The unbridled plunder of natural resources for profit and greed by the current capitalist and imperialist system is responsible for today’s climate change: Opinion by the speakers on Comrade Shivaram’s Third Memorial Lecture
Bhubaneswar, 28/05: On the occasion of the third death anniversary of Comrade Shivaram, a faithful companion of the struggle for the life and livelihoods of the working class people, the uncompromising leader of slum dwellers movement in Odisha as well as State Secretary of CPI(M.L)- Red Star, a lecture entitled “Climate Change and its Political Consequences” which was organised at Lohia Academy in Bhubaneswar today.
This lecture has been organized by the Comrade Shivaram Memorial Committee. After the introduction by Narendra Mohanty, a member of the memorial committee, the convener of the committee, Bishwapriya Kanungo moderated the program. Sudhir Patnaik, senior journalist and editor of alternative people’s magazine Samadrusti, spoke as the main speaker, while eminent environmentalist Prafulla Samantara and Asim Giri, leader of Revolutionary Cultural Forum from West Bengal among others, were present on the stage and gave their speeches.
Chief speaker Mr. Sudhir Patnaik said in his speech that the unbridled looting of natural resources for the profit and greed of the current capitalist and imperialist system is responsible for today’s climate change. He reminisced about how the movement against the POSCO company in Odisha and the movement to protect Khandadhar were linked to the issues of climate change and how Comrade Shivaram was able to involve himself in the issues. The Baliapal Anti-Missile Centre movement started in the eighties, the Gandhamardan Suraksha and anti-BALCO movement, the anti-Tata movement in Gopalpur were also movements against today’s ill effects of climate change.
It is no exaggeration to say that climate change is the most inhuman and anti-human against civilization and society. Millions of hectares of forests have been destroyed all over the world and in our own country, India, due to industrialization in the name of development, which is affecting the climate and has a profound impact on farmland and agriculture and the environment. Noted organic farmer Natbar Shadangi has described in his book how the soil is being poisoned and turning into a desert. Before discussing the political consequences of climate change, he opined that it is important to understand how climate has become a political issue today. Economists like Chomsky are witnessing how the use of coal as a fuel is spreading the effects of carbon dioxide on the climate, causing greenhouse effect, which is depleting the ozone layer. He said that the discovery of land in America and the discovery of land in Africa were pretexts for colonialism, consumerism and looting of natural resources. At that time mankind could not have the foresight to see how that discovery would have consequences for the days to come. This scientific analysis became possible after the death of the world’s leading thinker, the philosopher Karl Marx, which would have made Marx’s philosophy richer and stronger than if it would have been during his time.
Between 1760 and 1840, the first industrial revolution in Europe led to the growth of production and the creation of consumers and markets for the consumption of that production, from which the middle class consumer was created and this process of exploitation was given the name of ‘development’ and the newly created middle class consumerism played a major role in making it acceptable as the real development within the society. That so-called development is the biggest cause of climate change today, and we are heading back to mental and economic slavery in the name of modern industrial development from the days of slavery. Due to the devastating effects of this development, the poorest among the poor, the peasants, the working class are the most affected. Be it World War- I or World War- II, it was not just for the seizure of power or empire, it was actually aimed at the seizure and plunder of the natural resources of the land concerned.
He said that climate change is not an isolated issue ,but it has been created from the economic trend of development, which continues to create illusions of development among the middle class. Economic reforms around the world and in India in the 1990s have further accelerated this process.
Although climate change did not become a political issue in the current election, it can still be raised as an issue by leftists, environmentalists and progressive political forces of the country. The proponents of the discoveries of Columbus and Vasco da Gama may not accept the negative effects of climate change, but it is imperative that we make our political agenda about who is suffering and who will suffer in the future.
On the occasion of this discussion, Prof. Bijay Bahidar mentioned in his opinion how the current capitalist economic and political system is responsible for climate change while Henarani, Bijay Barik and others performed awakening songs during the discussion.
Reported By: Narendra Mohanty,
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