Kerala violence: Ideological war with blood on everyone's hands

The latest incident of political violence came in the form of a brutal murder of an RSS worker in Kerala.

In the latest war of words between Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on one side and the Left parties on the other, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley blamed the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala for the political violence in the state, and accused it of using its workers to eliminate rival party workers.

The allegations came following the brutal killing of an RSS worker Rajesh Edavakode, in Kerala, allegedly by cadres of the Left party.

On the other hand, in a statement issued earlier, the CPI (M), took on the saffron party, as it said, "The BJP leadership is indulging in doublespeak on the clashes between CPI-M and BJP-RSS workers in Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala."

The alleged double speak was elaborated on by CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury as he said, "Thirteen people were murdered by the RSS. It is a part and parcel of their planned strategy to expand their social base through creating terror and violence. "

While such allegations could be seen as a game of politics alone, the data for the state shows the violence and killings are very real. According to it, 160 political murders have taken place in Kerala since the turn of the century. These include the killings of 85 CPM workers, 65 RSS or BJP workers and 11 workers of the Congress-IUML,

With ideology at the heart of it, violence not restricted to Kerala

Though the latest episode of political violence is located in Kerala, such incidents and allegations have been seen for some time now. Especially in states considered the Left's bastion such as Kerala, West Bengal, among others in the North-East part of the country.

While the fight may seem to be just a tussle between political opponents such as the BJP, various Communist parties, Trinamool Congress, or the Congress, at its root lies a much bigger conflict. It is a fight between political ideologies of the Right and the Left.

This is the reason that it won't stop simply at accusations alone. It is going to be violent, and increasingly so, as it is taking place where the political parties on the Left have dominated in such a way that all opponents so far have been on the same side of the ideological divide.

For example, in the state of Kerala, the two major groups that have dominated the political scene are led by the Communist parties and the other by the Congress, both deeply Left in their policies. This is similar to the other bastion of the group, West Bengal, where after over a three-decade rule of the communist parties, the TMC replaced them by what can be best described as having 'outlefting' the left.

BJP's rise has added fuel to fire

Under such conditions, it would seem that the BJP or RSS may be the sole instigators behind such incidents to find a footing in these states. But if reports of political violence are looked at, especially in Kerala, it is revealed that they have been equal victims too.

Such a fact should hardly be surprising. As the fight between ideological opponents might have started with the rise of the BJP at the centre under the first NDA regime, political violence in states such as Bengal and Kerala is hardly new.

A look at the history of these states, from the Naxalbari rising five decades ago, to violent struggles between parties on the same side of political ideologies, among others, would throw enough light on such incidents.

And when violence was a mode of suppressing an opposition, which existed only in the name of the party and not ideology, the fact that it is inflicted on a political entity with a different set of principles even more brutally should hardly be shocking.

As can be seen to be behind reports of increasing violence against opponents, from attacks on party workers or their offices to the dastardly act of slaughtering a calf in broad daylight in front of cameras just to get the limelight.

To think such actions are being committed without a moment's thought to the severe violence that they inflict show the normalisation of similar acts in order to make political points.

Yet, by doing this they are slowly playing into the hands of the BJP and the RSS, as such violence and murders don't only give them visibility in these states along with the rest of the country, but also an opportunity to be seen as an alternative.

BJP and RSS have blood on their hands too

With the rise of the BJP on the national stage, the pendulum in the political arena has clearly shifted to the Right. The BJP has come a long way from being a party which was hardly taken seriously, to a stage when it is in power in 18 states, 13 of them on its own, and earned a dominant victory in the 2014 general elections.

Like any group which has momentum on its side, they have no plans of being content and stopping with what they have.

This includes creating a space for itself in states where it has none and to attempt at making its political ideology at least tolerable to the people of states which have been given no options of alternatives, by using tools of not only politics but literature, school education etc., as well.

Such a scenario and sudden rise usually bring with them an aggression, and this has led to the reality of its workers along with those of the RSS being involved in violent acts against others.

The lack of patience stems from not only the violent opposition that they face but also the long time that an alternative political philosophy took to even become a part of the conversation.

With the RSS, widely regarded as the parent organisation of the BJP, in no mood to show patience in states where it has opponents as culturally and ideologically different to its beliefs as possible.

On top of all this, though elections for state assemblies are far away in these states, with those for Lok Sabha to be held in 2019, and the BJP is trying to get a standing in these states. And with the Left trying to deny it, it is almost certain that the current reports of killings and the violence seen so far, will not abate any time soon and the war of words between ideological and political opponents will continue.

OneIndia News