Letters

Racist Attacks
The communally motivated protests and attacks on Sinhalese pilgrims, who are ordinary people, comprise a despicable act of racism. Such petty minded activities will in no way help the Sri Lankan Tamils. The New-Democratic Marxist-Leninist Party very strongly condemns such perverse racialist protests and attacks conducted in the name of acts of national sentiment. The Party urges that such activities which could justify chauvinist violence and provoke communal violence in Sri Lanka should be stopped.

It is well known that Sinhala chauvinist oppression continues in Sri Lanka and that President Mahinda Rajapakse leads it. It is the moral duty of the people of Tamilnadu not only to support and console the Tamil people who are subjected to racial oppression but also to urge a just political solution. Such support of the people of Tamilnadu for the Sri Lankan Tamils is being abused by some so-called "Tamil sentimentalists" and parties of the "Dravidian movement" in their self interest and to serve their narrow purposes. It is on their basis of understanding that protests were made against Sinhalese student sportsmen and attacks were launched against passengers who went on a pilgrimage. These are parochial acts of racism by Tamil racist activists who cannot see the difference between chauvinist oppressors and ordinary Sinhalese people. Such activities should be stopped forthwith.
S K Senthivel,
General Secretary, NDMLP

Disappeared
On 31 December, 2009, Rakhahari Ruidas and his wife Kajal Ruidas (nee Pramanik), residents of the village of Barkola of the Khairasole thana area of Birbhum District, West Bengal , were arrested from their residence on charge of being associated with "Maoist sabotaging activities" in the district of East Singbhum. Next day, they were produced at Dubrajpur lower court, and then taken away, reported to be produced at the Ghatshila sub-divisional court. But since then, no trace of the couple has been found, and it is not known if they are alive. Rakhahari's ailing, bed-ridden father is apprehensive that he will not see his son again. The officers of the Khairasole police station and the employees of the Dubrajpur court have been repeatedly asked about the matter, but they have only pleaded ignorance . Finally, the mother of the accused, with the help of the Bandi Mukti Committee, Birbhum has submitted a written request to the District Superintendent of Police, Birbhum. But nothing concrete has so far turned out.
Anirban Biswas, Birbhum

Over Population
It’s a welcome coincidence that Ram Puniyani’s article ‘‘Bangaladeshi Question Returns’’ and my article ‘‘Of Religions and Left’’ appeared in the same issue (Vol 45 No 7, August 26-September 1, 2012). The two should be read one after the other.

Puniyani has rightly pointed out that political groups and parties like the BJP and Shiv Sena are misusing the religious, ethnic, language and regional divides for their own narrow purpose. But these divides, unfortunately, do exist, and they cannot be wished away. If the Assamese and Bodos see that their land and job chances are being occupied by "foreigners" of one sort or another, then it is understandable. The non-Marathis who migrate to cities in Maharashtra to take up some job there are citizens of India, but they are still regarded in Maharashtra as "forigners".

Puniyani has rightly stated that the real problem has been the pressure on land and jobs due to the natural rise in population. But, unfortunately, he then considers lack of development and lopsided development to be "the basic issue". Well no amount of development - not even balanced development as opposed to lopsided development - can solve this problem as long as every year 18 million people are added to India's present unbearably high population of 1.2 billion. Moreover, there are limits to development arising from limited and dwindling availability of resources and limited capacity of nature to absorb/neutralize man-made pollution.

The basic issue is overpopulation. The distribution issue comes next. This view may be a red rag to all Marxists and most leftists. But it is not good for anybody to deny facts. Materialist thinking, not wishful thinking, is needed. Even in a future world socialist society, per capita availability of material resources would be the most crucial factor in ensuring peace.

About twenty years ago, Frontier published an article of mine on the overpopulation question. The arguments presented there are still valid. For details readers can click : http://eco-socialist.blogspot.de/2012/08/polemics-is-useless-proposal-for-eco.html
Saral Sarkar, Cologne, Germany

Frontier
Vol. 45, No. 10, Sep 16 -22 2012