Committee have also made it clear that the anti-communal or pro-secular rhetoric often goes hand in hand with a systematic marginalization and deprivation of the Muslim community. Yet, the UPA government and most state governments, including those run by non-BJP parties swearing by secularism, continue to show profound apathy in implementing the recommendations made in the reports of the Sachar Committee and Ranganath Misra Commission. We need to wage a sustained battle for implementation of these recommendations.
20. Once we recognise that Modi today derives his power not just from the communal politics of the Sangh Parivar but from the corporate world hungering for unrestricted power and plunder, it follows that the battle against the Modi model cannot proceed merely on communal versus secular lines; rather it must draw it strength from the anti-corporate resistance of the working people and from the whole gamut of struggles for democracy. Struggles against communal terror, corporate capital and state repression and criminalisation of Muslims as part of the imperialist war on terror, which are all inextricably linked in Modi’s brand of politics must all be combined to effectively combat the Modi model. Only a heightened assertion of the people and a powerful intervention of the Left and other democratic forces can save the country from the danger of an outright corporate-fascist takeover.
21. There is mounting indication that the Sangh Parivar has expanded its repertoire from mass communal politics to covert terror attacks. The presence of former Army personnel in these Hindutva terror outfits raises the question of penetration and subversion of the country’s institutions by the Sangh. The Sangh’s terrorism differs from other brands of terrorism in its devious political objective; while terror groups generally proclaim their ‘strikes,’ the Sangh’s effort has been to misdirect the responsibility onto the Muslim community. This tactics fosters communal sentiment, providing political dividends to the BJP. The country’s Home Minister first made the irresponsible statement linking terrorism to religion – terms like Islamic terrorism and Hindu terrorism are equally misleading – and then, in complete capitulation, gave a virtual clean chit to the Sangh-BJP, absolving them of any involvement in terrorism. Democratic forces must demand a thoroughgoing probe to reveal the entire saffron terror apparatus including its political linkages. We should also vigorously resist the BJP’s mischievous design to try and turn selective issues of sectarian violence and discord into a generalised communal campaign as witnessed recently in the wake of Kokrajhar violence in Assam and the sinister sms-campaign that followed resulting in an atmosphere of wider communal disharmony and mistrust.
22. The central political task of resisting the corporate-fascist offensive and opposing the Congress and the BJP must be combined with the state-specific political targets and priorities depending on the diverse political situations and conditions obtaining in different states. Majority of the state governments are being run either by the BJP/NDA or Congress/UPA – the two coalitions that remain our main targets nationally. Most state governments run by parties not directly associated with these two coalitions – for example, the TMC in West Bengal, BJD in Odisha, SP in UP or AIADMK in Tamil Nadu – have an equally bad anti-people anti-democratic track record and we must oppose them vigorously.
23. To strengthen mass and class struggles against anti-people pro-corporate pro-imperialist policies and resist social oppression, state repression and communal and feudal/patriarchal forces, it is imperative to promote unity in action with other fighting forces. The formation of the All India Left Coordination has marked an important step forward in this context. The AILC has brought together several Left organisations, including organisations coming out of the CPI(M) following programmatic and tactical debates, on the basis of a shared agenda and common political approach and tactical understanding. While strengthening AILC we must continue to reach out to other Left forces and explore possibilities of political
