What we read in our early school days was the anatomy and usefulness of this animal. But now it has become a political tool in the hands of the big capitalists, their political “managers”, their paid and motivated goons, religious and cultural thugs. There is a need to understand this phenomenon to be either part of this movement or counter it effectively.
A cow is an instrument for the farmers, owners, small-scale traders, workers. It is a means of subsistence, like horses, sickle, tractor, land, etc. A livelihood.
Now the big capitalists, financiers, speculators, oligarchs need profit. This is part of the “Universal” competition. If a capitalist loses the race to his colleague or competitor, he will lose his ownership of his capital, as the winner will swallow it.
Presently in India, only 70% production capability is being used as the commodities in the market are unable to find their buyers. This is intrinsic to the capitalist production. Further, this growth of productive forces and stunting of the market is marred by the rising unemployment, inflation and dwindling wages of the workers. The high GDP, which even if not doctored, is not going to enhance the purchasing power the people. Last year, 73% of the wealth created was gulped by the big elites, who form less than 1% of the total population. Two years ago, it was 65 & 55% approximately.
So, the crisis in the capitalist class is visible. Its managers, the political touts, economists, the government itself and its departments are unable to find means to counter this loss of profit, except direct plundering. This is a worldwide phenomenon and since the advent of capitalism, at different scales.
Further, the ruler’s agents, the government faces another problem, the revolt by the working class and farmers. The outcome could have been a successful revolution, but due lack of a revolutionary party and unity among the proletarian class on a revolutionary line has given an advantage to the bourgeois class. A section of the working class, unemployed youths have sided to anti-revolutionary forces, here the fascists. We failed in 1977 and 2012.
This ruling class breaks the unity of the people on the lines religion, caste, region, discrimination on colour, gender and nationality, personality cult, national chauvinism, etc.! Cow, as I said in the beginning, is a tool of subsistence for the people, but a potent weapon in the hands of the ruling class to break the unity and resistance of the people against the rising exploitation and oppression and grab their means of subsistence!
Unless we understand the base of any social “movement”, however small or insignificant it may be, we cannot counter it, cannot move forward. The need of the hour is not concentrating on the weapons of the enemy, but to understand the base of their rise and find our weapons to counter them. After all, the counter has to be by the people only, who are sufferers and due non-availability of alternative, some have gone against their class and own interests.
If the capitalist class and its puppet political parties and state itself are behind such mob lynching, hate mongering, social polarisation, anti labour, anti women and anti-science, then our weapons are the miseries of the people, their rising unemployment and poverty, lack of education and health services, lack of housing and sanitation, etc. We must bounce back with these basic demands of the people, especially the working class, explain to them that the cause of their miseries is capitalism, despite a massive rise of wealth in independent India and a very high sustained GDP. Explain to them the evil capitalism, which breeds their miseries and infighting.
Come forth with the revolutionary ideology, fight against the mother of all evils, fight to establish socialism, the dream of HSRA and its founder members, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad and others. Victory is assured, turn of the tide is necessary and inevitable, history, present and future are with us!