Unite Against Forces of Chauvinism, Communalism and Hate !!

Expose UPA’s Divisive Politics! Defend All Peoples’ Right For Education and Employment With Dignity !!

A couple of days back, the Congress government of Maharashtra took a highly dangerous and divisive decision that taxi permits in the state will only be given to  individuals who have resided in the state for 15 years and who are able to demonstrate competence in speaking, reading and writing Marathi. Though they have subsequently tried to partially backtrack, this step reeks of precisely the language that is commonly associated with fundamentalist and chauvinist forces like the MNS and Shiv Sena.

This is not the first time that migrants in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra – taxi drivers, factory workers and vendors eking out a living – have been the targets of attack by fundamentalist forces like the MNS and Shiv Sena. In fact, many of the MNS’s goons had bashed up migrant workers to drive home their point about the Marathi Manoos before the Assembly elections. Throughout MNS’s repeated violent attacks on migrants, and their hate campaign, the Congress not only gave MNS goons and leaders a free hand, it actually played the same game of chauvinism. For every MNS-led agitation against outsiders taking the railway recruitment board exams, there has been a Congress echo in the form of ‘reservation of jobs for locals’. For every Sena ‘Shiv’ pav vada, there has been the Congress’s ‘kaande pohe’. And now it is no surprise that the Congress government is singing the same tune against the taxi drivers with the hope to outsmart MNS-Shiv Sena in the upcoming Mumbai civic polls.

This decision taken by the Maharashtra Cabinet is completely undemocratic and violative of the Constitution. It is completely violative of the fundamental Right to Freedom which is a part of the Indian Constitution which allows citizens of India to freely move throughout the territory of India, to reside and settle in any part of the country, and gives the freedom to practice any profession or occupation.

Through such actions, the Congress has once again exposed its rank opportunism as well as its readiness to provide opportunities for forces like the MNS and Shiv Sena to expand and incite people with their hateful propaganda. Now, with this latest offensive, the floor has been opened for the MNS, with Raj Thackeray proclaiming that “Maharashtra is not a dharmashala for North Indians” and threatening that if taxi licenses are not allocated to Marathi youths alone, his  organization would go on a rampage and not allow taxis to ply.

What we see here is what has been seen many times before: how the  Congress for their own opportunism and short term gain time and again works to fertilize the field of hate, communalism and chauvinism whose benefits are eventually reaped by the declaredly fundamentalist forces of the Sangh-Sena brigade. Let us not forget:

• It was Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress government that opened the lock of the Babri Masjid which allowed the saffron brigade to demolish the mosque and plunge the country into a bloody communal frenzy for almost a decade.
• For almost two decades, Indira Gandhi-led Congress played the soft Hindutva card which earned her the accolade of ‘Devi Durga’ from no less than Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In the elections following Mrs. Gandhi’s death and the bloody anti-Sikh riots, it is the RSS which came out in open support of the Congress with the RSS chief proclaiming before the elections in 1984 that there is no alternative to the Congress.
• Even earlier, in the early 60s, it was no less than Nehru who invited and allowed the RSS to participate in the Republic Day Parade, lending a false legitimacy to the RSS as a ‘cultural’ organization, even while it was openly indicted for Gandhiji’s murder.

The Congress’s recent act in Maharashtra has to be seen in the continuity of its shameful history of pandering to and cajoling these chauvinist and communal forces.

The neo-liberal policies of the last two decades have spawned massive unemployment and increasing joblessness. The UPA’s policies are intensifying this process with every passing day. Be it the Shiv Sena-MNS or the Congress, the ruling class forces have chosen the convenient shortcut of pitting the unemployed youth in different states against in a bid to deflect their insecurity and anger in the face of joblessness and unemployment. It is only through such devious methods of division and hate that the ruling parties are clouding the face of the real enemy and trying to escape the wrath of the people against anti-poor policies.

It is high time the democratic sections of the country resist the forces of open chauvinism of the saffron brigade and expose the outright hypocrisy and the ‘human mask’ of the Congress. The real questions of accessible quality education, of dignified jobs and employment, must be the central agenda of the student and youth struggle today. The forces that are trying to divide a mass united movement of the student, youth and the working people against neo-liberal assaults must be given a fitting rebuff.