WITH the arrival of President Obama of the USA in India in early November, we can expect the ‘War on Terror’ to be highlighted in even more strident terms than ever before. It is logical that the government of India is concerned with the issue. It is at the receiving end of both cross-border and home-bred terrorism. But it seems that its “strategic ally,” the USA, is less concerned about the reality of the ‘War on Terror’ than its theatrical value.
DUBIOUS US ROLE
This is evident from the manner in which Pakistan, the major strategic ally of the USA in our region, has pussy-footed in its efforts to deal with the Lashkar-e-Toiba, which its ally the USA publicly says is a threat second only to Al Qaeda. So much so that its leaders hide under other umbrellas and get away on the basis of legal loopholes. The David Headley affair is even more surprising, if one follows up on how it happened.
Headley, an American citizen of Pakistani origin, who had been arrested on charges of drug peddling, was not only released but had been frequently touring Pakistan and India with impunity. We must know whether he was recruited as an undercover agent in jail. Later, he was rearrested in the USA when India’s search for the masterminds of the Mumbai blasts became hot enough to probably blow his cover. Yet, cover or not, it is evident that the US authorities did not give their Indian counterparts even the basic information they had on the impending attacks on Indian soil. They even covered up for him --- if his wives’ information is anything to go by.
Once arrested, he was, on the basis of legal loopholes, not allowed to meet Indian detectives. Later, after he had been allegedly tutored, they were allowed to meet him in the USA. Even so, he appears to have let on that the whole Mumbai bombings were masterminded in Pakistan by the ISI. But that confession does not appear to have hardened the leaders of the global ‘war on terror’ enough to punish Pakistan’s ISI for its misdeeds. On the contrary, India is being pressured to soften its position on bilateral talks with it. Worse, not only has the ISI been given a clean chit by the USA; Pakistan has been granted 2 billion dollars in arms aid. It is also alleged that the mass murder of Sikhs in Anantnag district of Kashmir was planned by the ISI, but a man no less than President Clinton provided the cover-up by refusing to state who had done it.
This appears to be a strange way of dealing with a terrorist state. But it is not so strange if one looks at how the USA has turned blind eye to numerous acts of terrorism by another of its allies, Israel, which has been committing such acts over decades. In fact, its role in destabilising West Asia seems parallel to that of Pakistan in Central and South Asia. The parallel extends to the manner in which both states became clandestine nuclear powers and consistently practise international terrorism, as is evident from Israel’s murderous attacks on individuals in other states, as in Dubai recently, the destruction of Iraq’s nuclear facility and many other such actions all over West Asia and Africa. Pakistan’s use not only of militant bases in its occupied territory in Kashmir, but even its Karachi and Punjab based operations involving both Nepal and Bangladesh, remind one of how close the parallel is between the actions of these two states.
What is even more shocking is how the man who blew the whistle on Israel’s secret nuclear weapons programme, Mordechai Vanunu, is still in jail for well over a decade in Israel for having exposed that state’s illegal and criminal activity in the field of nuclear arms production.
SAVAGE SENTENCES AGAINST CUBAN FIVE
One may not be too surprised if a rogue state like Israel does such a thing. But what if it happens in the “Land of the Free,” like the USA? This is exactly what happened to five patriotic Cubans now in jail in the USA for over twelve years. Their sole crime is that they set up a fact-finding team to expose Cuban exile terrorists: Luis Posada Cariles and Orlando Boseh Avila. These men are wanted for a series of terrorist crimes including the blowing up of a Cuban passenger plane with 73 people on board in 1976. In all, 3,478 Cubans have been killed in terrorist attacks and 2,099 have been maimed. So it is not surprising that young and intelligent Cubans have been forced to try to stop such activity by nipping it in the bud.
What is the crime of the five patriots in jail in Cuba? They exposed these criminals. And who are they? Unlike the drug-running criminals who are the terrorists, they are well educated young men who have lost the most productive years of their lives in US prisons, suffering every sort of privation and torture to ensure that their countrymen can live lives free of terrorism.
There is Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo, born in 1965, a graduate in international political relations and a well-known cartoonist who has published a book of his drawings in 2002. He has been sentenced to two life terms and 15 years. Ramon Labanino Salazar, born in 1963, graduated with the best performance in economics. He was sentenced to a life term in prison and 18 years. Rene Gonzales Sehweret, born in 1956 in Chicago, is a pilot and flight instructor; he has been sentenced to 15 years. Fernando Gonzales Llort, born in 1963, graduated with high marks in international political relations. He has been sentenced to 19 years. Antonio Guerrero Rodriguez, born in 1958 in Miami, is an airfield construction engineer trained in Kiev in the Ukraine, a poet and artist. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment and 10 years.
It is amazing that such savage sentences have been passed against those who have committed no act of violence, by violating judicial procedures in the USA, by suppressing evidence and rejecting the right to appeal given to them by the court. On the other hand, Orlando Bosch and Lusada Cariles are both free in the USA with presidential support by George Bush senior and junior. President Obama had won on the slogan of change. But throughout this period he has done nothing to give justice to the Cuban Five. Let it be clear that the people of India will find his call for ‘War on Terrorism’ less than credible if justice is not done.
We who are at the receiving end of both state-sponsored and individual terrorism from across our borders cannot see sense in allying with such an unreliable and double-faced entity in a matter of life and death for our people. We are aware that imperialism offers many blandishments, but it has only its interests to serve and no friendship to offer. We demand the immediate release of the Cuban patriots and will continue our struggle against those who have illegally imprisoned them, until they are released.
Source: www.pd.cpim.org
Vol. XXXIV, No. 44, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
WAR AGAINST WHICH TERROR, MR OBAMA? - Suneet Chopra
Monday, October 25, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
CPI (M) SEEKS TO WIN VIBHUTIPUR FOR THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE TIME
HOW much the consistent land struggles waged by the CPI (M) in Samastipur district have rooted the Party in the masses can be seen from its candidate's electoral record in Vibhutipur constituency. Ramdev Verma, CPI (M) state committee member and sitting MLA from this constituency, has been winning from here without a break since 1990. Despite the fact that the CPI (M) stronghold, Ujiarpur, has been bifurcated from this constituency and made into a separate constituency under delimitation exercise, the CPI (M) leader is confident of maintaining his winning record. He polled around 48,000 votes in 2005 assembly election, winning with a comfortable margin of 14,000 votes over the Janata Dal (United) nominee. He asserts that this time the margin is going to be bigger in the four-cornered contest involving JD(U), LJP and Congress. Polling takes place in the second phase on October 24.
Verma's confidence stems from the amount of work done by the Party and the militant struggles it waged here for the benefit of the downtrodden people. This area, along with the adjoining Darbhanga district, witnessed militant land struggles in which 22 comrades became martyrs since 1993. Another two were killed by criminals while fighting against corruption in government schemes. Thousands of agricultural workers could get houses to live and land to till by occupying the surplus lands of zamindars under the leadership of CPI (M). Verma himself led many such struggles and is on the hit list of the landlords. He is provided with a high level security by the government, with three gunmen and an escort jeep. Another 12 comrades who are leading the land struggles have a threat to their life.
The CPI (M) candidate is pitted against the Janata Dal (United) candidate Ram Balak Singh, who has total backing of landlords and criminals in the district. Also in the fray is Lok Janshakti Party nominee, Ramesh Prasad Rai, who has criminal background and is a relative of renowned criminal, Suraj Bhan. Consequently, Verma is hammering home the point of having peace and development in the constituency by defeating those with criminal background. Verma's stature as an honest, senior MLA and his impressive performance in the assembly make him stand apart from the contending nominees.
How caste divisions fostered by bourgeois-landlord parties can be overcome and the unity of the working people preserved can be seen here. As the bitter land struggle went on, the poor agricultural workers belonging to the backward and scheduled castes along with those from the upper castes clearly saw in whose interest the struggles were being waged. With the attacks by the landlords growing and the class struggle sharpening, it became much more clear. The upper caste landlords sought to keep the poor from their castes away from the CPI (M) by branding it as a pichdon ka party (a party of the backwards). This didn't cut ice with them. Today, the CPI (M) candidate gets votes of both the upper caste poor as also of the most backward of the dalits, the Musahrs. There is an overcoming of the caste barrier to the extent possible in the present situation.
With growing burdens on the people in the form of price rise, corruption in government schemes etc, there is a threat for an incumbent MLA to be affected by the discontentment of the people. Asked about this, the CPI (M) leader says that the Party carries out an intensive political campaign among the people explaining about the government's policies that are resulting in such a situation. And, apart from the land struggle, the Party has waged many struggles on availability of fertiliser and other agricultural inputs, against the corruption in welfare schemes and on other people's issues. So, this also helps in demarcating the Party, he says.
Asked about the use of money power by his opponents, Verma tells us that a lot of money has been made by contractors-criminals-politicians in the course of last few years in the name of development works. There is a real threat of that being used in these elections. However, the Party is prepared to counter it and has plans to have vigilance teams at all entry points in the area from the night of October 21 to sieze such money.
As our chat with Verma was continuing, in walked a poor peasant and loudly greeted him “Namashkar Vidhayak ji”. Even as Verma was acknowledging the greeting, others tried to keep the peasant away saying the MLA is talking to press persons. But the peasant did not relent and asserted his right to an audience with his MLA. And, it was wilfully granted. That, in a frame, showed to us the kind of connect that the CPI (M) MLA has with the poor in his constituency. No wonder he is confident of a fifth consecutive victory.
N S Arjun from Vibhutipur
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org
Vol. XXXIV, No. 43, October 24, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
TAMILNADU - DYFI: A CONFERENCE OF THE "REAL YOUTH"! - Ganesh
THE 13th state conference of DYFI Tamilnadu was held from September 25-27 at Coimbatore. Young faces, strong voices, punching slogans, purposeful resolutions, sharp discussions marked the youthful conference. Last year, the largest youth movement in the country had its strength of 9, 46,566 members in the state. It is poised to cross the million mark in the present year.
In a convention held on September 24, noted agricultural scientist Nammalvar spoke on the topic of ‘Youth and Nature’ He charged that it is the US, that is responsible for the present worst agricultural situation in our country. S P Jananathan, film director, spoke on ‘Youth and Cinema’. He took pride on being felicitated by the Leftists. He exhorted the youth to make the cinema, a movement. Former DYFI leaders K C Karunakaran and A Packiam also spoke on the occasion.
Many eminent persons were felicitated during the convention. For creating organ donation awareness Asokan was felicitated. When his son was in deathbed, he came forward to donate his son's organs. This had created awareness among the people. Natarajan(Carrom), Selvaraj(Eye donation), J Vasanthakumar(Silambattam), Gokul(Karate), Amirthalingam and Govindaraj(against untouchability) were also felicitated. Few books that were written by A Packiam, S G Ramesh Babu and a compilation of Lenin and Bhagat Singh’s writings were also released. The songs by Duraiarasan from Udumalpet enthralled the audience.
The delegates session was inaugurated by Sriramakrishnan, president, DYFI. Before that the flag post and torches were received. The flag was brought from Villupuram. This was in the memory of Cuddalore Kumar and Anandan who lost their lives in fighting against illicit liquor mafia. The flag post was brought from Chinniyampalam(in the memory of Chinniyampalama martyrs). Jyotis were brought in the memory of martyrs who lost their lives in fighting against anti-social elements. A jyoti was brought from Arumanai(Kanyakumari) in the memory of Babu and Chellaiyan(Kanyakumari), Amalraj(Kovilpatti), Chandru(Virudhunagar), Kutti Jayaprakash, Somu, Sembu and Leelavathi(Madurai). This jyoti represented the fight against the political violence.
The jyoti that was taken from Tiruppur was named after Seeranampalayam Palanichamy, Iduvai Rathinasamy and Paneer Selvam. This jyoti represented the demand for education for all and jobs for all. Another jyoti was taken in memory of Pallipalayam Veluchamy who was murdered by the henchmen of usurers in Pallipalayam of Namakkal district. The conference hall was also named in his memory. The entrance of the conference hall was named after P Mohan, former state president of DYFI. S G Ramesh Babu hoisted the flag.
The martyrs column was designed as Phoenix bird. The delegates saluted the column before entering the conference hall. The delegate session was presided over by S G Ramesh Babu, president, DYFI Tamilnadu. In his rousing speech, he outlined the landmark achievements during the period since the last conference. He complemented the cadres for being ever-ready whenever a call was given or whenever a need arises in their area. He further stated that the work has not yet completed and they will have to continue their work immediately after the conference.
A notable feature about the delegate session is that, among the 578 delegates, 84 were young women. They took active part in the discussion on the report and the group discussion. Elaborate discussion was done on the report. It took nine hours for the delegates to complete that included group discussion for two hours. 71 delegates spoke on the report and among them 12 were young women.
The report which was placed by S Kannan, state secretary, itself was different in approach. It had two parts. The first part was about the organisation and its work. The second part was organized under ten headings. They were:
1. Employment
2. Education
3. Health
4. Right to Information and local issues
5. House Patta and Ration Cards
6. Drinking Water
7. Drug Addiction
8. Free Tuition Centres/Night Schools
9. Environment
10. Migration and related issues.
Every issue is a burning one in the state. A threadbare discussion was held on these issues. The delegates agreed on the need to take these issues in an urgent manner. In the last conference, it was decided to concentrate on untouchability that prevails in every nook and corner of the state. Many struggles were conducted on this issue. In the present conference, it has been decided to make health an important issue. In the recent past, people are being affected by the waterborne diseases very often. This has put the poor in disadvantageous position. DYFI state conference has decided to take the struggle by combining various factors. Hence, the ten point agenda was discussed in the conference. The delegates were briefed about the welfare schemes that are in vogue. A booklet was given to them which explains the way to avail the schemes. With this, the cadre of DYFI can make sure that the benefits of the schemes reach the people.
On 26th morning, a convention was organised on Education at the conference hall itself. Dr S Muthukumaran, former vice chancellor, Bharathi Dasan University and Prince Gajendra Babu were the main speakers in the convention. They tore apart the arguments in favour of the commercialisation of education in the state. The delegate session continued that day and carried over to September 27 too. 23 resolutions were passed that included, demanding immediate solution to the power cut in the state, issuing the question papers in Tamil during the central government recruitment examinations, to stop eve-teasing and ragging in the educational institutions, for a true uniform education, improving the lives of tribal people in Tamilnadu, free pattas and houses to the poor, strongly demand on completion of Sethusamudram Project, to enact new employment policy, against the police atrocities in Tamilnadu, against the anti-dalit government policies and attitude and finally calling upon the youth to teach a lesson to anti-people DMK government’s policies.
On the 27th, new office bearers were elected. S Muthukannan was elected as president, R Velmurugan as secretary and S Bala as treasurer. Ela Shanmuga sundaram, M Senthil, K Sriram, N Kalpana and A R Babu were elected as vice presidents. T V Meenakshi, S Lenin, N S Asokan, V Stalin and K Prabhakaran were elected as assistant secretaries. 23 secretariat members and 81 state committee members were also elected.
Being true to the organisation's spirit, four young women figured in the list of state secretariat members and 15 were there in state committee members’ list. N Kalpana and T V Meenakshi were elected as state officebearers too. The concluding speech of the conference was given by Tapas Sinha, general secretary, DYFI.
In a fitting finale, a rally with new, bright and youngest faces raising slogans for them, for others and for the country, was held. A remarkable feature about the participants in the rally was that almost 90 per cent of the rallyists were below 25 years of age. Many in the public have raised their eyebrows. It was a different scenario for them. One had said this, "It seems that this organisation has real youth. Generally, other parties bring their cadres to show the strength. Here, that is not the case". The rally was inaugurated by M B Rajesh, MP and joint secretary, DYFI. Placards on various issues were carried in the rally. The slogans exposed the anti-people policies of the governments. A dummy of Govindarajan Committee that had given a report on the fees structure for private schools in the state, was carried by the rallyists. Police took exception to this depiction. But the leaders and the cadres of DYFI insisted on carrying the dummy. Despite the interruption of police, the dummy was carried. Police have filed cases against the leading cadres of DYFI.
White clad volunteers' march with the strength of 1,200 was the highlight of the rally. More than thousand white clad volunteers took the lead in the rally. At the conclusion of the rally, a public meeting was held at Sivananda Colony. Sitaram Yechury, MP and Politburo member of CPI (M) delivered a special address. DYFI all India president Sriramakrishnan, general secretary Tapas Sinha, state leaders S Kannan, S G Ramesh Babu, S Muthukannan, R Velmurugan, S Bala also spoke on the occasion.
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
CPI (M) ON KERALA
THE POLIT BUREAU OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MARXIST) MET AT NEW DELHI ON OCTOBER 4 AND 5, 2010. IT HAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT ON 5 OCTOBER 2010
The Polit Bureau heard a report on the preparations of the Party and the LDF for the forthcoming panchayat and local bodies elections to be held in Kerala on October 23 and 25. The election campaign of the LDF has begun and is receiving a positive response from the people.
Source: www.cpim.org
Saturday, October 2, 2010
HOMICIDE IN THE NAME OF HONOUR - Inderjit Singh
REFORM MOVEMENTS NEEDED TO ERASE THIS SPOT ON CIVILISATION
TODAY, whatever is taking place in the name of khap panchayats is basically casteist mobilisation in the name of gotra affiliations, for the sake of some political gains. This situation has come because, in order to garner votes, the parties of the ruling classes have been appeasing the casteist forces, along with other parochial forces, and giving them strength. On the other hand, for example, in all cities, bigwigs of various caste groups have been allotted big chunks of land at negligible prices, in the name of construction of dharmashalas. It is therefore not surprising that these dharmashalas have become the centres of casteist mobilisation.
APPEASEMENT OF CASTEIST FORCES
Haryana chief minister B S Hudda is a classic example of how far the ruling class politicians can go in their appeasement drive. Instead of protecting a citizen’s rights sanctioned by the constitution and defending the rule of law, this person, who today heads the executive in the state, glorified the khap panchayats which are acting like parallel courts or kangaroo courts. In the same way, BJP people have already penetrated these khap panchayats. Nay, even the State Women’s Commission did not hesitate to declare that these illegal bodies are the guardians of culture.
It is then not difficult to envisage how the law implementation machinery would behave in such a situation when the ruling parties are so sadly devoid of political willpower to take these bodies head on. We all are aware of the mental make-up of several past and serving high officials of the police and administration. They are not only in the grip of a feudal and casteist mentality but are also ever eager to do any illegal act at the bidding of the ruling class politicians.
At the level of village, the dominant people are always afraid of their possible loss of power and that is why they rake up petty issues or even non-issues in order to incite the people of their castes or some other castes against one or another group. Generally, these are the people who are opposed to the organisation of agricultural workers, poor peasants, women and youth. Any demand of social justice, any democratic activity, in the village is an anathema to these chaudharies.
NON-ISSUES TAKEN UP, REAL ONES IGNORED
The hue and cry being raised today in the name of intra-gotra marriages and the demand of certain retrograde amendments to the Hindu Marriage Act are this very type of exploitation of sentiments. In Haryana, as we said earlier, such marriages are virtually non-existent, as the people have themselves been observing the taboos enjoined by the caste and gotra rules. For example, there is a custom that while deciding a marriage alliance, five generations on one’s father’s side and three on one’s mother’s side are excluded.
Yet, these casteist forces sometimes succeed in misleading a good number of people on such petty issues or non-issues by generating fears about the threats to religion, culture, custom and tradition, and stressing the need of rising in their defence. However, if one coolly ponders a little, one will find that such fears are unfounded to the core and that such threats are totally imaginary.
On the other hand, these khap panchayats and other such bodies have no concern for the real and weighty issues of today. The fact is that the traditional institution of marriage is itself passing through a very profound crisis today. As we know, people observe all the caste and gotra rules while deciding a marriage alliance; the parents of a girl cough out large amounts of money as dowry; they also spend large amounts in marriage preparations and keeping in good humour the guests coming in the marriage processions; and fulfil all the ceremonies which the custodians of religion enjoin upon them. Yet, as we see around us, several of these marriages either break down or reach the verge of breaking down within a few years of their solemnisation. Many a married girl gets compelled to take shelter in her parental home where, in most cases, she and her children (if any) are treated as unwanted guests. A very substantial number of married girls are victims of most brutal kinds of dowry related violence and some of them are even killed by their in-laws.
This kind of sharp fall in womankind’s position in our society mast be a cause of deep concern for all of us. But the khap panchayats and other such bodies have been observing a stoic silence on this issue.
REAL GAMEPLAN OF CASTE BIGWIGS
But, if these self-appointed guardians of gotra rules, of custom and tradition are not concerned with dowry, marital violence and other such real and weighty issues, are they really concerned with the gotra rules alone? The reality is different.
If these bodies were really concerned about gotra rules alone, what was the need of holding a particular caste group’s panchayat for perpetrating anti-dalit violence? This was the case in Gohana and Mirachpur villages where some dalits were murdered and many of their houses burnt to ashes. In Dulina, casteist elements forcibly entered a police station and held there a panchayat to declare five arrested persons as gobhaktas (cow-worshippers), while these people were involved in the murder of some dalits. After the unfortunate rail accident in Godhra in Gujarat (2002), houses of several poor Muslim artisans in Loharu town of Bhiwani district were gutted down, and the bigwigs of several khaps were involved in this extremely heinous communal action, for which several persons were arrested.
These instances show that the khap panchayats and casteist forces have some other agenda in view, which in fact is not very hidden, and they are trying to mobilise people by exploiting their sentiments in the name of gotra rules. This is their way of reasserting their superiority, protect their tottering authority, and fulfil their narrow interests.
BROADER CONTEXT
The whole phenomenon must also be viewed in the broader context today. All this is taking place at a time when imperialism, with its globalisation and neo-liberal policies, seeks to dominate the agriculture, industry, commerce and services in the poor and developing countries. Because of our ruling classes’ capitulation before imperialism, large-scale attacks are taking place on the people’s rights in the fields of education, health, employment, wages, food security, social security and public amenities. The agrarian crisis is increasingly worsening and peasants in a progressively increasing number are losing land because of excruciating debt burdens. Big Indian and foreign companies are cornering agricultural tracts at dirt-cheap prices.
All this is generating a sense of frustration among various sections of the people, and their anger is perfectly justified. However, there is also the danger that if the democratic forces fail to channelise this anger for pro-change agitations, vested interests may well mould it in fratricidal channels. Preventing the people from uniting on the class lines is a part of the agenda of world imperialism, and this is sought to be achieved by strengthening the negative identities of various sections of the population. Vested interests, indigenous and foreign, are therefore seeking to promote identity politics based on caste, clan, religion, region etc in a big way. To mobilise various castes in the name of gotra sanctity is as much a part of this drive as is the politics of religious fanaticism in the name of our ancient culture and its revival. It is not surprising that the BJP, VHP and other saffron outfits have extended support to the activities of the self-righteous khap panchayats, and their men are very much active in these bodies.
There is a curious aspect as well of the whole phenomenon. The same imperialism which seeks to strengthen these parochial forces, also provides them a ground to justify themselves. As we know, consumerism is rampant today in every walk of life, and this applies to the inter-sex relations as well. The ideologists of imperialism are commodifying the female-folk, which is leading to a loss of healthy moral values. Media, the powerful purveyors of shameless and crass commercialism, are teaching the young boys and girls to treat one another as objects of sexual gratification and not as co-citizens with equal rights, duties and dignity. The result is that the evil of sexual exploitation is gaining ground in the classrooms, offices and playgrounds. But this very product of imperialist culture and commercialised mentality is also something which the retrograde forces are presenting as a threat to the Indian culture in order to mobilise people behind them.
This trend can be fought only when we run a powerful socio-cultural campaign against the degenerate culture and integrate it with our fight against the neo-liberal policies and in defence of the people’s interests.
DISTORTED DEVELOPMENT
As for the north-western parts of the country, there is more social backwardness in this region as compared to several other parts of the country. The result is that casteism, male chauvinism and other feudal values are quite rampant here. Moreover, the feudal formations and forces did gain much strength as a result of the compromise which Indian capitalism affected with these formations and forces in the country, more so after the transfer of power in 1947. Indian politics today presents a myriad of ugly spectacles testifying to the dominance of these forces in the countryside.
Haryana and some other states occupy a unique place in this scenario as there is a big discrepancy between economic development and social development here. The state of Haryana is a prosperous state, with a high degree of poverty and unemployment at the other end. It also lags behind on most of the social indicators, like sex ratio, women’s plight, attacks on dalits, alarming rise in crime graph, etc. Democratic institutions did not strike deep roots here in social life at the grassroots. The scenario of distorted development around the national capital, Delhi, is rushing benefits to only big companies and a handful of people while large chunks of people are being driven to increasing misery.
The spread of literacy and education in the recent decades has led to a degree of modernisation and a change in the thinking of the new generations. Changes are visible even in the life style in rural areas. Dependence of the poor individuals and families upon the rural elite has declined to an extent. Dalits and the backward have acquired a new sense of self-respect. The youth prefer to exercise their own discretion and choice instead of following the earlier mores. The All India Democratic Women’s Association and other democratic organisations have done some good work in this regard. Though still quite weak in the state, the CPI(M) and the Left have raised their voice against the retrograde forces that are violating the civil liberties and democratic rights of the people while acting like parallel courts. It is these forces who view the rising democratic conscious among the people as a threat to their dominance. This is why these forces are raising all this hullabaloo in the name of custom and tradition.
However, any fulfilment of the people’s aspirations requires a change in the existing structures that promote their oppression and exploitation. Today, the big question is this: Will the contradiction between the status quo and change be resolved in favour of these retrograde forces or will lead towards more equality, more social justice and more harmony? The need of the day is a multifaceted fight against the guardians of conservatism as well as against the decadent imperialist modernity and the pro-imperialist neo-liberal policies. The need is to isolate the vested interests in order to weaken their politics of casteism, and compel the administration and police to fulfil their constitutional duties in favour of social justice.
All this requires a wide-scale social reform movement while fighting for the economic and political rights of the people, and all the Left, democratic and progressive forces have to join this battle for secularism, equality and justice. (Concluded)
SOME AREAS NEED STATUTE AMENDMENTS
IT is quite an alarming trend that those guilty of heinous crimes get scot-free by utilising the lacunae in the existing laws. This requires positive amendments to the existing laws regarding dowry, marriages, social oppression, etc. Enactment of a special law to deal with the cases of ‘honour killing’ is especially important because near relatives of the victims are involved in such murders and therefore getting an eye-witness to any such crime is extremely difficult. The fear of social boycott and retribution also prevents many individuals from speaking out.
Such a situation requires certain far-reaching amendments in the Indian Penal Code. Cognisance of the untimely death of any young person and post mortem of the body must be made compulsory for the law enforcement machinery. An accused in such a case must be obliged to prove that he is not guilty. Those who dictate, encourage or justify such killings and those who honour the killers must also be made accused in any such case. The police must also be deterred from registering an FIR regarding a girl’s abduction unless it thoroughly investigates the complaint. This is necessary because some people lodge a complaint that so-and-so has abducted a girl of their family, and take the help of the police to trace the whereabouts of the girl and her so-called abductor, though in several cases they both are adults, have run away on their own volition in order to escape the wrath of the relatives, have married outside and are living like a couple. In many such cases, the young couple are murdered after the police trace them out and bring them back to the village concerned.
Source: www.pd.cpim.org