Identity politics sparks off ideological debate

KOZHIKODE: Giving a rude jolt to the proponents of Identity Politics like K E N Kunhahammed, CPM state secretariat member M V Govindan has come out with a hard-hitting article in the Wednesday’s issue of Deshabhimani daily that is likely to kick up a hot discussion within the party on the controversial topic.

In the article, Govindan brands the concept of Identity Politics as the ‘new political weapon in the hands of the imperialists’ who are bent on disintegrating class struggle.

K E N’s ‘Irakalude Manifesto’ and Dr P K Pokker’s ‘Identity Politics’ had initiated a live discussion on the topic among the Left-leaning people in the state. An impression was created that K E N had the indirect blessings of CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. K E N and Pokker had argued that identities like gender, caste and religion were equally, if not more, important as class in the Indian context.

But Govindan says Identity Politics has its origin in ‘finance capital.’ “Those who ideologically supported imperialism also wholeheartedly embraced Identity Politics.

Thinkers like Samuel Huntington welcomed Identity Politics saying it was a new social movement.” “The bourgeoisie is interested in dividing and making people fight against each other. Therefore, they use Identity Politics as a weapon to counter the working class movement,” says Govindan in the article.

When contacted, Govindan said what he wrote was the party line. “I am not bothered about what others say. You cannot say there is a Muslim working class, a Christian working class or a Dalit working class.

That means you are disintegrating the working class. The CPM will discuss the issue in detail in the coming days,” he said.

K E N, however, told Express that E M S himself had understood the importance of Identity Politics. “He had said that Brahmins are the exploiters and the Sudras the exploited in the Indian context. In the Vijayawada congress of the CPM, B T Ranadive had spoken about the caste and religious identity of the working class.” A Dalit woman worker experiences three levels of exploitation: as a Dalit, as a woman and as a member of the working class. Each of these needs to be addressed separately, he said. Considering class as the only category would lead to class reductionism, he had said.