest in the state of Gujarat; as per report of the Ministry on Minority Affairs, Govt of India, (2011-12), the central scheme on scholarship for minority students, with 75% funding by the centre was allowed to lapse owing to state Govt not sending proposals to centre, thereby depriving around 52000 minority students in that year. There are many more examples of such discrimination.   

Therefore, fighting against the communal forces and their allies in the forthcoming political battle of General Elections is of crucial importance; it is not merely a battle for defeating the communal forces in occupying the power at the centre, it is integral to the struggle for defending the unity of the people and integrity of the nation from the assault of communal fascists supported by the international corporate interests in alliance with the domestic big-business as junior partner.   

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The working class is faced therefore with a crucial task in the run up to forthcoming Lok Sabha election. We must fight for a decisive defeat of the anti-people policy regime being carried forward by Congress led UPA and BJP-led NDA who are serving and destined to serve the interests of the rich and big-business class, both domestic and foreign, while playing fraud and deception on the mass of the populace.

 This fraud and deception game, both by Congress and BJP needs to be thoroughly exposed. Illusions and myth being sought to be created around the anti-people policy package being practiced and touted by both Congress and BJP both by themselves and the corporate serving media need to be totally exploded with the contempt it deserves. Their deceptive camouflage of “aam-admi chanting” and “inclusive-growth” postures need to be torn asunder bringing forth the real face and machinations of their policies and programmes so that enemies to people and the nation can be recognized by the people in their true colour. And simultaneously, alternatives to the present anti-people policy regime, a truly inclusive and sustainable growth strategy with the peoples’ right and welfare at the centre which is being formulated through united struggle of the working class against the grievous fall out of the anti-people policy regime must be put forth. The Left parties have been consistently fighting for such alternatives and already formulated the programmes of the alternative policy platform. The working class movement must throw its might in support of the Left and also in support of that alternative platform which unequivocally voiced the basic demands of the workers and their trade unions and the people at large.   That is the only way, the fight on the demands of the working people can be heightened to the fight against the very policies bringing miseries on their lives and livelihood and also against the nefarious pro-corporate politics behind those policies. Offensive has to be mounted for total rejection of such politics for carrying the nation to pro-people truly inclusive and sustainable trajectory of development.

Let us unite and fight for alternative to anti-people anti-nation neoliberal policies, defeat the corporate serving politics of neoliberalism which also includes the communal fascist forces.

      

THE LOKSABHA ELECTION AND THE LEFT -- Tapan Sen

                                   THE LOKSABHA ELECTION AND THE LEFT

                                                                                                                  --   Tapan Sen

The General Elections for the 16^th Lok Sabha is going to be held in the background of a crisis in the economy and the society as a fallout of the hot pursuit of the neoliberal policies by the successive governments at the centre, particularly those led by both Congress and BJP. 

In the run up to the electioneering, both the Congress led UPA and BJP led NDA who appear to be main contender of power at the centre, have been asserting their commitment to the same neoliberal policies of deregulation, privatization and globalization, despite their pernicious impact on the life and livelihood of the mass of the people. The Corporate run media is also batting for the same model of neoliberalism with the dubious intent of influencing the peoples’ choice to be restricted to these two options.

Among other political forces, beyond these two formations, the Left parties remain to be the only consistent and firm opponent to the anti-people and anti-self-reliant neoliberal policies from the very beginning. And the Left parties opposed with vehemence those policies, not merely in Parliament and legislatures, but in actions as well, through numerous countrywide agitations and strikes involving several crores of people. Even the state governments run by Left parties, despite all limitations under the present uni-federal structure took several important pro-people steps on relief and rights for the common people which demarcate from and militate against the neoliberal policies. The trade union movement in the country irrespective of political affiliations also came together on the street in holding militant agitations and strikes both at the national level and sectoral level/factory-gates/workplaces in opposition to the grievous fall out of those policies on their lives and livelihood. In organizing opposition and agitations jointly by the trade unions, Left forces took the leading initiative.    

Warnings and Exposure by the Left

From the day one, the Left parties worked diligently among the people to expose the anti-people and anti-self-reliant character of the neoliberal policy regime, authored, piloted and sought to be imposed on the developing countries including India by the imperialist-backed international financial agencies. It did forecast that these policies would neither benefit the mass of the toiling people nor the country in the least, rather would make her dependent on the international finance capital enmeshed in the world’s capitalist majors, impinging and intruding upon her sovereignty, not merely on economic matters but also on political and foreign policy issues.

Through last three decades’ pursuit of the same neoliberal policy regime, every aspect of the Left’s forecast on the impact of neoliberalism on the people and on country’s economy stands totally vindicated. The poverty got widened and deepened among the mass of the people, and wealth amassed by handful of the rich and big-business class multiplied multiple times, giving rise to the most obscene inequality on the one hand and bringing about severe squeeze on the purchasing power of the people on the other. As a consequence, contraction of the domestic market and the resultant gloom and decline in employment generating investment and growth rate is making the situation further worse for the people.   People from all walks of life were made to suffer severely owing to the neoliberal policy-induced drive of drastic cut in public investment/expenditure in health, education, social welfare etc and subsidies on food, fuel and fertilisers. On the other hand, huge pilferage by the big-business and corporates from the national exchequer was being allowed through huge tax concession every year as well as non-payment of tax falling due after all those concessions, through privatization of national assets at depressed prices, and through various instruments of contracts and corruptions. And in this process, resources and wealth created by working people are being transferred to handful of big-business/corporate entities, both foreign and domestic while mass of the populace find themselves worse off in every passing day. Neoliberal policies acted as instruments of looting the people and national resources for private gains and also for the gains of those in governance who facilitate this process of loot.    

The votaries of neoliberalism with the support of corporate-run media have been trying to manufacture consensus among the political forces on this neoliberal direction of the economic policies. But, the consistent struggles by the Left and the working class movement against the same policies and their fall out on the people through numerous agitations and strikes etc involving several crores of people have been able to develop a different kind consensus of opposition among the mass of the common people against various facets of neoliberal policies like privatization, on land-related matters, PPP in public services, suppression of wages and trade union rights, contractorisation, FDI in retail trade etc. And this got reflected in vacillation among other non-Left political forces also who are otherwise not vocally opposed to neoliberal policies.  Such vacillations got reflected in debate in Parliament where almost all the political parties including many allies of UPA spoke against FDI in retail trade, PFRDA Bill and many other issues. 

Building Awareness and Consensus against Neoliberal Policies and Politics

This consensus being developed among the working people for fighting against the anti-people neoliberal regime of loot and plunder on people and the country through consistent struggles have to be carried forward. This struggle has to be heightened for reversal of this anti-people regime and to put in place the alternative people centric policies which would ensure growth with distributive equity and that alone can make the growth sustainable. And this alternative inevitably coincides with the Left’s visions on development. Only the Left forces can provide for such alternative since it is the Left which consistently fought against every aspects of neoliberalism from the very beginning. The working class movement, therefore must carry the message to the working people at grass root level to defeat both the Congress and BJP led combines decisively and support the Left parties wherever they are in the fray and in other places those candidates who commit to fight against the policies of deregulation, privatization and globalization and also against communalism. We have to make people at the grass root level vocal and assertive against the policies and politics of neoliberalism and that is the biggest task before the working class in the forthcoming electoral battle.

Attacks on the Left

At the same time, the severe and heinous all round attacks being faced by the Left parties from the right wing forces in their stronger areas have to be understood and combated resolutely by involving mass of the people in a big way.  A peoples’ resistance against the assault on Left has to be developed. Because the assault on the Left is in real sense the attack on peoples’ right to live with dignity.   

During the last couple of years, Left forces have come under constant attack through various ways not only in West Bengal but also in Kerala, Tripura and in many other states in the country. The form of attacks varies from place to place depending on the local situation. In West Bengal it is in the form of brutal physical attacks after the regime change in 2011; in Kerala it is mainly in the form of unprecedented malicious campaign against the Left forces in collaboration with corporate run media to confuse and also create disruption. Even in Tripura, despite there being no regime change, the atmosphere of West Bengal was and is being sought to be recreated which is being successfully  resisted by the people. In Telengana, the major Left party opposing in principle the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh are being targeted for attack with chauvinistic slogans.  Malicious and misinformation campaigns are unleashed against the Left all over the country. In this context, Such multi pronged and multidimensional attacks are bound to intensify further as the date of poll comes nearer.

The attacks on the trade union and democratic rights assumed a new dimension in West Bengal. Immediately after the last assembly elections and the formation of the TMC government, violent physical attacks were unleashed on the trade unions, particularly on CITU and other mass organisations of peasants, students, youth and women by the armed TMC hoodlums. Left supporters are being forced to desert their houses in villages and towns in many parts of the state.  The police remained silent spectators in most of the cases. Trade union offices are being set on fire and ransacked, Left supporters are being physically attacked, women including the anganwadi employees are molested and tortured, houses set in fire and many of our comrades have been killed. In many areas, contract workers owing allegiance to CITU unions were thrown out of employment and new set of workers are engaged at reduced wages in connivance with the contractors. An atmosphere of terror is sought to be created to maim the Left opposition and democratic movement. Such a situation bears ominous portent for democracy and indicates the fascistic design to suppress the class and mass organisations in this strong Left bastion. It is aimed at weakening and marginalising any opposition to the anti people measures in the same neoliberal direction being unleashed by the TMC led government in the state.

The strategy of the ruling clique led by TMC in West Bengal is no different in character from that of the corporate serving ruling class in other states. The difference is in degree and content of atrociousness and criminality in view of the Left’s stronger base in the state. That is why the attack has taken the character of physical violence aimed at elimination of the Left. That is also featured by total intolerance to any dissent against the state government on the one hand and letting loose the gangs of criminals and goons to reign on the human habitats on the other. And therefore, attacks are no more limited to Left alone, it engulfed the common peoples’ life in entirety. The alarming rise of crime, indiscriminate rape in broad-day light and killing of the victim, violence against women, attack on educational and cultural institutions has made the state occupy almost a top slot in those respects among all the states in the country. Such an anarchic situation reveals the lumpensation of politics and governance in the midst of crisis ridden economy and the society. And in such a situation, in the face of fast disillusionment and isolation from peace-loving people, the ruling clique led by TMC is banking upon their project of forging and manufacturing consent and/or support forcibly by rigging the election through violence. In most of the school committees’ or college governing body’s elections, in the election in large cooperative societies etc in the state, violence has been resorted to by TMC bandwagons to capture those committees and governing bodies. The most recent incidents are that out of 222 colleges, only in 36 colleges the students’ organisations other that the TMC sponsored one could file their nomination for union elections, that too partially.  More than 30 activists and supporters of the left parties were murdered in the run up to the recently held Panchayet elections in the state and in most of the places a large section of electorates could not cast their vote. And after all these, Left candidates elected in the Panchayet elections are being threatened and tortured either to tender resignation or to join TMC by those hoodlums. And now in the run up to the election campaign for Lok Sabha, in many places in the state, violent attacks on the offices of the Left parties and their village level campaigns have already started becoming as almost an every-day incident. 

Offensive against People

It would be wrong to consider or comprehend such violence and brutalities against the Left as mere sporadic acts of revenge by the party in power. In many districts, tenant peasants are forced to leave their land and land reforms implemented during the Left regime are sought to be reversed. The former landlords and jotedars are trying to gain control on lands by evicting the tenant peasants with the help of TMC led administration. Peasants are being deprived of even the minimum support price and remunerative prices for their produce as the state government is seeking to procure rice through the rice mill owners or other private agencies who are usurping government funds by compelling the farmers to make distress sales.  While trade unions are being attacked and terrorised, the employers’ class, in the private sector in particular, have become more aggressive in suppressing the rights of the trade unions and workers. The head of the state government did mince no words expressing her total intolerance to right to strike and also called upon to “finish” the oldest and largest organisation of the state govt employees, the State Coordination Committee. The pro-people democratic changes in the economy and in various social, educational, cultural and coorperative institutions brought about by Left-ruled Govt, which led to economic, political and social empowerment of the common people at the grass-root in the process of land reform, operation barga, panchayati raj with the financial and administrative empowerment of elected panchayats, expansion of trade union rights etc, are under attack in West Bengal today. These benefits and rights to the people are sought to be reversed to favour the handful of rich landlords and employers’ class by the TMC led right wing regime. The physical attacks on the Left forces, trade unions, kisan sabha and other class and mass organisations are designed for eliminating resistance against such right wing reversals.

In the background of the deepening crisis of the neoliberal order, totally vindicating the Left’s assertion about its inhuman as well as destructive face, it is but natural that Left politics will be the prime target of the right wing pro-imperialist forces, the protagonists of neoliberalism. The Left politics not only offer a viable alternative to the destructive neoliberal order but also possess the potential to build up resistance and fight it back to decisive defeat. That is precisely the reason for such all round attack and conspiracies being engineered by the pro imperialist forces and their cohorts against the Left, particularly in their stronger bastions. The corporate media and all the agencies of the neoliberal camp are utilised for this malicious misinformation campaign to discredit and eliminate the Left, while at the same time pampering the divisive and extremist forces, sometimes using ultra left slogans.  

Therefore at this present juncture, when the country is going for general elections, in the background of severe resentment among the mass of the people from all walks of lives, the neoliberal policies is to be put on the dock and the people should be made to question the very purpose and efficacy of these anti-people policies while deciding on their verdict. This can only be done effectively by the Left because of its principled and irrefutable position on this policy regime.

That is why the Left is under all round attack by the enemies of the people as well as enemies of the nation. And in its stronger areas, the attack is more virulent, atrocious and violent designed to eliminate the Left.  

But in real sense, it is not merely an attack on the Left, it is on the entire people and the nation as such. Only Left is fighting resolutely for reversal of the pro-imperialist neoliberal order and for people-centric democratic secular alternative. Alternatively, continuance of this neoliberal order without any hurdles will mean faster pace of pauperisation of mass of the people, change of control over our natural and national resources hence of the economy in favour of foreign corporate interests with domestic players as junior partner. This is bound to recur crisis and slow-down with the increasing burden to be borne by the mass of the populace. This will weaken and kill our self reliance and intrude upon our sovereignty.

Only the Left can mount effective hurdles against the pursuit of such disastrous policies as it has been doing during last three decades, the influence of which had gone much beyond the periphery of the Left broadening the prospect of militant resistance against the same.   

Secondly, the Left work through the process of empowering people with knowledge, consciousness and confidence to assert themselves. Even the focus of administration of the Left-run governments always has been to consistently empower people at the grass root and create confidence in them to assert and lead and that empowerment at the grass root continues to be the main source of strength for the Left. The attack on Left in West Bengal in particular and also in other places is meticulously designed for disempowerment of people and destruction of the process of democratisation of society and the institutions relating to that.   

Defend the Rights of the People, Defend Democracy

To combat such attack, people are to be made to understand that only Left is not under attack, attack is being engineered on the entire people, on every individual through the ongoing violent machination for manufacturing consent and manipulating support destroying the democratic process and institutions. It is the right of every individual citizen of the state, men and women alike to live and opine freely with dignity, which is under attack. It is the right of every woman to remain protected from beastly attacks and also the right to lodge complaint on such attack with dignity and receptivity from the concerned authority, the right to get justice with compassion, which is under barabarous assault. It is the right of every contract worker not to get evicted from employment, it is right of every farmer and tenant-farmer to work on his land without being extorted heavily by the local political goons, it is also their right to get the right price for their produce without paying gratification which is under onslaught. It is the right to respectability and autonomy for every educational, cultural and social institutions which is being outraged every day and so on.

And the task of the trade union movement and the working class in general is to carry that message and realisation to people through an organised widespread person to person, house to house approach in every habitat, every factory gate, in every workplace and relate to their own experience. That will definitely generate confidence among all to defend their democratic rights to express and opine and also to defend the democratic process from the machination of the ongoing lumpen-raj backed by vested interests. 

Let us pledge to undertake the task with all seriousness in the forthcoming political battle. We will overcome. 

                                                                                                                               20^th March 2014