The crisis on the left–however broadly or narrowly that is defined–is nowhere exposed more shamefully than in the silence about the siege in Kashmir. It is as barbarous as the Israeli occupation of Palestine. But only a handful of progressive intellectuals, other than Kashmiri & Indian activists, are raising banners of protest & solidarity. Tariq Ali (who I have disagreements with on other issues) is one of the few educating about Kashmir.
Some of them can quote Karl Marx chapter & verse but when it comes to war, occupation, colonialism, they are only capable of parsing distinctions between two-bit politicians. Power struggles are the only thing that interest them & the struggles for justice just too plebeian for their attention.
There’s a crisis on the left suggesting that the old guard no longer knows its ass from its elbow in politics. That means young activists must come to the fore who champion the oppressed & who stand steadfast with them knowing that “An injury to one is an injury to all” is the iron law of social transformation.
Long live Kashmiri Intifada. End the occupation. #FreeKashmir