The Argument about Competitiveness

WITH the government being forced to withdraw from the RCEP agreement, an argument has arisen: if India is not competitive with other countries in producing a whole range of goods, which is why the producers of such goods within the country objected to the agreement in the first place, then why should it go on producing them?

US Sponsored Coup in Bolivia

EVO Morales, elected president of Bolivia, was overthrown in a coup carried out by the opposition oligarchic forces, aided and abetted by the US. With grave threats to his life, Morales was forced to seek asylum in Mexico. Bolivia now joins the long list of countries where the US had intervened and aided the overthrow of progressive, Left leaning presidents in Latin America. Morales was forced by the army to resign, though he had clearly won the elections by attaining 10 per cent votes more than his nearest opponent, Carlos Mesa.

Comrade S Kumar

ON November 9, Comrade S Kumar breathed his last while being taken to a hospital in Raipur. He was 85 years old. On November 7, while walking on a street in Vishrampur, Chattisgarh, he fell down and sustained injuries.Though Comrade Kumar was born in an upper middle class family; his father being a popular physician in Kanpur, he chose to work for the working class movement.

Kerala State Party School – A Report

THE Kolkata Plenum of the CPI(M) had noted the political backwardness among its members and advocated urgent measures to impart political education in order to enable the members to carry out the propagation of its positions on various contemporary issues. The plenum also pointed out that attracting middle class intelligentsia to the Party fold is also important in the conduct of the struggle against ruling class ideologies.

JNU Student’s Protest against Fee Hike

JAWAHARLAL Nehru University is a public funded central university that attracts the dreams of many students who come from remote villages of this country. By the new rules, a large number of students will be forced to leave their education because they will fail to pay the increased fees. For more than 15 days, JNU students have been protesting against fee hike and the Inter-Hall Administration (IHA) hostel manual that proposes regressive guidelines for students.

JHARKHAND: CITU Conference Vows to Organise Workers for a Pro-People Political Alternative

THE sixth state conference of CITU Jharkhand committee was organised in Ranchi on September 26-27, in the backdrop of historical nationwide strike of coal workers on September 24, 2019 against 100 per cent FDI proposal in the coal sector by the BJP led government at the centre.

DYFI National Convention Takes Up Cudgels against Unemployment

THE convention declaring ‘Right to Employment’ was held at a time when the slowdown in manufacturing and various other sectors is snowballing into a deep economic crisis and our country is facing an epidemic of unemployment. Inaugurating the convention, noted economist Jayati Ghosh said that unemployment is on a rise and decent wages are declining drastically. She told that around 5-6 per cent of the GDP is given as tax concession to big corporates in a country where the amount allocated to social expenditure is a bare minimum and that too is underspent.

DSMM Condoles PS Krishnan

THE Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch, in a statement issued on November 11, has expressed deep sorrow at the death of PS Krishnan (retd) IAS. Shri Krishnan was a tireless fighter in the cause of social justice. His commitment to the struggle against caste oppression was unparalleled. His knowledge of the laws, policies, etc concerning the SC ST and OBC sections was encyclopaedic and he never hesitated to share his knowledge. He was always available with advice and help to activists and organisations involved with all aspects of struggles against caste oppression.

Code on Social Security: An Attempt to Dismantle Workers’ Social Security

THE third version of the Code on Social Security 2019, which will subsume eight laws related to social security of both organised as well as unorganised workers, has been circulated for stakeholders’ consultations on September 17. The CITU has raised serious objection to this codification exercise being undertaken on pretext of “universalizing” social security benefit as it unleashes a frontal attack on all social security schemes meant for workers.

Air Pollution Time… Yet Again!

IT would be humorous if it was not so tragic, but it is another winter in Delhi and North India as a whole, and has brought with it, yet again, another prolonged spell of terrible air pollution. The usual media commentaries have been appearing, providing partial explanations for the pollution, its many causes and the possible impacts of the measures being taken to tackle it.

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