Bharat Bandh: Workers pledge to counter 'heinous' religious fanaticism, jingoism

Counterview Desk
In a joint statement, the platform of Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and Independent Sectoral Federations/ Associations* on nation-wide mass mobilisation of working class on farmers’ Grameen Bandh, claimed it was a “grand success” in which students, teachers, youth, women, professionals, artists, writers and other social movements participated make it a “great national protest.”
Stating that the call of mass mobilisation all over India “received immense response”, in a joint statement, CTUs said, protesters pledged to counter “heinous religious fanaticism and jingoism to bring the real livelihood issues of the people back to the national agenda.”

Text:

The nation witnessed rural India in action against anti-farmer, anti-workers, anti-agricultural, anti-public sector policies of the Government working to the advantage of corporates of Indian and foreign brands.
The coal sector, road transport, NMDC, BHEL and several major industrial areas/zones went on strike. The state government employees in many states were in action including strikes in some of them. Those in banks and insurance sector, in the electricity, telecom, steel, copper and oil sector among others, organised protests at work places as well as participated in the joint processions and meetings. The jute, cotton plantation workers in action with their demands.
The Railway unions organised demonstrations outside Railway stations in several areas and defense employees mobilised at factory gates. Students and teachers extended support and were part of mobilisation in several states. The taxi and auto drivers in many states took to the streets for demonstrations in support of the action.

The hawkers/vendors unions, construction and beedi workers, home based workers and domestic workers were part of processions and road roko at many places. The scheme workers -- anganwadi, ASHA, mid-day meal and those in other various schemes were in major mobilisations, after strikes in several states.

The action of mass civil disobedience was organised in West Bengal on 13th February itself due to board examinations commencing on 16th February in the state. It was a successful action throughout Bengal with Anarul Islam loosing life in brutal lathicharge on protesters in Domkal, Murshidabad. Despite that the actions were organised by some unions today also.
In Assam the programme was conducted on 15th February again due to examinations on 16th February. The state witnessed sectoral strike by scheme workers, construction workers, venders and hawkers among others and the employees of BSNL and oil sector as well as the workers/employees of almost all private industries and chakka jam throughout the state. There was mobilisation in all districts in rural and town areas and rural bandh as well.
In Delhi the joint actions for closure of industries were organised in all zones of industrial clusters, a demonstration at Labour Commissioner office and another at Jantar Mantar were organised. The national and state leaders addressed the gatherings at different places of protest.
They condemned the ruling party in the centre and wherever they are ruling in states having used oppressive methods against the protesting workers and farmers. The brutal lathi charge, firing with pellets, and using drones for tear gas charge on farmers marching towards Delhi on 13th February are symptoms of the ruling party having lost confidence of people as well as realizing that they have lost the ground as because they know that they failed to deliver results in every promise they made to various sections of Indian masses.

The Central Trade Unions and SKM had called upon in their joint press conference on 17th January 2024 to intensify struggle until they achieve the demands of MSP@C2+50% for all crops with guaranteed procurement, dismissal of Ajay Mishra Teni and registration of case on him, Comprehensive loan waiver to small and middle farm households for freedom from indebtedness, minimum wage of Rs 26,000 per month for workers, repeal of 4 labour codes, repeal the draconian amendments made to IPC/CRPC, guaranteed employment as fundamental right, no privatisation of PSUs including railway, defence, electricity, coal, oil, steel, telecom, posts, transport, airports, port and dock, banks, insurance etc., No to privatisation of education and health, no contractualisation of jobs, scrapping of fixed term employment, strengthen MGNREGS with 200 days work per person per year and Rs 600 as daily wage, restore old pension scheme, pension and social security to all in formal and informal economy, scrapping of sec 104 of newly introduced bns, welfare boards for all categories of unorganised workers on the lines of the Construction Workers Welfare Board, Implement the LARR Act 2013 (Right to Fair compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013) among others.
It was also said that they would counter the heinous religious fanaticism and jingoism to bring the real livelihood issues of the people back to the national agenda.
They once again reiterated today that they are in a struggle to save the basic principles of democracy, federalism, secularism and socialism enshrined in the Constitution of India.
Therefore, they called upon the people that this ruling regime in the central government with anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-national policies be ousted from power.
---
*The Platform of Central Trade Unions & Sectoral Federations/ Associations: INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, UTUC

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Ahmedabad's Sabarmati riverfront under scrutiny after Subhash Bridge damage

By Rosamma Thomas* Large cracks have appeared on Subhash Bridge across the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, close to the Gandhi Ashram . Built in 1973, this bridge, named after Subhash Chandra Bose , connects the eastern and western parts of the city and is located close to major commercial areas. The four-lane bridge has sidewalks for pedestrians, and is vital for access to Ashram Road , Ellis Bridge , Gandhinagar and the Sabarmati Railway Station .

Farewell to Robin Smith, England’s Lionhearted Warrior Against Pace

By Harsh Thakor* Robin Smith, who has died at the age of 62, was among the most adept and convincing players of fast bowling during an era when English cricket was in decline and pace bowling was at its most lethal. Unwavering against the tormenting West Indies pace attack or the relentless Australians, Smith epitomised courage and stroke-making prowess. His trademark shot, an immensely powerful square cut, made him a scourge of opponents. Wearing a blue England helmet without a visor or grille, he relished pulling, hooking and cutting the quicks.

No action yet on complaint over assault on lawyer during Tirunelveli public hearing

By A Representative A day after a detailed complaint was filed seeking disciplinary action against ten lawyers in Tirunelveli for allegedly assaulting human rights lawyer Dr. V. Suresh, no action has yet been taken by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, according to the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Latur’s quiet rebel: Dr Suryanarayan Ransubhe and his war on Manuvad

By Ravi Ranjan* In an India still fractured by caste, religion, and language, where narrow loyalties repeatedly threaten to tear the nation apart, Rammanohar Lohia once observed that the true leader of the bahujans is one under whose banner even non-bahujans feel proud to march. The remark applies far beyond politics. In the literary-cultural and social spheres as well, only a person armed with unflinching historical consciousness and the moral courage to refuse every form of personality worship—including worship of oneself—can hope to touch the weak pulse of the age and speak its bitter truths without fear or favour.

Differences in 2002 and 2025 SIR revision procedures spark alarm in Gujarat

By A Representative Civil rights groups and electoral reform activists have raised serious concerns over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Gujarat and 11 other states, alleging that the newly enforced requirements could lead to large-scale deletion of legitimate voters, particularly those unable to furnish documentation linking them to the 2002 electoral list.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

From crime to verdict: The 27-year journey that 'rewarded' the destroyers of Babri Masjid

By Shamsul Islam Thirty-three years ago, on December 6, 1992, a 16th-century mosque was reduced to rubble by a frenzied mob orchestrated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political fronts. The demolition was not a spontaneous outburst of Hindu sentiment; it was the meticulously planned culmination of a hate campaign that branded Indian Muslims as “Babur-ki-aulad” and the Babri Masjid as a symbol of historical humiliation.

Search This Blog