Historic Joint Rally of Left Parties in Punjab

FOUR Left parties – CPI, CPI(M), CPM Punjab and CPI(ML) Liberation – held a massive Chetawani Rally in Ludhiana on November 28 and warned the Akali Dal-BJP government in Punjab to accept the demand charter containing burning problems and just demands of the people or be ready to face intensive and consistent mass struggles including satyagraha. The historical rally demanded scrapping of the draconian black law – the Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property Bill 2014 -- passed by the Punjab assembly recently.

Africa: Another Strongman Falls

THE dramatic events that gripped the landlocked African nation of Burkina Faso in the last week of October, has resulted in the exit of its long serving authoritarian ruler, President Blaise Compaore. The 64 year old Compaore, in a foolhardy move, tried to once again tinker with the constitution to indefinitely extend his rule. On October 22, the ruling party suddenly announced that it was proposing to table a bill in the national assembly that would amend Article 27 of the Constitution that would give the president yet another five year term in office.

Victory Rally in Kalwan Calls For Struggle against BJP Regime

A LARGE and enthusiastic rally that was held at Kalwan in Nashik district to celebrate the victory of CPI(M) state secretariat member and former AIKS state president J P Gavit in the state assembly elections for the seventh time, resolved to intensify the struggle against the anti-people policies and the communal acts of the BJP regime at the centre and in the state. The rally was addressed by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, state secretary and Central Committee member Dr Ashok Dhawale and J P Gavit, MLA, among others.

AIDWA Opposes Closure of Crisis Centre Project

The following is the press statement issued by the All India Democratic Women’s Association on November 29.
AS reported in the press, the prime minister’s office has shot down the one stop crisis centre project of WCD which was to provide medical, legal, police and emergency services to survivors in distress under one roof. The centres were proposed one at each district costing Rs 200 crores in total. The PMO has come out with the argument that the scheme was unnecessary and services should be provided through existing infrastructure. AIDWA strongly criticises this move of PMO.

Tripura Introduces Cash Subsidy on Pulses & Mustard Oil through PDSTripura Introduces Cash Subsidy on Pulses & Mustard Oil through PDS

SETTING another example of its alternative pro people policy outlook and what can be done even with meagre resources, the Left Front government in Tripura became the first state in the country to introduce cash subsidy on mustard oil and pulses for all the families of the state through the public distribution system. In a function at Rabindra Shatavarshiki Bhavan on December 2, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar formally launched the scheme.

The Week in Parliament

THE Winter Session of Parliament began on 24 November. On the first day Parliament was adjourned for the day after obituary references.

Contextualising Cultural Praxis

Below are the excerpts of the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Lecture delivered by Sitaram Yechury on November 22, 2014. The memorial lecture was organised by the Jana Natya Manch.

LOCATION OF CULTURE:
A MARXIST APPROACH
By choosing this, I am conscious of, at least, two limitations at the outset.

900 Homes Uprooted without Notice in Delhi Slum, Party Takes up Cause of Homeless

IT took no more than a few hours for about 900 slum dwellings to be pulled down last month at Rangpur Pahadi in south Delhi, the swiftness and suddenness of the action catching the thousands of residents of the settlement off-guard and leaving them with little recourse for justice in a case where the court itself was ignored by Delhi government officials as they carried out their demolition drive.

CPI(M) Organises Special Convention to Save & Strengthen Govt Schools

IT is an untold story.
Untold stories and unnoticed issues are always identified and revealed to the public only by the Communists.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Tamil Nadu unearthed the shocking truth that nearly 1000 schools of the state government were closed in the last ten years, which is the period covering both the DMK and AIADMK rule.
Taking this issue seriously, the state committee of the Party had organised a Special Convention in Chennai on November 29.

Arithmetic of Precision Drone Strikes: Kill 28 to Eliminate One Target

THE drone strikes have been touted by the US as “precision” weapons, taking out specific “targets” with minimum “collateral damage”, the military speak for killing innocent victims. The recent report in the Guardian (The Guardian, November 24, 2014) by Reprieve, a human rights group, shows how bogus this claim is – for killing 41 targets, drone strikes killed an estimated 1,147 others. In other words, for successfully killing one “target”, 28 people have to be killed.

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