CPIM struggle for landless - 1400 activists court arrest

CPIM conducted a struggle for the landless poor in Kummidipundi village in Thiruvalluvar District, Tamil nadu. Around 1400 peooples including 800 women were arrested. Com. G Ramakrishnan, CPIM Tamil nadu State secretary led the protest demonstration. Around 700 acres of Goverment land is been alledgedly encroached by landlords in this village. The people in this village were amking continous struggle for the last 6 years for regaining this land. The people have been consistently complaining to the goverment authorities regarding this encroachment. The authorities never took any action. It is under this circumstance the people led by CPIM moved to direct action. Speaking at the occassion Com G Ramakrishnan urged the state goverment and asked the Chief Minister to pay special attention to regain the Government lands from the big encroachers and hand it over to the landless poor.

EMS study centre in Bangalore City

Bangalore will have an exclusive centre to study social movements of Karnataka.

Brainchild of Left activists in the State, the centre will be housed in a new building named after communist leader E M S Namboodiripad, that will be inaugurated on June 14 by Kerala Chief Minister V S Achutanandan. The A K Gopalan Memorial Social Education Trust of Bangalore has raised nearly Rs one crore for construction of the Bhavan which has a 200-seat auditorium, in Mahalakshmi Layout.

The Trust will offer residential short-term training programmes for activists to promote social movements. G N Nagaraj, Trust’s Managing Trustee and CPM state secretariat member, said the aim of the centre is to realise the ideals of ‘E M S’ and Gopalan, whose efforts propelled Kerala to the top of the human development index in the country. a similar endeavour was needed in Karnataka, Nagaraj said. He said the Bhavan, which has built-up area of 5,600 sqft, has been constructed with contribution from the public, especially peasants and workers besides well-wishers. The Trust has developed four courses which can be attended by anyone who is interested in social issues - study on Karnataka’s social, economic and cultural development; study on dalits, on working class and on farmers of Karnataka. The course includes both lectures by subject experts and audio-visual presentations.

A full-time faculty has already been appointed. A good number of guest lecturers would be roped in. The course modules have been designed to provide information and knowledge on the happenings in developed world, and how it is affecting working class in developing countries. “The working class or farmers may not know about climate change or globalisation. Through our course, we will educate them. We are not offering formal education like in educational institutions. It is going to be social education to highlight how distraction of democracy is taking place,” Nagaraj said.

The duration of the courses may vary from 5 to 15 days, and nominal fees will be collected from participants. CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, former prime minister Deve Gowda, Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and writer U R Ananthmurthy will be present during the inaugural programme.

(Courtesy : Deccan Herald)

Attacks on Dalits in Karnataka rising: CPI(M)

Atrocities against Dalits in the State have risen in the last two years and the Government is doing nothing about it, alleged Maruti Manpade, State Committee member, Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Speaking at a protest march organised here on Thursday, he accused the State Government of discriminating against the Dalits. “Problems like discrimination on the basis of caste in hotels, maths, increasing incidence of AIDS among devdasis and low wages for daily workers exist but the Government is not doing anything to solve them,” he said.

Accusing the Government of introducing policies which were against the interests of the Dalits, the protesters demanded the repealing of the Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2010, as red meat formed the basic diet of the Dalits.

K. Varadarajan, polit bureau member, said even after 60 years of Independence, everyone was not treated equally, especially in States like Karnataka. “In more than 50 villages in the State, social boycott or untouchability is practised and action has not been taken by the authorities. In today's India, democracy is decided by caste or money,” he added. The march, originally planned to start at the City Railway Station and end at the Chief Minister's residence, was cut short as Minister for Social Welfare Sudhakar Rao visited them at Freedom Park. The Minister was presented with a letter to the Chief Minister urging him to look into the living conditions of Dalits.