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Sunday, November 7, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
AN ALTERNATIVE LEFT AGENDA PLACED BEFORE PEOPLE OF BIHAR
CPI (M) Releases Election Manifesto
CPI (M) Bihar state secretary Vijaykant Thakur released the Party election manifesto for state assembly polls at a press conference today in Patna. State secretariat members Sarvodaya Sarma and Ram Pari were also present on the occasion. The CPI (M) has fielded candidates in 30 seats out of the total 243 and is contesting the elections in alliance with the other two main Left parties in the state, CPI and CPI (ML).
After making a sharp critique of the rule of the JD(U)-BJP alliance government led by Nitish Kumar for the last five years as also of the earlier bourgeois landlord parties regimes, the manifesto places before the people of the state a Left alternative agenda for real development of the people and the state.
Identifying the implementation of land reforms as the crucial imperative for removing utter poverty in the state and ensuring its real development, the manifesto demands the Nitish government to make public the Report of the Bandopadhyaya Commission on Land Reforms and implement its recommendations. Thakur said in his remarks that the Commission had identified that around 22 lakh acres of ceiling surplus and bhoodan land is available for distribution among the landless and has recommended that each family be given at least one acre of land. The manifesto demands implementation of this recommendation. Along with this, the other recommendation of providing protection to share croppers by recording them must also be implemented. Irrigation facilities, which are non-existent now, must be provided in a big way to ensure that the farmers are not dependent on only monsoons. All these would help in providing year long work for the agricultural labour.
The CPI (M) manifesto also stresses on the need to develop agro-based industry, cottage industry and other small and medium scale industry in the state apart from taking steps to revive the sick units, including the 25 closed sugar mills. It criticises the largescale contractualisation of workforce and calls for steps to undo this. It demands strict implementation of labour laws.
Lambasting the largescale corruption in PDS and other welfare schemes, the manifesto demands universalisation of PDS. It holds both the state and central governments for the unprecedented price rise breaking the backbone of the people. Houses must be built for the homeless people by the government. The large scale migration of young people from the state cannot be stopped with mere advertisements in newspapers and TV advising against migration as was done by the Nitish government. The manifesto demands that concrete steps must be taken to provide avenues for employment for the youth in order to stem this migration.
ON LEFT UNITY
The CPI (M) manifesto notes that the coming together of the three main Left parties for these elections with a concrete alternative Left agenda before the people paves the way for realignment of political forces in the state. The struggles against the neo-liberal economic policies of both the state and central governments, against communalisation and casteist politics and the struggles on people's burning issues would get a boost in the coming period, it expects.
Answering questions, Thakur said the CPI (M) is committed to further strengthening this Left unity despite the fact that there could not be agreement between the parties on around 20 seats. The land struggle led by the Party would be intensified in the coming period both within and outside the state assembly. More than hundred comrades have become martyrs in this struggle since 1993.
(N S Arjun from Patna)
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org
Vol. XXXIV, No. 43, October 24, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
JAMMU & KASHMIR: INTERLOCUTORS TO J&K
‘Unsatisfactory Composition’
On the appointment of interlocutors by the central government, CPI (M) state secretary, M Y Tarigami has issued the following statement on October 13, 2010.
THE composition of the group of interlocutors is unsatisfactory because it may not serve the purpose with which it has been constituted.
Although we have full faith in the integrity and honesty of the people who have been named as interlocutors but we have been all along vehemently demanding constitution of a parliamentary panel keeping in view the political nature of the present crisis.
The initiatives taken by the government of India in the past to hold dialogue with the voices of dissent in Kashmir have suffered due to trust and credibility deficit, the institution of dialogue deserves a serious approach keeping in view the sensitivities embedded in the Kashmir issue.
We were expecting that the central government will form the group of interlocutors, while taking into consideration past experiences regarding the dialogue in J&K. But it seems yet again, a causal approach has been adopted much to the disappointment of those who are eager to address the issue through the process of dialogue and debate.
Keeping in view the magnitude and nature of the present crisis in Jammu & Kashmir, CPI (M) had suggested constitution of a parliamentary panel assisted by experts as interlocutors which could have proved more effective in initiating dialogue with all shades of political opinion in the state.
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
VENEZUELA ELECTIONS: A SIGNIFICANT VICTORY R Arun Kumar
THE United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) led by Hugo Chavez once again triumphed in the recently concluded parliamentary elections held in Venezuela. On September 26, Venezuelans voted for the 16th time in elections held since 1998, the year Hugo Chavez was first elected as the president of the country. In these 16 elections, Chavez had won in 15, including the latest elections. 66.45 per cent of the people voted in these elections and the voter participation is much higher than that witnessed in the recent elections in the US, including the one in which Barack Obama got elected. This, in itself, showcases the vibrant democracy present in Venezuela and exposes the US sponsored media lie that brands the country as a dictatorship.According to the official results released by the National Electoral Council (CNE), PSUV won 95 seats, while the opposition coalition Democratic Unity Round-table (MUD) won 62 seats. The centre-left Fatherland for All (PPT) party, a former Chavez ally that split with the PSUV, won two seats. Three seats went to indigenous people’s representatives unaligned with either the PSUV or the MUD. The CNE has not yet announced the results in the contests for three other seats.
Officially, the PSUV won the majority of the seats in 16 of Venezuela’s 23 states. This included sweeping victories in the rural states and strong victories in the major industrial states. The PSUV also won seven seats in the Capital District, compared to three for the MUD. In Miranda state, where the capital city is located, the PSUV and the MUD each won three seats.
Fidel Castro in his message of congratulations stated that these results “represent a victory for the Bolivarian Revolution and its leader Hugo Chavez Frias...The Empire, with its vast resources, was unable to hold back the PSUV”. Along with these words of congratulations, he made a cautious observation, “The enemy did achieve part of its objective: to stop the Bolivarian government from obtaining a two-thirds majority in parliament”. The lack of two-thirds majority for the PSUV would mean that many future revolutionary initiatives would be facing stiff legislative resistance from the opposition and further delay in their implementation.
ENORMOUS SIGNIFICANCE
These elections, right from day one were touted as elections not just for electing representatives to the parliament but as elections that decide the 'fate of the march towards Socialism that the Chávez government has as its declared objective'. All the opposition parties with the active connivance of the US led imperialist forces worked in concert to ensure the defeat of PSUV candidates. The significance of these elections also stems from the fact that they are held during the global economic crisis, which had its impact on Venezuela too.
The victory of the PSUV in this background is of enormous significance. This victory is all the more important in the present conjuncture where the right-wing forces are emerging victorious in many countries in Europe and in Chile, Colombia in South America. This, of course, should not distract us from analysing some of the warning signs emanating from this electoral victory.
Though the PSUV emerged victorious in these elections and Chavez still enjoys popularity ratings between 55 and 60 per cent, his party could not achieve the objectives it had set before itself – winning two-thirds seats in the parliament. If the votes polled by the PSUV in the last three elections are analysed, we see a gradual decline. In the 2008 elections to the provincial governors and mayors, PSUV secured 58 per cent of the votes, in the 2009 constitutional referendum they had secured 54.4 per cent and now the votes polled are stated as a 'technical draw' between the two camps. What are the reasons that are responsible for this decline?
The opposition political parties, representing the capitalist classes, did their utmost to defeat PSUV. They used the media to spread canards against Chavez and his economic policies. Using the crisis as an opportunity, they tried to destabilise the country's economy. They used their control over banks and many food processing units to create artificial scarcity and inflated the prices of many essential commodities. Apart from these measures, wherever they were heading the provincial level governments, they had hampered the functioning of many social welfare missions initiated by the national government.
The US government, through the USAID, pumped in millions of dollars to 'restore democracy in Venezuela'. The intention of this project is to rally all the forces that are opposed to Chavez in Venezuela and equip them with the necessary 'resources' to unpopularise and destabilise the government. The long border that Venezuela shares with Colombia was used to infiltrate paramilitaries who were used to murder many trade union and peasant activists and terrorise pro-Chavez activists in many neighbourhoods (barrios).
OVERCOMING ADVERSITIES
A section of the state bureaucracy, that was not comfortable with the revolutionary processes initiated by the government, stood by its class interests and sabotaged their implementation. Along with this attitude of the bureaucracy, the deep-rooted corruption and red-tapism also resulted in many of the government initiatives not reaching the doorsteps of the needed people.
Besides these, another important reason is the internal struggle taking place in the PSUV. There is a serious debate taking place in the PSUV on what 'Bolivarian socialism' is, what the 'revolutionary process' really means and how it needs to be carried forward. There are sections who are not satisfied with the pace of government initiatives and demand that more needs to be done and at a faster pace. They argue that the government should play a more pro-active role in nationalising industries, encouraging worker take-overs and distribution of land. There is another section that argues that the government should confine itself to implementing some 'welfare schemes' but not proceed with the nationalisations. There is yet another section that wants to preserve 'unity' and thus is working out compromises between these two sections. These various shades of opinion in the party reflect on the administration. Chavez is the chief unifying factor for all these sections in the party.
People of Venezuela too trust Chavez more than some of his party comrades. This is reflected in the high approval ratings enjoyed by Chavez even in areas where the opposition candidates have won the elections. They want him to hasten the pace of revolution. Chavez had repeatedly stated that he is for nationalisation of industries, worker take over of factories, further deepening of socialism and against corruption and bureaucratic red-tapism. The national government had initiated many moves like nationalisation of banks, state take over of food processing companies that are creating artificial scarcity and inflating the prices of essential commodities. It had started a series of supermarket chains to ensure that essential commodities are available to the people at subsidised prices. Minimum wages of workers were increased substantially during this period. Efforts were initiated to take land from the big land owners in rural areas and distribute it to the landless and poor peasants. Peoples communes were formed to act as check on the errant bureaucrats and ensure the proper delivery of the government welfare schemes and government missions. Still all these remain as initiatives from the 'above'.
Today even Chavez is feeling the need for a proper mechanism to unify the entire rank and file of the party. An ideological Congress of the PSUV was held for this explicit purpose. It was felt that this would help in building organisational machinery to ensure that all the policies of the government are translated into practice and reach the people at the ground level. This would also play a role in explaining to the people the efforts/limitations of the government and also countering the lies spread by the opposition parties. This, is a work still in progress.
The opposition is certainly buoyed by these results. The right-wing media already declared euphemistically, “Venezuela is no longer a red territory”. Fidel Castro vouching from his 'fifty years of experience' wrote in his Reflections that he believed in the exact opposite. He stated that the election of a large number of youth, proven militants and women to the parliament is an important positive feature of this election. He also said that the Bolivarian revolution today has the “Executive Power, a large majority in the parliament and a party capable of mobilising millions of combatants in favour of socialism” in which “armed forces too are a part”. He concludes “Such a union of forces is invincible”. Needless to add, of all the factors that Castro mentions, the third – a party capable of mobilising millions – plays a decisive role. The future of Bolivarian Socialism depends on the role played by this party in the ongoing class struggle.
Source: http://www.pd.cpim.org/
Sunday, September 26, 2010
SOLIDARITY WEEK OBSERVED IN STATES
THE VOICE OF THE LEFT AND DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT OF WEST BENGAL WAS REVERBERATED IN CORNERS OF INDIA DURING THE SOLIDARITY WEEK. HERE IS A SHORT REPORT FROM THE STATES.
Public meetings, rallies, seminars, hall meetings, street corner meetings, special conventions were held at hundreds of places throughout India in defence of the Left Front and its government in West Bengal during the solidarity week from September 12 to 18. In some states, the programmes were held beyond one week and it would actually continue throughout this month. The call to observe the week was given by the extended central committee meeting of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), in Vijaywada.
CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat addressed a public meeting in Patna on 17th September. He alleged that the UPA government was abetting Banerjee 'using Maoists' to kill CPI (M) workers in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia in the state. Thousands of CPI (M) workers had also been forced to leave home by armed Maoists apparently to ensure that the Trinamool Congress-led alliance won the assembly elections, the CPI (M) leader claimed. Karat, however, said Left workers had launched action to retrieve lost ground in three naxal-infested districts bordering Jharkhand. He strongly defended the Left front government and cited the implementation of land reforms, panchayati raj, scientific education in madarsas, and prevalence of communal amity as its landmark achievements. Karat said the fight against reactionary and communal forces would suffer a blow if the Left forces were to be weakened in the country.
In Tamilnadu, thousands of general public gathered in this campaign programme from Chennai to Kanyakumari. As part of this campaign, CPI (M) central secretariat member, Nilotpal Basu, addressed special meetings at Thanjavur, Kalpakkam in Kancheepuram district and Ponneri in Thiruvallur district. CPI (M) Tamilnadu state secretary G Ramakrishnan, central committee members N Varadharajan, T K Rengarajan, MP, V Vasuki and state secretariat members participated at various places. CPI (M) central committee member Md Salim and west Bengal Tourism Minister Manab Mukherjee also addressed number of meetings.
As a part of this campaign, a well prepared photo-cum-art Exhibition was conducted throughout the state. Thousands of people witnessed the exhibition. There are 60 pieces of art work which describe the great achievements of the Left Front government and the grave threats and violent attacks of the TMC-Maoist combine on CPI (M) and the Left in the past two years. The content of the exhibition was effectively prepared by veteran writer, N Ramakrishnan, and the photographic collage was made by writer and artist Dr Sri Rasa. This exhibition added a sensitive touch to the week long campaign programme.
Earlier, the campaign was started with a special publication of "Theekkathir" daily on the Left Front government in West Bengal, the LDF government in Kerala and and the Left Front government in Tripura. The issue also focussed on the attacks of ruling classes on the party. Around 1.10 lakh tabloids of this special issue have been taken to the people throughout the state.
In Andhra Pradesh, a number of programmes were held as part of the solidarity campaign. On Septemeber 15, B V Raghavulu attended a convention held in Vishakapatnam while central committee members P Madhu and M A Gafoor participated in a meeting in Kurnool on September 18. In Hyderabad, a convention was held on 19th September where the main speaker was CPI (M) West Bengal state secretariat member Sridip Bhattacharya. Polit Bureau member and state secretary B V Raghavulu presided over the meeting while the deputy general secretary of CPI S Sudhakar Reddy and state secretaries of Forward Bloc and RSP parties also addressed it. A 30-minute documentary on the latest situation in areas of West Medinipur district was screened on this occasion. The documentary has been produced by New Media, which is a part of the India News Network. Earlier a rally was taken out from the state committee office in RTC X Roads to the venue of the convention in Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Bagh Lingampally.
A land of martyrs, an eye witness to the semi fascist, anti communist terror, Tripura , stood firm in solidarity with West Bengal, the frontal of the Left and democratic movement of the country. From 11th September in each corner of the state, thousands of people joining in the mass meetings have expressed their unflinching support to the fighting masses of West Bengal and have warned against any attempt of creating an state of anarchy in Tripura.The Tripura state committee of the party has started the program from 11th itself and it would continue up to 29th of this month.
The solidarity program in the state got underway on 11th at Belonia with a huge number of toiling masses joining the rally addressed by CPI(M) CC member and Finance Minister of Tripura , Badal Choudhury. The mood of the gathering was that of taking a pledge to thwart the conspiracies of the national and international reactionary forces to weaken the Left Front Govt of West Bengal. The same mood of solidarity and resistance was visible in each and every mass meeting. On 15th, CPI (M) Polit Bureau member and Tripura CM Manik Sarkar addressed another mammoth gathering at Udaypur. On the same day, the state capital Agartala witnessed a huge gathering of masses in the solidarity rally addressed by CPI(M) CC member and West Bengal Housing minister Gautam Deb. CPI(M) Tripura state secretariat member Gautam Das also spoke in the meeting. On 14th at a rally in Bishalgarh, West Bengal minister for SHG and self employment Rekha Goswami elaborated on the achievements and pro people measures of the LF govt in West Bengal. Goswami along with Tripura Left Front Committee convenor Khagen Das addressed a mass meeting in Kamalpur too. CPI (M) CC member Shyamali Gupta spoke in a rally at Dharmanagar. MP and CCM, Bajuban Reang spoke in a rally at Manughat. Addressing two meetings at Gandachheraa and Raisyabari on 14th, CPI (M) state committee sectary Bijan Dhar said the concerted attack on the Left in West Bengal is aimed at weakening the struggle against neo liberalism, imperialism. In Sonamurra, West Bengal minister for land and land revenue Rezzak Mollah addressed a well attended rally, while CPI (M) West Bengal state committee member Amiya Patro addressed a rally on 18th in Kumarghat. The campaign program shall conclude on 29th with a mass meeting at Khowai. This will be addressed by CPI (M) West Bengal state secretary Biman Basu and party CC member Aghor Debbarma.
In Kerala, the week was organized in a big manner. Pinaray Vijayan, the state secretary Of CPI (M) and VS Achyutanandan, the Chief Minister addressed meetings. CPI (M) polit bureau member and West Bengal Industies minister Nirupam Sen and central committee member and West Bengal Health Minister Suryakanta Misra addressed public meetings in Thiruvantantapuram and Kochi. An exhibition on the martyrs in West Bengal drew response from the masses.
In Madya Pradesh, more than 100 public meetings were held in different parts of the state. Thousands of posters in Hindi, with the slogan “victory will continue” have been printed. A campaign material explaining the pro people nature of the Left Front was distributed throughout the state.
In Himachal Pradesh, a public meeting was organized in Shimla, where Nilotpal Basu explained the true face of the attack on the Left in West Bengal. The participation of the younger sections was particularly noticeable.
In Assam, public rallies were held in Bongaigaon and Barpeta. West Bengal state committee member Jibesh Sarkar and state secretariat member Dipak Dasgupta addressed the rallies respectively. CPI(M) central committee member Uddhav Barman spoke in both the occasions.
Courtesy: www.cpimwb.org.in
Friday, July 16, 2010
JULY 5 HARTAL: UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS
THE LEFT PARTIES --- THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MARXIST), THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA, REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST PARTY AND THE ALL INDIA FORWARD BLOC --- ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT ON JULY 5, 2010.
THE all-India hartal to protest against the steep increase in the prices of petroleum products has been an unprecedented success. Despite detention and arrests of thousands of protesters, there was a bandh like situation in all parts of the country with shops, business establishments, transport and educational institutions being closed. Left leaders, A B Bardhan, D Raja and Brinda Karat, were arrested for picketing in Delhi. This has been the most widespread protest action in the country in recent years.
The Left parties congratulate the people and the tens of thousands of activists who have made the hartal a complete success. By this action the people have expressed their anger and strong opposition to the anti-people policies of inflicting successive burdens on the people through price hikes of petroleum products.
The Left parties in consultation with secular opposition parties will chalk out plans for further intensifying the movement against price rise to compel the government to reverse these harmful steps.
Signatories to the statement are Prakash Karat, A B Bardhan, T K Chandrachoodan and Debabrata Biswas, General Secretaries of the CPI(M), CPI, RSP and AIFB respectively.
Source: www.pd.cpim.org
Thursday, May 27, 2010
AKHIL BHARATIYA JANWADI MAHILA SANGHATANA, MAHARASHTRA CONFERENCE PLEDGES TO STRIVE FOR WIDEST UNITY OF WOMEN
CALLING for more militant struggles on crucial issues such as the increasing number of crimes against women in the state, the dismal state of the public distribution system and against the liberal liquor policy of the state government, the eighth state conference of the Akhil Bharatiya Janwadi Mahila Sanghatana, Maharashtra concluded at Mumbai on April 25, 2010. The conference, held against the backdrop of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the formation of the state of Maharashtra, recalled the glorious struggle for the formation of the state on the basis of linguistic principles. It noted that the slogan of 'Samajwadi Maharashtra in a Samajwadi Bharat' remained unfinished. The conference pledged to strive for the widest unity of women across the state, especially at a time when regional chauvinism and communal forces were out to rupture the basic unity of the working people.
275 delegates from 19 districts, including five fraternal delegates gathered at the venue named after the beloved founder president of the organisation, veteran Communist leader and doyen of the women’s movement in India, Comrade Ahilya Rangnekar. The hall commemorated another beloved leader, Kalindi Deshpande. In a moving welcome address, the chairperson of the reception committee, Dr (Prof) Rohini Gawankar, former Head of the PG Department of Political Science, SNDT Women’s University recollected the unparalleled role of women in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. She noted how the leadership of Ahilya Rangnekar and other stalwarts galvanised ordinary women into a highly political force that took on bullets and tear gas of the Congress government without fear. Three women were martyred in the struggle. Women participated in the struggle on their own initiative, raising funds, organising conventions, addressing meetings, courting arrest, and were an integral part of a movement that forged a firm unity of the working class and the peasantry all across Maharashtra. It was the same kind of political mobilisation that was required to meet the current challenges facing women, she said.
Inaugurating the conference, the president of AIDWA Subhashini Ali recalled the important role played by the women of Mumbai, particularly when the women’s movement in the country took a new turn at the beginning of the 70’s. Pointing out that the election of Obama had in no way loosened the grip of US imperialism, she said that we must note its close connection with the rise of terrorist forces across the world. Here in our country, the UPA government, that appeared strong a year ago, is now on the back foot primarily because of its relentless pursuit of neo-liberal economic policies that have led to high inflation. Women have to unite to strengthen democratic structures in the country, which are increasingly under attack, as seen in the preposterous demand by the Jat Mahapanchayat to amend the Hindu Marriage Act, or a persistent campaign against the so-called “misuse” of Sec 498A of the IPC. The struggle for the women’s reservation bill was part of this effort, and she exhorted the delegates to strengthen the organisation in Maharashtra towards this end.
Among the guests who graced the occasion were representatives of other women’s organisations and women’s studies centres from Mumbai, particularly Chaya Datar, former Director of the Women’s Studies Unit of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Jyoti Mhapsekar from Stri Mukti Sanghatana, Chandra Srinivasan from the Samajwadi Mahila Sabha and C S Lakshmi and Dr Divya Pande from SPARROW; they all greeted the delegates and called for more concerted efforts to jointly address major issues facing women in Maharashtra. In addition, P R Menon, president of the National Railway Mazdur Union, Dr Tapati Mukhopadhyaya, general secretary of the Bombay University & College Teachers Union, Vivek Monteiro, secretary, CITU Maharashtra, Prakash Chowdhury, general secretary of the Maharashtra unit of the All India Agricultural Workers’ Union, Ghanshyam Patil, treasurer, Maharashtra state Kisan Sabha, Shailendra Kamble, state president of the DYFI and Dada Shinde, state president of the SFI also addressed the conference. A common thread in their speeches was the need for better coordination between their organisations and JMS on common issues.
59 delegates spoke on the report placed by the state secretary, Mariam Dhawale. They strengthened the report with their own analysis based on their particular experiences and the interventions made by JMS on the various issues outlined in the report – the severe agrarian crisis, the struggle for food security, the increasing violence and immiserisation caused by liberally flowing liquor, the growing malnutrition and declining health of women, especially those involved in hard manual labour, the indifference of the police and the judiciary to rising crimes against women, problems of living in cities, etc. They also explained how they were making efforts to build the organisation and the difficulties encountered in the process. Many of them clearly stated the need for a Left political alternative as a means to address these issues. A most heartening aspect was the fact that a significant number of Muslim women came forward to speak on the report.
On the second day, the delegates broke up into four groups. They participated in lively discussions on four commission papers titled ‘the agrarian crisis and women, ‘we and the struggle to end caste oppression’, ‘the maharashtra government’s liquor policy’ and ‘report of the jms survey of young women in Maharashtra.’ The discussions were reported in the concluding session on the last day. Several resolutions were also placed and passed during the conference. These were on ‘pledge to unite women to keep Maharashtra united’, ‘on climate change and women’, ‘on the demands of beedi workers’, ‘media, money power and elections’, ‘against rising prices’, ‘on housing for poor and single women’, ‘against rising crimes against women in Maharashtra’ and for ‘passage of the women’s reservation bill’. The conference also resolved to approach the government of Maharashtra and the Bombay Municipal Corporation to erect a befitting memorial in the memory of Comrade Ahilya Rangnekar, who was at the forefront of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, and also fought for the civic rights of thousands of Mumbaikars while she was a member of the Corporation for more than 20 years.
Sudha Sundararaman, general secretary of AIDWA summed up the proceedings of the conference. She congratulated the Maharashtra unit for its steady growth, and called for greater mobilisation. She pointed out the need to take up the special issues of dalit women, after identifying the types of discrimination faced by them. The SHG experience also needed to be critically examined. Many JMS members were being elected to local self government bodies, but the organisation had to take the initiative to organise ideological and practical training for them. Some more organisational effort was required in order to avoid stagnation. More had to be done to build links with fraternal organisations, especially those of working women, she said.
The conference elected a 58 member state committee, which in turn elected 18 office bearers. Kiran Moghe is the state president, Sonya Gill the state secretary and Hemlata Patil will continue as treasurer. 25 delegates were also elected for the ninth AIDWA conference to be held at Kanpur in November 2010.
Source: People’s Democracy dated 23-05-2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
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