Maybe I've just been saturated with Western news media lately but it does feel like the left is becoming increasingly unrecognisable to me. And I've been on the left my whole life. But since when did we become the side that cannot define or protect women's rights? The side that seeks not to limit the role of religion in social life- but indeed to enshrine religion and religious laws as sacrosanct and untouchable even though they lead to inequality and the suffering of women? Since when did we become the side that thinks the court should be a super-legislature that should make laws through decisions even though they are unelected? Since when did we lose touch with the people of the country and faith in electoral democracy? Since when did we start morally equivocating and supporting terrorist organizations and calling the murder of babies "resistance"? India- the country of nonviolent resistance- the thing we perfected that brought us freedom- we think that its okay to kill children and keep hostages and hide behind hospitals as resistance those are our freedom fighters now?
We used to understand these things once? No one in the aftermath of 9/11 argued that the attack was the sole responsibility of the US government even though really it was the US govt that had armed the mujahideen historically. We understood that some things were just morally wrong- war and terrorism being the chief among them! Because we looked at the human cost of both of those things!
We understood that our struggles must be based in material reality- not in imagined identity one subscribes to as easily and thoughtlessly as following someone on twitter. We understood that women face unique challenges based in their sex based oppression. We understood that religion was the opiate of the masters and we did not do any priest or clerics bidding for them.
And we understood the value of democratic decision-making- almost every progressive change in this country- from , hindu code bills, reservations, land reforms, anti dowry laws, anti caste atrocity laws- all came to be through the legislative democratic process. Not through a bunch of priests sitting in New Delhi being our moral betters. We didnt even give that one a shot. We don't even try to do things right.
We don't take principled stances anymore- not for democracy and not even for free speech. We don't actually care about industrial workers or farmers anymore- we just take credit for their work when they do manage to protest but we dont support them day in and day out, we exploit them.
We have completely given up on class as a category, we dont talk about the poor- instead we talk about the kashmiri tribal nonbinary hiv survivor with one leg shorter than the other because we're all about identity now.
We dont see the anti-caste project as one that we should all share- we want to keep savarna scholars from writing on caste cause "appropriating". In fact we dont want savarna people to talk about it at all.. As if this shameful history is not the history of every Indian.
We're even defending possible treason- because hey china needs representation too- the left in India has always been patriotic. The left of Nehru and Gandhi and Ambedkar wouldnt have been okay with this stuff. We are no longer really patriots- were just a tribe who wants to press the advantage anyway they can- doesnt that sound like not much different to the right wing to you?
We're just absorbed in the project of aping the west- getting further and further away from the common man who actually needs a left, and canceling each other over nonsense.
I'm a far way from voting for the right because it is equally abhorrent and no one, not a single person on the right- offers anything better in terms of moral leadership or principled stances or baseline respect for democracy. But how does one not get listless? How does one not feel discomfort in continuing to be on the left when the left has become unrecognisable?
The left (or for that matter the right or centre) has never been a homogenous entity. There is a broad agreement on some principles but beyond that it is a 'big tent' for a range of views. The problem arises when you (or others) imagine that yours (or theirs) is the only view. There is space for everyone. Learn to have respectful disagreements and to respect that others' views even within the same space may not always align with yours.
Commitment to justice for women, sex based rights, opposition to terrorism, the constitution of our country and free speech arent too much to expect from people who will cancel and call you a bigot if you disagree with them. The left is on the verge of total collapse if they do not get their act together.
I'd like to have disagreements and discuss with other leftists- but there is a lot of group think on this stuff- especially from the vocal activists/ lawyers/ politicians. Hence the homelessness. I dont really see anyone disagreeing with party line on any of it.
Fair enough. I think some of it also is age-related; I see a difference in views between people who are older and have seen more of the world, versus younger and more (in their minds) 'radical' (and if you want to use the term, 'woke') leftists. Try and meet a few older people - find reading groups in your city or even online - and you will probably find more welcoming spaces. College forums can be a bit abrasive and feel exclusionary at times because everyone has so much rage.
You've started your journey but if you really think that Nehru, Gandhi and Ambedkar had the same views, you have a long way to go. They fought all the time. You sound like an upper caste mainlander (and I say this with compassion, being one myself). Being on the left isn't about a label. It is about reading and trying to understand why being poor in Kashmir is different from being poor in Bombay or Delhi, and working out how savarnas can amplify and give space to people who deserve caste reparations instead of claiming to care about discrimination while exercising the generational privilege to take up all the space that we inherited from our discriminatory ancestors. To truly be on the left means you value the discomfort as the thing that pushes you to learn more and to work towards a better world.
You’re failing reading comprehension. No one said Gandhi Nehru and Ambedkar has the same views- one did say all of them were fiercely patriotic- do you disagree? . That kind of wilful condescension is typical of the nlu brat who hasn’t been in a trade union meeting in his entire life. As is the gross identitarianism. Identitarianism is not leftist. It’s the thing that breaks class solidarity. It’s a thing that allows the bourgeoisie to claim they are oppressed too. “Mainlander” “Savarna” - what assumptions. What is the mainland if you’re in India ? You’re from Lakshadweep or Andaman Nicobar is it ? And I’m not Savarna. But why would my opinion be less valid if it was ?
I’m happy to learn more and change my mind over time - are you? Being on the left does not mean moral relativism. If you base your values on the identities of the people who told you what to believe instead of a searing unflinching search for the truth - what are those values really?
We don’t elect a higher class or priest’s on the left - that includes Supreme Court judges , activists , trans people, Dalit people , or anyone else. We work together to find the truth.
Your kind of religious thinking would very much make you a bhakt.
Ample stuides exist to show that you migrate from the left to the right in your mid years and after you've experienced the world and what it has to offer.
Maybe there's some sense in it and maybe here's why:
1. Almost everyone on the left, is atheistic or agnostic. Why? It reflects a certain type of mindset. I am not suggesting that not believing in an entity such as god, is in any manner wrong. Simply that it reflects a certain type of mindset. Also, explains why you you are left in your younger years, when you don't "need" god. As responsibility grows, and you need help from an external entity, you start believing in God. To me non-belief in God is the core of political ideology. Because, for e.g., a religious God believing person is likely to believe that the horrors of poverty (as is wealth etc) is not a function of what you do, but rather your karma. And when you view poverty from that lens,one does not see the need to alleviate it, simply because it is somebody's elses karma or gods will for thag person. This is de-hors the fact that the stated position of the left is non belief.
2. The nature of man, as you grow, is to accumulate and leave Something behind for your progeny. Leftists are against accumulation. At the core. It's easy to be on the left when you are 16-30. Not when you have a family, work hard to accumulate something for your progeny and when the left in it's core, seeks to take it all or much of it away.
3. Happiness is a relative concept. Almost everybody gets happy because they have more than somebody else. In your younger years, when you are not driven by such primal emotions, again it's easy to be left. Also because it's not your resource. It's somebody else's (in most cases your parents)- so easy for you to be against accumulation. But by the the time you are on your own, your own self worth in some senses can only be showcased by what you have (more of, than others). Regardless, its indeed ugly to experience happiness on such relativity principles and You could in a sense argue that being left is perhaps then being more close to god. This is indeed one of the greatest dichotomies that exist. Maybe, not too. Since in religion, it is the individual who gives up all. And doesn't expect others to. He lives amongst others who have abundance and still chooses not to make his happiness relative.
P.S: I am probably as right as it gets. Just trying to . And apologies I have no suggestions to give you on how not to feel listless.
We used to understand these things once? No one in the aftermath of 9/11 argued that the attack was the sole responsibility of the US government even though really it was the US govt that had armed the mujahideen historically. We understood that some things were just morally wrong- war and terrorism being the chief among them! Because we looked at the human cost of both of those things!
We understood that our struggles must be based in material reality- not in imagined identity one subscribes to as easily and thoughtlessly as following someone on twitter. We understood that women face unique challenges based in their sex based oppression. We understood that religion was the opiate of the masters and we did not do any priest or clerics bidding for them.
And we understood the value of democratic decision-making- almost every progressive change in this country- from , hindu code bills, reservations, land reforms, anti dowry laws, anti caste atrocity laws- all came to be through the legislative democratic process. Not through a bunch of priests sitting in New Delhi being our moral betters. We didnt even give that one a shot. We don't even try to do things right.
We don't take principled stances anymore- not for democracy and not even for free speech. We don't actually care about industrial workers or farmers anymore- we just take credit for their work when they do manage to protest but we dont support them day in and day out, we exploit them.
We have completely given up on class as a category, we dont talk about the poor- instead we talk about the kashmiri tribal nonbinary hiv survivor with one leg shorter than the other because we're all about identity now.
We dont see the anti-caste project as one that we should all share- we want to keep savarna scholars from writing on caste cause "appropriating". In fact we dont want savarna people to talk about it at all.. As if this shameful history is not the history of every Indian.
We're even defending possible treason- because hey china needs representation too- the left in India has always been patriotic. The left of Nehru and Gandhi and Ambedkar wouldnt have been okay with this stuff. We are no longer really patriots- were just a tribe who wants to press the advantage anyway they can- doesnt that sound like not much different to the right wing to you?
We're just absorbed in the project of aping the west- getting further and further away from the common man who actually needs a left, and canceling each other over nonsense.
I'm a far way from voting for the right because it is equally abhorrent and no one, not a single person on the right- offers anything better in terms of moral leadership or principled stances or baseline respect for democracy. But how does one not get listless? How does one not feel discomfort in continuing to be on the left when the left has become unrecognisable?
I’m happy to learn more and change my mind over time - are you? Being on the left does not mean moral relativism. If you base your values on the identities of the people who told you what to believe instead of a searing unflinching search for the truth - what are those values really?
We don’t elect a higher class or priest’s on the left - that includes Supreme Court judges , activists , trans people, Dalit people , or anyone else. We work together to find the truth.
Your kind of religious thinking would very much make you a bhakt.
Left ≠ Woke
Left ≠ China and North Korea
Left ≠ Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao and Xi Jinping
Left = Ambedkar
Left = Nehru
Left = Gandhi
Left = Tagore
Left = Lincoln
Left = Martin Luther King
Left = Mandela
Left = Amartya Sen
Left = Einstein
Left = Malala
Left = Greta
Maybe there's some sense in it and maybe here's why:
1. Almost everyone on the left, is atheistic or agnostic. Why? It reflects a certain type of mindset. I am not suggesting that not believing in an entity such as god, is in any manner wrong. Simply that it reflects a certain type of mindset. Also, explains why you you are left in your younger years, when you don't "need" god. As responsibility grows, and you need help from an external entity, you start believing in God. To me non-belief in God is the core of political ideology. Because, for e.g., a religious God believing person is likely to believe that the horrors of poverty (as is wealth etc) is not a function of what you do, but rather your karma. And when you view poverty from that lens,one does not see the need to alleviate it, simply because it is somebody's elses karma or gods will for thag person. This is de-hors the fact that the stated position of the left is non belief.
2. The nature of man, as you grow, is to accumulate and leave Something behind for your progeny. Leftists are against accumulation. At the core. It's easy to be on the left when you are 16-30. Not when you have a family, work hard to accumulate something for your progeny and when the left in it's core, seeks to take it all or much of it away.
3. Happiness is a relative concept. Almost everybody gets happy because they have more than somebody else. In your younger years, when you are not driven by such primal emotions, again it's easy to be left. Also because it's not your resource. It's somebody else's (in most cases your parents)- so easy for you to be against accumulation. But by the the time you are on your own, your own self worth in some senses can only be showcased by what you have (more of, than others). Regardless, its indeed ugly to experience happiness on such relativity principles and You could in a sense argue that being left is perhaps then being more close to god. This is indeed one of the greatest dichotomies that exist. Maybe, not too. Since in religion, it is the individual who gives up all. And doesn't expect others to. He lives amongst others who have abundance and still chooses not to make his happiness relative.
P.S: I am probably as right as it gets. Just trying to . And apologies I have no suggestions to give you on how not to feel listless.