Do you find India is changing and changing very fast?
Yes! Yes, India is changing. As Marxist we have to analyse that capitalism today is not the same capitalism when I was, say, a student or when I was very young.
Capitalism has grown, it has proliferated. Some people say we are still a semi-capitalist society. It is not true. We are developing capitalism rapidly. The impact of that capitalism which is also linked to globalisation is bringing about the big changes in our society. Our task is to analyse it and see what all is happening to working people who are exploited and who are actually producing wealth in this country.
Part I of the interview: 'This is the period when the Left parties had maximum gain'
That is our Marxist view. We will stand with them, we will represent them, and we will fight for them. The change is coming and we will have to work out our strategy and tactics in a new way. Everybody is talking about workers in the unorganised sector. For them I want more (in the) manufacturing sector. This huge workforce of the unorganised sector is most exploited because they are in the casual and informal sectors.
We are now concentrating on organising the unorganised sectors, we do look at these changes. Even the big companies, the government and the public sector is going for outsourcing, they are going for contract labour and casual labour. It affects women very much. We are trying to reorient our work accordingly.
It is said that India is becoming more and more right-wing. Does that disturb you?
Yes, there is a strong-right-wing in India. They have made gains. The six years of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) rule was pure distilled right-wing government politics. People experienced that and there was a reaction.
We could very well understand this reaction but they (BJP) were surprised. But in a society like India it is very difficult to keep projecting right-wing politics. When they fail, they resort to projecting a communal agenda to divert the people's attention.
Image: A glimpse of Bangalore, April 13, 2008. India's new middle class is about 300 million, and growing. Photograph: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
Also see: United colours of changing India
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