The decision of the Delhi Police ie. Central Government, denying permission to Anna Hazare to hold Satyagraha in Delhi smacks of authoritarianism. The democratic right of the people to express their opinion and propagate their views peacefully can not be denied, whatever excuse the authorities says. Corruption is an issue the entire people are agitated. Anna Hazare is only expressing it in his own way.
It has also become the bad habit of the present government to discredit all those who oppose it. As long as Baba Ram Dev was in the good books of the Government, he was a saintly person for them. The moment he opposed the government, he has become a bad man, avoiding taxes and having black money. Was this fact known to the Government only when he started opposing the corruption. Now the government spokepersons are accusing that Anna Hazare is corrupt. If Anna Hazare did not oppose government he would have been a very good Gandhian for them. Such kind of accusations are discrediting the government only.
Instead of correcting its mistakes and punishing the corrupt, the government is attacking those who are opposing and exposing corruption. This is a shame on the government.

We got political freedom 64 years back on 15th of August 1947. The British were compelled to go, but they divided India in to India and Pakistan before they left. Many achievements we have during the last 6-7 decades. But there are more things to be done. Let us see what they are.
1. More than 80% of the people do not have income of more than Rs.20/ per day, which is completely insufficient for a living. Crore of people are on the verge of poverty. All the people should be able to have a comfortable living
2. Crores of youngsters are unemployed. A job is important for a living and also for self respect. The government has to ensure job for all.
3. More than 50% of the children are not able even to study up to the upper primary class. Education should be made compulsory and 100% literacy should be the target.
4. Housing Accommodation is a priority.
5. The country has been plagued by corruption, favouritism and nepotism. All these should be eradicated.

These are basic issues. In a democracy, the right of the people to elect their rulers with out favour or pressure is important. The election system should be free from money power and muscle power.

The common people and especially, the working class have got a serious responsibility to ensure that a government which will attend to the above should be got elected. Continuous pressure is required for the same. Is it possible in the present Indian context? Of course, it is difficult but it can be done if there is determination and commitment.

India, our Nation, has completed 64 years after it got Independence from the British rule in the midnight of 14th / 15th August 1947. The two centuries of slavery under the British was over at last and India became an independent nation. It was after continued and sustained struggle that we got independence. At this time, we remember the First War of Independence of 1857 which gave a big jolt to the British empire. The sacrifices of thousands of sepoys and their leaders like Rani of Jhansi, Tantia Topi, Nana Saheb, Begum Hazrat Mahal and of course Mangal Pandey who fired the first shot on the altar of freedom can not be forgotten. The valiant battles fought by Tippu Sultan, Pazhassi Raja and many others still inspire us. After the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 a new era started. The arrival of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on the scene gave a new dimension and popularity to the struggle for independence. The declaration of Swaraj, the Salt Satyagraha and the Non-cooperation movement- all are shining chapters of struggle for independence. The Communists were in the fore-front. The British were especially brutal against the communists. The British were afraid that a Soviet Union type revolution may come here. Hence the moment the Communist Party of India was formed, the British Govenment arrested them one after another foisting conspiracy cases against the Communists. Peshawar Conspiracy case, Meerut Conspiracy case, Kanpur conspiracy case and Madras Conspiracy case- almost all the leading Communists were arrested and jailed.
The Jhalianwala Bagh Massacre shocked the nation and the young revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and Sukhdev who gave back in the same coin to the British were hanged. Chandrasekhar Azad was shot dead by a posse of police men.
The end of the second world war opened a new chapter. The Thebhaga struggle, the Telengana struggle, Royal Indian Navy revolt, the INA, the Postal strike all added fuel to the Independence struggle and British had no other go but to grant Independence to India. But they did after dividing India in to India and Pakistan. Along with the victory of independence, both countries had to face the biggest tragedy of partition and the displacement and sufferings of crore of people who had to migrate from one country to the other.
India has grown during the last 64 years in all spheres. But still a majority of the people in this country do not have education, job, food and house. But at the same time the number of millionaires and billionaires are increasing in the country. The national wealth is grabbed by big business and corporates for a song causing loss of lakhs of crore of rupees to the government. The corruption has hit the roof with even the top level politicians and administrators under the scan.
It is only the working people and the toiling masses of the country who can make a change to the present situation. A revamp of the political situation has become necessary. The ruling congress party and the main opposition BJP are both in competition to implement the neo-liberal policies which had already brought more and more misery to the common people. It is only through committed, dedicated and sacrifices that the country can be changed. It is what is required in the present moment. Let us be part of this great task.
Best Wishes to all in the eve of the 65th birthday of our dear nation!

Fidel Castro, the architect of Cuba and the man who braved the powerful United States of decades of economical blockades, has turned 85 on 13th August 2011.
He was the hero of the Cuban revolution of 1959 ( January 1st)along with Che Guivera, Raul Castro and other comrades. As President of Cuba for a long time, on the one side he defended the country from the attacks of the imperialist US and at the same time moved forward for creating a socialist state. The small nation in the Carribean Islands group was alone at first opposing the US, but now many countries have joined the anti-imperialist camp. The collapse of the USSR was a big blow to Cuba, but under the inspiring leadership of Fidel, the country braved the situation and moved forward.
Fidel Castro, who was ailing, handed over the leadership of the party and the administration to his comrade-in-arms and brother Raul Castro in 2000. Despite his ill health, Fidel continued to contribute many articles and comments to the Granma, the party organ which was named as that of the boat in which the revolutionaries landed in Cuba ( December 2, 1956) to lead the revolution. Fidel is one of the best articulate speaker in the world who is heard with rapt attention.
I Greet and Wish comrade Fidel Castro a Happy Birthday and also many happy returns of the day to guide the world Working Class !
” … the working class is in an absolute majority, the working class is a fertile and creative class, the working class is the one that produces all the wealth that exists in the country.” – Fidel Castro

Hindu has reported today that Delhi Metro had more than 20 lakh travellers on 12th August, the maximum so far. Within a few years of starting, the Metro has become the best travelling mode of the Delhites.
In 1991, when I had come to Delhi to take charge as the President of the All India Telecom Employees Union Class III and started staying at Dada Ghosh Bhawan, the CHQ of the union, the situation was very difficult. Almost every working day Comrade Moni Bose, who was the General Secretary of the Union and myself had to go to the Sanchar Bhawan, the office of the Department of Telecom, to meet the officers and discuss the issues of the workers. For some time we were going by an old car, but we had to abandon the same due to continued breakdowns. The only way was bus and autoriksha. Due to heavy rush, it was difficult even to get in to the bus. The next alternative was auto-riksha. The buses as well as the auto-rikshas were very old and dirty since there was no daily washing or cleaning. Before getting in to the auto-riksha you have to bargain with the driver who will demand very high fare. Many will pass away, before you get the chance to get in to an auto. And on the way ten to fifteen minutes, the auto may stop due to break-down. Some repair and then start again. The roads were badly polluted due to smoke coming out of the buses and autos. When coming back from Sanchar Bhawan it was more difficult to get bus or auto. Usually we had to wait for more than one hour to get any conveyance. The traffic jam was so much that it took more than one hour for the journey. It was really a torture every day to go to Sanchar Bhawan and return.
After the Metro has come, the entire situation has changed. Now it takes only 10 to 15 minutes to travel the entire distance by Metro. It is air-conditioned and neat. Of course, in the peak hour there is rush, but tolerable. The Metro is a boon to the people. The Delhi Metro has got six lines with 197 km distance. More lines are bein constructed. And the main credit goes to the Chief of the Metro Shri Sridharan.

13th August 1947 is a very important and historic day for the entire P and T Trade Union movement. It was on this day that the Union of Posts and Telegraph Workers (UPTW) was formed at a special conference of the then existing three All India Unions viz. All India Postal and RMS Union, Indian Posts and Telegraph Union and Indian Telegraph Association held at New Delhi.
The P and T movement started in the first decade of the 20th century. The Telegraph Workers were organised by Henry Barton who formed the Indian Telegraph Union and led it till his death. Babu Tarapada Mukherjee formed the Calcutta Postal Club, which later became the All India Postal and RMS Union. Indian Posts and Telegraph Union was another union organised. These three unions merged and formed the UPTW with N.M.Joshi as President, Dr. G.Noronha as Vice-President and M.A.Jabbar and O.P.Gupta as Joint General secretaries. Unfortunately another organisation, All India Postal and Lower Grade Staff Union led by V.G.Dalvi kept out of the united organisation in the last moment.
The experience of the I Central Pay Commission in 1946, the necessity of united working together for a better deal from the then British Government and the historic strike of the Postal employees in 1946 – all these created a favourable situation for the merger. Probably the oncoming independence of the country also might have influenced the leaders. Thus, 2 days before India got Independence, UPTF was formed as the united trade union of the P and T Employees.
It took another seven years to amalgamate all the other unions and form the National Federation of Post and Telegraphs Employees which was on 24th November 1954 which continued till 1985 before bifurcating as NFPE and NFTE after the bifurcation of the P and T Department.
On this 64th anniversary of UPTW, all of us have to remember the sacrifices and struggles organised by our earlier leaders which improved the condition of the P and T workers and made them one of the best organised union in the country.

13th August has got another importance. It was on this day in 1970 that K.G.Bose and A.S.Rajan were elected as the President and General Secretary of the NFPTE in the Vijayawada Federal Council, defeating the revisionist group led by O.P.Gupta and D.Gnaniah. For the first time, in NFPTE a worker president was elected. Till that time all the presidents were trade union leaders, who were not from P and T. The election of K.G.Bose, the revolutionary leader as President of NFPTE, started another glorious chapter of the P and T Trade union movement.

At present companies having 20 or more workers have to implement the Employees Provident Fund (EPF)Scheme to the workers. The Central Trade Unions have been demanding that it should be made applicable to companies with less number of workers also.
Now the Labour Minister Mallikarjun Khare has told the Parliament that the Government is examining the proposal to make the EPF applicable to the companies employing 10 or more workers. This will benefit a large number of workers,if implemented.

It is reported that the government has taken a serious note of the poor returns on the EPFO fund, from the Fund Managers dealing with the Funds.
The Employees Provident Fund organisation has got about 4.72 crore subscribers and about Rs. 30,000 crore are added every month through the subscriptions. These funds are allocated to the Fund Managers, mainly banks etc, which will have to give good returns so that the subscribers can get benefit out of the same.
In 2008 35% Fund was allocated to SBI, 25% to ICICI Securities and 20% each to Reliance Capital and HSBC. The period is for three years and the the same has ended by March 31st of this year. While ICICI earned 8.72%, HSBC earned 8.64%, SBI 8.61% and reliance 8.57%. This is less than the 9.5% interest granted to the subscribers by the EPFO and hence insufficient.
Further, there is the danger of earning very less returns and also loss sometimes according to the market variations. That is why the workers have been opposing the utilisation of the Pension Fund for the market purposes. It is the hard earned money of the workers and can not be allowed to be misused by the corporates.

A modest initiative has been taken by BSNL to utilise solar power for the mobile towers which will be most suitable in rural areas and villages where the electricity has not even reached. In Alwar District of Rajasthan such solar-powered moblie towers have now been installed. The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) which funds such rural and village projects has certificated the use of solar-powered towers. The towers are installed on contract with Vihaan Networks Ltd which has developed the new towers.

Since November 2010 when the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was introduced allowing mobile subscribers to change the service providers without changing their number, about one crore thirty lakh ( 13 million )subscribers have utilised the facility.
While some telecos have benefitted, BSNL and MTNL, the public PSUs have lost lakhs of connections, since the port-ins were less and the port-outs were more.
Serious effort on the part of the management and workers of BSNL is required to make a turn about from the present situation.