The Seventh Pay Commission Report

THE central government sets up a Pay Commission about once every ten years to recommend what the structure of salaries, allowances and pensions for its current and retired employees should be. The seventh Pay Commission had been set up accordingly by the UPA government before it left office and it submitted its report to the finance minister on November 19, with the suggestion that its recommendations should be implemented with effect from January 1, 2016.

Rising Farmer Suicides: Massive Dharna in Guwahati

THE Assam State Kishan Sabha organised a massive dharna in Guwahati on November 19 against the state and central governments over growing peasant suicides in the state. "Not suicides and self-annihilations, but united mighty struggle against the anti-peasant and anti-people policies of the BJP government at the Centre and Congress government in the state is the only way to lift the peasantry out of the present crisis" was the central slogan that reverberated in the massive dharna at Lakhidhar Bora Khetra in the heart of the city.

Thinking Together

Our electoral policy in Bihar should be subject to strong scrutiny. Left parties should have contested a minimum number of seats, say 50, and supported the Grand Alliance in the remaining193 seats. By contesting in all seats, we have indirectly made the NDA path smoother. The Grand Alliance defeated the NDA on their own strength. Why do we forget the words of Dimitrov given in 1930s when fighting against the world's largest communal, fascist and repressive force, the Sangh Parivar? Your comments are expected.

CPI(M) MP Writes to Govt on Deteriorating Situation in Tea Estates in West Bengal

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP and CITU general secretary Tapan Sen has written a letter to Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, seeking her urgent intervention in the matter of rapidly deteriorating situation in tea estates in West Bengal. In the letter, dated November 24, Sen said that although profit of the tea garden owners are on the rise, the condition of plantation workers have been fast deteriorating. And the worst hit are the workers of tea estates "where either the gardens are closed down or abandoned by the owners".

Valley of Starvation Deaths

THE undulating lush valleys of tea estates in West Bengal’s Darjeeling hills, Dooars and Terai regions are turning into valleys of death.
“Nearly 100 people died of starvation and acute malnutrition in the five closed tea gardens in Dooars since January this year with at least 10 of them dying last month itself”, reported Times of India on July 30, 2014, “The workers are paid only Rs 90 for eight hours a day to produce the expensive Darjeeling tea, while in Terai and Dooars the figure is Rs 95 a day.”

AIDWA Condemns Brutal Rape & Murder Of a Girl in Bengal

IN a press statement issued on November 23, the All India Democratic Women’s Association has strongly condemned the brutal rape and murder of an adolescent girl of tenth class in Kakdwip, South 24 Parganas on November 22. This is an incident trailing after Park Street, Kamduni, Katwa and innumerable such in West Bengal under the regime of a woman chief minister. The earlier cases are yet to see justice. AIDWA strongly feels that West Bengal has become a state of rape and violence against women.

A Vacuous Tribute

THE winter session of parliament is to begin with a two-day special sitting to observe the 125th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar and the adoption of the draft Constitution on November 26, 1949. There is no doubt that the legacy of Dr Ambedkar, the champion of social equality and one of the main architects of the Constitution should be commemorated. But the question is, how it is to be done.

DYFI Marches Ahead to Safeguard the Secular Fabric of Kerala

TENS and thousands of white clad young men and women have been marching on each street of Kerala to reach the people in every nook and corner to spread the message to re-build the new Kerala. Two jathas named as Secular March started from the two ends of the state and are scheduled to culminate in a massive youth rally at Ernakulam on December 5.

In the backdrop of all communal and casteist forces ganging up with an evil design to destroy the secular fabric of Kerala society, the main demand raised by the Secular March is not to turn Kerala into a lunatic asylum.

Defiance, Resistance Mark Jathas in West Bengal

STATEWIDE Jathas of BPMO (Bengal Platform of Mass Organisations) created huge impact among people in West Bengal. Jathas braved ferocious attacks from the ruling party, direct threats from senior ministers of the state and marched through thousands of villages and towns. The massive campaign brought forth sharply the burning issues of the people and mobilised tens of thousands in the streets.

Statewide Jathas Receive Massive Response

STATEWIDE Jathas by Bengal Platform of Mass Organisations have elicited tremendous response in West Bengal. Tens of thousands of people have participated in the local level jathas in all districts of the state, making it already the biggest campaign programme by Left mass organisations in the last four and half years in the state.

Search form

Peoples Democracy newsletter