Travelling through Suffering India

 

 

    

Travelling from the finance capital of India, Mumbai, the Western Sangharsh Sandesh Jatha covered 2717 kilometres through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to reach Delhi. Starting from Hutatma Chowk, (Martyr's square : now a dysfunctional symbol of British Bombay – Flora fountain) a location that hosts many corporate headquarters and the Stock Exchange, a perfect reference for what we call the 'Shining India', it travelled through one of the most backward regions in the country – Dhule, Nandurbar, and Bundelkhand – the 'Suffering India', of the majority.
        The jatha had started from the land of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who gave the call, 'Freedom is my birth right and I shall have it' and passed through the land of Rani of Jhansi who was martyred in the first war of Indian independence. All through, the people we met, identified themselves with the six-main slogans of the jatha and paraphrased them: 'land for the landless, food for all, jobs for all, education for all and health for all, are our birth rights and we shall have them'.
        The agony among the people in all the areas we had visited was palpable. The severe drought conditions in Dhule and Nandurbar of Maharashtra had forced many of the farmers to abandon the villages and migrate to cities. Those remaining in these regions, told us that cultivation will be difficult for the next five years because there are no sources of water even over 2000 feet underground. The government has done precious little to increase the area under irrigation in this region. The peasants expressed their distress at the present situation and were apprehensive that this region too would soon become a hotbed for suicides like in the other parts of Maharashtra. Experiencing such a daily struggle for life, the jatha moved to Madhya Pradesh.
          Garlanding the statue of B R Ambedkar in Mhow, his birth place, we were reminded of his famous concluding speech in the Constituent Assembly, commending the Constitution for approval – We have created a society that grants one person one vote and one vote one value. But are yet to create a society where one person has the same one value. Our jatha carried the 'sandesh' to strengthen popular struggles – Sangharsh – to end such social and economic disparities. As Ambedkar said: “How long will we continue to live like this?”
           Holding a public meeting in front of the statue of Rani of Jhansi, Laxmibai, the precise spot assumed to be where she was killed, one could not help but contemplate how insidiously the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is spreading communal poison, whereas here lies a Rani, who performed her pooja every morning, took up a sword to fight the British and proclaimed the Lal Quila's Mughal, Bahadur Shah Zafar as the Head of Independent India. The BJP decrying the minorities as 'Babur ka aulad', is openly discriminating against them. The need to wage a struggle against these communal forces brings back onto agenda the task of consolidating the syncretic character of Indian civilisation against the divisive policies of caste, gender and communalism.
               From an area of institutionalised communalism, we entered the land of caste based khap panchayats. This only reinforced the long distance and way Indian revolution has to travel to establish a society where we can find a true expression of liberty, equality and fraternity.
            One could see a growing popular perception for sharpening struggles on all these scores. The responsibility of Indian communists grows more than of anybody else to intensify the struggles and mitigate the sufferings of the majority of our people.

Huge Rally at Ramlila Grounds Calls for Mass Struggle for Alternative Policies....!

         CPI(M) calls for wide spread movement to establish the six fundamental demands raised for the people. In a massive rally on 19th March at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi it announced a programme of Dharna or sit in demonstration with civil disobedience in the districts, blocks offices across the country from 15th to 31st May keeping the demands in forefront of land, food security, employment, Right to education and health, equal rights for women. The movements are to be launched from people’s gathering. If necessary one will court arrest also, announced CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat. 

          This is but the initiation of a bigger struggle for implementation of alternative policies aimed at the betterment of the people. The thousands and thousands of people gathered in the heart of the capital resolved to launch a non-stop united struggle with other Left Parties across the country. The rally marked the convergence of four Jathas from across the four corners of the Country that traversed about 10,000km distance. The top leadership of the CPI(M) led these Jathas from various parts of the country. It started on 24th February from Kanyakumari with the Southern Jatha. In between 14th to 16th March the four Jathas reached New Delhi. After this was this gathering. The motive behind this Sangharsh Sandesh Jatha was to explain in front of the people about the necessity of struggle to establish the alternative policies. To carry the message of struggle to the masses. As CPI(M) Polit Bureau member said in this rally that people want struggle. People want to be a part of the struggle. At the call of the CPI(M) people had gathered in the heart of the capital as a part of the struggle and had left with the news of struggle.
In the gathering, the President of the meeting Prakash Karat in his commencing speech at the very onset made it clear about the very purpose of the meeting by saying when others are thinking about the forth coming election, this meeting is not for vote but for struggle. At the beginning of his speech he said in this gathering the bidi workers of solapur, the land labourers of Bihar-Uttar Pradesh are there and the toiling masses are there. This is the real India.
           Prakash Karat said gradually the state of the toiling masses is worsening. The land of the farmers are being taken away, there is no food security, lakhs and lakhs of youth remain unemployed, there is no scope for education and health for all, atrocities on women is increasing. The central policies are for the multimillionaires; it is being framed for the benefit of the richest. All the assets of the country from land-factories-mines are being handed over to the multimillionaires. Due to the policies of the Government, prices of commodities are rising. In this year’s Central Budget there has been curtailment on subsidies on things, which are of use to the common people. Subsidies on petroleum product have been curtailed. After decontrol, the price of petrol has risen 21 times. The price of diesel is now going to rise every month. The farmers of this country are in trouble but Government subsidy is being curtailed. From 1999 onwards 2lakhs 90thousand farmers have committed suicide. The Government is unperturbed. Now by allowing 100 percent foreign investment in retail business, the livelihood of four crores of retail businessmen is going to be endangered.
           He said unless the UPA Government can be removed from its seat, the condition of the people will not change. What is the alternative? The BJP is walking in their path of same liberalization policies, pampering the national and international capital. On the other hand they are competing with Congress in corruption. In recent times The BJP Chief Minister of Karnataka has been jailed for illegal mining corruption. BJP’s Narendra Modi’s Gujrat model is being talked about but what actually is this model that the multimillionaires know very well. They are being given land for no cost, electricity with no surcharge, tax benefit. So that they can ensure more profit. Gujrat is lagging behind in education-health. Gujrat is in the forefront in child malnutrition. The minorities have been awarded a second-class citizen status. This model will cause the downfall of the country.
          Karat said that the only option against these policies of liberalization is to fight for the cause of the alternative policy. Through the mass struggle of poor, labours, farmers, youth, women, tribals a strong alternative policy has to be framed. The non-congress, non-BJP parties have to think whether the condition of the poor people can improve without an alternative policy. They should come forward but whether they come or not CPI(M) along with other Left Parties will continue with the fight for an alternative policy.
            CPI(M) Polit Bureau members, Sitaram Yechury, Biman Bose, Brinda Karat, Manik Sarkar also addressed the gathering.
          The huge gathering of poor people under the banner of the red flag in the heart of the capital will take back the message of struggle to all the parts of the country. In the coming days the struggle of the poor for the alternative policies will spread to the nook and corner of the country. That is the message of the huge rally at Ramlila Grounds, New Delhi.

Sangharsh Sandesh Jatha Flagged Off....!

          Com. Prakash Karat, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) flagged off the Sangharsh Sandesh jatha in Kanyakumari on 24 February 2013. Com. Prakash Karat handed over the jatha flag to Com. S. Ramachandran Pillai, Polit Bureau member and the leader of the South Jatha. This is the first of the four jathas that the CPI(M) is conducting.
             In an impressive flagging off ceremony organised in Kanyakumari, Com. Prakash Karat explained the reasons for organising the jathas covering the entire length and breadth of the country. He explained that the ruinous policies of the Congress led UPA government are leading to all round depravement of the common people. Karat stated that through this Jatha CPI (M) will mobilise people to fight for the right for food, employment, education, health, rights of the oppressed sections such as dalits, adivasis and minorities etc. He also said that through these Jathas the party is also calling up the people to join the fight against corruption.
           He stated that along with this jatha that will travel through the all the states in Southern India, there are three more jathas – the eastern jatha starts from Kolkata, the western jatha from Mumbai and the northern jatha from Amritsar. “All these jathas will culminate in Delhi, where a mass rally will be held on 19th March”. He called upon the people to join the struggle for their rights and strengthen the fight for alternative policies. 

          Com. Karat concluded his speech stating “It is only the Left and democratic forces that can give a real alternative to the disastrous policies pursued by the successive governments at the Centre”.
                 Com. S. Ramachandran Pillai the leader of the jatha thanked the people of Kanyakumari for the reception they had accorded to the jatha. He said that the policies pursued by the Congress led UPA government are benefitting the corporates and the rich people in our country. He criticised the government for their failure to address the issues of the common people. He said that there is a need to start massive struggles against these policies which are exploiting agriculture workers, peasants, minorities and women. “To protect  their rights we need alternate policies, and for this people have to come together and join forces with CPI (M) in this struggle''
              Com. Noor Mohammed, Secretariat member of the Tamilnadu state committee gave the welcome address while Com. K. Varadarajan, Polit Bureau member presided over the meeting. Others who participated were Com. V. Srinivasa Rao, Member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee and Com. Sudha Sundararaman, Member, Central Committee.