PRAGOTI

Thanks Rohit for putting this up. As you may be aware, I was also sent this to sign but after thinking about it for some time, I decided not to till some of my doubts were answered.

When I first read Prasenjit's resignation letter here on Pragoti, I was in broad agreement with its political positions of asking for a more robust independent left politics and of supporting greater democratisation of the communist organisation, etc even though I did not agree with a few of his political arguments and did not find him going far enough in his critique. In as much as the actions and statements of JNU-SFI conform to that, my positions are similar.

However, the more I see the JNU-SFI in action, the more I am puzzled.

1. The first thing which I am not clear about is whether those who were expelled from SFI and against whom this dissolution of the unit is targeted, are keen to rejoin SFI? If yes, then why did they resign from the membership of the CPI(M)? If they are not interested in rejoining SFI then why this appeal?

I want a political answer to this, not a formal, legalistic one which plays on the supposed independence of the SFI from the CPI(M) which is what I have seen till now. If that is what you (JNU-SFI) actually believe then I really have nothing to say!

2. I also am uncertain about the efficacy of getting signatures from people who are no longer with the SFI (and perhaps neither with CPI(M)). This will not strengthen the case for the appeal, rather make the party more determined to keep these people out. The only way this makes sense is if it is part of a larger effort to build an alternative political (and organisational) space. I may be over-reaching here, getting ahead of events / thinking, but if that is so, where is the positive agenda for bringing people around; why this effete appeal to go back to an organisation which you all have deliberately, and publicly, left? It makes no sense really, whether politically or organisationally?

3. Why is this appeal restricted to only former JNU students who were members / sympathisers of SFI on campus? Surely you don't see this as a JNU only issue? An appeal to the all India SFI leadership should be soliciting support from people all over. What is the politics of restricting this to a fairly random criteria which is based largely on the privilege and luck of having studied in JNU?

In short, in the one month since Prasenjit resigned from the CPI(M) followed by many of you, I have not been able to understand the politics of it all? What are you guys planning to do: return to the CPI(M) or mark out your own (new) path? If its the former, then all I can say is that you are being delusional. If its the latter, then I need to see something of an organisational plan and a political programme before I sign on. What is worse, when I see seasoned political activists indulge in shadow-boxing of this sort, it somehow makes me feel that despite all the changes, perhaps nothing's changed at all....