Struggle against demolitions develops further

Following the successful struggle to put on hold the demolition of Transit Camp, and joint demonstration with other organizations to the Supreme Court against the demolition of houses and shops in Delhi, activists of the Lok Raj Sangathan, have expanded the area of the campaign against demolitions in the working class colonies of Delhi.

In the past one month, the Lok Raj Sangathan has reached out to thousands of workers, women, small shopkeepers, and youth. A street play summing up the experience of people in slums and the struggle to defend their rights, has been performed at more than 15 locations in the working class colonies, including Transit Camp, Indira Camp, Sanjay Colony, and Madanpur Khader resettlement colony. It has become the talking point for discussion amongst workers, women and youth with people. The street play has been prepared by the Rangbhoomi Natya Manch, a cultural group of working class youth, who come back late in the night after a hard day's toil and then practice and perform street theater in the cause of the working class and people. The play calls upon residents of all colonies to form sangharsh samitis to defend their interests and not leave their destiny in the hands of political parties of the ruling class.

The multi-lingual play depicts the life of working people displaced from their villages, coming to cities in search of livelihood. With great efforts they build their lives from scratch, again to be displaced under the pretext of development. It shows the role of the political parties of the bourgeoisie who keep the workers divided and as their vote banks. But the time comes when the people say enough is enough, we will organize ourselves into Sangharsh samitis and fight for our just rights.

Each show of street play was followed by mass interaction and political discussion. The thrust of discussion has been to form sangharsh samitis in each and every locality under the banner of Lok Raj Sangathan. Highlighting the success of the Transit Camp struggle it has been stressed that demolition could be averted because people took initiative in their own hands and had confidence in their own unity. As the street play troupe moved across various bastis, a number of people volunteered to organize staging of the street play in their locality.

The challenge today is to make the people conscious of the necessity to establish Lok Raj Samitis in the different working class colonies which will enable the workers, women, youth and small shopkeepers to unite around their just claims regarding housing, sanitation, education, health care, around security of livelihood and fight for the realisation of these claims.

It must be noted that the two week long intense struggle by residents of Transit Camp in May 2006 led by the Lok Raj Sangathan, had forced the government to bring in a legislation to stop demolitions for one year. This was a partial victory for the residents and shopkeepers of Delhi. In the period since then, many organisations in Delhi have got together to take the struggle against demolitions and forced evictions forward. However, there must be no illusion that the bourgeoisie has given up its plans of carrying out demolitions in the name of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The sword of demolitions hangs heavily over the people of Delhi. A powerful, united struggle of the toiling people is necessary in order to block the drive of the bourgeoisie and to defend the rights of the workers and working people and the small shopkeepers. Mazdoor Ekta Lehar warmly hails the work of the Lok Raj Sangathan and the Rangbhoomi Natya Manch as well as all other organisations involved in the struggle against demolitions that are fighting for the rights of the people.