Why is the ‘Left’ Silent on India-China Sikkim Standoff ?

Truth v/s Hype
Jul 27, 2017 · 3 min read

The CPI(M) has indefinitely been silent on India-China Doklam standoff. What does this quietness symbolize?

Sitaram Yechury greeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing (Oct 2015)

When Prime Minister Modi reached Tel Aviv earlier this month, CPI (M) emphatically criticized the government for the changing dynamics of India-Israel relationship. The press release by the politburo of the CPI(M) had demanded a full stop to all military and security co-operations between the two countries.

These strong words were powered by Modi’s unwillingness to address Israeli occupation of Palestinian regions. The differences on this foreign policy front can be discussed on a different turf, but CPI(M) being silent after over a month of Doklam standoff explains a lot about it’s relationship with Communist Party of China.

The party and its Politburo has not only failed to support India’s response, but has also given out statements complimenting that of Communist Party of China and the its mouthpiece Global Times.

CPI-M told the Modi government to let Bhutan handle the border incursions and that the scenario “has assumed more serious proportions… because of the deterioration in the overall relations” between India and China.

Moreover, the editorial of the People’s Democracy (CPI-M Journal) blamed India’s foreign policy that’s seeing a dramatic shift towards US, mainly under the current dispensation. It claimed that the growing strategic ties with US is the primary reason for the country’s deteriorating relations with China.

The editorial said, “The Modi government must realise that there is no alternative to settling the recurring disagreements on the border except through negotiations.”

“Within the country, the Modi government has increased the profile of the Dalai Lama and the so-called Tibetan provisional government (which) are serious irritants for China.”

Such extraordinary reiteration of what resembles China’s own stand raises serious questions on the party’s stance on national security. The stand-off at the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction is showing no signs of ending.

The unconditional support of CPI (M) to China’s ‘angle of the incidents’ shall not come as a surprise or appear striking. The history between the two goes further back to the 1962 war of the giant neighbors.

It was then that the country realised the ‘ideological dilemma’ of the communist supporters of the Marxist party.

It’s Time for the Left in India to Start Reading China Right

In an article (under the above title) carried by The Wire, Arun Mohan Sukumar explains what happened in 1962.

He says, “In its analysis of the 1962 war, for example, the CPI(M) refused to lay the blame on China alone. Its leading luminary at the time, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, would write:

We are not prepared to become blind to the reality that it was the class policy of the […] ruling classes of our country that made them allies of the Tibetan counter-revolutionaries, thus initiating the process of deterioration in the India-China relations. We were and are not prepared to give up our view that the responsibility for the Chinese offensive of October, 1962, should be shared also by the Indian ruling classes who adopted a very provocative attitude in the weeks preceeding [sic] the Chinese onslaught.”

Arun wrote that ‘the Indian Left can scarcely afford silence’ and that its time they also looked at China as a hegemony as they look at the United States.

“The CPI(M) cannot remain silent as China seeks to unilaterally re-wire multilateral rules and norms for Asia and beyond.”

Yes it cannot! The prevailing conflict between India and China have a far reaching impact on relations of both the countries and if the left thinks that supporting China can do it any good, then the people need not have a ‘Marxist’ party that would jeopardize national security over ideological alliance.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade