• CGPI Letter to Members of Parliament

• On the Work of Building Political Unity against Fascism and Imperialist War

• South Asia should be a zone of peace

• The Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance must be defeated!

• BJP’s POT O’ Lies

• Communists in Parliament

• India should quit WTO

• WTO Conference at Doha:
  Safeguarding the imperialist agenda in the name of "consensus"

• Meeting in Kanyakumari District to commemorate October socialist revolution and death anniversary of Comrade Dass

• Prominent personalities of Thiruvananthapuram call upon parliament to repeal POTO

• Afghanistan round up:

• Tamil Nadu transport corporation employees strike
  Safe and affordable public transport is a legitimate right of the people

• Condemn the persecution of Muslims by the Indian State!
  An attack on One is an attack on All!

CGPI Letter to Members of Parliament

This winter session of Parliament is being convened at a crucial time in our country’s history. The period since the end of the monsoon session has witnessed the September 11 terrorist strikes in the US and its aftermath, including war in our neighbourhood. It is clear that the world is poised on the brink of major conflicts and the possibility of some event triggering a new world war cannot be ruled out. South Asia, the Indian Ocean, in fact our entire neighbourhood, has become a zone for fierce inter-imperialist rivalry. US military forces are now formally stationed in neighbouring Pakistan. The Arabian Sea has been turned into a military launch pad by the Anglo-American forces.

In such circumstances, is it not inexcusable that India’s Parliament has not even been convened to discuss a reasoned response to the fast developing events? Even the consultation called by the Prime Minister with leaders of parliamentary political parties was less of a consultation and more of an eyewash. India needs to take a stand that is principled and which accords with the long-term interests of our country as well as with the interests of the international community. This cannot be left in the hands of the Cabinet. Already, there is a popular feeling that the fundamental interests of our country have been compromised in this period. There is a growing opposition to the violation of principles which govern international relations.

The political situation in the country has turned extremely grave with the decision of the "War Cabinet" to use international developments to communalise and fascise politics. The ban of various organisations and the promulgation of POTO- ignoring public opinion at large- are dangerous developments. They bode ill for civil liberties and democratic rights in our country and attack the very right to conscience.

At the just concluded Doha summit, it became even more clear that the WTO is nothing but an instrument of the US and a handful of other powerful imperialist states to impose their will on all countries and peoples to ensure unequal trade relations. The government of India, while declaring that it will firmly defend the interests of India at the WTO, continues to justify being part of the WTO with the deceptive axiom that there is no alternative! Let there be a full and open debate in the parliament as well as amongst the people at large. Only such an open discussion can determine as to what is beneficial to India, to her people and what is merely of benefit to a minority of interests! The view is gaining ground amongst the majority of our people that India should get out of the WTO and develop trade relationships that are of mutual benefit.

In view of these circumstances, I appeal to all parliamentarians of conscience to work towards united action on the floor of the Parliament to:

Demand that the Government of India take the initiative to establish South Asia as a zone of peace!

Demand that imperialist forces get out of Afghanistan and South Asia!

Demand that India should pull out of the WTO!

Ensure that POTO is immediately repealed!

For your information and reference, I am enclosing statements of our party on the three burning issues of the day.

Yours sincerely,

Lal Singh
General Secretary
Communist Ghadar Party of India

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On the Work of Building Political Unity against Fascism and Imperialist War

The most important thing in organising and carrying out this work is to resist and overcome the pressure of those who want to divide the people on the basis of ideology. One of the questions that emerge in the course of building a broad popular front, for instance, is the question of whether there should be some ideological pre-condition for joining the front. Should some organisations or individuals be excluded from this front because they subscribe to this or that ideology?

The imperialist aggression on Afghanistan, the promulgation of POTO, the WTO Doha Declaration, the growing Indo-US military alliance — all these represent a serious threat to the vast majority of Indian people as well as other peoples in this region. Hence in organising to fight against this danger, communists must necessarily call for and work to build the broadest possible unity on a political basis. Anyone who wants to oppose the war, to oppose POTO or to oppose WTO must be urged to join this front. Such a person’s ideology or party affiliation must not be a condition for joining the alliance against fascism and war.

Among communists, a stern and uncompromising struggle must be waged against those who advocate ideological preconditions for political unity. This is nothing but sectarianism. Sectarianism leads to splits and factional fighting among different sections of the working class and people. It goes against the building of political unity.

It is also important to wage a stern struggle against those forces in the movement who oppose or hinder the building of this broad political unity on the basis of parliamentary or electoral considerations.

The duty of communists is to ensure that among the forces that are uniting on a political basis, there is an atmosphere of vigorous discussion of all relevant questions, including those of a theoretical or ideological nature. There should be a free and frank exchange of views on an ongoing basis, with the aim of achieving a common understanding of the situation and our tasks. Only the united opposition of the vast majority of people can stay the hands of the fascists and warmongers.

On September 25, hundreds of activists of various mass organisations working in defence of the democratic rights of the people, trade unions, students, teachers and progressive intellectuals, activists of various political parties and organisations, etc. participated in a militant march from Feroze Shah Kotla to Lal Quila to protest against the US "war on terrorism".

On the same day, at a public meeting in Delhi organised by Lok Raj Sangathan, participants from all walks of life united to denounce the US-led imperialist aggression on Afghanistan and the willingness of the Indian government to lend its full support to this unjust war. The grave dangers that this poses for the people of our country and the entire subcontinent were also discussed at this meeting.

On October 12, members and supporters of CPI, CPM, Forward Block, RSP, CGPI and others, various trade unions and mass organisations participated in a huge rally outside the US Information Center in New Delhi, to protest against the US led war on Afghanistan.

Around this time, in Delhi, activists from various organisations, intellectuals, trade union and human rights activists took the initiative to build a broad coalition, Coalition for Peace and Democracy (CPD), to oppose the US led war on Afghanistan, to defend the rights of the people that are being ruthlessly trampled upon as well as the oppose the warmongering, the state terror and repression

On October 30, hundreds of students and youth, university and college teachers and other activists staged a massive procession from Lal Quila to Feroze Shah Kotla, in protest against the bombardment of Afghanistan and in defence of the rights of nations to their sovereignty and to determine their own course.

On November 6 and 9, thousands of workers, peasants and other working people from all over the country congregated in Delhi in huge demonstrations, to protest against the Indian government’s joining the WTO and the devastation that this was causing to their livelihood. "India must pull out of the WTO!" — the protestors demanded.

On November 10, a meeting of members and activists of various organisations in Mumbai took the decision to build a broad coalition of forces in defence of democracy and the rights of the people and for peace in the subcontinent. This manifested itself in a large public meeting on November 18, to denounce the growing fascist attacks on the peoples’ movement, in particular the attempts of the government to criminalise all dissent by promulgating the POTO. The November 18th meeting adopted a resolution to fight for the repeal of POTO and to continue to build the unity of all forces in defence of the rights of the people.

On November 18, at a public meeting organised by Lok Raj Sangathan in Haryana, a large number of working people came together to denounce the growing trend towards fascism and war. A representative of the CGPI also addressed the meeting.

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South Asia should be a zone of peace

The US led war in Afghanistan has entered a new phase. Anglo-American imperialists and the Russians are carrying on desperate behind the scene manoeuvres to establish a regime of their choice in Kabul. It is precisely the military aggression and occupation of Afghanistan by Russia in the late seventies that plunged Afghanistan into a devastating and still continuing civil war that has destroyed the country and her people. The people of Afghanistan suffered as a result of what is known in global geo-politics as the Great Game over Afghanistan and Central Asia. The Anglo-American imperialists and the Soviet social-imperialists played this Great Game-Russia to get a route to the Arabian Sea and a gateway to South Asia, and the Anglo-American imperialists to get to the oil rich Central Asian Republics and thwart the then Soviet Union’s plans.

Afghanistan has been the scene of the original Great Game between British colonialists when they ruled India and the then Tsarist Russia for a whole century. It is at the tri-junction of Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia. The heroic Afghan people defended their freedom and independence all through this period. Now, a new version of this Great Game is being played out! The Anglo-American imperialists are using Afghanistan as a launching pad to control Central Asia, drive a wedge between West Asia and South Asia, and use it as a lever to conquer Asia and the world.

Imperialist aggression and intervention in our region raises the dangerous prospect of war in South Asia. Systematically, the Anglo-American imperialists as well as the Russian imperialists are inciting India and Pakistan against one another, while cynically offering their services as "peace-brokers"! Mounting tensions between India and Pakistan provide the context for warmongering on all sides. American military forces are stationed in Pakistan as well as in the Arabian Sea, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. Indian and Pakistani armed forces are on full alert on the Indo-Pak border.

US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair claim that the aim of this war is "to root out terrorism". At the head of this war and the continuing efforts to establish and consolidate a new political power in Afghanistan stand the biggest aggressor powers and their intelligence agencies. We cannot and must not forget that the CIA, KGB and British Intelligence have organised and financed the largest number of terrorist groups all over the world. In the name of fighting against "Islamic terrorism", these states are plotting further acts of terror, in Afghanistan to start with, and extending to other countries subsequently. Rooting out terrorism is a convenient cloak. The real aim of the war is to establish the control of the Anglo-American imperialists over the huge oil and gas reserves in the region.

India and Iran had been negotiating for sometime together with the Pakistan government to lay a pipeline through Pakistan for Iranian oil and gas to reach India. This was one of the key issues in the Agra Summit. This requires peace in South Asia. Definite forces worked overtime to sabotage the Agra Summit, showing that the conflict of economic and geo-political interests of different imperialist powers and coalitions lies at the root of the problem.

The war to conquer Afghanistan is a war for the re-division and conquest of Asia. It is the stepping stone for the conquest of the world. It is not a war for the sake of saving humankind from terror, as is being made out by Bush and Blair. It is a war for territorial conquest. It is an unjust imperialist war. It deserves to be condemned and opposed by all freedom-loving and peace-loving peoples.

The Anglo-American war in Afghanistan as well as the sabre-rattling by our government post September 11 has pushed the Government of Pakistan into the lap of the Anglo-American imperialists. The issue is not to apportion blame. The issue is to put the supreme interests of our country in command, eschewing narrow considerations.

Should India be a force against the unjust war or should it be part of the aggressors, seeking some advantage for itself from this war and the new political regime being assembled in Kabul? Prime Minister Vajpayee wants India to have a role in determining the future dispensation of Afghanistan. The fate of the Afghan people is being decided by the six countries bordering Afghanistan-plus the two imperialist powers, the US and Russia.

The question arises-who are the Americans and the Russians to decide the fate and future of Afghanistan? Is it not a fact that it is precisely these two imperialist powers that have wreaked death and destruction on Afghanistan for over two decades? What role have the six neighbours of Afghanistan played in all these years? And what role has India played in the interest of the Afghan people that it is now demanding a say in determining the future of Afghanistan? Is it not a bitter fact that the Government of India turned a blind eye to the Soviet invasion more than two decades ago? Is it not true that in the intervening period and even right now, our government-just like the governments of US, Russia, Pakistan and others-is busy arming and propping up this or that warlord to establish a foothold in Afghanistan?

The Great Game has been played by the imperialists in the 19th and 20th centuries and it is being repeated in new conditions in the beginning of the 21st century. The people of Afghanistan are being martyred once again to satisfy the greed of imperialists. We Indians must not let this happen again.

The past two months have seen hectic diplomacy, both overt and covert between India, Britain, Russia and the US. Prime Minister Vajpayee has just returned after his three-nation tour wherein he reached agreements with three of the biggest warmongering powers of the world-US, Britain and Russia. Has he taken any step towards safeguarding peace in South Asia, and throwing out all foreign forces from the region? Should he not be made to render account to the Parliament on such decisions that will affect the future of India in a major way?

There have been disturbing reports that the US is putting pressure on India to sign a military alliance and offer military bases to that country. If this were to happen, it will mean turning South Asia into a powder keg. The Indian government should not be allowed to sign any covert or overt military treaty with the US. Far from doing that, the Government of India should be pressurised to take measures to ensure the withdrawal of US forces from Pakistan, from Afghanistan and the Indian Ocean region with immediate effect.

For some years now, we have been hearing the propaganda that Britain and US are the "natural allies" of India being the so-called "mother of democracy", the "most powerful democracy" and the "largest democracy" respectively! What is conveniently forgotten is that the "mother of democracy" - Britain ruthlessly colonised and plundered India, the Arab World and indeed much of the whole world and justified this in the name of the "white man’s burden". It is also conveniently forgotten that it is British imperialism that partitioned India to weaken the subcontinent, bled her economically and militarily, and retained a foothold in this region.

It is also conveniently forgotten that the US, the so-called most powerful democracy in the world, has waged countless wars of conquest, organised military coups and assassinations of world’s leaders, to get rid of regimes that have to any extent defended their national sovereignty. During a whole period, this was done in the name of defending democracy and defeating communism. This "defence of democracy" meant defence of the most brutal dictatorships around the world! Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, this is being done in the name of countering Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism. Behind all this, the aim of US imperialism remains the same-to establish America’s unrivalled economic, political and military domination over the rest of the world. Only the slogans have changed.

The socialist revolution in Russia put an end to the first world war, by converting the inter-imperialist war into a revolutionary civil war that overthrew the rule of the exploiters. Then began a period of revolutions. The socialist Soviet Union emerged as a powerful anti-imperialist force in world politics, upholding the right of every nation and people to sovereignty, the right to determine the political system and establish the state of their choice.

With the socialist Soviet Union at the head, the anti-fascist, freedom-loving peoples of the world converted the second world war from an inter-imperialist war into an anti-fascist and anti-colonial war of liberation of the peoples. Fascism was defeated. Colonialism came to an end. A large number of hitherto colonised peoples, including the Indian people, gained political independence.

In the mid-fifties, the Soviet Union transformed itself from a socialist state that was a factor for peace in the world into a social-imperialist state-socialist in words, imperialist in deeds. This was in a manner like the US, whose "concern" for democracy has been and remains another name for imperialist aggression and war.

During the whole period of the Cold War, the rivalry for world domination between the two superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union, dominated international relations. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world has entered a new period. The policy of US imperialism in this period has been to mount the greatest offensive against the livelihood and rights of the peoples of the world, and against the sovereignty of nations, in pursuit of its vision of a "unipolar" world under its dictate. The war in Afghanistan is a continuation of this imperialist policy aimed at world domination.

During the Cold War period, as you will remember, the US and the Soviet Union played India and Pakistan against one another. The Indian intervention in the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 had the backing of the Soviet Union. This was then hailed as a victory for India because it weakened Pakistan, the main US ally in the region at that time. It was hailed as a victory for the national liberation movement of the people of Bangladesh. Soon after, the Soviet army invaded and occupied Afghanistan, which the Government of India supported, as quid-pro-quo. The US turned Pakistan into its "front-line state" in arming and financing various groups in Afghanistan to wage war against the Soviet occupation army. Today, when the Soviet Union has gone out of being, the US is playing India and Pakistan against each other in order to gain a foothold in South Asia as the "peace keeper" or "peace broker".

If the entire experience since the colonial conquest and the bloody Partition engineered by the colonialists and their collaborators in 1947 is examined, there are important lessons for the peoples of India and Pakistan. One such lesson is that to allow the US and UK to enhance their role in South Asia means to open the doors for disasters and a bleak future for the region. The Vajpayee Government is refusing to act on this lesson, as is the Musharraf Government.

Another important lesson from past experience is that neither socialism nor democracy can be exported or imposed on any country from outside. The Soviet aggression on Afghanistan was justified in the past under the pretext that a "backward" regime was being replaced by a "progressive" regime in that country. The same argument is being used by the US and others to justify armed intervention in Afghanistan.

The imperialists have no love lost for the peoples of any country, much less the desire to ensure their "progress". Far from that! This is why there is no concern expressed by the imperialists about "Islamic fundamentalism" when it comes to Saudi Arabia, which is a loyal ally of the Anglo-Americans, while a lot of "concern" is expressed about the Afghan people under the Taliban, merely because the Taliban at the given moment is not dancing to the tune of the US!

If the rulers of the US and UK do not like the Taliban government in Afghanistan, that does not give them the right to send war planes to bombard that country until a new government to their liking is established. This is nothing but the old colonial policy of "might is right", a return to medieval barbarism on the part of the biggest imperial powers of today, covered up by the cloak of "war on terrorism".

There are some politicians in India who are saying that if America can bombard Afghanistan, then India can and should do the same with Pakistan. Such politicians are adopting the worldview of the Anglo-American imperialists. They want India to follow in the footsteps of US imperialism. And they are upset that the US President is not supporting their plans for aggressing on Pakistan.

There is a need to speak out today in defence of the right to sovereignty of every independent nation and people. We must defend this right not only in the case of India but also in the case of Afghanistan, and in every case. The Afghan people will determine what kind of government they want, free from interference and pressures from outside. We must oppose the use of force in relations between countries, nations and peoples.

If we conciliate and go along with the brutal violation of the sovereignty of the Afghan people today, with what face can we defend the same right of Indians or of any other people in this region who may come under similar attack tomorrow? The interests of the Indian working class and people are not served by the US, British and Russian armed forces getting entrenched in South Asia and the region. On the contrary, the interests of the peoples and of peace and security are served precisely by demanding and ensuring that the US, UK and all other outside powers are kept out of South Asia.

The situation calls on India, as the largest and strongest of the states in South Asia, to take the initiative to call for and work jointly with all the other states in the region to make this region a zone of peace. The key condition for peace is to ensure that no imperialist power has the right to intervene by force in any country of this region. No state in South Asia has the right to participate in any act of military intervention that violates the right of any nation or people to sovereignty. With the strength of this principled position, we can and must demand that all imperialist forces must get out of Afghanistan.

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The Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance must be defeated!

The winter session of Parliament has opened at a time when the President of India has promulgated the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) 2001 on October 25. This has been done under the slogan of "waging war against terrorism" and "preventing terrorism". However, POTO itself constitutes the biggest act of state terrorism against all men and women of conscience in our country. This is alongside the already stepped up police terror against Muslims and those "suspected" of being terrorists. The justification for POTO according to the Union Home Ministry are:

• the September 11 terrorist strikes in the US
• India needs an "anti-terrorist law ever since TADA was repealed
• Britain and the US have enacted anti-terrorist laws of a similar character, and
• the UN resolution on terrorism demands that member countries enact "anti-terrorist laws"

It will be laughable if it were not so tragic that the government of a sovereign country pushes through a fascist law in such haste, bypassing discussion in parliament, for such reasons as stated above!

The experience of the Indian people with TADA exposed clearly that the real target of such black laws is not "terrorism" but the mass movement of the working class and all the oppressed. Such laws legitimise the use of force by the state to quell all forms of dissent within the country. The broad and mass scale opposition to TADA forced the Government of India to give up this hated law. The Vajpayee Government now wants to re-enact TADA in a more sophisticated form, under the name of POTO and POTA (when the Ordinance becomes an Act).

Section 3 of POTO defines a "Terrorist Act" as an act done by using weapons and explosive substances or other methods in a manner as to cause or likely to cause death or injuries to any person or persons or loss or damage to property or disruption of essential supplies and services, etc., with intent to threaten the unity or integrity of India or to strike terror in any section of the people. This definition of terrorism will convict our national heroes like Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad, and countless others. Such a definition has been made despite the recommendations of the Law Commission, which had recommended that any anti-terrorist act should explicitly exclude the actions of trade unions and political mass movements from its purview. The promulgation of POTO shows that the NDA Government has completely disregarded the counsel of the Law Commission.

POTO defines "terrorist organisation" as an organisation that indulges in "terrorist acts". Twenty three organisations have been banned under POTO in the first list with promises of more to come. The government does not have to justify why it has declared such and such organisation as "terrorist". The list includes various organisations, particularly from the North East, which have been waging a determined struggle for self-determination and can scarcely be termed "terrorist" except under the definition provided by POTO, namely of being a threat to "national unity and territorial integrity of India". Successive governments at the centre have for a long time been raising the spectre of the threat to national unity and territorial integrity in order to justify armed repression of the popular mass movements in the border regions of India. They have failed to address the economic, social and political concerns of the people of these regions, fostering further alienation amongst the peoples. POTO marks an escalation in the violence of the Indian state against the alienated peoples of Kashmir and the North East. For this reason, POTO must be opposed and repealed!

For long, the main leaders of the NDA government, including Home Minister Lal Kishan Advani, have been calling for a ban on various communist parties, groups and organisations, citing acts of violence organised by some of these organisations in certain parts of the country. POTO as of now does not take on the banning of communist and workers organisations and groups, but it lays the ground for that. The government can at any moment declare any communist party or group to be a "terrorist organisation" even as it can declare any other political or social organisation of the people as terrorist, and ban it under POTO. For this reason too, POTO must be opposed and repealed!

POTO allows the government and police forces to arrest and charge anyone with terrorism. The onus of proving that he or she is not a "terrorist", not a member of a "terrorist organisation", or not knowingly encouraging "terrorism" through various means, falls on the accused. Statements of the accused made before police officers while in custody are admissible as evidence against the accused. POTO allows use of tape recordings, video clippings, intercepted electronic messages, telephone calls as so-called evidence against the accused. In other words it allows the prosecution to "prove" its case against the accused by allowing it to manufacture evidence through tortures and other dubious means.

The accused cannot be released on personal bond or bail by the magistrate in the absence of approval of the prosecuting authority, the government. POTO allows a person to be locked up in police custody for a period of three months and in judicial custody for 6 months simply because the prosecution has not yet prepared a charge sheet. After the charge sheet is presented, POTO allows the government to send the accused to jail as a POTO detainee! POTO thus constitutes an outright fascist attack on democratic rights and the right to conscience of Indians. For this reason, POTO must be repealed!

The government claims POTO has safeguards to prevent its "misuse", that it has drawn lessons from the infamous experience of TADA under which people like Justice Ajit Singh Bains, Professor Dalip Singh, actor Sanjay Dutt and many others were incarcerated, including students fighting against milk price hike in Gujarat and workers fighting for their right to organise. In fact, what the Vajpayee Government has done is to re-enact TADA in a new form with greater sophistication. There can be no excuse, no justification, for locking up a person merely on the suspicion that he or she is a supporter of "terrorism". This is itself naked state terrorism, nothing else! It is clear that the aim of the government is to attack political opponents, terrorise them as well as ensure that ordinary people keep away from politics for fear of being labelled "terrorist". For this reason, POTO must be repealed!

The government is justifying POTO declaring that it is following the example of the US and UK. According to the Home Ministry, "countries like UK and USA that have faced the onslaught of International terrorism much less than India have put comprehensive anti-Terrorism Laws on their Statute Books…." It is truly pathetic that the upholders of "swadeshi" and the "Indian Way" are slavishly looking towards the Anglo-American imperialists as their role model in governance. This too at a time when the working masses in these and other countries are coming out in powerful opposition to the curtailment of democratic rights and civil liberties, and their right to conscience.

In promulgating POTO, the Vajpayee Government has declared that it is hell-bent on fascising the political life of the country in pursuit of the narrow agenda of the most reactionary chauvinist war-mongering sections of the Indian bourgeoisie. It has joined the US led global war coalition and is desperately seeking a share of the spoils for itself in the reactionary redivision of Asia that has begun. Through militarisation, war and fascism, the most reactionary sections of the Indian big bourgeoisie are striving to drown the struggles of India’s people in blood. They want to use India’s workers, peasants and youth as cannon fodder in an imperialist war. POTO is part of the fascist-imperialist strategy of the most reactionary circles of the Indian big bourgeoisie.

For all of the reasons cited above, it is essential for all MPs of conscience to work for the defeat of POTO in the Parliament.

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BJP’s POT O’ Lies

This "fact sheet" glibly claims that since it does not require a special faculty to know that terrorism exists, which has been responsible for killings of hundreds of people in different part of India, people are all for POTO. It does not bother to look for the causes of this terrorism, because once the conditions that give rise to terrorism are examined, it will become obvious that POTO will serve as another factor that promotes terrorism and cannot contribute towards the solution of this problem.

The "Facts on POTO" claims that the Government has consulted the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and satisfied the concerns expressed by them. Now the only way the concerns raised by NHRC could be satisfied is to withdraw POTO, because the NHRC has been unequivocal in claiming that "POTO is not needed and should be withdrawn". This is not just the view of the Chairman of NHRC but of the entire Committee. In fact all human rights organizations, whether in India or abroad and individuals known for their concern for human rights, have demanded POTO to be withdrawn in totality. In presenting such a blatant lie, BJP is hoping that some gullible will actually think that BJP is concerned about human rights or that POTO is not a threat to human rights.

The main thrust of the analysis presented in the "Facts on POTO" hinges on pointing out that the opposition to POTO by the Congress is bankrupt, as it has been actively using draconian measures when it has been in power. While the use of laws like the NSA, MISA, TADA, etc., by the Congress gives it no credibility, this fact cannot be used to justify another draconian law. After all, the BJP came to power, promising to undo the crimes of the previous Congress governments!

If BJP’s motive for criticizing the Congress on this account were pure, they would have ensured that POTO could not be used against innocent people in their political and economic struggles. Although, "Facts on POTO" claims that there are adequate safeguards to protect innocent people, the actual clauses in the Ordinance, starting from the definition of a terrorist act, belie these claims.

In defining the means, which would constitute a "terrorist act", the phrase, "... and other means", has been included against the recommendation of the Law Commission. The Law Commission was categorical in insisting that the terrorist act must not include economic struggles of workers and other toilers. By adding the above phrase, now almost anyone, not even using violent means, can be made a victim of this ordinance. Against this fact, the lie in the "Facts on POTO" is it’s claims that the definition of the terrorist act is very "clear" and that "there is no ambiguity"!

The "Facts on POTO" tries to create an impression, using sophistry, that the bail provisions of this Ordinance are "not as harsh" as that of TADA. According to this "fact sheet", POTO "only" requires the magistrate to be convinced of "innocence of an accused" and not of "innocence and likelihood of the accused not to commit a similar offence". In the first place, how could anyone be "convinced" of someone’s innocence, if the charges are not even made? According to the "fact sheet" the presence of the second condition made it very difficult in the earlier TADA to grant a bail. If an accused is innocent, how does it make it any harder to be convinced that the accused will not commit a terrorist act in the future. The claim that this Ordinance is not "as harsh", makes a mockery of safeguards, which are supposedly already in place, against victimization of innocent people.

For a person held under this draconian ordinance, bail can be denied for one year. According to "Facts on POTO", bail can only be given if the public prosecutor has been given an opportunity of being heard by the magistrate. By presenting the provisions of the Ordinance in such a distorted fashion an impression is being created as if a magistrate will have the authority to go against the advise of the public prosecutor. Clearly, the bail provisions of POTO are substantially the same as that of the hated TADA and cannot be said to be less harsh.

POTO permits confessions made in police custody to be used as evidence in the prosecution of the case. The "Facts on POTO" again lies when it claims that confession has to be "re-recorded" in the presence of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Chief Judicial Magistrate, and that this will ensure that the accused is not confessing against his or her will. Anyone familiar with the ground reality knows that the Indian police are notorious for torture and third degree methods to extract false confessions. How will it be ensured that the accused is not confessing against his or her will, when the Magistrate, before whom the re-recording of the confession has to be made within 48 hours, does not even a right to ask questions to the accused?

Further, POTO also give state the power to extract information from others. While the "Facts on POTO" claims that journalists will not be harassed under this section, the ordinance itself only excludes the lawyer of the accused under the justification that that lawyer will be interested in defending the accused. Why is the same justification not being applied to the spouse and other family members and friends, who would also be interested in defending the accused? In fact, the ordinance seems to have this section precisely to harass the family and acquaintances of the accused in a fascist fashion. According to the Ordinance, the prosecution does not even have to prove that the person from whom such information is sought, in fact, has such information!

The "Facts on POTO" cynically suggests that if the legislation does not get support in the Parliament, it will go to the people, that nobody "will put individual conveniences over the requirements of the Nation’s security". BJP has been implying that anyone who is not in favour of this "anti-terrorist" legislation is a "terrorism- supporter". This is the same language that the US imperialist chieftain Bush has been using when he claims that anyone who is not with them is with the terrorist. Criminalisation of dissent in this fashion cannot serve the interest of the people of India. A nation’s security would be served by addressing the political, economic and cultural needs of the people and not by suppressing anyone whom the Government finds an obstacle in implementing their anti-social anti-national agenda of privatization and other reforms to facilitate plunder of country’s land and labour.

There is a need for exposing all the lies and motives behind this draconian legislation and uniting all forces to defeat it in Parliament and outside.

Sanjiv Kumar, Delhi

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Communists in Parliament

Mr. Somnath Chatterjee has claimed that the meeting was organized by the BJP "just to show that there had been consultations on POTO" and that its "real intention" was to see that the ordinance lapsed so that the BJP could make it an issue in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll campaign. According to him, the BJP wanted to portray the Opposition as an "unwilling" player when it came to fighting terrorism and fundamentalist forces.

What is the essence of this stand? Firstly, there seems to be no difference of opinion with the government that "terrorism must be fought by giving more powers to the police" and legalising these powers! Of course, the fact that masses of people are up in arms against POTO at this time makes it difficult for him to openly say so. His only real concern seems to be that his party, the CPM and its allies would appear "unwilling players in fighting terrorism and fundamentalist forces" and this would be of electoral advantage to the BJP!

The CPM evidently does not see things the way more and more ordinary people are seeing today and what human rights groups and other progressive forces have been pointing out for a long time, that the barbarous repression and injustice of the Indian state is the real source of terrorism and that increased state terrorism in retaliation, fascist laws like POTO, or TADA and others in the past have only fuelled more terrorism. The examples of Punjab, Kashmir, Northeast etc. are there before us. The horrible provisions of the present POTO and how it can be used to terrorise the masses of working people and crush all forms of dissent seem to be of little concern to him. Instead, what seems to be of greater concern to him is how not supporting POTO will give the BJP an upper hand in the U.P. elections!

What the communists and progressive people should be doing is to resist the escalating attacks of imperialism and reaction in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, by forging the broadest unity of the people. It is shameful that instead of mobilizing against the growing fascist attacks of the Indian state, senior established leaders in the communist movement are creating harmful illusions about the nature and intent of the legislation, about the Indian state and thus actually assisting the BJP government in passing the anti-people legislation in the name of fighting terrorism.

Ajay, Pune

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India should quit WTO

Who needed the WTO and when was it born? The WTO is a creation of the imperialist powers to extend their tentacles to newer markets and newer areas of trade and competition. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the imperialists decided that UNCTAD, which regulated world trade till then, had become anachronistic for the new situation where the world markets were up for redivision. A new organisation was required to aggressively promote imperialist interests in areas such as international investment, international competition, intellectual property rights, patents and so on.

The UNCTAD was established in 1964. At a time when social democracy was the preferred ideology of the imperialist powers, it was made responsible for promotion of the ‘development’ of poorer countries, apart from handling purely trade matters. UNCTAD was engaged in bringing about international agreements on various commodities so as to fetch better prices for the poor countries that were exporters.

Its counterpart in the area of tariffs was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which existed from 1948 to 1994. The various rounds of trade negotiations in GATT basically involved phased reduction in tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers between the various countries that were signatories to it.

In the 1980s, agreements between the rich and poor countries were negotiated by UNCTAD on tin, jute, cocoa, olive oil and rubber. By the early 1990s most of the commodity agreements had lapsed, and with the WTO succeeding GATT in 1995, the role of UNCTAD underwent a transformation. Negotiations on commodity agreements came to a cessation.

In the early nineties UNCTAD was mandated as the organ within the UN system responsible for negotiating a multilateral framework governing Foreign Direct Investment that would "protect the interests of the poor countries". Three Commissions were formed by UNCTAD in 1996 — Commission on Trade in Goods and Services and Commodities; Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial Issues; and Commission on Enterprise, Business Facilitation and Development. The UNCTAD was made responsible for bringing about various agreements that covered investment promotion, electronic commerce, conservation of biodiversity and agricultural commodities.

However, these are precisely the areas which the imperialist powers now want to be included in the next round of trade negotiations at the WTO. While GATT handled goods and commodities, its successor WTO has a very wide mandate that includes services, agriculture, investment, competition policy, e-commerce, trade facilitation, etc. In fact, there are separate WTO agreements for several of such items.

Looking at all this it is apparent that the big powers wanted to create a world body with a wide ranging mandate that was not accountable to the UN system of nations and its various Conventions and Declarations that guide the conduct of international relations. Economically less developed countries and smaller countries are terribly frightened at the prospect of such massive powers in a trade body to intervene in and regulate every aspect of their economies.

With the creation of the WTO and its expanding mandate to interfere into all economic aspects of countries, the imperialist powers have given up the pretence, which was to some extent buttressed by the workings of the UNCTAD, that they are concerned about the development of all countries, big and small. WTO has come to be identified with favouring the interests of the big powers and a convenient handmaid of multinational corporations.

Vijay, Chennai

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WTO Conference at Doha:
Safeguarding the imperialist agenda in the name of "consensus"

The declaration spells out the scope of a new round of multilateral trade talks– covering agriculture, services, environment, dispute settlement, etc.—beginning in 2002 and to be completed by January 1, 2005. According to the Doha Declaration, four issues – investment, competition policy, government procurement and customs procedures — could be subject to negotiations after 2 years, if all governments agree.

Several compromises were made and bargains were struck among the big imperialist powers at Doha, in order to arrive at an acceptable draft declaration. For example, the European Union made a compromise in agreeing to negotiate regarding the phasing out of farm export subsidies. The representative of France, which has a powerful farm lobby and where presidential elections are just six months away, objected to the wording "phasing out" in the draft, and some careful editing became necessary to pacify the French. The US, for its part, dropped labour standards from its negotiating agenda and agreed to review anti-dumping rules.

In exchange for EU’s agreement regarding farm subsidies, other members had to agree on something that the EU wanted, namely the inclusion of environmental issues in the agenda of the new round starting 2002. However, the poorer countries of the world, including India, were not happy with this compromise. They did not want environmental issues to be included because of the fear that it will be used as a cover to keep their goods out of the European markets. However, they could not prevent its inclusion in the Doha Declaration. To pacify India and some other countries, the Doha deal allows a 15 year grace period to implement WTO rules on drug patents, allowing them to seek further extensions after that.

Both China and Taiwan were accepted as members of the WTO at Doha. China Daily, reporting on the Doha conference, writes, "Delegates said the slowing world economy, the current world-wide war against terrorism and compromises made by rival camps, among other things, led to a successful Doha conference". In other words, the US and its allies, at the head of imperialist aggression and warmongering in the name of a "coalition against terrorism", managed to ensure that their agenda gets adopted. They made "compromises" to each other, but there is no compromise as far as the agenda of imperialist globalisation is concerned. There is no real relief for the victims of imperialist oppression and plunder.

The representative of India, Commerce Minister Maran, claims that India won a big victory at Doha. However, the facts show otherwise. In spite of protesting voices raised by India and some other countries prior to the Doha conference, that a new round of negotiations must not begin until problems with the earlier (Uruguay) Round of 1994 are addressed, the Doha Declaration announces that a new round would begin in 2002. This means that the representatives of India and other poor countries failed to prevent the US and European powers from imposing their agenda. The efforts of India to include a faster withdrawal of textile import quotas maintained by the US and other advanced capitalist countries also was not accepted at Doha.

At a mass demonstration at the Doha Sheraton Hotel, protestors chanted "what’s going on behind closed doors? Arms twisting! Arms twisting!" And at this protest action, Vandana Shiva, environmentalist and activist from India, said, "The majority of countries are silenced systematically. The pretension of consensus goes on and an anti-consensus anti-democratic treaty that is shaped under machine guns, under security forces, is not worth celebrating".

Beneath the Doha "consensus" lies the naked contradictions of the imperialist system that are intensifying on the world scale. The Doha Declaration is a temporary agreement, cobbled together by the imperialist powers. As with all agreements among imperialist rivals, it is neither long-lasting nor will it lead to a resolution of the contradiction between imperialism and the oppressed nations and peoples, nor even of the inter-imperialist contradictions.

The struggle against imperialism and the WTO must go on and be stepped up. The Government spokesmen are trying to justify India’s participation in the WTO by claiming a "victory" at Doha, when in fact it was the imperialist agenda that was preserved. The working class and people of India must continue to press ahead with their demand that India must pull out of the WTO!

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Meeting in Kanyakumari District to commemorate October socialist revolution and death anniversary of Comrade Dass

The speakers vigorously condemned the fascist attacks of US imperialism and other imperialist forces on the innocent people of Afghanistan in the name of a "war against terrorism" after the September 11 attacks on the WTC. The real purpose of the war is to establish American control over the people and wealth of the region. The Afghan war is only a precursor to the conquest of entire Asia.

The speakers also unequivocally opposed the support given by the Indian government to the US imperialists. They pointed out that the Indian government had no right to interfere in the affairs of another country.

The representative of CGPI, while pointing out that the Indian government promulgated the POTO without consulting the Parliament and against the advice of the National Human Rights Commission and the Law Commission, demanded that the Ordinance should be immediately withdrawn. It is precisely against such draconian laws and arbitrary rule of the Czars that the people of Russia rose up in revolt. Under the leadership of Comrade Lenin and Comrade Stalin, the Russian communists organised the October socialist revolution and put an end to the imperialist war and exploitation and oppression of the Russian ruling class.

If the Indian people want to put an end to poverty, unemployment, fascist laws, suicides of farmers, divisions based on caste and religion, price rise and the marginalisation of people from political power, then the October revolution shows the way. Those in the communist movement who pay only lip service to the October revolution and create illusions about the parliamentary system of democracy should be thoroughly exposed in front of the people.

The speaker further elaborated that throughout the world the movement against liberalisation and globalisation has been growing by leaps and bounds. To take advantage of this situation, restoring unity in the communist movement has become an immediate priority. The present situation calls upon all communists to unite as one fist and vigorously oppose and defeat the fascist plans of the US and other imperialist powers. The crisis of the bourgeoisie should be turned into a revolutionary crisis with the aim of establishing political power in the hands of the people.

The speaker also recalled the untiring work of Comrade Dass who never swerved from the path shown by the October Socialist revolution and spent his whole life time mobilising people against exploitation and oppression. Just as the dissatisfaction and ferment in the initial years of the last century opened the path to the October revolution, so is the initial period of the present century pregnant with possibilities for social advance.

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Prominent personalities of Thiruvananthapuram call upon parliament to repeal POTO

Afghanistan round up:

Various individuals and groups from Afghanistan and officials from countries claiming to be working for a solution there assembled near Bonn in Germany. After more than a week, the delegates reached agreement on December 5, ’01, on a new, post-Taliban government for Afghanistan that will take power in Kabul on Dec. 22, according to a UN spokesman. The interim administration will be led by Hamid Karzai. The new government, to sit for up to six months, is claimed to be "broad based" and "representative of Afghanistan as a whole". The agreement also asks the UN Security Council to authorize the early deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force to ``assist in the maintenance of security for Kabul and its surrounding areas.’’ The force could later, ``as appropriate, be progressively expanded to other urban centers and other areas.’’ France is already reported to be drafting the needed Security Council resolution and Britain is reportedly prepared to organize and serve as the core of the force..

Agreement on disbanding after U S troops aid Northern Alliance

As we go to the press, the Taliban have reportedly reached an agreement with the new dispensation in Kabul, in which their fighters are being promised amnesty in return for the Taliban leadership agreeing to disband its’ organisation. Very fierce fighting on the ground preceded this, in which U. S. troops directly aided the adversaries of the Taliban. Just hours after establishing a base in Afghanistan, American marines helped direct air attacks on an armored column. About 1,000 American ground troops have been deployed in Afghanistan. "The Marines have landed and we now own a piece of Afghanistan," Brig. Gen. Mattis, commander of the attack task force, told reporters.

U S helicopters spy on Indian installations

A helicopter from the U S naval ship docked in Chennai harbor is reported to have carried out spying activities over the atomic power station at Kalpakkam, near Chennai on November 26 – 27, 2001. The radar of the Indian civil aviation establishment has recorded this. However, the commander of the U S ship, in an interview broadcast on Star News, denied that the helicopter had done anything "unusual". The ship is expected to be docked in Chennai for quite some time, with its crew even going into the city for "rest and rehabilitation". Other U . S. navy ships may soon come into Chennai and other Indian ports in the ner future. An aircraft carrier is reported to be heading for Mumbai port.

Browbeating of Iraq and other nations

U S imperialist chieftain Bush warned Iraq president Saddam Hussein that if he did not admit United Nations inspectors to determine if Iraq is developing nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, he would "face consequences".His administration continues an internal debate over whether it will undertake military action to try to oust Mr. Hussein, whose survival continues to torment Washington a decade after the Persian Gulf war. "Afghanistan is still just the beginning" of the war on terrorism, Mr. Bush has said. The U. S. imperialists have also said they strongly suspects Iran, Libya and Syria of developing biological weapons. They thus appear to be laying the groundwork for demanding international inspections. Iraq has refused to admit inspectors since 1998, when the Clinton administration and British forces responded with four nights of air and missile strikes against more than 100 targets, including military headquarters and air defenses.

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Tamil Nadu transport corporation employees strike

Safe and affordable public transport is a legitimate right of the people

• Is it not the state’s obligation to provide subsidised public transport and run the transport corporations in the interest of the people of the state?
• Why should workers and people agree to bear the burden of the economic crisis of the capitalists?

The callous attitude of the AIADMK government to the issue of providing safe public transport to the people of the state was reflected in the recent bloody road accident near Kovilpatti in which 28 lives were lost. The victims were travelling in a ‘maxi cab’ which collided head-on with a state transport bus allegedly driven by a person appointed only 3 days earlier in a special recruitment drive meant to break the strike. Driven by an overwhelming frenzy to break the strike, the government had thrown the safety of passengers to the winds. The accident also highlighted the scant regard for passenger safety and comfort by private sector operators who ply their vehicles in search of maximum profits.

The workers were demanding bonus and ex-gratia at the same rate as had been paid for the last 3 years. The government agreed to pay only the bonus of 8.33 per cent saying that the state government was in "a difficult financial position".

The AIADMK government has been claiming that the state coffers are empty and that the public sector corporations were running at a loss to justify the non-payment of bonus and festival advance to over 12 lakh state employees including teachers. But, the real reason, as pointed out by the transport sector trade unions is the pressure from the IMF and World Bank to implement a reforms regime, discontinue subsidies and hike up prices and tariffs in the transport, electricity and public distribution sectors in the name of "rationalisation". In fact, immediately after the strike was withdrawn the state government announced a hefty hike in bus tariffs.

From day one, the government attacked the striking workers with no holds barred. On the first day of the strike, over 5000 workers were put behind bars. The government desperately tried to break the strike by encouraging private fleet operators to increase their trips indiscriminately and by hiring casual labour to run the state buses.

On the other hand, the transport workers had the support of 35,000 civil supplies workers who also went on strike for the same demand. They were also supported by 85,000 electricity board workers who struck work for a day.

The strike was organised jointly by the LPF, CITU, AITUC, INTUC and HMS. The convenor of the joint action committee, Mr A. Sounderrajan of CITU, announced the end of the strike "in deference to the High Court’s observation that the workers should resume work if the government had agreed to pay the remaining part of the bonus at a later date". He also said that the committee was forced to withdraw the strike due to withdrawal of some unions from the action committee.

The attack of the government of the bourgeoisie on the transport, power and public distribution workers in Tamil Nadu is not peculiar to that state alone. Throughout India, the central and state governments of the ruling class have launched an all out offensive on the workers to carry out the dictates of international imperialist funding agencies. The attack on the livelihood and wages of the workers, cutting down of state funding for essential services and allowing the unbridled entry of profit hungry private operators are all an integral part of the economic reforms of the big bourgeoisie being pursued in the interests of the Indian and foreign multinationals.

Workers in these sectors all over the country have fought back with grit and determination against these attacks on their rights and livelihood. People have been vigorously opposing price increases and the whittling down of state funding for essential services. These struggles have to be stepped up further and organised into a powerful united movement with the aim of transferring power into the hands of people. Only then can they decide the content of economic reforms, that ought to benefit the vast majority of people; as opposed to the present reforms that serve only a handful of the richest business houses and capitalists, Indian and foreign.

Facts about the Tamil Nadu state transport sector

The Tamil Nadu state transport corporations have been considered as among the most efficient in the country. The fleet strength of the corporations has grown from 2000 in the 1970s to 17,015 today. Over 18 million people travel every day by 15,379 trips covering 63.7 lakh km. The transport corporations have a total work force of 1,25,925 workers. They generate a daily revenue of Rs 739 lakhs. It is widely believed that the huge depreciation charged on the new buses in the fleet using the same method of depreciation as the big capitalists do, inefficiencies in administration due to the existence of so many corporations and the encroachment by private operators on the nationalised routes in violation of all norms are some reasons for the so-called losses foisted on the corporations.

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Condemn the persecution of Muslims by the Indian State!
An attack on One is an attack on All!

There is great pressure being exerted today on an international scale against people of the Muslim faith. In India, too, this pressure is visibly on the rise. The Indian state has stepped up discrimination and repression against Muslims.

Muslim youth, and anyone with a beard or "suspected" to be Muslim, are being routinely picked up by the police in Delhi, Mumbai and all over the country. The Government of India has identified many Muslim organisations to be banned in the name of the "war against terrorism". In the case of the Student’s Islamic Movement of India, the Government cited ideological reasons for its ban, namely, that it postulates an Islamic society as its vision.

The Constitution of India permits minorities to organise on the basis of their identity as a minority. When minorities find that their rights are violated, organising themselves becomes a political necessity. When the Sikhs were being singled out, for instance, it was natural for them to get together in their Gurudwaras to organise in their own defence. If Muslims organise themselves on the basis of their religion, how can that be considered a crime? To declare this communalism or fundamentalism is an affront to the people and an attack on them. To attack a Muslim or a Christian or a Hindu or Sikh just because he or she is part of an organisation formed along religious membership is in fact the height of communalism!

The US media began to promote the spectre of the terrible "Islamic terrorist" who threatens the whole world. The US-led "war on terrorism" began to be promoted as a crusade of the "civilised west" against the "barbaric Muslims". However, the US found that not even its closest allies in Europe are comfortable in supporting an openly anti-Islamic campaign. As a result, the propaganda accompanying the US led war is now being further sophisticated. It is accompanied by the qualification that "of course, we are not against all Muslims".

The Indian state has given a free hand to communal rabble rousers and well-known anti-Muslim crusaders to spout venom against "Islamic fundamentalism", blaming Muslims and Pakistan for all the problems in India, while adding the qualification that some Muslims are all right, provided they come out and condemn "fundamentalism". According to this line, every Indian Muslim is to be suspected, until proven innocent. Every Indian Muslim is under pressure to swear that he is a "liberal" and not a "fundamentalist". Otherwise, they are under threat of being branded as terrorists and imprisoned under one or another black law.

The word "liberal" is often understood to mean being broadminded. However, the word liberal comes from "liberalism", which is a trend of thought whose origin lies in 18th and 19th century Europe. It was consistent with that early stage of capitalism in Europe when competition among relatively small capital prevailed within each country, while old style colonialism and empire building prevailed with respect to the rest of the world. The liberal European bourgeoisie was not broadminded when it came to the "natives" of the lands they colonised.

At the turn of the 20th century, when capitalism developed into monopoly capitalism, or imperialism, competition developed into oligopolistic competition, or rivalry among mainly a few players. The markets of the world came to be dominated by a handful of giant corporations or cartels. Competition became nothing but cut-throat rivalry between these global giants for domination and control over markets, to capture cheap sources of labour and raw materials. The imperialist states intervened in the interests of the monopolies and oligopolies, to capture and extend their territories and spheres of influence. They waged trade wars and military wars for capturing, dividing and then re-dividing the world among the biggest powers.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, imperialism has been championing a 21st century version of liberalism, or "neo-liberalism" as the only alternative for society. The basic content of this view is that "free market reform" is the only alternative and any means is justified to ensure the success of this "economic reform" program of globalisation through liberalisation and privatisation. Anyone who dares to disagree is to be branded as a "fundamentalist".

Using force to make people adopt the liberal view is in fact the height of fundamentalism, and in violation of the right of every people to their own thought and beliefs. According to the ancient Indian view of rights, which have also been upheld by the bhaktas and other progressive Indians, the very concept of a right is integral to the performance of duty. One cannot exist without the other. The state can demand that the members of society perform their duty, provided that it ensures that their rights are realised. And on the other side, the members of society have the right to overthrow that state which does not perform its duty to them.

What is most disconcerting for Indians of conscience today is that the official leadership of India is adopting the Anglo-American definitions to blatantly violate the right to conscience. Those who present themselves as the inheritors of Indian thought are repeating the worn out slogans of Bush and Blair and demanding that Indians should adopt the European liberal world view.

To demand of any Indian citizen that he or she should elaborate his or her beliefs to satisfy the state — means to violate the individual right of that citizen to conscience. To demand of an Indian Muslim that he should declare himself or herself to be a "liberal" is a brutal attack on his or her sensibilities. There is absolutely no reason for any Indian to submit to the alien and outdated ideology of liberalism, no matter what one’s religion may be.

Why should any Indian have to justify himself or herself according to the categories of European thought? And why should anyone have to explain or justify one’s beliefs to a policeman or to the law courts? The right to conscience belongs to every member of society, on account of being a human being. If such a right is denied to those who profess the Muslim faith, then it is no longer a right for anybody else either. If the state deprives any section of the people of this right, it loses all legitimacy in the eyes of the entire people.

The Indian State is supposed to be based on secular and democratic principles. One of the essential requirements of a secular and democratic state is that it treats all citizens equally, in terms of their rights, irrespective of their religion or beliefs. The actions of the Indian State show that this is not the case. It does not treat all citizens equally, nor with the respect that is due to human beings. Large numbers of workers, peasants, women and youth are being persecuted, with Muslims being singled out for repression at this time, just as the Sikhs were singled out in 1984 and thereafter.

Whereas the struggle against terrorism is political, the governments of the US and India are promoting a communal and racist view. The struggle to defend the polity against all forms of terror is a political struggle. So is the struggle against the criminalisation of dissent. It is necessarily a struggle in defence of the rights of individuals to their beliefs, and the rights of collectives such as nations to sovereignty, and the rights of classes such as workers and peasants. It is not a struggle for the supremacy of one religion over another, or of one ideology over another.

The Lok Raj Sangathan is committed to build the political unity of the Indian people against the anti-social offensive in the economic sphere and against the curtailment of rights in the political sphere. The LRS considers the defence of the rights of all religious minorities, including Indian Muslims, as a component part of its bounden duty and ongoing work. It is part of the struggle in defence of human rights and for the empowerment of the people.

The Lok Raj Sangathan calls on all the Indian people to oppose persecution by the state and defend the rights of every member of society. Let us all stand shoulder to shoulder, united across religious and other boundaries, with the consciousness that an attack on one is an attack on all!

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