What we commonly term as October revolution actually happened in November and today is the 100th anniversary of it. Once upon a time the Bolshevik revolution of Russia that saw the creation of the mighty USSR was seen as the ultimate expression of people's power against feudal rule and more cerebral than the french revolution. It was celebrated worldwide with due fanfare and appropriate glory.
With the parting of the Chinese communist party , fall of USSR and dismantling of the socialist setup throughout the world , the October revolution has lost much of its glory. Gone are the days of pomp and show at Moscow, Beijing, Havana, Berlin and yes, the huge rallies at Kolkata and Trivandrum. To many young people October revolution is more like a Robin hood type story where the rich were looted and poor came to power ; that's all.
But it will be a mistake to write off the event and its significance in the history of humanity. Those who take it lightly or ignore the lessons are living in denial . No idea or event can be judged by its ultimate success or failure but the impact that it creates on us .
October revolution did not fail by itself. It was the Soviet system which failed . And why ? Because of the conservatism of dogma and deviation from the Marxist-Leninist principles . And like drainage to the roots of a tree , constant evolution of any principle or idea is necessary to keep it growing . This is where perhaps the Soviet system failed primarily . The Chinese , however, modified their own system and suited it to their own national interests .
Perhaps there lies the lesson . In their zeal to export the revolution to different countries the Soviet system neglected the structural deficiencies of their own . And the Indian champions of October revolution too remained mired in their dogmatic views trying to supplant the revolution like a dose of medicine.
It has been hundred years only . Who knows how the wheel of time moves in the next hundred years ?
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