CPI(ML) HOME Vol.11, No.37 09 - 15 SEPT 2008

The Weekly News Bulletin of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)(Liberation)
U-90, Shakarpur, Delhi 110092. Tel: (91)11-22521067. Fax(91)11-22518248

 

In this Issue

The One-Two-Three of NSG Waiver
            So the UPA government has crossed the third and toughest hurdle -- after those in the Indian parliament and in the IAEA -- on the way to operationalising the US-India nuclear deal.  But how, at what cost and in whose interest?
To find a correct answer to this all-important question, one needs to examine three basic documents or constituent parts of the whole arrangement.  One, the 123 agreement, the actual implications of which were revealed recently by the disclosure of a January 2008 White House document.  Two, the undertaking given by Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee on 5 September 2008 to satisfy the naysayers at the Vienna negotiations.  And three, the revised final text of the NSG declaration.
The US State Department's letter to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which found mention in the Washington Post in May and July, was certainly no secret to the Indian government.  But the important document was kept secret by common consent of the "strategic partners" to keep the Indian public in the dark, lest the accord should run into rougher weather.  This was considered necessary because the authentic US clarifications give the lie to almost every assurance made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his colleagues to the people of India.
"I confirm that there is nothing in these agreements which prevents us from further nuclear tests if warranted by our national security concerns", the PM declared during the debate proceeding the July trust vote.  The State Department letter, on the other hand, states that India has been left in no doubt that all cooperation will cease immediately if it conducted a test.  The PM's office claimed on July 2, 2008: “the 123 Agreement clearly overrides the Hyde Act”; the Bush administration's letter states that the 123 Agreement fully conforms to the Hyde Act provisions.  It  also clarifies (contrary to claims made by Indian authorities) that the US (a) gives no consent to India's stockpiling of lifetime fuel reserves for safeguarded power reactors; (b) retains the right to suspend or terminate nuclear supplies at its own discretion; (c) gives fuel supply assurances only " to guard against disruption of fuel supply to India that might occur through no fault of India’s own,” e.g., trade war, market disruptions -- and such assurances  are “not ... meant to insulate India against the consequences of a nuclear explosive test or a violation of non-proliferation commitments”; (d) in the latter cases (involving a nuclear test or other violation) grants India no right to take corrective measures against fuel-supply disruptions; and (e) "will not assist India in the design, construction or operation of sensitive nuclear technologies."
The Berman disclosures thus show up Manmohan Singh not as ' King ' or master of the situation, but as a liar, a bluff master and a servant of US imperialism.
Pranab Mukherjee's  commitment of “voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing and non- proliferation”, though nothing new, (as the Congress tries to emphasise) constitutes an important element in the whole process.  Because it was made following a specific "suggestion" from Vienna – where the US was conducting the negotiations on behalf of itself and its junior partner -- and was officially taken as a “basis” for the waiver.
Finally, the reworded text on which the NSG put its seal of approval -- reluctantly and under the heaviest possible US pressure -- reconfirms the real nature of the agreement.  When read with the national statements issued by Austria, China, Germany, Ireland, Japan and others, the text indicates that member countries will terminate nuclear trade with India if it resumes testing.  It seeks to make India adhere more firmly to the terms and conditions of the Hyde Act, which specifically provided that India shall have to accept “fallback safeguards” if the US or the IAEA felt that routine inspections could not be satisfactorily carried out. In short, far from being "clean and unconditional", the waiver actually pushes our country into perpetual dependence on the global nuclear oligarchy.
Such is the real content and context of the "great Vienna victory" that the UPA government and the corporate media are celebrating. An appropriate Left response must also be three-pronged.  One, expose the real worth of the nuclear deal, including the NSG agreement, as an egoistic exercise in satisfying the ruling elite's chauvinist supremacist ambitions under US tutelage, with little to contribute by the way of meeting India's energy needs.  Two, counterpunch and deflate the nuclear euphoria or neuphoria to bring to the forefront the struggles against burning problems like price rise and pauperisation.  Three, oust the present government in the approaching elections -- not to bring in another that would perpetuate the nuclear (and not only nuclear) slavery with cosmetic changes, but one that would throw it off into the dustbin of history.
The Fifth National Conference of AIPWA took place at Ranchi on 5-6 September 2008. The Conference took place at a Hall named after Comrade Ajanta Lohit and Comrade Jeeta Kaur, and the dais was named Phoolo Jhano Manch, after the adivasi heroines of the anti-colonial movement. The Conference began with the hoisting of the AIPWA flag by veteran activist of the revolutionary women’s movement Comrade Mira. This was followed by tributes paid at a Marty’s Column to martyrs and departed activists of the women’s movement. In particular, tribute was paid to Kaushalya Devi, who had fought a brave struggle against her son Comrade Chandrashekhar’s killers, and who passed away on the eve of the Conference.      
The Conference was inaugurated with a rousing Janhi-sikar dance Jharkhand JSM’s team Prerna. The inaugural session began with Dr. Rose Kerketta, on behalf of Ranchi’s Welcome Committee, welcomed the delegates and guests from all over the country. The chief guest at the Conference, exiled Burmese activist Thin Thin Aung, spoke inspiringly about women’s role in the Burmese struggle for democracy against military rule. She said that she and others like her had not come to India to escape from Burma but to continue the struggle for democracy and freedom in Burma. Reminding that both Burma and India shared a legacy of anti-imperialist resistance, she called upon the women’s movement in India to stand by their sisters in Burma and pressurise the Indian Government not to continue to have trade and military ties with the repressive Burmese military regime. AIPWA National President Srilata Swaminathan gave a rousing speech which set the tone for the Conference and presented solidarity messages from women’s groups in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, as well as Asian Women Unite (UK) and the London-based South Asia Solidarity Group. AIPWA leaders Meena Tiwary, Tahira Hasan, Convenor, Tehreeq-e-Niswan, Prof. Bharti S Kumar from Patna University, Nivedita, senior journalist from Patna, Renu Diwan, editor Nari Samvad, Malanch Ghosh of Mahila Utpidan Virodhi Vikas Manch, and activist Munni Hansdah also addressed the inaugural session. 
The delegate session began on the evening of 5 September. 462 delegates from around 18 states participated in the session. Outgoing AIPWA General Secretary Kumudini Pati presented the Report for discussion, and delegates debated many aspects of the women’s movement and ongoing struggles and challenges. AIALA leader Comrade Krishna Adhikari and AICCTU leader Meena Pal also addressed the delegate session, and also AIPWA’s Honorary President, veteran women’s movement leader Comrade Geeta Das.
The Conference elected a 79-member National Council and a 21-member National Executive. Srilata Swaminathan was re-elected National President; Meena Tiwary was elected National General Secretary; Kumudini Pati, Tahira Hasan, Saroj Chaubey, Bharti S Kumar, Anju Borkataky, Pratima Engheepi, Gunni Oraon, Rati Rao and Mukta Manohar as Vice Presidents; and Shashi Yadav, Chaitali Sen, Sunita, Kavita Krishnan, Anjali Upadhyay, Kanaklata Dutta, Medha Thatte and R Nagamani as Secretaries.

The Conference passed a range of political resolutions: resolving to intensify the movement demanding that the Bill for 33% Reservation for Women be placed for vote in the forthcoming session of Parliament; condemning the UPA Government for breaking its promises to women and failing to pass the 33% Reservation Bill; against price rise; against anti-women Court judgements; against privbatisation of education and fee hikes which cause girls to be deprived of education; against the communal violence on Christian women by the Sangh Parivar in Orissa; in solidarity with the struggle of Kashmiri women and women in the North East against state repression; demanding scrapping of the AFSPA and other draconian laws; demanding ban on the Salwa Judum; in solidarity with the struggles against corporate land grab in Singur, Nandigram, Kalinganagar and all over the country; against the rapes of Tapasi Malik and women at Nandigram; congratulating the women of Nepal for their role in the struggle for democracy and expressing solidarity with ongoing struggles in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma.top

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CPI(ML) Condoles the Death of Kaushalya Devi
CPIML expresses deep sorrow and condolences at the death of Kaushalya Devi ji, mother of comrade Chandrashekhar, CPI(ML) activist and ex-President of the JNU Students' Union. She was suffering from serious illness for a long time and passed away on 3 September in Siwan.

Bihar and Siwan will always remember her courage and commitment, witnessed immediately after Chandrashekhar's shocking killing by RJD's goons on 31st March 1997, in Siwan. Even in that hour of deep personal loss, Kaushalya Devi  gave a clarion call to students and youth to rise up against the terror and mafia Raj in Bihar. Ever since, she has been at the forefront of the struggle against the ruling establishment in Bihar, braving numerous threats by the mafia MP Shahabuddin and his terror machinery. Till her last days, in spite of her failing health, she remained fearlessly dedicated to the cause and will remain a permanent source of courage and inspiration to students, youth and all struggling people of this country.top

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Mamta's Truce with CPI(M) : CPI(ML) Criticizes the 'Solution' to the Singur Imbroglio
After full 15 days, Ms Mamata Banerjee has ended her sit-in-demonstration in front of the Tata Motors project following a truce with the ruling CPM. A joint committee comprising representatives of the Trinamul Congress (TMC) and of the state government has been formed to try and find suitable land plots, within the project area and without, to be returned to "unwilling peasants".  The long drawn-out unequal war between the Tata motors-WB government camp and the toiling people's camp has thus entered into a critical stage.

The party's West Bengal state committee, in a press statement released on 9 September, severely criticised the very process and parameters of finding a solution to the Singur imbroglio.  For one, the entire dialogue is focused only on compensation to land- owning peasants, ignoring the interests of the thousands of agrarian labourers, sharecroppers (recorded as well as unrecorded) and others.  The CPI (ML) has vowed to carry forward the struggle for compensation and rehabilitation of these neglected sections, as well as of those who have lost their land.  Secondly, by choosing to negotiate only with the TMC and ignoring other forces that have been involved in the Singur struggle from the very beginning, the state government has once again acted in a most undemocratic manner.  Thirdly, soon after the WB governor, CM and Ms Banerjee jointly announced that they were approaching a solution, the Tatas adamantly announced their reluctance to part with any land -- thus throwing cold water on the whole process.  The CPI (ML) press statement condemned both the obduracy of Tatas and the indecent haste with which the government sent clarifications appeasing the Tata house.  The party has also demanded adequate compensation to families of the martyrs of the movement, of those who died of starvation or committed suicide out of frustration and many others who have suffered in various ways during the last two years. With these and other demands, the party is going to organise a Singur march and mass meeting on 10 September, soon to be followed by a mass deputation to the governor of West Bengal.top

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Protest against Firing on NREGA Workers
The women workers under NREGA faced indiscriminate police lathi charge and firing by the police in Retannai village near Tindivanam in Villupuram district on 16 August. A joint fact finding team comprising CPI(ML), AIALA and AICCTU leaders immediately went to the village. This included Balasundaram, State Secretary of CPIML, S. Janakiraman, Gen. Secretary of AIALA in Tamil Nadu, S. Balasubramanian, State Secretary, Puducherry, and comrades Dhakshinamoorthy, P. Shankara, Kirshnamoorthy, and Shagabudin.

The team published a fact-finding report in the media. A protest demonstration was held in Chennai on 26 Aug. to press for the demand of immediate removal of the guilty revenue and police officers including District Collector and SP. The protesters rejected the government's proposal of RDO inquiry which was only a token measure. The demo was led by N. Gunasegaran, State President of AIALA. Coms M.Venkatesan, districgt President of AIALA of Villupuram and S. Janakiraman, TN State Gen. Secretary of AIALA. S. Kumarasamy, AICCTU National President, addressed the protesters where he condemned the the DMK govt. for its anti-worker stance and demanded that the state employment guarantee council should be convened to discuss the issue. He called upon the agrarian workers to intensify the struggle for 200 days employment in a year, employment for two persons in a family, Rs 200 wage per day, scrapping of piece-rate system and strictest enforcement of statutory minimum wage for 7 hours.top

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Campaign against Liquor Plant in Pudukkottai
AIALA conducted a successful campaign against the construction of a liquor factory in Kandarvakkottai block of Pudukkottai district which was posing a threat to the livelihood of nearly one lakh people in 15 panchyats. A liquor baron has started constructions on a 32 acre land even without getting proper license and necessary clearances. Deep bore-wells were being dug posing a threat of heavy depletion of water table. CPI(ML) and AIALA took out a motor-cycle campaign in fifteen panchayats and effectively countered and stalled the district administration's move to favour the liquor baron in the name of peace committee meeting. This led the RDO to declare that the works will be stopped. 15 panchayats passed unanimous resolution to vacate the unit from the district. Big land owners and local bigwigs first tried to split the people’s unity, but later, sensing the mood of the people, they too ranged against the liquor unit!

A conference was organised on 26 Aug. at Kandarvakkottai against the construction of liquor factory. Some prominent representatives from among lower-middle peasants of the affected villages also attended defying their parties’ affiliations. P. Asaithambi presided over the conference, while  Party State Secretary Balasundaram addressed as main speaker.. top

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Akrosh Rally in Pithoragarh

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) organised an ‘Akrosh Rally’ at Baram in Dharchula tehsil on 6 Sept. on the first anniversary of the Baram landslide incidents in which fifteen persons were killed. The rallyists paid tribute to the victims of this calamity. People from Baram and its nearby areas attended the gathering which was presided over by Dani Chand. Speakers criticised the state's BJP Govt. for not rehabilitaing compensentating the calamity-affected families even after one year. They took oath on the occasion that they would continue their movement against the state government. After the gathering, they submitted a memorandum to the Governor through the Tehsildar of Dharchula. They demanded resettlement of calamity-affected persons, to set up tin shades for their temporary stay, a survey of the entire Gorichhal area and to create a disaster policy for the state. They organised a demonstration after the gathering. The entire market of Baram region was closed for the programme. The Mahila and Yuvak Mangal Dal activists from Baram Saldhar, Malla Sain, Bandar Khet, Toli, Metali, Lumti, Chami, Gharudi, Chhoribagar, Mawani-Dawani, Alamdara and ‘Revolutionary Youth Association’ members from Munsyari, Pithoragarh attended the rally. District Party in-charge Govind Kafliya, Jagat Martoliya, Surendra Brijwal, Sushil Khati, Devaki Pariha, Sonu Parihar, Bhagirathi Parihar, Kalawati Parihar, Prem, Bhupendra, Padam Singh and Bhagat Singh Mehara addressed the rally.top

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Mayawati Govt. Must Stop Protecting the Communal Divisive Forces in Azamgarh and other Parts of UP
The CPI(ML) has strongly criticized, and held responsible, the Mayawati Govt. in UP for the spate of communal violence in Azamgarh initiated by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Yogi Adityanath's Hindu Yuva Vahini. The Party has condemned the UP administration for protecting the BJP-RSS' communal designs and appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and harmony. Party's UP State Secretary Sudhakar Yadav has said that the bandh call given by the VHP and Hindu Yuva Vahini was an act of instigating the communal forces. He said that the violence in Azamgarh was a result of Mayawati administration's protection being given to the BJP-RSS combine. It was fully aware of the communal tension which was created for the last few days, but a permission was granted to notorious Yogi to hold out a rally through minority areas. The procession led by Yogi Adityanath raised anti-Muslim instigative slogans in those lanes leading to the killing of a person from minority community. On the contrary, the adminstration is now holding muslim community responsible for the communal clashes, which is nothing but a total surrender of Mayawati Govt. before the designs of communal BJP-RSS combine.
The UP unit of CPI(ML) has demanded that the attacks being perpetrated on the minority community must immediately be stopped and the tacit protection being given to Hindu Yuva Vahini, which has been notorious for communal violence in towns of eastern UP, ranging from Mau to Kushinagar to Baharaich, must not be continued as was also the case in the earlier regime of Mulayam Singh.
The Mayawati's surrender to communal forces has also been evident in the involvement of Bajrang Dal activists in a bomb explosion in Kanpur - when the former refused to conduct a thorough inquiry to nab the culprits.
CPI(ML) has demanded a judicial inquiry into the Azamgarh communal violence, compensation to the family of killed muslim youth, and a ban on communal organisations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Hindu Yuva Vahini and Bajranj Dal.

A CPI(ML) fact-finding team comprising of State Committee member Om Prakash Singh, Jai Prakash Narayan and Ram Keval Yadav visited Azamgarh on Sept. 9. The report of the team was released in Lucknow by the UP Secretary of CPI(ML) Sudhakar Yadav the next day. The report termed the communal violence in Azamgarh on Sept. 7 a continuation of earlier such incidents in East UP organised by BJP-RSS combine. The Hindu Yuva Vahini members were roaming on motor-cycles in the minority dominated areas of the town with instigative and abusive slogan shouting a couple of days before the violence took place. Even then the adminstration allowed Yogi Adityanath to carry out with his procession raising communal and instigative slogans. This amply demonstrates the tacit understanding of Mayawati Govt. with the communal fascist forces in UP. CPI(ML) has demanded the arrest of Yogi Adityanath and his activists with the charge of murder and abetting violence.         

Edited, published and printed by S. Bhattacharya for CPI(ML) Liberation from U-90, Shakarpur, Delhi-92; printed at Bol Publication, R-18/2, Ramesh Park, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-92; Phone:22521067; fax: 22518248, e-mail: mlupdate@cpiml.org, website: www.cpiml.org
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