In this Issue

Turn 2009 Into A Year of Bigger Struggles and Greater Victories

Eventful as the year has been, the main trend of times stood out in bold relief particularly in the closing months of 2008. If the worldwide financial tsunami and economic contraction generated by the collapse of the colossus on Wall Street showed up the moribund nature of parasitic capitalism, the political dimension was graphically captured in the most disgraceful exit of the most despised warlord of our time. After his policies and priorities were emphatically rejected by US voters, he was treated to a spectacular "Bye Bye Bush" (as the manufacturer of the shoes thrown at him renamed that particular model) ceremony -- an incident that symbolised the intense hatred of freedom loving people the world over.
But the naked king is shameless: he continues to support the barbarous Israeli aggression on Gaza strip. Not surprisingly Barack Obama, a vociferous supporter of Israel who picked up pro- Israel hawk Rahm Emanuel as the chief of staff, has chosen to indirectly endorse the Israeli aggression. It is heartening to note that the Communist Party of Israel has condemned "these blatant war crimes." "Israel is exploiting the last moments of the Bush administration" to implement its imperialist policy, the CP of Israel said.
Back home, the year started with a bloated ego of India Inc. expanding overseas, a soaring sensex, overflowing forex reserves and unprecedented growth rates. All these were used to cover up burning problems like price rise, peasant suicides and starvation deaths. Now it ends in a bleak economic scenario that promises to get darker in the approaching year. In between, from the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) signed early in the year to the nuclear deal clinched later in the wake of the tainted trust vote in parliament, New Delhi slipped more and more into Washington's strategic embrace, with the self-appointed Left watchdog barking occasionally but refusing to bite before it was too late.
And then in the wake of the Mumbai blasts the national scene has come to be dominated by the competitive anti-terrorist, anti-Pak and by implication anti-Muslim rhetoric of the Congress and the BJP. With the Lok Sabha elections only a few months away, the ruling Congress finds this convenient for diverting public attention away from the economic mess it has created. And the Sangh Parivar on its part is using the frenzied atmosphere to the hilt in advancing its communal-fascist agenda both in the electoral arena and in anti-minorities terror campaigns. While this strategy failed in Delhi assembly election, the party’s recent advance in Jammu, like its Gujarat victory earlier in the past, calls for more concerted and effective action against the saffron brigade.
The fascist networks run by this brigade, we now know, encompass not only known outfits like the VHP and Bajrang Dal but also sadhvis and sadhus, army officials, bodies like Abhinav Bharat, sangh academies providing military training and so on, which work clandestinely round-the-clock to spread terror and violence. Rather than taking the bull of Sanghi terror by the horn, the Congress- led government at the Centre is reintroducing the infamous POTA through the backdoors in the shape of amendments to the UAPA and inviting the notorious FBI through the front doors in the name of fighting terrorism.
But surely it is not problems alone that 2008 has bequeathed to us. All over the world popular movements have surged ahead and in several cases -- as in Nepal and Latin America -- achieved impressive successes. Even in the US the masses have achieved a new opening in their fight against racism, neoliberalism and war. It will be interesting to watch how the great conflict between two trends -- the people's pressure on the new president to implement his platform of change and the ruling elite’s crafty moves to carry forward its old anti-people, pro-corporate, militarist agenda under a new facade -- plays itself out in the approaching year.
In India, the year we are leaving behind saw a rising tide of mass movements in all parts of the country. From struggles on specific local issues to all India movements on key questions like land and liberty, employment and wages, and dignity and democracy, 2008 was a year of struggles many of which attained a good degree of success. 2009 comes with an excellent opportunity for making new breakthroughs in all these areas. To take one instance, the groundswell of popular opposition to the US-India "strategic partnership", which we witnessed several times last year, can and must be revived in the context of the US itself looking like a troubled Titanic.

From the Central Committee Circular

Party Central Committee (CC) met from December 18 to 21 in the historic Boddapadu village in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. The village has been a stronghold of the revolutionary communist movement for decades and has been associated with the lives and struggles and sacrifices of legendary martyrs like Comrades Tamara Ganapati, Panchadri and Nirmala Krishanmurti, Subbarao Panigrahi, Vempatapu Satyanarayana and several others. December 18 this year marked the tenth anniversary of the demise of Comrade Vinod Mishra.
The CC therefore chose this historic occasion and venue to initiate the month-long Pledge Campaign (December 18, 2008 – January 16, 2009) and step up all-round preparation for the important battles ahead. Before the CC began its meeting, Comrade Malleswar Rao hoisted the flag of the Party and Central Committee members (CCMs) paid floral tribute to the portrait of Comrade VM. Members of martyrs’ families were then felicitated by CPI(ML) General Secretary in the presence of CCMs, local comrades and several leading cadres of the Andhra state unit. Throughout the four days of the meeting, Andhra comrades set a new standard of hospitality and people’s participation and involvement in making the meeting a memorable experience for the entire CC.
The meeting began by paying homage to all our martyrs and departed leaders including Comrades Ashok Kumar, Murali, Venkanna and Ramji Rajbhar who passed away in the month of November. The meeting took stock of the international and national situation, reviewed the outcome of Assembly elections held in November-December, discussed the perspective of the Pledge Campaign, and drew up plans, tasks and targets for 2009. The deliberations and decisions are summarised below.
1.      Crisis of Global Capitalism: The present crisis has erupted right at the centre of global capitalism, viz., the US, and has hit hard its most dynamic and powerful growth engine, the FIRE sector (finance, insurance, real estate). In the US, the state intervened in a big way to save the system from a feared collapse and everywhere big capitalists are trying to pass on the burden of the crisis to the working people by pocketing massive bailout packages for themselves while inflicting job cuts, wage cuts/wage freeze and other surplus-increasing measures on the working people. The bailout strategy has averted the threat of an imminent collapse, but in many advanced countries deep recession has already set in and chances of an early recovery appear quite bleak.
In India, apart from all the structural internal reasons and already existing symptoms and factors exacerbated by the economic policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, the crisis has been accentuated by a growing flight of foreign capital and recession-induced decline in exports. Jobs are disappearing in almost all sectors and workers everywhere have to face harsher wage- and work-related conditions.
In the wake of the global capitalist crisis, all the basic contradictions inherent in the international situation are getting aggravated. The antagonism between US imperialism and the developing world is getting sharper by the day while within the developed world too we can see an unmistakable sharpening of the contradiction between capital and labour. The recent victorious struggle waged by workers of a Chicago-based plant – workers and their families successfully occupied the closed concern and compelled the employers and the state to concede their just demands – is an inspiring case in point. Inter-imperialist contention too is increasing in different spheres, US hegemony is getting challenged from different quarters and the world moves increasingly towards multipolarity. With capitalism passing though its worst ever crisis in decades, the ideological climate for socialism has also begun to improve.
Our response to this global crisis and its Indian dimension will have to be essentially three-pronged: (a) resisting capital’s attempts to pass on the burden of the crisis on to the shoulders of the working people, (b) intensifying the battle for all our immediate and basic economic and political demands, (c) popularising the discourse of socialism and strengthening the ideological campaign against capitalism as an essentially anarchic, crisis-prone system.

March to Jharkhand Assembly Against Kathikund Police Firing

Protestors from CPI(ML), CPI(M), All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) and Jharkhand Grameen Mazdoor Sabha (JGMS) jointly marched to the Jharkhand State Assembly on 17 December 2008, protesting against the police firing on peaceful demonstrators in Kathikund on 6 December 2008, in which one protestor Lakhiram Tudu was martyred. The march was led by CPI(ML) leader and Party MLA Comrade Vinod Kumar Singh, Party spokesperson Com. Jayprakash Minz, AIPWA secretary Com. Sunita and JGMS General Secretary Com. Parmeshwar Mahto. Later the protest march culminated in a mass meeting at the Birsa Chowk in front of the Vidhan Sabha. Leaders and activists from Jharkhand Krantikari Visthapit Sangharsh Morcha (revolutionary struggle front of the displaced) and Ulgulan Front also participated in the protest march.

Gujarat: Dharna Against Imperialism, Communal forces and Terrorism

All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) organised a big dharna on 8 December 2008 at the Collectorate of Sabarkantha District. More than 150 workers and employees participated. The workers and employees were protesting the Indian ruling classes’ pro-imperialist US dictated policies responsible for recession in economy leading to retrenchment, unemployment and wage cuts of the working class. The protestors also accused the Centre’s UPA and Gujarat’s Narendra Modi Govt. of importing economic recession and terrorism from the US. They said that the communal-fascist Narendra Modi Govt. is directly or indirectly defending the Sanghi Terrorism on the one hand and on the other trying every dirty trick to exploit Mumbai terror attacks for spreading communal tensions. The dharna was addressed by AICCTU and CPI(ML) leaders Comrades Ranjan Ganguly, Dashrath Singhali, Ranjit Singh Rathore among others. On this day leaflets were also distributed and condolences were paid to all the national-international victims of terrorism in Delhi, Malegaon and Mumbai.

Implement Central Act for Construction Workers in Assam

At the call of Sodou Asom Nirman Shramik Union a demonstration was held at Guwahati on 4th December 2008, where more than four hundred construction workers participated. They were mainly from Guwahati, Tinsukia and Sonitpur district of Assam. The procession which took place from the Guwahati Railway Station via District Library concluded at the Deputy Commissioner’s office, Kamrup and was led by AICCTU President Biren Kalita, Secretary Subhas Sen, Asstt. Secy Pankaj Kr. Das, Lila Sarma, All Assam Contractor Workers’ Union President Dhan Muhammad, Subhas Singh and others. The main demands which were raised are: (1) immediately implement the Central Act, (2) take immediate steps to form the welfare Board, (3) include all construction workers in the BPL list, (4) provide ration card to all construction workers, (5) a wage of Rs. 200 for the helpers and Rs. 300 for the masons (6) include carpenters, electric Gus sand workers, painters etc. in the list of construction workers. Thereafter, a meeting was held where all leaders addressed the participants and appealed to them to strengthen the Union to pressurise the Govt. to form the welfare Board as a steps towards implementing the Central Act in Assam.

AIALA’s 3rd Muzzaffarpur Dist. Conference

Muzzaffarpur unit of All India Agricultural Labourers’ Association (AIALA) held its Third District Conference on 28 December 2008 at Comrade Ashok Kumar Hall (Veena Concert), Harisabha in Muzzaffarpur. CPI(ML) Polit Bureau member Com. Swadesh Bhattacharya and Central Committee member and AIALA National General Secretary Com. Dhirendra Jha were present at the Conference. Six hundred and fifty delegates participated in the Conference.
The outgoing committee presented a review report of past three years, since the second conference. It reported that the movemental identity of AIALA has been established and organisation of the agricultural labourers into their class organisation has increased and their political assertion has come to the fore. The Conference discussed the anti-agriculture anti poor policies of Centre’s UPA and the State’s Nitish Kumar Govt. The outgoing committee also presented a report of agitations and campaigns conducted in three years. These agitations were organised on a range of issues from economic security of the agricultural labourers to their social dignity and respect and democratic rights.
The past three years also witnessed AIALA as an organisation responding and reacting to diverse issues of the rural poor from sexual exploitation and rape to feudal oppression. Discussion was held to strengthen the District organisation. Emphasis was laid on ensuring full attendance in the meetings at all levels of the district. Emphasis was also laid in the report to elect all block committees from block level conferences.The Conference reported on the dirty intentions of Nitish Govt. in raising the question of Mahadalits and said that it was to divide the dalits while providing no apparent relief to Mahadalits.
The membership as of now is 33,122 in 128 villages of 46 panchayats of 9 blocks of the district. Among the main tasks identified for 2009 are: (1) achieving a membership target of one lakh. At least 30 panchayats should achieve membership of more than 2000, and enroling members in at least 250 villages of 75 panchayats to broad-base AIALA and (2) conducting village and panchayat conferences in 120 villages of 46 panchayts.

Against Gundaism of Contractors

A dharna was organised in front of the DC office of Durg District against the gundagardi andthreats being given by the contractors of the Bhilai Steel Plant and Hindustan Steel Construction Limited. Hundreds of people participated in the dharna and main demands were to instituting an enquiry into the incidents and arrest of culprits and the goon contractors. The dharna was addressed by Party CCM Com. Rajaram, Com. Brijendra Tiwary and Com. Bhim Rao Bogre.

Obituary

Veteran comrade Shambhu Nath Singh breathed his last on 29th November 2008 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He was 87. Comrade SN Singh joined the Communist Party in 1949 and was instrumental in forming a traders’ organization in Vishwanath Gali of Varanasi, the area housing the disputed site of Kashi Vishwanath Mandir-Gyanvapi Masjid. Influenced by the initiatives of CPI(ML) against the communal fascist forces in the early 90s, Com. Singh joined our party in 1992 and remained a dedicated communist till his end. His firm conviction and uncompromising attitude to communist ideals made him choose the Varanasi party office as his home and the party as his family. Even till the day of his death, he was guiding the youth and students in the party office about communist principles. Com. Singh epitomized the Ganga-Jamuni composite culture of the country and his whole life manifested this outlook.

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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