Communism, History, Media, Political, Publication, Commentary, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak Communism, History, Media, Political, Publication, Commentary, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak

A Closer Look At “The Enemy of the People”

"With so much recent mainstream press evocation of Joseph Stalin and claims of “enemy of the people” comparisons to Donald Trump we thought it timely to share some recent thoughts on the subject from journalist, professor and writer Saswat Pattanayak. As an additional side note, and given what Pattanayak exposes about the nature and history of the association of a phrase, rather than with Stalin some of us would be more familiar with the play by Henrik Ibsen and further note that this is also where the late Dr. John Henrik Clarke got the inspiration for the spelling of his own middle name." (Dr. Jared Ball, iMixWhatILike)

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Matter & Consciousness: Revisiting Lokayata

Lokayata did not deny the consciousness so much as it complicated it. Instead of acceding to an assumption that consciousness could be a peculiarity of the spirit, it depicted consciousness as an attribute of the body. This occurred, according to them, because whereas the material elements comprise the living body, consciousness is produced in it.

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Biography, Communism, Culture, Philosophy, Poetry, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak Biography, Communism, Culture, Philosophy, Poetry, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak

Sahir Ludhianvi - Communist and a Poet

Sahir’s dream coincided with that of a revolutionary who is capable of imagining not just a world without borders, but also a world without prison cells – a song that is so relevant today in light of sedition charges routinely applied to silence independent thinkers of the society Sahir once had sought to liberate.

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Communism, News, Political, Publication, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak Communism, News, Political, Publication, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak

Kanhaiya Kumar and Betrayal of Freedom Struggles

Kanhaiya Kumar’s arrest was unfortunate and so his release on bail is a great relief. But beyond that, to seek revolutionary potential in the hoopla surrounding it, is to miss the point entirely. Competing for authentic nationalism to legitimize an oppressive power structure is not what the Communists do. Quite the opposite.

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Communism, Media, News, Political, Publication, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak Communism, Media, News, Political, Publication, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak

Rohith Vemula: Indian Left and the Dalit Student Suicides

Rohith Vemula did not just commit suicide – he was murdered. And this murder was not committed by the right-wing ABVP – it was conducted by the left-liberals. The “Dalit problem” citing which Rohith gave up his life, is not the creation of any fringe elements among communal Hindus – it is sustained by the liberal Hindus who tremendously profit from the status quo it provides.

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Eurocentrism as Terrorism

Contrary to what Žižek claims, egalitarianism and personal freedoms do not comprise Western legacy—their suppression in the name of colonialism does. One cannot rule over and plunder another country for decades, if not centuries, and then blame the “backwardness” on the ruled subjects.

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Roots (and prospects) of Justice

Maulana Mohani was concerned that in our anticommunist quest, we were ignoring an emancipatory USSR Constitution, while heavily borrowing from colonial legacies of oppressive Constitutions of the imperialist world, and that, by doing so, we were facilitating prospects for dangerous communal violence in the coming years

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Communism, Feminism, History, Political, Publication, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak Communism, Feminism, History, Political, Publication, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak

International Women’s Day: Anti-War, Anti-Capitalist Movement to Emancipate All Workers!

When in 1917, the IWD was first observed in Leningrad, women workers of Petrograd had organized a mass of 50,000, comprising their fellow male comrades in demanding for “bread, peace and land” and to end the imperialistic world war.

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Pete Seeger: UnAmerican Communist and a People’s Songster

Seeger always took his communism seriously and he wrote about capitalistic contradictions, but carefully employing a language that was truly accessible to the workers, to the “bottom” uneducated and semi-literate section of society who he remained connected with, all his life.

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Communism, Culture, Philosophy, Publication, Academic, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak Communism, Culture, Philosophy, Publication, Academic, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak

Radical Roots of Gangnam Style: Psy, Kim Jong-Un and Challenges for the Fascist Standards of Sexy

In a Eurocentric world dominated by the disturbingly unifying English language, where American narratives grip past and the present times, it is easy to wonder why a Korean wields such an influence. The answer is as easy: why not.

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Communism, Culture, Feminism, Political, Publication, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak Communism, Culture, Feminism, Political, Publication, Saswat Saswat Pattanayak

Rape Culture and Capitalism: What is living and what is dead

It is necessary to understand that the protests against rape in Delhi have two basic components – one that cries out for death penalty or stricter punishment, and another that demands equality of women. While the former is an endorsement of feudalism and a reinforced belief in the status quo, the latter is an unqualified call for socialism.

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On Einstein's Acceptance of Communist Russia and Rejection of Zionist Israel

Einstein was opposed to a separate Jewish state, opposed to a partition of Palestine, opposed even to an establishment of a Jewish government-in-exile, considered the Jewish underground movement a “disaster” and supported a bi-national self-government in Palestine with both Arabs and the Jews ruled with the consent of the Arabs.

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