Television is the opium of the masses: CPI-M

The Communist Party of India-Marxist views television as a major threat to its existence in Kerala.

A recent note circulated by the state CPI-M committee to local committees says the television culture among Malayalees has hurt the party's growth in the state. When television channels beam entertainment programmes, the Marxists moan it has become extremely difficult to mobilise people for party work. Party functions organised on Sunday, CPI-M leaders complain, have invariably flopped.

The Marxists also claim that the invasion of the television channels have affected Kerala's culture. 'The capitalist trends being shown on television is making people more consumer-oriented,' says the CPI-M note.

Another fallout of the television culture is the reluctance among party cadres to take up difficult assignments. Party activists, the CPI-M note reveals, are now reluctant to work in tribal and backward areas, thus limiting the Marxist dream of expanding its network.

Besides television, the desire to get elected to public office is also affecting the CPI-M's growth in Kerala. Most CPI-M activists are no longer keen to work without recognition; they would like to get elected to local bodies, district councils and the like. CPI-M General Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet had highlighted this phenomenon last year when discussing the growing factional feuds in Kerala's Marxist party.

The factionalism within the CPI-M in Kerala is at its peak currently, with Politburo member V S Achutanandan's group launching a campaign against Chief Minister E K Nayanar's government. Achutanandan -- who was widely tipped to become chief minister after last year's assembly election -- suffered a shock defeat in the poll. That defeat was attributed to groupism in the CPI-M.

An inquiry conducted into Achutanandan's defeat revealed that the CPI-M's local trade union wing worked against him. Action has been initiated against leaders found guilty in the inquiry.

The factional feud is likely to escalate during the organisational elections later this year. The trade union lobby has intensified its campaign to capture the CPI-M organisation in Kerala which is now controlled by the Achutanandan group.