• Disinvestment has to be stopped by fighting for an alternative system!

• Dangerous developments

• What is really the problem with the Indian economy?

• Cauvery river dispute
  The bourgeoisie has no solution to the long standing problems of the peoples

• Intrigues over Iraq:
  Down with the attack on the sovereignty of Iraq!

• Piracy on the high seas at US imperialisms’ behest

• US proposed "debt for forest" deal with Sri Lanka:
  Debt to imperialists is a noose around the people’s necks!

• Letter to the Editor

• 'Tainted judges' in Karnataka

• The problems of Manipur cannot be addressed without returning the Army to the barracks

• Famine is a good business!

• The crisis surrounding Veerappan

Disinvestment has to be stopped by fighting for an alternative system!

The privatisation program has faced problems on different fronts. One is from the mounting opposition of workers and peasants to liberalisation and privatisation, who clearly perceive it as an anti-national program. The other is the sharpening conflict amongst the monopoly houses and the imperialists for control of vital sectors of the Indian economy that will go to whoever grabs the PSUs. A third is the conflict amongst the ministers and their hangers-ons for the division of the spoils from the sale of PSUs, as "compensation" for the "loss" they will be making because of losing out on opportunities to distribute privileges, which they had as long as these enterprises were under their control.

A "compromise formula" has been worked out under which HPCL will be sold straightaway to a private monopoly through the "strategic sale" route and BPCL will go for a public offer. The "compromise" relates to the agreement that BPCL will be offered to the "public". Under this dispensation there will be several thousand small investors without any control over the management of the company and a few large investors who will have total control over its assets and sales. The hidden terms of the compromise include that henceforth, the heads of the so-called economic ministries, that is ministries in charge of the PSUs being sold, will have a say in future sales. That is, they will not be denied a share of the cake that comes from each sale of PSU to an Indian or foreign monopoly.

Over the years, every instance of privatisation, this sell-out of people’s assets to the most ravenous monopolies, has been accompanied with a nifty lie. In the initial years of the nineties, privatisation was justified with the argument that loss making public companies were being sold to private capitalists so that they can supposedly stem the loss in the interest of the people! Later the argument was advanced that it is not the state’s business to ensure people’s necessities such as bread, electricity supply and public transport. Still later, the preposterous theory was advanced that in order to balance the income and expense of the bourgeois state, prime people’s assets have to be sold through the "strategic route" to the highest bidder and that there was no choice. Disinvestment of banks through public offers had the aura of people becoming "part owners". The recent disinvestment of BPCL and HPCL were pushed through Parliament with the tongue-in-cheek statement that the government will ensure that "disinvestment will not result in the alienation of national assets… and private monopolies"!!

It is clear as crystal today that privatisation is the preferred strategy of the bourgeoisie to overcome the severe crisis in the economy and maintain their super profits. No amount of lies and ingenuity can cover up this stark truth, this despicable feature of the present capitalist system where a handful of exploiters justify their interests as the interests of the entire country. When the bourgeoisie is hell bent on this course no amount of reasoning and walk-outs in Parliament is going to stop them. The only way that people can stop them is by taking charge of the economy and reorienting it to serve their interests.

The announcement of Arun Shourie putting privatisation back on the fast track is a clear message to the working class to intensify its struggle against privatisation and take it to a new stage. Let the working class and peasantry oppose the program of the big bourgeoisie and imperialism with its own alternate program! Let us stop privatisation by putting an end to this man-eating capitalist system!

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Dangerous developments

During December 4-5, the Russian President Putin made a high profile visit to India. The visit was occasion to strengthen Indo-Russian relations on the basis of co-ordinating their respective imperialist strategies vis a vis Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia. The joint declaration of Putin and Vajpayee called for "stern action against countries and organisations that encourage terrorism" and voiced concern at the reorganisation of Al Qaeda and former Talibaan fighters in Afghanistan. It condemned the "dual stand of the international community" on terrorism. The visit was an occasion amongst other things to step up economic and military collaboration between the two countries. Reports indicate that Russia has succeeded in convincing the Indian government to buy war ships and aircraft.

The national security adviser of the Indian government, Brajesh Mishra, visited the US in the second week of December. Reports indicate he discussed the "Pakistan-North Korea nuclear relationship" with US leaders Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice as well as the further military collaboration with the US in Asia. It may be recalled that India and the US have conducted joint exercises in the Malacca straits as part of the US strategy for Asia. India and the US have also conducted land and air joint exercises in India and Alaska as part of this collaboration. Brajesh Mishra’s visit comes in the wake of the US campaign for a regime change in Iraq through "war against terrorism" and growing opposition in India to India’s participation in this war. Brajesh Mishra would like to convince the US that it should target Pakistan! It is reported that Brajesh Mishra also met the Chief’s of the CIA and other intelligence agencies.

Meanwhile, the NDA government at the centre continues to harp on "Pakistan sponsored cross border terrorism" as the main threat to India. Deputy PM Advani has once again vowed to "defeat Pakistan in its proxy war against India". The Indian government is sabotaging the holding of the next SAARC summit in Islamabad.

These developments are indicative of very dangerous trends. In the conditions of deep economic crisis, the major imperialist powers are militarising, fascising, and participating actively in the ongoing war for the redivision of the world amongst them. This is being carried out under the slogan of "war against terrorism". This "war against terrorism" is being used simultaneously to crush the growing resistance of workers, peasants and all the oppressed against the capitalist economic and political system in place in these countries.

For crushing the resistance of the toiling people, all the imperialists and reactionary forces are united. This is their common "war against terrorism". Within this "global coalition against terrorism", each big and small power is seeking to advance its imperialist interests worldwide. Thus, while the US imperialists have already announced their list of "rogue states" (of course, leaving open the option of including others in it as and when the need arises), they are currently focussing in on Iraq and trying to pressurise all countries to support its proposed war on Iraq. Russia recently announced its "successful operation" in overcoming Chechenya-backed "terrorists".

The Indian rulers are desperately trying to use the "war against terrorism", to get the support of the Anglo American imperialists and others, to emerge as a power in Central, South and South East Asia. With this aim, the Indian rulers are intensifying their intrigues with other imperialist and reactionary forces, colluding as well as contending with them. In other words, the Indian rulers are completely involving themselves in the sinister web of inter-imperialist contention for redivision of the world. This holds grave threats for the sovereignty of our country and for peace and security for the peoples of South, Central and South East Asia.

The Indian ruling class is trying to use the "war against terrorism" to advance its own agenda at home and abroad, and specifically with respect to our neighbouring countries in the region. This dangerous and anti people activity of the Indian ruling class must be thoroughly exposed and opposed by the united struggles of all sections of the people.

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What is really the problem with the Indian economy?

Apart from issuing warnings about the global situation, the mid-year review highlights the rising deficit in Indian government finances as a "major area of concern". It therefore advocates that the major task ahead is to cut down subsidies and raise more taxes so as to narrow the government’s deficit. In other words, further attacking the living standards of workers, peasants and salaried persons is being pushed as the solution to the problems of the economy.

Both when the Indian economy grew at around 7%, as in the period 1992-96, and when it grew slower at around 5% as in 1997-2001, the living standards of the vast majority of workers and peasants in the country deteriorated from bad to worse. It is only a very small minority in society that grew more prosperous in both periods. So the main issue is not really whether the economy grows at 5% or at 7%, as the bourgeois economists make out. The main problem lies in the class nature of this growth, in terms of whom it benefits and whom it impoverishes. The main problem lies in the capitalist orientation of the Indian economy, which the Finance Minister and all the bourgeois ‘experts’ want to hide.

In the present capitalist system, production is oriented towards the creation of private profit for the owners of capital – i.e., factories, land and money -- and not towards fulfilling the needs of those who produce the material blessings. This is the reason that people can die of starvation even though the government’s warehouses are overflowing with rice and wheat. It is also the reason why industrial capacity lies idle even though there are millions who are unemployed and eager to work and many more who need to be fed, clothed and housed.

Capitalism has reached the stage of monopoly capitalism, wherein the driving force of the economy is the greed of capitalist monopolies and the financial oligopolies to reap the maximum rate of profit. The big capitalists of today want nothing less than the maximum rate that prevails in any sector of the economy. The banks concentrate finance capital in their hands and lend only to those who are confident of reaping the maximum rate of profit can benefit from such loans. Other smaller players are starved of bank credit and forced to become slaves of the big players or be forced out of the market.

When spokesmen of the capitalist class talk about the "major area of concern" with the economy, it should be kept in mind that their concern has nothing to do with the concern of the majority of working people. While the concern of workers and peasants is about wages and about livelihood, the concern of the capitalist class is about the rate of private profit. The concern of the monopoly capitalists, the biggest and dominant section of the bourgeoisie, is with the maximum rate of profit.

Karl Marx discovered about 150 years ago that under the capitalist system of production, growth in labour productivity, brought about through technical-scientific advances, leads not to prosperity but to economic crises because of the tendency for the rate of profit to fall. He showed how the capitalist class tries to fight against this tendency through various means. These various means have undergone changes since the time of Marx and with the emergence of imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism. Privatisation of hitherto state-owned assets, for instance, has emerged today as one of the means to reap maximum profits. However, no matter how the capitalist fight against it, the general law discovered by Marx still continues to operate. Thus, periodically, and with increasing frequency, the biggest capitalists experience a decline in the rate of profit, hence in the rate of expansion of their private wealth, in spite of all their efforts to the contrary. Decline in profits leads to cut backs in production and further attacks on the livelihood and lives of people all over the world, as is taking place at the present time.

Corporate profit rates have declined steeply in the most advanced countries of the world. The stock markets have crashed in 2002 to a degree that has not been witnessed since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The capitalist monopolies and financial oligopolies of the world are looking for areas to shift their capital, areas where the maximum rate of profit can be reaped. They are shifting their capital into production and trade in arms and armaments, investing in war and destructive capacity, which is one of the spheres where maximum profits are guaranteed by the governments.

In this situation, the Indian bourgeoisie wants to attract the biggest capitalist profiteers of the world to invest in India, no matter what this will do to the workers, peasants, women and youth of the country and to the social environment.

The real problem with the Indian economy is its capitalist orientation and its domination by the monopoly bourgeoisie. The real problem is that all policy decisions are taken in the narrow interests of big business. The working class has to wage the struggle against privatisation and liberalisation with the strategic aim of digging the grave of the capitalist system. We must demand and fight for the reorientation of the economy to fulfill the rising material and cultural needs of the toiling masses.

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Cauvery river dispute

The bourgeoisie has no solution to the long standing problems of the peoples

The problem has existed from early colonial times. Since the erstwhile Madras province was directly under British rule, it has been reported that many concessions were made to it by the upper riparian provinces or vassal states, especially Mysore. However, in the 20th century, a system of dams and reservoirs has been constructed in Karnataka. This has turned several areas of the state into fertile areas for the production of cash crops such as sugarcane, which are very water intensive.  As a result, there is much reluctance to share the water with the states downstream.  The latter, on the other hand, depend very much on irrigation fed by the Cauvery to sustain farms that grow a variety of crops, including paddy. 

Each year, a spectacle is witnessed with Chief Ministers of the states trading charges, filing repeated appeals in the Supreme Court, the latter issuing orders which are often flouted. The year 2002 even saw unprecedented contempt of court petitions filed against the CM and senior officials of Karnataka administration.  The arrival of the north-east monsoon and the revival of the south-west monsoon towards the end of its activity, released the pressure on the parties somewhat.  This led to the subduing of raucous noises emanating from the 'agitating farmers' of Karnataka who did not want water to be released, and demands from TN for release of water, and the issue has been temporarily shelved.

One can be pretty sure that an analogous situation of comparable intensity or worse will arise next year, or the year after and so on, since the basic problems have not been solved.  With the advance of capitalism in the agricultural sector, there is vicious competition for the control and use of natural resources, and for the cultivation of those crops which will fetch the maximum profit for big farmers and those forces which control the agricultural sector.  The allied lobbies are unwilling to solve the problems in a principled manner. 

It is not impossible that a system of tank based irrigation is developed, water shed development furthered, and canals desilted in order to transport and store water for the use of small and medium farmers, who are typically the ones who are most affected in times of natural (and man-made) calamities.  Such a programme would be able to solve the problems for a long time to come, and would necessarily have to be state funded, which is something that is unlikely to happen given the inclinations of and the claimed "adverse fiscal situation" of the Government.

Times and situations of distress are extremely favourable for the maximization of profit. Consider for example the perpetually thirsty city of Chennai which has no water policy, except that of ruthlessly exploiting the limited stored water sources that came into being many decades ago, supplemented with the mining of aquifers and underground water sources, without a larger plan to address the needs of the citizens. The Telugu Ganga project which was supposed to have brought water to the city and was initiated nearly two decades ago, has not been completed. Projects of this type have spawned a large network of contractors and builders, who have reaped profits by tapping into the public exchequer and never delivered any thing of worth to the public.  In the present financial climate, even such projects cannot really be conceived.

Given this scenario, the proposal from the Prime Minister to link the large rivers of India, is certain to not address the water needs of the country.  Experts have done detailed studies and there is little to suggest that the project is viable under the present dispensation.  It is probably no more than a face saving measure that is being spelt out to create a phony discourse, to divert attention from the failure of the Indian State and its CRA to solve the Cauvery dispute.

Concurrent with these developments has been the rise of chauvinism especially in the state of Karnataka, where it is stated that people of Tamil origin are somehow responsible for the ills of Karnataka. Periodically, Tamilians are harassed and insulted.  Some years ago riots were organized and several tens of persons lost their lives and much property was destroyed. The perpetrators of these crimes were never brought to justice.  Recently, pressure has been brought upon cable companies to stop broadcast of programmes in Tamil. Goons, presumably funded and supported by Kannada chauvinist organizations, roughed up the sole AIADMK member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly just outside the building of the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore, practically inside its gardens.  This vitiating of the atmosphere, and creating of enmity between various peoples of India assists the bourgeoisie in carrying out its anti-people activities in all sectors of the economy.

It is imperative that the working people of the country stop looking to the bourgeoisie and its state to address its problems of means of livelihood.  The working class and peasantry must take charge of every aspect of their lives and chart out their own course in order to come out of its conditions of abject slavery and helplessness.

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Intrigues over Iraq:

Down with the attack on the sovereignty of Iraq!

It may be recalled that after over nine weeks of intrigue, arm twisting and backhanded inducements, the Anglo American imperialists managed to get the Security Council of the United Nations to pass a resolution permitting the UN to send weapons inspectors to Iraq.

All the conditions stipulated in the resolution with which Iraq has to comply are in outright breach of its right to sovereignty. As in the case of the conditions contained in the infamous Rambouillet Annex B (whose rejections was used as a pretext to unleash the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia), it does not matter what Iraq does, it will be found in breach of conditions. The Resolution is a thinly disguised instrument to prepare conditions for unleashing war on Iraq, this time, with the so – called authority of the United Nations. Its’ main purpose appears to be to legitimize the proposed US imperialist aggression on Iraq as one sanctioned by the UN, and overcome the opposition which many governments have voiced in response to the US demands over Iraq in the past few months.

In a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on November 13, the Iraqi government indicated it will accept the return of UN inspectors to the country under the terms of the Security Council Resolution 1441, "despite its bad contents" . It has said that it possesses no weapons of mass destruction as alleged by the US. Iraqi officials have handed over a complete documentary report of all relevant material to the UN inspectors on Saturday, December 07, 2002.

Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix said that U.N. experts will keep secret all sensitive material on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in the massive report — even from the United States and other Security Council members. The very fact he thought it necessary to give such an assurance itself speaks volumes. This assurance comes in the wake of widespread accusations that the weapons inspectors, like the inspectors who left Iraq four years ago, are indulging in espionage for the United States and other western powers. In fact, this has been confirmed on more than one occasion by various members of the former UN inspection teams. The US imperialists also urged the chief UN inspector to pursue a more intensive, multi-pronged operation to "stress" the Iraqi system.

On its part, the US imperialists have been indulging in one shocking conspiracy after another. The New York Tines of Dec 8, 2002 reports that "the Bush administration has pushed the U.N. inspection team to identify key Iraqi weapons scientists and spirit them out of Iraq so they can be offered asylum". The U S imperialists have openly offered bribes to key Iraqi scientists, politicians, and military personnel to turn traitor and reveal all secrets to them. According to the cynical logic of US imperialists, the present regime in Iraq is anyway going to be destroyed if necessary by the use of military force. Hence the Iraqi intellectuals, politicians and other may as well align themselves with the US imperialists now!

It is becoming more apparent than ever that the UN Security Council has this time been used not to prevent unjust and unnecessary war, but as an instrument to legitimize the self serving, dangerous and thoroughly unjust plans of the Anglo – American imperialists. Not only must this be condemned, it must be stoutly opposed by all peoples and governments who desire peace and justice.

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Piracy on the high seas at US imperialisms’ behest

The ship, "So San", carrying missiles along with conventional warheads and rocket propellant, had been tracked for weeks by the United States before it was intercepted in the Arabian Sea 1000 km east of Horn of Africa on 9^th December 2002. The vehement Yemeni response -- which included summoning the U.S. ambassador to the foreign ministry in Sanaa, Yemen's capital -- surprised U.S. officials, who had assumed Yemen could plausibly deny any knowledge of the shipment. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters the cargo was being returned to Yemen because "there is no provision under international law prohibiting Yemen from accepting delivery of missiles from North Korea."

This incident shows that the US imperialists, knowingly and willfully indulged in an act of piracy on the high seas. They knowingly and willfully flouted all norms of international relations. What one sovereign country buys from another is certainly not a matter for the US or any other power to interfere with. Every country, big or small, has its sovereign right to purchase weapons for its own defence. The US imperialists, who themselves have the biggest arsenals of the most deadliest weapons known to mankind, are certainly not qualified to pontificate on the "proliferation" of weapons.

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US proposed "debt for forest" deal with Sri Lanka:

Debt to imperialists is a noose around the people’s necks!

The proposed offer first came to light in May of last year, only after one of the opposition parties in Sri Lanka revealed the information about it in Parliament. There was immediately strong opposition from various sections of public opinion. This opposition was on many grounds. First of all, the forest program would be overseen by a Board which would include on it the US Ambassador, along with representatives of the Sri Lankan government and NGOs. This would give the US an open and legitimate means to interfere with Sri Lanka’s forest and environment and other related policies. Also, as pointed out in some quarters, many international NGOs toe the US line on environment matters, and so just having NGOs on the Board would not amount to protection of Sri Lanka’s interests. It is clear that both the sovereign right of Sri Lanka to deal with its natural resources as it sees fit, as well as the rights of local communities over these resources would be violated by the proposed deal.

It has also been pointed out that this "debt for forests" deal is a way to allow the US to engage in biopiracy legitimately. Sri Lanka is one of the countries richest in the world in biodiversity, with a huge number of species of plants and animals. Already, American and Japanese companies have shown great interest in acquiring gene material from plants found in Sri Lankan forests, and between them they have already filed 45 patents for medicinal plants found there. Suspicion about the intentions behind the "debt for forests" offer has been fueled by the fact that the official proposal cites findings of a private study conducted in one of the forests by a major multinational drug company. Apart from the private companies, it is well known that the arsenal of the US military establishment is stocked with material required to carry out biological and germ warfare.

Environmentalists are deeply worried because the ecology of rainforests is very delicate, and any kind of interference with it can damage it irreparably. In the name of "conserving" the rainforests, the exact opposite result could be achieved.

Knowing the compelling arguments against accepting such a deal, when the US proposal first came to light, the Sri Lankan government had denied that it would accept it. Nevertheless, the Environment Minister even then admitted that "the decision is a difficult one for Sri Lanka given the country's staggering debt and the opportunity to redeem these liabilities." This just shows the utterly cynical nature of the US imperialists’ policy, which is to exploit the vulnerability of precisely those countries that are most heavily in debt and cash-strapped. In Asia, the only other country which has so far been compelled to accept such a "debt for forest" deal is Bangladesh, which finds itself in a similar situation.

What this goes to show is that imperialist "aid", which results in crippling debt of those countries that take it, is always given with the most exploitative intentions. It can strip a country piece by piece of its sovereignty and render it incapable of protecting its own interests. It is never given for altruistic reasons. The US is holding up these "debt for forests" deals to show how allegedly concerned it is about the global environment and about protecting other countries’ natural resources. But it is this same US that brazenly refused to accept the recent Kyoto Protocal which tried to put curbs on the emission of carbon dioxide harmful to the atmosphere, despite the fact that the US is the single largest source of these emissions. In fact, while it rejects any controls over its own policies through international agreements, the US is going all out to sign bilateral deals with other countries, through which it can control the policies of those countries even more tightly than it already does.

The danger lies in the fact that the Sri Lankan government is gradually succumbing to the arm-twisting by the US on the forest deal. Its draft environmental policy announced earlier this year specifically incorporates the proposed US offer. If it goes ahead and signs the agreement, that would be against the interests of the people of Sri Lanka and the world.

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The Editor,

What is curious of course is that these statements have started emanating from one of the most reactionary, anti-woman, anti-people Government that the country has seen in recent times. India is a country where the brutal apitalist system doubly oppresses women on a daily basis. They are victims of the traditional patriarchal modes of society, and are discriminated gainst in the work place in terms of pay-parity. No other society can boast of such ills as dowry-deaths and female infanticide and selective abortion of female foetuses. In particular, the natural gender ratio which favours the female population, has declined to a number that is significantly smaller than one in this great land. These are problems rooted in the tragic history of the country, which have been exacerbated and intensified while capitalism has become entrenched over the last 55 years. While constitutional guarantees exist on paper, in reality, women are particularly vulnerable to discrimination and harassment on an unparalleled scale, even during the reign of 'civil society.'

A particularly grotesque state of affairs result during times of civil strife engineered by the bourgeoisie and its agents and the state, as seen during the February and March 2002 riots. While murder, loot and pillage are the instruments of terror perpetrated on the people, women are doubly victims when rape is used as an implement to terrorise individuals and specific communities.

I therefore submit that if the honourable Home and Defence Ministers are sincere in their statements, they should be the first to organise the detention and trial and bringing to book of the goons and criminals who have committed mass rape in Gujarat, and consequently carry out the capital punishment that they have so sanctimoniously announced. Otherwise it may be fair to assume that these statements are merely crocodile tears being shed for the plight of the women of the country, in response to recent charges that the NDA Government has tried to disempower women even further, by advocating reactionary Brahmanical modes of conduct for women, and perhaps even such acts as the reported undermining of the National Commission for Women.
Sincerely,
A. Narayan

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'Tainted judges' in Karnataka

There has been an uproar in Karnataka with the discovery of three judges of the Karnataka High Court in a resort in Mysore, indulging in activities not compatible with their positions. Various investigating agencies have filed their reports confirming this, and the Chief Justice of India is in a quandary about what is to be done about this matter. Typically, it would be expected that these gentlemen resign, failing which and if the charges are serious enough they would have to be impeached by Parliament. It is now expected that they would be transferred to High Courts of Jammu and Kashmir, Patna and Guwahati. The bar is up in arms in these courts against this possibility, since they feel that it would lower the dignity of these courts. There is a suggestion that postings to these courts is something of a 'punishment' posting, and in some of these courts the members of the bar have requested the Registrars to not post any cases to be heard by these 'tainted judges.' What is particularly ironical is the open admission that to serve on certain benches in India are something of a detention term, in contrast to plush postings to other benches, e.g., Delhi, Maharashtra or Karnataka, and it would be a whole research project to explain this shocking state of affairs.

This matter comes at a time when practically every institution in the country is under a cloud of suspicion. The judiciary, and indeed the armed forces, have typically been those institutions that have escaped the reputation of being totally bankrupt, partially due to the nature of the institutions and active propaganda by the media in their favour, andpartially due to an attempt on the ruling circles in India to keep theseabove board. While the political parties, legislature and the bureaucracy in the country are universally perceived as being parasitic and a mill around the necks of the millions, the judiciary has enjoyed the privilege of being the 'conscience keeper' of the country. There is much talk about 'judicial activism' with learned judges passing this or that order in favor of this or that matter that is of interest to the public. It has served as the pressure vent for the discontent that exists in broad sections of society. The issue of 'corruption' is something that the judiciary has generally been kept out of. In general, judges of High Courts enjoy large salaries and perks on a scale that they have never enjoyed before, which is why the present matter of 'moral turpitude' thathas been implied in the 'tainted judges case' is so worrisome to thebourgeoisie.

The model of statecraft that the country adopted after the departure of the British is one where a delicate balancing of competing interests is accorded through the legislative process with the judiciary being the arbiter in disputes that are otherwise unresolvable. It is possible to claim that if men of character were to man all the institutions in India then there would not be 'corruption' and there would be a harmonious resolution of conflicts and problems (in contrast to the reality that the problems in India are generated by capitalism and its crises). However, the truth on the ground is something else. The bourgeoisie in its reckless search for the maximising of profits is generating problems of state that cannot be resolved in the present framework. While thejudiciary in the country can resolve civil suits and look at criminalcases in a fair way, it has been unable to uphold principles of natural justice in all cases that pertain to draconian laws that curtail the democratic rights of the people. The courts are unable to resolve the contradiction between the people and the state in matters of laws such as TADA in the past or POTA, and even less capable to defending the rights ofthe people in areas such as Kashmir or the North-East. Therefore, toargue that a fair and sound judiciary can take the country out of itsproblems is to fool oneself.

The 'tained judges' case has shown that the abuse of privilege and statepower is inherent to the system that the country has inherited from itscolonial past. The working masses cannot to look to this or that institution of the bourgeoisie, discredited or as-yet-undiscreditedinstitution for its liberation from its current condition of bondage. Theymust equip themselves with a theory and practice of politics, economics,jurisprudence to name a few, of the most advanced kind in order to usher abright future.

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The problems of Manipur cannot be addressed without returning the Army to the barracks

Black laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) give arbitrary powers to the armed forces (see box below) in suppressing human rights and national aspirations of the people. A peace process without repeal of such laws, which even does not recognise right to life, can only bring peace of the graveyard and not the peace and dignity that the people of this region have been struggling for.

There are innumerable cases of attrocities of the armed forces to terrorise the people of the North-East. In Manipur alone, thousands of people have lost their lives, scores are missing and uncounted women have been raped by the armed forces in the two decades since imposition of AFSPA. Some of the glaring examples of attrocities committed by the armed forces include, 14 people killed and many more injured on 14th March 1984, when a sentry on the watch tower near a volleyball match opened bursts of fire from his machine gun. In 1995 nine autorikshaw drivers were killed when CRPF opened indiscriminate fire on parked autorikshaws near a hospital after an insurgent shot dead one of the CRPF jawan in the vicinity. Similarly, on 2 November 2000, the 8th Assam Rifles personnel got down from their vehicles and began firing towards people who were running for cover following an explosion at Malom highway. Ten innocent civilians including a 62 year old woman were shot dead by personnel of the Assam Rifles in this incident.

Apart from the above incidents which came to light and faced universal condemnation, in the villages, the army routinely conducts extensive search-and-arrest operations. Villagers are required to line up in a nearby field, usually in the dead of night, and questioned. Some are taken to army camps for further questioning, which generally include torture. Many innocents have either lost their lives or have been maimed for life in these operations of the armed forces. Villagers have been threatened, harassed, raped, assaulted and killed by soldiers attempting to frighten them into identifying suspected insurgents. Even in towns, no one is certain before he sets out his foot from his home that he will return safe.

Such crimes go on unabated, as the perpetrators of acts of state terror are protected under AFSPA. People of the rest of India have experienced and are experiencing hated draconian laws like TADA and POTA, used by the Indian State to crush the struggle for rights of workers, peasants and others sections of the people. AFSPA is even more draconian and has been applied to the North-East region almost ever since the independence from the British colonisers. One after another, successive governments at the center continue to extend the imposition of this Act. Refusing to address the economic and political problems of the people of this region, including the question of sovereignty of Manipuri people, the Indian state has consistantly resorted to brutal repression in the name of "law and order" and "defending national unity and territorial integrity".

The Indian State is using AFSPA in the manner of colonisers to plunder the land and labour of the this resources-rich region. The Armed Forces Special Powers Ordinance was first promulgated in the North-East region on 15 August 1942 by Lord Linlithgow, the then Viceroy and Governor General of British India. As the British colonisers prepared to depart from this region, the territories of the indigeneous people of the North-East was divided between India, Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) and Burma. The people who had been dwelling in these hills and valleys were denied sovereignty. The struggles of the people of this region for social, political and economic development predate this division and continues to date.

A series of repressive laws were passed by the Government of India in order to deal with uprisings of the North-East people. In 1953, the Assam Maintenance of Public Order (Autonomous District) Regulation Act was passed. It empowered the Governor to impose collective fines, prohibit public meetings and and detain anybody without a warrant. On 22 May 1958, just days after the Budget Session of Parliament was over, the Armed Forces (Assam-Manipur) Special Powers Ordinance was passed. A bill was introduced in the Monsoon session of Parliament that year and promptly passed effective retrospectively from 22 May 1958. The Act was introduced in Manipur in 1980. The ‘disturbed area’ status of the entire area of the state of Manipur under the AFSPA has been reaffirmed by the Parliament ever since then.

The central struggle for rights in Manipur and other nationalities of the North-East region has been around repeal of AFSPA. Central Government does not respect the rights and aspirations of the people of this region just as it does not respect rights and aspirations the toilers all over India. In order to serve the interest of the ruling class, the Government is further fascising political life of the country by binging other black laws like POTA.

Indian people must demand the repeal of all black laws, including AFSPA. The working class and toiling people are fighting for the thoroughgoing democratic renewal of India. We must transform the present Indian Union which is a prison house of nations, nationalities and tribal peoples, into a voluntary union of the peoples.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 (AFSPA)

The Act is applicable if the Central Government or the Governor is "of the opinion that whole or parts of the area are in a dangerous or disturbed condition such that the use of the Armed Forces in aid of civil powers is necessary." The Act does not give any one the right to challenge the declaration of any region as disturbed area. The 1972 ammendment to this Act gave the Central Government the authority to overrule the opinion of the State government for declaring an area affected. This was actually done in the case of Tripura where the State Government opposed the imposition of this Act.

The theme, on which AFSPA was passed by the Indian Parliament in 1958, is ‘strike first and nip insurgency in the bud’. AFSPA enabled the security forces to strike first. Under this Act, even non-commissioned officer like Naik or Havaldar can issue orders of ‘shoot to kill’ (Section 4a). Security forces have the powers to enter and seach any place without a warrant (Section 4d). They can apprehend anyone under suspicion from anywhere, even from the roadside. They can do any midnight knock on any door and arrest anyone without a warrant and use any amount of force "necessary to effect the arrest" (Section 4c). There is no time period specified by which the arrested person is to be brought before the magistrate. The Section 5 of this Act merely says that the arrested person must be handed over to the nearest police station with the "least possible delay" without specifying what this delay may be, thus permitting arbitrary detention.

If personnel of SF are required to appear before any probe committee, then according to Section 6 of this Act, prior concurrence of the respective ministries, like the ministry of defense or the ministry of home affairs are required. Thus the victims of the armed forces abuses have no remedy available.

This Act is a most draconian law, in some ways, more draconian than the hated TADA and POTA.

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Famine is a good business!

Severe drought in Africa has drawn the attention of many international relief agencies. USAID has offered $50 million in food aid to famine-stricken Zimbabwe on the condition that the aid is used to urchase genetically modified maize. This is also the official line of the USAID about the corn it has offered to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique and Malawi where about 13 million people face severe hunger. These countries are almost certainly likely to face famine after two years of drought and floods. People all over the world have been opposing introduction of genetically modified foods as the long term implication of these foods on human beings and on environment are not known. Food aid is thus being cynically used to push through the interests of the multinationals in agro-business, particularly for testing the genetically modified foods.

The genetically modified (GM) food industry sees a wonderful commercial opportunity for itself in food aid. The industry has been reeling under increasing rejection of its untested food products. Supported by USAID, the industry has made it clear that it has only GM maize to offer. The WFP, which has become an extension of USAID for all practical purposes over the last few decades, has supported the stand of the industry. The role of WFP was even more blatant when it had earlier helped the US to reduce its grain surpluses by taking the GM food for a mid-day meal programme for school children in Africa.

The President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has told his Parliament: "We fight the present drought with our eyes clearly set on the future of the agricultural sector, which is the mainstay of our economy. We dare not endanger its future through misplaced decision based on acts of desperation or expediency." Similarly, the Zambian President too has said that his people would rather die than eat genetically modified food.

Recently the Geneva based World Conservation Union (IUCN), a federation of 70 countries, lent its support and urged southern African countries to reject GM food relief from the US until sufficient scientific research had been conducted on its environmental impact. The IUCN, which also represents 10,000 scientists worldwide and 750 NGOs, advised African countries to consider the future implications of introducing GM food into their agricultural systems. The IUCN fears that grains and other forms of food relief might be planted by local farmers rather than consumed by those affected by food shortages. If the GM strains find their way into local crops, exports may be rejected by countries more sensitive to the potential danger GM crops pose to the environment. This can have devastating impact on the economy of these countries that are dependent on the export of their agricultural products. IUCN says: "It resembles the forced dumping by the US of GM organisms. They can proliferate very quickly. It could hugely affect bio-diversity."

The biotechnology industry is using all its financial power to break down the African resistance. While Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique have resisted US food aid, Malawi, Lesotho and Swaziland have accepted it.

Once the GM food is accepted as humanitarian aid, it will be politically difficult for the African governments to oppose the corporate takeover of Africa’s agricultural economy. For the industry, Africa provides a huge market.

Is this the first time food is being used as a political weapon? Some time back, a speaker at the International Famine Centre at Cork, Ireland, described how maize was loaded on ships bound for Britain at the height of the great Irish potato famine that killed some 1.5 million people more than 150 years ago. At the end he asked: "I wonder what kind of people lived at that time who were not even remotely offended at the sight of millions dying of hunger in the same village where the ships were being loaded."

A hundred years later, in 1943, about 1.5 to 3 million people lost their lives in what is known as the Great Bengal famine. By now it is well known that the Bengal famine was not the result of a drastic slump in food production. On the contrary, the colonialists had extracted the food as tax from the peasants and diverted it for other commercial purposes.

Like Zimbabwe and Zambia, Malawi too is facing famine today. It says it has no choice but to accept GM maize as aid. Famine is, however, man-made. Just three months before the food crisis hit Malawi, it was encouraged by the World Bank "to keep foreign exchange instead of storing grain". Why? Because foreign exchange is needed to repay debts. Creditors will not accept debt repayments in Malawian Kwachas or in bags of maize. Only American dollars or other hard currencies will do. Malawi’s president, in an interview, said the IMF and the World Bank "insisted that, since Malawi had a surplus and the (government’s) National Food Reserve Agency had this huge loan, they had to sell the maize to repay the commercial loans". So Malawi sold 28,000 tonnes of maize to Kenya. Now Malawi is getting another loan to purchase GM maize from the US.

How much quantity of food is required to tide over the food crisis in central and southern Africa? A million tonne is all that the WFP itself estimates. And WFP does not know any other source of getting non-GM foodgrains for millions of hungry Africans!

After all, the impending famine in Africa opens up a new market for the multi-billion dollar US biotechnology industry. What happens in the bargain to the resulting crisis in human health and misery and to environment by contamination from GM grains is none of the concern of the American food merchants. In fact, it never was.

When the newly-born Bangladesh faced famine in 1974, the US withheld a 2.2 million tonnes of food aid to "ensure that it abandoned plans to try Pakistani war criminals". And a year later, when Bangladesh was faced with severe monsoons and floods, the then US ambassador to Bangladesh made it clear that the US could not provide food aid because of Bangladesh’s policy to export jute to Cuba. By the time Bangladesh gave in to the American pressure and stopped jute exports to Cuba, it was too late for famine victims.

Food aid has always been used as a political weapon and a good business by the imperialists. It continues to be used in the same manner today.

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The crisis surrounding Veerappan

Sometime ago, the state of Karnataka was witnessing a rather strange set of events surrounding the publication of a book "Veerappan's prize catch: Rajkumar" by Mr. C. Dinakar, former Director-General of Police. It is alleged in this book that vast sums of money were paid to Mr. Veerappan to secure the release of one of his former captives, the famous movie actor and cultural icon Mr. Rajkumar. What may be interesting in the context of the new book is why the former senior police officer should write about monies being paid now? It would be argued that he is embarrassing the present Chief Minister of Karnataka, to expose the weakness of the administration and to talk about the misuse of public funds. One could also argue about why a senior police officer is choosing to talk about these things after his retirement. There have been statements in the media suggesting that the author is probably lacking mental balance. This episode has been suddenly overshadowed by the tragic end of another hostage of Veerappan's who had been captured in August and whose body was found near the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border, 40 km inside the territory of Karnataka. The victim was Mr. H. Nagappa, who had been a minister in the Janata Dal Cabinet. There is a mystery surrounding this death and the post-mortem report says that a bullet wound caused the death and says that no bullet was recovered. Veerappan had sent a cassette in which he claimed that Mr. Nagappa had been killed by a Special Task Force (STF) firing, by a unit from Tamil Nadu, which has been denied by the latter and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. A curious report in the Times of India of Bangalore suggested that this possibility could not be discounted, and that the bullet when found would determine whether or not the fire came from the STF. As mentioned earlier, the post-mortem report claims that no bullet was recovered from the body and therefore one cannot rule out the possibility. Veerappan is often described in the media as a brigand, sandalwood smuggler, ivory smuggler, bandit, dacoit, and has gained notoriety over the last 2 decades for his activities in the Satyamangalam forest on the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu border. His background is of a certain dominant caste of parts of Tamil Nadu and has been backed unofficially at one time or another by this or that politician. An STF has been set up between by the governments of both states to secure his capture, but nothing has resulted from this. It is often said that he has the protection of this or that party, and there is much impassioned debate about the inefficiency of the security forces to capture this 'outlaw.' Veerappan is said to have gained his importance and influence from notorious crimes for which he is personally responsible, and also because of his ties to sandalwood smuggling racket and also due to the proximity of several mines that are carrying out quarrying activities. There is talk often of protection money that he and his associates extract from the owners of the mines and he receives protection from 'vested interests' in the region. In the last decade or so, he has carried out high profile kidnappings, and the present episode has been the only one in recent memory with tragic consequences for the victims of kidnapping. It is worth repeating once again that in the case of the death of Mr.Nagappa, there is no reason to believe either the version of Veerappan, nor is there any reason to believe the version of the officials where they say that they have no role to play in his death. What may or may not have been the reasons for the STF to have eliminated Mr. Nagappa is something on which everyone can have their own theses, none of which would be falsifiable, indeed as there can be any number of theses on why Veerappan would have eliminated him. The crisis surrounding the activities of Veerappan and the STF reflect the very serious problems that underlie the Indian state. Increasing criminalisation, violence and parasitism are characteristic features of present day Indian state and society. Thus, framing a debate around the activities of Veerappan serves as a useful decoy to deflect attention from the nature of the Indian state and its functioning. The problem is not really that of inefficiency of security forces, or corruption or misuse of the funds of the exchequer, but that of the entire framework within which the bourgeoisie operates. Events of this nature must serve to remind the working masses of the urgency and importance for them to organise themselves and discard all the institutions of the bourgeoisie in order to usher in a new world in which such grotesque events do not come to dominate the lives of the millions.

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