Ayodhya: The Civil Society Must Step in
It’s now official. Jayendra Saraswati, the Shankaracharya
of Kanchi has sent a proposal to the All India Muslim Personal
Law Board. The AIMPLB has admitted that it has received the
proposal and the Board Executive is slated to consider it
on 6 July. The Shankarcharya has been working as the undeclared
‘official’ interlocutor between the BJP-led NDA
government, the Congress and the AIMPLB and some other Muslim
organisations and individuals. Two weeks ago a host of senior
BJP and Congress leaders and government functionaries were
present in Delhi during the fiftieth anniversary commemoration
of the present Shankaracharya’s anointment. And just
the other day senior NDA ministers George Fernandes and Jaswant
Singh, both with considerable experience of intra-NDA ‘diplomacy’,
met Saraswati at his Kanchi Peeth.
This is described by the Vajpayee government as an attempt
to find an amicable negotiated solution to the Ayodhya question.
Nothing could be further from the truth. What is happening
is sheer travesty of any rational and democratic quest for
a solution. The process is totally devoid of any kind of transparency
and credibility, while the key people involved do not have
any effective mandate of the civil society. Only a handful
of select political personalities and religious functionaries
are involved in behind-the-scene negotiations. Historians,
jurists, archeologists and other social thinkers and activists
who have impeccable credentials in their respective fields
of public life and enjoy a high degree of social trust cutting
across religious divisions are nowhere to be found involved
in the entire process. Such a dubious and secretive exercise
cannot yield an amicable democratic solution to a murky tangle
like Ayodhya.
The precise terms of the Shankaracharya formula are not
known. What we have so far are inspired leaks and interested
speculations. But the common point in all versions is that
a temple is to be constructed in place of the demolished mosque.
The other terms being reportedly discussed in concerned circles
like construction of a mosque at a 10 or 12 km radius from
the ‘disputed’ site, throwing open of some 1,000-odd
mosques currently in ASI custody, quota for Muslims, renunciation
of the VHP’s claim on Kashi and Mathura etc. are not
at all directly or essentially linked to the crux of the Ayodhya
controversy.
While speculation is rife on the Shankaracharya formula,
we also have some explosive new facts on the Ayodhya campaign.
Five of the Ayodhya accused have admitted to being egged on
by Advani, Joshi and other senior BJP leaders to carry out
the actual demolition. And we now know from Kalyan Singh,
the then Chief Minister of UP whose government presided over
the demolition act, that the plans of demolition were finalised
at a meeting in the Jhandewalan office of the RSS in Delhi
in the presence of senior BJP, VHP and RSS leaders. Meanwhile,
the ongoing ASI-led excavation has yielded no evidence, even
of the remotest kind, to support the hypothesis of a temple
predating the mosque. The claim has been proved to be utterly
bogus. The fact that the entire Ayodhya campaign was built
on a completely false basis and through a criminal manipulation
of Hindu religious feelings now stands thoroughly exposed.
The RSS chief Sudarshan has reportedly again mooted the
idea of a legislation to enable the construction of a temple
on the site of the mosque. The demand was originally raised
by the VHP at the time of the February Dharm Sansad and Advani
had then said that the Congress willing, the BJP was ready
to bring in such a legislation. The idea of a legislation
on the subject must be rejected with all the scorn it deserves.
Any such legislation would deal the heaviest blow till date
to the notion of secularism and democratic plurality. What
has not been discovered by excavation must not be allowed
to be built through legislation.
Secular democratic forces and all justice-seeking people
must now turn the heat on the guilty of Ayodhya. This is the
time to intensify the campaign for the removal of Advani and
Joshi from the council of ministers. This is the time to thwart
any design or deal on Ayodhya that concedes the central VHP
demand of a temple. Ideally, a mosque should be rebuilt on
the site of the demolished site. Some other alternatives like
a grand memorial for the united martyrs of the 1857 war of
independence or some institution of public service can also
be contemplated as acceptable solutions. But any so-called
solution which concedes a temple on the site of the mosque
would amount to an abject appeasement of the conspirators
and vandals of the saffron brigade. It would effectively be
a VHP solution even if the VHP is formally kept out of the
process. The secular democratic opinion in the country cannot
accept any manufactured agreement around an appeasement formula
as a solution to the Ayodhya question.
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CPI(ML) For Closer Ties of Friendship and
Cooperation Between India and China.
CPI(ML) wishes closer ties of friendship and cooperation
between India and China. Closer ties between the world’s
two most populous countries are not only in the best interest
of both China and India but of Asia and the third world at
large. The only major irritant in India-China relations is
India’s growing strategic proximity to the US. Only
Five years ago India justified the Pokhran blasts by invoking
the bogey of the Chinese threat. Fernandes had dubbed China
India’s enemy number one and Vajpayee’s personally
written to Clinton had echoed a similar view. India was also
the first country to welcome Bush’s aggressive missile
defence scheme which is clearly targeted against China. The
success of Vajpayee’s visit and the possibility of closer
ties between India and China would depend primarily on the
Indian Government’s ability to shed its anti-China framework
and instead display greater sensitivity to China’s security
concerns. Closer understanding with China and Russia holds
out a diametrically different foreign policy option from the
current course of India’s strategic partnership with
the US and Israel. While the former option would help India
strengthen her independence and play a bigger role in international
relations, the latter course is fast reducing India to the
status of a pitiable client-state of the US in Asia.
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CPI(ML) For Restoration of Mosque in Ayodhya
The CPI(ML) has demanded restoration of the mosque at the
site of the demolished Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
Upholding this view as the only way-out of the Ayodhya crisis,
CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya has said that
in no case can the country allow the construction of a temple
in place of the mosque. He expressed serious concern over
the "hectic attempts that are going on in the highest
echelons of power to hatch out a secret deal".
Sangh outfits, the NDA government and some other related
agencies are all engaged in weaving a web of confusion over
the issue of Ayodhya. They are harping on several tunes from
judicial settlement to Parliamentary legislation. Behind this
curtain of carefully cultivated confusion hectic attempts
are on to work out a secret settlement.
Just as the Bush-Blair brigade invoked the bogey of weapons
of mass destruction to ravage Iraq, the Sangh Parivar has
used the bogey of Ram Janmabhumi to violate the constitution
and demolish the Babri Masjid. This has been once again demonstrated
by the fact that even after weeks of relentless excavation,
the ASI team has not been able to produce anything that can
even remotely be described as a proof of a temple predating
the mosque. It is now clearer than ever that the entire Ram
Janmabhumi campaign was based on sheer false propaganda and
criminal misuse of Hindu religious sentiments. Natural justice
therefore demands restoration of the mosque at the site of
the demolished Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
BPKMS Membership Campaign in Jehanabad
In an effort to lay maximum emphasis on developing, expanding
and strengthening agrarian labourer’s movement, Party-led
Khet Mazdoor Sabha is engaged in statewide membership campaign
in Bihar besides intensifying area-wise struggles. The KMS
is preparing for its all-India conference which is scheduled
to be held in November at Arrah in Bihar. This initiative
and campaign to organise the agrarian labourers in the state
is getting massive response. Thousands of people from the
social bases of other parties like RJD, CPI, CPI(M), PWG,
LJP, BSP and BJP are joining the KMS. This is an indication
of the waning influence of these parties among the agrarian
labourers and other rural poor.
In Jehanabad and Arwal till now around 50000 agrarian labourers
have been enrolled as members of the KMS. Out of this more
than 7000 are from support base of other parties, mainly RJD
and PWG. Nearly three thousand people, mainly from dalit and
other extremely backward castes, who earlier were with PWG,
have joined the KMS. People, mainly dalits and poor, who used
to associate themselves with RJD are also joining the Sabha.
In Bhadasi panchayat of Arwal, large number of people from
Muslim community joined the KMS. BSP has very limited presence
in the district. Hundreds of BSP supporters are also reported
to have joined the Khet Mazdoor Sabha. In Kako area where
people from Paswan (Dushadh) caste joined the BJP in reaction
to the oppression of Muslim feudals of the area, a trend is
developing among them to join CPI(ML) and KMS. In Awagilla
area of Arwal block, hundreds of CPI supporters led by their
Branch Secretary have also joined the KMS.
Party’s consistent struggle on land and wage related
issues and resistances to the Ranvir Sena and mafia-criminal
elements as well as movement against police repression have
left a good impact on the people of Jehanabad-Arwal region.
Because of these sustained struggles thousands of people from
the support base of other parties are joining the Party and
the Khet Mazdoor Sabha.
Karbi Anglong Bandh
The 12-hour Karbi Anglong bandh on 23 June called by CPI(ML),
ASDC(P) and KSA received an overwhelming and active response
from the people as all the Govt. offices including Council
premises wore a deserted look and all the private institutions
and business establishments remained closed on that day. Vehicles
on all the road and National Highways passing through the
Karbi Anglong remained off in response to the bandh call.
Spontaneous and overwhelming participation of all sections
of people in the bandh call once again reflected the popular
public opinion against the Clause-8 of the BLT Accord and
against the dubious and dishonest role played by Cong(I) ruled
KAAC in this regard.
The bandh was called in protest of failure of Karbi Anglong
Autonomous Council (KAAC) to publish the resolution which
they claimed to have passed on 26 May to oppose granting ST(Hills)
to Bodo community in Karbi Anglong and N. C. Hills. Instead
of making the resolution public, the Congress(I) chose to
use the state machinery to counter the bandh. Cong(I) goondas
led by a prominent Youth Cong(I) leader Sri Hanuram Ingti
attacked the KSA office at Dipu-Lumding road to intimidate
bandh supporters. An Executive Member of KAAC Ramsing Ingti
himself broke locks and door of number of business houses.
The district administration also helped these Cong(I) leaders
in committing such unlawful and illegal acts. However in spite
of all these provocations and high-handedness the people of
Karbi Anglong responded positively to make the bandh a grand
success. This development has once again proved that Cong(I)-led
KAAC has not adopted any resolution to categorically oppose
ST(Hills) demands of the BLT. CPI(ML) and ASDC(P) have urged
the people of Karbi Anglong and N. C. Hills to remain vigilant
and united for vigorous mass movement to pressurise the Govt.
and authorities for withdrawing their designs to confer ST(H)
status to a single community while ignoring the broader issue
of Autonomous State.
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National Workshop by AIPWA
The All India Progressive Women’s Association held
its national level cadre workshop from June 18 to 20 in Dhanbad.
74 representatives from twelve states participated in it.
The workshop, intended to expand AIPWA among working women,
discussed various aspects and socio-economic plight of working
women. Representatives from all states shared their experiences
through separate papers presented on the specific issues related
to working women in sectors like coal, small and medium industries,
domestic labour, sanitation, handloom, beedi as well as agriculture.
This was followed by detailed and lively group discussions.
The workshop was inaugurated by AICCTU General Secretary Swapan
Mukherjee.
The workshop finalised a nine point charter of demands which
includes inclusion of right to work as a fundamental right
in constitution, guarantee of employment and unemployment
allowance for the unemployed, central legislation for agricultural
labourers, declaration of a policy statement from the govt.
of India regarding women workers, guarantee to employment
and social security, immediate stop to policy of privatisation,
provision of loans to unemployed women at very nominal interest
rates, reservation of women in all representative institutions,
implementation of Supreme Court orders to stop sexual harassment
of women workers at workplace and extension of these orders
in the unorganised sector too, etc. The workshop also decided
to send a delegation to the Central Labour Minister in order
to initiate proceedings to bring forth a Domestic Women’s
Labour Bill. It was also resolved to organise working women
under AICCTU as well as AIPWA.
An impressive procession was held out before the workshop
on June 18 which was addressed by AIPWA National President
Gita Das, General Secretary Kumudini Pati, CPI(ML) MLA Mahendra
Singh, Upendra Singh and Swapan Mukherjee. Speakers criticized
the growing attacks of policies of liberalisation on women
and appealed to intensify the movement against these regressive
policies as well as to build up pressure over the Parliament
to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill.
B R I E F S
Þ On June 11, 110 acres
of land was captured and distributed among landless villagers
in Gaunaha block of West Champaran district of Bihar. This
land was under illegal occupation of Baldev Shah who is
a close relative of local MP. Although this land was allotted
to more than hundred poor families in 1986 and later reallotted
in 2002, Baldev Shah forcibly managed to keep his possession
over it. Earlier CPI(ML) successfully distributed another
piece of land to 62 families in 2002 from his possession.
Þ On 6 June Ranvir Sena
criminals abducted four brick kiln workers from Alampur
in Arwal and later killed three of them. In protest against
these killings hundreds of people blocked the road and compelled
the administration to suspend the Thana in-charge and arrest
local Ranvir Sena leader and Jilla Panchayat member Krishna
Sharma along with two others.
Þ The AICCTU affiliated
“Fisheries Karmachari Union” in Andaman and
Nikobar Islands has submitted a 6-point charter demanding
creation of new vacancies, fixation of duty timings, payment
of honorarium and proper accommodation facilities. The workers
attached to the Fisheries Deptt. are being engaged in dangerous
work in the sea and are denied any special incentive (honorarium)
which is being given to higher officials. The union has
given one month’s notice to fulfill the demands.
Þ Detained party members
in Jehanabad and Phulwarisharif jails in Bihar launched
successful movements. In Jehanabad, jail committee started
agitation against Ranvir Sena men and beat up their leader
who used to harass poor and hapless prisoners and forced
jail administration to agree to the demands. While in Phulwarisharif,
a movement was launched against killing of a prisoner by
criminals who were getting open protection of jail administration.
Agitators braved heavy lathi-charge by police and forced
the administration to lodge FIR against Jailer and Thana
in-charge of Gardanibagh besides a compensation to the family
of victim. An inquiry was also set up by the Human Rights
Commission in this case.
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The CTUOs Suggest Revision in draft of Unorganised
Sector Workers Bill-2003
The All India Central Council of Trade Unions along with
many other Central Trade Unions Organisations (CTUOs) has
asked the Labour Minister to incorporate amendments to the
draft of Unorganized Sector Workers Bill-2003 emphasising
the need for a separate Bill for the agriculture workers,
and that the separate Bills on employment conditions, welfare
and social security aspects should be moved simultaneously
along with this Bill. These bills, including the Unorganised
Sector Workers Bill, should provide for initial funds and
regular defined contributions from the Centre and State Govts.
CTUOs have also demanded that the entire cost of administration
of the Act(s) be borne by the govt. at least for the first
five years and the position could be reviewed and revised
commitment worked out after this specified period and the
minimum basic welfare and pensionary benefits to be included
in the schemes should be incorporated in the Bill. It has
also been suggested that wherever the employer is not identifiable
and/or the worker is compelled to change employment frequently,
the contribution of the employer should be paid by the Government
/ Board, the Board(s) constituted under the Act should be
a body having statutory powers to administer the various functions
and schemes under the Act, the Board should have equal representatives
of the Govt., workers and employers. The Government should
allocate at least 3% of the GDP annually for social security
and it should progressively increase till satisfied level
in social security is achieved.
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Construction workers’ Conference
in Tamilnadu
First conference of Tamilnadu Democratic Construction Workers
Union was held on 16 June in Neyveli. 700 worker-delegates
including 250 women attended. The conference demanded minimum
wages, food security, social security, provision of housing
and health facilities, improved working condition and job
security against indiscriminate mechanisation of construction
work. The conference further demanded separate central law
for the agricultural workers. The conference elected G. Radhakrishnan,
K. Krishnamourthy, G. Anburaj, G. Karna , P. A. Arumugam,
V. Kannayyan and Manohar as new office bearers besides 17
member state working committee.
Campaign for Restoration of Rights of the
Working People in Iraq
An International Conference was held in Geneva on June 15,
at the initiative of the International Liaison Committee of
Workers and Peoples which appealed to campaign for restoration
of rights of the working people in Iraq with the slogan “No
to the Occupation of Iraq!”. It has said that it was
a war for oil, a war of domination of the region and the world,
a war that threatens all countries and peoples. The occupation
armies of the United States and Great Britain protect the
interests of the U.S. multinational corporations, which are
poised to super-exploit the Iraqi people without hindrance
and to plunder the resources and wealth of the Iraqi nation.
The Conference hoped that the unity of working people the
world over will forge the road to peace and called to organise
international mobilisation to oppose undermining and destruction
of trade union and labor rights in Iraq through war. “Just
like the planned destruction and plunder by the multinational
corporations are part and parcel of the generalised offensive
which, under different forms, targets working people in every
country”. The first labor strikes and walk-outs, after
the US occupation, have taken place in Iraq and, at the same
time, the repression against trade union leaders has been
unleashed, with a number of unionists now facing death threats.
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All
India Demand Day
Called By
AICCTU
and AIALA
on
2nd
July
For
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| 1.
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Comprehensive
Central Legislation for Agricultural Workers. |
| 2.
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3%
of GDP for Social Security of Unorganised Labourers. |
| 3. |
Guaranteeing
national level Uniform Minimum Wages for Unorganised
Sector. |
| 4. |
Guarantee
Employment Throughout the Year for Unorganised
Labourers. |
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For the Kind Attention of
ML Update Readers
Please note that we have had to fix a price for ML Update.
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All our esteemed readers are requested to help us implement
this new system. Please make sure that your subscription reaches
us within June 30, 2003.
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:
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