[Marxism] ML Update Vol. 12 No. 01 30 DEC 2008 - 05 JAN 2009

["CPIML Liberation" <cpimllib@xxxxxxxxx>]

*ML Update*
*

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine
*

Vol. 12 No. 0130 DEC 2008 - 05 JAN 2009

*Turn 2009 Into A Year of Bigger Struggles and Greater Victories*

Eventful as the year has been, the main trend of times stood out in bold
relief particularly in the closing months of 2008. If the worldwide
financial tsunami and economic contraction generated by the collapse of the
colossus on Wall Street showed up the moribund nature of parasitic
capitalism, the political dimension was graphically captured in the most
disgraceful exit of the most despised warlord of our time. After his
policies and priorities were emphatically rejected by US voters, he was
treated to a spectacular "Bye Bye Bush" (as the manufacturer of the shoes
thrown at him renamed that particular model) ceremony -- an incident that
symbolised the intense hatred of freedom loving people the world over.

But the naked king is shameless: he continues to support the barbarous
Israeli aggression on Gaza strip. Not surprisingly Barack Obama, a
vociferous supporter of Israel who picked up pro- Israel hawk Rahm Emanuel
as the chief of staff, has chosen to indirectly endorse the Israeli
aggression. It is heartening to note that the Communist Party of Israel has
condemned "these blatant war crimes." "Israel is exploiting the last moments
of the Bush administration" to implement its imperialist policy, the CP of
Israel said.

Back home, the year started with a bloated ego of India Inc. expanding
overseas, a soaring sensex, overflowing forex reserves and unprecedented
growth rates. All these were used to cover up burning problems like price
rise, peasant suicides and starvation deaths. Now it ends in a bleak
economic scenario that promises to get darker in the approaching year. In
between, from the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) signed early in the year
to the nuclear deal clinched later in the wake of the tainted trust vote in
parliament, New Delhi slipped more and more into Washington's strategic
embrace, with the self-appointed Left watchdog barking occasionally but
refusing to bite before it was too late.

And then in the wake of the Mumbai blasts the national scene has come to be
dominated by the competitive anti-terrorist, anti-Pak and by implication
anti-Muslim rhetoric of the Congress and the BJP. With the Lok Sabha
elections only a few months away, the ruling Congress finds this convenient
for diverting public attention away from the economic mess it has created.
And the Sangh Parivar on its part is using the frenzied atmosphere to the
hilt in advancing its communal-fascist agenda both in the electoral arena
and in anti-minorities terror campaigns. While this strategy failed in Delhi
assembly election, the party's recent advance in Jammu, like its Gujarat
victory earlier in the past, calls for more concerted and effective action
against the saffron brigade.

The fascist networks run by this brigade, we now know, encompass not only
known outfits like the VHP and Bajrang Dal but also sadhvis and sadhus, army
officials, bodies like Abhinav Bharat, sangh academies providing military
training and so on, which work clandestinely round-the-clock to spread
terror and violence. Rather than taking the bull of Sanghi terror by the
horn, the Congress- led government at the Centre is reintroducing the
infamous POTA through the backdoors in the shape of amendments to the UAPA
and inviting the notorious FBI through the front doors in the name of
fighting terrorism.

But surely it is not problems alone that 2008 has bequeathed to us. All over
the world popular movements have surged ahead and in several cases -- as in
Nepal and Latin America -- achieved impressive successes. Even in the US the
masses have achieved a new opening in their fight against racism,
neoliberalism and war. It will be interesting to watch how the great
conflict between two trends -- the people's pressure on the new president to
implement his platform of change and the ruling elite's crafty moves to
carry forward its old anti-people, pro-corporate, militarist agenda under a
new facade -- plays itself out in the approaching year.

In India, the year we are leaving behind saw a rising tide of mass movements
in all parts of the country. From struggles on specific local issues to all
India movements on key questions like land and liberty, employment and
wages, and dignity and democracy, 2008 was a year of struggles many of which
attained a good degree of success. 2009 comes with an excellent opportunity
for making new breakthroughs in all these areas. To take one instance, the
groundswell of popular opposition to the US-India "strategic partnership",
which we witnessed several times last year, can and must be revived in the
context of the US itself looking like a troubled Titanic.

With the economic crisis deepening by the day and the ruling Left getting
discredited in their strongholds, 2009 calls on the forces of revolutionary
Left and consistent democracy to provide bold leadership to people's
struggles in the extra-parliamentary and parliamentary arenas. Let us rise
to the occasion. Let us make 2009 a year of bigger struggles and greater
victories.


>From the Central Committee Circular

Party Central Committee (CC) met from December 18 to 21 in the historic
Boddapadu village in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. The village has
been a stronghold of the revolutionary communist movement for decades and
has been associated with the lives and struggles and sacrifices of legendary
martyrs like Comrades Tamara Ganapati, Panchadri and Nirmala Krishanmurti,
Subbarao Panigrahi, Vempatapu Satyanarayana and several others. December 18
this year marked the tenth anniversary of the demise of Comrade Vinod
Mishra.

The CC therefore chose this historic occasion and venue to initiate the
month-long Pledge Campaign (December 18, 2008 – January 16, 2009) and step
up all-round preparation for the important battles ahead. Before the CC
began its meeting, Comrade Malleswar Rao hoisted the flag of the Party and
Central Committee members (CCMs) paid floral tribute to the portrait of
Comrade VM. Members of martyrs' families were then felicitated by CPI(ML)
General Secretary in the presence of CCMs, local comrades and several
leading cadres of the Andhra state unit. Throughout the four days of the
meeting, Andhra comrades set a new standard of hospitality and people's
participation and involvement in making the meeting a memorable experience
for the entire CC.

The meeting began by paying homage to all our martyrs and departed leaders
including Comrades Ashok Kumar, Murali, Venkanna and Ramji Rajbhar who
passed away in the month of November. The meeting took stock of the
international and national situation, reviewed the outcome of Assembly
elections held in November-December, discussed the perspective of the Pledge
Campaign, and drew up plans, tasks and targets for 2009. The deliberations
and decisions are summarised below.

1.      Crisis of Global Capitalism: The present crisis has erupted right at
the centre of global capitalism, viz., the US, and has hit hard its most
dynamic and powerful growth engine, the FIRE sector (finance, insurance,
real estate). In the US, the state intervened in a big way to save the
system from a feared collapse and everywhere big capitalists are trying to
pass on the burden of the crisis to the working people by pocketing massive
bailout packages for themselves while inflicting job cuts, wage cuts/wage
freeze and other surplus-increasing measures on the working people. The
bailout strategy has averted the threat of an imminent collapse, but in many
advanced countries deep recession has already set in and chances of an early
recovery appear quite bleak.

In India, apart from all the structural internal reasons and already
existing symptoms and factors exacerbated by the economic policies of
liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, the crisis has been
accentuated by a growing flight of foreign capital and recession-induced
decline in exports. Jobs are disappearing in almost all sectors and workers
everywhere have to face harsher wage- and work-related conditions.

In the wake of the global capitalist crisis, all the basic contradictions
inherent in the international situation are getting aggravated. The
antagonism between US imperialism and the developing world is getting
sharper by the day while within the developed world too we can see an
unmistakable sharpening of the contradiction between capital and labour. The
recent victorious struggle waged by workers of a Chicago-based plant –
workers and their families successfully occupied the closed concern and
compelled the employers and the state to concede their just demands – is an
inspiring case in point. Inter-imperialist contention too is increasing in
different spheres, US hegemony is getting challenged from different quarters
and the world moves increasingly towards multipolarity. With capitalism
passing though its worst ever crisis in decades, the ideological climate for
socialism has also begun to improve.

Our response to this global crisis and its Indian dimension will have to be
essentially three-pronged: (a) resisting capital's attempts to pass on the
burden of the crisis on to the shoulders of the working people, (b)
intensifying the battle for all our immediate and basic economic and
political demands, (c) popularising the discourse of socialism and
strengthening the ideological campaign against capitalism as an essentially
anarchic, crisis-prone system.

2.      Mumbai terror attack and its aftermath: The CC strongly condemned
the simultaneous terror attack on several locations in Mumbai that claimed
nearly two hundred lives and traumatised the entire country. While stressing
the need to bring the perpetrators of such heinous crime to justice, and
recognising the popular anger against the utter failure and double standards
of the ruling political elite, the CC called for channelizing the
disillusionment in a democratic direction. To this end, we must strongly
oppose the emerging consensus among the ruling classes and their parties in
support of draconian laws and the push for whipping up a jingoistic frenzy.
The CC took strong exception to the amendments made to the UAPA, especially
the provision for detention for six months without trial and reversal of the
presumption of innocence till guilt is proved, the bedrock of civilised
jurisprudence, and the making of the National Investigation Agency Act. The
Party will have to mobilise the democratic forces to resist the black laws,
the clamour for another Indo-Pak war and every attempt to unleash communal
violence in different corners of the country.


March to Jharkhand Assembly Against Kathikund Police Firing

Protestors from CPI(ML), CPI(M), All India Progressive Women's Association
(AIPWA) and Jharkhand Grameen Mazdoor Sabha (JGMS) jointly marched to the
Jharkhand State Assembly on 17 December 2008, protesting against the police
firing on peaceful demonstrators in Kathikund on 6 December 2008, in which
one protestor Lakhiram Tudu was martyred. The march was led by CPI(ML)
leader and Party MLA Comrade Vinod Kumar Singh, Party spokesperson Com.
Jayprakash Minz, AIPWA secretary Com. Sunita and JGMS General Secretary Com.
Parmeshwar Mahto. Later the protest march culminated in a mass meeting at
the Birsa Chowk in front of the Vidhan Sabha. Leaders and activists from
Jharkhand Krantikari Visthapit Sangharsh Morcha (revolutionary struggle
front of the displaced) and Ulgulan Front also participated in the protest
march.

Prior to the march, on 15 December, the AIPWA held a militant demonstration
in front of the Dumka Deputy Commissioner's office amidst prevailing
environment of fear created by blatant police firing. The AIPWA march began
from the Children Park at 11 a.m. and reached Dy. Commissioner's office
through Dumka bazaar and main road. Upon reaching the march culminated into
dharna. The march was led by Com. Sunita, AIPWA State President Com. Guni
Uraon, State Jt. Secretary Com. Geeta mandal and Dumka's AIPWA leader Com.
Bitiya Manjhi. The leaders addressing the dharna mentioned that the
martyrdom of Lakhiram Tudu will not go in vain and it will begin the undoing
of the anti-poor, anti-people Shibu Soren Govt. The protest march and dharna
demanded : (1) filing a case of under section 302 against the guilty
police-administration officials of Dumka responsible for the police firing
and holding the DC and SP of the district equally responsible and initiating
proceedings against them (2) granting a compensation of rupees ten lakhs to
martyr Lakhiram Tudu's family and Govt. job for a family member, and a
compensation of rupees five lakhs to the injured and guaranteeing proper
medical care, (3) withdrawing all cases against the villagers and their
leaders protesting against the acquisition of their land in the name of
power project, (4) unconditional release of Muni Hansda and her comrades and
(5) scrapping of all MoUs including the one for Kathikund power project


Gujarat: Dharna Against Imperialism, Communal forces and Terrorism

All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) organised a big dharna on
8 December 2008 at the Collectorate of Sabarkantha District. More than 150
workers and employees participated. The workers and employees were
protesting the Indian ruling classes' pro-imperialist US dictated policies
responsible for recession in economy leading to retrenchment, unemployment
and wage cuts of the working class. The protestors also accused the Centre's
UPA and Gujarat's Narendra Modi Govt. of importing economic recession and
terrorism from the US. They said that the communal-fascist Narendra Modi
Govt. is directly or indirectly defending the Sanghi Terrorism on the one
hand and on the other trying every dirty trick to exploit Mumbai terror
attacks for spreading communal tensions. The dharna was addressed by AICCTU
and CPI(ML) leaders Comrades Ranjan Ganguly, Dashrath Singhali, Ranjit Singh
Rathore among others. On this day leaflets were also distributed and
condolences were paid to all the national-international victims of terrorism
in Delhi, Malegaon and Mumbai.


Implement Central Act for Construction

Workers in Assam

At the call of Sodou Asom Nirman Shramik Union a demonstration was held at
Guwahati on 4th December 2008, where more than four hundred construction
workers participated. They were mainly from Guwahati, Tinsukia and Sonitpur
district of Assam. The procession which took place from the Guwahati Railway
Station via District Library concluded at the Deputy Commissioner's office,
Kamrup and was led by AICCTU President Biren Kalita, Secretary Subhas Sen,
Asstt. Secy Pankaj Kr. Das, Lila Sarma, All Assam Contractor Workers' Union
President Dhan Muhammad, Subhas Singh and others. The main demands which
were raised are: (1) immediately implement the Central Act, (2) take
immediate steps to form the welfare Board, (3) include all construction
workers in the BPL list, (4) provide ration card to all construction
workers, (5) a wage of Rs. 200 for the helpers and Rs. 300 for the masons
(6) include carpenters, electric Gus sand workers, painters etc. in the list
of construction workers. Thereafter, a meeting was held where all leaders
addressed the participants and appealed to them to strengthen the Union to
pressurise the Govt. to form the welfare Board as a steps towards
implementing the Central Act in Assam.


AIALA's 3rd Muzzaffarpur Dist. Conference

Muzzaffarpur unit of All India Agricultural Labourers' Association (AIALA)
held its Third District Conference on 28 December 2008 at Comrade Ashok
Kumar Hall (Veena Concert), Harisabha in Muzzaffarpur. CPI(ML) Polit Bureau
member Com. Swadesh Bhattacharya and Central Committee member and AIALA
National General Secretary Com. Dhirendra Jha were present at the
Conference. Six hundred and fifty delegates participated in the Conference.

The outgoing committee presented a review report of past three years, since
the second conference. It reported that the movemental identity of AIALA has
been established and organisation of the agricultural labourers into their
class organisation has increased and their political assertion has come to
the fore. The Conference discussed the anti-agriculture anti poor policies
of Centre's UPA and the State's Nitish Kumar Govt. The outgoing committee
also presented a report of agitations and campaigns conducted in three
years. These agitations were organised on a range of issues from economic
security of the agricultural labourers to their social dignity and respect
and democratic rights.

The past three years also witnessed AIALA as an organisation responding and
reacting to diverse issues of the rural poor from sexual exploitation and
rape to feudal oppression. Discussion was held to strengthen the District
organisation. Emphasis was laid on ensuring full attendance in the meetings
at all levels of the district. Emphasis was also laid in the report to elect
all block committees from block level conferences.The Conference reported on
the dirty intentions of Nitish Govt. in raising the question of Mahadalits
and said that it was to divide the dalits while providing no apparent relief
to Mahadalits.

The membership as of now is 33,122 in 128 villages of 46 panchayats of 9
blocks of the district. Among the main tasks identified for 2009 are: (1)
achieving a membership target of one lakh. At least 30 panchayats should
achieve membership of more than 2000, and enroling members in at least 250
villages of 75 panchayats to broad-base AIALA and (2) conducting village and
panchayat conferences in 120 villages of 46 panchayts.

In the end the Conference elected a 29 member District Council and 11 member
executice.


Against Gundaism of Contractors

A dharna was organised in front of the DC office of Durg District against
the gundagardi andthreats being given by the contractors of the Bhilai Steel
Plant and Hindustan Steel Construction Limited. Hundreds of people
participated in the dharna and main demands were to instituting an enquiry
into the incidents and arrest of culprits and the goon contractors. The
dharna was addressed by Party CCM Com. Rajaram, Com. Brijendra Tiwary and
Com. Bhim Rao Bogre.

Obituary

Veteran comrade Shambhu Nath Singh breathed his last on 29th November 2008
in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He was 87. Comrade SN Singh joined the Communist
Party in 1949 and was instrumental in forming a traders' organization in
Vishwanath Gali of Varanasi, the area housing the disputed site of Kashi
Vishwanath Mandir-Gyanvapi Masjid. Influenced by the initiatives of CPI(ML)
against the communal fascist forces in the early 90s, Com. Singh joined our
party in 1992 and remained a dedicated communist till his end. His firm
conviction and uncompromising attitude to communist ideals made him choose
the Varanasi party office as his home and the party as his family. Even till
the day of his death, he was guiding the youth and students in the party
office about communist principles. Com. Singh epitomized the Ganga-Jamuni
composite culture of the country and his whole life manifested this outlook.


*Red Salute to Comrade Shambhu Nath Singh !*

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