In this Issue
Human Development Index: India’s Poor Showing
India’s high growth rates have been a matter of boastful self-congratulatory publicity for the Indian Government, with the recent recession being projected as a temporary setback, soon to be overcome. The latest Human Development Report released by the UNDP in India recently serves to confront and challenge the tall claims with the rude realities of India’s sorry human development performance in the very midst of its much-touted economic success story.
The Human Development Index ranking, based on 2007 data, finds India at a shocking 134th place out of 182 countries. India’s ranking in a statistical update based on 2006 data, released by the UNDP last year was 132; the 2007-2008 HDR based on 2005 data ranked India at 128, while in the preceding year India was at 126. Undeniably, in the very phase when the Manmohan Singh Government was boasting of high growth rates, India’s performance in terms of providing the basics required for a life of dignity continued to slide steeply. If this is true of the high-growth period, the fate of human development indicators in India in times of recession can only be imagined.
The Human Poverty Index (HPI) places India at 88th among 135 countries (a steep decline from 62nd place among 155 countries in the last HDR). In key indicators used to calculate the human poverty index, India registers declining performance. Confirming the findings of the NCEUS report headed by Arjun Sengupta, the HDR 2009 tells us that 41.6% of India’s population earns below $ 1.25 a day, and 75.6% earns below $ 2 a day – a very different picture of poverty than that painted by the official estimate of 28.6% below the National Poverty Line. In the gender development index (GDI), India ranks 114 out of 155 countries. Most shameful is the data on underweight children: a staggering 46% of the country’s children under 5 years of age are underweight. On this count, the “mighty” India (alongside Yemen and Timor Leste) ranks second only to Bangladesh at 48% - behind even the countries like Afghanistan (39%) and Niger (44%) which are otherwise at the bottom of the HDI ladder.
The HDR this year highlights the issue of migration, stressing that the freedom to migrate with dignity and better opportunity is an important indicator of human development, and the right to decide where to live is an important element of human freedom. Here, too, the Indian Government’s policies and priorities make absolute mockery of this concern.
The report reveals that for India, remittances by migrants are 1.5 times greater than foreign direct investment (FDI). Yet, Indians migrating for work to other countries remain extremely vulnerable to exploitation and ill-use, while the Government turns a blind eye, its gaze fixed on the goal of wooing and appeasing FDI.
Regarding internal migration, the HDR stresses the need to institute guarantees for the protection and access to all rights (public services, education health, social welfare schemes etc) of migrants within a country. In India, 42 million people are internal migrants, but most of them are denied recognition, and forced to forego most of their access to food rations and other social welfare measures. The Report notes that rural–urban migrants in India are predominantly employed in industries such as construction, brick kilns, textiles and mining, which entail hard physical labour and harsh working and living environments. To this, we can add what the Report does not mention – the fact that internal migrants in India are increasingly vulnerable to assaults by regional chauvinistic outfits of the Shiv Sena-MNS variety, and governments have done precious little to protect them.
Recognising the phenomenon of forced displacement due to ‘development’, the Report notes that there are about 21 million development-induced displaced persons in India, many of whom belong to scheduled castes and tribal groups. In this context, the Report reiterates the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement which stipulate that authorities must explore all viable options to avoid displacement, and where unavoidable, decisions about displacement must be taken with the “support and participation of all stakeholders;” and with care to guarantee not just compensation but “long-term provisions for adequate shelter, safety, nutrition and health” for those displaced, and with special care to protect “indigenous peoples, minorities, smallholders” etc. The blood and brutality of Singur, Nandigram, Kalinganagar, Dadri and countless others are tragic testimony to the total travesty of these principles in case after case of state-corporate land grab in India.
The continuously declining performance in human development indicators should serve as a call for an immediate course corrective on part of the Indian Government – halting the drive to pursue ‘development’ as defined in terms of reckless appeasement of Indian and foreign corporates at terrible cost to the people; and instituting urgent and comprehensive measures to make universal access to food, jobs, health, and education a top priority.
Workers on Warpath in Gurgaon against Killing of Worker
Workers at the Gurgaon-based auto component factory RICO had been agitating for several weeks against sacking of 16 workers who had been leading the struggle for the right to unionise. On 18 October, agitating workers were attacked by ‘bouncers’ employed by the factory management – and a young worker Ajit Yadav succumbed to injuries sustained in the attack. Subsequently, nearly a lakh workers in the entire Gurgain-Manesar belt observed a general strike in response to the strike called by the AITUC.
An AICCTU team comprising AICCTU Delhi leaders Santosh Rai and Sarvaraj visited Gurgaon to express solidarity with the striking workers.
Last month, the death of a management VP in an auto-parts factory (Pricol) in Coimbatore had led to a shrill uproar against unions by the corporates and to a witch-hunt of workers and AICCTU leaders including the AICCTU National President. The same corporate class is now trying to blame the murder of an agitating RICO worker on “labour unrest”, and is trying to hide the fact (exposed by the incident) that managements routinely employ strong arm tactics to intimidate workers. The workers’ strike was called because, in contrast to the wholesale witch-hunt of workers and even AICCTU President after the Pricol incident, the Gurgaon police was delaying the arrest of the goons responsible for Ajit Yadav’s death.
Some years ago, workers at the Honda factory (another auto major) were beaten up brutally by police, while engaged in a struggle for registration of their union.
Recently, union leaders representing workers who were on a hunger fast at Gorakhpur were brutally beaten up in presence of senior police officials and arrested after being called by the district administration on the pretext of talks. Recall that Graziano workers had said last year that a delegation of workers invited for talks were beaten up by goons, and it was this that led to the incident in which a CEO was killed.
Pricol, Graziano, Gorakhpur, Gurgaon, – all are signs of times: times where private companies, including in the prestigious automobile industry, emboldened by the Government’s own moves to ‘reform’ labour laws, are openly flouting labour laws, and workers who demand their rights are brutalised either by police or directly by goons hired by the companies.
Two-day Long Dharna against State Terror
The People's Forum Against State Terror held a two day long dharna (sit-in) from 13th October at Dharamtala in Kolkata demanding unconditional release of all activists of the Lalgarh movement including Chatradhar Mahato and repeal of the draconian UAPA. Paschim Banga Gana Sanskriti Parishad, AISA, RYA, AICCTU and Kolkata Nagarik Samannay and AIPWA took part in the sit-in.
The dharna was addressed by Comrades Amit Dasgupta, State President, Paschim Banga Gana Sanskriti Parishad (PBGSP), Indrani Dutta, Kolkata District Secretary, AIPWA and Com. Mukul Kumar, leader of state government employees' movement, Shaswati Ghosh, social activist, said that the state is trying to create doubts about the legitimacy of the Lalgarh movement in the public mind by repeatedly branding it as a Maoist agitation, Dipankar Chakraborty, Editor, Aneek and Asim Rai of PYL, Rubi Mukherjee of Kolkata Nagarik Samannay expressed her apprehension that the paramilitary operation at Lalgarh may be aimed at grabbing the land of the tribal people, Sumit Sinha of ECL Colliery Worker's Association and Dilip Chakarborty of Indian Federation of Trade Unions, Sabyasachi Deb, poet, Professor Miratun Nahar and Nisha Biswas of "Movement" said that UAPA is being used in West Bengal without any formal notification being issued. Progressive songs were sung by Com. Nitish Rai, Joint State Secretary, PBGSP. The police are finding it difficult to specify in court on what grounds UAPA has been used against Chhatradhar Mahato.
Second day of dharna was addressed by comrades Dipankar Sengupta of RYA, Jul Mukherjee, State Jt. Secy., AISA, pointed out that the CPM and the Congress jointly set up the board in Siliguri Municipality, the TMC and the CPM jointly engaged in land grabbing at Rajarhat and there is a joint police operation going on at Lalgarh, the ruling parties are indistinguishable in their behaviour, Gautam Sen, Professor Dipanjan Raichaudhari said that people do not readily take recourse to violence but are pushed in to it by the state, Nabarun Bhattacharya, Professor Subhendu Dasgupta and Srijan Sen, poet, addressed the gathering. Com. Basudeb Bose, State Secretary, AICCTU, said that the UAPA is being used for suppressing the struggle of the tribal people for pattas and better implementation for the Forest Rights Act. Many people are saying that a "change" has taken place in West Bengal with the routing of the Left Front in the Lok Sabha election, however, the only change that has taken place is that a war has been started against the people of one particular district, which is under Section 144 for the last four months, and as if this was not enough the railway minister is demanding that the police-paramilitary operation be extended to other regions of the state.
On 12th October, the Jalpaiguri District Committee of the CPI(ML) organized a procession at Mainaguri block demanding unconditional release of Chatradhar Mahato and withdrawal of the draconian UAPA. On the same day, different mass organizations and progressive individuals held a protest meeting at Alipurduar Town. On 12th October, different mass organizations and APDR organized a protest meeting at Naihati station. On 13th October, the Naihati Local Committee of CPI(ML) organized a protest meeting at Garurfari. Workers of Naihati Jute Mill, Hukumchand Jute Mill and Gouripur Jute Mill attended the meeting. On 10th October, 200 activists of RYA and CPI(ML) took part in a march from Krishnanagar station in Nadia district in protest against the state's crackdown on democratic rights and street corner meetings were also organized at Itahar in North Dinajpur and at Malda Town.
Undemocratic Attack on Party's Bengali Mouthpiece
A reign of terror has been deliberately thrust upon the entire State of West Bengal. Political activists, newspapers and journalists are being harassed and the voices of cultural and literary personalities are being stifled. It seems the political leadership of the state has become dysfunctional and the state is being ruled by the Union Home Minister and the State Chief Secretary, said the WB Party State Secretary in a Press Conference. The printing press from where Deshabrati, the mouthpiece of the West Bengal State Committee of the CPI(ML), is published was sealed on charges of printing Maoist propaganda material. It was a crude attempt on part of the Government to intimidate all press owners so that they refuse to publish Leftist publications. The CPI(ML) was asked by the Home Secretary to seek clearance from the Special Branch of the Detective Department before publishing Deshabrati. The party considers it an ominous sign for democracy that a political organization registered with the Election Commission of India is being asked to run to the Special Branch for permission for publishing its mouthpiece. The State Committee of the party overcame all obstacles to deliver the new edition of Deshabrati to its subscribers. All political activities are being subjected to surveillance, public meetings are being taped and posters are being photographed.
State level AIALA Workshop
Sadou Asom Gramin Sramik Santha, State Unit of All India Agricultural Labourers’ Association (AIALA) organized a two-day workshop on 10-11 Oct at Nagaon, Assam, to discuss about the condition and movement of rural workers of the State. 102 delegates from Tinsukia, Jorhat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Kamrup, Barpeta and Karbi Anglong attended the workshop and from their experience they discussed different aspects of the movement and chalked out a series of programmes with a view to politicization of the people and to build up organizations at grass root level. The workshop announced a two-month campaign from 15 Oct-15 Dec, 2009, to strengthen rural workers’ movement in the State.
The workshop adopted a-seven point charter of demand, ranging from NREGA and other panchayat schemes to price hike and resolved to collect 2,50,000 mass signatures (2000 signatures in every panchayat of our work). This mass charter will be submitted to the Governor by a March to the Rajbhawan on 21st Dec, 2009. The workshop resolved to recruit 100000 members in Assam barring Karbi Anglong. A joint committee for concerted work between Gramin Sramik Santha and KNKIS of Karbi Anglong and NC Hill was formed taking Com. Arup Mahanta and Com. Rovi Kr. Phangcho as convenors.
The workshop was inaugurated by Com. Rubul Sarma, State Secratary, CPI(ML) and it was presided over by a presidium comprising of Com. Rajiv Kr. Dutta, Danial Teron, Pratima Inghipi and Dipti Senapati. Janasnaskritik Parishad performed different cultural programmes during the two day workshop.
Party Conference at Mansa
CPI(ML) organized a conference of agricultural laborers, poor peasants, women and youth on 1st October to mark the 102nd birth anniversary (28th September) of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. Addressing the Conference Com. Swapan Mukherji, Party’s incharge for Punjab and CC member, said that the Punjab govt. has failed to address the basic questions of the poor of Punjab and instead depending more and more on the use of police force and false cases to crush their genuine demands. The Conference was also addressed by Party’s State Secretary Com. Rajwinder Rana, Com. Tarsem Jodha and Com. Ruldu Singh of Punjab Kisan Union among others. The conference was also attended by the students of various colleges of Delhi University who came to see the conditions of the dalit landless poor of the Punjab in the context of their ongoing struggle for land which recently went upto land seizures.
Advocates Harinder Pal Singh Issar, Rajwinder Bains, Inderjit singh and Pardeep sapoia were honoured with mementoes as a token of appreciation for their resolute voice in support of the poor and marginalised against the state repression as well as in legal matters during the Mansa land struggle when thousands of workers and party leaders were facing false cases and police actions. The conference passed various resolutions regarding the land struggle and other demands of the working masses- (1) the Party promises that it will broaden unity to fight the anti people policies of Akali-BJP and the Congress Govts. and advance the land struggle, (2) the badal Govt. has failed to fulfil the promises made by it for giving residential plots to poor people, employment, ration, old age pensions, regular and low cost power supply, direct payment to peasants, and not to acquire the peasantry’s land without their prior consent. Not only this, it has also resorted to inhuman methods of police atrocities against the agitations…such a govt. has lost the moral right to rule. Today’s conference demands the resignation of Badal Govt., (3) that the distt. Authorities of Mansa should adhere to the agreement made by it on 19th of May in the presence of thousands of workers and complete the process of allotments of plots and NREGA cards within two months, (4) that all the plans of privatizing the power, water supply, education, roads be cancelled…, (5) the payments of all crops be made to the peasants directly by cheque, (6) the university proposed to be opened at Bathinda be named after the great national hero Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh.
More Hostels and Students’ Union Elections Demanded
All India Students’ Association (AISA), Jamia unit, conducted a mass signature campaign on two issues in Jamia Milia Islamia - more hostels for students and students’ union elections. Over 2000 students from across faculties and departments signed the memorandum addressed to the Vice Chancellor. In the memorandum, the students asked for the number of hostels to be increased in order to meet the needs of outstation students. The lack of hostels was forcing students to seek accommodation elsewhere—where the rents are exorbitant with extremely poor amenities and hygiene. The students also complained about the delay in bringing out hostel lists and sought the announcements of the lists immediately after admissions. The students argued that it was the University’s responsibility to create conditions conducive to the pursuit of academics, especially research.
The second key issue raised by the students was for the revival of Students’ Union elections. It was pointed out that the University witnesses elections of teachers’ association, karmachari and staff associations—the students are the only section of the University which lack a representative body. Moreover, even the Lyngdoh Committee has called for elections to be held in all colleges and universities. The memorandum was submitted to the Vice Chancellor on 14th October.
Activists of Various Political Parties Join CPI(ML)to end Loot & Repression
Bhavnathpur-Ketar region in Jharkhand constitutes the region extending from River Sone basin to Kaimur ranges. The feudal elements are blatantly looting public resources including development funds, PDS, land, forest and even people’s wages. The local MLA who’s embroiled in a scam and accumulated huge amounts of wealth during his tenure as a minister hails from this region only. These feudal elements get their patronage from this MLA as well as the police and administrative officials. During our recently conducted anti-drought campaign voices of protest and anger against this loot started emanating as a result of poor people embracing the red flag and Party’s expansion here. Unable to digest this democratic surge against their loot and CPI(ML)’s expansion these feudal elements supported by the police have stepped up assaults on the poor and in a month poor of six villages have been assaulted. The feudal elements in Buka, Bankheta, Rapura and SIngpur have attacked the bhoodan land holders, demolished their huts and injured dozens of women. In Bankheta village these elements attacked forest dwellers (adivasis) and abducted a youth to hand him over to police implicating him under a fraudulent charge of keeping a pistol. Dr. Ramkrishna Ram of Rapura was brutally assaulted because he is in the forefront of struggles of poor people. One feudal man who is a PDS dealer panicked at voices of protest smashed the head of a poor man. These attacks by the feudal-MLA-police nexus were intended to check the growing unity of poor and expansion of CPI(ML), however, the intensifying protest by the common people has only provided further impetus for Party’s expansion.
Protests: Party has responded immediately to the above incidents of assaults and false cases against tribal and poor people. On 2nd October the protest meeting at Buka called upon all the poor people to unite to resist these assaults and defeat the feudal oppression and nexus. The meeting took pledge to maintain control of the bhoodan land and smash the nexus of the anti-democratic and repressive feudal-Police-MLA nexus. On the same date a similar protest meeting also took place in Bankheta village and people took similar resolve in addition to demanding arrest of the feudal assaulters, immediate release of the tribal youth and granting ownership rights of the forest land to the adivasi people. Protest meeting was held at Rapura on 16th October to condemn the murderous assault on Dr. Ramkrishna Ram. Meeting called upon the people to unite to gain political strength for smashing the feudal arrogance and structure. Highlight of the meeting was that it was convened on the collective initiatives of the people from six villages and all the people joined CPI(ML)Liberation. The meeting was attended and addressed by Jharkhand Mazdoor Samiti President Com. Anant P Gupta, besides other comrades like Kalicharan Mehta, Kameshwar Vishwakarma, Sogra Begum, Vinod Vishwakarma, Krishan Ram and Mahendra Singh. Dr. Ramkrishna Ram presided over the public meeting. Five leading comrades of this region were given responsibility of forming committees in six villages. Responding against the assault by a PDS dealer in which the head of a poor man was knocked simply because he was demanding his rightful quantity of food-grains (the quantity which the feudal dealer had even entered in the BPL card), Party mounted gherao of dozens of dealers and full quantity of food-grains were got released. The PDS dealers are now uniting against our Party.
Some more Reports from Bhavnathpur Assembly Constituency: On 23rd September, 300 leaders and cadres from different political parties accepted CPI(ML)’s membership at a function. More than half of the leaders-cadres are from the accused MLA’s Party Naujawan Sangharsh Morcha (youth struggle front). Second biggest contingent is from RJD. Others are from Congress, BJP, BSP, JD(U) and LJP. At the function the new entrants in our Party were welcomed by CPI(ML) State Secretary Com. Janardan Prasad and Red flags were handed over to them by Com. Anant P Gupta. About a thousand people attended the function.
On 13th October blockade was organised in Dhurki block on the issues of drought, relief, PDS, BPL, housing etc. A memorandum was also handed over to the BDO. On 14th October the All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) held its Sub-Divisional Conference attended by over one thousand women and deliberated on pressing issues facing women – dignity of work and equal wages, hunger deaths, drought, accusing women of being witches and killing them, and women’s reservation among other issues. Later the women took out a rally and gheraoed the SDO office on a five-point demand. A 17-member Sub-Divisional AIPWA committee was elected. Prior to this Conference rural committees of AIPWA was formed in sixty villages. Some other programmes were also organised for rural electrification etc.
Open Letter to Indian PM against Proposed Military Offensive in the name of countering Maoism
October 12, 2009: We are deeply concerned by the Indian government's plans for launching an unprecedented military offensive by army and paramilitary forces in the adivasi (indigeneous people)-populated regions of Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal states. The stated objective of the offensive is to "liberate" these areas from the influence of Maoist rebels. Such a military campaign will endanger the lives and livelihoods of millions of the poorest people living in those areas, resulting in massive displacement, destitution and human rights violation of ordinary citizens. To hunt down the poorest of Indian citizens in the name of trying to curb the shadow of an insurgency is both counter-productive and vicious. The ongoing campaigns by paramilitary forces, buttressed by anti-rebel militias, organised and funded by government agencies, have already created a civil war like situation in some parts of Chattisgarh and West Bengal, with hundreds killed and thousands displaced. The proposed armed offensive will not only aggravate the poverty, hunger, humiliation and insecurity of the adivasi people, but also spread it over a larger region.
Grinding poverty and abysmal living conditions that has been the lot of India's adivasi population has been complemented by increasing state violence since the neoliberal turn in the policy framework of the Indian state in the early 1990s. Whatever little access the poor had to forests, land, rivers, common pastures, village tanks and other common property resources has come under increasing attack by the Indian state in the guise of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and other "development" projects related to mining, industrial development, Information Technology parks, etc. The geographical terrain, where the government's military offensive is planned to be carried out, is very rich in natural resources like minerals, forest wealth and water, and has been the target of large scale appropriation by several corporations. The desperate resistance of the local indigenous people against their displacement and dispossession has in many cases prevented the government-backed corporations from making inroads into these areas. We fear that the government's offensive is also an attempt to crush such popular resistances in order to facilitate the entry and operation of these corporations and to pave the way for unbridled exploitation of the natural resources and the people of these regions. It is the widening levels of disparity and the continuing problems of social deprivation and structural violence, and the state repression on the non-violent resistance of the poor and marginalized against their dispossession, which gives rise to social anger and unrest and takes the form of political violence by the poor. Instead of addressing the source of the problem, the Indian state has decided to launch a military offensive to deal with this problem: kill the poor and not the poverty, seems to be the implicit slogan of the Indian government.
We feel that it would deliver a crippling blow to Indian democracy if the government tries to subjugate its own people militarily without addressing their grievances. Even as the short-term military success of such a venture is very doubtful, enormous misery for the common people is not in doubt, as has been witnessed in the case of numerous insurgent movements in the world. We urge the Indian government to immediately withdraw the armed forces and stop all plans for carrying out such military operations that has the potential for triggering a civil war which will inflict widespread misery on the poorest and most vulnerable section of the Indian population and clear the way for the plundering of their resources by corporations. We call upon all democratic-minded people to join us in this appeal.
Signatories include - National Signatories include Arundhati Roy, Author and Activist, Amit Bhaduri, Professor Emeritus, CESP, JNU, Sandeep Pandey, Social Activist, Prashant Bhushan, Supreme Court Advocate, Nandini Sundar, Delhi School of Economics, Anand Patwardhan, Film Maker, Dipankar Bhattachararya, General Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Sumit Sarkar, Historian, Tanika Sarkar, Professor of History, JNU, Gautam Navlakha, Consulting Editor, EPW and many others.International Signatories include Noam Chomsky, David Harvey, Michael Lebowitz, John Bellamy Foster, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Mira Nair, Howard Zinn, Gilbert Achcar.
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