135th Birth Anniversary of Muzaffar Ahmad: Left Highlights Need to Resist RSS’s ‘Micro-Social Engineering’

Kolkata: The 135th birth anniversary of 'Kakababu' Muzaffar Ahmad was observed in the state with a variety of programmes held in Kolkata and other districts in the state. In the morning, a programme was organised at Gobra graveyard at the epitaph of Kakababu. Programmes were also held at the Ganashakti premises and at the National Book Agency premises in Salt Lake.

The central event was held in the evening at Kolkata's Mahajati Sadan in a packed auditorium, where the Muzaffar Ahmad Memorial Prize was handed over to this year's recipients. Among them were the Marxist thinker and Professor Vijay Prasad (who was not present in person to receive it) for his book The Political Marx and Dr Jayanta Das was honoured for his book on Darwinism in Bengali.

Need to Widen the Left Movement: Md Salim

Later, speaking at a public rally, CPI(M) West Bengal state secretary Md Salim called for leading the dual fight against the BJP and TMC in the state of West Bengal by assimilating all the non-TMC, non-BJP forces.

In his criticism of the BJP-led central government, he pointed out that Manipur is ablaze, a situation referred to by journalists as the "micro-social engineering" of the RSS stable under crony capitalism. “The threat of micro-social engineering also extends to North Bengal in the state, where the BJP has initiated its programme to divide the Bengalis,” he said.

"The Constitution is being tampered with in the state, and the Modi government, through its policies, has plunged the lives of adivasis, dalits, and minority sections into despair," he added.

Salim highlighted Muzaffar Ahmad's efforts against communalism and underscored that tribal rights over land, water, and forests are being eroded by weakening the Forest Conservation Act. He called for an "amalgam of social and class movements" to combat these issues.

In his speech, he extensively focused on how prominent media houses in the state are striving to stay in the good graces of Mamata Banerjee by avoiding any adversarial coverage about her. He pointed out that this trend is not limited to West Bengal alone but is also prevalent in New Delhi, where the tragic incident in Manipur involving rape went unreported for over two months, “while every newspaper across the country covered Amit Shah's propagandist visits to tribal homes”, according to him.

Projection of a Political Binary

Salim claimed that in West Bengal, the media is making every effort to project a binary narrative aimed at sidelining the leftists from the state's political landscape. “This comes after the anti-TMC, anti-BJP alliance led by CPI(M) secured 21% of the votes in the last Panchayat elections. Suddenly, the media began sowing doubts in the minds of the people regarding the Indian alliance and the role of the Leftists within it,” he said.

“While on the national level, the BJP remains our primary adversary, in the state, both the TMC and BJP are opponents that the left forces will combat. There is absolutely no doubt about this. However, the media in West Bengal is intentionally neglecting to publish crucial details, such as the joint statement from the Bangalore meeting. Instead, they are attempting to portray that the Left will not oppose the TMC in West Bengal. These kinds of malicious campaigns are being orchestrated by the media to bolster the binary narrative in the state, ensuring that the BJP and TMC gain an advantage,” alleged Salim.

Top of FormCPI (M) leader Surjya Kanta Mishra stated that under the BJP/RSS's so-called Hindutva project, the country's economic and political sovereignty is being compromised. He called for the assimilation of all secular forces under one roof to combat this. He also urged people to emulate the life of Kakababu and engage in ideological struggles both within and outside the party.

Mishra emphasised that in this era of post-truth, where hegemonic rulers are persisting with their plunder, efforts are being made to erase the nation's history from people's memories. Hence, our media units need to consistently highlight the accurate history to help people comprehend this malicious agenda.

During his speech, Left Front Chairman Biman Basu, who presided over the event, traced the life of Kakababu Muzaffar Ahmad and his contributions to shaping a communist movement in the subcontinent. He highlighted Ahmad's pivotal role in establishing the first communist printing press to publish the party's mouthpiece during the challenging times of British imperialist rule. These are aspects that deserve recognition, he emphasised in his speech.