Salvaging a botched socialism and affirmative action

  There is a silent flutter in the power corridors among socialists and left-wingers to return to power through social justice and affirmative action. Yogendra Yadav has openly expressed this to renew the legacy of socialism. He asserts its so-called ethical scope is vanishing when it is required the most, to resist dictatorship, inequality, and injustice. However, in practice, socialists are most dictatorial and always use caste and communalism to capture power. Socialists in India have taken very caustic caste and Islam-based identity politics, a freebie economy, and a culture of accusations for others for failures and mockery of merit and competence. It survives in the electoral manifestos of all the political parties in the form of freebies, free-loading benefits, subsidies, caste and communal quotas. In academic discussions, poverty, backwardness, and grievances are often glorified.

           Socialist systems have been rightly criticized for promoting inefficiency. Socialist economies always experience shortage and slower economic growth or no growth. Removing the incentive to excellence reduces motivation and government control over produces and systems restrain free competition and advancement.  

           Socialists are trying to revive socialism through the caste census. They will use it for political gains from socio-cultural cleavages. Caste census is against the principle of social harmony and social equality. The caste census will be used for electoral fortunes by socialist groups.  

           The terminology of social justice was just limited to caste and communal quotas as an eternal medicine for all the ills. The Mandal enlistment divided the society and persecution of the upper castes. Instead of rising above divisions, socialism sharpened them, milking the politics of caste and religion. They also created state-level caste and Islamic lords controlled by family dynasties.

           Socialists control the political and economic power within the government, leading to authoritarianism which suppresses the liberties, dissent and equality, and human rights. Socialists created state-level authoritarian regimes devoid of moral democratic traditions. Loan waivers, freebies, cheap or free electricity, subsidies, free ration, the inspector and permit system were claimed as ethical practices. Such politics created intermediaries, battered financial responsibilities, and made citizens depended on the government and the industrialists. They propagate to distribute the wealth without creation.

           The claim of socialists to empower backward castes is completely hollow. They only empowered some powerful castes and rich families. They blocked the real empowerment but made caste and minorities as eternal capital. They loudly claimed the workers' rights but empowered trade unions like Khap Panchayats or Sharia Courts. This resulted in the shutdown of many industries. Socialists frowned at investments, reforms, and entrepreneurship. Our workers were never were competitive and hard working because of the socialist politics of protection.

           The Indian socialists claim that they did not follow foreign thinkers. They follow a home-grown philosophy, especially through Ram Manohar Lohia. His economics and politics are caste and religion-based radical affirmative action. Indigenous socialism encouraged agitation, hatred for businessmen and industrialists. This capitulated to neither equality nor growth.  

           The actual development and empowerment ushered by the liberalization of 1991, growth of the IT sector, expansion of digital governance, not of socialist philosophy. Poverty and inequality declined, and gender empowerment was achieved through growth, infrastructure, and technology, and not through agitations or affirmative actions. When a nation embraced reforms, it moved forward; when it followed socialism, it declined.

           Going back to socialism means going back a century. It will revive scarcity, caste and communal division, and extremism. Universities have to stop glorifying poverty, backwardness, freebies, rights, extremism, caste, and religion-based affirmative action.

           Going back to failed ideology will be suicidal. Democracy should be built on growth, innovation, and patriotism. True empowerment will come from growth, skills, competence, creativity, and research. Caste and communal affirmative action must be abandoned.   

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