• Kashmir devastated by earthquake

• We deeply mourn the passing away of our beloved Comrade Kewal Singh Purewal

• Hail the All-India Convention for Lok Raj!

• The guilty must be punished:
  It is essential to fix Command Responsibility

• No deal on agricultural trade behind the backs of the peasants!
  Guaranteeing livelihood to all the tillers cannot be compromised under any pretext!
  Statement of the Maharashtra Regional Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India

TOILERS & TILLERS

• Successful country-wide General Strike on 29 th September

• Massive rally of farmers in Mumbai

• No to privatization of water supply in Delhi!

WORLD

• Powerful anti-war protests shake the imperialist war mongering countries

Kashmir devastated by earthquake

Over 30,000 people have been reported killed and tens of thousands injured in the terrible earthquake that rocked Kashmir and other parts of Pakistan and Northern India on the morning of October 8. The figures of loss of life and limb and of loss of property are likely to go up as many districts are still inaccessible. The earthquake has destroyed Muzzafarabad, Uri and Baramulla, and caused grave damage to many towns and villages in Pakistan, including the capital city of Islamabad. People’s Voice conveys its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families in Kashmir and other parts of both India and Pakistan.

The earthquake has damaged Aman-Setu, the bridge recently constructed to ensure bus travel between Muzzafarabad and Srinagar. People in the Indian side of Kashmir are anxious to know about the fate of their families across the border. In the absence of telephone communication, which has been deliberately cut between the two sides of Kashmir by the Indian government some years back, they have no way of knowing anything.

The Chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, is reported as having said, “This is a natural disaster and a moment of a major crisis. If the two countries do not open up at this juncture, what more can motivate them to forget their decades old animosity and come jointly to the rescue of thousands of people here?”.

Pointing to the fact that nature did not recognise the Line of Control, the Hurriyat Chairman said, “Why should the two countries make it a big issue to let people, who are divided by this line, help each other? The two countries should open up, let villagers move unhindered.” He asked the Centre to immediately restore communication links between the Valley and PoK. “There are hundreds of people who want to know about the welfare of their relatives across in Muzaffarabad, Mirpur and Chakoti. They are desperate as the devastation is massive on that side of Kashmir,” he said.

It is clear that this tragedy, which has severely hit Kashmiris on both sides of the border, requires a coordinated action on the part of the governments of India and Pakistan; and the governments of Jammu & Kashmir and Azad Kashmir. It requires a people-centered approach to minimise the effects of this immense tragedy in the days and weeks to come. People’s Voice calls on the Indian and Pakistani governments to cooperate – to immediately restore communication links across the LoC and to facilitate the people on both sides of the border to help each other in these moments of crisis.

We deeply mourn the passing away of our beloved Comrade Kewal Singh Purewal

The Communist Ghadar Party of India mourns the passing away of our beloved Comrade Kewal Singh Purewal on 21 st September, 2005, in Stratford-on-Avon in England, at the age of 68.

A bus driver by profession, Comrade Kewal Singh Purewal was an active member of the Indian Workers Association (Great Britain), which he led from the front for nearly twenty years. He fought tirelessly for the rights of the working class. He fought for the rights of workers and working people of Indian origin and of other national minorities against racism and discrimination, as an integral part of the struggle of the working class. He worked tirelessly for the full participation of the Indian and other national minorities in the political affairs of their adopted country.

Comrade Kewal Singh Purewal committed his entire active life to the cause of emancipation of the working class and peoples of Britain and of India. He contributed actively to the work of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) and to the work of the Communist Ghadar Party of India. In his passing away, the communist and workers’ movement in both countries has suffered a great loss.

The Communist Ghadar Party of India sends its heartfelt condolences to the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist), to the Indian Workers Association (Great Britain) and to the family and friends of Kewal in Britain, in India and other countries.

Contents

Hail the All-India Convention for Lok Raj!

An All-India Convention on The Next Step in the Struggle for Human, Democratic and National Rights was held at Jamia Hamdard in Delhi on October 1-2, 2005. Over 400 activists from different fronts of struggle participated in this Convention organised by Lok Raj Sangathan. The participants freely exchanged their views and collectively arrived at some very important decisions.

After two days of deliberations, the Convention resolved to immediately launch two campaigns. One, a campaign to Punish the Guilty, and the other, a propaganda campaign for Electoral Reforms towards People’s Power. The Convention elected an 85 member All India Council of Lok Raj Sangathan, with Justice (Retd.) Hosbet Suresh re-elected as the President.

As part of the campaign to Punish the Guilty, the convention resolved to organise a mass rally in front of the Parliament as well as in front of various state assemblies on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day on 10 th December, 2005. The propaganda campaign for Electoral Reforms towards People’s Power will be launched in November by the Chennai branch of LRS, together with the National Coordination Committee for Unorganised Workers and other organisations of workers, peasants, women and youth.

Over 60 presentations and interventions were made during the Convention on the various themes — Economic Offensive on Rights, Political Offensive on Rights, Against Imperialism and War and for Lasting Peace, Renewal of Democracy for People’s Power, and the concluding session on the Next Steps.

The Convention was addressed by Mr. Abelardo R Cueto Sosa, Political Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Cuba. At the request of Mr. Sosa, all those present in the Convention stood for a minute in silence, in memory of the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the United States. In his address, Mr. Sosa explained the structure of people’s committees and volunteer groups that work along with the state organs in Cuba to protect and save people from natural disasters. He emphasised that no one is left to fend for himself or herself in his country.

Prakash Rao, who was re-elected convenor of Lok Raj Sangathan, concluded the proceedings with an inspiring speech. He called on all the participants to work to prepare the conditions for a broad peoples’ political front to emerge at the centre-stage of Indian politics in about two years’ time. He enthused the participants with the vision of a situation where people from all walks of life put forth their own candidates in all the Lok Sabha constituencies. Such candidates would campaign for the program of Lok Raj and challenge the parties of the status quo, he declared amidst thunderous applause.

Participants and speakers at this event belonged to numerous organisations of the people, including those listed below in alphabetical order:

All India Prohibition Council

Ankur Jan Shikshan Vibhag

Chetna

Committee on Human Rights (Manipur)

Committee for Judicial Accountability

Communist Ghadar Party of India,

Communist Party of India Marxist-Leninist (New Proletarian)

Forum for Democratic Initiatives

Ghadar Heritage Organisation (Canada)

Group of Concerned Sikhs

Heritage Grid

Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha

Indian Centre of Trade Unions (ICTU)

Indian Workers Association (Great Britain)

JOHAR from Chaibasa (Jharkhand)

Kashipur Support Groups of Mumbai and Delhi

Kisan Sangharsh Committee (Punjab)

Kisan Vyapari Mazdoor Sangharash Samiti (Rajasthan)

Lok Awaz Publishers and Distributors

Manipuri Students Association of Delhi

"Missile"

Modern Food Industries Employees Union

Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights

Nirmala Niketan

Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat Sangam

North East Coordination on Human Rights (Guwahati)

National Human Centric People’s Movement

People’s Front

Progressive Students Union

RESPECT Coalition (Britain)

Samajik Nyaya Morcha

Sanjay Colony Nivasi Sangharsh Samiti

Sikh Forum

Socialist Unity Centre of India

Social Justice Front

Students Forum of Haryana Agricultural University (Hissar)

The Other Media

Ulhasnagar Committee of Lok Raj Sangathan

Vyavasaya Sangam (Tamilnadu)

"We for Bhopal"

The two-day Convention concluded in a spirit of unity, optimism and resolve to carry out the agreed upon decisions.

Lok Awaz Publishers put up a stall at this Convention with posters and publications of the Communist Ghadar Party of India. The latest issue of Mazdoor Ekta Lehar/ People’s Voice, with a lead article that the Guilty must be Punished, were sold in large numbers at this stall. Numerous annual subscriptions were collected. The Report of the Third Congress of CGPI – Towards the Rule of Workers and Peasants and a Voluntary Indian Union – attracted considerable interest among the participants.

People’s Voice considers this Convention and its decisions to be an important milestone in the struggle of the working class, peasantry and all the oppressed to build their political unity against the bourgeois offensive and turn the tide in favour of the revolution – the only road to real solutions of the problems afflicting Indian society.

Contents

The guilty must be punished:

It is essential to fix Command Responsibility

One of the reasons why the guilty have not been punished in any of the numerous cases of pre-meditated mass communal massacres in our country is that the political institutions and the laws governing justice are seriously flawed.

As a result of supreme power being concentrated in the hands of the Executive, that is the party in power, no case is registered even when official Commissions of enquiry name guilty individuals and recommend that cases be registered against them. The Kapur-Mittal Committee, appointed in February 1987 to enquire into the role of the police in the November 1984 genocide, recommended immediate dismissal of 30 police officers, but no action was taken against any of them. The Jain-Banerjee Committee recommended registration of cases against Mr. Sajjan Kumar in August 1987, but no case was registered. The Jain-Aggarwal Committee, appointed in December 1990, recommended registration of cases against Congress leaders H. K. L. Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar, Dharamdas Shastri and Jagdish Tytler. Not a single case was registered. Many more examples can be given of this nature.

The Commissions and Committees set up by the Central and State governments have only powers to recommend that the government take certain actions, but it is up to the government of the day to do so or not.

Those in positions of power can even dismiss or shut down Commissions that make recommendations that are not to their liking. Thus, for example, the Shiv Sena –BJP government which came to power in Maharashtra in 1995, wound up the Justice Srikrishna Commission, that had been appointed in 1993, to probe into the Mumbai ‘riots’ following the destruction of Babri Masjid. It was later forced to revive this Commission under public pressure.

The law of the land permits victims to file FIR’s on the basis of which cases could be subsequently registered against those individuals named as direct perpetrators of the crime. It does not permit victims to file cases against those who gave orders from behind closed doors. The victims of the November 1984 and Gujarat 2002 genocides are required to establish the guilt of the particular individuals who actually executed the killings, while there is no way to charge those in command who gave the orders. It is a complete travesty of justice to say that when killer mobs, at the behest of the ruling party and government, lynch one's loved ones, or rape one's mothers and sisters, they should file a FIR against some persons in the mob, and expect the police, working under the command of the same government, to pursue the case. It is hardly surprising therefore that such cases rarely lead to any conviction. What it does ensure is that ruling parties escape being charged with the crimes they organise. Similarly, army commanders are protected from being charged with crimes that they had ordered the troops under their command to commit.

The legal system that is in operation in our country is an inheritance from colonial times. The British colonialists established laws to protect their interest of plundering the rich land and labour of India. The Indian bourgeoisie has retained this anti-people legal and judicial system so as to continue with the exploitation and plunder, with themselves in the driver’s seat. The laws are designed to punish those who rebel against the exploitative and oppressive order, and to protect those who benefit from this system.

The communists and progressive forces who rose up to defeat fascism in the 20 th century recognised that the fascist war criminals must be punished in order to prevent such crimes in the future. They fought for establishing the principle of command responsibility, which gained international acceptance after the Second World War.

According to the principle of command responsibility, commanders are responsible for the acts of their subordinates. While this originally referred to military commanders, it was extended to civilian authorities as well. One of the most prominent examples is Koki Hirota, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Japan during World War II. He was held criminally liable as a commander for the atrocities committed by the Japanese military, despite his position as a civilian leader.

Applying the principle of command responsibility would imply that following the November 1984 massacre, Home Minister Narasimha Rao ought to have been immediately charged with the crime of failing to protect the people. By the same logic, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh should have been charged with failure to protect the people in the case of the Bhopal Gas tragedy. Both he and the Prime Minister of India should have been charged with the crime of failing to punish the culprit, the American company Union Carbide.

Both the BJP, in charge of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, and the Congress Party in charge at the centre when the Babri Masjid was destroyed, along with their respective leaders, should have been charged with the crime of wanton destruction of a historical monument and failure to protect citizens from communal violence. The Congress Party, which was in command in Maharashtra at that time, should have been charged with failure to protect Muslims during the Mumbai violence in 1992-93. And when the Godhra episode and communal carnage took place in Gujarat in 2002, the Chief Minister of Gujarat and other responsible state ministers and officers should have been charged with the crime of failing to protect the lives of all residents of Gujarat.

Although India was party to the international Genocide Convention signed in 1959, the principle of command responsibility has not been enshrined in the law of the land. This is not surprising given the fact that state terrorism of various forms – that is the use of force by the state against the people – has become the preferred method of rule by the bourgeoisie and its major parties in the country.

The movement against state terrorism and communal violence has recognised the need to fix criminal responsibility on Ministers and officials for incidents of mass violence against any group of citizens. In response to the popular demand for a law against genocide and many proposals that have been made by people’s organisations, the Government of India has come up with a Communal Violence (Suppression) Bill, 2005. This Bill contains nothing towards fixing command responsibility in the case of communal violence and other forms of mass crimes. It further reinforces the supreme power enjoyed by the Executive, with the authority to declare any area as “communally disturbed” being an exclusive prerogative in the hands of the Government of the day.

The struggle to punish the guilty is a component part of the struggle to establish afresh the fundamental law of the land. The peoples of India can and must re-establish the fundamental law based on the lessons drawn from Indian political theory and the lessons of Indian and international experience until today. Such a fundamental law would be in conformity with the age-old aspiration and ideal of the peoples of this subcontinent – namely, a State that ensures protection and prosperity for all members of society. It would enshrine the principle that people can demand protection from the State as a matter of right; and those in positions of authority who fail to provide protection are guilty and subject to the severe punishment they deserve.

No deal on agricultural trade behind the backs of the peasants!

Guaranteeing livelihood to all the tillers cannot be compromised under any pretext!

Statement of the Maharashtra Regional Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India

Comrade Peasants, Brothers and Sisters,

On behalf of the Regional Committee of the CGPI, we warmly salute all of you who have come to participate in this important action organized by the Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers’ Movement. You have come from various parts of the country and you represent one of the most exploited sections of our society. You have gathered here to express your strong opposition to various government policies, including:

• Withdrawal of minimum support price to most of the agricultural commodities
• Dismantling of the government procurement system
• Freeing of import and / or reduction of import duties on many agricultural products
• Dismantling of Public Distribution System
• Drastic reduction and even withdrawal of subsidies on inputs like electricity, water, fertilizers
• Extreme strong arm tactics to recover agricultural loans
• Dismantling of government mandis for private mandis of companies like ITC, Cargill, etc.
• Reversal of land reforms to suit the interests of MNCs and Indian agro business houses, enabling them to carry out contract farming
• Moves to dismantle the Cotton Procurement Scheme

Who has been asking for such policy changes?

The working class of India never asked for policy changes like privatization of the public sector, changes in labour laws in favour of the capitalists, and so on. In fact it is vehemently opposing these changes. Similarly, the peasants of India have never asked for the policy changes that you have gathered here to oppose. These policy changes began after the drive for globalization by means of privatization and liberalization was launched in 1991. There is no doubt that imperialists have been demanding these changes through their agencies like the IMF, World Bank, WTO, etc. But can we afford to forget that the big Indian capitalists have also been clamoring for these changes? Is it possible for the Goverment of India to execute such changes unless the big Indian capitalists like Tatas, Birlas, Ambanis, Bajaj’s, Thapars, Mittals, Singhanias, etc. want them? After all it is these big capitalists who control the Government of India. That is why, whether it is Congress-led governments or BJP-led governments, they have all worked together in executing these policies. Their words have been different, the various masks they wore at various times have been different. But when it comes to action, they have always rigourously pursued the same policies. Due to the severe opposition from the working class, peasantry and working people, the present UPA government was forced to reduce the pace of reforms. However, its relentless pursuit of reforms continues. None of the reforms have been reversed. The enemy of the working class and peasantry is the same – the class of big capitalists and their representatives like the Congress and the BJP.

Comrade Peasants, Brothers and Sisters,

Many meetings of the governments of various countries have already been held to discuss various policies related to the WTO. The Sixth Ministerial of the WTO will be held in Hong Kong in December 2005. In these circumstances, various government officials and ministers are telling the fighting peasants that the Indian Government will have to make certain “compromises”.

We have to clearly and unequivocally tell them that there can be no compromise with policies that have:

• Driven tens of thousands of peasants to suicide and are pushing lakhs more in the same direction
• Devastated even middle level farmers with 5 to 25 acres of land, forcing them to abandon them and either migrate to slums and chawls of big cities in search of work, take work under the EGS or work as farm hands on big corporate farms
• Resulted in the deaths of lakhs of children all over the country due to malnutrition while tens of millions of tons of grain rots in FCI godowns
• Forced peasants to either sell their farm produce at less than cost to private or corporate middlemen or to let it rot or burn in their farms.
• We must demand reversal of such policies and make it clear to the Government of India that it is among its primary duties to:
• Provide all agri-inputs like water, electricity, seed, feriliser, funds, etc. at affordable prices
• Ensure remunerative prices for all farm produce
• Ensure availability of good quality of food, shelter, health and education in every nook and cranny of our country.

Comrades,

Whether it is a struggle against anti-farmer policies, or a struggle against privatization and pro-capitalist labour reforms, or a struggle for good quality health care, education, food, and shelter for all, finally it is a political struggle. Today it is the big capitalists who hold the reins of power and hence what they want happens. The peasantry, working class and all the working people must fight unitedly for establishing the political power of the working class and peasantry. It is such a political power that while dealing with international agencies like the WTO, IMF, World Bank, etc., will never compromise the interests of the working people of our country.

And that is why, comrades, while fighting to pressurize the government that is controlled mainly by the class of big capitalists, let us also work towards establishing a rule of the working class and peasantry. We have to build this political power as the state of the working people to exercise control over the society and ensure that it meets their claims.

No deal on agricultural trade behind the backs of the peasants!

Guaranteeing livelihood to all the tillers cannot be compromised under any pretext!

Successful country-wide General Strike on 29 th September

People’s Voice hails the successful country-wide general strike observed by all sections of the working class on 29 th September, against the economic offensive of the bourgeoisie.

The central trade unions as well as hundreds of unions of the organized and ‘unorganised’ sector workers, agricultural workers and youth participated in the country-wide demonstrations, rallies, rasta-roko and other militant protest actions.

The General Strike was organized

• to protest against the program of privatisation and other market oriented reforms;
• to oppose the Labour Laws Amendment and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2005, which seeks to curtail the rights of labour;
• to oppose the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bill 2005, which seeks to deprive a large section of workers of any legal protection for their rights; and
• to demand a central comprehensive legislation for workers in the ‘unorganised’ sectors
• The bourgeois media was filled with anti-worker propaganda, blaming them for disrupting economic life for one whole day throughout the country. Appearing on television, leaders of the central trade unions argued that it is the ruling class that is to blame for attacking livelihood and disrupting the lives of the toiling masses on a daily basis, in the name of economic reforms and global competitiveness. The bourgeoisie is to blame for pursuing a program that only benefits the super rich minority. The only effective means available to the working class for expressing its will is to halt the capitalist profit making process by striking work, they argued.
• Participation in the one day general strike was remarkable for its breadth and coverage of different sectors and in different parts of the country. Those who struck work on 29 th September included:
• Employees of airports and the civil aviation in all the 124 airports across the country;
• More than 1 crore (10 million) government employees, of both central and state governments, including telecom and postal services, income tax and audit offices;
• Defence sector employees working in ordinance factories and depots;
• Nearly 20 lakh (2 million) employees of banks and insurance companies;
• More than 4 lakh coal mining workers in Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh;
• Oil sector workers in the major refineries and installations in Assam, Tripura, West Bengal, Bihar and Haryana;
• Steel sector workers in Durgapur, Burnpur, Salem and other places;
• Electricity workers in most states;
• Workers in all the hydel projects under construction in Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Jammu;
• Port and dock workers at Kolkata, Haldia, Kochi, Kandla, Paradip, Tuticorin, Vishakapatnam and Mumbai;
• Employees of major public sector units in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Vishakapatnam;
• Workers in the industrial centres of Maharashtra — Navi Mumbai, Thane, Nasik, Pune, Solapur, Nagpur and Aurangabad;
• Workers in the industrial areas of Delhi —Okhla (phase I and II), Wazirpur, Mangolpuri, Jhilmil, Mayapuri, Kirti Nagar, Patparganj, etc.;
• Workers in the industrial centres of Haryana — at Gurgaon, Panipat, Sonepat, Karnal and Rohtak;
• Textiles, hosiery and other manufacturing sector workers in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Mandigobindgarh, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar;
• Industrial, banking, public service and ‘unorganised’ sector workers in Tamilnadu;
• Transport workers belonging to both state-owned and private bus companies in many states;
• Workers in the plantation sector, sugar and cement industries;
• Construction workers of both the organised and ‘unorganised’ sectors;
• Workers in brick kilns, head-load, beedi and mandi workers; and
• Anganwadi workers all over the country.

The 29 th September all-India General Strike clearly demonstrates the outright opposition of broad sections of the working class all across the country to the path of economic ‘reform’ being pursued by the big bourgeoisie and implemented by the central and state governments. It shows that the working class of India is not willing to accept the attacks on their livelihood and rights. It shows that the tactics of the big bourgeoisie to continue with privatisation and liberalisation, allegedly with a ‘human face’, have failed to deceive or pacify the working class.

Contents

Massive rally of farmers in Mumbai

One lakh farmers converged in Azad Maidan (Mumbai) to protest the Indian Government’s WTO policies and dumping of subsidised agricultural products .

The Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements (ICCFM), a coalition of farmer unions from across the country, organised the rally on 2nd October 2005. Farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Utt aranchal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Kerala and Maharashtra participated in this action. The organizations participating included the Bhartiya Kis san Union (All India), the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, the Shetkari Sangathana (Maharashtra), the Madhya Pradesh Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, the Tamil Nadu Farmers and Workers Party, and the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Labourers Union.

Braving rain, the farmers declared that the struggle would be intensified in the coming period. Over 40,000 farmers courted arrest as they were prevented from marching from Azad Maidan to the Mumbai Port to express their opposition to “dumping” of agricultural products under the WTO.

People's Voice hails the militant action of the farmers. Tens of thousands of copies of the party statement addressed to the farmers were distributed at the Azad Maidan rally. (The statement is reproduced in this issue).

Indian agriculture is in grave crisis and the tillers have been the victims of this deepening crisis caused by declining output prices, escalating input prices, lack of irrigation facilities, cut back in public procurement, and eliminating guaranteed output prices. Both the BJP and the UPA governments have unveiled agricultural policies that have only exacerbated the crisis, while making false promises of prosperity.

The UPA government’s policy aims to transform agriculture into agri-business like in the more capitalist economies; such a policy can only serve the interest of big corporations through contract farming, cheap imports of seeds, plant material and raw materials for processing, the setting up of private mandis of the likes of ITC and Cargill.

One of the main demands of the ICCFM is that agriculture must be kept out of the purview of the WTO. Since 1995, when India joined the WTO, there has been a surge in imports of agricultural commodities, which are being dumped by developed countries in the international market below their cost of production. This has led to a deep decline in domestic agriculture prices corresponding with a fall in world prices.

At the same time the import tariff on goods coming into India have been progressively reduced from 1990-91; the average applied tariff rate in 2004-05 is almost 65% lower than the average applied rate in 1990-91. With the withdrawal of quantitative restriction and reduction in tariff, there has been a surge of cheap subsidised imports in India. This is a serious undermining of the capacity of the Indian peasant to secure his livelihood.

India’s farmers have clearly spoken against the destruction of agriculture and the attack on the livelihood of the tillers. They have demanded that agricultural policy must serve those who till and not the big corporations.

Contents

No to privatization of water supply in Delhi!

People's Voice condemns the surreptitious moves of the Delhi government to privatise the Delhi Jal Board and the water supply to the people of Delhi. These moves have been going on behind the backs of the people in connivance with the World Bank, successive Central Governments, as well as multinational companies involved in the business of water distribution. This water privatization is going on under the alluring name of “24/7”, by creating an illusion that 24 hour supply of water will be available to all the people of Delhi. There has been a powerful cry of protest from different sections of the populace of Delhi as well as various political forces against these moves. However, till date, the Shiela Dikshit Government has refused to call off the plans for privatization of water supply.

The people living in slums and resettlement colonies have to stand hours in line waiting for tankers to get a few buckets of water for their daily needs. For the people living in planned colonies too, the supply of water is erratic and so is its quality. There is a huge amount of wastage of water in the capital, with different estimates placing the unaccounted water between 30% and 50%. Providing adequate piped water of good quality to all homes is the demand of society. It is the duty of the government to ensure the same. Instead of doing so, the Delhi government, working at the behest of the financial oligarchy wants to abdicate its responsibility. This cannot and must not be allowed to pass.

The struggle against the move of the Delhi government to privatise water is gaining momentum across the city. Even as the government is denying that there is any such move, DJB officials and the state government are in successive meetings with the World Bank, There is a barrage of propaganda by the World Bank and other proponents of privatisation that the water situation in Delhi is deplorable, and that the distribution system needs an overhaul. While the people of Delhi, who have long suffered from this fact could not agree more, they are quite clear that handing over the control over water supply to a Vivendi or Manila Water (multi-national water corporations) is certainly not the solution.

It is condemnable that in modern times, such a basic facility is being denied to large sections of the city's residents. The government’s “24/7” project includes no proposal for increasing the supply to the city, for stemming wastage, or for equitable distribution. The privatisation of water is simply to ensure monopoly profits for the water multinationals by placing the people of Delhi at their mercy. Private control of distribution of water will necessarily further skew the distribution pattern of water supply. Private water companies will maximize their profits by supplying to users who are willing to pay, such as five-star hotels and clubs. With a steep rise in water tariffs, the majority of the population will pay more for less water.

Delhi residents, both from the JJ colonies as well as the authorized colonies, have come out to the streets to oppose the water privatisation move. The Delhi Government must publicly withdraw its application to the World Bank for loan to implement the privatisation project. The working class and working people of Delhi, must step up the struggle to block the privatization of water. Non-partisan citizens’ councils must be established at colony as well as all Delhi level to develop the struggle. The Delhi government cannot escape from its responsibility of answering the questions people are raising, which is what is preventing it and the Delhi Jal Board working under its jurisdiction from ensuring equitable, good quality, and adequate water for all the people of Delhi at affordable rates,

Water is a public resource, and access to water is a very basic right. The State must ensure that everyone has access to potable water in sufficient quantity and at affordable prices. The control over its distribution cannot be handed over to private companies, as it is not acceptable to subordinate the needs of the people to the drive for profits of private water monopolies. It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure that water is available to all at affordable rates and in an equitable manner.

Contents

Powerful anti-war protests shake the imperialist war mongering countries

September 24 – anti-war day was marked by massive demonstrations the world over. In one single voice, the peoples of the world once again issued a powerful notice to the war mongering imperialists that the struggle to end the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, the struggle to punish Bush and Blair and their cohorts for war crimes, the struggle for lasting peace in the world is very much on.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Washington and London to condemn their governments and demand an end to the war. Old and young, women, workers, youth, students, and war veterans were unanimous in demanding that the US and British troops should get out of Iraq, and every other country in the world – Out of the Philippines! Out of Korea! Out of Colombia! Out of Puerto Rico! Out of Afghanistan!

The anti-war protests in the US took place in the wake of Hurricane Katrina which had devastated the lives of lakhs of people, with thousands dead. Not just the American people, but people worldwide saw the callous lack of response to the sufferings of the victims and have expressed their anger. President Bush, in response to criticism from the public, had called for military rule. On this anti-war day, the American people, in thousands, expressed their anger against the attacks on social programs, against military recruitment, the government's criminal disaster in New Orleans and against efforts to establish military rule in the US, with placards reading “Bush: Fascist Gun in the West”, “Relief Not War”, “Failure Abroad and at Home”, “Lead by Obeying the People”, “Strengthen the People’s Forces”.

In London over 100,000 marched for peace, led by Military Families against the War. Organisations and campaigns were out in force – Stop the War, local peace groups, Socialist Party, Respect, CND, Campaign against Climate Change, sacked Gate Gourmet workers and trade unions.

Hundreds of other actions involving lakhs of people took place in other towns of the US, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. It is very clear to the peoples of the world that the US and British imperialist states are the terrorists who pose the greatest danger to peace in the world today; they send their troops to every corner of the world to subjugate people fighting for their rights. On the other hand, the American and British peoples have clearly demanded that their voices must be heard.

Two proposals emerged from the actions in September. In the US, people organized hundreds of actions in September to oppose military recruiting. A national "Not Your Soldier" Youth and Student Day of Action is planned for November 17th. In London, there is a proposal to organize a London Conference on December 10, 2005 involving different anti-war forces in Iraq, Britain, the US and the rest of the world.

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