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Internet Edition: June 1-15, 2006
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Online Archives
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Condemn the brutal state repression on protesting students! Social justice requires a social revolution to eradicate the caste system! Statement of the Central Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, 28 th May, 2006
The ruling Congress Party and its supporters are trying to justify the brutal state violence on striking students by asserting that the expansion of caste-based reservation is the only way towards ‘social justice’. This is fascistic logic that denies the right of people to express opinions that are different from those in power. In addition, their assertion is not supported by historical facts. If caste-based reservation is taking society towards social justice, then why is Indian society ridden with caste divisions even in this 21st century, with many forms of atrocities, oppression and discrimination on the basis of one’s caste identity? Why are the sons and daughters of the lower castes at a disadvantage in terms of education and job opportunities? Why have more than five decades of the reservation policy not brought about the social justice that it is allegedly aimed at? The experience of the past 58 years and more after formal independence shows that social justice cannot be won through caste based reservation. The very fact that the demand for social justice keeps appearing again and again shows that the policy of caste based reservation has not addressed the problem. It has not enabled society to liberate itself from the accursed brahmanical caste order. What does social justice mean for the victims of the caste order? He or she must have access to all public facilities on an equal basis with all others, including access to education of good quality, health care, access to village wells, etc. It requires that anyone who is guilty of caste based oppression or discrimination is promptly and severely punished. It means that a member of a lower caste stops being conscious of his or her allegedly inferior status, and begins to perform as well as every other human being in society. It requires that he or she is treated by others as an equal member of society. It requires a well-planned, state funded campaign to systematically educate and mobilise the entire population against the evils of the caste system and the urgent need to root it out. In short, social justice requires a social revolution that will sweep away the hated caste system. The superiority and inferiority of human beings based on the brahmanical ideology, with knowledge being the monopoly preserve of the men of high caste, has to be smashed to permit the human development to its full potential. The ruling class uses caste based reservation as a tool to divert the struggle of the people for progress, and to break or prevent their political unity. The Congress Party is a past master in this game, which it learnt from the British colonialists. The colonial rulers of India introduced the policy of caste based reservation precisely to avoid fulfilling the demand for putting an end to the caste system. They reduced the slogan of ‘social justice’ to mean nothing but the reservation of quotas for the disadvantaged castes. The rulers of India since 1947 have continued with this colonial legacy and are continuing with it even today in this 21 st century. The policy of caste based reservation serves multiple purposes for the ruling bourgeoisie. It diverts the struggle against the brahmanical caste order; and divides the ranks of those who are fighting against oppression and exploitation, including those who are protesting against the anti-social offensive of liberalisation and privatisation, and those demanding education and jobs as basic rights. At the same time, caste based reservation serves to consolidate the status quo through the distribution of privileges and accommodation of a tiny minority from the lower castes into the elite. It serves to perpetuate caste identity and caste consciousness among the people. The Government of India has not implemented nor is it presenting any coherent plan today for educating, training and deploying the human productive potential of the entire population. While enrollment in elementary schools has risen, the children of uneducated parents do not receive education of acceptable quality. While children trained to speak English hope to get lucrative employment, the majority of students in government schools are being guaranteed nothing more than 100 days a year of backbreaking manual work at abysmally low wages. An important question of public policy, such as the number of highly trained doctors to be produced at public cost, is being addressed in an ad hoc manner, for a partisan political end. All these facts show that the Government is playing with the fate of the people. It is engaging in vote bank politics in the name of ‘social justice’, alongside the implementation of the privatisation and liberalisation program to fatten the corporate giants, Indian and multinational. The Communist Ghadar Party of India believes that educated and enlightened women and men of the 21 st century must not fall into the trap of taking a position for or against reservation, and fighting with one another on this basis. How can good quality education and appropriate productive employment be guaranteed as a basic human right for everyone, irrespective of caste, gender or any other consideration? How can Indian society be liberated from the curse of the brahmanical caste order? What are the short-term and long-term measures required to be taken in order to achieve this? These are the real questions that are demanding answers. People have every right to demand that these questions must be addressed seriously, and on an urgent basis. They have every right to oppose the use of caste-based reservation as a tool for expanding the vote banks of this or that political party or faction, and as a tool to destroy the unity of the people around their demand for education and jobs for all. |
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Determined struggle of Transit Camp residents forces postponement of government's eviction plans
Activists of Lok Raj Sangathan have been in the forefront of the struggle, together with the Transit Camp residents, to resist their eviction. Starting from April 28, local meetings were held every day, in various blocks of Transit Camp, which were atended by hundreds of residents. At these meetings, the activists of LRS and the Communist Ghadar Party of India spoke to the residents about the need to unite, get organised and resist the eviction on the basis of their own strength. House-to-house campaigns were carried out by LRS members, to discuss the issue with the residents and mobilise them to come to the meetings.
On May 1, more than 750 TC residents gathered under the banner of LRS for a May Day demonstration and rally. Waving hundreds of red flags, carrying placards saying "We must go all out to save Transit Camp!", "Transit Camp zindabad! Lok Raj Sangathan zindabad!" and raising militant slogans denouncing the Delhi government and the DDA, the demonstrators marched through the lanes of the colony. During the march, LRS activists called on the residents to join the rally and spke to them about the significance of their struggle. The march culminated in a massive rally in a park within the colony. At this rally, the spokesperson of Communist Ghadar Party of India, Prakash Rao gave an inspiring speech, urging the residents to rise to the occasion and give a fitting reply to the injustice that was being done to them. On May 5, the residents of TC were informed, through notices put up by the DDA in various places in the colony, that they had exactly three days to clear out of their homes and that on May 9, the bulldozers would be arriving to raze their homes to the ground. Panic and anger seized the residents. Activists of Lok Raj Sangathan immediately swung into action. From May 5 to May 7, massive public meetings were held every day, starting in the early evening and going on till late into the night. At these meetings, Communist Ghadar Party's spokesperson Prakash Rao cautioned the residents against putting too much faith in the Courts. "Courts are nothing but instruments in the hands of the ruling class", he explained. "It is only through our united strength and our resolute struggle that we will turn the situation in our favour!", he declared. LRS activist Bijju Nayak gave a rousing call to the residents to come together in large numbers and form a local samiti to work out the strategy for their struggle. Sucharita of LRS asked the residents to put their faith on their own united strength and not on the politicians of this or that political party, who only wanted to use the sentiments of the people to garner votes for themselves and keep the people divided, while representing the interests of the big bourgeoisie of turning Delhi into a 'world class metropolis' by throwing out millions of toiling people from their homes. Prominent media personalities, lawyers and human rights activists were invited by LRS to address these meetings while newspaper reporters and television crew were invited to cover the events. On the evening of May 8, barely hours before the bulldozers were expected to arrive, inspired by the call of LRS and CGPI, thousands of irate TC residents descended on the two main junctions of the busy Okhla highway, blocking off traffic from all directions. For 4 full days and nights, from the evening of May 8 to the evening of May 12, the 'chakka jam' continued. Braving the mid-noon sun and keeping vigil all through the night, activists of LRS joined the thousands of TC residents in this militant action, which made headlines in the media. Effigies of DDA and the Delhi government were burnt. Enthusiastic groups of youth raised slogans, sang songs and staged demonstrations, to keep up the morale. Throughout the evening and late into the night, members of LRS and several local activists addressed the residents sitting on dharna and urged them to keep up their unity and fighting spirit. They worked actively among the people to foil any attempts at spreading disinformation and panic. Women of the colony came out in overwhelming numbers to participate and many women were witnessed wielding lathis to ward off any attempts by the police to break up their struggle. Such was the determination and anger of the residents, that the DDA and police did not dare to intervene. On the evening of May 12, a public meeting was held at the main Okhla junction, which was addressed by Prakash Rao, spokesperson of the Communist Ghadar Party, Bijju Nayak and other activists of LRS and several local activists. At this meeting, the decision was taken to end the road blockade and continue the struggle in a different form, through mass hunger strike. Several women came forward and volunteered to go on hunger strike. For the next 4 days, with the harsh sun beating down upon them all day, the hunger strike continued. The condition of a few of the women deteriorated so much that they had to be rushed to hospital. Bijju Nayak and other activists of LRS also joined in the hunger strike. Throughout this period, LRS worked in close coordination with the protesting residents of TC, assisting them at every step and kept the flag of the struggle flying high. Lok Raj Sangathan leader Sanjeewani Jain from Mumbai addressed the residents and spoke of the brutality with which the government had evicted the slum dwellers in Mandala in Mumbai. She congratulated the people, particularly the women, for the bold struggle they were putting up and emphasised that this is the only way to defeat the plans of the ruling class. On May 16, following the decision of the Delhi High Court to grant a stay on the demolition of TC till August 21, a massive public meeting was held in the evening at the main Okhla junction, the venue of the hunger strike. At this meeting, the convener of LRS and spokesperson of the Communist Ghadar party of India, Prakash Rao hailed the militant fighting spirit of the women who had gone on hunger strike. He congratulated the residents of TC for their resolute struggle, which had forced the government to postpone temporarily its eviction and demolition plans. However, he cautioned the residents that the struggle is not over, "While we have won a temporary reprieve, the government is going to use this time to rework its strategy and attack us again. So we must use this time to organise ourselves even better and work out our strategy for continuing the struggle in different forms, without falling prey to illusions about the Courts or the political parties", he emphasised. The struggle of the residents of TC continues. Members of Lok Raj Sangathan are assisting the residents to find all the information related to their land allotment by the DDA from the concerned authorities. They are also leading the residents in conducting a signature campaign on an 'appeal for justice to TC' which is going to be sent to the President, the Prime Minister, Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and the National Human Rights Commission. |
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Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nepal – not to the existing Parliament Following the mass revolutionary uprising against the monarchy in Nepal, the Parliament has taken control of the armed forces. On 18 th May, this Parliament, which is called the Nepal House of Representatives, declared itself to be the sovereign and supreme body of the country. It declared that Nepal is a secular state, and announced a series of measures for curtailing the powers of the king, but without abolishing the monarchy altogether.
The Parliament that is taking all these measures has been revived only on account of the historic and successful mass upsurge of the Nepali people which set the goal of convening a new Constituent Assembly as soon as possible. The present Parliament therefore, can only be regarded as a transitional body, and cannot claim to be the absolute sovereign body representating the will of the people. Shortly following the revolutionary upsurge, this Parliament had called for an elected Constituent Assembly that would determine the fate of the monarchy and the future form of political power in the country. This was a reflection of the popular will of the people. However, instead of implementing this call, the Parliament is now acting as the supreme decision making body. It has already started to make decisions about the nature of the new political system. It is being supported in these endeavours by the ruling circles of India, international ‘experts’ sent by the World Bank, and other external reactionary forces. What is happening in Nepal is comparable in many ways to the transfer of power that took place in India in 1947. While it was the broad masses of people whose struggle brought an end to colonial rule, sovereignty did not pass into their hands. Sovereignty was transferred from the British Crown into the hands of those political parties and personalities who had been recognised and accommodated by the British rulers in the past. The Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution of India was not elected by the people. It was formed from those who had been elected under colonial rule, based on a limited franchise where only those with property and education had the right to vote. As a result, it was those classes groomed by the colonial rulers – the big capitalists and big landlords – who became the ruling classes of independent India. The transfer of power into the hands of these elite blocked the path to revolutionary transformations for which the people aspired. The demand for an elected Constituent Assembly in Nepal is entirely just and a necessary step for the people to realise their aspirations. The existing Parliament is duty bound to implement this demand. It has no right to consolidate supreme power in its own hands and begin to take decisions about the future of the country. The people of Nepal must not allow their struggle to be betrayed in a similar manner to what happened in India in 1947. They must persist in their demand for a popularly elected Constituent Assembly, as a step towards establishing a modern democracy where the people will be sovereign. |
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The ‘United Progressive Alliance’ led by the Congress Party, with Manmohan Singh at the head, has just completed two years in office. The facts show that this government has pursued the same anti-social program of liberalisation and privatisation as the previous government. The secret negotiations with the US imperialists, which were initiated under BJP rule, have been brought to a conclusion under Congress rule, in the form of the US-India strategic alliance. Profitable public enterprises such as the Delhi and Mumbai airports have been sold to private corporations, Indian and multinational. Homes of thousands of working people and shops of small business families have been destroyed in the name of modernising the cities to ‘global standards’. More and more peasants are being ruined and driven to suicide. They are caught between the uncertainties of nature and the global market, and the certainty of the debt servicing demands of moneylenders and banks. They are also falling victim to the domination of agro-business corporations over agricultural production and trade. Tribal people, forest dwellers, fisher folk and other toiling people have been deprived of their source of livelihood and left to perish for the sake of the ‘development’ of India on an imperialist course. The unpopular course of globalisation of Indian capital, through privatisation and liberalisation, is being pursued relentlessly by the UPA government along with an elaborate charade of erecting a ‘human face’ to cover up the inhuman program. The content of this ‘human face’ has largely been a repeat of old schemes with minor modifications and new names. This includes the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and its implementation. The NREGA provides for 100 days of work per year for one member of a poor family in selected districts, with the work consisting of backbreaking manual labour to earn between Rs. 30 and Rs. 50 per day. This is less than even the official minimum wage rate. Just 100 days of labour at such super-exploitative terms is far less than what is required for a human being to survive, let alone support a family. The life experience of the workers, peasants and vast majority of people over the past two years prove that Congress rule is no better than BJP rule. They show that the consequences of further expansion of capitalism and pursuit of an imperialist aim have inhuman consequences. The addition of a ‘human face’ does not change this fact. The experience of the past two years also shows in what way the UPA is different from the previous NDA led by the BJP. When the BJP led coalition was in power, the working class was united and uncompromising in its opposition to the anti-social offensive. and peasantry developed into a powerful and united force. Today, when the Congress led coalition is in power, the workers and peasants are being fed with the lie that the Congress led UPA will implement the anti-social “reform” programme in a better way than the BJP. This illusion mongering which serves to compromise the struggles is the main difference. As a result this UPA Government serves the ruling bourgeois class even better than the previous arrangement. Communists and the UPA government The General Elections in 2004 resulted in a hung parliament, with neither of the alliances led by the BJP and the Congress Party having enough support to form a government. At that time, the ‘communist’ members of parliament, led by the CPI(M), decided to extend support to a Congress led alliance to form a government. And till today, the Congress led UPA and its ‘human face’ have been propped up by this ‘Left Front’ led by the CPI(M). Workers and peasants have been asked to confine their struggles within limits so as to maintain the Congress led UPA in power. They are being asked to believe that this government will listen to their demands, allegedly because the leaders of the ‘Left Front’ are part of The National Advisory Council (NAC), an advisory body headed by the Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi. The two years of the Congress led UPA government confirms the conclusion of our party that this government was brought to power by the big bourgeoisie with the support of world imperialism, with the aim of reconciling and weakening the mounting resistance struggle of the toilers and tillers to capitalist reforms. The bourgeoisie has continued on its course, undeterred, confident that the parliamentary communist parties would play the role of keeping the opposition of the toilers and tillers within acceptable bounds. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadev Bhattacharya, has publicly declared that “since socialism is not possible at this time, we must have capital, foreign or Indian”. He supports and repeats the deceptive bourgeois slogan of ‘reforms with a human face’. At a time when the masses of toilers and tillers are demanding an alternative to the privatisation and liberalisation course, and even the urban middle strata is disillusioned with the Congress-BJP course, these self-styled ‘Marxists’ are ruling out the possibility and necessity for the workers and peasants to go for political power. They are refusing to advance the alternative program to change the course of India. They are repeating the bourgeois imperialist tune that “there is no alternative”, except to add a ‘human face’ to cover up the inhuman nature of capitalism at its present stage of imperialism. Two years after the UPA government came to power, it is clear that the toilers and tillers cannot look towards this government, or to the so-called pressure exerted on this government by the Left Front in parliament, to change the imperialist course being pursued by the Indian bourgeoisie. Any wavering on this score will be disastrous for the working class movement and for the resistance struggle of the broad masses. Those in the communist movement who persist in propping up Congress rule are objectively assisting the bourgeoisie. They are acting against the interests of the working class, peasantry and all the oppressed masses of people. The situation today is marked by the continuing and broadening resistance and mass protests against the course being followed. The times are calling on communists to boldly put forth the alternative program for the democratic renewal of the political process and system and for reorienting the economy to serve the needs of the toiling masses. The situation is pregnant with the possibility of a popular front emerging on the political scene, led by the communists. The biggest roadblock to this possibility being turned into reality is the class conciliatory line of CPI(M) and its followers – that the immediate aim is only to keep BJP out of power and to fight for some ‘immediate relief’ within the framework of capitalism and the anti-social offensive. The two years of the UPA government points to the urgent necessity to defeat this line within the ranks of the working class and all those who are resisting the bourgeois imperialist offensive. |
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It is time to build a people’s alternative! The recent assembly elections in Tamil Nadu witnessed the two major combinations of the bourgeoisie – the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance and the AIADMK-led alliance – leaving no stone unturned to capture political power. Every effort was made by the bourgeoisie and the media controlled by it to marginalise the workers and peasants and make out that the "choice" for the electorate was to vote to power one of these combinations which have ruled Tamilnadu for over 4 decades. In these conditions, the Communist Ghadar Party of India campaigned vigorously to expose the present political process and electoral system and forge the political unity of different sections of the people against the bourgeois alternative. Like earlier elections, this election was a process of legitimising the rule of the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie backed the DMK-led alliance to continue their program of "capitalist reforms with a human face". The DMK presented a “popular” manifesto promising rice at Rs 2/kg, a free colour television, waiver of interest on farmers loans, and land to the landless. This was immediately endorsed by the UPA government at the centre with the Finance Minister publicly declaring that funds are not the issue for implementing these sops. The victory of the DMK led DPA consisting of the DMK, Congress, PMK, CPM and CPI is a clear indication that the bourgeoisie considers the UPA regime at the center supported by the Left parties as the best arrangement to pursue the imperialist course at this time. The DMK will continue to pursue the path of the earlier Jayalalithaa regime, to advance the interests of the capitalists in the state and convert it to a frontline capitalist state, a haven for the imperialist drive for super profits. Comrades of the CGPI actively intervened in the election process in the state. Through the party paper, pamphlets, public meetings, and discussions they posed the question of building a people’s alternative squarely. They exposed the anti-worker and anti-peasant program of the DMK and AIADMK fronts and argued that both of them have the same aim, i.e., to continue the anti-social offensive of the bourgeoisie in the form of privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation. They exposed the sham electoral reforms of the Election Commission as steps to further consolidate the stranglehold of the big “recognised” parties of the bourgeoisie, at the central and state levels, over the political process. They exposed the UPA government's anti worker, anti-peasant and anti people program of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. They engaged the workers and peasants in discussion on how the line pursued by the CPIM of supporting the congress led UPA government in the name of preventing BJP from coming to power was causing immense damage to the struggle of the working class and people against privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation. The CGPI activists called on communists, and the workers and peasants to work for the creation of a worker -peasant front that would challenge the rule of the bourgeoisie. The Party comrades agitated among the rubber plantation workers, fishermen, industrial workers, beedi workers, construction workers, women and youth. The activists held several public meetings and discussions in KK, Tirunelveli, Tuticotrin, Erode and Madurai districts, Chennai city and other parts of the state. During its campaign, our party put forward its immediate program for the democratic renewal of India, that is, for the replacement of the existing dictatorship of the bourgeoisie with a workers and peasants republic that will ensure the thorough transformation of the existing capitalist society into a socialist society. The work of CGPI during the recent election campaign were preceded by several initiatives. In November 2005, comrades of the CGPI participated in the TN Yatra, when representatives of 51 organisations of workers, peasants and women travelled from Kanyakumari to Chennai over 7 days. They met thousands of people during the campaign and called on them to step up their struggles, build joint struggle committees in their area and take steps to end the marginalisation of the people in the electoral process. The party also participated actively in a seminar held in Chennai to discuss ways and a plan of action to bring the people to the centre-stage of the political process. The large number of independent candidates and candidates of smaller registered but “unrecognised” parties (1222 out of 2586 candidates, i.e., 47%) showed the desire and readiness among several sections of the people to break the stranglehold of bourgeoisie status quo combinations. Several sections of the people and smaller parties were opposed to both the fronts and who were demanding that the interests of their constituencies be fulfilled. Construction workers, fishermen, beedi workers, engineering workers, peasants organisations, women’s collectives, intellectuals and others came forward to select and field their own candidates. Today, the duty of communists is to ensure that this desire of the people is coalesced into an organised force that challenges the present order and brings the working people to the centre-stage of governance. Through the consistent and concerted efforts of the comrades, the party has kept alive the prestige of communism in the state, which is being trampled underfoot by the policy purused by the CPM and CPI of tailing the DMK or AIADMK in the state and the Congress in the Center. By raising boldly the need for the people to demand and work for a complete transformation of the existing political system, the party has made them think seriously about an alternative that is in the interests of the people, and reject the theory of the bourgeoisie and the conciliators in the workers and communist movement, that in the present conditions capitalism is the only alternative. The coming period hold enormous possibilities for this initiative to get strengthened further. |
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Condemn state brutality against slum-dwellers! In their drive to convert Mumbai into a "world-class" city, the demolition bulldozer has been kicked into overdrive once again since March 2006. Officials proudly claim that they carry out demolitions of at least 1000 shanties a day. Mandala was the scene of one of the most brutal demolitions carried out in recent times, when 5000 families were attacked and dishoused without any notice. The most outrageous thing is that land at Mandala was to be used for providing accommodation to those whose families that have been staying there before 2000 and were demolished during the 2004-’05 demolition drive. The affidavit by the Government of Maharashtra in the Relief Road Housing Society Association Vs State of Maharashtra and others has clearly confirms their right to stay there. The MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) is planning to resettle people whose houses were demolished as part of the Mithi River Development plan on the Mandala Land. This attempt to pitch the poor and displaced against each other is highly condemnable. Meanwhile at Mandala, after the demolitions, security guards along with police removed people who erected small shades above their heads and started work to fence the land with barbed wires. Consequently, women and children had to stay out in the scorching heat for over a week, in defiance of the system that denies them homes and land. A huge public meeting was organized at Mandala by National Alliance of Peoples Movements and Shahar Vikas Manch to protest against the demolition and the lathi charge that took place in Mandala. Thousands of slum dwellers were joined by activists of various peoples' movements, organizations and concerned citizens. After the meeting there was a huge morcha to the Shivaji Nagar police station demanding an explanation for the human rights violations held during and after the demolition. When a delegation went to meet the deputy collector, the DCP, Mr. Ravindra Sengaokar, who was present, denied the lathi charge. Thousands of people joined in the march to Mantralaya on May 17 and are participating in an indefinite dharna at Azad Maidan, demanding:
The demolitions in Mandala and other places are in violation of the Constitutional right to life and livelihood as enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Right to life includes basic necessities and amenities like shelter, clothes, water, electricity, education, health, etc. Since there are no mechanisms in place to implement these "rights", they remain on paper. People come to a city like Mumbai because in their villages they have nothing—no jobs, no money, no land, and no food. When they come to a city with no money, what can they do? All the land is either private or belongs to the government. People do not enjoy staying in slums or footpaths, but they are forced to do so because the government is not fulfilling its duty of providing them a livelihood and shelter. In these circumstances, how can the demolitions be called legal? The fight of the people of Mandala is extremely just and must be supported by all the people and their organizations. Support the heroic struggle of the people of Mandala, Mumbai! An attack on one is an attack on all!
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The Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Bill, 2006: An attempt to disarm the people On May12, 2006, the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Bill, 2006 was passed by Parliament. The Bill seeks to provide a moratorium on demolitions, evictions and sealing of establishments in the National Capital Territory of Delhi for one year. Over the past several months, there have been brutal attacks on the livelihood and right to shelter of hundreds of thousands of residents of Delhi. These attacks have been taking place in the form of demolitions of dwelling places, eviction of slum dwellers and bulldozing of slums, sealing of shops and commercial establishments, eviction of hawkers and vendors and threats to evict thousands of others from their homes. These attacks have been carried out under the orders of the High Court which claimed that these attacks were necessary in order to 'clean up' the city in compliance with the Master Plan 2021 for Delhi. Slum dwellers, shopkeepers, traders, hawkers as well as people of residential colonies threatened with eviction, all came out on to the streets in thousands, in protest. In some places, such as at Transit Camp in South Delhi, thousands of irate residents blocked the main highway for nearly a whole week and went on hunger strike, to prevent the Delhi Development Authority from making any move to evict them from their homes which had been legally allotted to them and which they have lived in for the last 21 years. In the face of such massive opposition, the government was forced to pass the Delhi laws (Special Provisions) Bill, 2006. With the passage of this Bill, the government hopes to temporarily cool down the anger of the people, while giving itself some more time to work out its plans and finalise its policies and norms. The Bill has many loopholes and leaves several unanswered questions in the minds of the affected citizens of Delhi. While the Bill gives temporary relief by suspending for one year, all court orders on demolition of slums, structures or commercial establishments which came up before January 1, 2006, it clearly states that "no relief shall be available" in the case of "removal of jhuggi-jhompri dwellers and hawkers and street vendors, in accordance with the relevant policies approved by the Central Government for clearance of land required for specific public projects". What constitutes "specific public projects" is left undefined. In other words, the Central Government can, at a moment's notice, declare that existing constructions and hawkers and vendors on a certain piece of land are "unauthorised" because it is needed for what may be declared a "public project" in the interests of the profits of an Indian or foreign multinational company. People residing there or earning their livelihood would, according to the Bill, be then considered as "encroachers" and can be forcibly evicted. The Bill also makes no mention of any obligation on the part of the government to provide proper rehabilitation to those thus evicted. Most importantly, the Bill does not recognise the right of the working and poor people of Delhi to proper housing and basic civic services. It does not provide this as a justiciable right, that people can demand of the court. It does not recognise as a duty of the government to provide proper and adequate housing, drinking water, sanitation and a healthy environment to those who toil to create the wealth of the city of Delhi, alternative to the places from which they will be cleared out for purposes deemed necessary by the government. Citizens of Delhi cannot afford to lower their vigilance. While the passage of the Bill is a temporary victory for the determined and militant struggles of the people, it by no means changes any of the plans or policies of the ruling class. It is only meant to give the rulers more time to work out their strategies for more effectively dividing and crushing the resistance of the working people and ruthlessly implementing the plans of the big monopoly bourgeoisie. The big monopoly bourgeoisie, in pursuit of its imperialist ambitions, wants to turn Delhi into a 'world class centre', where the land, infrastructure and services must serve only the interests of the biggest monopolies, while the interests of the masses of toiling people, people forced in slums without any civic amenities, the small traders and shopkeepers, vendors and hawkers will have no place. The Bill is very clear about the fact that there is no change in this course that the ruling class wants to pursue. The working and oppressed masses of Delhi, the tens of thousands of shopkeepers and traders, hawkers and vendors, slum dwellers and other residents whose livelihood and basic rights are under attack today, have to come together and intensify their struggle in defence of their rights. While we must take forward the struggle for establishing the right to livelihood, right to proper housing and services as inalienable rights, we also have to put forth an alternative course for the development of the city, the people's alternative, according to which the land, infrastructure and services of the city must serve the interests of the majority, i.e. the millions of working people, and not just the interests of a handful of the biggest monopolies. |
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People's Voice (English Fortnightly) - Web Edition |
The Communist Ghadar Party of India condemns, with deep anger, the barbaric repression unleashed by the central and state governments on protesting medical and engineering students in Mumbai, Delhi, Patna and other cities of India. Such a brutal response on the part of the state authorities to a peaceful protest action by students shows the fascistic face of Indian democracy. 
