In this Issue
Strike Back! Reverse the Tide!
Long Live May Day's Legacy of Working Class Struggle For Democracy, Freedom And Equality!
Convicted and executed for leading the workers' movement for an 8-hour working day, beginning on May 1, 1886 , August Spies, one of the 8 Haymarket Martyrs, declared in his trial speech:
“Their (the working class') tendency is to elevate all mankind to the same level, to have all humanity share in the paradise you now monopolise.
You, in your blindness, think you can stop the tidal wave of civilisation and human emancipation by placing a few policemen, a few gatling guns, and some regiments of militia on the shore, you can frighten the rising waves back into the unfathomable depths, whence they have arisen ...
…if death is the penalty for proclaiming the truth, then I will proudly and defiantly pay the costly price!”
In 1884, the US Federation of Organised Trade and Labor Unions had passed a resolution declaring that, as of May 1, 1886 , an 8-hour working day would come into effect. They demanded that the owners put this into effect. On May 1, 1886 , when it was clear that the ruling class had refused this demand, workers declared a general strike all over the country. On May 3 in Chicago , police opened fire on unarmed striking workers, killing 6 and wounding hundreds. In protest, on May 4, thousands of workers rallied at Haymarket Square . As the last speaker was speaking that rainy evening, when just 200 workers were left, 180 armed police assembled and demanded that the workers disperse. A bomb exploded within the police ranks, killing seven policemen. Then the police opened fire, and the number of workers killed and wounded is unknown till today. Eight workers were arrested and convicted of murder and inciting riots – in a trial where no evidence was produced. Four were hanged, one committed suicide, and three were pardoned due to the immense working class upheaval in 1893. Coming generations of the working class movement commemorated May 1 as May Day – the day of workers' struggles and sacrifices.
The Haymarket Martyrs were executed as they struggled for an 8-hour working day and against brutalisation of the workers. Today, 120 years later, we find the historic gains won with the blood of the working class, being reversed, and workers being subjected to a fresh onslaught of brutality. But we also find a new surge of people's struggles all over the world. The ‘tidal wave of civilisation and human emancipation' that Spies celebrated so defiantly in the face of gallows has indeed refused to be frightened off by the despotism and brutality that is unleashed against it.
In the weeks approaching May Day 2006, the world has seen the triumphal waves of people flood the streets of Kathmandu , defying a desperate monarchy. Their struggle for a full-fledged republic is far from complete – but the fact that the red flag played a major role in the movement against monarchy, raises the hope that this time around, democracy in Nepal will not just be one of the robes in the King's wardrobe – to be worn or discarded at will.
April also marked a historic victory for the workers and students of France – where a month of strikes, sit-ins, massive rallies, on the campuses, streets and factories of France forced the French Government to roll back the obnoxious CPE, a law to allow employers to hire-and-fire young workers.
Closer home, a year after the Honda workers were brutally lathicharged at Gurgaon for demanding the right to unionise, contract workers of the Hero Honda factory at Gurgaon fought and won an important victory against gross exploitation.
The courts sentenced the May Day Martyrs to death for the crime of striking for the 8-hour day. Today, the tendency of courts to criminalise the protests of the working poor continues. In India, the courts set the killers of Niyogi free, and they issue life and death sentences to Dalit agrarian labourers in Bihar, branding the ‘crime' of challenging feudal terror and exploitation as ‘terrorism'.
The willingness of India 's ruling class to drown out the lives of thousands, to use bullets and bulldozers alike to evict all those who stand in the way of their model of corporate-led development has never been clearer. A remarkable month-long movement in April forced the Government to admit that those displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Dam had not been rehabilitated according to the Supreme Court's own norms, thus rendering illegal the decision to raise the height of the dam. But Manmohan Singh and his ‘human face' UPA Government continue to sing the same tune as Modi – willfully ignoring the evidence and refusing to act to stop the devastation. Yet, when the Supreme Court heard out the case on May Day, it shamefully failed to stop the further raising of the height of the dam, instead postponing its decision for yet another week.
On May Day this year, thousands of slum-dwellers of Delhi are forced on the streets. Those who build others' homes are declared ‘encroachers' and left homeless in the scorching heat, thousands of their slums having been bulldozed in obedience to a Supreme Court directive, 6 months before the declared deadline, without any prior notice, and with no rehabilitation.
The farmers who are committing suicide, the landless poor who battle unemployment and starvation, the workers of the organised and unorganised sectors, the urban and rural poor and tribals being evicted from their land and homes…while the highest institutions of the state stand exposed - openly acting in the interests of the corporates, there is an urgent need for all sections of struggling people to go beyond their sectoral struggles and join hands to make another world truly possible. It is this vision of the ‘tidal wave of human emancipation', to be won by people's movements which resist and triumph over all repression, that is the true legacy of the Haymarket Martyrs.
May Day: Workers Reiterate Pledge to Fight-back the Regressive Policies of Liberalisation
CPI(ML) held various programmes all over the country on the occasion of the International Workers' Day on May 1 and expressed solidarity with the international working class movement as well as its resolve to fight off the regressive policies of liberalisation and imperialist globalisation. While rallies were held in all the major centres of Assam , in Guwahati, Party General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya addressed a seminar on 'Working Class Resistance and Globalisation' organised by Punjab National Bank Employees' Association as a part of their Silver Jubilee celebrations. He condemned UPA Govt.'s pro-imperialist policies and called upon for a more intense resistance movement. Prof. Ratan Khasnawis from Kolkata University , a noted economist, also addressed this seminar.
Party also observed the day as 'Nepal Solidarity Day' to express solidarity with the struggling people of Nepal .
In Bihar, while all party unit held various programmes on the day, AIALA organised panchayat level mobilisations in all the districts and observed the day as 'Rozgar Adhikar Diwas' by pressing for the demand to implement the National Employment Guarantee Act in full spirit and to issue job cards and ensure registration for every rural worker in the state. This call was also implemented in all other states by AIALA.
In Jharkhad, various programmes were organised by the Party and its mass organisations. Thousands of workers participated in a 'Rozgar Adhikar March' which was held in Ranchi jointly by CPI(ML), Jharkhand General Mazdoor Union (AICCTU) and Nepali Janadhikar Suraksha Samiti. Hundreds of activists held a morning procession in Bokaro and unfurled the Party flag at Party Office. Workers' organisations also organised a joint rally in the city. An impressive march was held in Shikaripara in Dumka while hundreds of workers marched in Jamtara district. Marches were also held in Dhanbad, Nirsa, Giridih and Palamu. A gherao of DC office was also held on the following day in Palamu on the issue of providing job cards to all rural workers.
In West Bengal , May Day rallies were held at factory gates at many places. A joint workers' march was organised in Guwahati in Assam while rallies were also held by various district units at Diphu, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Pathsala, Nagaon, and Sonitpur, where thousands of worker participated. In Punjab , marches and mass meetings were held at Mansa, Barnala, Sanam. mobilisations were also held at many villages by Mazdoor Mukti Morcha, an affiliate of AIALA. In Andhra Pradesh AIALA implemented the call and organised workers' mobilisations at many places in Hyderabad , Nalgonda, Kakinada , Krishna and some other districts. A 'demand day' was observed by agricultural and unorganised sector workers in Sabarkantha of Gurajat and a dharna was held at the district headquarters in Himmatnagar. This programme was also attended by AICCTU affiliated unions in Gujarat . In Uttaranchal, a mass meeting was held by AIALA in Dineshpur town. Construction workers organised a rally in Jaipur in Rajasthan under the banner of the Party. In Delhi , all left trade unions, including AICCTU, held a workers' march from Ramlila Maidan to Town Hall. In Uttar Pradesh, while all units organised various programmes, AISA and RYA jointly organised a 'march to Vidhan Sabha' and a Convention with the slogan of ' Rozgar Nahin to Sarkar Nahin' in Lucknow which was attended by students from various universities and youth from different districts. The marchers condemned Mulayam Singh govt. for not fulfilling its promise of giving unemployment allowance to the unemployed and burnt the effigy of the Chief Minister. Various programmes were also held in other states including Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Tripura, MP, Orissa, etc.
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CPI(ML)'s May Day Message of Greetings to the Fighting People of Nepal
Comrade Madhav Nepal
General Secretary
CPN(UML)
Dear Comrade,
I am writing to congratulate you for the great initial victory won by the Nepalese people in their heroic battle for democracy in Nepal . On this May Day, please convey our warm revolutionary greetings to the central committee and the entire membership of CPN(UML) and all the fighting people of Nepal and our homage to the martyrs who have laid down their lives for the great cause of freedom and democracy. The powerful movement of the people of Nepal has been a great source of inspiration for progressive democratic forces all over the world and especially in India .
We hope and believe that the ongoing movement will lead to a still bigger consolidation of forces of leftwing republicanism in Nepal and succeed in realising the long cherished dream of establishing a progressive democratic republic by defeating every autocratic design of the US-backed monarchy. We hope the restoration of Parliament would pave the way for an early release of all political prisoners in Nepal and the formation of an elected constituent assembly in accordance with the popular democratic will of the Nepalese people. The victorious march of the Nepalese people in this direction will deliver a great blow not only to the reactionary feudal-royalist forces in Nepal but also to US imperialism and all its collaborators in the subcontinent.
On behalf of the democratic people of India we will continue to extend our total support to the democratic and republican aspirations and struggles of the Nepali people. We are aware of the apprehensions of Nepali people regarding the foreign policy of the Indian rulers towards Nepal , especially in view of the growing strategic partnership between India and the US and the continued Indian support to the discredited monarchy of Nepal . We would like to reassure the comrades and people of Nepal that the revolutionary people of India and our Party will continue to fight for a progressive and independent Indian foreign policy based on consistent anti-imperialism and friendly ties of solidarity, non-interference and mutual respect and cooperation with all our neighbouring and fellow developing countries.
Victory to the fighting people of Nepal !
Long live Indo-Nepal friendship and anti-imperialist solidarity!
Long live the fighting unity of the workers and oppressed peoples of the world!
With warm internationalist greetings of solidarity,
Comradely yours,
Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary
Reinstate Amir Das Commission, Release All TADA Detainees
The Party has forcefully raised the issue of not extending the tenure of the Amir Das Commission in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar govt. This commission was investigating the political links of Ranvir Sena. The Commission had found many noted ruling class politicians, including Dy. Chief Minister Sushil Modi, Murli Manohar Joshi and many others, having direct links with the notorious Ranvir Sena which perpetrated many massacres in Bihar where hundreds of rural poor and agrarian workers were brutally killed. The CPI(ML) has demanded an apology from CM Nitish Kumar, removal of Sushil Modi from the ministry and to reinstate the Amir Das Commission immediately. Party has also announced to intensify statewide movement if demands are not met.
A delegation comprising of CPI(ML) State Secretary Ramjatan Sharma, AIALA Vice President Pawan Sharma, CPI Central Committee member Jalaluddin Ansari, Shatrughna Pd. Singh and Ram Naresh Pandey, MLA, met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on May 1 and submitted him a memorandum demanding reinstatement of Amir Das Commission and to take immeidate action to repeal draconian TADA in total and release of all CPI(ML) activists detained/ facing jail term under this Act, besides some other demands including the implementation of NREGA and punishment to the officials responsible for non-implementation and inclusion of workers and women organisations/ representatives in the monitoring bodies.
Nepal Solidarity Day Observed on May 1
CPI(ML) West Bengal unit held a march on May 1 in Kolkata upto the Nepalese Consulate to express solidarity with the struggling people of Nepal. tHE marchers opposed the police which tried to obstruct them and held a mass meeting in front of the Consulate at the conclusion of the march. A solidarity march was also held in Guwahati. Party units in other parts of the country expressed solidarity with the people of Nepal in May Day rallies.
Nepal Solidarity March in Ranchi
A march was organised in Ranchi to express solidarity with the fighting people of Nepal on April 24 in association with the Nepali Janadhikar Manch. Marchers held out a procession and burnt the effigy of the King of Nepal at Albert Ekka Chowk. This was led by Party's State Secretary Subhendu Sen along with comrade Sashikant, Ram Prasad Pant of Nepali Janadhikar Manch, Tridiv Ghosh of PUCL, journalist Faisal Anurag and social activist Dayamani Barla.
Speakers hailed the people's struggle in Nepal and termed it a source of inspiration for the struggles for democracy and change. Comrade Subhendu Sen criticized UPA and NDA for trying to create a rift in the united struggle going on in Nepal and expressed Party's resolve in support of the movement for a people's republic in Nepal . Nepal 's democracy movement is not only against the King but also important for the anti-imperialist struggles going on across the globe, he said.
Convention in Hyderabad :
“ Globalisation - Problems of the urban poor ”
A convention was organised in Hyderabad on 30 April on “ Globalisation - Problems of the urban poor ” at Press Club in which hundreds of people mostly women participated from different slum areas. The Convention was presided over by B.Subash. CPI(ML) AP State Secretary N. Murthy addressed it as chief guest. Comrades Sangam, member of the Editorial Board of Telugu Liberation, AIPWA leaders Latha, Subharatnam and Jyothi also addressed the convention.
The convention criticised Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy's anti-poor policies and pro-corporate policies and exposed the state government's propensity towards real estate developers in the region in the name of development. How Rajasekhara Reddy's government is acting like a real estate broker and favouring the multi-national corporations was narrated with examples by the speakers. They bitterly condemned the police firing on the people of Gangavaram who were fighting for the genuine cause of rehabilitation. The government which fails to provide sixty square yards to a homeless poor is generously allocating ten thousand acres of land to the Reliance company near Shamshabad International Airport in Hyderabad is severely criticised by the speakers. The convention passed a resolution warning the govt. to provide house sites to the homeless who are residing in different slums otherwise to continue a movement for house sites along with other basic issues.
Party Foundation Day Observed
Education Camp in Tripura
A two-day state level Party Education camp was organised in Kailashahar of Tripura on 22-23 April. This was inaugurated by Polit Bureau Member Swadesh Bhattacharya. The three topics of Central Education Camp held in Bhubaneshwar were discussed in the camp through papers presented by Comrades Mrinmoy Chakraborty, Manik Pal and Swapan Banik. The school was attended by nearly fifty activists from all over the state.
A mass-meeting and procession was organised on the inaugural day to commemorate the Party Foundation Day. This was attended by hundreds of people. A ultimatum was given to the state government through a memorandum presented to the DC through a mass deputation with regard to various demands of the rural poor and agrarian workers in Tripura. A Block party office was also inaugurated at Gaurnagar on 22 April. The inauguration was done by Comrade Swadesh Bhattacharya and Comrade Meera.
Party Foundation Day in Jharkhand
Jharkhand unit of Party observed 36th anniversary of Party Foundation through reiterating its resolve to establish the Party as much a stronger revolutionary left alternative in the state. Various programmes were held throughout the state. A cadre convention was organised in Ranchi which was also attended by a good number of government employees. The Party's programme was discussed in detail in this meet. Cadre meets were also held in Bagodar, Birni, Jamua, and Dhanwar of Giridih, Daltonganj, Chainpur and Panki of Palamu, Barwadih, Manika, Mahuatand of Latehar, and a similar programme at Garwa party headquarter. Different programmes were also held in Koderma, Hazaribagh, Ramgarh, Devghar, Dhanbad, Jamtara, Dumka, Lohardagga and many other places. Every member and supporter of our Party participated in these programmes.
Fifth Anniversary of Lenin Pustak Kendra in Lucknow
Lenin Pustak Kendra, the books' outlet in Lucknow for revolutionary and progressive literature, commemorated its fifth anniversary of foundation on 22 April. The programme was attended by a number of writers, intellectuals, and many political activists. The speakers hailed Marxism-Leninism as the ideological source for today's anti-imperialist struggles around the globe as well as for the struggles of the people in nations against the hunger, poverty, slavery and war. A poetry recitation session was also organised on the occasion.
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