r/librandu

Big make up 🤡

Does anyone have any recommendations for podcasts about India, specifically those with a leftist perspective. I was looking for history or current events, but podcasts about something else are also welcome

Liberation is one of the most fascinating experiments to emerge out of the Indian Left. The creative application of revolutionary theory along with flexible yet class based practice that at times very prudently resolved questions of identity and social status is something to watch. I'll explain my point with some of the more creative and useful interventions of liberation in Indian Left theory:

1. Characterisation of Naxalbari: while the Maoists and the CPI/CPM alike, think of Naxalbari mainly as a point of departure in Indian Left theory on the tactical point of revolutionary violence and protracted people's war and the base area theories, CPIML Liberation identified the key factor— the revolutionary character of the landless peasants. Their social location as mainly Dalits and EBCs gives them a unique alliance with the working class in short terms and long term struggles. While keeping chord of the class analysis, liberation was also able to move away from the CPC during its own time of left as well as right deviations.

2. Experiments at mass fronts: while at once CPIML championed both legal and illegal means of struggle (illegal means are still present at many agrarian struggles), they always opted for mass bolshevism rather than substitution of the masses by the operative 'dasta' (squads). Wether it is the IPF, aicctu, insaf manch or AISA- Vinod Mishra constantly quoted the movemental energy of these organisations apart from the static traditional practice of cpi/cpm. The core of these mass frants remained the churning of social contradictions rather than empty membership and committee making hassles and electoral gimmicks.

3. Caste question— "land, wage and dignity" this slogan was in effect and remains in Bihar, eastern UP, punjab, Bengal, Karbi Anglong and places where ML holds an agrarian base. The militant land acquisitions have been accompanied by various symbolic and social movements such as even janeu wearing sabhas by Dalits that broke the hierarchical meaning of janeu. struggles against practices where dalit women were forced to sleep with landlord on the first night of their marriage. Struggles for gun licenses for Dalits.

4. Shedding away anarchism and blind following of mystical 'chinese path' : liberation moved away from the early adventurism and over excitement over the 'chinese path' of revolution and withdrew pointless slogans such as 'china's chairman is our chairman'. While continuing to criticise dengist reforms and the capitalist turn in china, liberation also identified the excesses by Mao in his later life. All this, while uphold Mao Zedong Thought, his contributions to the theory of contradictions, his concerns on capitalist restoration. third world internationalism and the worker peasant alliance.

5. Shedding the outdated semi colonial semi feudal thesis: while the cpm condemns the thesis simply as a copy of china, there is much nuance to it. writings of Nagbhushan patnaik make it abundantly clear that the concepts were correctly transposed to the Indian context. however, as late as 2013, when neoliberal capitalist and corporate project of takeover of agriculture were in move, liberation identified that the thesis needs changing. they moved to thesis of backward capitalism, comprador bourgeoisie and crisis of agrarian transition through corporate and landlord path. Maoists opportunistically hold on to semi colonial semi feudal thesis because they have nowhere else to go, from their underground nature to their heavy financial dealing with land and sand mafias, they are practically stuck, so they stick theoretically as well.

6. parliamentary struggles, not parliamentary cretinism: while contesting elections, the party has not shed it's revolutionary character. one can see it how it has been the only party to openly oppose ews reservation, the operation sindoor and now got in movement for the UGC regulations. there is a smart an nueanced understanding of social contradictions and their rupture points. and no compromise is made based on voting and funding calculation.

7. anti fascism: while being in the broad non fascist alliance, independent assertion and movement against even the bourgeoisie has not stopped. cpiml became the sole champion of ugc movement in UP and Bihar (along with maybe Chandrashekhar Ravan). while cpm avoid these alliances and risks bjp takeover because if it doesn't contest all seats, how will it survive? cpiml while asserting itself always keeps the seats on the backstage and aims to fight rss on ground. the number of seats and this alliance becomes the reason why cpm doens't recognise fascism as of yet.

tired so that's it.

Craft a narrative

Execute it through loyalists and sellouts across respective fields

Amplify it disproportionately through media channels

Deploy IT cells to flood platforms with copy-pasted messaging until it spreads widely across the country

Capitalize on the momentum like win elections, deepen divisions, and push through questionable policies during the chaos "until the court steps in and frees the accuseds"

Ensure that any bail, acquittal, or corrective outcome is downplayed or buried, so it rarely reaches neutral audiences unless their social media algorithm allows it, which contributes to a very low number

I mainly read The Hindu and visit The Caravan Magazine from time to time but I am admittedly, not well aware of many news outlets or periodicals that are worth reading.

With mainstream media in the country deteriorating day by day, I am curious what sources you all subscribe to?

Noticed that apart from CPI(ML) (Liberation), there’s been near-total silence from the parliamentary Left and most ML orgs on the ongoing Noida worker protests.

And it’s not like this is some minor or symbolic agitation ; this is workers self-organising, pushing back directly against management, and not waiting for party structures or union mediation to take the lead.

Which makes the silence… telling.

Because this is where the contradiction shows up clearly:

- As long as labour struggles are contained, mediated, and negotiable, there’s visibility and statements

- The moment workers act autonomously and unpredictably, the enthusiasm seems to drop off

- Suddenly, the priority shifts from confrontation → “stability”, “process”, “negotiation”

At some level, it feels like the parliamentary Left is far more comfortable representing workers than with workers actually exercising power themselves.

Not saying every situation needs maximal escalation - but the lack of even rhetorical support here is hard to ignore.

Would genuinely like to know:

- Are there statements/interventions I’ve missed (apart from CPI(ML) Liberation)?

- Or is this just the usual discomfort with movements that can’t be neatly absorbed into party structures?

TL;DR: Workers in Noida are organising on their own terms, and most of the Left seems oddly quiet about it.

I have seen a few people in my circle who have turned right wingers from being a liberal. They do not only support nationalist govt and their corporate friends but also they defend them on every step and call you communist/leftist even when there's clear evidence that RW govt around the world are making policies against the very people they claim to protect.

One of my so-called friends claims he's an atheist but he doesn't know anything about his own former religion (Hinduism) but supports Zionists and opposes Islamists. Even if I say I don't support Islamist, he assumes that I'm lying about it and that to prove that I don't support Islamism, I must adopt his Zionist and Hindutva nationalist views.

I sent a video link related to people's protest against dam construction in a eco-sensitive zone and he called it “leftist propaganda without proof”. When I sent an article published by a journal, he pointed out that it is pro-social justice, anti-capitalist and demands climate justice. I don't know what's the point of doing this when he himself send links from pro-govt sites which are blatantly pure propaganda.

And I have seen this behaviour in a few other people as well who went from being a communist to a pro-capitalist and believer in pseudoscience like astrology.

The thing is I have a Sociology Project on Regionalism and Linguistic Identity and want the content in it to be a tad distinct and such that it encompasses even the lesser known Identity movements in India, so any literature suggestions or any insight on this would be greatly helpful.

Thanks a lot in advance 🙏

P.S. anything specific targeting Hindi imposition is highly appreciated as I'll kinda be dedicating a specific chapter related to that.