Vajpayee's Kashmir Visit:
What Was He Doing There?

Why did Vajpayee visit Kashmir? And whom did he exactly come to visit in the valley? In the wake of Vajpayee's much-publicised visit to the valley, these are precisely the questions left hanging in the air. His arrival coincided with the brutal killing of veteran Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone. Speculation is rife as to who killed Lone and why. We however still vividly recall how right in the presence of the security forces the Shiv Sena had publicly humiliated the veteran leader only a few weeks ago. The central and state governments did nothing to punish the Shiv Sena hooligans. Yet Lone never gave up and till his end he continued to strive for a political solution of the Kashmir question. His assassination therefore caused widespread outrage in the trouble-torn state. Vajpayee had no words to address this anguish. He had no promise to make which could remotely assuage the feelings of the much-betrayed much-misunderstood people of the valley.

Indeed, Vajpayee's presence in the valley looked at best irrelevant against this explosive backdrop. The people of Kashmir cannot be faulted if they saw his visit as an insult added to their injury. For Vajpayee, his visit to Kashmir was merely an opportunity to exhort the jawans to remain prepared for a decisive war with Pakistan. Ironically, New Delhi refuses to discuss Kashmir with Pakistan. But on a rare moment when the Indian Prime Minister chooses to visit Kashmir, he spends all his time sending messages to Pakistan!

A lot of hype is being made over Vajpayee's 6,000 crore-plus package offer for Kashmir. It once again reflects the flawed and arrogant belief of the rulers that the Kashmir question could be contained, if not resolved, by merely doling out some economic sops. Even as an economic measure, the package contains nothing special and specific for the people of Kashmir. It comprises mostly routine components like the laying of railway tracks and construction of roads, the kind of 'development' needed most by the security forces. The economy of Kashmir, especially its once famous tourism industry, is indeed facing a prolonged crisis. Apart from militancy, there are few other employment opportunities available for the unemployed youth of Kashmir. Vajpayee's economic package does not address these basic issues.

It is common knowledge that the economic crisis plaguing Kashmir cannot be resolved without ending the present conditions of near-war in the state. Vajpayee's package is conspicuously devoid of any credible political component which could remotely restore peace and normalcy in the state.

The NDA government at the Centre never bothered to discuss the autonomy resolution adopted by the J&K Assembly. It never bothered to open any sincere process of dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference and other movement organisations in the state. Rejection of the autonomy proposal, humiliation and assassination of leaders like Lone, incarceration of Yasin Malik under POTA and killing of hundreds of activists in fake encounters is all that Kashmir has got in the name of politics even as the Farooq Abdullah government has continued to stand by the NDA government in the latter's hour of need. In fact, New Delhi has never even recognised the existence of any political crisis in Kashmir, reducing the entire problem to a question of terrorism sponsored and exported by Pakistan. And the more Indo-Pak ties have deteriorated, it is the people of Kashmir who have had to bear the brunt of the resultant tension.

Vajpayee's visit to Kashmir on the eve of the forthcoming Assembly elections has merely reiterated New Delhi's disastrous Kashmir policy which is aimed at sabotaging all prospects of a negotiated political solution of the Kashmir question and using Kashmir as a cannon fodder for military or jingoistic exchanges with Pakistan. This policy is itself a major part of the Kashmir problem. As a first step to a political solution to the Kashmir question, we have to get rid of this policy. The irrelevance of Vajpayee's visit has only highlighted this crying need.

CPI(ML) condemns ongoing war rhetoric

CPI(ML) expresses serious concern on the escalating tension between the two nuclear-powered neighbours India and Pakistan and once again demands de-escalation of the tension and initiation of the dialogue between the two countries without any third party mediation.

In a statement issued in Delhi, the Party has said, "more and more people in both India and Pakistan rightly realise that a war between the two nuclear-powered neighbours is not an affordable option and there is no substitute for direct and effective diplomatic engagement. We, Therefore, call upon the govt. of India to stop the current policy of short-sighted adventurism and instead engage the Musharraf administration in a serious bilateral dialogue".

The Party said that at a time when Gujarat is still burning, restoration of peace and rehabilitation of the riot-affected people remains the most pressing national challenge, and, all efforts must, therefore, be made to bring Pakistan to the negotiating table and settle matters through peaceful means. The Party took strong exception to the NDA government's policy of diplomatic disengagement with Pakistan as it will only spell greater American intervention in the region and loss of initiative for India.

The Party has also strongly condemned the statements of the Sangh Parivar leaders as well as several BJP and Samata Party leaders instigating communal frenzy and war-hysteria in the country.

Meanwhile, CPI(ML) activists have started taking out anti-war marches and demonstrations in several parts of the country. On May 21, an 'anti-war march' was taken out in Patna.

The Party also strongly condemned the heinous murder of a senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone while participating in a mass meeting. The Party has said in a statement, "The murder of Mr. Lone confirms a total loss of governance in the state. Just the other day, Mr. Lone was assaulted by the Shiv Sainiks and was on the hit-list of terrorists". The sequence of events and subsequent killing of the Hurriyat leader point towards a larger conspiracy scripted for the valley on the eve of the Assembly elections in the state.

No War, Restore Peace

(Here we reproduce excerpts from two letters published in The Hindu dated 27 May '02. --Ed.)

1)... An already beleaguered nation is growing more and more circumspect of the double talk and rhetoric of the Prime Minister. He has now become (in)famous the world over for contradicting his own speeches, with numerous clarifications being issued by his office. His jingoistic utterances in Jammu and Kashmir were reckless, mindless and ill-conceived all at once. More than anyone else, the Prime Minister should know that there can be no victors and vanquished in a full-scale war between two nuclear powers. Only a dialogue can pave the way for long-standing peace between India and Pakistan.

V. Srinivasan, Chennai.

2)... The irresponsible rhetoric of people at the highest positions in the country instigates war hysteria. The Gujarat pogrom and the aftermath have vanished from the front pages of newspapers and columns, which are now occupied by the warmongering statements of the ruling combine and an acquiescent main Opposition party. It is time civil society organisations and individuals came out openly against the war efforts of the Government and demanded de-escalation along the Indo-Pak border.

N. Ramesh, Thanjavur, T.N.

Rally in Raiganj

A rally-cum-mass meeting was organised by the local unit of the CPI(ML) under "National Unity Campaign" in Raiganj on May 10 to condemn ghastly killings sponsored by the BJP govt. in Gujarat. People from cross sections of society attended the rally. The meeting asked the central govt. for effective intervention to stop killings, provide adequate help, protection to the affected families and to bring back peace and normalcy in Gujarat. Mass meetings raising same demands were also organised at Phulbarihat on May 12 and Jagadishpur on May 17.

Naxalbari Day Observed

The West Bengal Krishak Samiti observed the Naxalbari Day on May 25 where participants pledged to intensify agrarian struggle in the region. This programme was preceded by a 'march to district headquarters' on May 24 where demands were raised to save agriculture and industry from the adverse impact of globalisation and for making a comprehensive legislation for agricultural labourers. It was also demanded to raise remunerative prices for paddy to Rs. 510-530 and fixed working hours and reasonable wages for the agriculture labourers.

The Party in Raiganj also celebrated May Day with full vigour and enthusiasm where workers and party members pledged to effectively combat the dangers of communal fascism.

Birth Day of Karl Marx Commemorated

In Trichy a meeting of cultural activists was organised to celebrate the birth day of Karl Marx on May 5 where detailed discussions were held and experiences shared with a serious concern of strengthening the revolutionary cultural movement and developing vanguards on this front. It was also decided to interact with various left and democratic cultural organisations to evolve a wider unity for effectively combating the imminent danger of saffron fascism posed by the Sangh Parivar and against the threat to the nation of policies of globalisation which are being implemented by BJP govt. in collusion with the imperialists. A 7 member organising committee was formed and a task to develop cultural troops at various levels was undertaken. The CPI(ML) Tamilnadu state secretary com. Balasundaram was also present in the meeting that was presided over by Com. Pandiyan.

Protest Against Mass Killings

A protest march was organised from Masaurhi to Bhadaura on May 19 to press upon the demand for the punishment to the Sunil Tiger and his gang who killed five persons belonging to a dalit family in Bhadaura village of Masaurhi in Patna Rural. The Sunil Tiger gang gets political patronage from RJD. After the march, a mass meeting was held at Bhadaura where speakers held local MLAs and ministers responsible for such heinous crimes as politician-criminal nexus ultimately rule the roost in Bihar. It was asserted that only organised people's resistance could change the corrupt polity that is sheltering criminals for its vested interests. More than 600 people were present in the meeting.

Arrests of health employees condemned

The CPI(ML) has strongly condemned the mass scale arrest of around 500 health employees in Delhi on May 23. Responding to the call given by the Joint Council of Health Employees, a coordination body of the health employees of all government hospitals in the notional capital, hundreds of employees were arrested on May 23 when they were starting a march to the PM's residence on a charter of demands which include disapproval of the ongoing privatisation in health-sector and filling up of all vacant posts in government hospitals. A number of health employees and their leaders were also assaulted by the police during the arrest. The Joint Council of Health Employees is on agitational path for several weeks. Earlier, a dharna and a protest demonstration were also held at Nirman Bhavan in Delhi.

'Jan Adalats' Against Red Card Scam in Bihar

On May 20, Bihar Pradesh Khet Mazdoor Sabha organised Jan Adalats against the red card scam involving crores of rupees which have been siphoned out of PDS system meant for the most deprived sections of the society. In 10 blocks of Samastipur district where thousands of agricultural labourers demanded a CBI inquiry into the scam, removal of Food Supplies Minister Purnamasi Ram and other ministers involved in the scam and registering cases against the former for kidnapping, loot and murder.

NPMO Campaign Against Communal Fascist Offensive

The National Platform of Mass Organisations is to launch a nationwide 'Campaign Against Communal Fascist Offensive' from June 19 to July 4 in the wake of massacres and violence being perpetrated by the Sangh affiliates and Narendra Modi govt. in Gujarat. During the campaign programmes will be undertaken in the form of mass-meetings, rallies, demonstrations, etc. in villages, towns and factory gates at all levels and on July 4 this will culminate into district or state level mass rallies in all states. This has been decided in a meeting of NPMO recently convened in Delhi which was attended by the representatives of AICCTU, AITUC, CITU, UTUC(LS), TUCC, HMS and UTUC.

Meet against state repression on 'Sadbhavna March' in U.P.

Participants of 'Sadbhavna March' in Faizabad who were arrested and jailed on May 10-11 shared their experiences with an audience of prominent citizens, journalists and students at Constitution Club in Delhi on May 24. Dr. Subhendu Ghosh, Uma and Upali Chakravarty gave a detailed account of events took place at the behest of BJP supported Mayawati govt. in U.P. Sumit Chakravarty, John Dayal, Rizwan Kaisar, Manager Pandey, Nirmala Deshpande, Kavita Krishnan and many others spoke on the occasion. Speakers unanimously expressed the need to further intensify the ongoing struggle against communal fascism and also the fact that what happened in Faizabad was politically motivated with the ill-intention to prevent any alternative secular-democratic viewpoint on Ayodhya. Prominent among those present also included Surendra Mohan, Rajendra Yadav, Nivedita Menon, Aditya Nigam, Subhash Gatade and Sumantro. The meeting was presided over by Sumit Chakravarty and conducted by Radhika Menon.

CPI(ML)'s Appeal to Join the National Convention against Communal Fascism

Friends,

The country is passing through a very critical juncture. Gujarat has been reduced to a graveyard. More than 2,000 people are already feared killed in the state in the continuing genocide. Thousands of Muslim families have been ravaged. Yet the saffron killers are still at large and the intensity of the anti-Muslim hate campaign remains undiminished. And defying cries of condemnation from all corners of the country and even from the international community, the NDA government at the Centre is bent upon protecting the monstrous Modi regime in Gujarat.

While Gujarat burns, Kashmir continues to bleed. On the eve of the Assembly elections due in October, terror and repression continue to stalk the valley. A war-like situation is again building up across the LOC. With India and Pakistan moving increasingly away from the negotiating table, the situation is tailor-made for growing American intervention in the region. US troops are already there in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Of late, Nepal too has become a key country on the US map of so-called global war on terror. And now the other day, we saw the armed forces of India and the US conduct joint military exercises on the Indian soil for the first time in forty years since the 1962 India-China war. Meanwhile, the mischief-mongers of the Sangh Parivar are busy plotting their next move on Ayodhya.

The overwhelming majority of the Indian people have repeatedly expressed their strong disapproval of this disastrous direction in which the BJP and its allies are relentlessly pushing the country. In election after election, the people have voted against the BJP and its allies. True to its fascist character, the saffron brigade is however playing with the people's mandate by subverting the parliamentary system. POTA was passed by convening an extraordinary joint session of Parliament. And in UP, the BJP has managed to retain its hold on power by forging yet another opportunist alliance with the BSP. The BJP's task has of course been made easier by the ideological and political bankruptcy of many non-BJP parties. While the likes of George Fernandes amd Mamata Banerjee have shown how low they can stoop for the sake of a few cabinet berths, regional parties like the TDP, DMK and AIADMK have once again exposed the true colours of their so-called 'secular politics'.

In spite of their current majority in Parliament, the BJP and its allies are of course mortally afraid of the secular democratic politics of the Indian people. In Gujarat we have seen their ugly attempts to silence the voice of peace, secularism and democracy. They have targetted the media, they have targetted activists like Medha Patkar. On 10-11 May, the BSP-BJP government of UP banned a peaceful commemoration of the 145th anniversary of India's First War of Independence at Faizabad. Hundreds of students, youths, cultural activists, women and children were beaten up and jailed for 14 days for daring to remember the martyrs of 1857 and invoking Awadh's glorious legacy of Hindu-Muslim unity and militant anti-imperialism.

Twenty-seven years ago, Indira Gandhi had sought to curb democracy in India by imposing a state of Emergency. In less than two years, the Emergency was overthrown by the people of India. Today, democracy faces a still more serious threat as the BJP tries to divide the country on communal lines and mortgage its hard-earned independence and national dignity to the US imperialists. While the economic policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation make a mockery of the people's basic right to livelihood, the dangerous drive to redefine Indian nationalism on the narrow and divisive basis of so-called Hindutva threatens to disenfranchise all but the members and lackeys of the Sangh Parivar.

We cannot let this happen. India is not a piece of real estate for the Sangh Parivar to play with. It is the common land of a billion people who celebrate their unity in diversity and democracy. It is the shared legacy of our great martyrs who laid down their precious lives for the country and the people.

We must save and reclaim India. And to do this we need a massive democratic resurgence of the people. We need a shared resolve, a new vision, and a powerful, united resistance.

To this end, we have decided to hold a National Convention against Communal Fascism in New Delhi (Mavalankar Auditorium) on 26 June. It is our earnest desire that this convention should provide a common platform for the broadest spectrum of Left organisations, social movements and committed citizens who are determined to work for the triumph of people's democracy over communal fascism. We therefore solicit your fullest cooperation and participation in making the convention a success.

Central Committee
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)