Peoples Democracy newsletter

Peoples Democracy newsletter

Thinking Together

Q. Countries like China, Vietnam, North Korea, Cuba etc which have already completed people’s democratic revolution are generally equated with the erstwhile Soviet Union and termed as socialist countries. So far as my knowledge goes, it is only the USSR which had completed the socialist revolution and became the only country where there was no class exploitation and social oppression. No other country in the world could achieve this as yet. I think my presumption is correct. If so, is it correct to club all these countries together and term them, even loosely, as socialist countries?

No Protein for the Poor

DAL prices have continued its upward trend causing real suffering for the people. Tur Dal is now more expensive than chicken with its retail price at Rs 220 per kg. Prices of arhar and urad are double what it was in October 2014. The prices of pulses is not just a problem of price rise, it is also of food security as the bulk of the population derive its protein requirements from pulses. As against the recommended daily requirement of 50 to 60 grams, current availability of pulses is less than 30 grams per day.

CPI(M) Greets Syrian Communist Party (Unified) On its Twelfth Congress

The following is the text of the message of greetings sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to the Central Committee of the Syrian Communist Party (Unified) on the occasion of its 12th National Congress held from October 29-31 in Damascus. Dear Comrades,THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) greets the 12th National Congress of the Syrian Communist Party (Unified) and on this momentous occasion reiterates its solidarity in these testing times.

Writers Rise in Protest against Growing Intolerance And Attack on Freedom of Expression

Decrying the rising intolerance and attack on the freedom of expression in the country as manifested by incidents such as the murder MM Kalburgi, Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar and the lynching of Mohd Akhlaq, many eminent writers, as a mark of protest, have returned their Sahitya Akademi Awards or have resigned from the posts they held in the Sahitya Akademi. They have written to the president of the  Akademi on why they have returned the award or resigned from various positions.

Thinking Together

Q.  Recently, a two-member bench of the Supreme Court asked the government of India what steps it was taking towards formulating a Uniform Civil Code.  Is this not a step in the right direction and what is the CPI(M)’s stand?A.  This is not the first time that the Supreme Court has raised this question.  It has done it on different occasions and under varying circumstances.  This time it was in response to a Christian gentleman who had appealed to the  court to reduce the ‘waiting period’ before a divorce could be granted to one year from two and who had cited the example that Hindu couples

The Structure of the World Labour Force

THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) provides useful data on the world labour force. The concept of “labour force” includes both the employed and the unemployed. The employed part of the labour force consists of: wage and salaried workers (who are called “employees”); the self-employed workers with “employees” (who are called “employers”); and the self-employed workers without “employees” (among whom are “own account workers”, unpaid family workers, and members of producers’ cooperatives).

The Political Potential of ‘Paper Rebellion’: Some Lessons from History

FINANCE minister Arun Jaitley has characterised the expanding revolt by eminent award winning writers against the growing assault on constitutional fundamental rights by a neo-conservative regime, as a ‘paper rebellion’ and a manufactured revolt. Such a statement shows that the NDA government is either blissfully ignorant of history or has refused to learn its lessons from past experience. It also shows the brutal power and arrogance of a majoritarian regime that is determined to curb dissent and spread religious intolerance.

On Incidents of rioting in Karhal, Mainpuri on Oct 9

THE fact that a riot in which two people belonging to the minority community were lynched and escaped death only because they were rescued by the police occurred in Karhal, Mainpuri which is a bastion of the Samajwadi Party in which all other parties have been marginalised is a matter of great concern.  Mukut Singh, state secretariat member, CPI(M) visited Karhal on October 14 after the market re-opened.  He had been closely monitoring the situation from October 9 onwards.  His report is as follows:A cow belonging to Thakur Ghanshyam Singh died on the 8th night.  He appealed to two Quraishi

Resist the Move to Scrap Non-Net fellowships

THE central executive committee of the Students’ Federation of India in a statement issued on October 20, has strongly condemned the latest move of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to scrap non-NET fellowships for the researchers. SFI has urged its units across the nation to be vigilant and be ready to resist any such anti-student moves. Such a move is coming at a juncture when the researchers from all the streams are demanding for an enhancement in non-NET fellowship so that they could pursue their academic endeavour and do quality research.

Fight Corporate Land Grab and Plunder of Resources

THE All India Kisan Sabha, in a statement issued on October 17, has condemned the blatant efforts of the BJP government in Gujarat to facilitate corporate land-grab and provide legal sanction to illegal land transactions. Amendments to Gujarat Agricultural Lands Ceiling Act and Gujarat Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Law will lead to drastic alteration of land use and surplus government land can now be allotted to corporates on the pretext of “public purpose”.

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