A STATE level convention on the issues of the dalits was held at Shimla on December 8, by the Himachal Dalit Shoshan Mukti Sabha (HDSMS). The convention was inaugurated by Subhashini Ali, vice president of the Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch. Rakesh Singha, MLA, Onkar Shad, CPI(M) state secretary and Vikram Singh also spoke in the convention.Subhashini emphasised the importance of the role of the Dalit Sabhas in the Hindi-speaking belt. She said the percentage of literacy amongst dalits is still not at par with the rest of the society.

The Central Committee of the CPI(M), in session at New Delhi on December 15, has issued the following statementTHE ground on which the Supreme Court has refused to enter the price question is the purported communication between the government and the CAG. The order has further pointed out that the CAG has ‘published’ a report on this question which, in turn, has been examined by the Public Accounts Committee and their ‘report’ has been tabled in the parliament.

ON December 8, continuing the tradition of the Indo Canadian Workers Association (ICWA), annual calendar was released at Surrey, Canada in Strawberry Hill Library. The calendar was dedicated to the Gadar movement heroes who laid down their lives for the freedom movement of India and to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre which took place 100 years ago. Observing the centenary of the massacre, in which nearly 1,000 innocent people were killed, the ICWA held a large meeting in which people from all walks of life participated.

The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), in a statement issued on December 18, has strongly condemned the totally unwarranted sexist remarks recently made by Army chief Bipin Rawat on the question of women being inducted into combat roles in the army.

THE three Hindi heartland states – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan – have rejected the BJP in varying degrees in the elections to the state assemblies. These elections show that even with money power and its electoral machinery including its formidable WhatsApp reach, BJP is vulnerable to peoples’ discontent. People rejected BJP’s false claims of development and their hate campaign in good, old fashioned ways – through talking to each other in homes, tea shops and in every day conversations with friends.