SEVERAL dalit and progressive organisations called a Bharat Bandh on April 2 against the Supreme Court order diluting the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The dilution of the Act, which guarantees a certain degree of protection to the oppressed communities against discrimination and atrocities, was met with widespread condemnation. The unprecedented upsurge of protests across the country witnessed violence, in which 12 people, predominantly from dalit community, were killed.
THE missile strike on Syria by the armed forces of the United States, France and the United Kingdom is the latest instance of imperialist aggression. It is this sort of imperialist intervention that has resulted in the prolonged civil war for the past seven years.Over a hundred missiles were launched from ships and planes targeting three facilities in Damascus and Homs.
A SPATE of rapes of minors in the recent past has led to an eruption of rage, disgust and anguish all over the country. The details of some of these crimes – the Surat rape and murder of an 11 year old, the rape and murder of a 9 year old whose mutilated body was found in Haryana, for example – are still to be revealed but the Unnao rape of a 17 year old who has named a BJP MLA as the perpetrator, the killing of her father for which the UP police and the MLA’s brother have been held guilty and sent to jail and the unimaginably brutal rape and murder of an 8 year old child in Jammu have st
THE Delhi state committee of the Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch (DSMM), had organised a stall near RBI on Parliament Street in Delhi on April 14, to mark the 127th birth anniversary of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat inaugurated the stall by garlanding Ambedkar’s photograph. She also addressed the gathering and said that Baba Saheb gave his entire life to the struggle against the varna system and caste system prevalent in the Indian society. Dr Ambedkar’s goal in life was to create an equal society free of injustice and oppression.
TO facilitate the building up of a united resistance by all dalit organisations against the onslaught on dalits by the present Modi-led BJP government, a meeting was held in Delhi on April 12 with the representatives of different dalit organisations. The meeting was presided over by Prakash Ambedkar. On behalf of DSMM, V Srinivasa Rao and Nathu Prasad, Thirunavukkarasu from the All India Agricultural Workers Union, V S Nirmal from All India Khet Mazdoor Union, Rameshnathan and Kamal Nath from NCDHR, Ananda Rao from AIDRF, Ashok Bharati from NACDOR attended the meeting. The meeting decided
TO facilitate the building up of a united resistance by all dalit organisations against the onslaught on dalits by the present Modi-led BJP government, a meeting was held in Delhi on April 12 with the representatives of different dalit organisations. The meeting was presided over by Prakash Ambedkar. On behalf of DSMM, V Srinivasa Rao and Nathu Prasad, Thirunavukkarasu from the All India Agricultural Workers Union, V S Nirmal from All India Khet Mazdoor Union, Rameshnathan and Kamal Nath from NCDHR, Ananda Rao from AIDRF, Ashok Bharati from NACDOR attended the meeting. The meeting decided
THE BJP government in Uttar Pradesh led by Yogi Adityanath issued a notification for privatisation of electricity supply in seven districts -- Etawah, Kannauj, Orai, Raebareli, Saharanpur, Mau and Ballia, and called tenders.
INDIAN people are today facing unprecedented challenges. The only way in which these challenges can be met and defeated is through a mighty people’s movement on the basis of an alternative policy framework that reverses the current disastrous policy direction in our country by ousting the present RSS/BJP government. In advancing such people’s struggles, this 22nd Congress of the CPI(M) will be a milestone in our Party’s history.
THE process of this year’s panchayat elections in West Bengal has exposed unashamed terror-based, lumpenised political-administrative structure in Mamata Banerjee regime.As the process of nominations began, TMC terror machine became active. Earlier it was booth capturing; this year it began with administrative office capturing. Block and sub divisional offices were cordoned off and opposition candidates were barred from submitting nominations.
AS a follow up of the historic kisan long march from Nashik to Mumbai from March 6-12, 2018, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) called for a kisan vijay (victory) march in Kalwan, about 70 km north of Nashik, close to the border with Gujarat, on April 2. I travelled to Kalwan to be part of the march.Kalwan was awash with red. The local police estimated, I learnt, that between 25,000 to 30,000 farmers attended. The Kisan Sabha had erected a large pandal with a stage on one side. This pandal couldn’t have accommodated everybody, and so they spilled out on all sides.