THE 15th Haryana state conference of the CPI(M) was held in Tohana in Fatehabad from March 11 to March 13. The conference gave a call for waging fierce struggles on various people’s issues and strengthen the party organissation.Public MeetingThe conference began with a public meeting, Jan Adhikar Rally, at Tohana Grain Market. It was presided over by CPI(M) state secretariat members Inderjit Singh and Shakuntala Jakhar. The stage was named after Prithvi Singh, the popular Communist leader of Haryana from Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad district.

THE two-day national convention and a photo feature organised by the Bhumi Adhikar Andolan on ‘Agrarian Crisis, Assault on Cattle Economy and Lynching of Dalits and Minorities’ was convened on March 20-21, with a victory note following the long march of farmers in Maharashtra and the acceptance of all their demands which evoked a sense of inspiration and energy among all those gathered in at the Constitution Club in New Delhi.

VARIOUS women’s organisations held a militant protest demonstration outside the Vasant Kunj (North) police station on March 20, against the inordinate delay by the police in arresting Prof Atul Johri who has been accused of sexual harassment by nine women students. Professor Atul Johri is a senior professor at the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University. The harassment of girl students in JNU is highly condemnable and shameful. Nine students from his laboratory have registered a police complaint against Prof Johri.

THE 25th state conference of CPI(M) West Bengal committee has called upon Party workers to strengthen links with people and build up movements on people’s issues. The conference noted that discontent of the people against the TMC regime in the state was growing, creating new possibilities of resistance. The Party has to utilise the opportunity and develop struggles on achievable demands.

THE fact that the socio-economic effects of technological change depend upon the property relations within which such change occurs is obvious but often not appreciated.Consider a simple example. Suppose on a certain area, 100 labourers were engaged for harvesting the crop at a total cost of Rs 5000; but the capitalist-landlord decides to use a harvester combine instead. Then the labourers’ income goes down by Rs 5000. The capitalist-landlord’s wage-cost goes down by Rs 5000, which accrues therefore as an addition to his profits.