I am on leave! No posts for four days till 11th July.

The announcement of the Prime Minister for continuing with the reforms and for better investment friendly  climate means that the government is going to continue with its proposals for the Amendment to the Insurance Act, PFRDA Bill, reduction is subsidy to the poor and also attack on the trade union rights of the workers. The last Parliament could not pass the same due to the opposition from the ranks of the ruling UPA itself. It is not clear what will be the position after the President’s election.

The government is more interested about pampering the MNCs, corporates etc. than alleviating the conditions of the poor and the toiling masses in the country. Nobody is against the increase in GDP, but it should not be at the cost of the poor people of the country. The so-called reforms have already increased the unemployed and the cost of living like anything. Rich has become richer and poor, poorer.  Can these reforms be allowed to continue in the same way.

The united working class in the country can not allow this situation to go. The 28 February strike was a warning to the government. The central trade unions are preparing for another show down.

The government can not be allowed to continue with this anti-people policies. It has got to be fought and defeated.

While visiting Cambridge, I went to a Post Office in the main street. The Post Office name was written outside and two big red Post Boxes were there for putting the letters etc.  I went inside. It was busy with many customers. Six or seven counters were functioning. Transactions were going on. Inside also there were post boxes. Postal covers were arranged on an open almirah on the wall. Customers took the necessary articles and paid the cost. Banking transactions were also going on. On another side, stationary were being sold. Money Exchange, conversion of foreign currency, was another work. People were coming and going. It was a lively office. I was standing for some tim watching the counters etc. An official of the P.O. came to me and asked what I wanted. I told him that I am from India and was a retired P&T employee and was just watching how the P.O.works in UK. He smiled and said OK.

The Royal Mail, as the postal service in UK is called, is still used by a good section of the people. Almost every day, the Postman visits our home with letters, which are mainly advertisement materials, letters, parcels etc. The official collecting the mails from the Postal Boxes  comes at the scheduled time. The old red Post Boxes fixed may be hundred years back are still maintained as it is. I felt at home at  the Post Office.

In India also  the Postal administration is making changes for the sustainability of the Post Offices. Union is taking a very important role for a better service and financial viability.

For the last few years, floods have become a usual catastrophe in Mumbai at the time of the arrival of monsoon rains. This year is also no exception. The monsoon was late for a few days, but when it started, people are happy that the rains have arrived, but the floods also followed. The floods cause not only traffic jams, but the entire busy life of Mumbai is slowed down and people put to much difficulties. In the floods a few years back, the city was almost under water for more than one day and the people had to walk 20 or more km to reach their homes through the water filled roads.

This is not the case of Mumbai alone. Most of the cities like Delhi, Kolkatta face the same disaster. It is mainly because of water logging since the sewage arrangements are faulty and there is no outlet for the huge rainwater to flow away. Neither the state government nor the Municipality / City corporations take actions to clean the sewage and make ready for the arrival of the monsoon. Heavy taxes are collected towards social amenities, but it is either wasted or whisked away by corrupt officials/contractors.

There should be a strong public movement so that the government and the corporations are compelled to take necessary action so that  avoidable difficulties can be reduced or completely stopped.

Cambridge and Oxford are two universities in UK which are known world over for their excellence as centres of learning. I got the opportunity to visit the former yesterday, 2nd June 2012. Along with my son and wife, I visited the Cambridge city. In fact, the city really means the Cambridge University and the 31 colleges connected with it. After reaching there, my son went to his office and my wife and myself went to see the town.

We boarded a city bus and toured the entire city which is not very big. The town is full of colleges and connected institutions. Some of the colleges are functioning for the last three to four hundred years.   A few of them are from 13th century onwards.  Kings College, Queens College, Trinity etc. are some of the well known ones.  Some of these colleges are named after famous personalities like Charles Darwin, Churchill etc.   Jawaharlal Nehru studied in Trinity College. There are a large number of students from India even now. Many of the top leaders in India have studied in these colleges. The city has got  some very old churches also.

There is a cemetary of thousands of US soldiers who were killed during the Second World War ( 1941-45) defending Britain from the attack of German planes. Just like the cemetery in Kohima, all these tombs are named with the name of the victims, their designation and the unit they worked at the time of the war.  The cemetery is maintained by the US government.

There is a good museum of the university, but we could not visit the same.

Anyway, we got the chance to see the town and get in to the spirit of learning.

State Bank of Indiat will recruit about 10,500 employees during the current financial year to manage the growing business of the bank.
“This year, the bank would make 9,500 clerical level appointments and nearly 1,000 probationary officers to be inducted,”  SBI Chairman  Pratip Chaudhuri  stated.
The process would be completed by Dussehra, he added. According to the annual report of SBI, overall staff strength declined by 7,452 employees during the last fiscal.
As on March 31, 2012, the bank had a total permanent staff strength of 2,15,481, which included 80,404 officers, 95,715 clerical staff and the remaining 39,362 were sub-staff.

As stated in my blog earlier, a situation has arisen in all PSUs the need for new recruitment. Instead of engaging contract workers, new recruitment should be done. The unions have to pressure strongly for the same.

47 years have passed since the publication of ‘Peoples Democracy’, the weekly organ of the CPI(M) has started. The first  issued was issued on 27th June 1965, about one year after its break with CPI.

‘Peoples Democracy’ during these last five decades have helped to educate a lot of comrades about the policy of the party, the latest developments and also the strategy and tactics of the party. It has been a guide to the party workers and progressive section of people.

My Greetings and best Wishes to the journal and the comrades behind it! I hope it will continue its ideal role in the future also.

Though 37 years have passed since the ‘National Emergency’ was declared by the Indira Gandhi government on 25th June 1975, the  grim memory of the same haunts even now. Civil liberties were denied, democracy & democratic values given a go by and political  and trade union leaders were put in jail without any reason only to continue the regime. The true dark face of the government was exposed.

Yes, the people reacted and within two years, the government was compelled to order general election and the Indira Government faced utter failure at the polls. For the first time India saw a non-congress government, the Janata Government composed of many political parties merged in to one.

35 years have passed after the fall of the emergency. Everybody who cherishes democracy has to be on guard that such excess never happen again.