Vol. 7, Issue : 9
September 2015
Again at the Game of Divide and Rule
The ruling classes and their political
representatives are again playing game of divide
and rule. They have learnt this nefarious tactics
from the British colonial rulers. Since then they
perfected the application of these tactics with the
sole aim of weakening the united strength of the
people and to divert them from the path of struggle
for the resolution of their basic problems.
They are employing the religious, caste,
regional and linguistic diversities existed among the
people to divide the people. The British rulers
played this game by sowing dissensions between
Hindu and Muslim communities, which led to the
partition of South Asia into India and Pakistan. This
enabled the imperialist powers to continue their
stranglehold on the sub continent.
The caste system in India is inextricably linked
with feudal relations and caste oppression and
discrimination, in its most suppressive form
untouchability - still continues as Indian society
remained as semi feudal.
While adopting the constitution of India, the
reservations in educational institution and jobs in
public sector was provided for the most down
trodden sections of the society-the scheduled caste
and scheduled tribes. The aim of this policy is to
uplift SC & ST from the backwardness to which they
have been condemned for generations. This had
led to the demand and later it was met through the
provision of reservation to OBCs.
The development strategy followed by the
Indian ruling classes has not brought any
perceivable development in the lives of the people.
As the semi feudal nature of the society is preserved
and as the imperialist plunder continues to suck
the life blood of the country, not a single basic
problem faced by the people got resolved.
Unemployment is such a problem that haunts the
youth. The unrest and discontent is often leading
to agitations.
This discontent among the youth is being
utilized by the ruling classes and parties for their
political gains as well as to divert the attention of
the youth from the real causes of the problem by
making target their ire at reservations by dividing 2
them on caste lines.
We have seen a decade back in AP an
agitation demanding categorization SC quata so
that sub-castes among SCs would have rightful
share in the reservations. Though every ruling class
party approved the demand it did not fructify.
Meanwhile the ruling classes were able to divide
the two major castes among SCs and for years
together antagonism persisted between them. For
some years the Jats, an upper caste are demanding
their inclusion into OBC list. The government
decision to this effect were overturned by the
Supreme Court. Meanwhile the society in Rajasthan
got polarized on caste lines. There are scores of
examples all over India in which the ruling classes
have played one caste against another.
One should see the agitation of Patels for
inclusion into OBC list in this background.
The prosperous and politically influential Patel
communities-or Patidars, as they called-are on the
path of agitation. The three month old agitation led
Organ of the Central Committee of CPI(ML)