Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Bolivian guerrilla fighter killed by CIA, is a demigod in the Marxist pantheon. This has baffled even some Marxist ideologues, who, according to them, were critical of Marxist ideology when he was alive. Many Left intellectuals do not consider him to be worthy of being an icon.
According to the writings of Regis Debray, his former associate, ‘Che’ was a proponent of the idea of capturing power through violence. Corporations and Marxists have appropriated ‘Che’ as a brand. Former Naxalite leader K Venu told The Hindu’s AS Jayanth: “What the corporate companies and the Marxists are doing is one and the same: appropriating ‘Che’ Guevara as a brand. There was a time when the parliamentary Marxists were told by their leaders here not to read his literature. Now, he has been elevated as a demigod.”
Of late, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has used Che’s graffiti to drive home a different message. The larger- than-life-graffiti carries a quote of Che: ‘I’d like to confess, at this moment (I) discovered that I really like killing” followed by an ABVP’s message: ‘Still (some) think he’s such a great icon’.
SFI, the students wing of CPI(M), considers Che to be an inspirational figure who waged a war against capitalism. It seems they are yet to see the writing on the wall!
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