<STRIKE> 2 September general strike in India is likely to be the largest such demonstration against capitalism in recent times. It is estimated that 150 million workers will join this wide-ranging strike.
To get a sense of the issues, please watch (and share) this video from NewsClick.in: http://newsclick.in/india-150-million-workers-strike.
The video features the key leaders of India's left movement, such as Comrade AK Padmanabhan and Comrade Vipin Kumar of CITU, Comrade Amarjeet Kaur of AITUC, Comrade AR Sindhu of the All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers, Comrade Vikram Singh of the SFI - Students Federation of India, Comrade Suneet Chopra of the All India Agricultural Workers Union, Comrade Brinda Karat and Comrade Sitaram Yechury of CPIM, Comrade Vijoo Krishnan and Comrade Hannan Mollah of the All India Kisan Sabha and of course our comrades in Jana Natya Manch.
Truly essential viewing to learn about this crucial political action.
Please do share. (thanks Benny!).

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210544864647567&set=a.1048612385268.2009628.1524464438&type=3


http://youtu.be/2gcHZEohm4g

Towards Another Historic Strike


A K Padmanabhan
In the midst of corporate celebrations of 25th year of neo-liberalism in the country, the working class all over the country, with support from peasants, agricultural workers and others is now fully prepared for another countrywide general strike on September 2.

The struggle, which began in 1991, is entering into an important phase, with various sections of working people joining the working class protest actions.

The first phase of this struggle was from 1991 to 2008, when not all the central trade unions were together in this struggle in which large number of independent national level federations were also participating. In addition to various sectoral struggles and strikes, there were 12 country wide general strikes upto 2008. These struggles were conducted facing brutal attacks from the employers and governments. In each one of the countrywide strikes, there was wider participation than the previous one. The government was hell bent to go ahead with the policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation.

Stronger unity
These realities had forced a rethinking among the unions who were keeping away from the joint platform. Many local unions and large number of workers belonging to these central unions were already participating in these strikes and struggles out of their own experiences at the work spot.

From September 2009, the united campaign started making powerful impact in the country. The countrywide general strikes on September 7, 2010 and February 28, 2012 witnessed massive participation. But, the government at the centre was not even prepared to have a discussion with the unions on their demands. The severe impact of these disastrous policies on the livelihood of the working people had forced various sections of people to come to the streets.

This forced the unions to intensify the struggle. Country wide demonstrations, sectoral strikes and struggles and the massive march to parliament etc culminated in 48 hours of countrywide strike. This strike on February 20-21, 2013 was held with largest ever participation and was the first ever countrywide strike held for more than 24 hours. On the whole, this was the 15th strike, after 1991.

After the general elections, Modi government, forgetting all its assurances to the people, went ahead with the policies – the pay back process for the huge support they got for the election campaign. A host of policy prescriptions were being put in place - labour law amendments, incentives to corporates all in the name of ‘ease of doing business’ while price increase, loss of jobs and increasing unemployment were heaping miseries on the working people. Ordinances facilitating land grab forced the kisans and agricultural workers to come to the streets in a massive way against Modi government.

This as we all know, was the background of the 16th countrywide general strike on September 2, 2015. None could forget the last minute withdrawal of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) from the strike, in the name of giving time for the government to implement its so-called assurances. These vague statements, of ‘Government will do everything’ were surely not acceptable to other unions and the strike on September 2 again became the largest strike, with the participation of 15 crores of workers.

Various sectoral struggles in the intervening period and the powerful impact of the joint campaign at the floor level enabled this massive participation. It is estimated that nearly 40 percent of these participants were non-unionised workers.

But the Modi government was not prepared to do anything, to meet the demands of workers. The ministerial committee, which was formed on the eve of the strike in 2015 that ‘assured’ to do the needful, only to get the strike deferred, did not even call a meeting despite continuous demands. This forced the unions again to decide for a national convention in the month of March. Interestingly, the BMS had also attended the meeting which decided to hold the convention, but did not participate in the convention. This convention called upon the Indian working class to go for the 17th countrywide strike, again on September 2 this year. The convention reiterated the charter of demands on which the strike in 2015 was conducted.

During the intervening period, Modi government has taken many steps to amend labour laws which result in more than 75 percent of workers in manufacturing sectors being pushed out of the purview of labour laws. In sum, the impact of the government’s ‘labour reforms’ would escalate hire and fire to the whims and fancies of the corporates and other employers in the country. The government has permitted more FDI into newer areas like railways and defence production. Public sector enterprises are being put on the block for strategic sales, ie, handing over the administration to the private investors, even if their shares are minor. All the core sectors like oil, steel are to be included in this list and many others would be sold out.

With prices of essential commodities increasing, all economic activities in the downward trend, the sufferings of the working people are mounting. Forgetting all the assurances to the common people, the government has only the interests of corporates – Indian and foreign – on their agenda. Rural distress is increasing. Kisans and agricultural workers are on struggle.

All voices of protest and dissent are being suppressed. Universities and other institutions have become the targets of the government. Young generation who had expected the government to heed to their livelihood issues are now fuming against the government.

Simultaneously other items in the Hindutva agenda are being taken up on a large scale by the ruling party. Attacks on minorities and dalits are going on in different parts of the country. The unity of the working people is being jeopardised.

Country wide preparations
It is in this scenario, working people all over the country are preparing for the strike. Central government employees including railways and defence civilian employees had declared indefinite strike from July 11 which was deferred after some assurances on changes in the recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission. Bank employees and officers under the banner of UFBU, had gone on a countrywide strike on July 29. There were struggles of transport workers in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Karnataka and electricity workers in Haryana went on strike defying threats of ESMA. Central public sector workers have in a national convention decided to go on struggle against privatisation and other policies.

All these sections along with their colleagues from various other sectors – organised, unorganised, private and public, central and state government employees, teachers, scheme workers – are fully prepared now, for the strike. In the transport sector, all the national federations have given the strike call. In the electricity sector, power engineers and workers, under the banner of the joint forum, NCCOEE, have called for making the strike a success. In the central power sector like NTPC, Power Grid also, strike campaign is in full swing. BSNL employees have conducted extensive campaigns. FMRAI, the Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives, while on their own sectoral struggles will also be participating fully in the strike.

Many state level trade union centres affiliated to regional parties like TRS in Telangana and many non-affiliated trade unions in different states have also decided to participate in the strike. As of now, many unions and general members belonging to BMS have assured the strike campaigners that they will join the strike.

State level, sectoral and regional conventions are being held all over the country. Thousands of squads, with handbills, posters and cultural programmes are reaching out to every nook and corner spreading the message of strike and explaining the demands.

August 9, the Quit India day, witnessed huge rallies, demonstrations, dharnas all over the country, declaring their preparedness to go on strike on September 2.

Peasant and agricultural workers organisations have decided to go for countrywide struggle, along with the working class on September 2. Left parties including CPI(M) and CPI have also extended solidarity and support to the strike. The anger among the working people has forced the BMS also to declare that they will go on strike but with a rider that they have been invited for talks and will decide after the talks.

It is obvious that the government is trying to divide the working people. The central trade unions, who have given the strike call, have not been called for any talks.

It is in this situation that the working class all over the country is fully prepared to make the strike a great success.

September 2, 2016, will not only be a day of country wide strike, but also the day marking peoples resistance against the anti-worker, anti-people policies of the ruling classes.

http://peoplesdemocracy.in/2016/0828_pd/towards-another-historic-strike

Logistics Agreement with US Denounced
Date:
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:



The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the signing of the Logistics Support Agreement between the United States and India which will allow the American armed forces to access and use Indian military bases.

The Logistics agreement termed as the Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) has been signed in Washington during the visit of Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar.

By signing such an agreement, India has acquired the formal status of a military ally of the US. Under this agreement the US airforce and navy can use Indian naval and air bases for logistics support, refueling and services on a regular basis. The US armed forces can utilise Indian military bases while conducting military operations in third countries.

The Modi government has compromised on Indian sovereignty and surrendered its strategic autonomy by signing such an agreement with the most powerful imperialist country in the world.

All patriotic Indians will reject such a subordinate role to US imperialism.

http://www.cpim.org/pressbriefs/logistics-agreement-us-denounced#

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Tomorrow

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#STRIKEHARD

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Bharat bandh: Normal life hit in Himachal Pradesh

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/bharat-bandh-normal-life-hit-in-himachal-pradesh-3010201/

Essential services like hotels and restaurants, where CPM (I) affiliated Lal Jhanda Union are in place also remained closed while the employees of HRTC, Electricity Board and other such organisation held rallies.
By: PTI | Shimla | Updated: September 2, 2016 5:40 pm
bharat bandh, nationwide strike, bharat bandh strike, strike himachal pradesh, india strike, nationwide strike trade union, bharat bandh strike, news, minimum wage, trade union strike, strike, trade union strike, india strike, union strike, minimum wage hiked, arun jaitley, trade unions strike, india news The nationwide strike called by trade unions opposing “anti-labour” policies of the Centre hit normal life in Himachal Pradesh as schools, colleges and various essential services remained suspended.
The nationwide strike called by trade unions opposing “anti-labour” policies of the Centre hit normal life in Himachal Pradesh as schools, colleges and various essential services remained suspended. Workers of banks, insurance companies, hydropower projects, industrial (workers) and BSNL employees the observed strike.
Anganwadi and mid-day meal workers also joined the strike and colleges remained closed in Shimla on Student Federation of India’s (SFI) call of ‘Education Bandh’.
Essential services like hotels and restaurants, where CPM (I) affiliated Lal Jhanda Union are in place also remained closed while the employees of HRTC, Electricity Board and other such organisation held rallies.
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The protesters at state secretariat and AG office Chowk tried to break the barricades. The Industrial units at Baddi, Barotiwala, Nalagarh, Mehatpur and other industrial areas were hot by the strike as workers abstained from work and participated in the strike.
Some schools had declared holiday in view of strike call and strikers tried to stop private buses and taxies, plying on the roads, ignoring the strike call.
Police force was posted in strength at sensitive places but no untoward incident was reported and strike passed off peacefully.
The CITU leaders claimed that the strike was a big success and normal life was affected in the state.
The unions had given a call for one day nationwide strike to protest against called the protest against the anti-worker policies of the Union government, secured services and move of the government to amend labour laws.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/bharat-bandh-normal-life-hit-in-himachal-pradesh-3010201/

India: Millions strike against privatization
afp on 09/02/2016 at 11:41 Send by e-mail

http://img.aws.la-croix.com/2016/09/02/1300786198/Manifestation-syndicale-Hyderabad-Etat-Telangana-Inde-2-septembre-2016-greve-contre-projets-reformes-privatisations_0_600_432.jpg
union demonstration in Hyderabad, in the state of Telangana (South India), September 2, 2016, day of strike against reforms and privatization projects / AFP

Millions of Indians were on strike Friday against the projects of reforms and privatization of the Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi.

Up to 150 million employees in the public service --professeurs, nurses, workers, coal miners ...--, peddlers, laborers, are participating in the national strike of 24 hours, according to the unions the origin of the movement. A figure impossible to verify.

"This strike is directed against the central government. The strike is for the workers' cause," said Ramen Pandey, Indian National Trade Union affiliated to the Party Congress (opposition), which seeks "the biggest strike of all time" .

The government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Prime Minister Narendra Modi was widely elected in 2014 on promises to boost growth and create jobs by liberalizing the economy.

In its 2016-2017 budget, New Delhi plans to raise about 560 billion rupees (7.5 billion) through privatization or closure of heavily loss-making SOEs.

The unions fear massive job losses.

Banks, shops, schools and railway stations were closed or deserted in many parts of the country, noted journalists from AFP.

In the southern states of Karnataka and Kerala, public transport does not work.

Indian television showed railroad tracks in the states of West Bengal and Orissa (East) occupied by protesters.

Among the main points of contention also included the level of the proposed increase in the minimum wage: the government proposes to increase for non-skilled workers 6.396 rupees to 9,100 rupees a month (85/121 euros).

Insufficient to unions in demanding the establishment of a wage floor to 18,000 rupees a month (240 euros) and the creation of a universal social security.

http://www.la-croix.com/Economie/Inde-des-millions-de-grevistes-contre-les-privatisations-2016-09-02-1300786198

Google Translator

India: Massive nationwide strike against government's assault on public enterprises and workers’ wages and conditions

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Yesterday, September 2nd, more than 150 million Indian workers took part in a one-day general strike against Indian Prime Minister Modi’s assaults on public enterprises and workers’ wages and conditions. It is said to be the largest general strike in the country's history, as long as it involved nearly all sectors of the working class including workers from manufacturing, mining, the public sector, transport and other sectors, along with workers in the informal economy.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) issued the following statement regarding the nationwide strike:

The Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of India congratulates the working class and employees for the most successful general strike all over India on the call of Central Trade Unions.
According to reports available till now, there is bandh like situations in many states as the banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, tele-communication, coal, steel, mining sectors, state and central government employees went on strike. Many state transports also joined the strike.

This is a rebuff on the anti-worker and anti-employee policy of the Union Government. The pro-corporate government is continuing its policy of appeasement of corporate and big business houses and MNCs at the cost of working class.

The participation is likely to be more than last strikes of workers. Last year 15 crore workers participated in strike. Unrest in the working class, “the creators of the wealth of the Nation” is not good for the progress of the Nation. Let the government realize that Human Development Index is more important than the magic figures of GDP growth rate. More stormy battles will surely be fought if the government does not mend its policies.

CPI urges upon the government to start discussion with Central Trade Union leaders, solve their justified demands, as early as possible.

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Statements of support to the striking Indian Trade Unions have been issued by numerous communist parties and labour unions across the world, including the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) and the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) in Greece.

http://communismgr.blogspot.gr/2016/09/india-massive-nationwide-strike-against.html

Millions of Indian workers strike for better wages
worker | September 7, 2016 | 9:13 pm


Thousands of state-run banks, government offices and factories shut as workers rally against Modi’s economic policies.

02 Sep 2016 15:00 GMT

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/09/millions-indian-workers-strike-wages-160902131706206.html

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The government aims to raise about $8.3bn through privatisation in 2016-17 [Ajay Verma/Reuters]

Tens of millions of public sector workers have gone on a day-long strike across India, protesting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic policies, particularly his plans to push for greater privatisation.

Thousands of state-run banks, government offices and factories were closed on Friday, and public transport disrupted, in the strike called by 10 trade unions.

“This strike is against the central government, this strike is for the cause of the working people,” said Ramen Pandey, of the Indian National Trade Union Congress.

“Our strike will be 100 percent successful … we will prove that this strike is the world’s largest ever.”

Union officials said about 180 million workers, including state bank employees, school teachers, postal workers, miners and construction workers, were participating, but the figure could not be independently verified.

[img]http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2016/9/2/d9ecec28fef14d20a52ee3840ba8f3fe_18.jpg
Workers are demanding that the government dump plans to close unproductive factories [Manjunath Kiran/AFP]

The strike was called after talks with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley broke down, with union leaders rejecting his offer to raise the minimum wage for unskilled workers from 6,396 rupees ($96) a month to 9,100 rupees ($136).

Workers are demanding the government dump plans to close unproductive factories, raise foreign investment caps in some industries and sell off stakes in state-run companies – over fears that creeping privatisation will jeopardise jobs.

The unions said the government should guarantee both social security and healthcare for all, and should be hiking the minimum wage to double what it is offering in order to keep up with inflation.

Indian media said transport and essential services such as power and water supplies were not affected in major cities like New Delhi and Mumbai. Private banks were operating and schools and colleges were open.

http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2016/9/2/f6f24fc8d43d4f0eb4e40f0f80e573e5_18.jpg
More than 20 protesters were arrested after they damaged two government buses in West Bengal [Chandan Khanna/AFP]
According to broadcaster NDTV, the strike had its greatest impact in the southern states of Karnataka and Kerala, ruled by the opposition Indian National Congress and Left Democratic Front respectively.

Daily life was also hit in the eastern state of Bihar, where shop and business establishments were shut and train and road services were disrupted by union activists.

More than 20 protesters were arrested after they damaged two government buses in West Bengal, senior police official Anuj Sharma told the AFP news agency.

The Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a landslide victory in May 2014 general elections, promising business-friendly reforms to boost the economy.

According to the latest budget, the government aims to raise about $8.3bn through privatisation in 2016-17 and shut down some state-run firms, after losses exceeded $4bn in the last financial year.

http://houstoncommunistparty.com/millions-of-indian-workers-strike-for-better-wages/

Dalit Resistance and the Role of the Left
9th September 2016

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By Brinda Karat

A fundamental and core feature of India’s socio-economic structures is its caste system. Birth and descent determine positions in immutable social hierarchies. When RohithVemula penned his tragic yet passionate suicide note he described his Dalit identity as a ‘fatal accident’. And it is true. Had he been born into another caste, he would not as a child has had to witness his mother Radhikafacing caste based indignities. Nor wouldRohith and his sibling Raja have faced discrimination in their school classrooms. The cancellation of his scholarship, his only means of survival as a student at a top University, would not have led to the drastic action he took, thus making him a victim of an institutional murder.

The institution in question is not just the callous university establishment, but in fact, the institution of caste.

Contrary to the claims made by the apologists of capitalism, the so-called modernizing features of capitalism have not succeeded in eliminating the horror that is the caste system in India. The trajectory of capitalism in India has been in alliance with the feudal and semi-feudal social forces. But this is not the only feature. Capitalism itself has co-opted the caste system to enable an intensified form of the exploitation of the labour of the scheduled castes and extraction of surplus value. It is systemic, part of the very structure of capitalism in India. Neo-liberal policies have accentuated this reality.

In the recent period, three issues have emerged as the focal point for Dalit resistance, all three of them very relevant for the Left:

The issue of livelihood of Dalits, highlighted by the Una movement in Gujarat.

The issue of education for Dalits, highlighted by the suicide of RohithVemula.
The issue of violence against Dalits, highlighted by the burning of two Dalit children in the village of Sunaped in Haryana.
But first, let us look at the political and economic context of these issues and movements.

Hindutva and Caste

Today, the fight for the annihilation of the caste system takes place in a qualitatively new political situation where the forces representing Hindutva are in power. The RSS has always taken a dual approach to the issue of caste. On the one hand, it is a votary of Sanatandharam, which not only sanctions but glorifies the caste system. On the other hand, it speaks about the ‘unity of the Hindu family’.

According to the RSS version of history, there was nothing wrong in the original caste system. It was only during the Mughal rule, they say, that caste became an instrument of oppression. Bhaiyya Joshi the RSS second in command, has written in his introduction to a book on Dalits that ‘shudras and Dalits were never discriminated against in the Hindu Shastras.There was no untouchability. It was the Muslim invaders who created such practices’.

What about the Manu Smriti and other Hindu scriptures that sanction and glorify caste centuries earlier? Facts hardly matter to the RSS.

According to another interpretation by none other than NarendraModi, now PM, manual scavenging done by Dalits was a ‘spiritual activity’ and chosen by Dalits themselves to serve the people as a spiritual duty.Modi wrote, in his book Karamyog,I do not believe that they have been doing this job just to sustain their livelihood. Had this been so, they would not have continued with this type of job generation after generation’.This was not sufficient. Modi then wrote,

‘At some point of time, somebody must have got the enlightenment that it is their (Valmikis’) duty to work for the happiness of the entire society and the Gods; that they have to do this job bestowed upon them by Gods; and that this job of cleaning up should continue as an internal spiritual activity for centuries. This should have continued generation after generation. It is impossible to believe that their ancestors did not have the choice of adopting any other work or business’.

It seems Mr.Modi has not learnt any lessons from history. It was precisely this kind of unashamed defence of the caste system rooted in Hindu scriptures that had repulsed Dalit leaders and led the tallest of Dalit rights champions, Dr.BabasahebAmbedkar to convert to Buddhism.

The idea of the great ‘Hindu family’ is a non-starter, full of contradictions and daily hypocrisies in its practice.It is a concept of unity on the basis of the caste status quo, with the Dalits at the bottom of the ladder. This also came to the forefront during the GharWapsi of the Hindutva platform, when it was stated that the Dalit converts would return to their original position as Dalits in the caste hierarchy!

RSS speaks of Dalit rights but supports every reactionary agitation against reservation. The RSS chief openly spoke against reservations, asking for its reconsideration. The RSS uses Dalits in the Hindutva campaign, with a Dalit asked to lay the foundation stone for the planned temple in Ayodhya. But, at the same time, numerous temples deny Dalits entry. The RSS has never ever led a movement to enforce temple entry. It was communists like P.Sundarayya, AKG, and others – alongside BabasahebAmbedkar – who played that role, a legacy taken forward by the Left even today.The RSS talks of sharing food with Dalits, but stands on the side of KhapPanchayats when they issue dictates and incite violence against a love marriage between a Dalit boy and an upper caste girl. In BJP-ruled States there have been no efforts to address the multiple issues of discrimination and low economic and social indicators of Dalits. For the RSS, the main role of Dalits is as a militant force to be used against Muslim communities, such as in the Gujarat genocide.

The self-contradictory Hindutva agenda vis-a-visDalits is being pursued at all levels and with State patronage. It is, therefore, clear that the Dalit resistance movements necessarily come into confrontation with the RSS-BJP political combine.

Neo-Liberal policies worsen Dalit status

At the same time, the economic policies of neoliberalism pursued aggressively by the BJP Government have worsened the situation.

The Socio-Economic Census report indicates the utter failure of capitalism to address historical inequalities of Scheduled Caste communities. The gap remains wide.At the same time, it also shows how capitalism has led to a situation where the numbers of those who are poor and deprived, across castes, form the majority of the population. While the number of poor has increased, Dalits, because of caste oppression, are the poorer among the poor.

Among the 3.31 crore Dalit households, 72.58 percent come in the ‘deprived’ category, 55 percent have no land at all, 67.27 per cent are casual manual workers and only 11.29 percent have pucca houses. Scheduled Castes – based on this data – suffer a twenty percent deprivation when compared to non-SC/ST castes.

A recently published study titled ‘Social Exclusion and Caste Discrimination in Public and Private Sectors in India: A Decomposition Analysis’ (2016) shows that when equally-qualified categories of employees are compared, the pay gap between SCs and other social groups is an average 19.4 per cent in public sector and 31.7 per cent in private sectors. Significantly, it notes that in the private sector, the wage gap between SCs and others has increased in the post-liberalisation period. The public sector gap is less only because of the benefits of reservations, but even then it is quite high at almost 20 per cent.

Earlier, a study conducted by the IIM Ahmedabad of MBA graduates in 2006 found that graduates belonging to the SC/ST category got significantly lower wages ranging from 20 per cent to 35 per cent than those in the general category.

Whereas reservations mandated by the Constitution helped weaken the cast-iron barriers against social mobility of Dalit communities, with the advent of neo-liberal policies, the accelerated process of privatization, as well as a freeze in recruitment in the Government sectors, reserved posts for Dalits, have seen drastic cuts. Opportunities for educated members of the community have reduced in this period.

This, in turn, strengthens gross exploitation in caste-based professions. The so-called unclean professions – cleaning, sweeping, manually lifting human excreta, unblocking filthy sewers, skinning dead animals – are ‘reserved’ almost exclusively for Dalits. There is over-representation of the community in such jobs. Even in Government jobs of cleaning which is now outsourced and contractors, over 90 percent are done by Dalits. With the advent of the era of neo-liberal policies, all new recruitment for these jobs in the Government sector has been de-regularised even though the work is of a permanent nature. Thus it is the capitalist State that has led the exploitation of the labour of Dalits both in economic and social terms.

Gujarat Model

The ‘Gujarat model’, which is so close to the hearts of corporate India,epitomizes the twin images of corporate profits and Dalit distress. This was highlighted by the incidents in Una in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat where four young Dalit men were stripped, beaten and publicly paraded on the charge of cow slaughter.In fact, they were skinning a dead cow at the request of the cow’s owner, a farmer from a neighbouring village.

When I went to Una as part of the CPI(M) delegation we were told that the so-called GauRakshaks had threatened the Dalits to give up their profession of skinning cows. The father of two of the victims, who was also badly beaten when he rushed to the spot to save his sons, complained that in fact there were no other jobs available.

In Gujarat, the Scheduled Castes comprise around 8 per cent of the population. Most are landless. In rural Gujarat, they are employed either as agricultural labourers or are involved in caste-determined occupations. The lack of assets makes them all the most vulnerable to cruel untouchability and segregationist policies, which are commonplace.In the village we visited, the Dalit basti was segregated from the main village, which was much more developed. In the Dalit area, there was no piped water, no sanitation, no school, no built up road. This, we were told, is a feature across villages in the Saurashtra region. The Gujarat model based on the trickle down theory provides further evidence if such were needed, that the model only accentuates inequality, social, economic and political.

Neo-liberal policies have hit Dalits the hardest. Thus, Dalit groups and movements taking up these issues are the natural allies of movements against neo-liberal policies.

Relevance of Left Alternative Model To Fight Untouchability

In this context, it is most significant that in Gujarat the spontaneous upsurge among Dalit communities is focused on issues of Dalit Asmita – Dalit dignity – linked to livelihood and land. Leaders of the movement have called upon Dalits to refuse to do the ‘traditional’ jobs, which they consider demeaning. In a most powerful symbolic action, Dalits took the carcasses of scores of dead cows and threw them before the main offices of Government. One of the most crucial demands of the Dalit resistance that emerged after the Una atrocities is the demand for land reforms. The most popular slogan of the Dalit movement is ‘you keep the cow’s tail, give us our land’. This brings into focus the Left approach to land reform as an essential component of fighting discriminatory and untouchability practices along with social and political mobilisations.

The Left model as worked out in the 1970s in Bengal is most relevant. Out of the approximately 12 lakh acres of land distributed to about 30 lakh rural poor by the Left Front Government, as much as 37 percent of the beneficiaries were Scheduled Castes. This provided the foundation, which was later built up through the participation in leadership positions by the SCs in the panchayat structures. This process of land reform and local self-government broke the back of casteist practices in rural Bengal and provided the environment for the Left political and social intervention against caste. This is not to say that the caste system has been demolished in Bengal, but most certainly it is socially far less detrimental than it is in Gujarat. Thus, the Dalit resistance in Gujarat and the slogans raised by its protagonists once again establish the general relevance of the Left alternative model.

Another important aspect that the Gujarat movement has brought out is the issue of growth without social justice. Gujarat claims to have the highest growth rates among States in the last decade under Modi. But in social terms, it is only the rich and crony corporates like the Adanis and the Ambanis who have benefitted from this pattern of growth. Where are the jobs and who has got them? Highly capital-intensive industries have restricted the creation of jobs and have kept wages low in the Gujarat model. Dalits have been the worst sufferers. This is made clear by the absence of any alternatives for Dalits who challenge traditional caste-based jobs.

In a study done by Navsarjan, a prominent Dalit group in Gujarat, 64,000 vacancies in various state departments meant for scheduled castes have not been filled – this is according to the government’s own data released last year. The Director of Navsarjan, Martin Macwan, sees this as ‘a conspiracy to keep the caste chained to the occupations forced upon them by an exploitative system – manual scavenging or processing of carcasses, for example – to ensure their social status remains unchanged’.

The important point to note is that issues of livelihood, jobs, land, and wages have come to the forefront in the thinking and analysis of various Dalit groups. This is a shift from the earlier understanding which tended to divorce these issues from that of social status. The development is most welcome and provides the ground for sustained joint actions between Dalit groups and left-oriented mass organisations. In particular, trade unions and Kisan organisations can play an important role in building these new alliances.

Students and Educational Institutions

The second dimension of protest has been highlighted by the RohithVemula case, which is linked to discrimination in educational institutions from the school classroom to higher institutions of learning including technical and professional ones. Prof SukhdeoThorat has done detailed research on the different aspects of discrimination in educational institutions. In his capacity as UGC Chairman, Prof Thorat in his Report of the Committee to Enquire into the Allegation of Differential Treatment of SC/ST Students in AIIMS, Delhi detailed the discrimination faced by Dalit students and made a series of recommendations including the setting up of an Equal Opportunity Office in the institution. All these recommendations are relevant and valid, not only for AIIMS but for other institutions of higher learning and universities. But even though the report was placed in 2007, no action has been taken on it.

The developments in Hyderabad Central University culminating in the tragic death of RohithVemula and the subsequent callous approach of the Modi Government and especially the HRD ministry led to a strong solidarity movement by students in many colleges and universities in different parts of India. The demand for a Rohith Act has emerged as a rallying point for justice for Dalit students. It envisages a legislation that will address many and more of the issues pinpointed by the Thorat report, which is reflective of the situation for Dalits in most educational institutions.

The CPI(M) has supported the struggle for such a legislation. It is a welcome development that Left student organisations have shown through their practice and struggles in many universities such as in HCU, JNU, Jadavpur university, Himachal University and others that they stand with and by the demands against caste discrimination and oppression against Dalits in educational institutions. Here again, the possibility of broad alliances has emerged and is, in some instances, already in operation.

Violence against Dalits

The third dimension of protest which has been a constant feature but further highlighted by the barbarity of recent attacks is the violence against Dalits by non-Dalit castes, not necessarily only the upper castes but also some sections of the OBCs, the middle,castes who have achieved political and social power in the post-Mandal mobilisations. The horrific incident in Sunped(Haryana) when the upper landed castes took ‘revenge’ on a Dalit family for a perceived ‘insult’ by trying to burn them alive, leading to the deaths of two infants,outraged the country. It was further accentuated by the statement of a Minister in the Modi Government who compared the incident to the routine death of a dog – to justify the PMs silence on the issue.

Violence against SCs has grown in the last decade and specifically in the last few years. According to statistics compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), crimes against SCs rose to 47,064 in 2014 from 39,408 in 2013. In 2012 there were 33,655 crimes against Dalits, about the same as in 2011. In fact, the rate of such crimes against SCs surpassed the national average in as many as 10 states in 2013 and 2014.

In 2014, the rate of crime against Dalits was 23.4 and in 2013 it was 19.57. The rate of crime is the number of crimes reported against SCs per one lakh of their population. Every day three Dalit women are victims of rape. In a large number of cases, Dalit women who are sexually abused are unable to register cases for a variety of equally oppressive causes, further compounding the crime against them.

The conviction rates in crimes against Dalits were abysmal. If the conviction rate is to be calculated on the total number of cases undergoing trial in 2014, then the conviction rate was a mere 3.7 per cent.

The lack of political will of bourgeois parties, the deep caste biases in sections of the police and the predominance of vote bank politics, which has led to such flagrant violations of the minimum human rights of Dalits, have ensured vulnerability of Dalits to caste-based violence, The fight to stop violence against Dalits requires the most broad-based mobilisations of all sections of citizens. The left organization, particularly in States like Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, have, in the last several years, been in the forefront of the struggles against untouchability, successfully mobilising broader sections. The formation of the Dalit SoshanMuktiManch, an initiative of the CPI(M) but a broader-based non-party platform, has expanded to many States in India and is fighting on many issues for Dalit rights.

Politics of the Struggles against the Caste System

While resistance and awareness of the need for unity are growing on issues connected with Dalit oppression, it is true that among a section of Dalit organisations and NGOs the political, ideological trend of hostility towards the organised Left and Left oriented mass organisations remain. There are differences between Dalit groups as to what approach should be taken towards the Left. Some of them believe that the Left should be the main target and oppose any joint movements. This is not only rooted in a narrow reading and practice of identity politics but is oblivious to the qualitatively new situation that has arisen since the coming to power of the Modi Government. But the Left and specifically the CPI(M) has to overcome these prejudices against the Left and work with all those willing to build struggles against the hated caste system.

In this struggle, we have to overcome our own weaknesses. As Marxists our understanding that the class struggle in India requires the mobilization of the workers against the caste system needs to be emphasized both in theory and in practice. It is not a ‘social issue’, one concerning the ‘superstructure’, which can wait till after the revolution. The annihilation of caste and the struggle for it is very much a strategic aspect of the CPI(M) programme for revolution and has both the class aspect as well as the social aspect.

In India’s socio-economic realities, Dalits form a substantial section of what we call the classes basic to our strategy for fundamental social change, the urban and rural proletariat, the agricultural and manual worker. The slogan of class unity will have more meaning for a Dalit worker if working class and agrarian class organisations and movements, mobilize all workers against the specific oppression and exploitation that a worker faces as a Dalit.

Weakness stems from the absence of an understanding among some Left sections of the class dimensions of social issues. It is often taken mechanically that the common bonds of class exploitation will lead automatically to the unity of all the workers without necessarily addressing the specific issues of Dalit workers and the poor as Dalit members of the working class. There is a social differentiation among workers created by the caste system. The double burden that Dalit workers face, and in the case of women Dalit workers the triple burden as a result of caste and gender discriminations and class exploitation, has to be recognised and addressed.

It is wrong to posit class unity against the need to take up Dalit worker issues. Unless class organisations specifically take up the issues of Dalits among the sections we are working as part of the broader class struggle, why should Dalit workers and the poor working Dalits be attracted to the Left? It is no use criticising ‘identity politics’ if we do not address specifically the issues faced by the Dalit working poor from our broader platforms. For this, we will have to confront any casteist feelings and approaches which may exist in some sections of mass organisations.

Conclusion

The failure of the capitalist system to successfully address issues linked to caste discrimination is not fortuitous. On the contrary, capitalism in its various phases has utilized and strengthened casteist practices to maximise profits.The way Indian society has historically developed with the close intertwining of caste and class, it is clear enough that caste has been used as a tool to extract more surplus from the labour of the so-called untouchables and Shudras. Patriarchal cultures have been used to depress the value of female labour more so of Scheduled Caste women.

In the present situation with the Modi Government in power, the Hindutva forces attempt to build a wider ‘Hindu unity’. Communal slogans and mobilisations against minority communities are also used to mobilise Dalits by these forces.

Our fundamental theoretical framework in understanding the caste structures in India should form the basis for our day to day work among Dalits, in our relations with Dalit groups and organisations and in our being able to successfully build broad social alliances to take forward our positive agenda. New opportunities have opened up, we should grasp the moment, today is the time to move forward on a radical social and economic agenda to fight the caste system and all its inequities with a specific focus on the three aspects thrown up in the present struggles of Dalits for justice.

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Brinda Karat is a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). For LeftWord Books, she wrote the introduction to Rosa Luxemburg’s Reform or Revolution (2016).

http://mayday.leftword.com/blog/dalit-resistance-and-the-role-of-the-left/

BIGGEST GENERAL STRIKE IN INDIA’S HISTORY

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SEPTEMBER 14, 2016
The all-India one day general strike on September 2 was bigger and more widespread than on the same date in 2015, raising the same 12 point charter of demands. The central trade union federations counted a participation of 150 million workers in the strike last year; this time, media reports indicated that 180 million workers participated. A top industry group says the general strike cost the economy up to 180 billion rupees (nearly $3 billion).

Last-minute concessions by the finance and labour ministries, including a 104-rupee rise in unskilled workers’ daily minimum wage, failed to undermine the strike against the anti-worker and anti-people policies of Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP government.

The turnout was a big rebuff to the government, which claims to protect the interests of workers. Significantly, the pro-government BMS union central, which withdrew from the strike at the last minute in 2015, did not join the strike call this year at all. In fact, the government did everything in its power to create confusion and sabotage the strike, with the willing support of the BMS, which declared that it was ‘withdrawing’ from the strike after claiming a ‘historic victory’ for the workers. The corporate media aired these false claims and added to the misinformation campaign.

But the working class was not deceived, and BMS members even joined the strike in several places. Workers who are not organised into unions, as in the Pune industrial area, joined the strike again this year. In several places the strike spread to newer areas and sections of workers. In many states, not just traditional union strongholds, the strike turned into a “bandh” economic shutdown, mainly due to the massive participation of road transport workers.

Despite attempts by the TMC government in West Bengal to suppress the strike by issuing warnings and threats, state transport buses were empty. In Kerala and Tripura, where the Communist parties are historically large and influential, the strike turned into a bandh.

The anger of workers against the policies of the government was visible in many ways. Around 70,000 anganwadi (health care shelter) workers and employees of ASHAs (community charities), most of them not members of any union, joined the strike in Gujarat, and many joined demonstrations. Similarly, unorganized workers at smaller ports in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh joined the strike, along with non-union members in many industrial clusters across the country.

In a few areas, such as the larger ports and some road transport sectors, the strike was not as good as 2015, but overall it was observed in many more industrial clusters and sectors.

In several states, striking workers were subjected to police repression and physical attacks. In Haryana, 22 leaders of the road transport workers’ union were arrested and the striking workers were lathi charged; police went to the residential areas where contract workers lived and coerced them to jobsites. Several coal workers in Jharkhand were suspended for joining the strike. In West Bengal CITU leader and former MP Suraj Pathak and many CITU leaders were arrested. TMC goons attacked the workers and their supporters attending rallies, including women. Around 5000 workers were arrested in different parts of Assam.

An overwhelming majority of bank and insurance employees all over the country joined the strike, along with state government employees, some for the first time. Participation of income tax employees, postal employees and other central government workers was massive. Employees in several defence production units joined the strike, along with telecommunications workers, coal miners, medical workers, and contract workers in the public sector.

Unorganised workers in construction, beedi (cigaret production), head load workers, auto and rickshaw drivers, street vendors, and domestic workers in several states joined the strike and also participated in demonstrations.

The Sept. 2 action was the seventeenth joint country-wide general strike since the advent of neoliberal policies some 25 years ago. It was preceded by joint campaigns to organize workers across the country. Booklets exposing the government’s claims were published in local languages, for example.

Among the trade union demands were a 692-rupee daily minimum wage, universal social security and a ban on foreign investment in the railway, insurance and defence industries.

Modi won power in 2014 promising to replicate across India the double-digit economic growth he oversaw as Gujarat’s chief minister. He has opened up sectors such as defence and aviation for foreign investment, and sold shares in many state-owned industries, but working class resistance has so far prevented a full privatisation strategy.

Prof. Jayati Ghosh, a development economist at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, says that “less than 4% of workers in India come under labour protection, and even those protections have become more and more eroded. There’s a general sense that instead of targeting poverty they are targeting the poor, and there has been a real running down of spending on essential public services.”

She said health workers in some states had not been paid in months, food subsidy and distribution schemes were being neglected and “private employers who wish to discourage any kind of unionisation are being actively encouraged by the central government”.



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Workers from different trade unions ride motorcycles during a protest rally as part of a nationwide strike in Bengaluru

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http://peoplesvoice.ca/2016/09/14/biggest-general-strike-in-indias-history/