SECC Excludes More Than It Includes Amidst High Rural Distress

COMMISSIONED by the UPA government in 2011, the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) was to collect data on caste, urban and rural socio-economic status. The preceding BPL census was undertaken in 2002, which collected information on 13 indicators for every rural household. Households were selected on the basis of their total marks, the cut-off being the total marks at which the number of BPL households in a state equalled its poverty estimate as determined by the Planning Commission. This process was problematic, procedurally and conceptually.

Human DNA Profiling Bill: Invasion of Privacy at a Grand Scale

POLITICAL activists, who are part of a peaceful demonstration that the government declares as unlawful, may soon find themselves as part of a massive database that the government wishes to construct. The database, called the ‘National DNA Data Bank’ will contain the DNA profiles for a range of Indian citizens and ostensibly will be used to tackle crime and to trace or identify people for various reasons. You are likely to be part of the database if you are in minor violation of the Motor Vehicle Act.

World Recession Set to Worsen

MORE than seven years after the world capitalist crisis began, not only is there no sign of any recovery from it, but the prospects appear even bleaker today than ever before. In fact, while the advanced capitalist world continues to remain mired in crisis, it is now spreading across the globe, even to countries like India and China that had appeared initially to have escaped its impact. India’s GDP growth rate is slowing down; what is more, the manufacturing sector continues to witness almost absolute stagnation.

‘Virtually All of Death Row Convicts Are Poor’

LADY Justice is depicted as blindfolded, but is she blind and without any bias? Not always. A recent empirical study of convicts on death row confirms the fact that the capital punishment in India is reserved for the poor and the marginalised. While the poor get gallows, the rich mostly escape. According to a study, three-fourths of those given death penalty in the past one-and-a-half decades belonged to the backward classes and religious minorities.

Thinking Together

What is the CPI(M)’s stand on death penalty?
Ramesh Kumar, Delhi
I wish to know our Party's stand on MIM leader's comment that death penalty was given to Yakub Memon due to his religion. I feel proud that our Party is against any capital punishment.
Chittaranjan Das, Jamshedpur

Struggle against Caste Oppression: Two Recent Incidents in Karnataka

THE mind numbing atrocities perpetrated on dalits in different parts of India have been continuing unabated. The main reason for this is the stranglehold of wealthy `high castes’ of our society in rural and urban areas. The protection they get from the ruling classes and the administration is another important factor. The failure of the redressal mechanism is a very crucial reason in the emboldening of the upper caste mafia.

Muzaffar Ahmad Birth Anniversary

CPI(M) leaders called upon Party workers to strengthen movements to change the existing political situation. Addressing the public meeting on Muzaffar Ahmad birth anniversary, CPI(M) Polit Bureau members Suryakanta Misra, Biman Basu and Md Salim emphasised the importance of ideology and organisation in the fight to advance. The main programme was held in Promode Dasgupta Bhaban in Kolkata. Tributes were paid to Muzaffar Ahmad in numerous programmes in all districts.

Harkishan Singh Surjeet Anniversary Observed in Chandigarh

A COMMEMORATIVE meeting on the seventh death anniversary of Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet, freedom fighter, CPI(M) former general secretary and a communist leader of international repute, was organised at Bhakna Bhawan, Chandigarh jointly by Daily Desh Sewak, Bhakna Bhawan Trust and Virsa Sambhal Prasar Kendar on August 1.

Twin Train Accidents

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on August 5. THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses its shock at the twin train accidents in Harda in Madhya Pradesh in which 30 people have died and many injured. The Kamayani Express and the Janata Express going on parallel tracks were derailed and some of the coaches fell into the adjoining river.Accidents on the railways are happening with alarming regularity. Yet, the railway ministry and the government have not woken up to the dire conditions of the railways and the abysmal safety

Adivasi Adhikar Sangharsh Sammelan

Adivasis from Every Region of the Country Join HandsTo Protest Modi Govt's Attack on their RightsFOR the first time since the Modi government was elected to power in May 2014, adivasis from across the country assembled at Mavlankar Hall, New Delhi, in the Adivasi Adhikar Sangharsh Sammelan on August 5.The convention organised jointly by the Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch, Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Mahasabha, Bharat Jan Andolan and Campaign for Survival and Dignity was attended by representatives from more than eighteen states.More than a thousand people gat

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