Political compulsions might compel India’s Marxists to rewrite their ideology. In a possible historic deviation, CPI(M) leaders are considering whether to embrace religion, which they once termed the “opium of the masses”.
It is now being debated in CPI(M) circles that “religion should not be untouchable given the party’s poor presence and performance in states where religion plays a major role”. Some top ideologues, including former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattcharjee, feel the CPI(M) should be more “liberal” in the current political scenario as it is going through “its worst phase ever” They want religion included in the new “party thesis”, being drawn up by politburo member Sitaram Yechury, to be placed before the 20th party congress to be held in Kerala next year.
In Kerala, a prominent Catholic Communist, former MP K.S. Manoj, walked out of the CPI(M) in protest over a diktat to refrain from taking part in religious rituals. This was soon after three-time MP A.P. Abdullakutty was censured and expelled for joining religious programmes. In West Bengal, the late Subhas Chakrab-orty was often chided and censured for praying at a Kali temple. The Marxists tried to ridicule him, saying he was a “Hindu and a brahmin, besides being a Communist”. Chakraborty defended himself saying the party’s growth was “stunted” as it didn’t imbibe Indian values, “which are fundamentally religious”.
While silent in public, in private some Bengal leaders like Abdur Rezzak Mollah admit a key reason for the CPI(M)’s “diminishing popularity among minorities” is its decision to keep religion out.