There is nothing in Tripura’s socio-political history that connects the State to Vladimir Lenin, not even the more than the two-decade-long Left rule. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had its ideological grounding in Karl Marx and not Lenin. Indeed, when Lenin embarked upon what came to be known as the Leninist brand of communism, it was a narrative very different from that of Marx. And over the decades since the disintegration of Soviet Russia, Lenin has been muted in the contemporary narrative in his home state. Besides, the policies and programmes of the ousted Manik Sarkar regime did not have much in common with those of Lenin. Therefore, the Russian leader’s deification in Tripura through the installation of his statutes during the communist rule was bizarre. However, recent reports of Lenin’s statues being razed to the ground by mobs in the State following the resounding defeat of the Left, are worrisome. They are instances of vandalism and reflective of a law and order problem. When such incidents happen, they often lead to social tensions, given that one group supports the demolition and another opposes it — and the resultant clash has the potential to degenerate into violence. The incoming BJP Government must be firm in dealing with such situations. After all, the people of the State have already rejected the Left and reposed faith in the BJP for providing good governance.
There is no great ideological victory in bringing down statues of Lenin — or any other communist leader. Even if they exist, they hardly matter. They will be mere relics of a failed ideology. It is better for the incoming Government to concentrate on more pressing matters at hand. BJP leader of the State should contain the over-zealousness of their party’s supporters because such instances would end up deflecting attention from the core issues of development and provide a handle to the Left and other opposition parties to escalate their attacks on the BJP. Already, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has taken to the streets, branding the BJP ‘intolerant’ and fascist’. It is possible that supporters of the Right, suppressed for long and now having found success, are busy releasing their pent-up anger against the Left. But the best way to do so is to reverse the trend of poor governance of the previous Government. The people of Tripura could not be less bothered by statues of failed communist leaders amidst their midst, even if these figures have no business to be eulogised.
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