V B Ganesan
SINCE assuming office as the governor of Tamil Nadu, the incumbent R N Ravi has been indulging in provoking and insulting the people of the state through his comments that are denigrating the cultural ethos of the state. Additionally, he has been promoting obscurantist right-wing ideology and attacking social justice, while showing disregard for constitutional conventions. These actions have irked the people of Tamil Nadu, who believe that his actions are intended to divert attention from the onslaughts on the federal system by the RSS-BJP-ruled centre.
On February 21, during the launch of the Tamil translation of Deendayal Upadhyaya's works, the governor made comments calling for liberating India's intellectual space from the control of colonial minds and pseudo-intellectuals. He expressed that the country is being divided by western ideas and ideologies, particularly by four western schools of thought surrounding theology, Darwinian theory, Karl Marx's theory of class, and Rousseau's Social Contract theory. He further remarked that Marx said that the British should destroy India's social order because a society that worships cows and monkeys has no business surviving.
The CPI(M) Tamil Nadu state committee has strongly condemned the governor's comments on Marx's views on India, describing them as distorting and ignorant. The Party has given a call for demonstrations with black flags wherever the governor travels within the state until he withdraws his comments. During the governor's visit to the Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram, Party activists from Cuddalore district demonstrated with black flags in front of the governor and were subsequently arrested.
On February 25, the three district committees of the CPI(M) in Chennai organised a black flag demonstration in front of Raj Bhavan. This was attended by a large gathering of Party cadres, including its Polit Bureau member G Ramakrishnan and state secretary K Balakrishnan. Addressing the demonstration, K Balakrishnan pointed out the governor's utter disregard for India's secular, socialist, and democratic constitution. He said that as Marxists, the Party welcomes criticism, discussion, and debate on issues concerning people, but the governor's views reflect adherence to RSS ideology, where there is no space for dissent. He urged the governor to debate which factor has done more damage to India: the varna system of society or Marxism, and expressed readiness to take up the debate in front of Raj Bhavan. He further said that without human labour, this earth would have remained a cluster of rocks. Labour is the creator of everything on this earth. That is what Marx taught humankind. He also taught about exploitation and ways to stop and change the social structures that perpetuate such exploitation. “We will be sending a small booklet primarily written to introduce Marx to children, to the Governor, and we invite him to read it,” said Balakrishnan.
The governor, in his speech, twisted the description Marx gave of the Indian society prevalent before the advent of British colonialism. Balakrishnan stated that the governor may not be aware that Marx was voted as the greatest thinker of the millennium. Until he withdraws his comments on Marx, Party cadre will demonstrate before him wherever he goes in the state, holding a red flag in one hand and a black flag in the other hand, he reiterated.
Polit Bureau member G Ramakrishnan stated that from the governor's speech, it is clear that he has failed to understand both the theory of evolution and the theory of Marxism. The governor is echoing RSS ideology from the ramparts of Raj Bhavan. The CPI(M) will continue to oppose him until he apologises for his false comments on Marx.
R Velmurugan, G Selva, and L Sundararajan, the district secretaries of South, Central, and North Chennai district committees, also spoke on this occasion.
