Left-wing film maker's 'Socialism of a Third Kind': What about equal economic status?

By Rajiv Shah

KP Sasi, a well-known Left-wing film director and cartoonist from Thrissur, Kerala, currently based in Bengaluru, has come up with a 12-point charter on what he calls Socialism of a Third Kind. Sent in an email alert via Dalit Media Watch, Sasi, who is son of late K Damodaran, a Marxist theoretician and writer and one of the founder leaders of the Communist Party in India, provides his perspective of the types of equal status he thinks socialism should have.

Though I found it interesting, I didn’t find in any of his 12 points what exactly his view on economy is – whether there could be economic equality, especially at a time when even Marxists agree private capital is a must for development in view of the fact that the productive forces are not ripe enough to change relations of production, supposed to be a precondition of socialism.
Be that as it may, I found the 12 point charter by Sasi interesting, coming as it does from a person who has made powerful documentaries like "A Valley Refuses to Die", "We Who Make History", "Living in Fear", "In the Name of Medicine" and "Voices from a Disaster", and feature films “Ilayum Mullum”, on the social and psychological violence on women in Kerala, “Ek Alag Mausam” and “Ssh..Silence Please”, a silent comedy film on development.
Read on his “Socialism of a Third Kind”:

***

1. Equal status to all religions or no religion, does not necessarily mean equal status to gender, caste, class, sexuality, nationality, language, colour, race, ethnicity, nationality and regional power differences.
2. Equal status to all classes does not necessarily mean equal status to gender, caste, religion or no religion, sexuality, nationality, language, colour, race, ethnicity, nationality and regional power differences.
3. Equal status to gender divides does not necessarily mean equal status to religion or no religion, caste, class, sexuality, nationality, language, colour, race, ethnicity, nationality and regional power differences.
4. Equal status to castes does not necessarily mean does not necessarily mean equal status to gender, religion or no religion, class, sexuality, nationality, language, colour, race, ethnicity, nationality and regional power differences.
5. Equal status to sexualities does not necessarily mean equal status to gender, caste, class, religion or no religion, nationality, language, colour, race, ethnicity, nationality and regional power differences.
6. Equal status to nationalities does not necessarily mean equal status to gender, caste, class, sexuality, religion or no religion, language, colour, race, ethnicity, nationality and regional power differences.
7. Equal status to languages does not necessarily mean equal status to gender, caste, class, sexuality, nationality, religion or no religion, colour, race, ethnicity, nationality and regional power differences.
8. Equal status to skin colours does not necessarily mean equal status to gender, caste, class, sexuality, nationality, language, religion or no religion, race, ethnicity, nationality and regional power differences.
9. Equal status to races does not necessarily mean equal status to gender, caste, class, sexuality, nationality, language, colour, religion or no religion, ethnicity, nationality and regional power differences.
10. Equal status to ethnicities does not necessarily mean equal status to gender, caste, class, sexuality, nationality, language, colour, race, ethnicity, nationality and regional power differences.
11. Equal status to regional divides does not necessarily mean equal status to gender, caste, class, sexuality, nationality, language, colour, race, ethnicity, religion or no religion and regional power differences.
12. Above all, equal status to all human beings does not necessarily mean equal status to all species and the survival of this planet.
The earlier we understand this above basic truth and join hands to work together, the better for our own future and the future of the coming generations.

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

Search This Blog