The value of left-of-centre ideas, such as socialism, social democracy, secularism, economic egalitarianism, gender-equality, freedom of speech, equal opportunity, right to health and education and so on, will never die.

Then why is anybody and everybody shooting off their mouths and writing about how it is the end of the road for the left in India, especially more so after the recent Assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerala. The electoral losses in these two States are not a surprise, and it can be said that the last political citadel of the left (Kerala) has fallen, but that surely does not amount to the fall of left-of-centre thought and conviction.

There is a need to make a clear distinction between political opposition to the right and cultural opposition to rightist thought. Putting up political alliances and fronts to politically oppose the right from coming to power is one thing but putting together a concerted and sustained effort to uphold, promote, popularise, and publicise the culture and values of the left (as mentioned at the start) is completely different — and probably more important. Unfortunately, we seem to have failed in both. The political failures are there for all to see, but the cultural failure is not so obvious.

We need to recognise that many individuals across professions, across the socio-economic spectrum, across geographies, and across political parties passionately believe in left-of-centre values. They may not be Marxists, but they are firmly left-of-centre in their conviction. Unfortunately, many of them — lawyers, doctors, professors, journalists, students, sportsmen, film stars, techies, authors, economists, industrialists, agriculturalists, traders, and politicians — are silent and on the backfoot. In the current milieu, their conviction remains private, and they are hesitant to voice themselves in public. It is this silent force which needs to be galvanised to provide the much-needed cultural opposition to rightist thought.

It is only if we water the roots that the tree will grow. Political jugaads without watering the cultural roots of left-of-centre values will not succeed meaningfully. The left-of-centre believers must take lessons from the right-of-centre forces. The RSS is a glaring example — it calls itself a “cultural” organisation and spends most of its time and energies in watering and fertilising the roots of rightist values. Maybe, there is a need for a Rashtriya Syayamsevak Sangh (Left-of-centre).

Formation of an RSS(L) may be an exaggeration and fanciful thought but there is certainly a need for a coordinated and collaborative effort to bring together credible left-of-centre individuals and organisations to embark on a collective effort to uphold their values and foster a left-of-centre culture and milieu. A first step in this direction could be holding a conclave of the Left, which brings together all these individuals and organisations to publicly uphold their convictions and beliefs and to appeal to all their hidden supporters to come out in the open.

The conclave should spell out what left-of-centre values are and what they mean and what they nurture. Cultural fostering can be done through writings in the media, through support for discussions on these issues amongst professional groups and organisations, through the promotion of socialist principles and the gains thereof, via book readings, plays, songs and so on. There was a time when such a cultural environment existed and many of us have grown up in those times. But sadly, such opportunities for the youth of today are lacking. By way of example, most of the junior doctors with whom I interact regularly are ignorant of even the basics of what is left and what is right. As such, the younger generation of today are not avid readers and their contemplation is limited to notifications and reels. They need to be provided with attractive opportunities to sit back and think over social issues and values.

The conclave of the left will provide a non-political, cultural, and moral (and hopefully protective) platform for the left-of-centre believers to come together and publicly discuss their thoughts and ideas.

The role played by the true left-of-centre forces with their socialist, egalitarian, and secular principles and convictions can never be disregarded or overemphasised. The social and economic benefits of Nehru’s socialist policies and of Kerala’s leftist foundations cannot be brushed aside. And even if the left has been overthrown politically, we should not allow it to be sidelined culturally. I am saying sidelined because as long as human society exists, the left-of-centre thought can never be overthrown.

Dr. Santosh Karmarkar is a surgeon and social activist based in Mumbai. Views expressed are personal