THE Central Kisan Committee of the All India Kisan Sabha met in New Delhi on January 30-31, 2016. The meeting was presided over by Amra Ram, president, All India Kisan Sabha. Members from 15 states attended the meeting. The CKC discussed the agrarian situation in the country and noted with concern the increasing agrarian distress and farmers suicides. It also noted that the world economic crisis is leading to further burdens for the peasantry and toiling masses and the policies of different governments are leading to increasing inequalities of income and wealth. The severe drought situation in large parts of the country and losses in the floods have added to farmers’ distress but the government has not come to their rescue. The Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance Scheme (PMCIS) which was announced with much fanfare as the panacea for all risks faced by the farmers fails to make it a universal scheme and opens the gateway to private insurance companies. Ironically, on the same day news came out that in the year 2015 over 3,228 farmers had committed suicide in BJP-ruled Maharashtra. Karnataka, Telangana and Odisha have also been witnessing massive increase in suicides. It noted that states like Haryana, West Bengal, Bihar and Rajasthan have also been witnessing farmers’ suicides. In addition, in West Bengal over 500 tea garden workers had died of malnutrition.

Trade liberalisation has led to farmers being exposed to volatile world market prices and crops like rubber, coconut, coffee etc are drastically falling. In place of Rs 240/kg a year ago, natural rubber is now fetching just Rs 90/kg. Coconut has seen a drop in prices by over Rs 10,000/qtl when compared with last year prices. Condition of cotton, jute and silk are also similar. The sugarcane growers are yet to receive thousands of crores of arrears from sugar mills. Procurement centres for paddy, wheat and other crops are grossly inadequate and farmers are not getting even the minimum support price which itself does not meet even costs of production. The CKC noted that the Modi-led BJP government has totally failed in protecting the interests of the peasantry and called for intensifying struggles. It decided to have coordinated action with trade union and agricultural workers’ union against attacks on labour rights, MGNREGA and on food security as well as livelihood issues.

The meeting condemned the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula and condemned the police brutalities on protesting students. It also noted the increasing attacks by casteist forces and on women and called for resolutely resisting such forces. The CKC decided that it will organise the peasantry and rural masses against the deliberate efforts of the BJP, RSS and other divisive forces to polarise the society along communal lines. In the month of February protests will be held in all states on the burning issues of the peasantry and against anti-peasant government policies. On February 24, massive mobilisation will be made for Parliament March under the banner of the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan against land grab, loot of resources and the anti-peasant policies of the government. All India Kisan Sabha along with AIAWU, AIKS (Ajoy Bhavan) and BKMU will jointly carry out the responsibilities of the Asian Bureau of the Trade Union International.

The CKC also noted that resistance to the anti-people TMC government in West Bengal and UDF government in Kerala was rising and AIKS will play an active role in the coming assembly elections to different states to defeat reactionary, communal and anti-peasant forces. Intense campaign will be carried out with four main jathas from different parts of India joined enroute by state jathas campaigning against the anti-peasant policies of the peasantry and will culminate in a massive rally in Delhi in November 2016.

The CKC meeting concluded with Com Harkishan Singh Surjeet centenary celebration and memorial lecture.