TAMIL NADU: 75 Years of the Historic Entry Into Madurai Meenakshi Temple

IT was July 8, 1939.

The Dalits and Nadars, the most suppressed communities in Madras Presidency of British India, successfully entered the famous Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple in Madurai and created a history in the struggle against untouchability in the country.

July 8, 2014, marked the 75th anniversary of this feat, often hailed as a revolutionary event in the annals of modern Hinduism and Indian politics.

Manik Sarkar Warns the Centre Against Dilution of MGNREGA

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar addressed two huge mass meetings at Sidhai Mohanpur and Gandhigram on July 7 as part of the Left Front’s campaign for the three tier panchayat elections in the state. Both the meetings witnessed impressive presence of the people from both tribal and non tribal masses. Urging the masses to ensure huge victory for the Left Front, Manik Sarkar severely criticised the Modi government for its anti people steps including hike in rail fare, freight charges.

Increase MGNREGA Allocations: Agricultural Workers Union

THE All India Agricultural Workers Union has in a statement issued on July 8, said that the poorest people in the country will not accept the manner in which the NDA government at the centre has hurt the thousands of migrant labourers driven from their villages to seek distress employment in the cities and other states, by sharply raising the passenger rail fares by over 14 % which they will not be able to afford without taking higher debts than before from local money lenders or brutal labour contractors whose criminal rates of interest are painful already.

Jyoti Basu’s Birth Centenary Celebrated With a Call to Defend Democracy

THE birth centenary of Jyoti Basu - one of the most revered Communist leaders, was celebrated in West Bengal on July 8 with a variety of programmes including blood donation camps, seminars and cultural programmes. A central public meeting was organised by Jyoti Basu Birth Centenary Committee at Nazrul Mancha in Kolkata, attended by thousands of people and addressed by Left leaders and intellectuals. Red flags were hoisted at the CPI(M) offices throughout the state.

'RSS is Running the Modi Govt'

THE BJP-led central government is being run by the RSS, said Prakash Karat addressing a public meeting organised by the AP state committee in Kurnool as part of the Makineni Basavapuniah centenary observance on 03rd July. Speaking on the current political situation, Karat said that the one month rule of the Modi government has shown its anti-people, pro-corporate character vividly. He cited the hike in railway fares and freight rates affecting common people as one example.

Railway Budget: More Burdens on People

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on July 8:

THE first railway budget of this BJP-led NDA government is a cosmetic exercise, high on rhetoric and low in substance. The emphasis had been in high-sounding bullet trains and commercial freight corridors with no budgetary calculations to back up. The entire emphasis is to attract FDI and to undertake all further expansion and modernisation through the ignominious PPP route.

On Moves to Scrap MGNREGA

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on July 4THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly protests against any move to scrap or weaken the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

FIFA, IOC Style Neo-Liberalism

DEVASTATED! Or is it too mild a word to explain the emotions of all the fans of Brazilian football, not to speak of the Brazilians, after the 7-1 semi-final routing of Brazil at the hands of Germany? Brazilians wanted to exorcise the ghosts of their loss in the final of 1950 World Cup at the Maracana, till now considered as a national tragedy, by hosting and winning this World Cup at home. That was not to be.

Adivasi Labour under Contemporary Capitalism: Some Evidence from Census of India, 2011

AS the new BJP government prepares to present its first budget in parliament and the finance minister prepares the citizens for ‘tough days’, the census has released detailed data on the work patterns of the adivasis. This data clearly shows that adivasi workers are entering the labour market in search of employment, but are finding no jobs. They are therefore forced into marginal and low wage work in order to eke out their survival. Though this trend is evident from the beginning of the reforms, it seems to have intensified in the last decade.

Defeat Modi Govt’s Conspiracy to Dismantle Public Procurement Mechanism

THE Narendra Modi led NDA government is going ahead with its plans to gradually finish off the public procurement mechanism in a move which will adversely affect livelihoods of millions of farmers, seriously compromise the food security of the nation as well as mean further increase in food grain prices for the masses. The ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution has issued a letter to states regarding change in policy of procurement for the central pool. This will dismantle even the present weak public procurement as well as the price support system to India’s farmers.

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