CPI(M) on religious faith

Both the articles below are filed by "Special Correspondent". This correspondent could be a low-level reporter, or the editor or, more likely, a CPI(M) spokesperson. These reports follow a standard template. The first report giving Pinarayi's views does not give out the context clearly. It is not clear what was the issue that prompted Manoj's resignation. From this report it appears as if Manoj decided all of a sudden without any provocation that CPM was against his faith, Christianity. In fact, chindu, which reports on every little happening within the party, did not carry an article even in the Kerala news section about Manoj's resignation. We are forced to deduce this news from Pinarayi's press release. I had to search for this news on google to find out the background of this issue. In other words, there is a complete blackout in chindu of information which is not in CPM's interests.

The rectification document says that CPM party members should not take part in religious ceremonies. CPM was seeing its party base being eroded by Congress and PDP. So it decided to woo the religious communities and in this effort drafted Manoj into the party. With Manoj resigning citing religious grounds, it does send out a strong signal to the voters. So Karat comes in to do the damage control.

Karat comes out with an explanation in People's Democracy which is routinely copied in chindu. Interestingly, I can't find the Karat's article or the rectification and religion document on http://pd.cpim.org site. Karat says that CPI(M) intends to separate religion and state. Good. But the fundamental question still remains: can CPI(M) cadre attend religious ceremonies? The answer according to Karat's clarification is NO. You may practise your faith privately but CPI(M) party diktat says, don't display it in the public and don't attend any religious ceremonies. If only this message is sent across loud and clear to all the muslims and christians in Kerala. Don't bother about West Bengal, it is a lost bastion for the marxists.

The Hindu : Front Page : CPI(M) not against religion: Pinarayi

Mr. Vijayan said the party was not against religious faith and that this was something that Mr. Manoj knew well when he had agreed to be the party candidate. His sudden revelation that the CPI(M) was against religious faith was incomprehensible. Once he got elected to Parliament, he had settled down in Delhi instead of being in his constituency and it was for him to explain what had happened after that.

The Hindu : National : Karat: religious faith no bar for joining CPI(M)

Mr. Karat referred to the announcement by the former party MP, K.S. Manoj, that he was quitting the party since its rectification document directed CPI(M) members not to take part in religious ceremonies and as a firm believer, it went against his faith.

Hindu's Erroneous Take on the American Right

Friday's editorial in the Hindu on Barack Obama says:

Mr. Obama then fell into a rhetorical trap while speaking about white working class voters, a block whose support will be crucial in the tests ahead. In his essentially accurate yet insensitively expressed view, these voters “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them” in order to overcome the bitterness wrought by their economic conditions.

Read Paul Krugman's column in the New York Times for a convincing refutation of this thesis. Krugman is no right-wing zealot. In fact, many of his economic ideas are the staple of leftist thought. The Hindu has published columns making the same claim before. In fact, the notion that economic woes are at the root of all political sentiment is the cornerstone of Marxist dogma. Compelling as it is, Krugman provides evidence that at least as applied in this manner, the view is simplistic and plainly erroneous.