‘Left parties needed to guide nation on the right path’

Historian Vakulabharanam Ramakrishna calls for new cultural policy

Children presenting a ballet on Puchalapalli Sundaraiah on his 34th death anniversary organised by MB Vignana Kendram in Vijayawada on Sunday.

The country is passing through a degenerating phase and only a party with socialist ideology can put it back on the rails, said historian Vakulabharanam Ramakrishna, here on Sunday.

Delivering a memorial lecture on “Cultural Heritage of Left Parties- Contemporary Context”, organised on the occasion of the 34th death anniversary of Puchalapalli Sundarayya, a founding member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and a leader of the peasant revolt, Mr. Ramakrishna said the Left parties (all Communist parties) had a responsibility towards this country.

Social change

He called for a new, strong cultural policy to bring all the working classes on a common platform. “This is imperative for social change,” he insisted, adding that he was impressed by the balled presented by the Praja Natya Mandali artists on the life of Sundarayya and it rekindled his hope.

He said a pro-migrant population policy was the need of the hour.

Speaking about how he was attracted to the Communist ideology when he was in tenth class, Prof. Ramakrishna spoke at length about the book written by the latter on how to be a good Communist. “The ‘leader of the masses’ never ironed his clothes, never smoked a cigarette and always opted for a beedi and relied on the ordinary mode of transport,” he recounted, reminding that the all-India general secretary of the Communist Party went to the Parliament on a cycle. “This was because he worked ‘for’ and ‘with’ the working classes who could relate to his lifestyle,” he explained.

In Andhra Pradesh, he said, the Left parties contributed a great deal in revival of the works of legends like Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Gurajada Apparao, Gidugu Ramamurthy and Chilakamarthi Lakshminarasimham.

He also referred to Communist bodies like Abhyudaya Rachaitala Sangham, the Prajasakthi Publishing House and the cultural arm Praja Natya Mandali, that served as effective tools to promote the Communist ideology among people in a big way. He said in the current scenario, it was imperative for the Communist parties in the country to rise to the occasion and focus on formulating policies that could bring back the lost sheen.

Senior CPI-(M) leaders P. Madhu, Ch. Baburao and others were present on the occasion.