The Hindu : Front Page : CPI(M) urged to extend influence

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Monday, Aug 06, 2007
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CPI(M) urged to extend influence

Marcus Dam

— Photo: SUSHANTA PATRONOBISH

Left veterans: Communist leader Jyoti Basu (left) and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee during the celebration of 119th birth anniversary of Marxist leader Muzaffar Ahmed in Kolkata on Sunday.

Kolkata: Veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu emphasised here on Sunday the need for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to extend its influence to new areas across the country.

“It is sad that we have not been able to do so as much as was hoped. We have been able to move into some parts of south India but that is not true as far as most parts of north India are concerned,” Mr. Basu said. The matter should be deliberated at future party conferences, he added.

Mr. Basu, who was speaking at a function to commemorate the 119th birth anniversary of Muzaffar Ahmed, a pioneer of the communist movement in the country, came down strongly on the Opposition in West Bengal for trying to foment “unrest and stir up violence” by creating obstacles in the drive towards industrialisation.

Earlier, the Muzaffar Ahmed Memorial Prizes (in English and in Bengali) were awarded to eminent historian K.N. Panikkar for his book Colonialism, Culture and Resistance and academician Jayantanuj Bandhopadhyay for his work Bikalpa Biswayan (Alternative Globalisation).

“This book is in a way a summation of the work I’ve done in my life … an on-going effort of cultural studies from a very firm Marxist viewpoint on how resistance has been built against colonial domination and against a process which has tried to hamper progress in the country,” Prof. Panikkar said.

Prof. Bandhopadhyay underlined the need to fight the scourges of communalism and casteism in the country which was imperative to take forward the socialist movement in the country.

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