THE 34th all India conference of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) was held at Hisar, Haryana from October 3-6, 2017. Hisar was earlier host to the 27th all India conference in 1992, only a year after the Congress government led by PV Narasimha Rao started implementing the policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. That conference had made a correct evaluation of these policies and pointed out that they would be detrimental to interests of the peasantry when many were claiming they would be beneficial to the peasantry.

THE All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) is gearing up for its 34th Conference, after a long, eventful four years of struggle and advances. It will be held in Hisar, Haryana, from October 3-6. A public meeting on the first day at Old College Ground will be addressed by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. A total of 758 delegates from 25 states will attend the conference. Two delegates from UIS, the international farmers’ organisation, will also be present.

THOUSANDS of peasants and farmers across the country holding the red flags of AIKS protested in over 150 districts at the call of the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan to hold rallies/sit-in/jail bharo on August 9, on the seven main demands of farmers. Hundreds of peasants were detained in few places. In Rajasthan, this protest was held in 15 districts. In Haryana, there was protest at Rohtak commissioner’s office. In Himachal Pradesh, there was a central protest in Shimla in which thousands of peasants participated.

THE peasantry in Rajasthan faces very difficult conditions not only due to the climate which swings from -3 degree centigrade to +50 degree centigrade but also because two thirds of the state is not irrigated. On top of this, the policies of the centre and the state have made the condition of the peasantry much worse. The government is not buying crops at the minimum support price.

THE All India Kisan Sabha is holding its 34th all India conference at Hisar in Haryana from October 3-6, 2017. Formed in 1936 during the peasants struggle against British imperialism and feudal stranglehold, AIKS has achieved the status of the largest all India peasant organisation of India with 1.70 crore members today.  This achievement is a result of tumultuous struggles and many sacrifices made in the fight for land reforms, peasant worker unity, against depredations of the corporate exploitation and communal polarisation, in the more than eight decades of its glorious history.