CPM REFORMS ALIENATE RELIGIOUS BELIEVERS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000028 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV IN SUBJECT: CPM REFORMS ALIENATE RELIGIOUS BELIEVERS ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Efforts by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) to revamp itself after its disastrous performance in the 2009 parliamentary elections received a setback in Kerala with a former CPM Member of Parliament quitting the party in protest of CPM-imposed curbs on religious expression. CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat's explanation that rank and file party members are free to keep their religious faith but that party leadership is not has only aggravated the situation. The debate could turn out to be a major problem in building bridges with electorally significant religious groups in the 2011 state elections in Kerala. End summary. Church over party: Catholic CPM leader quits party -------------- ¶2. (U) On January 8, Manoj Kurisinkal, a popular CPM leader from the coastal Alapuzha district of Kerala and former Member of the Lok Sabha, resigned from the party citing reasons of faith. Manoj's resignation letter said that he disagrees with CPM's ongoing internal "rectification campaign", in particular, the party's recent directive urging members to refrain from participating in religious ceremonies. "This I found difficult because I have a strong belief in my religion", he told the media after faxing the letter to the CPM local committee. ¶3. (U) Manoj has always been an ardent Catholic. He was the President of Kerala Catholic Youth Movement and a non-political social worker when the CPM identified him as a candidate for the Lok Sabha elections of 2004. Manoj beat the immensely popular Congress candidate V.M. Sudheeran, by making inroads into the constituency's significant "Latin Catholic" community. In the 2009 elections, however, Manoj lost out in a Congress wave that swept most of the state. Karat: okay for members to pray, not leaders though -------------- ¶4. (U) The CPM national leadership quickly sensed the political fallout of Manoj's resignation and tried to do damage control. On January 17, General Secretary Prakash Karat wrote an elaborate editorial in "People's Democracy" entitled "CPM, Rectification and Religion." In the editorial Karat clarified that "while the CPM upholds the materialist outlook, it does not bar people having religious faith from joining the party...The CPM has no hesitation to join hands with believers and religious leaders who espouse the cause of the poor, or act in defence of the rights of the working people." But he added an important caveat: "leading party cadres such as leaders of state committee, district committee, zonal/area committees etc. are expected to uphold progressive values in their personal and social lives. They should not organize religious ceremonies or personally conduct religious rituals." Double standard, say Catholics -------------- ¶5. (U) The Catholic church was quick to react to the "double standards" in the party's setting different rules for party members and leaders. Father Paul Thelakat, a spokesman of the Catholic Synod pointed out that the rules introduce "a kind of caste system within the party". "The CPM will have no future if it does not leave aside this outdated ideology," he said. Manoj called it "duplicity in attitude." In a rejoinder to Karat, Manoj said: "the party wants believers to stick posters, shout slogans...and become martyrs but will not allow them to become leaders and participate in the decision making forum of the party. This is sheer feudalistic attitude." Muslim Communist leader forced out in 2009 -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In March 2009, the Kerala CPM forced out A.P. Abdullakutty, a dynamic young Member of Parliament from the state's substantial Muslim community. The immediate cause was Abdullakutty's public praise for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's economic policies, but his confrontation with the party had its roots in his Islamic faith. In an interview Abdullakutty, now a Congress member of the state legislative assembly, alleged that CPM leaders had criticized him for taking a pilgrimage to Mecca and attending Eid prayers. Later, he wrote in his blog: "Marxist indoctrination played a major role in my metamorphosis from a faithful follower of Islam to a hard-boiled atheist. Now the wheel has come full circle. When I recently visited Makkah to observe the Uumrah, it became a talking point for the media. Somewhere along the way I had regained my faith in Islam and I did not wish to keep it a secret. And I was prepared to face the consequences." ¶7. (SBU) Comment: After its rout in the 2009 parliamentary elections, the CPM initiated a much publicized "rectification" campaign aimed at correcting the "wrong trends and shortcomings" of both its leaders and general membership. The party hopes that the CHENNAI 00000028 002 OF 002 rectification campaign will help spur a dramatic turnaround before the 2011 state assembly elections in its two traditional strongholds: Kerala and West Bengal. But the effort to regain ideological purity may actually have the opposite effect by hampering much needed efforts to broaden its popular base. The party's recent decisions make the party seem hostile to religious-minded people, which could seriously harm it in Kerala, in particular, where Christians, Muslims, and devout Hindus make up a substantial portion of the electorate. End comment. SIMKIN