THE 21st CPI(M) Karnataka state conference was held in Bangalore from January 8-11, 2015. It was attended by 263 delegates including 40 women. 55 observers participated, 14 of them were women.

COMRADE Perin Chandra passed away peacefully on January 7, 2015 after 96 years of an active and eventful life as a communist and peace activist, loved and admired by all.

THIS week has seen a very well choreographed and orchestrated campaign to woo international finance capital to India. Prime Minister Modi seeking to realise his “Make in India” campaign was physically omnipresent at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015. PM Modi has made a clear shift from the slogan of “Made in India” that he thundered from the Red Fort in his first address to the nation on Independence Day to the slogan of “Make in India” that he advanced at a yet another choreographed event at the Madison Square Gardens in New York on his visit to the UN.

The following is the statement issued by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) on January 8:

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) congratulates the coal workers all over the country for their heroic two days’ strike action in all the coal mines and establishments spread over around 40 districts braving police repressions and attacks by the contractor-mafia combine. The strike completely paralysed operations in most of the coal mines under Coal India Ltd and Singareni Collieries Ltd.

INDIA, the ‘Republic of Hunger’, has gone from bad to worse in hunger, and the fight to save the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme, which provides supplementary nutrition to nearly 10 crore beneficiaries is very important for the country’s future, said Prof. Utsa Patnaik. In a very lucid manner, she explained the plight of the people under the neo-liberal policies to the audience who were mainly the anganwadi union leaders from different states. She said that their work in the anganwadis and their fight in the union is important for the future of the country.