Modi-Sharif Class Interests

By Saswat Pattanayak
New York, December 26, 2015

Narendra Modi's newfound love for Sharif only proves how Class triumphs over everything. Capitalists can forgo all their differences in coming together for common cause. Adani/Jindal commercial interests in Pakistan ruled by a feudal lord whose family has profiteering interests in collaborating with the new souled-out India, show how even the worst form of jingoism from either side has no locus standi when it comes to safeguarding class interests.

No matter the religion or caste (Sharif being a Sunni Muslim and Modi being an OBC Hindu) or nationality and gender, when it comes to class interests, there is no stopping in their consolidating efforts. Likewise, Reagan (Presbyterian) and Bush (Methodist) were buddies with Taliban and ran family businesses with Osama bin Laden (Wahhabi Muslim) in their common interest, putting aside nationalistic rhetorics employed domestically to retain their patriotically misguided fan bases.

While the corporate bosses collaborate with each other representing their own class interests, they make sure to let the working class folks fight with each other in the name of various distracting absurdities. The more the working poor continue to distrust and hate each other in the name of religious fixations, the easier it is to rule over the divided lot. “Workers of the world, unite!” is the only anathema to the ruling bourgeois elites. And to subvert the revolutionary potential, the ruling elites at times project themselves as humane and just. In the latest instance, Modi-Sharif may appear to be shockingly generous in their “neighbors-are-irreplaceable” offering, but in reality they are merely throwing lavish parties for each other to celebrate future corporate collaborations.