THE All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has demanded the formation of a judicial commission to examine the recent hunger deaths in Jharkhand. On November 10, an AIKS delegation, led by P Krishnaprasad, visited Karimati Village in Simdega where 11-year-old Santoshi Kumari died due to starvation on September 28.So far, five starvation deaths have been reported from Jharkhand. The other deaths were of Baidanath Ravi Das of Dhanbad, Rooplal Murmu of Mohanpur in Deoghar, Suresh Oraon of Garwa, and Vinod Ravi Das of Katras of Dhanbad. Of the five, three are Adivasis.

AN AIKS delegation led by president Dr Ashok Dhawale visited Ghatmika village in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan ON November 17 to meet the family members of Ummar Mohammed Khan, a poor dairy farmer and daily wage labourer who was murdered by gau rakshaks in Alwar in Rajasthan on November 10. The delegation also met the Alwar SP Rahul Prakash and deputy SP Anil Beniwal and discussed the seriousness of the crime and need for stringent action against the culprits.According to the SP, the postmortem report has confirmed two bullet injuries as cause of death of Ummar Khan and the cow.

CPI(M) West Bengal state committee has organised a year long programme to celebrate the centenary of the October Revolution. It concluded with a massive public meeting in Kolkata. The meeting was attended by two thousand people despite inclement weather.Addressing the gathering, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury explained the significance of the October Revolution even after 100 years. He said that the revolution proved that through it the exploitation of the working people can be brought to an end. It also proved that what Marx had said held true even 50 years later.

THE Wire story on the India Foundation and the impropriety due to conflict of interests has been buried by the corporate media. The RSS, intoxicated by power gives two hoots for propriety. BJP will continue to insult the Indian constitution and not ask its ministers to resign as directors of India Foundation. Arrogant BJP will not investigate the FCRA violations by India Foundation.

On November 8, the first anniversary of demonetisation, protest demonstrations were held across Karnataka by Left parties – CPI(M), CPI, SUCI(C) – in most district centres. Speakers brought attention to the failure of all objectives (including shifting goalposts) cited by Modi government for demonetisation. Speakers also highlighted the havoc caused in the informal economy by destroying jobs and livelihoods.