Cambridge, Oct. 24: In a candid overview of the state of the Left parties in India, the CPI(M) general secretary, Mr Prakash Karat, has said that the Leftist forces, who were still “banking on the concepts and theories of the 1940s” needed to understand the sweeping changes being witnessed by the nation.
In one of the key presentations at the ‘Lessons of Empire’ conference at the University of Cambridge in memory of the noted Marxist historian Victor Kiernan, Mr Karat admitted that Left parties were “deficient” in theory and needed to study and understand the new developments sweeping India.
Recounting the genesis and history of India’s Left, Mr Karat recalled that Kiernan would often criticise the party leaders and cadre, some of whom he called the “cafe-going intellectuals,” for indulging in political gossip.
Mr Karat said: “We feel the acute need of theorising to understand the new developments. We need to study the big challenge posed by neo-liberal capitalism.”
This he said was leading to unequal development. “Its focus of exploitation is similar to primitive forms of exploitation”.
This study was more important because the Left, he said, was the only force in Indian politics that had alternative policies.