ANDHRA PRADESH: ADIVASI YOUTH KILLED IN POLICE FIRING

THE Karnataka state committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has sharply condemned the killing of an adivasi youth in police firing. According to a statement issued by the party from Bangalore on October 23, it was the police firing in a forest in H D Kote taluk of Mysore district that took the life of Raju, an innocent adivasi youth.

On October 19, Raju and his friends, named Krishna, Rama and Bola, went to the nearby forest areas to collect honey as usual. However, without any provocation, the police fired at Raju and he succumbed to the injury. It is surprising that the police, instead of handing the body over to Raju’s family, had cremated it in the forest itself, which act is unpardonable. This is the way the Karnataka police under the BJP regime is treating the innocent people.

At the initiative of the CPI (M), the Forum for the Rights of Adivasi and Tribal People held a powerful protest demonstration before the taluk office in Heggada Devana Kote immediately after this dastardly murder.

Hundreds of tribal people participated in the protest along with Thimmaiah Penjalli and B M Shivanna, president and secretary respectively of the Forum for the Rights of Adivasi and Tribal People.

Addressing the largely attended protest demonstration, CPI (M) state committee member and Forum leader S Varalaxmi told the gathering that the BJP government is not allowing the poor tribal people to earn their livelihood. In fact, the BJP was hesitant to bring in a legislation, during the NDA rule, to protect the rights of the tribal people. It was due to the pressure of the Left parties that the earlier UPA government had to pass the Forest Right Act in 2006, which allows the tribals to collect forest products. In future also, we have to continue our fight against police high-handedness, she said.

The Forum demanded compensation of Rs 5 lakh to Raju’s family. It also demanded stringent action against the police officials who caused the unwarranted firing leading to the death of an innocent youth. (INN)

Source: www.pd.cpim.org
Vol. XXXIV, No. 44, October 31, 2010

ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS - 2010 IN BIHAR

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JANGAL MAHAL REVOLTS AGAINST MAOIST BUTCHERS AND RAPISTS

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'LAND REFORMS KEY TO REAL DEVELOPMENT' - Yechury Campaigns in Bihar

WITH the largest number of landless people in the country, the real development of Bihar can take place only with implementation of land reforms in the state, and to ensure this the people must chose Left parties candidates in the elections to the state assembly.

This was the appeal to the voters made by the CPI (M) Polit Bureau member and MP Sitaram Yechury on his first day of election campaign in Bihar on October 19, 2010. He addressed three election meetings in Dalsingh Sarai, Hasanpur and Patsa in Samastipur district. The CPI (M) candidates, Ramdev Verma from Vibhutipur, Ajay Singh from Ujiarpur and Raghuvansh Mukhiya from Hasanpur constituencies also participated in the respective meetings.

Yechury, in his speeches, asserted that it is only the Left parties that have shown commitment in fighting for implementation of land reforms in the state. He cited how the Left Front government of West Bengal distributed around 13 lakh acres of land to the landless poor, benefiting nearly 35 lakh families belonging to SCs, STs, minorities and other downtrodden sections. Such measures would result in real development, not the kind of those undertaken by Nitish Kumar which are benefiting only the rich and the corrupt. He compared these with the 'Shining India' policies of central governments which have resulted in the doubling of dollar billionaires in the country. He said the main question people must raise is as to who this so-called development is benefiting.

Yechury attacked Nitish Kumar for the company he is keeping i.e. the BJP and Shiv Sena which are part of NDA. He called upon the people to question their chief minister as to why his NDA partner, Shiv Sena, is carrying out vicious physical attacks against Biharis in Maharashtra. The Biharis are forced to migrate, leaving their homes and families to far off places in search of work because they do not find employment avenues in the state. And attacks on such people who are contributing so much to the development of those areas cannot be tolerated. But the CM in hunger of power is continuing in the company of NDA, he charged.

Yechury criticised the government for allowing large scale corruption in the PDS, MNREGA and other welfare schemes. He also attacked it for not providing relief to the Kosi flood affected people and asked as to what happened to the Rs 1,000 crore relief money that had come from the centre. He demanded scrapping of the division of the poor among BPL and APL and wanted universalisation of PDS. In this context, he reminded people about the cruel attitude of the Congress led UPA II government which allowed rotting of foodgrains in godowns but refused to implement Supreme Court order for its distribution among the poor.

Yechury pooh poohed the Congress election campaign in Bihar about ensuring development, asking what they did in the 40 years of power they had. He also criticised RJD of Laloo Yadav for not doing much for the benefit of the people of the state and focussing only on casteist politics.
CPI (M) MLC and veteran teachers movement leader, Vasudev Singh, also addressed the gatherings. Yechury will campaign for the coming three days also in Bihar in the districts of Motihari, Chhapra and Begusarai. He will address an election meeting jointly with CPI general secretary A B Bardhan in Begusarai on October 22.

CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat is scheduled to campaign in the state for two days on October 21 and 22 in Sitamarhi and Darbhanga districts. She had campaigned earlier on October 13 and 14 in Purnea and Kishenganj districts for the CPI (M) candidates. Party central secretariat member Hannan Mollah has also been campaigning in Begusarai, Supaul, Khagaria and Bhagalpur since October 18.

(N S Arjun from Dalsingh Sarai)

Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org
Vol. XXXIV, No. 43, October 24, 2010

MAMATA BANERJEE ATTACKS UPA GOVERNMENT OUT OF SYMPATHY FOR THE PERVERTED MAOIST BUTCHERS, RAPISTS AND EXTORTIONISTS

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BIOTECHNOLOGY REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA (BRAI) BILL MUST BE OPPOSED IN NATIONAL INTEREST

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TRINAMOOL CONGRESS - INNOCENT MINOR GIRL RESIDING ON FOOTHPATH RAPED BY WORKER OF MAMATA BANERJEE

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MINORITY DEVELOPMENT, RESERVATIONS AND BENGAL LEFT FRONT GOVT – II - Moinul Hassan

ALTHOUGH the people of Bengal are well aware about the consistent role of the Left Front government in ensuring the development of the minorities in the state, the recent data available underlines this fact emphatically. In the recent state budget for 2010-11, it was announced in the budget statement: “In the sphere of Madrasah education and development of minority communities, special priority has been accorded to the improvement of vocational and technical education along with the expansion of education and improvement of standards so that the students belonging to the minority communities can have wider opportunities of participation in the production process, employment and income. With this objective, along with upgradation of 112 junior high madrasahs to high madrasahs and 196 high madrasahs to higher madrasahs during the current year, 75 more junior high madrasahs will be upgraded to high madrasahs and 100 high madrasahs to higher madrasahs the next year. Vocational training in 160 high and higher madrasahs is a part of the process of upgradation.

“In the sphere of higher education for Aliah University, stress has once again been given on modern vocational and technical education alongside teaching and research. A new campus for women in the university is being set up. In addition, a proposal has been moved from the state level for increasing the number of beneficiaries of pre-matric scholarship awarded to the students of the minority communities under a joint centre-state programme from 2.44 lakh in the current year to at least 5 lakh in the next year. In this case a special initiative will be taken so that students get this scholarship regularly through bank or post office accounts opened in their names. Honourable members are aware that 12 districts, including Kolkata, are covered under the joint centre-state multipurpose plan for development of minority communities. I am happy to announce that from next year, the state government has decided to implement this multipurpose plan with its own funds in every block in which there is a concentration of minorities in the remaining 7 districts. It is necessary to mention in this context that for the purpose of employment generation and training of minority communities, the West Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation has sanctioned in the year 2009-10, 100 crores as against Rs 63.28 crore benefitting 1.09 lakh persons in the year 2008-09. According to the latest data compiled by the Ministry of Minority Affairs of the Government of India, West Bengal now ranks first in the country in this regard. Having regard to all these overall priorities, I propose to increase the plan outlay of the Department of Minority Affairs and Madrasha Education from Rs 121.0 crore in the current year to Rs 300.0 crore in the next year.”

Along with Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians who are regarded as minorities at the national level, even Jains are also recognised as minorities in Bengal. The Left Front government has been striving for the welfare and development of the minorities. For the development of the minority Muslims, there are nine autonomous bodies namely West Bengal Minority Development and Finance Corporation, West Bengal Minority Commission, West Bengal Wakf Board, West Bengal State Haj Committee, West Bengal Urdu Academy, Wakf tribunal, West Bengal Madrasah Education Board, West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission and Alia University. All these are engaged in various welfare and developmental activities.

The main activities that have been undertaken and the projects that have already been planned are as follows-

HOSTELS FOR MUSLIM GIRLS:

Many believe that one of the reasons behind the socio-economic backwardness of the Muslim community is the prevalence of illiteracy among Muslims in general and amongst the Muslim girls in particular. Keeping in mind this very reason, a decision to set up hostels for Muslim girls in remote locations has been planned long back. The plan covers building of more than one hostel in each of the twelve districts. Already ten hostels have been set up. In the financial year 2009-10, two new hostels have been planned. Rupees 50 lakh have been allotted for building of such hostels in the year 2008-09. The allocation has increased and in the year 2009-10 it amounted to Rs 4 crore. A total of 21 girls’ hostels have been planned, this benefiting a large number of Muslim girl students.

CONSTRUCTION OF BOUNDARIES FOR GRAVEYARDS:

Boundaries for 102 graveyards have been constructed in the year 2008-09 at the expense of Rs 3.77 crore in order to ensure proper maintenance of the graveyards. The allocation has been increased to Rs 4 crore in the year 2009-10 for this purpose. 16 boundaries have been constructed in 2009-10 and target has been set for construction of 50 more boundaries. Along with the government allocations, funds are also allocated from MP LADS and MLA funds for this purpose and the works are executed by the district administration. The Left Front government is sympathetically considering the demand for setting up another graveyard in the city of Kolkata.

EMPOWERMENT OF MINORITY WOMEN:

The loan scheme for women is a very effective tool in empowering minority women. Divorcees or utterly destitute women who are within the age group of 20-45 years and whose yearly income is up to Rs 45,000 are given loans at 3 per cent per annum.

WEST BENGAL MINORITY DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCE CORPORATION:

Rs 20 crore has been spent in the year 2008-09 by this corporation. Under the fund for rural infrastructure development, Rs 2 crore was allocated for development of minority areas. Of this amount, till date Rs 1.81 crore has been utilised. The corporation, which has been set up in 1996 for the development of minorities in the fields of commerce and industry, provides loans at low interest rates to economically backward minorities. In the year 2008-09, Rs 89.53 crore have been spent in this regard.

EDUCATION LOANS AND SCHOLARSHIPS:

The concerned department has been taking consistent steps in this regard. In the year 2008-09, 3336 students have received scholarship. Another 23,238 students received post secondary scholarship (central part) while 6935 got hold of post secondary scholarship (state part). The total number of recipients of pre secondary scholarship have been 64,924.

WEST BENGAL HAJ COMMITTEE:

This committee makes arrangements for the Haj pilgrims from the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam, Manipur and Tripura. The state government provides financial assistance for meeting the various expenses of the pilgrims. Rs 1.50 crores has already been allotted for the construction of the new Haj building near Kolkata airport. The building has been recently inaugurated by the chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. The total expenditure for the construction of this centre will be Rs 5 crore. In the last season, the total number of pilgrims from the state was 7300. The state government and the Haj Committee are working together to make the entire journey of the religious people safe and comfortable.

WAQF BOARD:

The Waqf Board has been vested with more power to discharge its work in more developed and smooth manner. A total amount of Rs 20 crores has been allotted. It has been decided that all waqf property under adverse possession or illegal transfer shall be restored and the income, which will be incurred out of the same property, shall be spent for the welfare of the Muslim community. An amount of Rs 2 crore has been allotted for the board in the year 2009-2010. A total of 8737 properties have already been listed in the waqf schedule. The rent of famous Shaw Wallace Building and the Tollygunge Club building have been increased to Rs 7 lakh per month. The one time earning has reached to Rs 2 crore. Now, the process of computerised documentation of all waqf properties has been commenced.

URDU ACADEMY:

The prime aim of this academy is to propagate and encourage Urdu language and literature. The fundamental works taken by the Academy are educational programmes, announcing scholarships and prizes, printing and publication, running correspondence courses, and providing vocational training. The budget allocation for these purposes for the year 2009-2010 is Rs 2 crore. The Left Front government has decided that if someone writes the letter to the government departments in Urdu, it would be replied to in Urdu only. The government circulars have to be communicated in Urdu in certain places. Many more Urdu medium primary schools will be opened in the Urdu-speaking areas and soon the vacancies of the teachers will be filled in all Urdu schools. Already, Arabic has been included in Bachelors course in many colleges of the state. Now the priority is improvement of the quality of that education by appointment of efficient teachers. The government has already taken the initiative to appoint the efficient teachers.

BOARD OF MADRASAH EDUCATION:

The Madrasah education in West Bengal has a glorious history and tradition. Keeping this in mind, the Left Front government extended autonomy to the Madrasah Board in the year 1994. The syllabus of Madrasah education has been upgraded and modernised with the commencement of the computer courses in 150 Madrasahs and inclusion of technical education in 89 others. The entire education system has been brought under the fold of Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan. The government has planned to build 10 Madrasahs as centre of excellences. A total number of 8 lakh students are getting themselves educated in 576 Madrasahs and 185 Centres for Madrasah Education through out the state. Affiliation has been given to 200 child education centres and 300 centres for higher Madrasah education. It is hoped that soon these institutions will achieve the reorganisation of educational institutions in the academic year 2009-2010. Now, let us look at the unique characteristics of the Madrasahs in West Bengal:

With a countable exceptions, almost all Madrasahs in the state have co-educational system, which is indeed very rare in other states.

2. Though the Higher Madrasahs are regulated by the Board of Madrasah Education, they come under the purview of state higher education council.

Almost all Madrasahs are having a large number of non-Muslim students.

A large number of non-Muslim teachers and non teaching staff are also appointed in the Madrasahs.

5. It can be found that a large number of non-Muslims apply for the examination conducted by the Madrasah Education Commission for the posts of teachers in Madrasahs.

All these characteristics are a reflection of the deep secular roots of tradition, education and culture of the state and they reveal the confidence of the people in the very spirit of secular democracy.

ALIA UNIVERSITY:

The process to establish Alia University has already been initiated, which will gradually become a modern university. The state government has extended all kinds of administrative and financial support to fulfil the dreams of the minority community that have been cherished for a long time. I personally dream of having Al Azahar University in our state in the near future.

[Source: The Economic Development Report 2009-2010 placed in the state assembly recently]

Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org

CPI (M) ON FOOD INFLATION AND FOOD SECURITY

THE POLIT BUREAU OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MARXIST) MET AT NEW DELHI ON OCTOBER 4 AND 5, 2010. IT HAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT ON 5 OCTOBER 2010

The food inflation rate has again started rising and it touched 16.44 per cent in the week ending September 18. While the people are suffering from the price rise, the government is finding excuses such as floods and rains for the destruction of supplies. At this time of the season normally prices decline, this has highlighted the failure of the government to check price rise.

The Central government has ignored the directive of the Supreme Court to distribute the huge stocks of foodgrains free of cost to the poor rather than letting it rot. On the contrary, it is pursuing the anti-people policy of pressurizing the states, to lift “additional allotment” at a price that is even higher than the present issue price of APL foodgrains. At the same time, the objectionable new scheme of further targeting being proposed by the National Advisory Council as well as the proposal to cut all subsidies to APL show the mockery that is being made of the concept of food security.

The Polit Bureau reiterates its demand for a universal public distribution system with a minimum allocation of 35 kgs of foodgrains at Rs. 2 per kg. The expenditure on this will still be less than 2 per cent of the GDP.

Source: www.cpim.org

LIFT CURBS ON PAPERS IN KASHMIR VALLEY: DELHI UNION OF JOURNALISTS

THROUGH a statement issued on September 22, the Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) has demanded that the undeclared ban on newspapers in Kashmir valley must be ended. It has also urged the Press Council of India to not only take suo moto notice of the assaults on the press there but also visit Srinagar, meet journalists’ bodies there and strive to aid the healing process.

In its executive committee meeting held on September 21 evening, the DUJ expressed grave concern at the reports received that for some time now newspapers have not been published in the Kashmir valley and electronic news bulletins have been banned. Only a token number of curfew passes have been issued to the newspaper offices because of which news reporting and production has been rendered almost impossible. Many reporters and photographers have been physically assaulted by paramilitary forces like the CRPF.

Unequivocally condemning these assaults on the media and media professionals, the DUJ has demanded that the ban and other restrictions imposed on the movement and functioning of media must be lifted immediately.

The special executive meeting further called for restraint in reporting on the conflict situations not only in Kashmir but also on the Ayodhya tangle in view of the judgement that was slated to come on September 24. It specially cautioned against rumour mongering, malicious reports and inspired leaks aimed at dividing the various communities.

Issued by the DUJ president Ms Sujata Madhok and general secretary S K Pande, the statement said that while calling for restrained reporting in volatile situations, there must be “immediate dialogue with affected journalists.” It urged the union home ministry to ensure that the police and CRPF are restrained from arbitrarily roughing up scribes.

According to reports received by the DUJ executive, the police and paramilitary forces recently thrashed and abused some staffers, even though they were carrying valid curfew passes issued by the district magistrate of Srinagar. The state government’s “influence” on the ground level got exposed when the forces tore to pieces the red-colour special curfew passes and even abused those who had issued them.

The DUJ expressed grave concern at the reports that three staffers of Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Uzma were ruthlessly beaten by policemen at Kaka Sarai in the Old City. They were travelling in the office vehicle which was intercepted by the police. The staffers were asked to show their curfew passes and identity cards, which they did. Yet, all of a sudden a policeman started beating a staffer who was admitted to the Bones and Joints Hospital. Other staffers fled from the spot in order to save their lives.

Source: www.pd.cpim.org

ON THE VERDICT OF THE LUCKNOW BENCH

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on September 30, 2010

THE Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has given its decision on the title deeds suits and related issues on the Babri Masjid/Ramjanmabhoomi temple dispute.

This judgement requires to be fully studied. There may be questions on the nature of the verdict.

The CPI (M) maintains that in our constitutional secular democratic system, the judicial process which includes recourse to the Supreme Court should be the only way to resolve the issue.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI (M) appeals to the people of the country to maintain peace and communal harmony and not fall prey to any provocations.

Source: www.pd.cpim.org