The Economy after Seven Decades of Independence

THE shocking fact that India, an “emerging economic superpower”,was ranked 131st among 188 countries on the Human Development Index of the UN in 2015 may be brushed off on the grounds that rankings say little about absolute levels of living or changes in them. So let us take another statistic. Consider the calorie norms that constitute the official benchmark for poverty, namely 2200 calories per person per day in rural India and 2100 calories per person per day in urban India.

DELHI: CPI(M) Outraged at the Death of Workers due to Manual Scavenging

THE Delhi state committee of the CPI(M), in a statement issued on August 7, has expressed shock and outrage at the death of three workers due to suffocation while manually cleaning a sewer in Jal Vihar, Lajpat Nagar. It expressed its condolence to the families of the deceased.This is the second such instance in less than a month. Earlier four workers had died in similar circumstances in Ghitorni. Both these horrifying instances have taken place in areas that fall under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

Abolish Free Ration for Military to Fill Corporate Pockets

MODI government only wants to milk the sacrifices of armed forces for political gains. It wants to draw maximum political mileage from the body-bags that come from borders. But when it comes to the wages and entitlements of the armed forces, the central government conveniently forgets its commitment to the men-in-uniform.

Workers to Storm Delhi from Nov 9-11

THE joint national convention of central trade unions and independent industrial federations held in Talkatora Stadium in the national capital on August 8, chalked out a programme of joint campaign and struggles against the anti-worker and anti-people policies and the growing authoritarian tendencies of the Modi led BJP government at the centre.The national convention unanimously decided to organsie a massive three days’ ‘padav’ near parliament from November 9-11. It called upon the working class of the country to prepare itself for country wide indefinite general strike in the future.

Comrade Thalmann Pradeep Pereira

THE state secretary of the Goa state organizing committee of the CPI(M), Comrade Thalmann Pradeep Pereira passed away at a hospital on August 6, after a five day battle with a severe lung infection and multiple organ failure. He was 54 years old. Com Thalmann Pereira was born and brought up in the communist movement of Goa. His father Comrade Gerard Pereira, a prominent freedom fighter, was the founder of the Left trade union and communist movement in Goa.

Bihar: Student Movement against Fraud in BSEB Results

The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) conducted the Class 12 board examination for the 2016-17 academic session in February and declared the results in the last week of May. Out of 12.40 lakh students who took the intermediate examination, just 4.37 lakh (35.25%) students managed to qualify the test.On June 5, eight left student and youth organisations -- SFI, DYFI, AISF, AISA, AIDSO, AIDYO, AIYF, RYA -- held a meeting to discuss the declining standard of education in Bihar.

Political Killings in Kerala: An Open Letter to Arun Jaitley

Below we publish an open letter written by MB Rajesh, CPI(M) MP from Kerala to Arun Jaitley, union minister for finance and defense, on August 6. RESPECTED Arun Jaitley,I appreciate the fact that despite being a senior cabinet minister, in charge of two very important portfolios – finance and defense – you have taken the pain to travel to the southern tip of our country.

Farmers protest in more than 150 districts

THOUSANDS of peasants and farmers across the country holding the red flags of AIKS protested in over 150 districts at the call of the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan to hold rallies/sit-in/jail bharo on August 9, on the seven main demands of farmers. Hundreds of peasants were detained in few places. In Rajasthan, this protest was held in 15 districts. In Haryana, there was protest at Rohtak commissioner’s office. In Himachal Pradesh, there was a central protest in Shimla in which thousands of peasants participated.

Reversing the Gains

AS India observes the 70th anniversary of independence, every pillar of the independent Republican State is under threat. IWhen the country celebrated the 50th anniversary of independence in 1997, one of the achievements that stood out was the existence of a democratic political system in the form of parliamentary democracy.

Powerful Struggles Alone Can Build Alternative Narrative

AS India marks its 70th anniversary of independence, it is necessary to recollect that the current political and social battles that are going on in our country emerge from a continuous ideological battle between three distinct visions of what should be the character of the political and social structure of post-independent India that arose during the course of our epic freedom struggle, particularly in the decade of the 1920s. The mainstream Congress vision had articulated that independent India should be a secular democratic Republic.

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