Terror, Tragedy and Policies of Insecurity

Clearly, neither the Indian Railways nor Indian cities are becoming any safer. Only a few weeks back, the Prime Minister reportedly showered a lot of praise on Mr. Laloo Prasad for allegedly bringing about a visible improvement in the functioning of the railways. If the praise was meant to influence the Bihar electorate ahead of a crucial electoral battle, his bad salesmanship can now only boomerang. Laloo Prasad is certainly taking as good care of the railways as he has taken of his home state and its treasury in the last fifteen years! And the serial blasts rocked Delhi just a couple of hours after the President had waxed eloquent about the role of ‘high-tech surveillance’ in improving India’s internal security! He was addressing the 66 th anniversary ceremony of the CRPF.

If India is not becoming safer, it is also not becoming any wiser in either averting terror or managing the aftermath of a disaster. Disaster-management has just become another empty catchphrase. The railway authorities have been particularly slow in responding to the Nalgonda accident, perhaps the worst-ever train disaster in Andhra Pradesh. Instead of rushing relief and arranging immediate medical treatment, the authorities are busy seeking excuses in rains. For all the talk about information revolution and right to information, relatives and friends of the victims in all the disaster sites and concerned hospitals are crying for information while the medical establishment and security agencies remain preoccupied with protocols and the mandatory post-accident VVIP visits!

The Delhi blasts, we are told, were very much anticipated but specific intelligence inputs were lacking. This again has become a routine excuse after every terrorist attack. The sites chosen by the attackers, all crowded markets and busy areas, were rather obvious targets. It has also become customary for government spokesmen and ruling class parties to issue strong statements after every such incident and talk about fighting terrorism to the finish. Blames are always laid at the expected doorsteps and members of the Sangh Parivar lose no time to burn Musharraf effigies and clamour for teaching a good lesson to Pakistan. This is not just diversionary tactics, it is also a sinister pretext to target Indian Muslims and instigate jingoistic passions.

Sections of the media have linked the Delhi blasts to the conviction of some Pakistani nationals in the Red Fort attack case in which three Army personnel were killed on December 22, 2000. The blasts took place around the same time when the Delhi High Court was scheduled to pronounce the sentence against the Red Fort case convicts. Incidentally, a couple of hours before the blasts, the High Court had actually deferred the judgement. And the reasons provided by the Additional Sessions Judge – “a power breakdown, volume of the job, and shortage of staff” – read like an interesting, if inadvertent, judicial indictment against downsizing and privatisation of power-supply!

Whether or not the blasts have anything to do with this particular case, Delhi and other major Indian cities are now clearly all the more vulnerable to terrorist attacks. And this has more to do with India ’s foreign policy of increasing identification with the United States than with the complexities of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir or anywhere else in India . A reversal of this foreign policy can contribute more to improve India ’s security environment than any number of anti-terrorist legislations, battalions and resolutions.

Dismiss the Assam Government, Send Immediate Relief to Karbi Anglong

The spree of massacres started in the end of September and within two weeks whole of Karbi Anglong was engulfed into the fury of violence. The administration failed to even recognise the quantum of the crisis and did not provide any relief to the victims despite repeated requests by the CPI(ML) units in the region. Then Party organised its own relief and rehabilitation work by involving local people and every party structure in Assam . CPI(ML) set up its first relief camp in Diphu on 8 October, amidst the height of violence when terrified and homeless people pouring in into the town, which continues till now. Relief camps were put in in Taralangso near Diphu. Diphu Party office also became a relief camp as many sick persons and pregnant women were kept there to provide medical help and other relief. Some women delivered children in our office in Diphu.

Hundreds of people were stranded near the rail track between Lamding and Diphu as their villages were burnt down by the rioters and there was every possibility that they would become easy targets. Our efforts, especially Dr. Jayanta Rongpi’s initiative, succeeded when they successfully convinced the Divisional Railway Manager and he agreed to halt every train in the way to pick up the stranded victims up to Diphu. Administration was aware of these happening but preferred to remain a mute spectator. Karbi Anglong Party Committee postponed the peasant workshop already scheduled and many other programmes and decided to put every effort to provide relief to the victims and maintain harmony in the region. Party continued to pressurise the administration for providing relief and to take steps to stop violence. Ultimately first ‘official’ relief camp came into operation on 12 October. Although lack of many essential facilities in the camps was reflective of government’s halfhearted attempt. CPI(ML) activists continues to involve masses in relief operations by collecting materials, like clothing and blankets, as well as monetary help for the victims. Akhilendra Pratap Singh, Polit Bureau Member of CPI(ML), while visiting the affected areas and relief camps with the central team of the Party declared on behalf of the Central Committee to donate Rs. one lakh for the victims. CPI(ML) members of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council and all ex-MLAs of the Party also gave one month’s salary/pension to the relief fund.

Visit of the Central Team of CPI(ML)

A central team led by Com. Ahkilendra Pratap Singh and comprising of Partha Ghosh, Rubul Sarma, Jayanta Rongpi and Subhas Sen visited affected areas and relief camps of Karbi Anglong on 29 Oct. Central Team addressed a press conference on 28th at Guwahati Press Club, where Com A P Singh handed over a draft of Rs. 1,00,000/ to the relief fund of Karbi Anglong. After returning to Guwahati the team visited the Governor of Assam on 30th Oct. at Rajbhawan and submitted a memorandum.

The central team told the Governor that at the behest of the Gogoi government, minister of Hill Areas Development Mr. G.C. Langthasa had initiated the process of violence through DHD and they are of the opinion that so long as the Gogoi-led state government continues, normalcy and peace will not be restored in the area. People have a deep sense of insecurity and anguish. Governor was also told that the present tragedy has arisen out of engineered violence as a part of the political conspiracy hatched by the congress for narrow electoral gains in coming election.

The team reiterated to the Governor to initiate immediate constitutional proceedings against the Congress led government of Assam, including its dismissal under Art.356; A high level judicial enquiry preferably by a panel of sitting judges of the Supreme Court; organisations like UPDS and DHD should be immediately disarmed; Ground rule of the cease-fire agreement must be amended to allow only one designated camp for each of the militant organisation who are under ceasefire agreements. Such camps should not be located in sensitive and mixed populated areas. On aforesaid basis the designated camp of DHD at Dhansiri in Karbi Anglong to be shifted to NC Hills. They also demanded to fulfill the following specific requirements -

(i) Ex-gratia payment of Rs. 5,00,000 to the families of every victim who are killed in the carnage and also for those who have died in the relief camps;

(ii) Free and comprehensive medical care for all the injured persons and people taking shelter in relief camps;

(iii) Immediate assistance of Rs. 1,00,000 to rebuild destroyed and damaged dwellings;

(iv) Free provision of all essential commodities and ration for at least six months or till Rabi crop is harvested; Supply of baby foods and nutrients for infant and pregnant women on imergency basis.

(v) Ensure normal academic life for the student in the district. Government should also make special arrangement for temporary schools so that the displaced students do not lose current academic year; and to request President of India to ask central government for special package for comprehensive relief and rehabilitation.

Citizens’ Meeting at Guwahati on Karbi Anglong issue.

A citizens’ meet was held at the joint call of Sadou Asom Janasanskritik Parishad and Karbi Cultural Society at Guwahati Press Club on 30 Oct. The meeting condemned the dubious role played by the Tarun Gogoi Government and called upon the people of the state to stand by the people of the hill districts and to expose the conspiracy of the Government. The meeting demanded political solution to the problem and asked the Government to disarm UPDS and DHD. The meeting decided to organize a cultural troop to collect relief fund and materials for the affected people of Karbi Anglong. The meeting was presided over by Loknath Goswami and addressed by prominent artist Dilip Sarma, writer Nitya Borah, writer Paramananda Mazumdar, Dr. Jayanta Rongpi, AICCTU leader Subhas Sen and AIPWA leader Junu Borah. Chandrakanta Terang and Chandra Singh Kro addressed on behalf of Karbi Cultural Society.

AIPWA team’s visit

AIPWA delegation comprising of Kanaklata Dutta, State Secy, Junu Borah, State Vice President, Mrinali Devi, Geetanjali Sonowal, Kalyani Choudhury, and Gayatri Krisnateya along with KNCA leaders visited relief camps of Karbi Anglong and met affected people on 28th Oct. They met the DC of Karbi Anglogng and demanded necessary rice, medicine, cloth and sanitation for the people in relief camps. They also demanded early political solution of the problem of the militancy in the hill districts. Prior to that AIPWA organised dharna programme on 27th Oct in different districts including state HQ Guwahati. They also sent a memorandum to the Governor of Assam.

AISA Wins Presidential Post in JNUSU

This year’s JNUSU elections saw JNU students re-asserting their faith in AISA’s leadership of JNUSU by re-electing Mona Das for a second term as JNUSU President. The mandate also witnessed a deepening of radical Left politics in JNU – with AISA polling a close second on all other Central Panel posts with a significant rise in votes, while the SFI-AISF alliance won those posts. Mona Das polled 1049 votes, 52 votes more than her nearest rival – Sona Mitra from the SFI; AISA candidate for the post of Vice President, Kanika Singh polled 930 votes, just 25 votes behind the winner – Dhananjay Tripathi from the SFI; on the post of General Secretary, AISA candidate Awadhesh Tripathi polled 733 votes, 180 votes less than Fauzan Abrar from the AISF; and on the post of Joint Secretary, Sandeep Singh from AISA polled 711 votes – 249 votes less than Arani Sinha from the SFI. The mandate decisively marginalized the right-wing forces of ABVP, relegating them to the third position. AISA also won one Councillor seat in the School of Language , Literature and Culture Studies – Tyler Walker Williams, an American student of M Phil in Hindi Literature, topped the list with 405 votes. Tyler is the first foreign student to have won a post in the JNUSU – and his spirited sloganeering in Hindi against US imperialism and warmongering, against the BJP and the UPA, and of ‘Naxalbari Lal Salaam’ were the one of the highlights of the JNU polls!

The re-election of AISA to the post of JNUSU President is significant in the light of the fact that the Congress-led UPA Govt at the Centre is supported by the CPI-CPI(M). By electing AISA rather than SFI-AISF combine to the post of President, JNU students have clearly trusted AISA to give JNUSU a leadership that is not tied by any strings to the Congress-UPA. Their mandate was for AISA’s spirited resistance to Nestle, and solidarity with the movements in Manipur, Gurgaon, Garo Hills and Jadavpur.

ABVP’s being pushed to third place was partly a result of the disarray in the right camp – but no less a result of the vibrant Left debates and struggles initiated by the AISA-led JNUSU – such as the anti-Nestle movement, the protests against Uma Bharti’s visit, the student-karamchari March to the HRD Ministry.

The elections put paid to the SFI-AISF’s accusations that the AISA had ‘failed to provide political leadership to the JNUSU’ – instead, JNU students once again gave their mandate for a political leadership that was free of the burden of defending the UPA Govt’s anti-people, anti-student policies.

The bomb blasts in Delhi put a dampener on the post-election mood in JNU – and among the first initiatives of the JNUSU was to hold a massive condolence meet and silent procession in memory of the victims, followed by a blood donation camp on the campus.

Dalit woman candidate for BDC elections burnt alive in Mirzapur

CPI(ML) team visits incident site

On the night of 20 October, dalit woman candidate for BDC election, Prabhavati Devi was burnt alive in the Mujehra Khurd village of Mirzapur district. A high-level investigation team led by CPI(ML) State Secretary and Polit Bureau Member, Akhilendra Pratap Singh and AIPWA State Secretary, Ajanta Lohit visited the incident site and made the following observations:

The incident was the result of heightened arrogance on the part of the feudal and powerful mafia-criminal elements of the area who are patronised by the Mulayam Government and are intolerant, in desperation, to the women's assertion, especially from among dalits.

Though a lot of hype was created on the operation of Maoists in the area, and both the earlier BSP government and the present government had been talking of containing the so-called Maoist menace the above incident showed that the lives of the weaker sections of society were in jeopardy and the minimum human rights were denied to them, while feudal forces were being patronised.

According to the investigation, Prabhavati was the lone dalit candidate for this post and had mustered enough courage to contest on a general seat, which raised the ire of the upper caste feudals, who connived to kill her in the darkness of the night. The police reached 14 hrs. later, and instead of arresting the culprits, tried to lodge false cases against family members of the woman. After a lot of struggle, an FIR was lodged but no one was arrested even after 3 days had passed. A convicted murderer Suryamani Singh is the main culprit at whose behest the woman was burnt. This man is also named in a previous case of kidnapping. CPI(ML) has demanded free treatment for Prabhavati and exemplary punishment to the culprits.

CPI(ML) in UP Panchayat Elections

Two CPI(ML) candidates have won in Zilla Panchayat elections in UP. Party leader Tilakdhari Bind registered a second consecutive win in Chandauli district by a margin of 1700 securing 7000 votes in sector no. 4 of Niyamatabad block. In Pilibhit, Kishanlal Advocate won by a margin of 387 securing 3167 votes in ward no. 11 of Marauri block.

AIALA State Conference in Tamil Nadu

‘We were actually scared even to speak to them. They were abusing us with filthy words. They even hit us on our head if we ask for a rise in our wages. But things will no more continue like this. After we started taking up struggles for wage rise under AIALA, they do not even dare look at us straightly, leave alone speaking to us. Earlier we will have to wait for wages even till 8 pm after the day of work. But now it is not like that. We won the struggle for wage rise. We will continue our struggle for reduction of working hours’, said a woman delegate from Marayur, who participated in the 2nd State Conference of AIALA of Tamil Nadu, held in Madurai on 17 October. 434 delegates for the conference were elected by the panchayat level conferences held in 62 panchayat conferences, out of which 231 delegates attended the conference. There were 43 women delegates. observers and guests were around 60. The Conference marked a forceful assertion of agricultural and rural labour, charted an immediate programme and resolved to unleash wider movement in the days to come. The conference elected 67-strong council. S.Annadurai was elected as President and Gunasekaran as General Secretary. Kshitish Biswal was the Central Observer for the conference. He called for the agricultural laborers to rise up in the struggle for a total change. Malleshwar Rao and Shankar attended the conference. S. Kumarasami, Central Committee member of CPI(ML) and President of AICCTU inaugurated the conference.  S.Balasundaram, State Secy. of CPI(ML), addressed the gathering. AICCTU, AIPWA, RYA and TN People’s cultural association leaders also addressed the conference.

Convention in Uttaranchal

After five years of its completion people in Uttaranchal see a continuation of the same policies that were adopted earlier and only change visible is firmer grip of corrupt politicians and increased mafia-isation of economy and the polity. Therefore, it is now prime responsibility of the left and democratic forces in the state to forge a wider and stronger people’s unity against the corrupt politician-mafia-criminal nexus. This was the theme of the Convention organised by the CPI(ML) on 5 October in Shrinagar of Garhwal on the occasion of the completion of five years of the new state. Addressing as the main speaker, Uttaranchal CPI(ML) Incharge Raja Bahuguna said that Uttakhand movement was primarily a demand for a hill state keeping in view the specific developmental requirements in light of specific historic and socio-economic considerations. But the formation of the new state was accomplished after killing the basic concept of a hill-state by including Hardwar district, which was never considered a part of this region, in the new state. This was done only to appease the big farmers’ lobby and to guarantee that their illegal holds over lakhs of acres of fertile land in the terai will not be challenged. While the present ND Tiwary government has provided ministerial status to the persons exceeding in number than the total size of the elected legislature - thus wasting public money, the plight of women and the youth – who were the back-bone of the Uttarakhand movement – has not improved a bit during last five years of the new state. Convention also condemned the recent verdict by the court acquitting the main accused, then DM of Mujaffar Nagar Anant Kumar Singh, of the Rampur Tiraha firing and rape case, that occurred during the peak of the movement, and criticized the state govt. for deliberately hiding evidences in the court. The Convention felt that it is now more pertinent to move ahead in the direction of developing intense struggles by raising people’s basic issues and forging broader democratic alliance against the betrayal of the people’s aspirations. Senior journalist Madan Mohan Chamoli said that the issue of development is still a bigger challenge in this state thanks to the dominating nexus of mafia and corrupt politicians and anti-people policies of the governments. The out-migration of capital and manpower has increased during last few years and faulty planning and weakening of institutions has led to more control of private capital over the public funding. Leader of Uttaranchal Mahila Manch Vimala Kotiyal, Khushahal Mani Barthwal of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, RP Bahuguna of CPI, Indresh Maikhury of AISA, CPI(ML) Garhwal incharge Kailash Pandey, Malti Haldar, Atul Sati and Naresh Rana also spoke in the Convention.

CPI(ML) Candidates for Assembly Elections in Bihar

(Party has fielded total 85 candidates in Bihar polls. Following is the list for remaining two rounds of
polls, i.e., for the 3 rd and 4 th phase)

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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