EDUCATION must create minds free from superstitions, hatred and violence and become an important vehicle to cement national unity, social cohesion and religious amity. Our endeavour should be to inculcate moral, ethical and humanistic values in the individuals and the society.” These words are from the BJP’s elections manifesto for the 2014 parliamentary election. Now, four years down the line, it seems that either these words have a different meaning in the BJP’s dictionary or these too were ‘jumlas’ like everything else.
THE two months that have elapsed since the Bharat bandh of April 2 against the dilution of the Prevention of Atrocities against SCs/STs (POA) by the Supreme Court judgment have seen the most vicious and vindictive attacks on dalits in the BJP-ruled states of UP, MP, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.They have displayed the deep anti-dalit bias of the BJP run state governments and the upper-caste chauvinism of the Hindutva forces.At least eight dalits were killed during the bandh, some of them by RSS goons but no one responsible for their killing has been arrested or punished. Some of the familie
THE allegations and counter allegations were flying thick and fast! The summit of the G-7 in Quebec in Canada saw these fireworks. This was not an abrupt development; but the magnitude of spat was mind boggling. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office released a photo of multiple leaders appearing to confront a displeased Trump. Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton, used the image in his own Twit criticising foreign leaders observed, “Just another #G7 where other countries expect America will always be their bank. The President made it clear today.
The ASHA workers of Haryana are on an indefinite strike since June 7 as the agreement between them and the state government arrived on February 1, 2018 has not been implemented as yet.The CITU Haryana state committee has supported the strike of the ASHA workers and will participate in the court arrest call on June 15. The CITU has asked its unions to participate in large numbers to make the call a success.The Haryana CITU state committee has strongly condemned the state government for not releasing the notification of the agreement with the ASHA Workers Union.
NARENDRA Modi had promised to create two crore jobs during the election campaign for 2014 general elections. This attracted massive support for the party and Modi because people were frustrated with a decade of jobless growth under the UPA. They thought achche din (good days) were finally going to come.Four years have passed and Modi government has spectacularly failed on this count. In fact Modi sarkar’s policies have led to job losses rather than creating more jobs.
FROM the very beginning, there has always been a demand for undoing bank nationalisation in India. This demand naturally gathered momentum with the adoption of neo-liberal policies. It was completely unacceptable to international finance capital that the bulk of the banking sector in a country like India should remain under public ownership.
ON June 3, 2018, a large convention against the proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, a pet elitist project of the BJP’s Modi government that will lead to disastrous land acquisition from the peasantry in both Maharashtra and Gujarat, was held at Palghar by the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan (BAA). The joint organisers were the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Kashtakari Sanghatana, Shoshit Jan Andolan, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), Gujarat Khedut Samaj, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti and others.
A RECENT tender document inviting bidders to set up a Social Media Communication Hub for the ministry of information and broadcasting is the latest assault by the NDA government on the rights of the people of India.
WORLD Environment Day (WED) is observed by the United Nations General Assembly each year on June 5, to commemorate the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment in 1972.
THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All India Agricultural Workers’ Union (AIAWU) have decided to conduct a massive ‘March to Parliament’ on September 5, 2018. This will be the first ever such march in the national capital, of the three major sections of the toiling people, who produce the wealth of this country.Soon after its general council meeting in the last week of March 2018, where the decision for organising such a rally was taken, CITU has started preparations for the campaign and mobilisation.