Pakistan’s Yearning for Democracy and Freedom from US Dictates

“Join the war on terror or be bombed back to the Stone Age” was the ‘option’ given to Pakistan in the wake of 9/11 by none other than Richard Armitage, then US Secretray of State. Pakistan under President Musharraf has dutifully heeded that advice and the bombings have never really stopped. The popular mood on the Pakistani street and the direction chosen by the country’s ruling elite are so diametrically opposite that the conflict can indeed explode anytime anywhere. And with no credible democratic process to reflect this public anger, suicide bombings and terrorist attacks find an obviously fertile ground.

The ongoing convulsions in Pakistan emanate from two closely interrelated concerns. With Iraq and Afghanistan bleeding so profusely under US occupation, the average Pakistani’s sympathy clearly lies with the people of Iraq and Afghanistan and Musharraf’s policy of compliance and active collaboration with the US naturally remains a source of tremendous mass anger. Simultaneously, there is a visible yearning for restoration of democracy, for a real end to military rule and not just a civilian facade. Far from satisfying either of these concerns, a US-brokered ‘democratic deal’ only adds insult to injury.

How different was the welcome Benazir had got on 10 April, 1986 when she had returned seven years after her father had been hanged by General Zia ul-Haq! On that occasion she had landed in Lahore, which unlike Karachi, is not a PPP stronghold and yet she was greeted by a much bigger crowd than could be managed by her party when she reached Karachi on October 18. It was widely believed that her father had been hanged at the behest of the US and so in 1986 Benazir had the sympathy of all sections of the people of Pakistan who wanted to get rid of both military rule and American intervention. It is another matter that far from fulfilling these twin aspirations, Benazir’s two stints in power (1988-90 and 1993-96) only earned notoriety for unbridled corruption.

Worse still, now in 2007 she has come back from her self-imposed exile only as another pro-US face. Her pro-democracy pretension has also been badly exposed by the deal she struck with Musharraf. While her MPs bailed out Musharraf by abstaining during the controversial October 6 presidential poll, the latter fully reciprocated by promulgating a National Reconciliation Ordinance just on the eve of the poll withdrawing all corruption charges against Benazir and her key associates. Meanwhile on the question of the collaborating with the US in the so-called ‘war on terror’ Benazir continues to back Musharraf to the hilt as has been evident during her response to the “Operation Silence” campaign when hundreds of people were killed by the Pakistani Army in the name of freeing Lal Masjid from the control of fanatics and terrorists.

The events happening in Pakistan today are mostly choreographed by the Bush administration. On September 10 Nawaz Sharif was bundled back to Saudi Arabia soon after his plane had landed at Islamabad because he still does not figure in the US scheme of things. But the same Musharraf extended all courtesy and assistance to Benazir thanks to the US-brokered Bhutto-Musharraf power-sharing deal. The US has offered all help to investigate the suicide bombing plot and by all indications US intervention in Pakistan’s internal affairs will continue to grow. The threat of Pakistan being reduced to another Afghanistan in the name of combating terrorism will continue to loom large.

Against this backdrop, we in India can only keep our fingers crossed while hoping wholeheartedly for a real anti-imperialist democratic resurgence in Pakistan that alone can bring some meaningful political change in that country and lasting peace in the subcontinent.

All-India ‘Save Land, Save Nation’ Campaign by AIKSS

In the wake of the SEZ Act 2005 and various SEZ Acts passed by state governments, corporate grab of thousands of acres of land has become the norm all over the country. At the same time, Kalinganagar, POSCO and Nandigram have shown the way – and every act of land grab is met with determined peasant resistance. In this backdrop, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (AIKSS) observed October 3 as a day of nation-wide protest, with the slogan of ‘Zamin Bachao, Desh Bachao’ (Save Land, Save the Nation) against the stranglehold of imperialist policies and MNCs on the Indian rural scene and also demanding scrapping of the Indo-US Nuke Deal.

In Jind (Haryana), a peasants’ march was organised under the leadership of Comrade Prem Singh Gehlawat, member of the AIKSS national committee. In 5 tehsils of Jhunjhunu and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan, Kisan dharnas were organized in which thousands of peasants participated. The campaign was led by Comrade Ramchandra Kulahari, member of the AIKSS national committee. In Mansa, (Punjab), a mass meeting of the peasants was addressed by Comrade Ruldu Singh, leader of the Punjab Kisan Union and others. In Raipur (Chhattisgarh), a dharna and mass meeting was organized. In Muradabad and Ghazipur (UP) dharnas and meetings were organized which were addressed by Comrade Ishwari Prasad Kushwaha and other leaders of the Kisan Sabha. A poster campaign was also held at Dindigul (Tamilnadu). Around 300 peasants staged a dharna at the collectorate in Bhagalpur (Bihar) and submitted a memorandum to the DC. In Jehanabad, a seminar was organized on ‘Save land, Save the nation’ in which many intellectuals participated. It was addressed by Comrades Raja Ram Singh, national convener, AIKSS, Kamlesh Sharma, General Secretary RYA, Dr. Ramadhar Singh and others. Peasants organized a protest march and meeting in Buxar. In Masauri, a protest march was held. In Maner also a procession marched through the town and converged at Bhagat Singh Chowk where a mass meeting was organized.

Conference in London Highlights Contemporary Parallels with 1857 War of Independence

A one day conference was held in London on Saturday 6 October to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 1857 uprising. Speakers from India and Pakistan addressing this conference drew parallels with the current situation in South Asia today. Organised by South Asia Solidarity Group, the 1857 Committee and the Centre for South Asian Studies, SOAS, the conference ‘1857/2007 Imperialism, Race, Resistance’ drew more than 120 participants. Speakers included Indian human rights lawyer Nandita Haksar, feminist educationist Rubina Saigol from Pakistan; historian and writer on colonialism and patriarchy Kumkum Sangari, Editor of Indian CPI(ML) monthly Liberation Kavita Krishnan; spokesperson of Cageprisoners (the campaign for prisoners in Guantanamo) Adnan Siddiqui; eminent civil-liberties lawyer Gareth Peirce; Iraqi Democrats Against Occupation spokesperson Hani Lazim, and historian and writer on British imperialism John Newsinger.

The conference looked at 1857 as one of the high points of continuing popular anti-imperialist resistance, in which people identifying with different communities and religions but sharing many aspects of culture consciously came together to resist an aggressively racist colonial power. Against this background, contemporary imperialism, racism and the rise of the religious right, and the struggles against them in South Asia and here in Britain were discussed.

Professor Kumkum Sangari highlighted the way in which the British colonialists involved in suppressing the uprising recorded and relished their own violence and acts of torture in pictures and photographs and letters home mirroring the recent circulation of videos of torture in Abu Ghraib and other US prisons. She talked about the participation of women - not only individual leaders but large numbers of labouring Dalit and peasant women who made up the resistance.

Dr Rubina Saigol talked about the way in which representations of 1857 in Pakistan have been communalised. She spoke of how Pakistan’s current role as a front line state in America’s war had led to de-democratisation with the protagonists Musharraf and Benazir having been pre-selected by the US - while all national data held on all citizens of Pakistan is automatically transferred to the FBI.

Kavita Krishnan argued that the ruling elites in India are still afraid of the spirit of 1857 in which people have fought not only the colonial rulers but what Bhagat Singh called the ‘Brown Britishers’ who replaced them. Highlighting the thread running through from 1857 to Bhagat Singh and Naxalbari she referred to the current struggles against land grabbing by multinational corporations for Special Economic Zones in which many have lost their lives. She also described the popular opposition to the pro-imperialist Indo-US Nuclear Deal.

Nandita Haksar drew attention to the injustice of the Afzal Guru case where a man was facing the death penalty without any direct evidence against him. She read out the judgement of the Supreme Court of India which sentenced Afzal to death to satisfy“the collective conscience of society” Can the collective conscience of any people be satisfied if a fellow citizen is hanged without being given an opportunity to defend himself, she asked?

The conference launched an exhibition on the 1857 uprising which will now be touring the UK and will also be made available in India and Pakistan.

CPI(ML) Protests Power Privatisation and High Electricity Bills in Delhi Slums

CPI(ML)'s Patparganj Area Committee held a Protest March of slum dwellers at the local BSES (Electricity Board) office. Jhuggi dwellers who barely use a single bulb and fan in each home are getting electricity bills of Rs. 2000 per month - such is the result of fast-running meters of the privatised power supply in Delhi. Delhi's Electricity Board has been privatised and unbundled into two private players - the BSES (Ambani group) and NDPL (Tata group). The promises that power privatisation would solve Delhi's power woes stands exposed.

The March began at Kalyanvas Jhuggi camp, passed No.21, No. 19 and Shashi Garden jhuggi camps and reached the local BSES office. Protestors raised slogans demanding immediate scrapping of the fast-running meters and that the billing be at the rate of Re 1 per unit for every 200 units.

A mass meeting was held at the BSES office for an hour, which was addressed by District Secretary VKS Gautam, Branch Secretary Shyam Kishore Yadav and AIPWA leader Uma Gupta. Then a delegation met the BSES officials and submitted a charter of demands.

AISA-RYA Hold Hunger Strike at Lucknow Assembly to Protest Ban on SU Elections

On 15-16 October AISA-RYA held a two-day hunger strike at the Lucknow Assembly to demand withdrawal of the ban imposed by Mayawati on Students’ Union Elections, release of state-level merit list of the ‘Vishisht BTC’ teaching posts, and a CBI enquiry to identify and punish those guilty of the scam in police-PAC recruitment. Students from Allahabad University which is a Central University, Kashi Vidyapeeth, Lucknow University, Gorakhpur University, students of degree colleges, as well as youth from Ambedkarnagar, Balia and other districts took part in the hunger strike. Leading the hunger strike were AISA State President Ramayan Ram and RYA State President Balmukund Dhuria.

Addressing the gathering, leaders of AISA and RYA said that Mayawati was branding students and youth as criminals in order to justify her gagging of SU elections and democracy. But the fact is that the VCs of no less than 5 universities were dismissed on charges of corruption!

In the name of giving employment, Mayawati is pitting youth against each other. Vacancies are being mired in litigation: be it the ‘Vishisht BTC’ or the Police-PAC recruitments, this trend can be seen. UP universities are being turned into teaching shops with privatisation packages. And it is to clear the hurdles in this path that student union polls have been banned.

The protest meeting was addressed by AISA State President Ramayan and Secretary Manish, RYA State President Balmukund Dhuria and Secretary Madan Yadav, former office bearer of Allahabad University Union Premshankar Singh, former library representative of Kashi Vidyapeeth Union Sarita Patel, RYA leaders Om Prakash Pal and several other student and youth activists. On the second day, the fast was broken after AISA National General Secretary Ravi Rai offered them juice.

New Land- Ordinance in Uttarakhand Serves Land-Mafia’s Interest

In May 2007, the BJP Govt. in Uttarakhand promulgated a new Land Ordinance. Its predecessor, the last Congress Govt. had brought two such ordinances in September 2003 and January 2004. Thus three land ordinances in just four years, a unique distinction for the state of Uttarakhand! Has the land question acquired such priority for governments in people’s interest? Far from it. In fact this new found zeal of governments in the land question is to serve the interests of the land mafia and big builder lobby.

The land question is certainly a matter of grave concern in Uttarakhand today. In the whole of the state, agricultural land now remains only 10% of the total and in the hills it is only 6%, while more than 75% of the state population depends on agriculture. And if the present policy trend continues, the ratio of agricultural land will further diminish. However the latest Land Ordinance does not address the problem of transfer of this steadily diminishing agricultural land to the outsiders.

In fact the real culprit behind the present land crisis in the state are the colonial Land Ordinance of 1893 and the KUJA act of 1960 which are still in operation. The 1893 ordinance put all unaccounted, vacant, grazing land under the category of forest land and the ‘Kumaon Uttarakhand Zamindari Abolition and Land Reform Act, 1960’ brought all this land under the jurisdiction of the state, thus depriving Village Panchayats of the right of its management and distribution. In 1997, the then UP govt. re-implemented the 1893 government order, thus completely restricting the expansion of agricultural land. Also, scarce agricultural land is being diverted for various government schemes. This lies at the heart of the land crisis in the state. But even after the formation of a new state, the successive governments are not ready to scrap the old anti-people agricultural laws and legislate a new Land Reform Act empowering the Panchayats with the constitutional rights of management and distribution of all land. Then whose interest does the new Land Ordinance serve?

Uttarakhand today is an emerging attraction for real estate business, the big builders – all outsiders to the hill state – and they have a good hold over the state government and the ruling parties. These outsiders and the underworld which hitherto invested in real estate in Delhi and Bombay, is now making a huge investment here in collaboration with local builders.

The Khanduri government issued some new rules and regulations regarding land grab by outsiders and housing construction just before promulgating the new Land Ordinance. According to these rules, the government will now permit only big capital to enter the real estate business. But then comes the new Land Ordinance. It does not fix any limit for buying land in the residential areas of cities and adjoining villages and zones, and allows purchase of 250 sq. meters of land in agricultural area also. Thus the builders can purchase 5 acres of land in the name of 103 persons, construct a multi-storey building on it and sell it to at least 500 people!

Then how does the Khanduri government propose to restrict the land-mafia and builders through this land ordinance? Smaller builders are protesting it as the ordinance favours the big players and the underworld at the cost of smaller players. Given the thorough degeneration of the UKD (Uttarakhand Kranti Dal), it is no surprise that they also termed this ordinance as a ‘great victory’.

At a time when the governments are busy corporatising agriculture and making land available to the MNCs and corporate houses for production, food-processing, wholesale and even retail trade, it will be certainly naïve to expect a BJP government to impose restrictions on land transfer to outsiders!

Obituary

Comrade Ashok Kumar Karmakar

Comrade Ashok Kumar Karmakar, aged 55, breathed his last on October 7, 2007. He suffered a brain stroke on September 27 which proved fatal for him. He remained an active member till his premature demise.

Comrade Karmakar was first a Science teacher in a reputed high school in Tinsukia (Assam). He was a member of Power Sector Party group in Tinsukia. He played a significant role in the process of organizing the Assam State Power Workers’ Union in the state. Everybody, even the top officials of ASEB, always praised him for his honesty, dedication, modesty, and exemplary sincerity. He was an active trade unionist and had attended the founding conference of AICCTU held in Bombay. He was at the forefront of the struggle against the privatization of power sector and the proposed Electricity Bill in 2003. During the Congress regime led by Hiteshwar Saikia, he was jailed for his active participation in the popular movement against state repression in Assam. He was also very active in the movement against ESMA promulgated in ASEB. Once, his house was raided by the police when he was performing the Shraddha ceremony for his father.

He acted in many street plays and had also scripted many plays. One of his well-liked plays was ‘Garta’, which was staged at many working class centers. He was one of the founder members of ‘Sadou Assam Jan Sanskritik Parishad’. He was fluent in Bengali and Assamese. He had been an investigative journalist and former Tiksukia District Press Association’s executive member, as well as Upper Assam correspondent of the Bengali daily ‘Jag Shankha’.

When communal tension broke out in Tinsukia during the Assam movement in the eighties, Karmakar took many risks in the course of his tireless work to restore communal harmony. He also intrepidly collected reports of arson of Hindi speaking communities at the hands of the ULFA.

He was closely associated with the Assam Science Society and several other progressive social initiatives, and though he was not formally a whole-timer of the party he worked like one.

Karmakar’s versatile skills, his humility and courage will all be missed deeply.

Red Salute, Comrade Karmakar!

Comrade Sukhmal Bhuiyan

Comrade Sukhmal Bhuiyan, an active party member and a retired Vice Principal of Tinsukia College died of a sudden cardiac arrest on 19 October at a nursing home in Tinsukia. He was 61.

A committed social worker and former head of Geography Deptt. in Tinsukia College, he was once the District Party Secretary of Tinsukia. As the District Convener of AICCTU he was active in joint movement against New Economic Policy. He was jailed for his active participation in the movement against privatization of Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum. He was also sent to jail during the eighties for burning the effigy of Hiteshwar Saikia, then Chief Minister of Assam. He was active in the movement against the privatization of Tinsukia Electric Supply.

Long Live Comrade Sukhmal Bhuiyan!