Safdar Hashmi Shahadat Divas in Jhandapur

ON January 1, Jana Natya Manch (JANAM) and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) jointly organised a cultural programme and public meeting to commemorate the 29th Martyrdom Day of Comrade Safdar Hashmi at Dr Ambedkar Park, Jhandapur in Sahibabad Site IV.Comrade Safdar and Ram Bahadur, a worker, were killed in a fatal attack on JANAM orchestrated by Congress supported local goons in Jhandapur on Jan 1, 1989. Since then, JANAM has been going back to the same spot to observe, along with the trade union comrades and local workers, the legacy of Comrade Safdar’s creative and political work.

KERALA: Ockhi Fund Campaign Organised by CPI(M) a Grand Success; Collects Rs 4.8 crores

IN a unique humanitarian gesture to provide monetary help to the victims of Ockhi Cyclone which devastated the southern Kerala coast exactly one month ago, CPI(M) workers in the state have collected Rs 4,81,02,511 (Four crores eighty one lakhs two thousand five hundred and eleven) from the people of the state.Party workers all over the state made a hundi collection on December 21. The money will be handed over to state government’s relief fund to provide assistance to the family of Ockhi victims.

The 99 Per Cent Failure!

IN assessing the impact of the Modi government’s demonetisation measure on the black economy, the fact that nearly 99 per cent of the outlawed currency came back to the RBI has been widely taken to indicate that the measure was a failure – its costs far outweighing any benefits. The obvious reason for this is that the return of almost all the notes establishes the fact that hardly any black wealth was destroyed as its immediate direct outcome.

Need for a Renewed Focus on Education Issues

THERE is a continuous attack on education and educational institutions today under the patronage of the BJP government at the centre. During the last three years, the attacks on democracy in campuses and attempts to crush the democratic cultures in educational institutions are among the most talked about and discussed developments. Attacks on JNU, HCU, FTII, IIT Madras etc, were highlighted throughout the nation, and featured prominently in media debates.

TRIPURA ASSEMBLY ELECTION 2018: People Vow to Defeat Communal & Separatist Forces

THE country vests in the people of Tripura a historic role to establish the Left Front government in the state for an eighth term, thus heralding a real alternative to the BJP or the Congress which are two sides of the same coin. This was the clarion call Left Front leaders gave while addressing a mammoth rally at Vivekananda Maidan in Agartala on December 31. They exposed the evil moves of the BJP/RSS which, posing as self-proclaimed upholders of patriotism, are ultimately trying to break into pieces the unity and integrity of the country.

Triple Talaq Bill is Funadamentally Flawed

THE Lok Sabha has adopted the bill on talaq-e-biddat moved by the Modi government. The CPI(M) members of parliament had moved amendments to the bill and also demanded that it be referred to the standing committee. The bill is fundamentally flawed. There are several issues involved.THE BACKGROUNDThe issue of talaq-e-biddat or instant arbitrary pronouncement of divorce has been a privilege enjoyed by Muslim men in India at the cost of the dignity and security of Muslim women.

SFI Condemns Murderous Attacks on its Activists in Kerala

THE central executive committee of the Students’ Federation of India, in a statement issued on December 29, 2017 has condemned the murderous attacks on SFI activists yesterday in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala.Multiple incidents of RSS attack on SFI and Left activists are reported from Kerala.

Sahmat Holds Safdar Evening on January 1

THE setting up of Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (Sahmat) was a spontaneous and organic response to the murder of a street theater activist, known for his commitment to the democratic and secular principles that undergirded the promise of Indian independence. Since it came into being in 1989, Sahmat has stood for preserving the very values that defined Safdar’s public work.

National Medical Commission Bill not in Public Interest

THE National Medical Commission Bill, 2017, recently approved by the union cabinet, has now been referred to a parliamentary standing committee after protests by various sections of the medical profession. The bill is designed to replace the Indian Medical Council Act of 1956. The bill was drafted in the aftermath of several scandals that rocked the Medical Council of India in the past decade.

On Caste and Identity Politics in Gujarat Elections

THE dust has settled on the Gujarat elections. The BJP has claimed that it has fought twenty two years anti-incumbency and won the elections because of its ‘politics of vikas’ versus the opposition’s ‘casteist politics’. In a post-election interview, the BJP president Amit Shah claimed that his 150+ mission had failed because of the “dirty and low level casteist politics of the Congress and its allies”. In doing so, Shah dismissed all the agitations that Gujarat has been facing for the last few years as “dirty low level politics”.

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