Successful Mars Orbiter Mission

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on September 24.

THE putting of the Mangalyaan satellite into the Mars orbit is a significant achievement. It has demonstrated India’s technological potential in space. The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) congratulates the scientists and staff of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for this achievement.

In order to take this forward it is necessary to focus on launching the GSLV for future space exploration.

On Chinese President’s Visit to India

THE Chinese president and general secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan paid their maiden three day State visit to India. This is the first visit of the Chinese president after his election to these positions in 2012. Sixteen agreements and memoranda of understanding have been signed, eleven of them with the central government and another five with the state governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

President Xi in India: Opening of a New Chapter!

THE Chinese President, Xi Jinping’s tour of South Asia in the third week of September ended with his three day visit to India. Before reaching Indian shores, the Chinese president had visited the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Both sides have described the visit of the Chinese president as successful. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, speaking after the return of President Xi to Beijing, said that “cooperation” between the two countries was the main theme that dominated the summit meeting with the Indian prime minister.

Punish Fraudsters: Huge Rally in Kolkata

TENS of thousands of people marched through streets of Kolkata on September 22 demanding punishment for the fraudsters and beneficiaries in the Chit fund scam. In one of the largest mobilisations in the recent period, people from all walks of life joined the march called by the Left Front. It was to demand compensation to the depositors who were cheated of their lifelong savings in Saradha and other chit fund frauds and trial and punishment of all those accused in the scam including the TMC leaders.

TN: Violation of Democratic Norms in Local Bodies By-Polls

BY the time this issue of People’s Democracy is printed, by-polls for thousands of local bodies in Tamil Nadu would have been held. The polling is on September 18. The issue at stake is ‘democracy’.

The presence of around 20 state ministers in Coimbatore city for the mayoral elections by-poll has raised suspicion. Their arrival appeared to be for reasons other than campaign. AIADMK cadres were busy in distributing cash for votes till the late night on September 17. Not only in Coimbatore city, but everywhere across the state they indulged in cash distribution.

Brutal Attack on Students in Jadavpur University

THE students of Jadavpur University were brutally beaten up by the police in the middle of the night on September 16. The police action led to around 30 students, including girls getting injured and hospitalised. The condition of two is stated to be serious and they have been admitted to the ICCU. The police have arrested about 37 students, including girls.

Chairman of the West Bengal Left Front, Biman Basu, has condemned the attack on students inside the campus of the Jadavpur University. The CPI(M) Polit Bureau member termed the attack as brutal, unwarranted and unprecedented.

India-Pakistan: Back to Square One

EXPECTATIONS about the improvement of bilateral ties between India and Pakistan were buoyed after the Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif accepted the newly elected Indian prime minister’s invitation for his swearing in ceremony. Sharif had come to Delhi at short notice despite the misgivings expressed by many in Pakistan, including those in the powerful security establishment. Narendra Modi on the campaign trail had targeted Pakistan as a threat to India’s internal security and had pledged to take a tough and uncompromising stand on the Kashmir issue.

WFTU Calls for International Day of Action against Unemployment on Oct 3

THE World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), the only class-oriented international trade union, has called upon the working people to observe its foundation day – October 3 – as International Day of Action. This year the call is to observe the day as ‘a day of struggle against unemployment’.

Achintya Bhattacharya Birth Centenary Celebrations Conclude

THERE were three distinct visions for an independent India during freedom struggle – the Nehruvian vision, the Left vision and the right-wing ‘Hindutva’ vision. Pandit Nehru represented the mainstream vision for a ‘secular democratic’ India, while the Left vision was for a ‘secular, democratic and socialist’ India. The third was for converting independent India into a rabidly intolerant ‘Hindu Rashtra’. This vision originated with the formation of the RSS in 1925. The Muslim League was a ‘twin brother’ of the RSS.

The Spectre of Social Counter-Revolution

The following is the text of the Ambedkar memorial lecture delivered by Prabhat Patnaik at the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies in September.

I WOULD like to use this occasion to dwell upon a point to which Dr Ambedkar had drawn attention in his closing speech to the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949.

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