Fascism in the 21st Century

Harsh Thakor

The five-day-long International Arvind Memorial Seminar, conducted by the Arvind Institute of Marxist Studies on ‘Fascism in the Twenty-First Century: Elements of Continuity and Change and the Question of the Contemporary Proletarian Strategy held at the Sundarayya Vignana Kendram, at Bagh Lingampally, Hyderabad, examined the various aspects and features of fascism with the ultimate objective of formulating an effective strategy to confront it.

On the first day of the seminar, a paper was presented by Marxist theorist and editor of a workers’ newspaper ‘Mazdoor Bigul‘, Abhinav Sinha, titled ‘Fascism in the Twenty-first Century: Elements of Continuity and Change.’

Eminent Supreme Court lawyer Colin Gonsalves gave the keynote on the second day of the seminar. He said that the country has been witnessing a steady deterioration e in the Indian judiciary over safeguarding people’s rights, which peaked during the Modi-Amit Shah-led BJP regime. He placed blame on the capitalist system squarely for the destruction of life and livelihood in the country, he added.

On the same day, a paper written by Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Red Star leader PJ James was presented, titled” On Global Neo-fascism including RSS Fascism in India and the Anti-Fascist Task.’

In the second session of the day, a Hyderabad-based political activist Anand Singh presented his paper titled ‘The Rise of Fascism in India: Origin, Evolution and Present Stage and the Question of Proletarian Strategy of Resistance.’

Anand critiqued those who ignored fascist tendencies in India simply because concentration camps and holocausts had not emerged. History does not repeat itself identically; but its motion is spiral, not circular. Therefore, locating a phenomenon requires focusing on its essential defining features rather than searching for exact historical parallels.

The paper explored the development of Hindutva fascist ideology and how revivalist currents within Indian nationalism contributed to its foundation.

The third day of the seminar featured a paper presentation and discussion on ‘Marxist Historiography of Fascism: A Critical Reassessment’ by Shivani Kaul, president of Delhi state Anganwadi workers and
helpers’ union.

In her presentation, Shivani Kaul addressed the imperative task to theoretically diagnose the phenomenon of fascism, to scientifically evaluate the link between the existing politico-economic conditions and historical situation to combat it.

The third day of the event also featured the paper presentation by Nicolai Messerschmidt on ‘Post-colonial Fascism: An Analysis of Hindu Nationalism through Critical and Postcolonial Theory’.

The research paper analysed how fascism’s appeal to the masses originated in social alienation, authoritarian personalities, and mass psychology. It drew parallels between the rise of fascism in 20th-century Europe and the contemporary political climate.

The fourth day featured the paper presentation by Delhi-based activist Sunny Singh, titled ‘Understanding of Fascism and the Strategies for its Resistance within the Indian Communist Movement: A Critical Analysis’. Sunny expressed that, at a time when the menace of fascism is leading to, formulating a correct diagnosis of it becomes imperative for formulating an effective strategy of resistance.

Jiselle Hannah, the secretary of Australia Asia Worker Links (AAWL) presented her paper on the topic ‘The Rise of the alt-right in Australia and How We’re Fighting Back’. In detailed fashion an in-depth analysis of the socio-political conditions enabling the growth of far-right movements.

Jiselle noted that fascism tends to rise during periods of economic crisis. Currently, Australia is experiencing economic instability marked by rising unemployment, falling wages, and soaring prices.

In such conditions, the far-right, racism, and xenophobia are escalating through organisations like the United Patriots Front, which propagate anti-immigrant sentiments and Islamophobia

Day four also saw a discussion critiquing the Indian Marxian economist Prabhat Patnaik.

 KG Ramachandar of CPII (Massline) was one of the very few in the ML movement to recognise that Fascism is not any type of far-right reaction but a specific type of reactionary social movement of the petty-bourgeoisie.

The final day of the seventh edition of the International Arvind Memorial Seminar in Hyderabad witnessed a prolonged debate on the characterisation of Fascism in India. The day was featured by the participation of a New York-based political activist Eric Schmidt. He said that Donald Trump is a product of the capitalist crisis, as he gave a presentation on the Trump phenomenon. In his view, Trump manifests a quasi-fascist reaction in the US which is an outcome of the crisis of capitalism.

The research paper titled ‘Fascism in Our Times and the Front of Art and Literature: Some Important Inquiries,’ was presented by Revolutionary Hindi poet and political activist Katyayani. The paper summarised on how fascism monopolised art and literature in their favour and the cultural strategy of Hindutva forces.

In its concluding sessions, two papers were presented in the afternoon session; “Exploring the politics of performance through the ‘Social drama’ and ‘aesthetic drama’ by a Kolkata-based researcher Dishari Chakraborty and “Resurgence of Fascist ideologies in the 21st century: analysing the impact of state aggression and human rights in the middle east by Adil Kadavath, a student from Kerala.

While recognising the laudable efforts of the organisers in stirring a debate imperative to save the future of mankind on the verge of peril, and initiating a wide spectrum of viewpoints to invite rational debates, which is complementary, the seminar had important weaknesses. It negated factors of agrarian unrest and revolution, completely deriding the farmer’s movement of MSP. It also made an erroneous analysis of the Indian bourgeoisie by awarding it bargaining power and giving no recognition to the existence of the national bourgeoisie and a progressive section of the peasantry. The seminar gave no scope to those linking anti-feudal struggle with fascism. The question of Brahmanical caste oppression or the link of caste with fascism was untouched.

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 31, Jan 26 - Feb 1, 2025