FORTY days have passed and DYFI's Insaf Yatra continues its journey. It has been a unique experience. Every day, the march opened up new horizons. Our marching youth chanting slogans and singing songs were embraced with utmost care by the people of terror-stricken Netai, Jhargram. The mother of a martyr comrade came to our march, hugged us and said, “I see my child in you”. In some places, Left supporters who have been politically victimised, evicted, and displaced from the places they have been living since birth, met us and said that they had full faith that our march would attain its goals. We felt a deep sense of satisfaction in sharing simple meals with the working people. When we were tired, the indomitable tenacity of ordinary people standing by the side of the road or walking alongside us in the march has given us morale.

People have stood by us despite all threats and fears. They realise that we are on the road because the situation is unbearable. They understand that the time has come to raise their voices in the march. Insaf Yatra is gathering new strength every day from the unity of common people.

BENGAL SUFFERING
People's will to confront and resist the injustice, pain and suffering in their day-to-day lives has found expression in our Insaf Yatra.  On the way, mid-day meal workers met us and told us besides being paid around Rs 1,500 per month, they receive no other benefits and are not even registered as employees.  Why does this  government that has huge money to hold fairs, festivals, carnivals and all other forms of revelry   not have the time to stand by the differently-abled, they asked. Contractual employees at a rural hospital in Murshidabad said they get a salary of Rs 1,000, but they have to work almost 24 hours a day.   Moreover, their salary arrears have been pending for the last 14 months. The civic volunteers could not speak publicly but secretly met us and told how brutally they were being exploited, how officers were using them to extort bribes from motorists in the dark of night. They said that despite working very hard day and night, they had no job security.

After Durga Puja, about 35 per cent of the youth of Cooch Behar either go to work in brick kilns or become migrant labourers in other states.   From the farmers, we learned that the production cost is higher than the profit in the cultivation of paddy and also jute and tobacco, the main cash crops of Cooch Behar district. They have realised that the aid or agriculture insurance that is heard in the government propaganda does not match the reality. They have learned from experience that the central government and the state government are not on the side of the farmers.

In the Alipurduar tea belt, we have seen the sad picture of the plight of   tea workers. We saw that the tea gardens are lying closed – no ration, no wages were available. We heard the wailing of the helpless old woman surviving miserably without wages in the Banarhat tea garden.

At the meeting from which we started the journey we bereaved the people who were killed by elephants in North Bengal. Elephant attacks are fairly common for people in north Bengal. The question naturally arises why the elephants are coming out of the forest again and again. Why can't wildlife stay in the forest? The answer is simple. The forests of North Bengal are being cleared to fill the pockets of Trinamool leaders. As a result of shrinking forests, wildlife is in crisis. Like other animals, elephants also are coming out to survive. As a result, they are constantly in conflict with humans, and if someone is attacked by elephants, even the minimum compensation is not available from the government.

Lawlessness is everywhere. Teenage girls are disappearing everyday due to traffickers. The owners of the tea gardens are closing the gardens at will without any notice. This arbitrariness is going on with the help of the government. The project of building houses for tea workers remains a fantasy. The administration is silent on the question of who will build a house on which land. Even those who are still working in the tea plantations are not getting the minimum wage or bonus. They all joined the Insaf Yatra. A young woman from the outskirts of a tea garden came wearing a veil to seek justice for the punishment of her rapists. With the support of Trinamool leaders, she was repeatedly raped. Even after approaching the local administration or the BJP MLA, she did not get any remedy. She finally trusted us. And we have sworn that the fight will continue until the perpetrators are punished.

Insaf Yatra came to North Dinajpur and saw the barren villages. The men of the village have moved to other states in search of work. Some of them may return to their families dead in a train accident or some other mishap. There is no government help, no enterprise, and no industry for these people to survive. The common youth had eagerly told us that Insaf Yatra should continue the struggle for them. We also received the same appeal in South Dinajpur also.

In Malda district, there are problems of migrant workers and beedi workers. The Ganga-Bhagirathi river bank erosion has assumed catastrophic proportions. The government's nepotism and immense indifference have made these problems more complicated. The problems in Murshidabad district, which is more backward in education, seem to be more acute. Exploited common people in large numbers including migrant workers, beedi industry workers have joined our journey seeking justice. Vast areas of Malda-Murshidabad are sinking daily due to river erosion. Due to the inactive role of the two ruling parties, the condition of the people is miserable. We have walked over these areas plagued by river erosion. The affected people there have joined our march. Government schools are closing one after another across North Bengal due to governmental mismanagement and corruption. Moving along the path of Insaf Yatra we saw this wrecked structure of school education.

RALLY FOR PEOPLE’S RIGHTS
People have understood that this yatra is neither a state-sponsored gimmick of a “power-hungry nephew” nor a riotous communal campaign. This is the march for people's rights, demanding education and work for all, seeking an end to injustice and deprivation. From the hills to the plains, the Insaf Yatra is conveying the heartbreaking pain of the jobless youth of the state. Prior to 2011, permanent appointments to government offices were made through SSC PSC Madrasah Service Commission etc. The Trinamool government came and stopped those regular recruitment exams. Wherever recruitment is taking place the magnitude of corruption puts the Vyapam scam to shame.

On the other hand, government offices are suffering due to lack of staff. The government is working by hiring temporary contractual workers without paying any basic minimum wage. There are not enough teachers in the school. 8221 schools in the state are on the list of closure. Trinamool leaders don't just stop at selling jobs. The development of the state has been stalled. Land acquired for Jute Park in Cooch Behar has been lying unused for years. Similarly, the land acquired for the power plant in Khandaghosh, East Bardhaman is lying fallow. On the one hand, many collieries are closed; on the other hand, the illegal mines of Trinamool leaders are running rampant. As a result, many workers are losing their jobs, and their lives while working in illegal mines. The number of migrant workers is increasing day by day. From soil to river sand, natural resources are being traded by the Trinamool leaders with the support of the administration. The land is being handed over to the landlords. Ground water level is falling at a dangerous rate in several places of Purulia Bankura.

The state's big media, which is run by corporate benefactors and patronised by the ruling party of the state, quite obviously tried to blackout this Insaf Yatra. But it made little difference to the marchers demanding justice. The daily news of this Yyatra, vibrant with the spontaneous participation of people from different sections of the society, is being delivered to the people of the whole state on mobile phones by the common people in and around the yatra. Ignoring all kinds of fear, they are taking photos and shooting videos on their mobile cameras and taking the documentation work forward. Starting from Cooch Behar, 17 districts have almost been covered; the total distance traversed is around 2300 km.  With the active participation of twenty lakh people, and more than 200 small and big meetings, we are moving forward towards completion of the march.

The climate has changed, the name of the district has changed, the name of the place has changed, but along the way we have seen that the problems of the people in different parts of the state are the same, the form of deprivation is also identical. So the marchers are tirelessly walking in the Insaf Yatra with the message that everyone should fight together against this deprivation. Many people have blisters on their feet with which they keep walking for kilometres after kilometres. The concluding rally of Insaf Yatra will be held on December 22 at 8B bus stand next to Jadavpur University. And two weeks later on January 7, 2024 there will be a huge rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Calcutta. The rally called by the youth will be a rally of determination. In addition to the youth of the state, the united flow of students, workers, women, farmers will converge on January 7, in the Brigade Parade Ground rally.