ML Update 29 / 2013

ML Update

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine

Vol.  16                          No. 29                                     9-15 JUL 2013

Intensify the Struggle for Justice for Ishrat Jehan   

The chargesheet filed by the CBI in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case is a belated and partial step in the direction of justice for a young 19-year-old girl, drugged and gunned down in cold blood with 3 others by Gujarat cops in connivance with IB officers. The ugly details of this heinous murder now stand confirmed by the testimony of some Gujarat policemen themselves. 

Nearly a decade ago, the Gujarat police displayed the bodies of Ishrat Jahan and 3 others, claiming they were terrorists killed in an encounter, and that they had been aiming to kill Narendra Modi.

Subsequently, in 2009, the Ahmedabad Metropolitan Magistrate SP Tamang termed the encounter as "fake". In 2011, the Court-appointed SIT also concluded that the encounter had been staged. The Tamang report, the SIT report and the findings of the CBI enquiry ordered by the Court, have all confirmed what Ishrat's mother and family maintained all along: that Ishrat was killed in cold blood. The killing was staged to fit in with the script of an FIR that was prepared prior to the killing!  And there are also leads to suggest that Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah (today BJP's campaign in-charge in UP) and the Chief Minister Narendra Modi gave a green signal for the killing.

Testimonies of Gujarat cops to the CBI, including a sting operation by one of the cops, reveal the involvement of Gujarat's senior-most police officials, as well as senior officers of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), those known to be very close to Amit Shah and Narendra Modi. 

It is clear that this particular fake encounter was not just a case of some trigger-happy cops. There are all indications that there is an elaborate political plot behind the killings. The fact is that a series of 'encounters' in Gujarat – of Sohrabuddin, Kauser Bi and Tulsiram Prajapati, of Sadiq Jamal, of Samir Khan – now established as fake by investigating agencies, all played out to a certain political script. The same team of Gujarat cops led by DG Vanzara are implicated in all these killings, which were all aimed at promoting the myth of Modi as the target of terrorist attacks by Muslims. The question of who ordered all these killings that benefited Modi politically, and that were carried out by Gujarat's top cops needs an answer.     

The BJP has been accusing the CBI of acting as a tool for the Congress-UPA Government to target Narendra Modi. But the truth is that the Congress-UPA Government itself seems interested in a cover-up. The Home Ministry, which in the past done its best to help cover up the Ishrat fake encounter, has made it clear that they are seeking to protect the IB officers implicated in the case, by claiming that the CBI will need 'sanction' from the Ministry in order to prosecute the IB. The IB cannot continue to remain a shady institution that acts without any accountability to the Indian Constitution. Lawlessness by IB officers must be punished as severely as lawlessness by any citizen.   

The CBI's chargesheet has not named IB officer Rajendra Kumar and other IB officers as accused. Yet the chargesheet states that Rajendra Kumar assisted in managing the illegal custody of Ishrat Jahan; and had, along with top Gujarat cops including Vanzara had met Javed and Ishrat during their illegal custody. With such material in the chargesheet, there can be no excuse for failing to book Rajendra Kumar. The BJP, and even the Samajwadi Party have been accusing the UPA Government of weakening the fight against terror by allowing the CBI to 'demoralise the IB'. Fake encounters cannot help identify or punish real terrorists – and the shameful politics of condoning murder in the name of IB 'morale' must be exposed and resisted.

Suggestions by media commentators that India must institutionalize 'controlled killings' or that 'order' may not be compatible with 'law' are extremely dangerous. In any genuine democracy, and in the spirit of the Indian Constitution, Courts, not cops, get to decide who is guilty of crime or terrorism. The pleas for condoning or rationalizing extra judicial executions in any form must be firmly resisted by democratic citizens.            

The IB has tried to claim that they have tapes of phone conversations between LeT terrorists which prove that Ishrat was a terrorist; they also claim that David Headley confirmed that Ishrat was an LeT operative. None of these claims are backed up by any facts. The so-called tapes of LeT phone calls have no mention of Ishrat, plus the IB can't answer why these tapes, if genuine, were not handed over to the Tamang enquiry or the SIT during their investigations. The claim that Headley named Ishrat as a terror operative during interrogation by the NIA is yet to be confirmed by the NIA itself. And even the sentence attributed to Headley by sections of media by no means confirms that Ishrat was a terrorist.

Failing to establish a definite terror link, the BJP is now falling back on sexist slandering of Ishrat's character. BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi has been saying that Ishrat, a young woman, travelled alone with men, and this in itself is suspicious. She also said that since Ishrat was a young woman from a poor family, she was an ideal candidate to be a terrorist.      

The political slanging match between BJP and Congress cannot hide the fact that the Congress simply has not walked its secular tall talk – be it in the Ishrat Jahan case where the Home Ministry has continuously helped to cover up the fake encounter, or in other cases of communal violence and fake encounters, where Congress Governments have never taken decisive action to punish the perpetrators. Congress governments have also been involved in fake encounters and false framing of innocent Muslims in terror cases: witness Batla House, Malegaon, Mecca Masjid cases. And Congress governments took no action against Advani and other BJP leaders in the Babri Masjid demolition case even after the recommendations of the Liberhans commission, or against Bal Thackeray in the Bombay riots case after the recommendations of the Srikrishna Commission. The Supreme Court has pulled up the Manipur Government for a series of fake encounters, while in Kashmir, mass graves stand as grisly evidence of hundreds of fake encounters. Any progress in the Ishrat Jahan case is due, not to the Congress government, but to the courageous efforts of her family and rights activists.

We must struggle to ensure that the killers – as well as the political conspirators behind the killing – are punished in the Ishrat Jahan case. Justice for Ishrat Jahan can pave the way for justice for victims of extra judicial killings in the whole country.    

Resolutions Adopted by

ALL INDIA LEFT COORDINATION  

 

The All India Left Coordination (AILC) held a meeting on 6th July 2013 in Delhi, attended by representatives of constituent parties.

The meeting expressed condolences for departed Left leaders: Comrades Jagjitsingh Lyallpuri, Comrade Satyapal Dang of CPI, Com. Saudamini Katre of LNP(L), Comrades Kala Tamang and Bhim Sher Thapa of the CPRM, and Comrade Brij Bihari Lal (Mahashayji) of CPI(ML). 

The resolutions adopted at the meeting are as below:

1.  The AILC expressed condolences at the flood calamity in Uttarakhand, and resolved to intensify the efforts to collect and disburse relief to the survivors of the tragedy. The people of Uttarakhand are struggling to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of the disaster, and relief efforts by the State and Central Governments are extremely inadequate. The AILC will pursue the question of relief and rehabilitation with the governments. The AILC also demands a thorough review of the model of development being followed in Uttarakhand and other ecologically sensitive areas of the country, since it is apparent that the environmental devastation is at the root of natural calamities.

2.  The AILC welcomed the filing of a chargesheet in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, which exposed yet again the communal and undemocratic character of the Modi model of governance. The AILC said that over the past nine years, Ishrat's family and rights activists had struggled for justice in the face of all odds, while not only the Gujarat Government, but also the Central Government's Home Ministry had conspired to cover up the crime. Even now, the Home Ministry's reluctance to allow prosecution of IB officers implicated in this heinous crime was condemnable. The AILC said that the political conspiracy behind the encounter must be laid bare, and all those involved in staging the fake encounter – including Gujarat police officials, IB officers, and political leaders – must all be identified and booked. The AILC said that governments of every hue have been complicit in extra judicial killings and the witch-hunt of innocent Muslim youth. The AILC called for resisting this politics of Islamophobia tooth and nail, and hoped that justice in the Ishrat Jahan case would pave the way for justice in other cases of fake encounters in Gujarat as well as in the rest of India. 

3.  The AILC condemned the attempts of the UPA Government to bypass Parliament and pass a diluted Food Security Ordinance instead of a truly effective Food Security Act. The Ordinance reduces the entitlement of food; limits the rations to cereals alone; opens the door for cash to replace food rations; does nothing to boost procurement and revitalize agriculture; denies maternal benefits to mothers with more than two children; and continues with the dubious method of 'targeting' the needy, which excludes large sections of the poor. The Ordinance claims to cover 67% of the population. The Arjun Sengupta report had found that 77% of India's people spend less than Rs.20 per day. The Government is yet to refute these findings, and clearly, at least 77% are undoubtedly poor, while even those spending more than Rs 20 are also poor and needy. Therefore AILC demands universal food security coverage, which instead of seeking to identify the poor can target and exclude only the obviously rich – those who enjoy property and salary above a certain ceiling. AILC demands an effective Food Security Bill to be passed in Parliament, which ensures at least 50 kg of foodgrains for each family at Rs 1 per kg; other essential food items such as millets, pulses and oil; absolutely no option of cash transfer replacing food rations; no weakening of maternal entitlements; and measures to boost procurement and revitalise agriculture.   

4.  The AILC condemns the UPA Government's craven attitude of endorsing US spying operations, and denial of asylum to whistleblower Edward Snowden who exposed the spying. The AILC hails the offer of asylum to Snowden by Bolivian President Evo Morales, and condemns the shocking and unprecedented violation of international protocol by Governments of France, Portugal, Spain and Italy in denying permission for the plane carrying President Evo Morales of Boliva through their airspace. AILC demands that India resist US snooping operations and also stop its own attempts to violate the right to privacy of Indian citizens.

5.  The AILC will hold a Convention on 11 August at Constitution Club marking the Centenary of the historic Ghadar movement, which represents a unique revolutionary legacy.

Meeting Demands Justice for Ishrat Jehan

A public meeting was held by the Justice for Ishrat Jehan campaign at Constitution Club on 6th July in Delhi where activists demanded justice for Ishrat. There was an attempt by Hindutva activists to violently disrupt the meeting, but this was thwarted by women activists. The meeting was addressed by Ishrat Jahan's sister Mussarat Jahan, her mother Shamima Kausar, and her uncle, as well as by her lawyer Vrinda Grover, who together have made the remarkable effort to pursue justice and expose the truth.

The meeting, conducted by Shabnam Hashmi of Anhad, was also addressed by CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda Karat, CPI(ML) Politburo member Kavita Krishnan, CPI leader Annie Raja, historian Dr. Uma Chakravarty, Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Manisha Sethi of JTSA, JNUSU President Lenin Kumar, and many others. Syeda Hamid, Gauhar Raza and Mohammad Farooqui rendered poems on the occasion. The meeting was followed by a candlelight vigil for Ishrat.       

Advocates' Demonstration Demands CBI Enquiry Into Ilavarasan's Death

Democratic Advocates Association (DAA) of Madras High Court held a demonstration before the Madras High Court on July 5th demanding arrest of those responsible for Dalit youth Ilavarasan's suspicious death that TN police is claiming to be a suicide.

DAA also held Ramadoss, Anbumani Ramadoss and Kaduvetti Guru of PMK responsible for not only for attacks on dalit dwellings in Dharmapuri and Marakkanam but for the death of Ilavarasan death also and demanded their immediate arrest.

Speakers in the demonstration came down heavily on the state government which failed miserably in providing security for the dalit masses in the state and particularly for Ilavarasan whose life was in obvious danger.

More than 100 advocates of Madras High Court participated in the demonstration led by Com.Bharathi, Convenor, DAA. Senior Advocates SankaraSubbu and Tamilinian who spoke in the demonstration also held the proceedings of the court in the habeas corpus case responsible for Ilavarasan's death.

The demonstration in its course turned into a road roko and the main road was blocked for a while. The speakers called for powerful mobilization of advocates against caste oppression in the state.

Demonstrations on these demands were also held in two centers in Pudukottai district. Com.Pala.Asaithambi, SCM of the Party led the demonstrators.

Dalits in TN Assert Defy Untouchability, Assert Right to Enter Temple

Pudukottai district in Tamilnadu is known for continued untouchability. CPI(ML) has waged struggles in this area for the rights of dalits since its inception.

Dalits were prohibited from entering into Azhageri Amman temple situated in Periakottai village since time immemorial. Com.Govindasamy, District committee member of CPI(ML) is the elected President of the Panchayat of this village now and dalits were determined to enter into the temple for the festival this year. Castiest forces belonging to all backward communities do not want this to happen, and they mobilised MPs, MLAs and bureaucrats behind them. When peace talks convened by the Tahsildar failed, he announced cancellation of festivities.

CPI(ML) declared that cancelling the festival means succumbing to untouchability or 'untouchability by the backdoor', and organised a wider campaign to pressurise the district administration to take a stand against the castiest elements.

After a few rounds of discussion with district administration and police authorities it was decided to give protection for dalits to worship. Strong police pickets were posted and thousands of dalits entered the temple. There were minor skirmishes but police restrained both sides. Com Asaithambi, CPI(ML)'s district secretary, State Committee member Valathan and other district committee members of the party played an active role.

Dalit Landless Lay Claim to Gairmazarua Land in Siwan

Resist Armed Assault By Landlords Led by BJP MLA  

In Chilmarvan village of Guthni block of Siwan, Bihar, dalit landless poor led by CPI(ML) has been conducting a 'Allot Land, Give Papers to Allottees' campaign. Recently, the dalit landless bravely resisted armed assault by BJP-supported landlords. The landless poor had laid claim to 12 bighas of gairmazarua land, and erected hutments on 1 bigha of the land. The Nitish Government's promise of allotting land to mahadalits has proved hollow, but when the mahadalit landless poor themselves took the initiative to claim land, the administration came to evict them. CPI(ML) leaders had talks with administration on the night (9 pm) of 5th July. During the talks the administration assured that having checked the land records and ascertained its gairmazarua status, the poor would be given legal rights to the land. CPI(ML) leaders Amarnath Yadav and Amarjit Kushwaha returned after the talks. But even as the administration conducted talks, there was firing by BJP-backed landlords, which the police did nothing to stop.

The next day, 6 July, the landlords and their hired goons, at the behest of BJP MLA Ramayan Majhi, returned shouting 'Long Live BJP' and again attacked the settlement of landless dalits, armed with firearms and sticks. There were preparations to terrorise and massacre the dalit poor, and the administration was missing in action, doing nothing to apprehend those who came in a mass to attack dalits in their homes. The dalit poor had no choice but to defend themselves, and thanks to their brave resistance, two of the landlords' hired goons were killed.              

Subsequently, the administration is trying to fix false charges against Bihar AIALA State President and former MLA Satyadev Ram, and RYA National President Amarjit Kushwaha. CPI(ML) leaders were not even present at the site, having returned following an assurance by the administration that the land would be allotted to the dalits. Why, then, were CPI(ML) leaders The administration should answer why they took to action to prevent an armed mob of landlords and goons from launching an assault on dalits? Given the absence of police and administration, would the Nitish Government prefer that the dalits fail to defend themselves, and allow themselves to be massacred?

On 9 July, AIALA and RYA held a statewide protest day demanding withdrawal of the false cases against ML leaders and demanding arrest of BJP MLA Ramayan Majhi. In Siwan, scores of youth led by Amarjit Kushwaha marched in protest and burnt an effigy of the CM Nitish Kumar, braving repression by the police. When the police stopped protesters at JP Chowk, protesters kept JP Chowk blockaded for hours, till they were arrested. Protests were also held at Patna's JP Golambar, as well as at districts and towns all over Bihar.  

TN AICCTU In Support of Struggling Maruti Workers

At a demonstration cum rally organized by the Maruti Suzuki Workers' Union in Faridabad, Haryana on 7th July 2013, a solidarity fund of Rs. 50,000/- was handed over to the leaders of the Union by three worker leaders of AICCTU from auto companies of Tamil Nadu – Coms. John Sundaram, President Pricol Workers' Union, K. Palanivel (CWC member of AICCTU) from Diamond Chains, and Gokul Krishnan from MRF, who came all the way to Delhi to donate this fund to Maruti workers.

This was the first installment of fund of one lakh rupees collected by the workers of these auto companies in Tamil Nadu in support of struggle of workers of Maruti Manesar on the call of Tamil Nadu unit of AICCTU. The 2nd and final installment of this fund will be donated to them on 11th July in Chandigarh (capital of Haryana and Punjab), where AICCTU's Chandigarh and Punjab units have organized a big demonstration programme with the  participation of Maruti workers to raise their voice in the seat of Haryana government.

In continuation of their struggle, the Maruti union has taken up a series of programmes since 1st July which will culminate in indefinite sit-in and hunger strike at Manesar from 18 July, the day when last year 147 workers were thrown into the jails and 2300 workers were terminated under the pretext of an incident of violence in Maruti, Manesar Plant.

In this series of programmes, on 7th July 2013 in Faridabad, Haryana, the union organized a rally and demonstration before the residence of Labour Minister of Haryana. The mass meeting held at Pyali Chowk before rally was addressed by, among others, the national secretary of AICCTU, Rajiv Dimri. He said that the last years' 18th July incident and subsequent repression unleashed on Maruti workers is yet another proof to the fact that the democracy in India, known as the largest democracy in the world, is the democracy only for the big corporates and MNCs such as this Japanese company owning Maruti, but at the same time an autocracy, a regime of repression and oppression for working class, the down-trodden and the toiling people of the country. While saluting the heroic struggle of Maruti workers in the face of repression of all kinds, he exhorted them to make the 11th July demonstration in Chandigarh and indefinite sit-in cum hunger strike at Manesar from 18 July a resounding success. He reiterated AICCTU's continued support for them in all situations and declared that AICCTU will organize an all-India protest Day on 18th July by picketing in front of Maruti's Showrooms and offices in all major cities including Delhi, apart from joining in large number the sit-in at Manesar. At the end of his address, he introduced the comrades of Tamil Nadu to the Maruti workers after which the solidarity fund was handed over to them with short speeches by them. In the mass meeting and rally, ten banners containing signatures of thousands of workers of auto companies, lawyers, and intellectuals from Tamil Nadu in support of the struggle of Maruti workers were displayed and handed over to them.

The rally was participated by leaders and activists of AISA, RYA, All India Kisan Mahasabha and Jan Sanskriti Manch including Sandeep Singh, Aslam Khan, Prem Singh Gehlawat and Kapil Sharma.

At the end of rally, a big section of demonstrating workers forced into the house of Labour Minister of Haryana led by a delegation comprising of leaders of Maruti union-  Katar Singh, Mahavir, Rajpal and others; Prem Singh Gehlawat, vice president of Kisan Mahasabha and AICCTU leaders Santosh Roy, Ranjan Ganguly and Rajiv Dimri. The delegation then submitted a memorandum demanding the Minister's urgent intervention for release of all workers and other people lodged in Kaithal jail on 18-19 May, release of 147 workers lodged in Gurgaon Jail for last one year, reinstatement of all terminated workers and an impartial inquiry into the 18th July 2012 incident.

The next day i.e. on 8th July the leaders of Maruti Suzuki Workers' Union visited the central office of AICCTU and met the President and General Secretary Coms. S. Kumarasamy and Swapan Mukherjee to thank them for the support and to discuss further course of action.  

CPI(ML) Protests Arrest and Custodial Killing of Adivasi Youth in Mirzapur, UP

A 22-year old adivasi man Mahesh of Rampur village, Madihan thana in Mirzapur had left the village some days back with a married woman from the same community. The police apprehended both some days back, and then arrested Mahesh. CPI(ML) and AIPWA leader Jeera Bharti and other CPI(ML) leaders had protested the arrest and gheraoed the Patehra police chowki where he was being held. Jeera Bharti along with the woman's family were trying to facilitate the woman's divorce from her husband, and marriage with Mahesh, in keeping with her wishes. But the police, far from releasing Mahesh, instead brutally beat him all night, even as protesters remained gathered outside the chowki. In the morning of 8th July, Mahesh was dead – killed by brutal beating in police custody.

The police have been trying to cover up the case by filing a 'non cognizance report' and claiming the death to be a suicide. CPI(ML) intensified the protest, led by CPI(ML) CC member Mohd Salim and local leaders, and other parties too joined the protest. As a result of the protest, an FIR with murder harges has been lodged, and some cops suspended, but the killer cops are yet to be arrested.   

Uttar Pradesh is gaining notoriety for custodial deaths – the death of Khalid Mujahid in police custody is still being protested, and meanwhile, Mahesh has been killed in custody. Even the arrest of Mahesh was completely illegal, since he had committed no crime requiring arrest by having a consensual relationship with a married woman.

Relief Work in Uttarakhand

CPI(ML) activists along with local people have been at the forefront of remarkable relief efforts in remote areas of Dharchula, Pithoragarh as well as at Kedarnath. Detailed first hand reports from the ground will be carried in the next issue.  

Edited, published and printed by S. Bhattacharya for CPI(ML) Liberation from U-90, Shakarpur, Delhi-92; printed at Bol Publication,
R-18/2, Ramesh Park, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-92; Phone:22521067; fax: 22518248, e-mail: mlupdate@cpiml.org, website: www.cpiml.org

ML Update 28 / 2013

ML Update

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine

Vol.  16               No. 28                                                                                                                              2-8 JUL 2013

Bagaha Firing:

Resist Police Raj in Nitish's Bihar!

Less than a week after Nitish Kumar had secured the trust vote for his government with the help of the Congress, CPI and four independent MLAs, Bihar experienced yet another shocking case of police brutality.  On 24 June as many as six persons belonging to the Tharu community in Bagaha district near Nepal border in North-Western Bihar were gunned down by the trigger-happy Bihar police. At least 15 people have been seriously injured.

Agitated by the lack of police response to find a local youth who had gone missing since June 15, people had thronged the nearby police station at Naurangiya and once again the police knew no other way of tackling the agitated people except opening fire. They opened fire without any warning and they did it not to disperse the people but to kill. All the people killed had bullet injuries above the waist level.

The Naurangiya firing is by no means an isolated case in Nitish Kumar's Bihar. His track record of 'good governance' has been routinely punctuated by periodic instances of police brutality. Batraha, Bhajanpur (Forbesganj), Aurangabad, Madhubani and now Naurangiya – there have been several major cases of police brutality during Nitish Kumar's second term. The pattern is reinforced by the impunity enjoyed by the police. In the case of the infamous Forbesganj firing, some of the guilty officials actually received a promotion. More than two years since the firing, the judicial inquiry commission is yet to submit its report and the survivors are being prevented by all means from deposing before the commission.

In the Aurangabad case of 2 May 2012, in which hundreds of people were brutally beaten up by the police with CPI(ML) leader and ex-MLA Rajaram Singh being singled out for a brutal physical assault led directly by the SP, the state human rights commission (SHRC) has indicted the administration for police excesses and slapped a fine of Rs 200,000 on the state government. But instead of complying with the order of the SHRC the state government is busy pursuing a false case against Rajaram Singh and many others. In Madhubani, CPI(ML) leader Dhruv Narayan Karn and scores of students and activists belonging to various opposition parties have been in jail for months together since the police went berserk on 12-13 October 2012.

The other feature that stands out in all these cases of police brutality is the arrogant disdain with which Nitish Kumar has been justifying the police brutality without ever bothering to visit any place of police firing or talking to the aggrieved people. In 2005 Kumar had launched his statewide 'Nyay Yatra' from the Tharu-dominated areas of Champaran, appealing to the people of Bihar to ensure justice by bringing him to power. Now ensconced in power for nearly eight long years, he is paying back his 'debt' by imposing a veritable police raj on the people of Bihar.

Yet the changed political equations in Bihar have made it difficult for the arrogant and authoritarian regime to ignore the voice of the people with its characteristic contemptuous nonchalance. On 27 June Bihar observed a day's bandh at the call of CPI(ML) and other Left forces demanding immediate institution of a judicial probe, and prosecution of all guilty police officials under section 302 of IPC and adequate provision of compensation and rehabilitation for the families of those killed and injured in police firing. For the first time in recent history, the government has announced some primary level action against some officials and compensation worth Rs 4 lakh for every victim while agreeing to set up a judicial probe. Equally interesting has been the BJP's response – the party that has routinely justified every police action while in power is now talking of police high-handedness. Some BJP leaders are now demanding compensation for the victims of Forbesganj firing as well.

The Bagaha firing once again corroborated the authoritarian nature of the Nirish Kumar government. At the same time now that this government has been reduced to a minority with the split in the ruling alliance it has visibly also become susceptible to popular pressure. The government that has betrayed and failed the people on almost every count must now be encircled by surging waves of popular resistance.

Bihar Bandh Against Bagaha Firing

 CPI(ML) and other Left parties including CPI, CPI(M), Forward Bloc called a Bihar Bandh on 27 June 2013 in protest against the Bagaha police firing which killed 7 Tharu people including 3 school children in West Champaran.

CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya led the party activists in implementing the Bandh on the streets of Bihar's capital Patna. Thousands of CPI(ML) supporters marched from Gandhi Maidan, led by GS Comrade Dipankar, Bihar Secretary Comrade Kunal, Central Control Commission head Ramjatan Sharma, Central Committee members KD Yadav, Meena Tiwari, Saroj Chaubey and others. They broke the police cordon at Dakbangla Chouraha and marched towards the Station. On returning to Dakbangla Shouraha, there was a prolonged clash with the police, following which the leaders and bandh supporters were arrested and detained in the local police station. At Siwan and Darbhanga also, CPI(ML) leaders and supporters were arrested.

The bandh received widespread popular support, with people coming on to the streets in large numbers to make it a success. Trains were blockaded at Darbhanga, Ara, Siwan, Biharsharif, Begusarai, Jehanabad, Nawada, Muzaffarpur, Betia, and Araria. At Bhojpur, the NH-30 was blockaded and the Ara-Sasaram highway was blockaded at 3 spots. The NH-30 was blockaded at Rohtas also. Roads and railways were blockaded all over Bihar, and markets remained closed.  

Bagaha Firing: The Facts

 A CPI(ML) fact-finding team visited Bagaha immediately after the firing and ascertained the facts. The team comprosed State Standing Committee member Viendra Prasad Gupta, State Standing Committee member and former MLA Amarnath Yadav, RYA National President Amarjit Kushwaha, and CPI(ML) leaders from Champaran Vishnudev Yadav, Sunil Rav, Dayanand, Dwivedi, Rahim Miyan. Mohd. Kalam and others. A brief summary of the report follows.

On 15^th June this year, Chandeshwar Kaji, a young singer (of Dardari village, Naurangiya thana, W Champaran), went to Devtaha with his music system. The same night, people from Amva village called him to their village. He did not return home after this. On 16^th June, after he went missing, police were alerted. A week passed, and the police's apathy was apparent. They failed to locate Kaji, or even his corpse. On the night of 25^th June, the police arrested a father and son from Amva. Villagers from Dardari reached Naurangiya on the 25^th, demanding that the arrested duo be jailed. The villagers said that blood stains and a torch had been found near Ghutri bridge in Kataharva, leading them to suspect that the body might be found in that area. When the police reached Kataharva, villagers asked why the arrested duo had not been brought along, to help locate the corpse. A heated exchange with the police ensued, and police responded by summoning extra forces including Bagaha DSP Shailesh Kumar. Meanwhile school kids of Harnatand were returning from coaching classes. As soon as the DSP reached, an indiscriminate lathicharge was unleashed on the villagers, and when villagers resisted this, the police began to fire. 6 were killed on the spot, a 7^th died in Gorakhpur hospital subsequently.          

12-year old Anil Rai, 10-year old Shivmohan Kumar, and 16-year old Anup Kumar, are the young boys killed by the police bullets. Other victims of the firing included Brahmadev Khatait (35), Dharmvir Khatait (31), Bhukdev Kumar (23), and Tulsi Rai (24). 

Bhahmadev Khatait had been shot in the leg. When his younger brother Dharmvir Khatait tried to rescue him, police shot Dharmvir dead and brutally stamped on Brahmadev, taking his life. 15 people are injured in this attack, and those grievously injured include Ritwik Kumar (14), Kamlesh Rai (22), Ganesh (24) and Madan Mahto (28). The families say that the injured are not getting proper treatment. Madan Mahto, a tailor, who took bullets in his left leg and right hand, still had mere bandages on his body: even the blood stains on his body are yet to be cleaned. Bihar State Standing Committee member Comrade Rajaram visited the injured people who are admitted to PMCH.    

The bodies of those killed are in Valmikinagar Guest House. Police are refusing to hand over the bodies to the families. The police wants to cremate the bodies without giving the families a chance to see the bodies.  

 Sankalp Sabha on Land Rights in Purnea 

Recently, an oppressive landlord was burnt alive in a spontaneous protest by adivasi women in Kukrain No.1, Purnea district of Bihar. Severe police repression had followed. CPI(ML) has maintained that the feudal oppression, denial of land rights, and exploitation of labourers lay at the bottom of the incident. 

On 25^th June, CPI(ML), defying the repressive and defensive atmosphere imposed by the administration, held a Bhumi Adhikar Sankalp Sabha, demanding unconditional release of arrested adivasis, and withdrawal of false cases against CPI(ML) District Secretary Lalan Singh and other local activists as well as 96 adivasis; and setting up of a special tribunal to distribute ceiling surplus, bhoodan, Bihar Government and sikmi land among the landless.     

The impressive mass meeting was held at the Shaheed Maidan, which had been named Reema Devi Maidan. A martyrs' memorial at the grounds was dedicated to Comrade Brajesh Mohan Thakur. The meeting was presided over by Comrade Lalan Singh, and addressed by party GS Comrade Dipankar, PB member and AIALA GS Dhirendra Jha, former MP and AIALA National President Rameshwar Prasad, CCM and AIPWA GS Meena Tiwari, as well as many district leaders. More than 5000 participated in the Sabha.         

Speakers stressed the fact that 3 lakh acres of land in Purnea were illegally occupied by landlords and feudal forces. They condemned the Nitish Government for backtracking shamelessly on the recommendations of the Land Reforms Commission.    

 Cinema of Resistance marks black anniversary of Emergency through documentary screening in Kolkata

To mark the 38th year of imposition of Emergency, the Cinema of Resistance campaign organized a film-screening at Pratapgarh Primary School in Jadavpur, Kolkata, on 29th June. About 80 people attended the the screening. Anand Patwardhan's 'Prisoners of Conscience' which relives the dark days of Emergency through interviews of political prisoners from that period was screened, followed by Haobam Paban Kumar's 'AFSPA 1958' which documents five tumultous months following Thangjam Manorama Devi's rape and murder by Assam Rifles personnel in Manipur, and Surya Shankar Dash's short films 'Dhinki' and 'The Lament of Niyamraja' made respectively on the struggles in Dhinkia around the POSCO project and Vedanta's devastating mining in Niyamgiri hills in Odisha. The last three films portrayed damning proof of the ravages caused by the prevailing undeclared Emergency across the length and breadth of the country. The screening was mostly attended by young people and students along with veterans who had lived through the period of Indira Gandhi's total suspension of all vestiges of democratic rights. After the screening, a short discussion followed, with several people signing up to become a part of the Cinema of Resistance campaign and take it forward in the days ahead.

Women Workers' Convention In TN

 AICCTU held a state level Women Workers' Convention in Tirunelveli on June 30. The convention paid homage to the army jawans and others who lost their lives in the rescue operations in Uttrakhand and those died in the manmade disaster.

The convention raised the following demands:

·         Enumeration of permanent and non-permanent, organized and unorganized women workers in the public sector, private sector and in the government departments in the state.

·         The state government should take immediate efforts to get Presidential assent for L.A.Bill 47/2008 which will protect the rights of women workers of sumangali scheme at least to a certain extent.

·         Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 should be implemented immediately in the state.

·         Women workers should be paid equal wages for equal work.

·         Meaningful social security measures for women workers.

·         Revision of minimum wages for garment workers in the state. (It was last revised in 2004).

·         Fixing minimum wages for domestic workers.

The convention was held in a background where lakhs and lakhs of beedi women workers are missing from the records of District Labour Commissioner's office and there by those lakhs of beedi women workers are denied of their statutory rights. Around Rs.73 crores is lying in the PF office unclaimed. When the Supreme Court asked why the TN government should not raise the cess from the construction work to 1% instead of the existing 0.3% to give more benefits for the construction workers, the State government has replied that the construction wokers' welfare board has enough funds left after  giving enough benefits for the construction workers and hence the question of raising the cess does not arise. But the ground situation in TN is that not all construction workers, majority of them women are registered under the welfare board and that even those registered are not getting and welfare benefits.

Vahida Nizam, National Vice President, AITUC, Malathi Chittibabu, National Vice President CITU and Sujatha Modi, President, Women Workres Trade Union addressed the convention.

The convention was presided over by Com. Anbuselvi, AICCTU State Council Member. Com.Thenmozhi, State Vice President, AICCTU placed the resolutions. Com.T.Sankarapandian, General Secretary, AICCTU, inaugurated the convention. Com.Bhuvaneswari, State Deputy General Secretary, AICCTU addressed the convention. Over 100 women workers participated in the convention.

The convention decided to organize demonstrations all over the state stressing the demands raised in the convention.

Uttarkhand flood relief fund collection efforts in Tamilnadu

The Chennai district committee of the party mobilised Rs.75000 in 4 days of flood relief campaign.

Donations were collected among workers door to door in their residential areas in Ambattur and among Advocates in their champers by Democratic Advocates Association members led by Com.Bharathi. About Rs.40000 were collected among Advocates who generously contributed. One 60 Year old advocate Ayyadurai enthusiastically participated along with a team of advocates.

At Villupuram, Party cadres with flags and banners collected donation among public in bazars and bus-stands. They have collected Rs.5000 in 6 hours of campaigning. Comrades Venkatesan and Shenbagavalli led the campaigns.

At Nagai in Tanjore district, party cadres led by party's district secretary Com.Elangovan collected donations among public in Bazars and bus terminals holding party flags. They collected Rs.4000  in 2 days for few hours of campaigning. At Salem, cComrades collected Rs.5000 as flood relief. Comrades Chandramohan and Mohanasundaram led the campaign. Efforts are on in other centres of Tamilnadu.

Protests Demanding Arrest of Comrade Gangaram Kol's Killers Continue

 As part of the ongoing protests demanding Justice for Comrade Gangaram Kol, the party held a protest procession in Dibrugarh district (Tingkhong area). The procession began from the party's office at Rajgarh through the main market to the Revenue Office. 500 people marched in the procession raising slogans demanding arrest of the main accused, Congress MLA Raju Sahu, without delay, and a CBI enquiry into the killing. When the procession reached the main market, a protest meeting was held and an effigy of Raju Sahu was burnt. The procession was led by Assam State Committee member Comrade Arup Mahanta. At the Revenue Office, another protest meeting was held which was addressed by Assam State Secretary of the party Comrade Bibek Das. A memorandum to the Governor was submitted via the Revenue Officer. The procession was led by Comrade Balindra Saikia, Mira Tanti, Suraj Garai, Maitreyi Bagchi, Punti Tanti, Shashi Modha, Bitupon Bokoliyal, Lakshyadhar Kalita, and other CPI(ML) leaders. 

Anti-Repression Day at Delhi to Mark Emergency Anniversary

 Jan Sanskriti Manch, AICCTU and RYA held a protest programme at Jantar Mantar on the evening of 26 June to mark the 38^th anniversary of the infamous Emergency and to protest the ongoing 'undeclared' Emergency in the country.

Cultural activists, writers, poets, workers, youth and students participated in the programme, declaring their protest against the ongoing policies of government surveillance and intrusion, violation of civil liberties and trampling of freedom of thought and expression. The arrest of workers and activists of people's movements as well as voices of dissent using draconian laws and false cases was vigorously protested.  The protest meeting was addressed by JSM President Prof. Manager Pandey, Janvadi Lekhak Sangh General Secretary Murli Manohar Prasad Singh (who recounted his own experiences of being arrested during the Emergency), Pragatisheel Lekhak Sangh General Secretary Ali Javed, CPI(ML) Politburo member Kavita Krishnan, Aslam Khan of RYA and Sunny of AISA. Shyam Kishor, AICCTU leader and CPI(ML)'s Delhi State Committee member, just released from jail a day before, recounted his experience of being arrested on trumped up charges following the February All India Strike.

The meeting began by keeping a minute's silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the Uttarakhand tragedy, and JLS President Shiv Kumar Mishra who passed away recently.    

Lokesh Jain and his team sang on the occasion. Artists Anupam and Ashwini Agrawal did a live painting at the venue.  

The program was conducted by Awadhesh, and conceptualized by noted artist Ashok Bhowmick.

 Participants included teacher Ravindra Goyal, writers Noor Zaheer, Dinesh Mishra, cultural activist Rekha Awasthi, critic Ashutosh, Gopal Pradhan, filmmakers Imran and Vijay and many others.

Bagaha police firing:
were bullets the answer to stones?

(Excerpts from a report by Rahi Gaikwad in The Hindu, 30 June 2013)

As with the proverbial bogeyman, the mere mention of the word 'police' struck fear into Leelavati Devi and she reached out to her family for some comforting.

"They beat me black and blue with a rifle butt, in the back, in the waist," she said, after much goading. Deeply disturbed, she got startled even by the sound of passing vehicles.

Her village of Deotaha in Bagaha, West Champaran district, is one among several villages with a concentration of nearly three lakh people of the close-knit Tharu tribe. On June 24, Bagaha became a bloody chapter in Bihar's history when the police opened fire on agitating Tharus, killing six and injuring 15.

According to the police, the firing was "unavoidable" but the situation that led to the firing was avoidable.

Initial delay

Bagaha was simmering with discontent ever since a local youth, Chandeshwar Kaji, went missing on June 15. The police's dilly-dallying over taking action caused the initial delay.

"First we looked for Chandeshwar ourselves," Suhas Kaji of Dardari told The Hindu . "Three days later, we went to lodge a missing complaint, but were turned away as it was the wrong police station. Our village comes under one police station, but the spot where the boy was last seen comes under another."

Going back and forth to police stations took three more days. On June 21, the police took a complaint. The same day, blood stains and a torch, which Chandeshwar was carrying, were found in the fields. Suspecting foul play, the locals went to the police again to register a case of kidnapping.

On June 24, the day of the firing, hundreds of men and women surrounded the Naurangiya police station demanding action. In this melee, a phone call from a police man said the body had been found.

The information turned out to be false, but the damage was done.

News of the possible recovery of the body spread across the villages of Bagaha and people turned out in large numbers to see the body. "I went to see the exhumation. The people were telling the police to dig out the body," Ritik Kumar (14), injured in the left arm, told The Hindu .

Victims said the police were digging in several places in vain. Seeing this, a group of nearly 400 women surrounded the police and demanded that they summon the accused, Ravikesh, arrested in the case, to the spot.

"The women said the police could not leave without discovering the body. The police assured them the accused would be summoned but instead started calling additional forces from other police stations. The women started screaming and heckling the police," Suhas Kaji said.

At this point the police lathi-charged the women, and even assaulting them with rifle butts. The brutal assault on the women incensed the villagers — nearly 2,500 in number as per the police. They began throwing stones, at which the police opened fire. As per the police probe, 33 rounds were fired from various rifles.

"The police first fired in the air. The people were still under the impression the police would not fire at them. But they did," said Ritik.

Brutality

Many innocent bystanders and students became the target of the bullets. The Khatjit family of Deotaha village lost two bothers, Brahmadev (40) and Dharamjeet (32). With the breadwinners gone, the wives and children of the deceased duo now face a bleak future.

"My husband had gone to buy fertilizers. I rushed to the spot when I heard he was shot. When I saw his blood-stained body, I went weak in the knees, but still thought of picking him up. The police came to attack me. I ran to the nearby Mushahar [a low caste] quarters. But the police came looking for me there, asking who was wearing yellow clothes. I was in a yellow sari. I had to change my clothes and make my escape," Hemanti Devi, Dharamjeet's wife, told The Hindu .

Hemanti saw her brother-in-law Brahmadev trying to get up despite being shot in the loin. "As he was trying to get up, he was shot in the chest. When he still did not die, the police crushed him under their jeep," she said.

The police denied running over anyone.

Madan Mahato was shot twice while trying to flee. His mobile was snatched away when he tried to receive a call. "When I fell down, the police said, 'Should we kill you?' I told them to go ahead. They then dumped me in the jeep like a gunny bag."

Bhupdev Mahato, an engineering student, was on his way to the market. He stopped on seeing the crowd and before he knew what was happening, was shot in the chest.

Many of the deceased and those seriously hurt have been shot in the back. 

Lack of aid

The gross lack of medical facilities has put those seriously injured at further risk. 

Five days later, Ganesh Mahato (20) still had three bullets lodged in his body — one in his spine and two in the ribs. All were shot from the back. Apart from the acute pain, he had difficulty in breathing. With lack of facilities to operate on him, he would be taken to Delhi for treatment, his family said.

Asleem Miya (25) was unable to speak and only gestured to communicate. He had one bullet lodged in the back. The family had no news about his further treatment.

In Bettiah, Madan's wound was cleaned and one stitch given without administering anaesthesia. "In Patna, I had to spend one day in the emergency ward as no bed was available," he said.

Shattered lives

The bullets have left behind a trail of shattered lives. Chandeshwar's wife Geeta Devi has lost all hope. The duo was married only last month. With her husband's case now sidelined, there was focus on her plight. Having received only school education, she desperately needs a job to keep afloat.

"I am not scared of the police; I am angry at them. They started battamizi [misbehaviour] first. They fired on people who were running away," Ritik said from his bed at the Patna hospital.

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ML Update A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine U-90 Shakarpur Delhi - 110092 INDIA PHONE: 91 11 22521067 FAX: 91 11 22442790 Web: http://cpiml.org

ML Update 27 / 2013

ML Update

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine

Vol.  16             No. 27                                                                     25 JUN- 1 JUL 2013

Uttarakhand's Himalayan Tragedy:

Natural Disaster of Man-Made Origin

The unusually high rainfall and flash floods devastating the Uttarakhand region have cost lives that are yet to be fully counted. Thousands of local people, pilgrims and tourists still await rescue even as the heroic rescue efforts by Armed forces, and relief efforts by local people who are putting aside their own adversity to help others in distress, continue. As we go to press, one rescue helicopter has crashed, tragically killing several people including 8 armed forces personnel. 

At the same time, India's ruling class politics has cut a sorry figure, with a sordid drama of one-upmanship. The macho boasts made by Narendra Modi's spin doctors of 'rescuing 15000 Gujaratis' are not only unsubstantiated, they stand in stark contrast to the modesty of those on the ground who are truly risking lives to save people, without unseemly boasts of body-counts. They are also a shameful display of regionalism at a time when people's concerns for the disaster-affected are overcoming boundaries of states and nations. The helicopter trips by various political 'VIPs' and photo ops by Congress and UPA leaders 'flagging off' relief trucks are no less unseemly and shameful.   

The inescapable fact of the matter is that both the BJP and the Congress that have ruled Uttarakhand and the Centre are implicated in this disaster. To call it a 'natural' disaster is only a half-truth. The unfolding tragedy of Himalayan proportions has been caused by decades of criminal policies of plundering hills and rivers in the name of 'development'.

Environmentalists and people of Uttarakhand have pointed out time and again that the Himalayas are young mountains, prone to high intensity rainfall events, cloud bursts, flash floods, and landslides. The rivers in the region are silt-laden and capable of great destruction. Yet the model of 'development' imposed on the State – riding rough-shod over the struggles of the local people – has been one of hundreds of hydro-electric projects, big dams, illegal sand mining in river beds, deforestation, unregulated tourism, indiscriminate real estate activity and urbanisation on mountainsides and river-beds in the absence of any zoning laws, and indiscriminate blasting of mountains for roadways. All this has happened without any assessment of the carrying capacity of the region's delicate environment. And all this brutal ravaging has rendered 'nature' less able to cope with cloudbursts and rainfall.

Those who have raised environmental concerns have been derided and branded as 'anti-development.' Resistance to environmental regulations has been guided, not by the purported concern for local people's development, but by the powerful public and private sector hydel power and real estate contractors whose interests are threatened by regulations. One glaring fact is the failure to issue a timely warning against the disaster, and the delay in beginning effective rescue operations. In spite of disaster after disaster, India is yet to invest in proper mechanisms to predict disasters and cope with disasters.

The Uttarakhand CM has pooh-poohed the criticisms linking the disaster with the development policy of the State, claiming that all projects commissioned by his predecessor governments as well as in his tenure, enjoyed the approval of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The CM's claims are belied by the facts. A CAG report has pointed out that Uttarakhand's disaster management authority formed in 2007 did not hold even a single meeting till date, and had warned that the 53 hydel power projects proposed on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers would damage the mountains, dry up the riverbeds, and increase chances of flash floods. The CAG report was flouted – and there are now around 680 dams in various stages of commissioning, construction, or planning in Uttarakhand. The CM has claimed that the dams have actually helped to control the floods – but this claim is yet to be substantiated. Instead, there are reports from some areas – such as Srinagar town and Rudraprayag – that release of water from hydropower projects, along with the illegally dumped muck in the river beds resulting in diversion of the river course, contributed to the force of the disaster.

Moreover, the State Government stubbornly refused to learn lessons from past disasters. Just last year, when Uttarkashi witnessed devastation due to flash floods, the State's Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre report had recommended legislation to "strictly regulate developmental initiatives in close vicinity of streams and rivers." Needless to say, no steps have been taken in this direction. Similarly, following landslides in Rudraprayag last year, the State's DMMC had recommended a ban on the use of explosives in the fragile Himalayan terrain for infrastructure developmental works. In spite of this, the use of explosives is rampant. Reports from the ground by CPI(ML) activists indicate that even now, in the midst of the disaster, the Border Roads Organisation is using explosives to clear the roads blocked by landslides. The possibility of the extreme climate events being linked to climate change is also strong – and calls for urgent investigation and corrective action.  

While media attention and that of the ruling political class has focused almost exclusively on the pilgrims and tourists, the plight of the people of Uttarakhand has been criminally neglected. Many of the local people working as guides or running shops in the affected areas, agricultural workers, as well as those eking out a living gathering rare herbs and fungi, are yet to be rescued. The numbers of such people missing or killed is yet to be estimated. Their homes and sources of livelihood – cars, transport animals, shops etc – have been washed away. While those pilgrims being rescued are starting to see an end to their ordeal, the local people's struggle for survival and rehabilitation is just to begin.     

Relief and rehabilitation will of course be a priority for people's movements at this juncture. At the same time, it is equally urgent to struggle to ensure a reversal of the policies that lead to such tragedies in the first place. The State and Central Governments must immediately halt the construction of ongoing hydel power projects and declare a moratorium on new ones, until a comprehensive review of the existing projects and of projected environmental impacts is carried out by an impartial agency. Similarly the use of explosives in construction projects must be stopped, and laws enacted and implemented to regulate constructions in ecologically sensitive areas. The local people must be consulted and their approval taken before initiating any new development project. The only true homage we can pay to the countless people who lost their lives in this tragedy can be to ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated again, and that the right lessons are taken from it.  

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Contribute Generously to Support the Flood Devastated People in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand is suffering a calamity of Himalayan proportions, with heavy rains and cloudbursts causing devastating floods. Thousands of lives are likely to have been lost, and thousands remain stranded, deprived of homes, loved ones, and means of livelihood. CPI(ML) shares the grief of the bereaved families.
Activists of CPI(ML) on the ground, especially in the worst-affected Garhwal and Pithoragarh regions, are organising rescue and relief operations, working closely with rescue teams.
We are launching a nationwide campaign for flood relief in Uttarakhand. We appeal to you to make your contributions by cheque/draft in favour of "CPIML". Please indicate that the donation is for "Uttarakhand Flood Relief".
Please send your donations to:
U-90, Shakarpur Delhi 110 092, India

The tragedy in Uttarakhand today is more man-made than natural, linked directly with the corporate-driven, anti-people model of 'development' undertaken in the State, involving indiscriminate deforestation, big dams in ecologically sensitive areas, plunder of natural resources and rampant absence or violation of environment protection laws. The consequences today are being borne by the poorest people in Uttarakhand. In the days to come, CPI(ML) will also seek your support and cooperation in the struggle to ensure that Uttarakhand's poor receive the compensation and rehabilitation measures that they need, and that immediate steps are taken to reverse the disastrous course of environmental devastation in the name of development.

Contact numbers of comrades organising relief work in Uttarakhand:
Jagat Martoliya: 09411308833
Indresh Maikhuri: 09412120571

CPI(ML)'s Uttarakhand State Secretary Rajendra Pratholi can also be contacted at 09456188623 for more details.

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Left Parties to Hold Bihar Bandh Against Bagaha Firing

New Delhi, 25 June 2013

In a heinous instance of police barbarity, police firing on peaceful protesters in Bagaha (West Champaran district of Bihar) and killed 6. Those killed were from the scheduled tribes, and had been protesting against the suspected killing of a missing young man from their village.

State repression, unleashing bullets and batons on protesters, especially on those from oppressed communities and minorities, has become the order of the day for the Nitish Government. In 2011, police firing and brutality at Forbesganj killed 4 people from the poor minority community. In 2012, police firing on protesting students at Madhubani claimed one life. And in 2012, the police brutally beat up peaceful protesters at Aurangabad, who were protesting against the murder of a popular panchayat mukhiya. The Bihar police also brutally lathicharged a teachers' protest in Patna, inviting censure from the Supreme Court. The Bagaha firing is the latest in this long line of police atrocities.

The CPI(ML) demands arrest and prosecution of the guilty police officials, suspension of the DM and the SP, and compensation of Rs 10 lakh for each victim's family. The CPI(ML) along with other Left parties CPI, CPI(M) and Forward Bloc has called for a Bihar Bandh against the firing on 27 June.

The BJP's call for a bandh against the firing smacks of hypocrisy. Till the other day, BJP was a loyal part of the same Government, and never raised its voice against any of the firings and brutality that took place. In fact, the Forbesganj firing took place at the instance of the local BJP MLC, who unleashed the police to protest his own corrupt bid at grabbing public land. The BJP's opportunistic claim of resisting state repression must be thoroughly exposed. 

- Prabhat Kumar,

For CPI(ML) Central Committee     

The Stage Is Set for the Lok Sabha Elections

The stage is almost set for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and battle lines are nearly drawn. Major parties of the ruling classes – whether 'national' parties like the Congress and the BJP or the host of regional parties wielding power in various states – are giving finishing touches to their battle plans. The contours of potential pre- or post-poll coalitions have also begun suggesting themselves amidst ongoing political realignments. Several possibilities that were being speculated for quite some time have started taking shape, setting off a chain of rapid political developments.

The only point that now remains to be settled is the schedule - whether elections are to be held ahead of schedule along with the next round of Assembly elections due later this year or we have to wait till early next year when the present Lok Sabha completes its five-year term. Considering the current pace of political developments, it is entirely possible that the Congress may go for elections ahead of the scheduled time.

The BJP has made up its mind to have Modi as its mascot for the coming Lok Sabha elections. The BJP leadership must have anticipated the consequences that followed, like the revolt of Advani and the exit of the JD(U) from the NDA, but the fact that the party still fell for the Modi gamble clearly shows the party's desperation. Almost all poll surveys have been pointing to the fact that while the Congress is surely losing ground, the BJP is not gaining in proportion. It now remains to be seen whether the Sangh Parivar's desperate gamble to play the Modi tune to improve the party's poll prospect pays off or proves counterproductive. Advani and his supporters are openly apprehensive that the BJP's decision to act in haste in pressing the Modi button may only leave the party with the destiny of repenting at leisure.

As far as the Congress is concerned, the only way the party can really hope to gain or salvage anything is by cornering or isolating the BJP or damaging its prospects. In states where there are multi-corner contests or where the Congress has to contend primarily with non-BJP parties, the Congress has little chances of improving its position. So far, the Congress has been successful in dethroning the BJP in as many as four states, directly in Uttarakhand and Karnataka and indirectly in Jharkhand and Bihar. Unlike the BJP, the Congress also has developed the skill of doing business with mutually opposed parties in several states – like the SP and BSP in UP, and now the RJD and JD(U) in Bihar, or for that matter, the TMC and CPI(M) in West Bengal.

Between the Congress and the BJP, or a possible UPA-III and NDA-III if you will, hangs the prospect of the mythical 'third front'. The two traditional pillars of a third front – a sizable non-Congress non-BJP party of the Janata Dal variety and a numerically significant Left bloc – have weakened over the years. While the Janata Dal has been splintered into as many as four parties, the Left bloc has lost in numbers. Moreover, having failed miserably in its 2009 attempt to cobble a 'third front', the CPI(M) has now become wary of making another experiment. The new noise of a 'federal front' comprising a disparate group of ruling regional parties like the TMC in West Bengal, JD(U) in Bihar and BJD in Odisha is more 'sound and fury' with little substance. Of course, with the chances of an NDA-III or a UPA-III looking rather slim at the moment, the rise of a somewhat different post-poll coalition arrangement cannot be ruled out.

With the possibilities of multipolar contests in many states and the Congress, BJP and many ruling regional parties all suffering from serious crisis of credibility, the coming Lok Sabha elections promise to be much more competitive than most of our bourgeois ideologues would like. Of course, the BJP and the Congress would try their level best in the coming days to reduce the election to a pro- and anti-Modi contest. The revolutionary Left must counter this game-plan of the ruling classes with vigorous preparations for a well-organised election campaign that must assert the growing strength of people's struggles as the most reliable bulwark of resistance against corporate fascism. The determination to roll back the plundering pro-corporate policies and secure greater rights for the deprived and oppressed people must be the defining spirit of Left intervention in the coming electoral battle.

Protests Continue on the Streets of Tinsukia

Since the assassination of Com. Gangaram Koul, on 25th March 2013, not a single day has passed without protests in the Tinsukia district and Assam, demanding the arrest of the accused, all of whom are Congress leaders, the prime accused among them being Mr. Raju Sahu - one of the Parliamentary Secretaries and an MLA from Chabua Legislative Assembly Constituency and also a member of the faction within the Congress that is opposed to the Chief Minister of Assam.

On 12th June 2000 protesters took part in a street march in Tinsukia, and slogans of 'Arrest Raju Sahu immediately, Tarun Gogoi down down, oust Tarun Gogoi to save democracy, to save Assam, down with Gogoi's killers' raj and mafiadom' reverberated.

The march, which started from the Durgabari Hall, Tinsukia was led by Com. Subhas Sen, Rubul Sharma, Vivek Das, Arup Mahanta, Shubhrajyoti Bardhan, Balindra Saikia, Haripada Sarkar, Shikha Das, Gangaram Koul's life-partner Shakeela Munda, Subhas Singh, Pawan Majhi, Gobin Proja, Sunil Tanti, Govinda Namashudra, Chandan Handique,(Brihattar Asamiya Juba Manch) and others. The march became a road-blockade that lasted for more than an hour at Tinsukia, the busiest spot of the town. The protesters, braving the scorching heat, demanded that the D.C. come to the spot of the road blockade to accept the memorandum addressed to the Governor of Assam. At this spot the effigy of Raju Sahu was burnt. Then the marchers pushed in though the main gate of the Circle Office (S.D.C.) who accepted the memorandum. Inside the complex of the Circle Office, a protest meeting was held which was addressed by Comrades Subhas Sen and party State Secretary Bibek Das. The processionists then again marched back to the Durgabari Hall where a mass meeting was held which was presided over by Com. Harendra Nath Borthakur – the veteran CPI (ML )member and the President of the Sodou Asom Janasangskritik Parishad.

A Souvenir named "Uttaran" (Transformation) in memory of Com. Koul was released by noted intellectualual and economist Dr. Jyoti Prasad Chatiha, and party Polit Bureau member Rubul Sharma, State Secretary Bibek Das, Shakeela Munda, Raju Bhumij, Gobin Proja, Bojen Konwar and others addressed the gathering. Com. Balindra Saikia Sang a popular song composed by Com. Bibek Das depicting the arduous life of tea workers and a Jhumair song was also sung by Shri Suman Tanti. The leaders gave a call to the gathering to come in large numbers to join CPI (ML) to take Com. Koul's struggles forward. A resolution was passed in the house asking the Govt. to arrest Raju Sahu by the 15th of August (Independence Day) 2013 or the people will have the right to gherao Raju Sahu when and where he will be available after that date, and administer a fitting punishment.

Black Day Observed Against POSCO

On 22nd June, a Protest Day was held by four Left parties, the CPI(ML)Liberation, CPI ML), CPI(ML)ND and SUCI (C) throughout Odisha, demanding to scrap the POSCO project and withdrawal of all police cases against the anti-POSCO farmers.

The protest day was observed at Bhubaneswar, Angul, Berhampur, Rayagada , Kendrapara, Bhadrak and at the POSCO project sites at Patna and Govindpur areas. This is the first time the protest was organized as a black day in different places.

A big rally of about 500 protesters started from Bhubaneswar railway station to Odisha Vidhan Sabha Marg, raising slogans against corporate land grab and police atrocities, and against the Naveen Patnaik and Manmohan Singh Governments. 

The meeting was addressed by Comrade Radhakanta Sethi, State Committee member of the CPI(ML) Liberation and the meeting was presided by Comrade Yudhistir Mohapatra, CCM of CPI(ML) Liberation, Comrade Sivram of CPI(ML) and Comrade Santosh Rath of SUCI spoke, declaring that the Naveen Government was acting as MNC agent in the state. All speakers congratulated the anti-POSCO movement on completing 8 years of heroic struggle.

Rally and Convention in Srikakulam

On the morning of 17th June, a dharna was held by the CPI(ML) before Revenue Divisional office at Palakonda in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh and a memorandum given on the burning issues of land, PDS, support prices and opposing the 'elephant zone.' An impressive rally was held in the town. In the afternoon a Convention was held on the theme of "Corporate destruction of people's lives and tasks of the revolutionary left". P Bhaskar, member of Vutharandhra (northern Andhra comprising Visakha, Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam districts) regional leading team presided over the meeting and chief guest N Murthy and central leaders M Malleswara Rao, B Bangar Rao, State leaders B Vasudeva Rao, Sanyasi Rao, district leaders M Rama Rao, Dushyanth, Raju, Naidu and local advocate Chandramouliswara Rao addressed the Convention. Around 250 people attended the Convention, mostly youth from the old struggle area. The JSM unit of Boddapadu inspired people with their cultural performances.

Palakonda, a divisional headquarter of Srikakulam district was an important centre of Srikakulam struggle. Preceding the Convention, a good campaign was undertaken in four mandals in Vijayanagaram district and eight mandals of Srikakulam. 8000 leaflets were widely distributed and 500 posters put up. A mass fund campaign was conducted in mandal towns of Palakonda, Parvathipuram, and Veeraghattam.

Adivasis in Gujarat Protest Against Corporates and Land Mafia Protected by Modi Govt

On 19th June, the CPI(ML)'s Valsad unit in Gujarat held a demonstration at the DM's office in which a large number of poor adivasi workers and peasants demanded their rights to forests, land and proper wages. In spite of heavy rains for the past 10 days, the participation in the Rally was impressive, with people from far-off hilly and forest areas like Kaprada, Dharampur, and Umbergaon. The rally began from Valsad station, with scores of adivasi men and women raising red flags and slogans against plunder of land and rights by corporations and land mafia protected by the Gujarat Government.

The rally was led by the party's Valsad in-charge Lakshman Bhai Varia, and among the leaders who participated were PB member Prabhat Kumar, Gujarat's state in-charge Ranjan Ganguly, RYA National Secretary Amit Patanvaria, adivasi youth leader and the party's Kaprada unit's secretary Kamlesh Bhai, Comrade Mohan Bhai of Bhilad, Comrade Santu Bhai, Comrade Mohan Bhai Dubhada of Sarigam Industrial Area, and Comrade Jayanti Ben.

A 7-member delegation met the DM at the end of the Rally and submitted a memorandum with the following issues:

Land mafia in collusion with the Government machinery is grabbing the traditional land of the adivasis by force or deceit. The police is not filing the complaints of adivasis in this regard, falsely claiming the matter to be a civil rather than criminal one. Police harassment of adivasis is rampant in the area. GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation) is colluding with land mafia to falsely obtain NOCs for company owners from panchayats and gram sabhas. Adivasi villages in coastal areas are being cleared out to make way for ports.

Valsad district, especially the Kaprada taluka, has vast forest areas. Under the Forest Rights Act 2005 the adivasis cultivating this land have the right to the land. Yet they are being evicted by the Forest Department in collusion with the land mafia, by using ploys such as fencing off land in the name of plantation nursery, demarcation line etc and handing it over to land mafias to 'develop logistic centres'. According to a survey conducted by party comrades recently, 234 adivasi families are cultivating 987 acres of land in Kaprada taluka, and have been doing so for generations, yet they have no papers to prove their ownership.

Vapi, Sarigam and Unbergaon GIDCs in the Umbergaon taluka are the hub of massive chemical industries. Violating all pollution control laws, these industries are polluting the fields, rivers, ponds and soil in the adivasis' villages. The Government turns a blind eye and a deaf ear to any complaints.

Those who raise the above issues, especially CPI(ML) activists are booked under false cases or attacked physically by land mafia forces. In the last Assembly polls, party leader Lakshman Bhai Varia's name was deleted from the voter list.   

Party leaders who addressed the demonstration said that the plight of adivasis in Valsad illustrated the true face of Modi's claims of 'development', which was nothing but open plunder by corporate and powerful vested interests, and repression of forces of resistance. Copies of the memo were sent to the Governor of Gujarat and the Central Ministers for Social Welfare and Home Affairs. 

Edited, published and printed by S. Bhattacharya for CPI(ML) Liberation from U-90, Shakarpur, Delhi-92; printed at Bol Publication,
R-18/2, Ramesh Park, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-92; Phone:22521067; fax: 22518248, e-mail: mlupdate@cpiml.org, website: www.cpiml.org