Dear Editor,
The article titled ‘On the occasion of Independence Day, 2020’ has very neatly pointed out all the reasons why there is nothing to celebrate about Independence Day. It has compelled me to critically analyse what has been fed to me as truth throughout my life.
The inspiring Ghadar of 1857 articulated that the people have to become the masters of Hindustan.
But the reality is exceptionally contrasting where beyond not having decision making power in our hands, we also cannot express anything critical of the State without being called a “terrorist” or “anti- national”.
Bhagat Singh was also called a terrorist during British Raj, so how is the situation any different now!
The ideas promoted by the BJP appear to be very different from the ideas promoted by the Congress Party. They are called different names but ultimately their actions prove they are two sides of the same coin. Their sole purpose is aimed at deceiving the people and enriching the capitalists, headed by the Tatas, Ambanis, Birlas and other monopoly houses.
Public sector that is built with the blood and sweat of the working class is being shamelessly privatised.
It is untenable that the workers and peasants who produce the wealth of India continue to remain among the poorest in the world.
Divide and rule has remained the preferred weapon of successive governments in post-colonial India. Communal violence and communal hatred is systematically organised to ensure we remain divided to continue their rule. We need to make a clean break with the colonial legacy of defining the Indian people as consisting of a “Hindu majority” and various religious minorities.
There is a blatant violation of all human rights that our martyrs fought for. They sacrificed their lives fighting for a better future which has been denied to the majority.
If we want India to emerge as a modern democratic country free of the baggage of its colonial past, then we need to reorient the economic system.
We need to reject all variants of bourgeois ideology, aimed at perpetuating the loot of our labour and resources by native and foreign exploiters.
We need a system that guarantees the protection of all democratic and human rights and that they cannot violated under any pretext.
We need to establish a system where the wealth produced by our workers and peasants can be used to uplift the living conditions of the entire population
CGPI has reminded us that this new economic system needs to be built and the unfinished task of the Ghadris awaits us.
Yours sincerely,
Muskaan, Mumbai