CPI(ML) HOME Vol. 5, No.5 January 31, 2002

 

In this Issue:

Editorial...

Not an Inch of Ayodhya for these Saffron Thugs

In the midst of all-round apprehension about possible terrorist attacks on Republic Day, a veritable contingent of real terrorists clad in saffron and armed with swords descended on the capital. The organisers - the VHP and Bajrang Dal - called it a 'Sant Chetavani Yatra' or a warning march of the saints! The warning was addressed to the government and the society at large asking for the disputed Ayodhya land to be immediately handed over to the VHP and its Temple Trust to enable construction to begin by March 12.

There were no barricades for these terrorists. No tear gas shells or water cannons. And certainly no POTO! Instead the ruling BJP organised a public show for the visiting terrorists in saffron on the Ramleela Maidan. And the Prime Minister and his Man Friday, India's most disgraceful minister of defence, accorded them an official welcome with the guest terrorists doing all the talking and the government only taking instructions! The case has already been referred to the Law Ministry with a brief to expedite the case and 'examine' the legal and constitutional aspects involved in handing over the 'non-disputed part' of the land to the VHP! Meanwhile, the RSS has given a free hand to the VHP and Bajrang Dal to fix the date for launching the temple operation.

In theory, the Vajpayee government is still talking of either a negotiated settlement or a judicial resolution of the Ayodhya dispute. But in practice, it has already taken the first step towards construction of a temple. The fig leaf of distinction being discovered between the original 'disputed' land and the land subsequently taken over by the central government in 1993 is a mischievous eyewash. Allowing the VHP to get a foothold on acres 'around' the disputed land and begin construction on it would effectively preclude any possible subsequent court verdict to the contrary. This mischievous move on the part of the government is therefore not just an act of appeasement, the Vajpayee government now officially stands as a co-accomplice of the saffron brigade.

The so-called dispute in Ayodhya was created by the RSS. The Sangh Parivar then built up a hysterical campaign around it and in December 1992 the saffron brigade defied every law and norm of a civilised society to translate the campaign into action. Since then Ayodhya has become an open-ended agenda for the fascists. All they have to do to 'turn liberal' is to shelve it temporarily, but it is always there, hanging like a sword of Damocles on the country. And there is always the possibility of the saffron brigade picking up the sword and wielding it against the country at an opportune moment. The UP elections mark precisely such a moment in the saffron calendar.

As far as the country is concerned, Ayodhya ceased to be a site of mere 'dispute' on December 6 1992. With the forcible demolition of the Babri Masjid, Ayodhya became a site of crime and disgrace. For every believer in secularism and democracy it has become a crucial site of contention and struggle. After all that happened on December 6 1992, the previous category of the 'disputed site' has become outdated and irrelevant for this country. It is no longer a matter of legal semantics to be left to the mercy of an Arun Jaitley. It is a question of life and death for the future of democracy in India.

Secular democracy can have only one battle cry: "Not an inch of Ayodhya land for the saffron thugs".

CPI(ML) Protest against Saffron Subversion of Indian Republic

The CPI(ML) organised human chains, marches, demonstrations, and meetings on 25 January as the concluding part of the first phase of CPI(ML)'s nationwide anti-saffron anti-imperialist campaign in Delhi and several other centers of the country in protest against communal frenzy, war hysteria, and Vajpayee govt.'s abject surrender to the US. In Delhi, hundreds of CPI(ML) activists and supporters formed a human chain near the Shahid Bhagat Singh statue on the Ferozshah Kotla ground. Party Gen. Secy. Dipankar Bhattacharya also joined it. He called upon the ranks to be on the forefront of struggle against what he called "saffron subversion and American arm-twisting of the Indian Republic". He said that the nation needs a powerful resistance movement against growing imperialist and communal fascist attacks on its republic. Denouncing the 'Chetavani Yatra' taken out by the VHP he said, "We had seen similar communal build-up ten years back  which had led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid and plunged the country into the worst communal riots since Partition.  Saffron terrorists are at it again, and this time round they must be given a fitting rebuff." 

He appealed to all peace loving secular and democratic Indians to foil the fascist design of the Sangh Parivar and save the Republic from saffron prison and American shadow. He demanded ban on anti-national outfits like the VHP and Bajrang Dal and said that persons like Ashok Singhal who were fomenting communal frenzy should be put behind the bars. Sharply criticising the pro-US, pro-Israel and anti-Pakistan orientation of the foreign policy, Com. Dipankar called for an immediate restoration of all diplomatic ties with Pakistan and early resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue without any American intervention. "Instead of becoming subservient to the strategic interests of the US, India should work for Asian assertion agaisnt the US led hegemony of the West". Others who joined the human chain included Party leaders B.Sivraman, Swapan Mukherjee, P V Srinivas, Kumudini Pati, Ranjit Abhigyan, Rajendra Pratholi, Rajeev Dimri, and Ranjan Ganguly.

A cultural programme in protest against the saffron culture of violence and terror was also held at the venue of the programme. Artists of Lokswar, a Delhi based group also performed.

Bihar: Responding to the national call, party activists held protest marches and demonstrations in Patna, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Bettiah, Nalanda, Nawadah and Arrah.

In Patna, a march was taken out from the Party State office led by Party CC member Com. KD Yadav and State Committee members Com. Manohar and Kamlesh Sharma and Patna Town Secretary Murtaza Ali. On the same day, RYA activists burnt the effigy of Vajpayee and Advani in Patna, Aurangabad, Siwan and other centres.

Bangalore: As a part of the national campaign, a demonstration was organised at Peenya, Bangalore on 25 January. Com. Krishnappa presided over the meeting while Com. Govindarajan called for saving the Indian Republic from US domination. Com. T.M.Poonacha spoke against POTO and KOCA (Karnataka Organised Crime Act) in Karnataka. Com. Gopal came down heavily on the curtailment of democratic rights and infringement of workers’ rights in the name of labour reforms. Comrades Malathi from AISA and Revathy from AIPWA also spoke on the occasion.

Citizens’ Convention Against Eviction in Bengal

Against the second phase of eviction of Tolly-nullah people in the name of metro-rail expansion a citizen convention was held in Kolkata on 22nd January. This time more than 30000 people are likely to be evicted without any kind of rehabilitation from the sides of the railway line on the Sealdah-Budgebudge route. Veteran RSP leader Com. Sunil Sengupta strongly criticised the inhuman attitude of the Left Front govt. for not providing alternative arrangements for the evicted people. Former V.C. of Kolkata University Prof. Sushil Mukhopadhyay, State Planning Board member Ajitnarayan Basu, poet Nabarun Bhattacharya all condemned the Left Front govt’s foreign loan sponsored development strategy which victimises the poor people. The convention was organised by Uchchhed Birodhi Jukta Manch (joint platform against eviction) of which our party is a prominent constituent.

AIPWA Committee formed in TN

A 9-member State Organising Committee of AIPWA was formed in Tamil Nadu in a meeting held on 12 December at Salem with Com. TA Mary as its convenor. In its 21 January  meeting held at Madurai, the State Organising Committee planned to conduct statewide women’s conventions on March 8 on questions related to working women and communal fascism. A joint struggle committee has been formed including AIPWA, AIDWA, NFIW and other women’s organisations for waging joint action on women’s issues. A convention in this direction is to be held on 2 February in Chennai.

Workers’ Conference inTrichi

Shop & General Workers’ Union affiliated to AICCTU, held a special conference in Trichi, Tamilnadu on Jan 25. The conference concentrated on the attacks on Public sector and state services workers and the workers’ struggles against the policies of the central and state govt. Leaders from AITUC , CITU and Tamilnadu General employees Assn also attended the conference. along with Comrades S.Kumaraswamy, Bhuvana, G. Radhakrishnan, and Shanmugam from AICCTU.

Police harassment of innocent Muslim masses in Bengal

After the 22nd January terrorist attack on the American Centre in Kolkata, innocent Muslim masses all over the state are being subjected to indiscriminate police harassment. Till date at least 15,000 Muslim people have been interrogated and taken to city police stations to enquire about the miscreants. Reports of police closing down allegedly illegal madrasas have been received from places like Basirhat, Baduria, Swarupnagar (North 24 Parganas district), Santoshpur, Budgebudge and Baruipur in South 24 Parganas  and Lalbag and Baharampur in Murshidabad. The CPI(M)-led Left Front Govt. too now sees the madrasas as breeding ground of terrorism. It is difficult to miss the growing similarities in the way Buddhadev Bhattacharya, LK Advani and George Bush are targeting the madrasas.

The police administration in West Bengal has declared Murshidabad district as the third most dangerous centre of Muslim fundamentalism next only to Kabul and Kandahar. So the raids and intimadation of Muslim youths and madrasa school teachers and their family members are going on in full steam under Left rule in West Bengal and the CBI and FBI are helping the Bengal govt. in carrying out this task of suppressing the ‘Muslim’ terrorist.

In this context, our Party has decided to launch a serious political campaign against police harassment of the Muslim masses and American interference in West Bengal politics. A protest meeting was held in Kaliganj in Nadia district on 26th January. Comrades Biman Biswas, Krishna Pramanik, Arijit Mitra and Partha Ghosh addressed the gathering and asked the people to oppose the unconstitutional interference in Bengal and unitedly fight against the police atrocities on Muslim masses. Special investigating teams of our party will visit the areas where such harassment is going on.

Massive Rally in Siwan against Shahabuddin’s Reign of Terror

Acting on the instructions of notorious criminal and RJD MP Shahabuddin, the S.P. of Siwan arrested a popular leader Com. Nayeemuddin Ansari, mukhiya of Gambhirur panchayat in Mairwan block of Siwan, on 25 December 2001 on a fabricated charge of masterminding an imaginary landmine operation and sent him to jail. A large number of people from the surrounding area had encircled Nautan PS following his arrest. Meanwhile the Siwan jail has turned into Shahabuddin's kingdom where CPI(ML) members and even ordinary prisoners are condemned to the worst kind of torture by his henchmen. Needless to say, this goes on in full knowledge of, and often also in connivance with, the jail authority and the district administration. Comrade Nayeemuddin has also had to suffer this fate and his arms have been broken.

Condemning the anti-CPI(ML) conspiracy of the Siwan administration, the Party district committee organised a 10,000 strong demonstration and public meeting at Gandhi Maidan in Siwan on 22 January 2002. The rally demanded immediate release of Com. Nayeemuddin, suspension of the S.P. of Siwan and arrest of Shahabuddin.  Party Polit Bureau member Com. Ram Naresh Ram, CC member KD Yadav, State leaders Amarnath Yadav and Indrajeet and president of Bihar Pradesh Khet Mazdoor Sabha and MLA Satyadev Ram and others addressed the meeting.

Coinciding with the rally in Siwan, protest marches and dharnas were held in various districts of the state. In Patna a protest march was taken out in which many leading comrades including Bihar State Committee Secretary Com. Ramjatan Sharma, Convenor of Bihar Pradesh Kisan Sabha and MLA Rajaram Singh, MLA Mahboob Alam, MLA Arun Singh, General Secretary of Bihar Pradesh Khet Mazdoor Sabha Com. Rameshwar Prasad, and Party State Committee members Sudama Prasad and Manohar participated. The protest march ended in a meeting at Patna Railway Station chowk. A massive dharna was staged in Bhojpur, addressed by Com. Latafat Hussain and others. In Nalanda, street corner meetings were held at various places. In Darbhanga, a protest march was taken out and in Samastipur, dharna was staged before the DM's office. Protest dharnas were also held in Begusarai, Bettiah, Aurangabad and Jahanabad. To intensify the agitation, a three-day dharna will now be held at Income Tax chowk in Patna on 29-31 January.

Protest Day in Gaya; Tekari Bandh

CPI(ML) strongly condemned the killing of five persons belonging to Yadav caste by Ranvir Sena goons at Barsimha village at the border of Patna and Gaya districts on 21 January. Demanding that the Ranvir Sena criminals be arrested immediately, Party called Tekari Bandh on 23 January and observed protest day throughout Gaya district. On 22 January Party organised a massive protest march in Gaya. Party also demanded Rs. 5 lakh compensation to the families of the slain persons.

Demonstrations of Agrarian Labourers in Patna District

Demonstrations of agrarian labourers were held at several block centres of Patna district in Bihar on 25 January. More than 1,000 people participated in the demonstrations held at Punpun and Dulhin Bazar, while around 500 people attended the demonstrations at Masaurhi, Dhanarua and Paliganj. The demonstrations centred around demands like implementation of minimum wages, guarantee of employment throughout the year, enactment of central legislation for agrarian labourers, distribution of ceiling surplus and gair mazarua land among agricultural labourers and guarantee of red cards and pucca houses for them. Demonstrators also called upon the Sate Govt. to fulfil its promises of giving one lakh rupees to the families of all the 9 agrarian labourer killed at Shahbazpur in Punpun block of Patna dist

People Protest Party Activist's Murder

Com. Harendra Bhatt, a local cadre in Siwan district of Bihar was killed on 26 January at Tandwa Bazar in Darauli block of Siwan. The killers were from Prithwi Pandey gang patronised by BJP-Samata combine. Hearing the news, hundreds of pepole from adjoining areas assembled at Tandwa Bazar and held a militant demonstration.

AISA Conference in Bihar District

AISA held its Nawadah district conference in Bihar on 21 January. AISA National President Kavita Krishnan inaugurated it. Fomer Gen. Secy. of AISA, Com. Dhirendra Jha also attended the conference. Before the conference, an impressive students’ march was taken out

Seminar on Saffron Subversion  of History in Patna

A seminar on "Itihaas ka sach" (the truth of history) was held in Patna on January 26 which was addressed among others by eminent historian Professor Ram Sharan Sharma. A large number of people, teachers as well as students, social workers and cultural activists, pariticipated in the seminar. Speakers said that the RSS was out to smuggle all its communal fascist prejudices and postulates into history. They described it as an attempt to indoctrinate impressionable young minds on saffron ideological lines. Condemning this intellectual terrorism of the saffron establishment, speakers called for a vigorous ideological-political campaign against it. The seminar was jjointly organised by the Jan Sanskriti Munch, Pragatisheel Lekhak Sangh and the Janwadi Lekhak Sangh, the three leading Left cultural organisations.

Citizens Against War in Patna

Citizens Against War, a Patna-based anti-imperialist  coalition  formed in the wake of America's Afghan War, held an anti-war convention in Patna on January 27. On behalf of the CPI(ML), Comrade K.D.Yadav was present in the presidium while Comrade Prdeep Jha, among others, presented a paper. The convention passed several resolutions against war-hysteria and communal frenzy. It demanded immediate resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue, withdrawal of American troops from  Afghanistan and restoration of democracy in that war ravaged country.

CIA & FBI 'Welcome' to Interfere in West Bengal Administration?

Whatever has happened to the CPI(M) rhetoric against American interference in our internal affairs? In the wake of the 22 January terrorist attack on the police at the American information centre at Kolkata, FBI lost no time to rush to 'aid' the West Bengal government with the probe. The state intelligence chief proudly proclaimed that they were getting help not only from the central govt. but also from ‘abroad’! Even the CPM state leadership justified this FBI interference in the name of combating ‘terrorism’.

One may recall that two years back when several agricultural labourers were killed in Nanur in Birbhum district and some members of the US consulate staff visited the spot, the CPM raised a hue and cry against American  interference in  the internal administrative functioning of West Bengal. The CPI(M) was also prompt in opposing FBI functioning in Delhi. But today the Left Front Govt. does not mind collaborating with the same FBI in the American information centre episode.

Reports however indicate that serious debates are going on in the state secretariat of the CPM on this issue. Eminent economist and former CPI(M) Minster and MP Ashok Mitra wrote a protest letter to the CPM leadership. The firebrand leader of TMC Miss Mamata Banerjee has of course congratulated the chief minister and the CPM leadership for their ‘positive’ move of taking Advani’s help and collaboration with FBI.

Message from New York and Porto Alegre

From January 31 to February 4, corporate bosses from the world's largest transnationals and political leaders will meet in New York City for their annual World Economic Forum. The billionaires of the WEF, who usually meet on a  mountaintop in Davos, Switzerland, for the past 31 years, will be holding their  annual bash in New York this year. They probably think that  this financial capital of the world and home to nearly 8 million people, is so traumatized by Sept. 11 that good old-fashioned street demonstrations against greedy  capitalists, like the ones that have been rousing the world since Seattle, will not be tolerated. In Waldorf Astoria hotel in mid-town Manhattan, they  will celebrate war in Afghanistan and the Middle East, looting in Argentina, attacks on civil liberties, and corporate tax cuts.

But to their surprise, thousands of protesters  are coming from all over to creatively and forcefully voice the International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition calls for alternatives - jobs, health care, education, civil rights, and peace with justice - that reflect the needs of the vast majority of people. There will be protest activities throughout the World Economic Forum meeting.  The political slogans of the ANSWER rally include No to Corporate-Centered Globalization! No to War in Afghanistan and the Middle East! No  to Unemployment, Poverty and Mass Layoffs! Yes to Jobs, Education, Healthcare and Civil Liberties.

ANSWER in a statement  said: "Since September 11, hundreds of thousands of workers  have lost their jobs. Unemployment and mass layoffs are sweeping through all sectors of the world economy. Politicians, working for the interests of corporate elites, are providing billions of dollars in bailouts for investors and transnational corporations, but not a penny for increased unemployment insurance. The Congressional "economic stimulus" plan offers huge corporate tax cuts, but only pennies for working people. The lowest paid workers, especially immigrants and service sector workers, are suffering the repercussions of 9-11, while the rich get richer. Today the attacks are against immigrants - incarceration without charges and racial profiling. Tomorrow the target will be U.S. citizens as Ashcroft pushes to legalize surveillance of religious and political groups.

‘‘Internationally, the Bush administration wages war in Afghanistan and encourages expanded war in Palestinian territories. Now Bush is preparing the public for prolonged war in Iraq and perhaps other nations. The deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, both from direct military action and the resulting refugee crisis, is nothing short of state-sponsored terrorism. This is not the way to find justice for 3,000 civilians who died on September 11. And this is not the way to build a more secure and stable world. ... We must respond to increasing attacks on our well-being by corporate-dominated politicians that bring us war, layoffs and increased poverty."

While the WEF meet in  New York,  World Social Forum will gather tens of thousands of representatives from every corner of the world in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to discuss alternative visions. The events in New York and Porto Alegre will mark a new milestone in the ongoing global resistance against corporate globalisation.

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