Date: Sun, 7 Jul 1996 20:12:20 -0500
From: rahul-AT-peaches.ph.utexas.edu (Rahul Mahajan)
Subject: India from Romi


>IMO, this is a great question because if compells us to remember the
>ideological uses
>of history.  If one looks at this question from a historical perspective
>we can see
>that we (western marxists, as well as most of the rest of western
>civilization) are
>blinded by a myopic, eurocentric historical worldview.  Since the most recent
>ascendancy of Europe as a hegemonic world power has provided it the
>material and
>concurrent ideological resources necessary to write history as they see
>it.  The old
>addage, "History is written by the victors", may be old yet quite useful.  How
>convienient it is for the western bourgeoisie to forget that many times in
>the past
>five thousand years the Harrapan/Indic civilization and the area
>surrounding the
>Indus Valley has been a great economic/military/political power during
>many different
>historical periods.  Or looking at the manifest function of such
>historical amnesia,
>namely, unawareness that we were not the first and definetly won't be the
>last of
>great (sic) cultural/imperial (hegemonic) powers of human civilization.
>
>I would also agree that India (while not being outside of our potential
>sphere of
>influence) is not very high on the United States list of imperialistic
>priorities at
>the current time; India isn't disrupting the flow of capital.  As it has
>in the past,
>India would become of central importance for the international bourgeosie
>if (when?)
>it has the material ability to chart a new historical trajectory for the
>periphery of
>the capitalist world system or, better yet, if we were to see even a hint
>of a mass
>proletarian movement in India.
>
>So until the West (especially the U.S.) needs to focus on India, it won't.  As
>historical materialist's I suppose it is quite more important for us to
>understand
>how India is strategically manipulated by capital in its efforts to
>maintatin steady
>accumulation from the East.
>
>Comradely,
>
>Christian Harlow


Thanks for responding Christian, but I was asking the question at a
slightly more personal level.  I know, as Rahul tells me, that my post was
done so in a diffident manner and that, thus, it betrayed a certain
naivete.

Now, let me make one thing clear at the outset.  I am not on par with you
people when it comes to economic or historical analysis.  I go by a certain
gut feel about things and have done a bit of study myself.

But that does not mean that such a trivial answer to my question is fair.
Yes of course India does not "block" capital and is of very, very little
strategic importance to the West and the citadel of imperialism-the United
States.  Nor are its people white, nor have they been the victors that can
"write" history.  All true.

Nevertheless that does not change the fact that even all of the people on
this list are guilty of the same damn crime that those against whom we
fulminate commit.

That's my damage.

That's all.

Romi




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