Bangalore: S.B. Kolpe, a noted journalist and editor of the Clarity Weekly, Bombay, said here on April 17 that India is a multinational country and unless we admit and appreciate this fact we will land in serious crisis. “The Soviet Union, which is now cracking, has taught us that nobody can keep a set of people together by use of force”. Georgia has declared independence from Moscow. Other nationalities are defying Moscow. “India should seriously study the Soviet developments and appreciate the peoples’ movement inside India for self-determination”, he said addressing a group of people at the Friends World College (DV edit: “Self-determination for each nation.”)
E.P. Menon, Director of the College, presided. The group had organized the Jan. 3 seminar here on Confederation (DV March 1 p.17, “Confederation of Indian sub-continent with full autonomy for each nationality”).
Kolpe, who was with the undivided Communist Party, later became the president of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists. He was the Asst. Editor of the Free Press Journal, Bombay. Lately he was getting disillusioned with the left movement and coming closer to the Ambedkar movement.
Those present included Babu Bhasker who just retired as the Associate Editor of the Deccan Herald and Dr. Vasu, retired professor of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and activists of the seli determination conference scheduled for June 15/16 in Bangalore (DV, May 1, p.15).
Self-determination: The Jan 3 seminar was inspired by the one organised by Kolpe in Bombay in which the West Bengal Forward Bloc Minister, Nirmal Bose, participated. Forward Bloc (FB) founded by Netaji Subhaschandra Bose had opposed the partition of India and continued to fight for the confederation of the sub-continent. FB has already arranged four meetings on this subject in different parts and is planning an all-India conference. The June 15/16 conference here is a step in this direction. Nirmal Bose and Biju Patnaik, Chief Minister of Orissa, who has lately become a protagonist of regional autonomy, are expected to participate in the Bangalore conference.
Kolpe said he was not surprised by the behavior of Kashmiris “after what we did for them during the past 40 years.” Not only Kashmiris, many other sections of 10 Dalit Voice society also do not feel that they are part of India, he said warning the people to make a serious study of what is happening in USSR. Even leaders like Mahanta (Assam), Biju Patnaik (Crissal), who are no Marxists have started talking of self-determination. All this proves that a debate has begun in India on the nationality question. “The autonomy movement will gain ground and it is going to erupt in a big way”, he said, pointing out that the two issues — regional autonomy and confederation of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh — are not contradictory but closely interlocked. “It is true that the authorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh may feel suspicious of the J Confederation move. But if we contact the leaders spearheading the nationality movements in both the countries and also Sri Lanka, we will certainly get the support.
Myth of Indian nation: Babu Bhasker said the State in India is imperialist and oppressive and that is why the ruling class is creating the myth of Indian nation = so that the oppressed nationalities do not rebel and revolt. “The most important prerequisite of a nation is the will to live together. If the will is not there, the country will break. The will to live together is the ultimate test. If the economy had been sound, the differences would have remained submerged. The breakup of the USSR is owing to the fact that Soviet economy is cracking. The Indian economy is rotting. Instead of collectively saving the Indian economy from collapse, we are busy breaking it”, he said.
