AIKS Flays India’s Abject Surrender

THROUGH a statement issued from New Delhi on December 7, 2013 by its president, Amra Ram, and general secretary, Hannan Mollah, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has flayed the abject surrender at the WTO ministerial by the commerce minister of the government of India. The organisation has demanded that the government refrain from accepting the provisions of the unequal ministerial decision on public stockholding for food security purposes without discussion with and approval of the Indian states and parliament.

Indefinite Struggle by ‘Bisi Oota’ Workers In Karnataka Achieves Hike in Wages

BEHOLD the woman with a 3 year old girl-child in her lap sitting on the road in Gandhinagar, the heart of Bangalore city – until heart beats with their heartfelt woes. For the heartless ‘High-Tech’ Bangalore and to its officials, she appears as a stubborn woman sitting amongst other women and is a hindrance to the free-flow of traffic.

Abolish Manual Scavenging TNUEF Pickets the Seat of Power

THE law remains on paper on various issues. But, the most cruel issue is using humans to clean the human waste. Many judgments and orders have been issued by the Supreme Court and various High Courts. The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 was passed in the parliament. The employment of the scavengers or the construction of dry (non-flush) latrines is punishable under the law. There will be imprisonment for upto one year and/or a fine of Rs 2,000. The sad part of this is that till date there is no single conviction under this law.

Employment during the Boom

THERE exists a whole tribe of economists, by no means a small one, which debunks every attempt at income redistribution in the country as “populism”, and which insists that the growth of the Gross Domestic Product must be given absolute priority. This tribe applauds Narendra Modi’s “development” agenda, which entails enticing corporates, both domestic and foreign, to invest in one’s own domain by offering them generous incentives.

Central Committee Communique

THE Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in Agartala, Tripura from December 13 to 15, 2013. This is the first time that the meeting of the Central Committee of the Party has been held in Tripura. After the meeting, the Central Committee has issued the following statement on December 16:

CONDOLENCE
The Central Committee adopted a condolence resolution paying homage to Nelson Mandela, Võ Nguyên Giáp, Shyamali Gupta, member of the Central Committee and Y Radhakrishnamurthy, former member of Andhra Pradesh secretariat of the Party.

Carry Forward the Struggle against Corruption

FINALLY, the Lokpal has been institutionalised as a mechanism to tackle corruption at high places in the country. The Bill adopted by the parliament incorporating most of the amendments suggested by the Rajya Sabha’s select committee was passed by the Rajya Sabha and sent back to the Lok Sabha which endorsed it, thus making it finally a law of the land.

CPI(M) to Strive for a Real Alternative Govt at Centre

THE city of Agartala turned into a red sea of humanity on 15th December as the CPI(M) held its mammoth central rally to mark the end of its first ever central committee meetings in the capital city of the Red bastion in North East. The mass meeting at the newly constructed Vivekananda Stadium (formerly known as Astabol Maidan) virtually saw the beginning of the CPI(M)’s campaign for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election.

Left Protests Attack on Democracy in Bengal

THE Left Front of West Bengal sat in a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on December 18 to protest against the onslaught on democratic rights of people in the state. Over 150 elected representatives from the state participated to protest against attacks on Left workers. The meeting was presided over by Biman Basu, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and chairman of the West Bengal Left Front. The general secretaries of CPI(M), CPI, AIFB, Prakash Karat, S Sudhakar Reddy, Debabrata Biswas and the secretary of RSP, Abani Roy addressed the dharna.

CPC Delegation Visits CPI(M) Headquarters

A six-member delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), led by Sun Qingyun, vice-secretary of the CPC Shanxi province visited the headquarters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on December 6 and had discussions with the leadership.

Homage To Nelson Mandela: To Beat the Unbeatable Foe

Nelson Mandela is no more. When my generation was in its teens, a popular song went as follows: 'To dream the impossible dream/To fight the unbeatable foe/To bear with unbearable sorrow/To run where the brave dare not go/To right the unrightable wrong.../To reach the unreachable star/This is my quest/To follow that star/No matter how hopeless/No matter how far...'
If there is one person who lived up to these ambitions and more importantly reached these milestones in his own lifetime, it was Nelson Mandela, Madiba as he was fondly called.

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