In this Issue
Whither Nepal : Will the New Deal Bring a New Dawn?
Propelled by the enormous power of an awakened people, events continue to move with stunning swiftness in Nepal . The 237-year-old feudal monarchy which seemed to be in control of Nepal till the other day has already been relegated to the background. It may now even be consigned to the museum of history if the people of Nepal can have their way and thwart the last attempt to save the monarchy as a ceremonial showpiece.
If the reconvened Parliament had taken everyone by surprise with its sudden proclamation stripping the King of most of his royal powers and privileges, the outcome of the hurriedly convened meeting between Koirala and Prachanda has been no less stunning. A committee has already been constituted to draft an interim constitution within 15 days, which, in turn, would pave the way for dissolution of the existing Parliament within another 15 days. There would now be an interim government with Maoists participating, which would preside over elections to the constituent assembly.
This spectacular pace of developments in Nepal must not however blind us to the underlying elements of friction and contention not all of which are quite open yet. Having declared ceasefire, Maoists had been constantly complaining of being bypassed by the seven-party alliance. Just the other day when Koirala came to New Delhi, Prachanda described it as a conspiracy to deceive the people of Nepal and warned of further bloodshed if the seven-party alliance treated the parliament as all powerful and went ahead with signing hasty deals with foreign countries without first resolving the all important question of holding elections to the constituent assembly.
Ironically, it was precisely after Koirala's India visit that talks with Maoists acquired extraordinary momentum and the eight-point declaration of June 16 came just hours before Koirala was scheduled to leave on a foreign trip for his treatment. The ailing octagenarian Prime Minister however did not attend the post-summit press conference in which Prachanda described the eight-point agreement as a potential instrument to free Nepal and its people of all kinds of foreign interference.
Prachanda has also gone on record describing the accord as a revolution made successful jointly by rebels waging war and political parties involved in parliamentary politics. A little rhetorical flourish at such a juncture is only to be expected, but we still need a proper analysis of the new juncture in Nepal . The way the accord is implemented in the coming months, especially the election to the new constituent assembly, will of course enable us to have a better and more realistic appraisal of the situation. Commenting on the June 16 accord, the New York Times has already raised the crucial issue as to “how the army high command will react … and whether the interim government will be able to keep the state security forces under its command.”
Viewed in a strategic perspective, the best estimate of the new alignment of class forces in Nepal will be available only in the new constitution. So far, the Maoists have come out clearly in favour of a democratic republic while Koirala has made his preference known for a ceremonial monarchy. Maoists have also begun to talk about radical land reforms and industrialisation and in his first public press conference, Prachanda hinted at a drastic restructuring of the Nepali army. The question of recasting Nepal 's relations with foreign countries, India in particular, should also be expected to come up sooner rather than later. All these changes, if effectively implemented, would surely have a revolutionary bearing on the development of Nepal .
But will the restructuring of the state in Nepal take the country along a people's democratic direction, or will we see a gradual consolidation of bourgeois rule in Nepal ? Will we now see a big unification of communists in Nepal giving them a clear political edge as the pre-eminent political force in the new Himalayan Republic or will the faction-ridden Nepali Congress come from behind to emerge as a powerful bourgeois platform? What will be the role of the proposed UN supervision in Nepal ? The ongoing transition in Nepal would keep throwing up many such questions of strategic import, but it is early days yet, and we will have to wait for definitive answers to emerge.
Revolutionary communists and other progressive forces in India will of course hope for a grand consolidation of revolutionary democratic forces in Nepal . A great possibility for a new social advance has certainly opened up in Nepal and we wish the communists and progressive forces of Nepal every success towards a successful transition.
Campaign Intensifies Against Growing Trends of Assault on ‘Right to Assembly and Protest'
The issue of withdrawal of fake cases against CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and other comrades, to bring SP Dipak Verma and BJP MLA Ravindra Rai, main accused of Comrade Mahendra Singh's murder, under the ambit of ongoing CBI inquiry, and to punish the police officials who ordered and conducted killing of innocents in Tapkara and Doranda in 2000-01 have become important issues for the wider democratic forces in Jharkhand. The democratic campaign against sinister game of Arjun Munda Govt. and latter's attempts to turn the state into a police state is gaining momentum. It has been decided to observe June 26, Anti-Emergency Day, with a two-hour Chakka Jam as Anti-State Repression Day throughout Jharkhand.
Mahadharna in Ranchi
A three-day Mahadharna organised by CPI(ML) in Ranchi concluded on June 15. This witnessed the fighting unity of thousands of struggling people from all parts of the state. Various political parties, human rights organisations, and cultural personalities joined the mahadharna in solidarity. The Mahadharna was led by Party's Polit Bureau member Swadesh Bhattacharya, Central Committee member and Editor of Samkalin Janmat, Ramji Rai, State Secretary Subhendu Sen, Rajaram and Janardan Prasad. Eminent intellectual and convener of Jharkhand Jan Sanskrit Manch Dr. BP Kesri, Journalist Faisal Anurag, Adivasi Adhikar Morcha leader Dayamani Barla, Sashibhushan Pathak of PUCL, Aloka of IPTA, journalist Javier Kujoor and many other social and political activists also joined and addressed the dharna. Party's Bihar State Secretary Ramjatan Sharma and Central Committee Member Saroj Chaube also reached Ranchi to attend this programme. During the Mahadharna thousands of people pledged in front of the statue of the hero of people's struggles in Jharkhand, Birsa Munda, to intensify the struggle against Jharkhand's Arjun Munda Govt. till all the demands are met. CPI(ML) Jharkhand State Secretary Subhendu Sen read a charge-sheet against the Arjun Munda Govt. The cultural teams of Jharkhand Jan Sanskriti Manch, Prerana, and others presented many revolutionary cultural programmes during the dharna.
A five-point resolution was also passed by the Mahadharna at its conclusion. A pledge was taken to continue the struggle till all the cases framed on activists during movement against police firings on innocent people in Tapkara and Doranda are withdrawn. It was also decided to observe June 26 as anti-state repression Day against BJP Govt.'s attempts to crush the movemental forces struggling for a pro-people development and a new people's Jharkhand. In another resolution, it was demanded that the CBI inquiry be extended to include the investigation against SP Dipak Verma and Ravindra Rai, main accused in the Mahendra Singh's assassination case, and immediate arrest of Dipak Verma.
The mahadharna also raised the issue of price-hike in petrol and diesel by the centre's UPA Govt. and demanded a roll back. Central Govt.'s decision to decrease quota and increase in prices of foodgrains under PDS was also vehemently opposed. The demand for implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and stringent action against callous officials was raised. So far only 10,000 people have been provided work under this scheme while central and state governments are playing a political game of criticising each other instead of taking concrete steps for the proper implementation. The meeting strongly criticized the state government for strengthening bureaucracy-middlemen-contractor nexus in the name of development and emphasised for the need of a development strategy for building rural infrastructure based on people's participation, and by stopping giving concessions to the multinational corporations and by taking measures to reopen closed and sick industries in the state.
In the end, comrades at the Mahadharna expressed gratitude to the political parties, organisations and all democratic and progressive forces throughout the country and abroad who had expressed their solidarity, and for sending letters to Arjun Munda to oppose attempts to victimise leaders and activists of people's movements instead of punishing the guilty police officials and to demand the withdrawal of the case.
Delhi : Citizens' Meet
In Delhi , on June 15, a public meeting was held at Gandhi Peace Foundation where prominent democratic personalities expressed grave concern over the increasing intolerance of the state towards democratic movements and demanded withdrawal of cases against Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya. Prominent among the speakers were Retd. Chief of Delhi High Court Justice Rajender Sachar, noted writer Arundhati Roy, Socialist thinker Surendra Mohan, Gautam Navlakha, Javed Naqvi, Editor of Mainstream Sumit Chakraborty, Com. Samal from SUCI, Journalist Amit Sengupta, AISA President Kavita Krishnan, Ravindra Garia and many others. Ex-IG of Jharkhand K. Subramaniyan, Professor in Hyderabad University Subhendu Ghosh, Journalist Lata Jishnu, and film maker Sanjay Kak also attended the meeting. The meeting adopting the following resolution:
"We, social activists and concerned citizens of Delhi, condemn in unequivocal terms, the attempt of the Arjun Munda-led Jharkhand Government to falsely implicate the General Secretary as well as other members of the CPI (ML), respectively comrades Dipankar Bhattacharya, Om Prakash, Harsh Narain Singh, Sitaram Singh and Motu Oraon (a labouring tribal youth who was just a bystander) on patently false and serious charges of a criminal nature, namely Sections 307 of IPC and Section 17 of CLA (Criminal Law Amendment Act) as well as sections 147, 114, 148, 149, 353, 323, 324, 307, 188, 431 of the IPC and to harass them by transferring the case to a fast-track court in Ranchi. It is shocking that this has been done as a punishment for leading a peaceful march to the Assembly (on 1st march 2001) to protest a spate of incidents involving police brutality, including the infamous and unprovoked firing on Muslim youth at Doranda and the firing on tribals at Tapkara for protesting displacement by the Koel Karo Dam.
While, the Jharkhand Government has dropped cases against several activists of the Jharkhand movement, and even against leaders of the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation, it is surprising that CPI (ML) leaders and activists are being targeted in an act of political vendetta. This trend of curbing voices of dissent through such acts of repression augers ill for a democracy. We demand that the above-mentioned charges be immediately withdrawn by the Jharkhand Government."
Speakers expressed shock over the incident, which is probably unprecedented in the annals of Indian politics. The only comparable precedent can be found in the arrests of political leaders during Emergency, they said.
Speakers condemned the growing trends of assault by the state on people's right to assembly and protest and said that the governments are resorting to such tactics to quell the public opposition against increasing liberalisation and implementation of policies under the pressure of corporates and the US . A need was felt by the speakers for a wider unity of all democratic forces to counter such attacks.
The Jharkhand Govt. has signed a number of MOUs with the big corporates and multinational companies which are going against the interests of the common masses in the state. CPI(ML) and others have raised this issue and are mobilising the rural poor and general public against such moves. This is the basic reason why Arjun Munda Govt. is attempting to victimise CPI(ML) leaders.
The meeting was presided over by Swapan Mukherjee, General Secretary of AICCTU and conducted by Rajendra Protholi. Kumudini Pati, General Secretary of All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA) moved the resolution.
Protest March in Patna
A protest march against the Jharkhand Govt. was held in Patna on June 15 which was attended by a number of persons from across various democratic circles in Bihar . A meeting was also held at Patna Railway station where speakers called upon to intensify the movement to foil this conspiracy by the BJP till the case against Com. Dipankar and others is withdrawn.
A protest march was also held in Kolkata.
Protest by AISA and RYA
A countrywide protest day was observed by AISA and RYA on June 20 against Jharkhand Govt.'s attempts to strangle the voices of democratic protests.
Bihar Panchayat Elections 2006: An Overview
Panchayat elections in Bihar concluded this week after three-four months of hectic campaigning amidst large scale violence. Electoral manipulations and malpractices continued right from the day of nomination up to the counting of votes but there was no one to listen to people's complaints, the state election commission remaining a mute spectator to these events. At many places faulty seals were conspiratorially provided to the supporters of some candidates in order to ensure the victory of a certain candidate. And then, during counting, their ballots were declared invalid on the pretext that the swastika symbol was not clearly visible, and candidates with less number of votes were declared winners. Requests for recounting in cases of slender margins were turned down outright to favour some powerful candidates. This election witnessed the use of muscle and money power on an unprecedented scale. Incidents of large scale violence and repression of candidates from poor and socially oppressed sections were witnessed on a large scale. In spite of the provision for reservation, domineering social groups tried best to elect candidates of their choice so that the independent assertion of socially backward and weaker sections could be halted. Things came to such a pass that in many places winning candidates were told next day that they had lost and certificates were given to some other candidates of their choice.
This was the second election in Bihar under the new Panchayati Raj system. There was resentment among common people against rampant corruption, anti-people role of elected representatives, and the dominance of bureaucracy. While people were debating over the effectiveness of panchayati raj institutions and aspiring for greater people's control and transparency, these hopes were shattered in the face of a tacit understanding among various parties of ruling groups as well as the government. These parties evaded such issues as the people's control and transparency in the functioning of panchayats and debates on people's development and alternative politics would challenge their very existence. Various ruling class political parties in Bihar undermined these issues and played a game of 'might is right' while following their game-plan of turning these elections into a non-political campaign.
It is noteworthy that nearly 75 percent of panchayats in Bihar have no official buildings. Village Panchayats are run from Mukhiya's houses and Block Panchayats are rendered ineffective and elected representatives have been turned into contractors and commission agents by the bureaucracy. District Panchayats witness this phenomenon to a somewhat greater extent. Exaggerated estimates are made for various projects and upto 40% of the funds are openly appropriated as commission. GBMs are never conducted and projects are finalised through fake GBMs. This anti-people character of panchayats has rendered many pro-poor schemes totally ineffective, including the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and has strengthened the hold of bureaucracy over these schemes.
CPI(ML) participated in Bihar Panchayat elections in this backdrop and raised the issues of assertion of the poor, mass participation and control over the panchayats, corruption-free transparent system, alternative modes of development, and implementation of various welfare schemes, particularly the NREGA. Party exposed ruling classes' attempts to turn panchayats into a non-political platform and campaigned for converting the panchayats into centres of political struggle.
As this election campaign was carried out amidst movement for the implemenation of NREGA, Party gave a call to elect those representatives who can work for implementing such schemes and run panchayats basing on people's participation and control. We strived for a much wider unity of the poor against the politics of money and muscle power. We hailed 50% reservation for women, most backwards and dalits, but simultaneously also cautioned against attempts by socially dominating sections to appropriate this arrangement for their own vested interests. We consciously fielded such women and dalit candidates who have been in the struggles for a long period.
There is no doubt that the issues raised by us will gain greater popularity and it will intensify the debates inside the panchayats around the main question of people's participation and control.
Our experience during these elections explicitly shows that rural masses effectively quelled the pressure of money and muscle power through mass resistance in places where the movement of rural poor and dalits are stronger at the grassroots. And wherever this aspect of the unity of rural poor through grassroot movement was weak, ruling elites were able to manipulate the elections in their favour, despite the provision of reservations.
This was the first time when women were given fifty percent reservations and it certainly left a positive impact despite many weaknesses. This arrangement will further increase the involvement and assertion of women in the coming days.
In view of the results, it can be said that the CPI(ML) has left an imprint and has emerged as a stronger and more organised left force in the state. Our candidates have won more seats this time. We performed remarkably well in Bhojpur and Siwan where we won 32 and 30 Mukhiya posts respectively. We also won 4 District Panchayat seats, 25 Panchayat Samiti seats, and 32 Sarpanch seats in Bhojpur and 3 District Panchayat seats, 28 Panchayat Samiti seats, and 23 Sarpanch seats in Siwan. We won nearly 150 posts of Mukhiya, 140 Panchayat Samiti, 110 Sarpanch, and 13 Zilla Parishad posts in the state. The Party has increased its strength in overall tally of ward members in comparision to previous elections. Barring a few districts, our performance was satisfactory. As far as the left is concerned, CPI failed to retain the seats won in last elections in its strongholds of Begusarai and Madhubani and CPM failed to make an impact. Our strategy of contesting these elections as a continuation of grassroot movements proved effective, culminating in victory on more seats this time. These elections have further widened the area and scope of our intervention. Now we have to move forward to strengthen this through our planned and systematic intervention within the panchayats.
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Challenging Jharkhand Govt.'s Model of Development
Chainpur falls under the Constituency of Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari. Various schemes taken under this area are being publicised as the dream project of the development by Mr. Namdhari's team. Let's have a look at one such example.
People are demanding a dam at Tahle river for decades to ease out the perennial crisis engulfing this drought prone area due to scarcity of water for irrigation. A survey was conducted in this regard that suggested building of a dam at a point near Kokila hill. This was considered the best option to solve the water crisis as it involved minimum costs and minimum displacement of the people. But suddenly a decision was taken by the Govt. to inaugurate the dam construction on June 4 by the Chief Minister Arjun Munda at Itko. This new site for the dam will submerge 14 villages involving thousands of displacements to supply water to only one block. Besides, this new project in much costlier than the earlier one. Why the Jharkhand Govt. was in favour of a more cost intensive scheme which displaces people from a large area is a mystry. Actually, the basic premise is not development. It is the lure for the appropriation of more funds that has prompted to shift the site of dam construction site because construction costs are much higher at the new location. This decision enraged the villagers of Chainpur who decided to expose and oppose this whole conspiracy.
Villagers launched a campaign to expose the real motive behind this 'model' of development and formed a "Kokila Bandh Nirman Sangharsh Samiti" involving representaives from all nearby villages. An all party meeting was convened, at the initiation of CPI(ML), at Saltua village on June 3. A torch light procession was also organised on the same day at Daltonganj. Villagers conducted an intense campaign that mobilised a large number of people. On June 4, the day when the Chief Minister was supposed to inaugurate the project, a large number of people assembled at the site and started protesting by holding a mass meeting. Thousands of people came in processions from their villages to the rally. This forced Inder Singh Namdhari to make a retreat as the administration postponed the inauguration ceremony, at least for the time being. Now the ruling party and administration are trying to mislead the villagers through a vicious propaganda campaign which CPI(ML) has decided to counter through more intensified campaign.
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