Peoples Democracy newsletter

Peoples Democracy newsletter

The Chimera of a Cashless Economy

A SECONDARY justification for the demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee notes, apart from its presumed deterring effect on “black money”, is that it ushers in a move towards a “cashless” economy. This argument too, however, like the perception that “black money” is just held in the form of a hoard of currency notes, is staggering in its simple-mindedness.All money consists of the liability of the banking system. (The only exception was the one-rupee note which was the liability of the Government of India, but its amount, always small, has now dwindled into insignificance).

Syria: First Anniversary of Russian Military intervention

IT was at the end of September last year that Russia in a surprise move dispatched its planes and troops to Syria at the request of the government in Damascus. The jihadi forces and their western backed allies were intent on delivering the coup d'grace to the legitimate secular government before the end of that year. More territory and towns, including the historic city of Palmyra, had fallen to the terrorist Daesh (IS) and the Jabhat al Nusra Front. Washington and its allies were waiting for the much heralded regime change in Syria even as the country was awash in blood and suffering.

Polit Bureau Communique

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on November 15. It has issued the following statement: WITHDRAWAL OF RS 1000/500 NOTES: CRISIS OF GIGANTIC PROPORTIONS The Polit Bureau heard reports from various states about the effects of the withdrawal of the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes. The reports indicate that there has been a total disruption of the payments and settlements system and has impacted all citizens in one way or the other. In the rural areas, the crisis is much more grave. Markets are closed in various places.

Chaotic Situation

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on November 14.THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses serious concern at the hardships faced by the ordinary people because of the haphazard manner in which the central government handled its demonitisation decision.The day-to-day life of every section of the common people has been thrown out of gear because the government had not taken the requisite and appropriate steps in  advance to meet the contingency.

On No First Use Policy

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on November 11, 2016.THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly denounces the statement made by the defence minister that India should revise its “no first use” nuclear weapon policy.This has serious implications both for India’s security concerns and for India’s standing in international relations. This statement represents a complete reversal of the long standing position of India as a country that champions a nuclear weapon free world and consistently stood by its commitment for peaceful u

No End of Protest

IT'S five years since the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) that took the world by a storm. It all began in September 2011 and ended in November 2011. At its height, 'Occupy' protests happened in around 951 cities in 82 countries around the world. These protests brought forth the wide inequalities existing between the 1 percent and the 99 percent. Many analytical/critical articles and commentaries were written on these protests.

Medicine for Masses

MEDICINE for Masses was part of the Indian freedom struggle whereby the country’s scientists stood up against foreign drug companies during the British Raj in India.Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy, chemistry professor at Presidency College in Kolkata was the pioneer in this effort. He established Bengal Chemical & Pharmaceutical Works Ltd. in 1901 and inspired others.Dr.

Towards a Pro-Peasant Alternative

THE agrarian crisis in India is a reflection of the economic policies pursued by the Indian State and can be resolved only by reversing them altogether. The crisis has manifested in the forms of increasing landlessness, widespread indebtedness, massive peasant suicides and alarming distress migration from rural to urban regions. Between 1991 and 2011, around 1.5 crore farmers -- 2,035 per day -- have been forced to give up cultivation and look for other occupations in order to overcome their crisis of subsistence.

Exhibition on RSS Violence in Kerala

A TWO-DAY exhibition titled ‘Mounting Terror: The Real Face of the RSS’ giving glimpses into the history of the violent attacks by the RSS on the CPI(M) cadre in Kerala, was held in New Delhi on November 16-17. The exhibition organised by the Kerala state committee of the Party seeks to call the bluff of the RSS/BJP which, using the Goebbelsian tactics of repeating a lie a hundred times, is fallaciously portraying itself as the victim.

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