AIKS ROLE IN FARMERS’ STRUGGLE

THE AIKS has been an important constituent of the AIKSCC and the SKM ever since their inception. In this capacity, it played a major role in the collective decision making and implementation of the just-concluded farmers’ struggle. Whenever contentious issues came up, the AIKS always took a principled stand on them, for strengthening the unity of the SKM.

Within the SKM, the AIKS also took the initiative to strengthen worker-peasant unity and the unity of farmers with other sections of the people. As a result, the SKM publicly supported the demand of the central trade unions (CTUs) for the repeal of the four labour codes and for a halt to the privatisation drive of the public sector. Joint meetings of the SKM and the CTUs were held to coordinate nationwide actions. The SKM’s national convention in August 2021 at the Singhu border invited leaders of the trade unions, agricultural workers, dalit, adivasi, women, youth and student organisations and adopted resolutions in support of their demands. This united approach helped to make the Bharat Bandh of September 27 an unprecedented success.

While resolutely taking an active part in all the SKM’s joint nationwide calls, some independent actions were also organised. The most effective was the CITU-AIKS-AIAWU call for the nationwide struggle on the anniversary of ‘quit India day’, August 9, 2021. This ‘save India day’ mobilised tens of thousands all over the country. Another was the week-long padayatras organised by the AIKS and its fraternal organisations in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, which culminated at the Delhi borders on martyrs’ day, March 23. Several such independent actions were also organised by the AIKS during the year in several states.            

The AIKS was the only peasant organisation in the country with a fair presence at all the six borders around Delhi. This AIKS mobilisation came from the frontline states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The AIKS in various other states also took the lead in sending contingents to the Delhi borders for several days each. They included Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Bengal, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Besides, all SKM calls in the last year were well implemented in all the 23 states where the AIKS has its units, with a total mobilisation of tens of thousands, putting it in the forefront among all SKM constituents.

Large mahapanchayats under the SKM/AIKSCC banner, with good AIKS mobilisation, or under the AIKS banner independently, were held in Kolkata, Mumbai, Agartala, Patna, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Bengaluru, Belgavi, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Ongole, Chennai, Thanjavur, Kanyakumari, Thiruvarur, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Thiruvananthapuram and all other district centres of Kerala, and hundreds of other places in the frontline states like Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The AIKS participation in the SKM kisan mahapanchayats, especially in Muzaffarnagar, Lucknow and several other places, was impressive.

The frontline states and all other states of the AIKS did commendable work during this struggle. AIKS cadres all over the country were, in fact, incessantly on the streets since April 23, 2020, when the first call for mass action was given.

Despite the serious difficulties in the Covid pandemic, AIKS membership increased marginally. In 2019-20 it was 1,17,32,759 and in 2020-21 it was 1,17,41,513. The AIKS centre during this struggle published thousands of copies of pamphlets in both Hindi and English, and these were brought out in several national languages. AIKS central journals Kisan Sangharsh (Hindi) and Peasants’ Struggle (English), as well as several state journals, were published from time to time and sold very well. Lakhs of AIKS flags and badges were brought out and they made an impact.   

Among the AIKS leaders who camped at the Delhi borders braving heat, cold and rain, and were active in the frontline states were Major Singh Punnewal, Dharampal Singh Seal, Baljit Singh Grewal and Baldev Singh Latala from Punjab; Inderjit Singh, Surendra Singh, Phool Singh Sheokand, SumitDalal, Virender Singh Malik and S Solanki from Haryana; D P Singh, Chandrapal Singh, Mukut Singh, Bharat Singh and Digambar Singh from Uttar Pradesh; Amra Ram, Pema Ram, Chhagan Lal Choudhary, Sanjay Madhav and Pawan Duggal from Rajasthan; and Badal Saroj, Jaswinder Singh, Ashok Tiwari, RamnarayanKurariya, Akhilesh Yadav andNeena Sharma from Madhya Pradesh.

Apart from these leaders of the frontline states, thousands of leaders and activists of the AIKS, CITU, AIAWU, AIDWA, DYFI and SFI from all other states in the country put in great efforts over the last year to expand this struggle to their states in a big way.  

The AIKS centre during this year-long struggle was collectively manned by the general secretary, Hannan Mollah, president Ashok Dhawale, finance secretary P Krishnaprasad and joint secretary Vijoo Krishnan. Joint secretaries N K Shukla, Badal Saroj and K KRagesh were also at the centre from time to time. The AIKS centre met regularly during this period, and also the extended centre comprising leading comrades from the frontline states. All the comrades at the AIKS centre regularly attended meetings in several states and took part in mass actions, including many large kisan mahapanchayats across the country. The AIKS central office and all its multifarious tasks during this challenging period of struggle were efficiently handled by Sumit Ray, Manoj Kumar and Niloo Srivastava.

The nine-member coordination committee of the SKM includes Hannan Mollah. Ashok Dhawale and P Krishnaprasad in the last few months attended the nine-member SKM meetings in place of Hannan Mollah due to his health concerns. SKM general body meetings were also attended regularly by Inderjit Singh, Major Singh Punnewal, Sumit, and at times by Amra Ram, Vijoo Krishnan, and some other leaders from Punjab and Haryana mentioned above. Hannan Mollah represented the AIKS in the 40-member group that had 11 rounds of talks with the central government till January 22, when the government broke off talks. Ashok Dhawale represented the AIKS in the five-member committee of the SKM that was formed to negotiate the final agreement on pending issues with the central government.

AIKS-CITU-AIAWU COORDINATION

A welcome feature was that the central leadership of the CITU, AIAWU and AIKS held several regular joint meetings in Delhi to plan out their joint strategy in the last year. Two online countrywide public meetings by all three class organizations were held, the first on May 8 and the second on June 24. Another online public meeting was held by the ‘save democracy forum’ on June 26, addressed by Emergency detenus from almost all states in the country.

Now, this process of CITU-AIKS-AIAWU coordination is being systematically taken down to the states, with joint meetings of state office bearers of all three class organisations in over 20 states, attended by their central office-bearers. These prepared for the countrywide campaign from July 25 to August 8, to culminate in the massive joint mass actions that took place on ‘save India day’, August 9, 2021.

Special and commendable mention must be made of the large contributions to the AIKS struggle fund that were made during the struggle by the working class, several unions affiliated to the CITU, many unions in the public sector and other well-wishers.

AIDWA-DYFI-SFI also coordinated among themselves, and also with the AIKS-CITU-AIAWU, both at the centre and in several states, and mobilised in thousands for the several actions in this yearlong farmers’ struggle all over the country.     

TRUE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FARMERS’ STRUGGLE

The nakedly pro-corporate policies of the Modi-led BJP-RSS government are aimed at selling off the whole country under cover of the hypocritical slogan of ‘atmanirbharata’. There is no sector in India which the Modi regime has not put up for privatisation and sale at a pittance to Indian and foreign corporates – be it railways, airlines, airports, ports, mines, steel, oil, irrigation, power, telecom, banks, insurance, education, health, and even defence. Now it is agriculture and land which is on its hit list. And it was this that was bitterly opposed by the farmers’ struggle. The repeal of the three farm laws was a significant victory for the farmers and the people, and a humiliating defeat for the forces of corporate communalism.

However, the key issues of a legal guarantee of a remunerative MSP and procurement; sharp cuts in the rising prices of agricultural inputs; massive expansion towards a universal PDS with additional items; withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill; freedom from indebtedness; a comprehensive crop insurance scheme; great expansion of credit, irrigation and power facilities; a repeal of the four labour codes; halving the astronomical prices of diesel, petrol, cooking gas and other essential commodities; doubling the days of work and wages for agricultural workers under the MGNREGA and extending the scheme to the urban areas; withdrawal of the new national education policy; and most important, radical land reforms and a halt to the selling off of the country for a pittance through the central government’s privatization drive of the public sector and the so-called national monetisation pipeline; all these and other issues must be taken up through sustained and massive struggles.

The true significance of this historic farmers’ struggle was that it struck squarely, and with a united, secular and inclusive thrust, at the disastrous, neo-liberal, pro-corporate, communal, authoritarian, fascistic and anti-national policies of the BJP-RSS regime, which has always acted as the most servile agent of the corporate, feudal and imperialist lobby, right from the days of our glorious freedom struggle. It was a patriotic struggle waged by millions of farmers not only for themselves but also in defence of the people and of the entire country, in defence of our sovereignty, democracy, secularism, federalism and our Constitution itself.

With the inspiring impetus gained by the victory of this farmers’ struggle, the people’s struggle for the above demands, for a change in policies, and also for a change in regime, must and will go forth with even greater strength, confidence and determination!    

One historic battle has been won. But the war still remains.

We shall fight it! And we shall win that too!

(Concluded)