Category Archives: General

Women, the maximum sufferers of Mamata Rule – Brinda Karat.

21 Monday Oct 2013

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The 26th Bengal state conference of the All Indian Democratic Women’s Federation(AIDWA) was held in Krishnanagar, Nadia,rechristened ‘Laxmi Sehgal Nagar’. The town, awash in red, turned out in thousands to attend the public event of the conference. The conference was inaugurated by All India Secretary, Sudha Sundararaman.
Addressing the eager gathering, national women leader & Polit Bureau member, Brinda Karat hailed the heroic resistance of the women of Bengal & Nadia in particular. She was unequivocal in her criticism of the Mamata government’s tyranny & the rise in crime on women. ‘When the state leads the nation in the ‘murder’ of democracy, women bear the brunt. In the massive violence unleashed during the Panchayat elections by the ruling party, women were most affected, be it a candidate, a voter or a political worker. When the whole nation is pushed towards extreme financial distress with rising inflation & growing unemployment on account of anti-people neo-liberal policies pursued by the UPA-2 government, it’s the women who bear the distress & lead the struggle’.
(Courtsey: Ganashakti)

Scathing in her criticism of the growing disclosure of large scale fraud with both the Central & Bengal state governments, she put Modi in perspective. Recalling the ghastly 2002 riots, she reminded the people that thousands of minority women were exposed to organized violence, multiple cases that the Supreme Court is handling now. She exposed the secular duplicity of the CM, Mamata Banerjee who has & continues to hobnob with the BJP. It was PM Vajpayee then, who was hosted by Mamata at her residence, she recalled & stated that it could well be Modi tomorrow.

The double-speak of Corporates

20 Sunday Oct 2013

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The corporates have no mercy on their employees or associates, if the latter cheats or do any minor mistake which results loss or bad name to the company. They are immediately dealt with harshly with no quarters given.
But these same corporates make a loud protest and noise, when they themselves are caught cheating the government and booked. Their claim seems to be that they have got a right to cheat the government, bribe government officials for illegal benefits and that neither the people nor the government law enforcing agencies have a right to expose them or punish them. Such actions are termed as anti-industry and against the interest of business atmosphere.
The government is also acting on the same line. Many ministers have criticised the CBI action against the big corporates. Now where is their oft-repeated slogan that ” Law will take its own course?”. Is it not applicable to the corporates who cheat and violate the law of the country? Stop this double standard!

Declare Phailin ‘National Calamity’ – CPI(M)

19 Saturday Oct 2013

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Bhubaneswar, Oct 19 : With Odisha incurring huge
loss of property and standing crops due to cyclone Phailin
and resultant floods, CPI(M) today demanded declaration of the situation as a National Calamity besides waiver of
agricultural loan for the year 2013-14.

“The devastation caused by Phailin be declared as a
National Calamity and the Central Government should shoulder
the lion’s share of the responsibility of relief and
restoration,” the CPI(M) in a memorandum to the Odisha
Governor said.

Stating that the central government should send a team
immediately to assess the loss, the CPI(M) said that the
people who have lost their houses in the calamity should be
provided with safe houses to be built at an expense of Rs 1
lakh each. The central government should share 90 per cent of
responsibility for the project, they said.

Asking the Centre to provide financial assistance of
Rs 12,000 per acre of crop loss, the Left party said that the
farmers need to be provided with free inputs and interest free agricultural loan.

The party also suggested several measures including
steps to check migration of affected people, employment for
artisans, support for students and others for the welfare of
the cyclone-flood affected districts.

A Social Revolution gaining momentum in T.Nadu

18 Friday Oct 2013

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There is an article in “People’s Democracy” in its September 30 – October 6 issue (last page), about the social revolution that is being brought in T.Nadu through the hectic efforts of the people under the leadership of the “Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front” (TNUEF). The movement has been functioning for a few years and could make a lot of change for removing untouchability and connected malpractices.

The present article reports about the Direct Action Programmes organised in various parts of T.Nadu on 30th September, the death anniversary of Com. B.Srinivasa Rao, who was a crusader against untouchability and atrocities against Dalits in T.Nadu.
Some of these Direct Action Programmes were the following:

1. Temple Entry for dalits: For about 100 years, dalits were not allowed to enter Chathiswaran Temple in Village of Erode District.As per announcement made earlier the TNUEF workers under the leadership of TNUEF President Comrade P.Sampath and other leaders marched to the temple. The administration has no other go but to allow the temple entry of dalits then and there.
2.In the same way Dalits under the leadership of TNUEF also entered Narayana Perumal Temple in Tirunelveli District.

3. Entry in to own Land: In Kudalingapuram in Dindigul District, patta was given to 48 Dalit families, but they were not allowed to occupy the land since it was not handed over. The TNUEF workers came in large numbers and the administration was compelled to hand over the land to the dalits.

4. Untouchability Gate demolished in Ooty: The gate blocking the entry of dalits to the public road at Gandhipuram, Ooty was demolished on 30th September and the road opened for the dalits under the leadership of TNUEF.

5. First time hair cuts for dalits: The dalits in Echenkottai village of Thanjavur District, were not allowed to have hair cuts in the village and they were compelled to go far away for the same. Further in the tea shops the ” two tumbler system” existed whereby the dalits were given separate tumblers for supplying tea in the shops. This system was put an end to after the TNUEF agitation and massive demonstration on 30th September. The dalits were allowed hair cuts also in the village.
6. Hair Cut allowed in Vadipatti town in Madurai District also in the same way for the first time after many years.

7. Bath in the Common tank by Dalits: Dalits were denied permission to take bath in the common tank in Muthulingapuram, in Virudhunagar. On 30th September, the dalits and TNUEF volunteers together went to the tank and took bath, breaking the years old system of denying bath to the dalits.

These developments are a great victory for the dalits and the people of T.Nadu. It is not an easy matter to break the caste barrier and get justice for the dalits. It is only through sustained struggles that the injustices could be removed. The TNUEF should be congratulated for the revolutionary task they have undertaken. The movement is getting more and more support from the people and we hope that it will be able to advance further for the cause of the dalits. My Hearty Congratulations to Com. Sampath, President TNUEF and thousands of its activists and supporters. Really, a turn around is coning in T.Nadu.
(For details see “People’s Democracy” September 30- October 06 issue)

US Shut Down ends temporarily

17 Thursday Oct 2013

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AFP

Washington, Oct 17 : US President Barack Obama early this morning signed a bill into law to end a disruptive 16-day government shutdown and increase the current debt ceiling of USD 16.7 trillion to prevent the country from a debt default with potentially worldwide economic repercussions.
Obama signed into law, the “Continuing Appropriations
Act, 2014,” which provides fiscal year 2014 appropriations for projects and activities of the Federal Government through
Wednesday, January 15, 2014, White House Press Secretary Jay
Carney said in a statement in the wee hours today.

“The effective time for the continuing resolution begins on October 1, 2013,” Carney said, adding that the law also extends the Nation’s debt limit through February 7, 2014.

The signing of the bill came just in time to prevent an
imminent default as the US would have exhausted its borrowing
power by the end of today.

“This is good news for developing countries and the world’s poor. The global economy dodged a potential
catastrophe,” said World Bank President Jim Young Kim,
reflecting the sigh of relief that the international community now has after the passage of the bill by the Congress.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said looking
forward, it will be essential to reduce uncertainty
surrounding the conduct of fiscal policy by raising the debt
limit in a more durable manner.

Soon after Obama signed the legislation, the White House
Office of Management of Budget issued a notice to federal
agencies asking the furloughed employees to resume their
duties today.

“Today, the President signed a continuing resolution that
brings employees back to work and reopens many government
functions. All employees who were on furlough due to the
absence of appropriations may now return to work,” Sylvia M
Burwell, OMB Director, said in a memorandum.

Earlier, the Senate passed the legislation by 81-18
votes, while in the House of Representatives it was passed by
285-144 votes to end the government shutdown.

This means that the Democrats and the Republicans have a
few months time to come out with a lasting solution to their
sharp differences over budget issues, or else the country
could very well plunge into another political and economic
crisis as seen over three weeks.

Before the Senate and the House were to pass the legislation in quick succession, Obama had said he is willing to work with anybody to overcome this crisis.

Russians want Communism Back

17 Thursday Oct 2013

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I am reproducing a paper report below, which shows that the Russians want Communism back. Russian People are realising the benefits of Communism at this juncture.

October 13, 2013 About 60 percent of Russians believe there were more positive than negative aspects to life in the former Soviet Union, an opinion poll suggests.
Of the 1,000 people whom Russia’s Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) interviewed by telephone in a survey last month, 14 percent said the word communism had percent “very pleasant,” “positive” or “wonderful” connotations for them and 12 percent said they were nostalgic about the Soviet era.
Communism was just a thing of the past for 11 percent, but the same proportion believed communism meant good and stable life.
To 7 percent, the word communism gave a sense of “disgust” or “sad associations” or meant “something negative” generally.
For 5 percent, it stood for dreams of a “radiant future” that had never come true (“it’s a great pity that we never came to see it”).
Asked by pollsters to explain the meaning of the word communism, 23 percent said that for them it meant a just society where everyone is equal and all property is common.
For 9 percent, the word primarily stood for a specific economic and social system, while for 8 percent it represented a life better than today’s (“we were better off, people were taken better care of,” and “people were more plain and life was more plan as well”).
Six percent said communism represented good and stable life for them, and praised the official Soviet era principle “From each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs.”
Five percent dismissed communism as a utopia or fairytale.
Respondents were also asked to explain what they might see as positive and negative aspects of the Soviet system.
In response, 33 percent credited it with good social security guarantees, stability and good care of people, 14 percent said it had been a system of justice and social equality, 9 percent said the Soviet Union was a land of rule of law and discipline, 7 percent praised the country’s guaranteed employment, and another 7 percent claimed that people were more willing to help each other then than they are today.
On the other hand, 9 percent criticized Soviet-era restrictions on rights and liberties, 7 percent accused the Soviet system of suppressing personal individuality, another 7 percent said shortages of basic consumer goods were that system’s main defect, 6 percent slammed abuse of authority in that period and 5% condemned the repressive rule in the Soviet Union.
By and large, 59 percent of respondents believed there were more positive than negative aspects to communism. In that category, 69 percent were people aged 60 or more and 47 percent people aged between 18 and 30.
Moreover, 43 percent would have welcomed Russia’s re-adopting the communist ideology, 38 percent were not happy with the idea, and 19 percent were undecided on this point.VIDEOS

17th October – A Historic Day for the Indian Communists

17 Thursday Oct 2013

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Yes, 17th October is a historic day for the Indian Communists.The Communist Party of India was formed on 17th October 1920 at Tashkent. It was in a secret meeting that the same was formed outside India territory.
Communist Movement in India has completed 94 years.It was persecuted by the British, and then by the Government of free India also. But it had remained in the field and grown, though not to the extent required.
On this day My Greetings to all the Comrades of the Communist movement! Also we remember all those martyrs who fought for the upliftment of the people and sacrificed themselves for the great cause.

India votes against UN Resolution against Child Marriages!

14 Monday Oct 2013

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The insincerity of the Government of India on the girl child issues has been exposed once again. It has voted against a Resolution Against Child Marriage moved in the UN Human Rights Council. While 107 countries voted in favour of the Resolution, India did not support the same.
India is the country where maximum child marriages are being conducted. 40% of world wide child marriages are in India – about 24 million!While the government is very vocal about saving the girl child, against child marriages etc. it did not support the UN Resolution against Child Marriage.
Political exigencies are more important to the Government than the welfare of the people and especially the women and girl child.

Phailin disaster – Rehabilitation the immediate task.

13 Sunday Oct 2013

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The massive evacuation of more than 6 lakh people of Odisha and A.P.to safer places has been a well prepared move which helped to reduce the loss of lives to the minimum in the wake of the hit of the cyclone Phailin in the eastern coast of India. But the damage to the houses, communication network,electricity, roads, trees etc.has been tremendous. It is estimated as per reports that more than Rs. 24,000 crore damages have been resulted through the cyclone and high waves smashing the coastal area.
Rehabilitation is the immediate task for which the Central Government, the state governments and the people at large have to jointly make all out efforts. The rehabilitation should be organised effectively and fast.