Prachi Hatiwlekar
THE All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) held its 13th Maharashtra State Conference at Dahanu in Palghar district from November 1 to 3, 2025. There was a massive rally of 30,000 women from 10 tehsils at Dahanu beach. Most of them were Adivasis, but there was a fair proportion of non-tribals as well. It may be recalled that this is the district in Maharashtra which has the glorious legacy of the Warli Adivasi Revolt in the 1940s under the leadership of the AIKS and its legendary stalwarts Shamrao and Godavari Parulekar.
AIDWA All India President P K Sreemathy compared the public meeting with the Arabian Sea that was flowing parallel to this ocean of women. Hundreds of AIDWA activists in the whole of Thane-Palghar district were on their toes for the last couple of months campaigning for the rally and public meeting. AIDWA General Secretary Mariam Dhawale appealed to the huge gathering to teach a lesson in the coming statewide local body elections in Maharashtra to the central and state BJP-led governments for implementing blatantly anti-women policies.
AIDWA state leaders Lahani Dauda, Sunita Shingda, Rehana Sheikh, Hemlata Patil, Durga Kakde, Sunanda Tidke and BUCTU leader Tapati Mukhopadhyay addressed the public meeting. Chairperson of the Conference Reception Committee and young MLA of the CPI(M) Vinod Nikole also spoke. State Secretary Prachi Hatiwlekar made the introductory speech, while State President Naseema Shaikh presided. At the end of the meeting, the joy of struggle and the determination to take it forward erupted with thousands of women spontaneously forming large circles and dancing to the tune of the tarpa, a tribal musical instrument.
INAUGURAL SESSION
Before the public meeting, the inaugural session of the conference began after the AIDWA flag was hoisted by Naseema Shaikh and the floral tributes to martyrs. Eminent Marathi theatre and film actor and educational activist Chinmayee Sumit inaugurated the conference. She came down heavily on the “one nation-one religion-one language-one party-one leader” policy of the current BJP government. She especially attacked the educational policies and their exclusion of women and the socially and economically oppressed. After the condolence resolution and the welcome speech by Vinod Nikole, MLA, the keynote address was delivered by P K Sreemathy and the session concluded with an inspiring speech by Mariam Dhawale.
Two resolutions, one to support the Palestinian people’s bitter struggle against Zionism and Imperialism, and the other to condemn the anti-women policies of the State BJP government were unanimously passed in this session. 85-year-old Hemlata Kom, veteran leader and founder President of Thane-Palghar AIDWA, and Ashok Dhawale, All India President of AIKS, were also present in the inaugural session and the public meeting.
CONFERENCE REPORT
Various committees were formed for the smooth running of the conference. Fraternal greetings were conveyed by leaders of the AIKS, CITU, AIAWU, DYFI and SFI. The three-year political and organisational report from 2022 to 2025 was placed by the State Secretary Prachi Hatiwlekar and accounts were placed by the State Treasurer Subhadra Khillare. Analysing the political situation in India as well as in Maharashtra and the anti-people policies of the double engine governments, the report took stock of the organisational work in the last three years.
Major struggles in this period included the 12,000-strong AIDWA rally at Palghar on various demands regarding the PDS, followed by rallies in Thane, Wardha, Sangli, and elsewhere. They helped the organisation to partially redress ground level grievances. As a culmination, the state AIDWA had organised a 10,000-strong women’s rally in the heart of the state capital Mumbai in September 2023. The rally forced the state government to withdraw its Direct Bank Transfer policy instead of giving food grains in ration shops. This action was the highlight of this period. Another big joint state level action was held in the winter session of the Maharashtra assembly at Nagpur against the state government’s plan to form a committee to enquire into every single interfaith marriage.
AIDWA membership in the state has gradually but consistently grown to over 1 lakh in the last few years. 54 delegates participated in the discussion. After the reply of the State Secretary, the report was unanimously adopted.
COMMISSION PAPERS AND RESOLUTIONS
Five Commission Papers were placed, group discussions were held and their essence was placed before the conference. These Commissions were on “Public Transport, especially for Women” (Hemlata Patil), “Violence against Women” (Durga Kakde), “Three Language Formula in School from 1st Standard” (Rekha Deshpande), “Rapidly Increasing Communalism” (Preethy Sekhar), and “Public Health System” (Hirabai Ghonge). Seven resolutions regarding various issues faced by women were also adopted.
CREDENTIAL COMMITTEE REPORT
The Credentials Committee report was placed by the convenor, Preethy Sekhar. Out of a total 301 delegates from 20 districts, the seniormost was Akkatai Teli (84 years) and the youngest were Afiya Jamadar and Sejal Deshmukh, both 18 years. There were 231 delegates who joined the organisation through various struggles. 77 delegates were from the tribal community, and 60 each were from the dalit and minority communities. The class composition of the delegates was – 92 working class, 77 peasantry, 64 agricultural workers, and 51 middle class. Age distribution was as – 23 less than 30 years, 56 between 31-40 years, 90 between 41-50, 85 between 51-60, and 44 above 61. 12% delegates were elected members of various local self government bodies. There were 3 delegates who had attended all the 13 AIDWA state conferences held so far; they were Hemlata Kom and Santi Malavkar from Thane-Palghar district and Pramila Patil from Raigad district.
NEW STATE COMMITTEE
The conference unanimously elected a 54-member state committee, which in turn elected a 17-member state secretariat. Naseema Shaikh and Prachi Hatiwlekar were re-elected as President and Secretary respectively, while Rekha Deshpande was elected Treasurer. 29 delegates were also elected for the coming All India Conference at Hyderabad.
The conference ended with a rousing concluding speech by Mariam Dhawale, followed by the vote of thanks by Lahani Dauda.
All the fraternal organisations in Thane-Palghar district like AIKS, CITU, DYFI and SFI contributed in many ways along with AIDWA activists to make this conference a memorable one.
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