• The UPA government perpetrates a fraud in the name of "repealing" POTA

• Persistent struggle in the face of all odds

• Reverse privatisation of Modern Foods and Balco!

• Meeting in Pune demands repeal of AFSPA

• Meeting to demand repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act from Manipur held in Bangalore

• UN Secretary General's astonishing remark

• Restoration of Communist Unity and line of "lesser evil"

• Nepal PM Deuba's visit to India:
  No to Indian or any foreign intervention in Nepal's internal affairs

The UPA government perpetrates a fraud in the name of "repealing" POTA

In the three years since POTO was promulgated, thousands of people all over the country have been incarcerated under this draconian law. They include school children in Jharkhand, in whose houses copies of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels were found, old villagers who could hardly walk, as well as hundreds of Muslims in Gujarat and other places. In Delhi, they include those accused in the terrorist attack on parliament on December 13, 2001 (after POTO was promulgated). As many as 32 organisations in India were banned under POTA.

While repealing POTA, the President has simultaneously signed an Ordinance amending the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). This fulfils the election promise of the Congress Party and its allies to repeal POTA and "strengthen existing laws" to "combat terrorism". The UPA government has taken care to ensure that all the main provisions of POTA are incorporated in the amended UAPA. All the 32 organisations banned under POTA continue to remain banned under the UAPA. As before, innocent people, including school children and the aged, can be incarcerated as "terrorists" under the UAPA. Telephonic conversations and email can continue to be intercepted and used as evidence. Any organisation acting in a manner that the state may choose to declare "prejudicial to national integration and maintaining harmony", can be banned.

At a time when POTA had become increasingly discredited in the eyes of the Indian people and the government was forced to ‘repeal’ it, the new ordinance clearly reveals the fascist character of the UPA government. For over two months now, the people of Manipur and people all over the country have been demanding repeal of the fascist Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958. Under this draconian law, the people of Manipur and the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir have suffered untold atrocities at the hands of the armed forces of the Indian state for decades. However, the Central government has refused to address this just demand of democratic public opinion. It has refused outright to even consider repeal of the AFSPA, in the name of defending "national unity and integrity". Today, there are a host of fascist laws that legalise state terrorism and communal and fascist violence, such as the AFSPA, the NSA, UAPA, the MPOCA, and the ESMA. Meanwhile, people continue to be killed in fake encounters, and tens of thousands of people are tortured and detained in the dungeons of the reactionary Indian state for months and years on end without even kangaroo trials. The hated TADA was repealed some years back, yet there are hundreds of TADA detainees who continue to be tried under TADA and awarded sentences, including that of death. The UPA government has made it clear that all those arrested under POTA will continue to be tried under POTA!

Democratic public opinion in India must therefore expose and oppose the relentless fascisation of the state and strengthening of the apparatus of state terrorism, on which there is complete unity between the NDA and the UPA. The main target of these fascist laws are the struggles of the working class and peasantry and the oppressed nations and nationalities and tribal peoples for their rights. As in the past, those wielding state power in the Centre or in the states will also use these fascist laws against their rivals within the ruling class. The fraud being perpetrated by the UPA government in the name of repealing POTA needs to be fully exposed. The democratic movement must a struggle is to dismantle all the instruments of state terror, including all the laws that legalise state terror.

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Persistent struggle in the face of all odds

• In January 2000, 74% of the shares of MFIL were sold to Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL), at a price far less than the actual value of the land and assets of the company. This was the first case of disinvestment of a public sector company.
• The disinvestment process was unleashed in 1997 with the disinvestment commission stating that 50% of shares will be sold to a private party and the interests of workmen would be assured. In 1997, MFIL was a profit-making company, enjoying a reputed brand name and fulfilling a large number of government contracts for the army, in school mid-day meal schemes, in hospitals, etc. Following the declaration of intent, the government and the management of MFIL began to deliberately turn MFIL into a loss making company, sabotage its growth in order to justify its privatisation and ensure that its value would be downgraded.
• The terms of the agreement under which MFIL was sold to HLL were never made public, despite repeated demands by the Modern Food Industries Employees Union. The HLL management immediately launched attacks on workers. It imposed an anti-worker agreement in violation of the MFIL code of employment in cahoots with certain henchmen of the All India Federations behind the backs of the workers and their unions at the unit level. In this one- sided "agreement" drafted by the HLL management, the labour traitors "demanded" that HLL "permit" workers to be transferred from one corner of India to another! It "demanded" that HLL institute a "VRS"! The Modern Food Industries Employees Union challenged the treacherous "agreement" in the courts and rejected it. They pointed out that as office bearers in the Federation, they had not even been informed of the negotiations that were conducted in secret in May 2000. The Modern Food Industries Employees Union, in collaboration with the Lok Raj Sangathan, filed a PIL in the Delhi High Court, challenging the legal validity of the sale of MFIL to HLL.
• The workers of Modern Food Industries Employees Union pointed out what the strategy of HLL was. It was to reduce the workforce from 3000 regular and casual workmen to about 600 in the first phase of one to two years. HLL's plan was to use the brand name of Modern Foods to out source bread production to sweatshops in backward areas with no quality control, dismantle the existing plants and sell them off. It was to reduce labour costs by resorting to contracting production as well as using contract labour in the different units. The thousands of crores of immovable assets of HLL in terms of land and property in the major cities of India (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and many other towns) would be sold and converted into movable capital. As it had done in other takeovers in the past, HLL would retain the shell and name of MFIL and nothing else. It would use the old HLL method of bribing a few union leaders from the Federations as well as politicians in high places to achieve its nefarious goals. HLL's take over of MFIL would not lead to any modernisation, any new investments, any benefits to the workmen or the public at large.
• HLL management found to its dismay that the main center of organised resistance to its plans came in the main unit of MFIL, Bread Unit-I, situated in the capital, in the form of the Modern Food Industries Employees Union. Its first plan to break organised resistance had succeeded to some extent for two reasons. One, it had managed to break the tenuous connections between the workmen of different units in different regions of the country by bribing key national leaders of the two Federations linked with the HMS and the INTUC, to which the unions in the different units were affiliated. Two, the Central Trade Unions, particularly those affiliated to the AITUC, CITU and others did not take up the baton of struggle, even though they had influence in a number of units, especially in Southern and Eastern India. However, the Delhi center of opposition was something the HLL and the Central government had not bargained for. It was sticking like a bone in their throat, which they could neither swallow nor throw out. Their activities were being exposed in the media in the capital and to the entire working class. A new center was beginning to take shape in struggle. To nip it in the bud, within the very first year itself, in September 2000, the HLL management suspended the main leaders of the Modern Food Industries Employees Union at Delhi Bread Unit I, Lawrence Road, on charges of assaulting a workman outside the premises of the Unit! The aim was to ensure that the fighting leaders were kept out of the premises of Bread Unit-I at any cost, in order to push through the plans of HLL.
• What the MFIL workers had declared to be the intent of HLL management, has been proven in practice. Today, the workforce of MFIL stands at about 800, that is a quarter of the workforce at the time of privatisation. All casual employees have been thrown out. Many units have been closed down in this period. Far from investing capital, asset stripping has been carried out systematically. Prime land in Goregaon in Mumbai is being sold. Fully functioning plants have been shut down. In-house production has been cut back. Bread production has been largely contracted out. To get approval for restructuring from a pliant BIFR, the HLL management showed it was a sick unit. At the very same time, the disinvestment minister brazenly lied in parliament, that it was a profit making company. Brushing aside numerous petitions and arguments of the workmen's union, in November 2002, the government sold the remaining 26% of the shares of MFIL to HLL.
• From the very beginning of this disinvestment process, and even before, since 1997 (under the UF government) when the disinvestment plans of MFIL were first being rumoured, the Modern Food Industries Employees Union has been fighting a militant struggle, opposing the privatisation of MFIL. The struggle has taken the form of legal battles in the Labour Courts and the Delhi High Court, dharnas and gate meetings, mass demonstrations in front of the Parliament House, the Labour Ministry and the HLL management headquarters, reports to the press, press conferences and interviews to the national and international media. The Modern Food Industries Employees Union repeatedly submitted memoranda and appeals to the Labour Minister, the Minister for Disinvestment and the Prime Minister.
• As a result of this prolonged and brave struggle, former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee was finally forced to set up a committee in September 2002, to look into the conditions of the employees of MFIL and BALCO.
• · In August 2003, the Arun Shourie declared in parliament that Modern Food's privatisation had been a "success". He pointed to "growth figures" and other data provided bythe HLL management. He was either unaware of, or chose to ignore a fact. At that very same time, HLL had closed down Fruit Juice Bottling Plant, Lawrence Road, New Delhi. This also coincided with the visit of the Prime Minister's committee to MFIL Bread unit I at Lawrence Road, New Delhi.
• The HLL management tried to sabotage the work of the Committee. It studiously prevented a meeting of the committee with the leaders in Delhi or with ordinary workers anywhere. A tour was taken of Chennai and Mumbai to show how everything was fine, but when the Committee was visiting the MFIL headquarters in Delhi, the MFIL Employees Union barged in to submit its memorandum and state its point of view before the committee. The Committee was forced to sit up and carry out discussions with workmen and unions of MFIL in Delhi. The Modern Food Industries Employees Union deposed before the Committee and explained the facts.
• The UPA government has stated in its Common Minimum Program, that there will be no disinvestment of profit-making companies and that the disinvestment process, where it does take place, shall be transparent. The new government has also pledged that it will ensure that the workers' interests are not harmed as a result of privatisation.
• In June 2004, the Modern Food Industries Employees Union once again gave the call to intensify its struggle. The union once again placed all the facts of the case before the new government, demanding that this brutal injustice done to the workers and employees of MFIL be reversed. The Modern Food Industries Employees Union is also demanding that those responsible for this illegitimate sale of MFIL to HLL, causing enormous loss of human and material productive capacity, destruction of the wealth created by the people and a huge national and social loss, be immediately brought to book and severely punished.

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Reverse privatisation of Modern Foods and Balco!

The Committee headed by Shri Hasubhai Dave, President of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), and including Shri K Chandramouli, joint secretary, labour ministry, Sanjeev Ahluwalia, joint secretary, department of disinvestment, and Sharad Patil, a representative of employers is scheduled to submit its indictment to the present Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh on September 27, 2004.

Modern Food Industries was sold to the multinational Hindustan Lever Limited on January 26, 2000. Before and after that, the workers of MFIL, particularly under the inspiring leadership of the Modern Food Industries Employees Union have waged a heroic struggle to expose the anti-worker, anti-national practices of the HLL management. They have had to contend with a government which was hell-bent on privatisation, with successive disinvestment ministers Arun Jaitley and Arun Shourie acting as outright spokespersons and apologists for the HLL management. The fact that HLL forced hundreds of workers out of their jobs, carried our brazen asset stripping, resorted to contract labour, and hoisted false charges on fighting workers and their leaders and dismissed them in an effort to crush the union, was brought to the notice of the Central Government and all its ministries and officials time and time again. Numerous were the demonstrations and dharnas organised, including the ongoing dharna at the gate of the MFIL unit in Lawrence Road which has now completed 900 days. (See Box).

Meanwhile, the government went ahead and sold Balco. The bitter experience of the workers of MFIL was already in the knowledge of the Balco workers and they took up the struggle. Finally the Prime Minister was forced to order an investigation into the consequences of privatisation of MFIL and Balco on the workers.

According to the report in the Times of India (24 September 2004), "what the committee found shocking is the way the new managements - sterlite in the case of Balco and HLL in the case of MFIL - have pursued with anti-labour policies". "The Voluntary retirement schemes have degenerated into compulsory retirement. In balco, many departments have closed down, permanent posts have come down and workers are forced to resign". The committee also found that land is being sold by the new management in chattisgarh.

In the case of MFIL, the report blames HLL of closing many units by outsourcing its core business (bread making). The report also highlights that asset stripping in MFIL is most rampant. "In Mumbai, MFIL is selling land located in prime location", the report says.

It is clear that the report of the Committee is only the tip of the iceberg. Now the situation calls on all the trade unions to raise their voice inside and outside parliament for a full debate on the Report submitted by the Committee. They must utilise this to reverse the privatisation of the MFIL and Balco, as well as those of other PSU's which have been privatised. They must fight for immediate reinstatement of the workers who have been illegally deprived of their livelihood, including the leadership of the Modern Food Industries Employees Union. There is need to create public opinion in support for a national referendum on privatisation. The struggle to halt and reverse privatisation must be carried through to the end.

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Meeting in Pune demands repeal of AFSPA

Dr. LP Singh in his brief address described the history of Manipur nation, in particular the fact that Manipur was a sovereign democratic republic in its own right before it was annexed by Indian State and reduced to a union territory. It was granted statehood in 1972 and it has been under the AFSPA since 1980. He informed the audience that all the atrocities of the Indian army has been documented by COHR and other groups and those interested can go through them. His main purpose to go to different India cities, ( for example he is in pune for the very first time in his life) is to let his brothers and sisters know how manipuris have been suffering under this draconian law. He appealed to all to organize meetings, protest and put public pressure on the Central government to repeal this law so that no body anywhere on earth can be tortured, humiliated and murdered as Manipuris since 1980. He also explained how in the owrst traditions of colonial Britishers, the Indian state has tried to divide manipuris by organizing various factional fights between the people in the Northeast, whether on the basis of religion, community or nationalities Kuki/Naga/Meities. The latest manorama devi incident has brought all the fighting forces together again and this time Manipuris are not going to give in. They shall fight till this law is repealed. He also castigated those political parties including some who call themselves communists and defend this law under the name of defening the national security and the unity and integrity of India. Are Manipuri not part of the Indian nation. Do you want only the Manipuri land and exterminate all living beings there, as the Indian army is doing. He also emphasized that struggle of democratic rights in different parts of India, such as Narmada Bachao Andolan, against POTA, against hunger, against communal massacres organized by the Indian state a re all part of one struggle. Let us fight together so that we are all victorious.

Earlier, Dr Pradip the convener LRS, Pune extended a warm welcome to all those present, in particular Dr. LP Singh who very kindly agreed to come to Pune and address the meeting. Briefly enumerating the facts since the premeditated rape and murder of T. Manorama Deviby by 17 Assam Rifles, he hailed the heroic struggle of manipur against the continuing state repression there under the draconian black law called Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Tracing the history of this act to The armed Forces (Special Powers) Ordinance of 1942 promulgated by the then Viceroy of India to crush the Quit India Movement Pradip read out a few excerpts from the various acts namely, The Assam Disturbed Areas Act, 1955 passed by the Assam State Assembly, The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 enacted by the Parliament of the Independent India and the Armed Forces (J&K) Special Powers Act, 1980. The most dangerous clause common to all these fascist laws is the unlimited impurity and protection guaranteed to the members of the armed forces acting under this law. They can do whatever they want and they cannot be persecuted in any court of law except with the explicit prior sanction of the central government. Under the orders of the Central government the army has arrested, raped, tortured maimed and killed thousands of innocent brothers and sisters in Manipur under the pretext of so called ensuring the “National Security” and the “unity and the territorial integrity of India “ Lok Raj Sangathan has organized such meetings and actions in different parts of India including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and other cities to make the people conscious of what atrocities are being perpetrated to our fellow citizens in manipur for the past 24 years and that too, in our name. It is our right and the duty to demand the repeal of this fascist act immediately.

A movie on the ongoing struggle of the brave Manipuri people against the state terrorism of the Indian state was screened. The vivid video clippings of the brutal assault and humiliation of Manipuri people by the Indian army, shocked all those present. Some people literally wept seeing the graphic images.

There were several interventions from the floor and all were unanimous in their determination to build a movement to repeal this black law immediately. Representatives from Manipuri Students Association described how various parts of the act violate the basic human rights of the people. Shyam supported the just struggle of the Manipuri people and promised to support all such initiatives so that much bigger actions can be organized. We have all chose=n to be Indians. Nobody should take us for granted. If this law is not repealed, Manipur will be another Kashmir, he said. Comrade Kerkar of LNP congratulated LRS for this excellent initiative and invited all those present to join together to take this meesage to various parts of Pune districts through trade unions and other organizations. He offered to hold the next such meeting in Shramik.

The militant spirit of all those present culminated in the unanaimous vote for the resolution nd promise from all to work together in the coming months. It was also proposed to work together from now onwards and plan for a big action on the Human Rights Day in Pune if by that time this act is not repealed. Pradip on behelf offered to work together with all in this direction. The meeting ended with a call to work towards a three point agenda – Repeal the AFSPA (and all such black laws), Punish the guilty and organize to fight for our democratic rights.

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Meeting to demand repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act from Manipur held in Bangalore

The meeting began with a brief cultural program, followed by a video which vividly portrayed the mass character of the struggle now unfolding in Manipur, as well as the brutality with which the police and armed forces in Manipur are dealing with it. The video left the audience shocked and moved.

Following this, Dr. L.Pardesi Singh of the Committee on Human Rights in Manipur, was invited to give the main speech. Dr. Singh gave a vivid picture of the struggle in Manipur. He also outlined the historical context of the current struggle and explained the circumstances under which the AFSPA came to be imposed most unjustly on Manipur. At the same time, the speaker emphasised that the brutal manner in which the Indian state has dealt with the demand for political and human rights in Manipur is essentially the same way that they deal with the just struggles of the people all over the country. He explained that the method of the rulers today, just like those of the British colonial rulers, is to divide and isolate the peoples who are fighting from each other. To resounding applause, he said that we should defeat these tactics and consider an attack on one as an attack on all, and fully support the struggle of the people against the unjust system everywhere.

After this, an activist from a women's organisation explained how rape and assault on women is used as a weapon to attack the people's struggles and terrorise them. A professor and leading member of a human rights organisation also spoke denouncing the atrocities perpetrated by the armed forces in Manipur, and endorsed the demand for the complete repeal of the AFSPA. A youth from one of the city's colleges then spoke passionately about how it is extremely important that people from outside Manipur should not consider this struggle as something that doesn't concern them, but should understand and give full support to this cause. Many participants put their signature to a written demand that was circulated for the complete repeal of the AFSPA.

The evening ended with an impressive rally that was taken out from the venue of the meeting. Carrying candles and placards, and accompanied by militant shouting of slogans, the demonstration wound its way through the busy city streets, attracting the attention of a large number of passersby.

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UN Secretary General's astonishing remark

An astonishing remark was made by the UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan in mid-September that the Iraq war is 'illegal.' It must be that the gentleman was reading several important books and volumes on international law to have come to this startling conclusion, which has not been so startling or unexpected for practically the entire population of the world, including most of the population in the countries that consitute the so-called 'coalition of the willing.' There have been loud cries of protest from the Australian Prime Minister, who claims that he had enough legal advice that their activities were within the ambit of international law. Clearly his advisors were reading books that were not available in any public libraries anywhere else in the world. Others have claimed that this statement around 50 days before the US Presidential election smacks of political interference and yet others said that Mr. Annan had no business airing these views, because it was within the scope of the mandate of his activities. A closer look at Mr Annan's other statements are also equally interesting. He claimed that the green light should have come after another Security Council resolution. In other words, he was not against the war against peace, but merely against the manner in which the US coalition went about it business. It could also be that these events are going to set the stage for greater UN involvement in Iraq, since the activities of the US led coalition have not made any headway in the original objectivites, and it is perhaps to set the stage to lend legitimacy to other plans that are probably in the offing. The appointment of the former Pakistan Ambassador to the US, Mr. Asghar Jehangir Qazi as the special UN envoy is also telling. It is unlikely that the persons who are occupying these posts are really at odds with the US. Their activities are to facilitate the entrenchment of US interests in the region, under the guise of UN mandate when suitable. All progressive forces should be watchful of attempts to garner any kind of prestige to the activities of the occupying powers, whether or not it is under the mandate of various self-serving UN resolutions.

Sincerely, S. Grover New York

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Restoration of Communist Unity and line of "lesser evil"

The summation on the August conference brings out many important aspects of the trend towards unity, and the festering differences within the revolutionary camp. Notable among the differences is the theory that communists need to support the 'lesser' evil. This points to some important roadblocks towards unity, and progress of the revolutionary movement. One of them is the refusal of some to not stop tailing the bourgeoisie, a point that has been repeatedly emphasized by the CGPI. The other is the need to have a clean break with the past. The communist movement in the post split era have unfortunately been beset with these two problems. It may be worth recalling here that in the cold-war era, one of the important trends in the movement was to support the two-worlds theory, viz., the imperialist and the socialist worlds. In doing so, the revolutionary theory for the liberation of the masses was turned into a theory for cheerleading the Soviet Union, no matter how insupportable its activities were. An important lesson that one must derive from that time is that one needs to have an independent position on matters of principle. I congratulate the CGPI for being on the forefront of elaboration of the theory required to equip the masses for their liberation, and for warning them of the traps the bourgeoisie has set for them.

Sincerely, A Narayan, Bangalore

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Nepal PM Deuba's visit to India:
No to Indian or any foreign intervention in Nepal's internal affairs!

In the last year or more, the Indian state has significantly stepped up its intervention on behalf of the rulers of Nepal against the insurgency there. The West Bengal and UP police have arrested and imprisoned leaders of the insurgency, and there is talk now of extraditing them to Nepal. The Indian government has provided arms and equipment to be used by the Royal Nepal Army in combating the insurgency, and has also commenced training Nepali police in counter-insurgency and jungle warfare at the headquarters of the notorious “Greyhounds” police force used by the authorities in Andhra Pradesh to fight the Naxalites. Indian External Affairs Ministry officials have stated openly that India is directly concerned with the insurgency in Nepal because it is linked with naxalite activities in India. It is no coincidence that Deuba's visit has come just before the Home Ministry here is convening a meeting of chief ministers specifically to discuss how to combat the Naxalites in their states.

Nepal is a sovereign state, and the Indian state has no business to get involved in the internal politics and conflicts within that country under whatever pretext. It is up to the people of Nepal to decide how to resolve the political crisis in their own country. To say that the situation there poses a “threat” to India's security is a complete sham, and an unjustified pretext for India's interference in the affairs of a neighbouring state. In fact, efforts have been going on within Nepal over the last couple of years to deal with the crisis by starting a dialogue between the conflicting parties there. These efforts are still continuing. If the Indian state is seriously interested in peace in Nepal and in preventing the conflict there from “spilling over” into India, it should be patient and wait for the peace efforts there to bear fruit. Instead, it is only exacerbating the conflict by pumping arms and bolstering up the military capacity of the Nepal army. From this, it would only be a short step to send in Indian troops and turn Nepal into a client state of India.

At the same time that the Indian state is stepping up its intervention in Nepal, moves are afoot by other powers as well to increase their influence in Nepal's internal affairs, either directly or in the name of the United Nations. The US and the UK have increased their military assistance to the Nepal government several times over in the last couple of years. There is also talk of bringing in UN or other “neutral” mediators. “International mediation” and “international donor assistance” have become thin disguises these days for controlling a country's policies and depriving it of its sovereignty. The Nepali people are being given a devil's choice of whether they prefer the 'help' of their Indian 'neighbour' or of 'the international community'! A similar situation is going on in Sri Lanka.

The Indian working class and people must not in any way condone any efforts by the Indian state to interfere in the affairs of Nepal or of any other state in this region. This is a dangerous course being pursued by the rulers of this country, in collaboration and also in competition with the US and other big powers. It is up to the people of those countries to resolve their problems as they see fit, in accordance with their needs and conditions.

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