A Review on Wer, Wenn nicht Wir and a parallel into revolutionary socialism in 70s

Recreated from a Facebook post in February 2013

Yesterday watched a film, "Wer, wenn nicht wir"(who, if not us) that focussed on the earlier years of the Baader-Meinhof gang. Looking up on the net about their uprising and the end, it reminds me of a very similar movement much closer at home, the naxalite movement and specially of a book by Subhas Basu "Gol Ruti, Neel Chand" (Round bread and blue moon) that depicted how the fraction distanced themselves from the Communist party and right up to their disillusionment and dissolution. Just branding similar movements as terrorist activities, as some sites do, will be a gross simplification and misrepresentation of the world history of the time. One cannot condone the violence they started, and replace the losses the families suffered, but these are the tales of a lost youth, utterly brilliant and motivated - they were philosophers, writers, artists, journalists - yet lost in the tumultuous period the world was going through, and were fighting an enemy they couldn't have overthrown, for it didn't really exist. Forty years on since Vietnam, the youth movement calmed down a lot, the only violence you see is either by right-wing fundamentalists or state-sanctioned "peace-keeping missions" (or domestic); the terms Fascist and Capitalist aren't synonymous any more as aren't Socialist and Left-wing. Perhaps we are converging towards a de-polarised world that will see a harmonious coexistence of both theories, and will benefit all strata of people. Making it happen within a country - quite possible. Making it happen worldwide - Not!