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Thursday, March 10, 2011
TRINAMULI GOONS ATTACK SFI ACTIVISTS AT BARASAT
B Prasant
‘Kill her!’ Finish him off!’ ‘Break that boy’s arms and legs!’ ‘We are thankful that the programme has passed of peacefully.’
These are troubling vignettes from a television chat show that the news channel of the Patrika group ran during the evening of 16 February. The show had a theme. The theme was the recent spate of violence unleashed in Bengal. Unknown to the Left participants, a drive had been organised to bring in dozens of lathi-knives wielding Trinamuli goons who hid behind the main open-sky palladium on which the ‘live’ show was organised.
The moment one of the Left participants spoke about the sense or lack thereof of civility among the members of the new-fangled, pro-Trinamuli ‘civil society,’ the local Trinamuli MP sprang into vocal and gestural ‘action’ The moderator, ill-known for his anti-Communist, anti-left and pro-Trinamuli views, aided and abetted her with carefully-chosen intonated words.
All the while, the goons were marking out local school and college students present in the show who were SFI workers. As soon as the near-pandemonium started on the dais, the hoodlums went in for assault. They bayed for the blood of the SFI workers who stood their ground but were soon down with blows from thick staves, to the head, to the body, to the limbs.
More than a score went down before the general audience present could recover, and chase away the miscreants. By then the moderator had expressed his, clearly malicious, ‘satisfaction’ perhaps at the way things had turned out – his job was done, his assignment was complete.
In the fracas, we clearly saw, on the television channels, how SFI workers were targeted, confronted, and struck down with mighty blows. A dozen-odd were left bleeding and injured, groaning aloud. Two of the injured are presently in serious condition, drifting in and out of consciousness at a Kolkata hospital, bled white with head wounds, optical injuries, as well as body blows, broken legs and dislocated shoulders.
They are Mousumi Ghosh and Surajit Bakshi. Mousumi is treated for head injuries. Surajit has one eye swollen up with retinal bleeding. We strain in sympathy for these young SFI workers, and have nothing but rage for the perpetrators of the deed and their elected interlocutors, and agent provocateurs of the air waves.
Source: www.pd.cpim.org/
PEOPLE’S DEMOCRACY EDITORIAL (27-02-2011): HEED THE WARNING OF THE WORKING CLASS
AS we go to press, the Indian working class, in unprecedented number of lakhs, has thronged the country’s capital. In a disciplined manner, lakhs of workers marched to the parliament on a five-point charter of demands. These have been reported in these columns in the past. However, to recapitulate in brief : 1 Curb price rise, strengthen PDS; 2 Strict enforcement of labour laws; 3 Stimulus packages to corporates must be linked to employment protection; 4 National fund for the unorganised sector to provide for social security to all; and 5 Stop privatisation/disinvestment of public sector to meet budgetary deficit.
This UPA government, with its anti-labour policies, has achieved the impossible. It has united all the central trade unions and all independent federations in the country in this struggle. Such unity would not have been conceivable a few years ago. Preparations for this united struggle began with a National Joint Convention in September 2009. This was followed by a countrywide `jail bharo’ programme in February 2010 and the historic all-India strike on September 7, 2010. This march to parliament was a follow-up to these actions. The sea of Red Flags and lakhs of workers belonging to the Left trade unions were joined by the Congress affiliated INTUC and others while the BMS was party to the convention and in drawing up the charter of demands.
This `real’ India marched to the parliament on the eve of the presentation of the 2011-12 budget. They voiced their strong opposition to the trajectory of neo-liberal economic reforms that this UPA government is following. If the UPA government does not heed this voice of the working people (it is widely anticipated that it will not), then surely it will have to face more united and mightier struggles in the future. These struggles will be joined by all working sections of our people demanding a radical shift in the policy orientation of the government.
The neo-liberal pundits are patting their own backs with satisfaction claiming to have weathered the storm of the global recession. India’s `growth story’ is, however, bypassing the bulk of our people. As noted earlier in these columns, the number of dollar billionaires had doubled from 26 to 52 last year whose combined asset value is equal to 25 per cent of our GDP. The latest data now available show that this number has risen to 69 during the course of this year. India, indeed, is shining for a small proportion of our people. On the other hand, distress suicides by our farmers continue. Worse is that they are now being joined by many others like victims of microfinance exploitation or those who are denied their legitimate wages under the Rural Employment Guarantee. To the vast majority of the Indian people, the price rise continues to impose unprecedented additional burdens.
The neo-liberal strategy revolves around providing stimulus through tax concessions in order to promote growth. This is similar to the global neo-liberal prescription of bailing out financial giants and corporates who, in the first place, caused the present global crisis. The consequence has been that corporate insolvencies have been converted into sovereign insolvencies because the governments of these countries had heavily borrowed to finance these bailout packages. In many of these countries, working class benefits and rights are being mercilessly attacked in order to finance this borrowing. This, in turn, means that governmental expenditures are drastically reduced, if not abolished, in the social sector imposing unprecedented burdens on the people.
There are similar noises that can be heard in the corridors of power in India. There are strong pressures by those very sections of the ruling classes who have benefited from the stimulus packages (adding themselves to the list of billionaires) to ensure that the forthcoming budget emphasises `fiscal consolidation’. In other words, the pressure is on the government to reduce its expenditures in the social sector and to reduce, if not abolish, subsidies to the needy. This will only add to the current burdens that are mounted on our working people.
A radical shift in the policy direction means moving away from such a trajectory. This is perfectly possible. Even at the expense of repetition, consider the following:
In last year's budget papers there is a Statement of Revenue Foregone. This informs us that Rs 4, 14,099 crores was the tax revenue foregone in 2008-2009. In 2009-2010 this stood at Rs 5, 02,299 crores. This whopping amount was foregone by the government because it has doled out tax concessions to the tune of 79.54 per cent of the revenue that should have been collected. Conceding, for a moment, tax concessions in excise and customs duties would have served as a stimulus to fight the impact of the global recession, the concessions given to corporate and high end personal income tax payers amounted to Rs 1,04,471 crores in 2008-2009 and Rs 1,20,483 crores in 2009-2010. Nearly Rs 2.25 lakh crores of legitimate revenue was forsaken. Instead, if these resources were collected and used for public investments, this would have built our much needed infrastructure while generating substantial employment improving people's livelihood. The consequent growth of domestic demand would have laid the foundations for better economic fundamentals for a sustainable growth trajectory. Will this budget effect such a shift in policy direction?
There is a major concern in the official circles that inflow of the foreign capital has sharply declined by 31 per cent last year. Eager to appease international finance capital, hence pre-occupied with the need to reverse this trend (which has nothing to do with our economic fundamentals but is due to the global recession) this budget may well give further concessions to foreign capital, like rising its cap in the insurance sector, banking reforms, privatisation of the pension funds etc. Such financial liberalisation will only make India more vulnerable to global speculative activity. It is precisely because the Left had prevented UPA I from undertaking such reforms that India, to a large extent, could resist the disastrous impact of the global recession. This resilience will be gravely weakened, if such measures are undertaken.
Popular pressures must, therefore, be intensified in the future through mightier struggles to ensure that the government is forced to undertake a radical shift in the policy direction. It must be stopped from undertaking further financial liberalisation reforms which would be disastrous and impose still greater burdens and miseries on the working people.
While expressing solidarity with the Indian working class, we can only say `forward to mightier struggles’.
(February 23, 2011)
Source: www.pd.cpim.org/
DISCIPLINE COMMISSION OF CPI (M): STEP TO IMPROVE PARTY FUNCTIONING - Prakash Karat
THE CPI (M) prides itself as being an organisation wedded to the principle of serving the people. As a Communist Party, its members are pledged to put the working class and the country before self and personal interests. There are tens of thousands of cadres of the Party who are selflessly working and serving the people. This is what has enabled the Party to win the support of the people. It is the political and ideological consciousness of the Party cadres that enables them to withstand the corrosive and corrupt influences that pervade society today.
Society in India is enveloped by corruption in all spheres, loot of public resources and the degeneration of public servants. Under the neo-liberal regime, big money has invaded the political system. Big capital is increasingly suborning the bourgeois political parties and governments. The big business-politician-bureaucrat nexus promotes corruption and wrongdoing and this is having its corrosive effects at all levels of society.
The CPI (M) has to be doubly vigilant in such an atmosphere to maintain its revolutionary character and high standards and to see that corruption and malpractices do not infiltrate its ranks. The Party has to be particularly careful to see that its elected representatives, those holding public offices and positions of responsibility in the Party do not indulge in wrong practices or fall prey to wrong trends.
OUTCOME OF RECTIFICATION CAMPAIGN
These matters were discussed in the Party as part of the rectification campaign. One of the steps taken as a result is the setting up of a Central Discipline Commission consisting of a Polit Bureau member as the chairman and three other members of the Central Committee. The four-member commission consists of S Ramachandran Pillai (chairman), Madan Ghosh, U Vasuki and V Srinivasa Rao.
The setting up of the commission is an outcome of the decision of the resolution On Rectification Campaign adopted by the Central Committee in October 2009. The necessity for such a commission was explained in the resolution on the rectification campaign. The commission is meant to ensure that complaints of corruption or violation of Communist norms by cadres of the Party are examined without delay and action taken where necessary.
The resolution states: “Experience shows that many Party Committees are not taking prompt action when complaints are received about cases of corruption or malpractice by Party cadres and leaders. Often the Party committees are unable to initiate action due to various reasons such as factional trends, liberalism and reluctance to antagonise an important Party cadre.”
The scope of the Discipline Commission is to take up complaints about corruption, malpractices and violation of Communist norms and values by cadres and leaders of the Party at various levels. The Discipline Commission will examine the complaints received and, if it considers it appropriate, it can instruct the concerned state committee to conduct investigations either by the state committee or by any lower committee and take a decision on that matter within a specified time limit. The Central Committee has framed Rules for the functioning of the Central Discipline Commission whereby the respective Party state committees will send a report of the investigation conducted to the Discipline Commission. The Discipline Commission will submit reports to the Polit Bureau and the Central Committee on the decisions it takes.
DIFFERENT FROM CONTROL COMMISSION
Some queries have arisen within the Party about the difference between the Central Control Commission which already exists and the Central Discipline Commission which has been recently constituted. The Central Control Commission is a body under the Party Constitution. It is directly elected in the Party Congress. Its scope and jurisdiction pertains to hearing appeals against disciplinary action taken against Party members. The Central Control Commission and the State Control Commissions entertain only appeals from Party members who have already been subjected to disciplinary action. The Control Commission does not and cannot look into any complaints of wrong doing. The Central Discipline Commission is specifically given the responsibility to look into the complaints of corrupt practices, wrong doings and violation of Communist norms.
It should also be clarified that the Central Discipline Commission will not go into organisational issues. Violations of organisational norms or organisational problems do not fall under the purview of the Discipline Commission. They are to be tackled within the organisational structure through the principles of democratic centralism.
Under the Rules, the Discipline Commission will deal with complaints from only Party members and Party committees. It will not entertain any complaints from non-Party members or anonymous ones.
Party members are expected to exercise their right to lodge complaints imbued with a high sense of responsibility towards the Party. Any frivolous or motivated complaints will be disregarded and steps taken to discourage them.
The Discipline Commission has been set-up to enable the Party to maintain the high standards of Communist norms and values. It is an important step towards having an internal mechanism to check malpractices and rectify and improve the Party’s functioning. This will increase confidence in the CPI (M) amongst the people, that the Party is vigilant in combating any wrong practices and that it is responsive to the people’s expectations.
Source: www.pd.cpim.org/
BRINDA KARAT INFORMS UNION FOOD MINISTER K V THOMAS ON FEBRUARY 21THAT CONTAMINATED GRAINS BEING SUPPLIED IN ADIVASI AREAS
WHILE old stocks of foodgrains which are contaminated and inedible are being given to adivasi areas through the public distribution system (PDS), the newer stocks are being kept for exports, Brinda Karat, Member of Parliament and CPI (M) Polit Bureau member, told the union food minister K V Thomas on February 21.
Showing to the minister the samples of contaminated rice collected from adivasi areas in Andhra Pradesh, she said inedible wheat and rice was being supplied in many adivasi areas across the country. She said that the samples of rice and wheat collected from adivasi areas in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh were found contaminated. Top officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), including its head Siraj Hussain, were present when Brinda Karat met the minister.
The minister expressed shock at the poor quality visible in the samples. He agreed that the inspection system and quality control have to be strengthened. He admitted that the system of inspections might have been affected because of the ongoing ban on recruitment of quality inspectors. There were vacancies indeed but it was going to take some time to fill them up. He also agreed that spot checks of the FCI godowns were required and asked the officials to ensure that this was done.
On this occasion, the FCI chairman said that contamination could take place at different levels including the state level and therefore it would not be correct to hold the FCI alone as responsible. He agreed that as far as wheat is concerned, it was being stored in the open because of large stocks but as for rice he denied that there was any open storage. He said the entire stock was there in covered godowns. He, however, admitted that the old stocks of 2008 were still being distributed.
Source: www.pd.cpim.org/
ALL INDIA DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION (AIDWA) CONDEMNS TMC ASSAULT ON HOWRAH MAYOR
THROUGH a statement issued from New Delhi on February 22, the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has expressed outrage over the brutal attack on Ms Mamta Jaiswal, the mayor of Howrah in West Bengal and an AIDWA activist, by Niraj Singh and a group of Trinamul Congress (TMC) supporters on February 19. The mayor was gheraoed, and molested by the TMC anti-socials in the course of carrying out her duties. The anti-socials also assaulted a woman councillor, Basanti Mazumdar, who was with the mayor at the time. The AIDWA has also described as most unfortunate the fact that the police too did not take proper action, but kept watch when the councillor was being heckled. It was only later that the complaint of molestation filed by the mayor was registered.
The AIDWA has condemned the trend of violence being unleashed against political and social activists by the Trinamul Congress, which has shown utter disregard for the democratic rights of the people. It has demanded stringent action against the perpetrators of this attack, and urged upon the police to ensure that women’s safety is not sacrificed due to other compulsions
Source: www.pd.cpim.org/
HISTORIC CHANGES IN MIDDLE EAST
R Arun Kumar
“I want to do something for my country, something positive and it's the happiest day in my life” - A protestor in an interview to Al Jazeera from the Tahrir Square.
THE world and the times in which we are living today are quite interesting. Many events of enormous historical significance are taking place around us. Imagine, anyone believing if it was told to them that the people in the Arab countries – Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Algeria and now Bahrain, Libya, Morocco and even Saudi Arabia would come out protesting against their rulers. While some of the protests were successful to an extent, the rulers have ceded power, other countries are still in ferment. A distinguishing feature in many of these protests is the massive participation of the youth and students.
Three broad characteristics stand out significantly in the Middle East protests. They voice: (i) the democratic aspirations of the people (ii) their economic grievances and (iii) their anti-imperialist feelings. As Lenin had stated, the situation in these countries is such that, “the lower classes cannot live in the old way” and “it is impossible for the ruling classes to maintain their rule without any change”. Due to the global economic crisis, “the want and suffering of the oppressed classes have become more acute than usual” and the people “who in 'peace' time quietly allow themselves to be robbed” are today “drawn both by all the circumstances of the crisis and by the 'upper classes' themselves into independent historical action”. It is these features that broaden the scope and mass participation in these struggles and distinguish them from the massive protests organised in Europe which are basically economic in nature and aimed at protecting their hard won rights. Moreover, the first and third aforementioned factors are significantly absent.
Many of the regimes in the Middle East are headed by dictators who were/are ruling for the last two-three decades. Ben Ali of Tunisia ruled for nearly 23 years, Mubarak for 30 years and Saleh of Yemen is continuing since the last 32 years. Politically, apart from the length of their rule, they are characterised by the stifling of voices of protest and dissent. The people of Bahrain took to the streets coinciding with the anniversary of the National Action Chart that grants political reforms, for which 98 per cent of Bahrain voted in 2001. Political reforms are so vital because emergency laws are in place for years together and opposition parties are not allowed to function. This dictatorial hold on power also helped the ruling classes to continue with their unbridled economic exploitation of the people, working class in particular.
ACCENTUATING SUFFERINGS
Many of these countries are rich in resources, especially in carbon reserves. The monies accrued from their trade are pocketed by the few rich oligarchs, while the majority of the people are living in poverty. Rich are growing richer, while the poor, poorer. The current global financial crisis has accentuated the sufferings of the common people and triggered these protests. Egypt and Jordan, the blue-eyed nations of the IMF and the World Bank, had implemented the prescribed economic reforms and are deeply integrated with the global economy. The crisis had a devastating impact as 3,000,000 in Egypt and 500,000 in Jordan are directly employed in the financial sector. Unemployment has increased and prices of essential commodities, particularly food, have risen sharply adding to peoples' hardships.
In Tunisia, unemployment rate is officially 14 per cent, but the percentage of graduates without work is about double that. Along with it, the high price of raw materials made agriculture unwieldy. The prices of sugar, milk and bread have also increased drastically in the recent times.
In Egypt too, the rallies came against a backdrop of growing anger over widespread poverty and unemployment. The workers joined these protest demonstrations adding their demand of a higher minimum wage. Nearly half of Egypt's 80 million people live under or just above the poverty line set by the United Nations at $2 a day. Poor-quality education, health-care and high unemployment have left millions of Egyptians deprived of their basic needs. It suffers from annual food inflation of more than 17 per cent and unemployment rate of 25 per cent. Today's protests are not a sudden outburst but are in fact an expression of the brewing discontent, galvanised by the working class and the April 6 solidarity movement.
In Yemen too, more than half of the population lives below the poverty line of $2 a day and do not have access to even proper sanitation facilities. Here too, growing food prices have added to the grievances of the people.
In Algeria, there was simmering frustration that the country's abundant gas-and-oil resources have not translated into significantly improved living standards for the majority. Discontent grew over the rising cost of milk, sugar, flour and chronic unemployment.
In Jordan, people are protesting against the rise in food and fuel prices and slow pace in the implementation of the promised political reforms. In Iraq, people have come out demanding higher wages, food rations, improved public services and government action to tackle rampant unemployment, corruption, water and electricity shortage. Iranian government, reeling under the unjust US sponsored UN sanctions, was forced to reduce its food and fuel subsidies and as a result the prices of these two items have increased 2-4 times in this period.
ANTI-US SENTIMENT
The third important feature that should not be missed is anti-imperialism, or to be more precise, the anti-US sentiment among the people. All these countries witnessing popular protests today, were/are staunch allies of the US. It has 'rewarded' them with abundant 'aid' and armed them with its weapon systems. Yemen is a major recipient of US military aid and is expected to reach $250 million this year alone. US provides the Mubarak regime $1.3billion per year as aid.
Apart from the military control, imperialism also uses its financial arms to coerce and ensure their dependency. Just a few days ago, amidst all the protests, the Moody's credit ratings agency downgraded the status of Egyptian government bonds, warning that protests in the country were putting the economy at risk. It also complained that the government had been spending far too much on subsidies in the country.
People of these countries, were unable to digest this control exerted by the US. The subservience of their ruling classes to the imperialist interests had not only hurt the livelihoods of the common people but also their Arab nationalist pride. They were infuriated by their ruling classes' compromise with Israel and US on the Palestinian question. These aspects too played a part in bringing out huge numbers of people onto the streets.
Amongst all the sections, it is the working class that is more interested in securing all the three demands – ensuring better economic conditions, democratic rights and freedom from imperialist interference. Though diminished in numbers, this explains the continuation of protests in Tunisia and Egypt even after the dictators have fled. The working class in Egypt are continuing their strike, defying the dictates of the military, which had assumed control over the country. The military is trying to drive a wedge between workers and other activists by stating that strikes could delay restoration of democratic rights.
Imperialism in today's world situation is not ready to forego its dominance over this strategically important region at any cost. To retain its control, it is ready to compromise to an extent. It is pushing the local ruling classes to provide a semblance of democratic rights and agree to some economic concessions like announcing some temporary measures to bring down the prices and a paltry hike in the minimum wages. This explains the stance of US not only in Tunisia and Egypt but also in other countries of the region. It is desperately seeking for some 'moderate' faces with 'democratic credentials' among the ruling classes, to substitute the hated dictators. The most that imperialism, along with the local ruling classes is ready to concede is ensuring only a 'face change', but never a 'class change'.
Unless there is a class change, peoples' real aspirations would not be met. For this class change to take place, the subjective factor – revolutionary conscious working class – to harness the above mentioned objective factors, is imperative. Though working class is playing an important role in these protests, it is neither leading them nor is sufficiently equipped with the revolutionary ideology to usher social transformation. Nonetheless, bringing an end to the dictatorial rule, political reforms and gaining some relief from economic hardships, is in itself not a small gain. The changes taking place in Middle East are hence historic, but might not be revolutionary.
Source: www.pd.cpim.org/
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