AGAINST FASCISM

Description

M.N. Roy, the revolutionary thinker had a firsthand knowledge of fascism and had a better understanding of the phenomenon than any of his Indian contemporaries and even most of the leading lights of the International Communist Movement. Unlike the orthodox Marxists, he saw it not just as a prognosis of a dying capitalism but a deeper cultural spiritual crisis rooted in the anti-Enlightenment, anti-democratic, romantic reaction best represented by Fichte. Schopenhauer and to a great extent, Nietzsche. Roy found the Indian atmosphere, permeated with blind faith and a culture of uncritical reverence, which was quite congenial for the rise of fascism in the form of religious revivalism. This has turned out to be prophetic.

In recent years there has been a fearful rise of ultra nationalist/rightist politics bearing a disturbing resemblance to fascism on a global scale. This aggressive brand of nationalism, centred around ethnicity, religion or a selectively constructed concept of culture, is openly hostile to the ideals on which democracy rests: human rights, rule of law, intellectual freedom and cultural pluralism. In India and elsewhere it is out to distort and destroy all that mankind has achieved since the renaissance. It disdains peace and extols violence; it rejects the autonomy of the individual and worships an all powerful state led by a charismatic leader. In order to understand its new incarnation, Roy’s reflections and insights may prove helpful.

Bhaskar Sur has been in the thick of civil rights and popular science movements. He believes that a democratic society can only be built on the foundations of humanism and a scientific culture. In 2014 he collaborated with RM Pal to bring out the MN Roy Reader: Essential Writings (3 vols. set) from Aakar Books. He is also deeply engaged in sustainable agriculture and living.