[Marxism] Fwd: Annual Conference 2005 All Pakistan Trade-Union Federation

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My Personal Experiences at the Annual Conference 2005 of the

All Pakistan Trade-Union Federation



Taimur Rahman



Red flags greeted us as we neared Alhamra on the Mall Road for the annual
conference of the All Pakistan Trade Union Federation arguably the largest
militant left-wing trade union in Pakistan.  Several buses were arriving in a
long line with workers not only sitting and standing inside the vehicle but
also piled up on the roof of the bus, hanging by the sides, and occupying every
conceivable space.  They were roaring away with laughter and their excited
voices were stretched to the limit as they shouted slogans over the din of the
mall traffic.  As they jumped and crawled out of the bus several dhol wallas
carried everyone on the rhythm of their beat in a giant procession towards the
hall.  Caps and badges were handed out and flags and banners were fluttering
high in the air as we marched towards the hall.  At the entrance of this
government owned hall there was a stringent security check and everyone had to
pass through metal detectors.   As we stood around in the sun waiting for
 our turn in the line, I glanced out of curiosity at the expression of the
comrades who were accompanying me at this conference for the first time. 
Aqeela Naz stood uncomfortably next to me.  She was recently nominated for the
Nobel Peace prize along with 1,000 other women around the world.  She asked me
?I can only see men, are there going to be any women as well.?  I replied half
jokingly ?Yes, I think there is going to be one more aside from you in the
hall.?  Then with a slight pause I smiled and said ?don?t worry Working Women?s
Organization will definitely bring women?.  Dr. Christopher John remained his
cool and self-reflective self and only broke his silence to say ?barrai dunya
hai? (translation: lots of people here).  Knowing that these leaders of the
Anjuman Mazarin had travelled all the way from Khanewal to attend this
conference I was pleased to hear these words from their lips given that they
had on countless occasions invited me to speak at their rally?s which number
 in several thousands.  My own party comrades pleased with the turn out were
beaming from ear to ear and mixing with other members of the APTUF.  I was a
bit concerned because one bus of our party workers was late and I kept fiddling
with my phone with the intention of calling which I knew was pointless since I
had just gotten off the phone with them less than a minute ago.



Finally we passed through the metal detectors and made our way into the cooler
and more pleasant environment of Alhamra Hall number two.  As I entered the
hall I discovered that Working Women?s Organization had already arrived earlier
and their militant dadi women had already taken most of the seats in the hall. 
I glanced at Aqeela to catch her obviously satisfied expression.  The hall
itself was full of red banners and flags that were still being waved around
enthusiastically.  We made our way down to the front and met the leaders of the
APTUF who were standing proudly and helping to direct people to empty seats. 
Soon a comradely competition of slogans began.  Lots of workers from different
sections of the hall tried their luck in turn to elicit the loudest and most
enthusiastic response from the crowd.  The funniest part was when Gulzar
Chaudhry the General Secretary of the APTUF came to the front and said ?Mazdoor
Ittehad?.  He said these words very softly hardly straining his
 voice at all.  And the entire hall shouted in complete unison ?Zindabad?.  It
left little doubt who commanded the respect of the workers.  Then the hall
spontaneously erupted in a slogan celebrating the struggle of their leader. 
Workers shouted ?Jeevay Jeevay, Chaudhry Jeevay? and clapped rhythmically.  The
atmosphere was intoxicating.



Soon the stage was occupied by the major leaders of the APTUF and their invited
guests.  The union had made a decision to invite leftists intellectuals instead
of government functionaries.  Thus, Rashid Rahman (editor of The Post) and Afzal
Touseef (Progressive Writer and old member of the Communist Party) were sitting
along with Gulzar Chaudhry (general secretary APTUF), Rubina Jamil (Working
Women?s Organization), Fazl e Wahid (general secretary Railway Workers Union),
Bashir Zafar (president Punjab APTUF) and other leaders of the APTUF (****).



When the conference formally began we were already all so animated by the
slogans that it didn?t take much for the fiery speakers of the APTUF to elicit
from us a roaring response.  Speaker after speaker denounced the military
government in no uncertain terms.  But the greatest response was still reserved
for the working-class poets who with their witty sarcasm lampooned the
capitalists and the government to the immense amusement of the audience. 
Speakers were interspersed not only with poets but also with singers and
musicians who played original compositions about working-class struggle.

For me personally the most touching moment came when Afzal Touseef spoke.  She
was extremely moved by comrade Shahram Azhar?s performance of ?Mera Rang Day
Basanti Chola? by Bhagat Singh.  She said that when she was young she had seen
an entire period when people were involved with struggles for emancipation but
it had all given away to an abysmally dark period of silence.  After the
break-up of the Soviet Union it seemed a world had come to an end.  But seeing
the enthusiasm of the workers today, hearing the songs of Bhagat Singh raised
by a young person of the same age as Bhagat when he sang that song has made her
realize that the longing for emancipation never dies.  That new people will come
forward and take the banner of socialism forward.  The conference, she said, was
historic because it had demonstrated a new growing militancy and enthusiasm that
had broken the silence.  Her words, spoken softly, were so touching that many of
us burst out into tears.  Comrade Sardar Shaukat
 who was at one time a wrestler and is built like a tank said with tears
streaming down his face ?now I can die in peace because I have heard this great
woman speak in person?.



The speeches that followed Comrade Afzal Touseef?s heart stirring words were in
an altogether different category.  Every major leader of the APTUF threw
caution to the wind and fearlessly said that they were in the trade union
movement because they were basically committed to socialism.  That they were
not fighting for a mere reform of the capitalist system but to create a society
where all forms of exploitation were eliminated. Gulzar Chaudhry said that Trade
Unions were insufficient to win the fight against capitalism.  In the final
analysis, he said, workers need to learn the theory of socialism and build a
revolutionary working-class party.  He repeatedly stressed the importance of
socialist theory without which he said there can be no revolutionary victory. 
When he finished his words the entire hall stood up hollering militant slogans.



For me personally the conference was the pinnacle of a long process of a deep
rethinking about left-wing politics in Pakistan.  The turn away from the left
after the break-up of the Soviet Union and the resultant weakening of
trade-unions and the working class movement in general simply cannot be
reversed without patiently rebuilding the connection and unity of socialist
theory with immediate working-class collective struggles.  This simple truth,
so often repeated by Marxists, most often without sufficient thought, was
demonstrated in vivid living colour in the shape of the annual conference of
the All Pakistan Trade Union Federation.



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