ON November 2, at a function held in Thaayakam, the headquarters of the Marumalarchchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) in Chennai, the leaders of MDMK, CPI(M), CPI and the Viduthalai Chiruththaikal Katchi (VCK) released the common minimum programme (CMP) of the alliance of the four parties which will contest the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu in 2016 jointly.
IN the second half of November, 113 mass organisations will conduct a statewide intensive campaign on peoples’ issues. These organisations, representing all sections of people including peasants, workers, employees, teachers, students, youth, and women have formed Bengal Platform of Mass Organisations (BPMO) from a public convention in Rani Rasmoni Avenue in Kolkata on September 28.
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on November 2, 2015.
THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its shock and profound grief at the sudden death of Comrade Hashim Abdul Halim, veteran leader of the Party. He was eighty years old.
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met at New Delhi on October 28-29, 2015. It has issued the following statement on October 30.
ONCE again, the pen-pushers of the Modi government are busy churning out theories seeking to trivialise the rabid growth of communal and other forms of intolerance in the country. Such media moguls, particularly in the electronic media, have been advancing the old `worn out theory’, once again, of a `fringe’ as opposed to the `core’. The country is being misled that it is a fringe that is responsible for this menacingly growing intolerance and that the `core’ is not responsible. `The law and order machinery needs to control the fringe’. The RSS/BJP are, hence, not responsible!
THE Modi government’s confrontationist policy towards Nepal has led to an unprecedented breach in India-Nepal relations. After adopting a negative attitude to the Constitution promulgated in Nepal on September 20, the BJP government has gone ahead with further exacerbating tensions.
THE CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee organised a three-day state-level Party class for its leading activists working on the women’s front from October 2-4, 2015. The class was held in the Comrade B T Ranadive Memorial Bhawan in New Mumbai. 112 selected women activists from 13 districts attended the class.The topics and teachers of the class were as follows: 1. Current challenges before the women’s movement – CPI(M) Central Committee member Sudha Sundararaman; 2. The danger of communalism and casteism – state committee member Dr Uday Narkar; 3. What is Marxism?
THE visit of Narendra Modi to the world’s leading tech hub, Silicon Valley, and his meeting with giant IT companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc, have made an extreme media hype. The corporate media campaigned in such a tune as if Modi had uplifted this country to a new level of technological advancement through his visit. There is no doubt that Indians may use more smart phones, more high tech cars and other high tech appliances in future, but that does not mean that India will be technologically advanced.
The Indian Constitution in Article 51 A (h) demands, as a part of the fundamental duties of the citizens, that we '...develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform'. Unfortunately, what we are witnessing instead is the active promotion of irrational and sectarian thought by important functionaries of the government.The Indian civilization is a truly plural one. We have always had many practices and communities that have allowed space for each other; we celebrate the festivals and anniversaries of all faiths.
Below we publish the speech made by CPI(M) general secretary, Sitaram Yechury at the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) held in Beijing from October 13-16, putting forward the views about the 'One Road One Belt' initiative.THE shared socio-historical, cultural past of our countries is best represented in the Silk Road, which showcases the confluences of our civilisations. Cities like Edessa, today's Sanhurfa, Istanbul and Alexandria, all important trading centres of that period, best convey the length and depth of these currents of confluence.