Is the Left alright?

The Left parties in our country (namely the CPI(M), CPI, Forward Bloc etc.) are a curious misfits in our country's political arena. Sometimes they act in a supreme statesmanship manner ( protest against parking of pension funds in equity markets, irregularities in NREG programme etc.)while in worst of times they even dharna or boycott for petty issues. ( even issues that are trivial is magnified to their advantage like boycotting the state visit of US President George Bush to India, for his country's capitalist and imperialist attitude, while extending a red carpet welcome to President Hu Jintao of China!!).
The Left in India is a chimerical combination of the Intellectual spirit of the western democracies with the Gandhian spirit of dharna, non-cooperation and hartal, with a tinge of Communist spirit of direct action. The end result is that they are an alien lot stooped in the past and failing to apprehend the imminent future.
While one must appreciate their spirit of earnestness and integrity, their traditional opinions fails to grasp with the ground realities. Generally the democratic principle of political representation demands that the public policies should be formulated based on the general will of the people, not merely based on cannons, beliefs and customs.
There were times when these Left parties opposed the introduction of computers in PSUs like LIC. They even went to the extent of barricading the offices and all night dharna! Imagine what would have been LIC today without computers!! And their argument that jobs would be affected also proved wrong today. This is precisely the public mood that the Left is failing to comprehend even today. One shouldn't oppose just for principle sake, rather a through analysis of the pros and cons is needed, before arriving at a composite judgement.
Its high time that Left shed its traditional Nationalist cloak and get sensitised to the changing societal needs. A deeper understanding of the public opinions and the foresight of things to come must be driving force in policy formulations.