The 30th March 2010 Kisan Dharna Programme of PDFI Sub-committee on Agriculture Crisis (of which Dr. Darshan Pal is the Coordinator) is going to be held as per schedule at Jantar Mantar, Delhi. It will start at 11 AM. More than 1000 people from Punjab, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Delhi and other states are expected to attend the programme. The Dharna Programme is going to be organized on the issues related with Agriculture Crisis, such as Irrigation, Electricity, Agriculture Credit, Guarantee of MSP, Price Rise, Equitable Entitlement of Agriculture Community, Separate Budget for Agriculture etc. It is to note that Dr. Darshan Pal (as the Coordinator of the Sub-committee on Agriculture Crisis) is the main organizer of this programme. But, the Punjab police has arrested him along … [read more]

Namashkar Guruji. I wondered whether the Meeter and Greeter would be expecting a man. And whether I should get myself a moustache. There are many ways to describe Dantewada. It's an oxymoron. It's a border town smack in the heart of India. It's the epicentre of a war. It's an upside down, inside out town. In Dantewada, the police wear plain clothes and the rebels wear uniforms. The jail superintendent is in jail. The prisoners are free (three hundred of them escaped from the old town jail two years ago). Women who have been raped are in police custody. The rapists give speeches in the bazaar. Across the Indravati river, in the area controlled by the Maoists, is the place the police call 'Pakistan'. There the villages are empty, but the forest is full of people. … [read more]

Most commentators admit that the Indian people suffered greatly under British rule. Today, it is claimed, India is on a path of rapid technical progress and development; India has its own Silicon Valley, complete with high-tech R&D and hundreds of call centers for everything from Amazon to Victoria’s Secret. New wealth is being created at a rapid rate, a large middle class is developing that is enjoying shopping malls, multiplex cinemas and imported cars, and much of this wealth is working its way down to the villages and urban slums seen in Slumdog Millionaire. Largest Democracy in the World? The most common claim is that India is “the world’s largest democracy.” It is said that India’s elected government has ended the oppressive caste system, which assigned everyone to … [read more]

Q: The “India Shining” campaign promised industrialisation and increasing wealth also the poor majority. Did this become true? The application of globalisation policy in India meant benefits first of all for the ruling oligarchy. A handful of families are in full control of the levers of power. Thanks to their position they could amass huge fortunes, particularly in the last twenty years. Eventually among the list of billionaires there are a lot of Indians. The concentration of wealth has been growing rapidly while some 80% of the population has to live on less than half a dollar a day and can hardly afford a daily meal. According to the government’s own statistics this was not the case two decades back. India pursued globalisation policies in the most aggressive way, as there … [read more]

Dedicated to the memory of Tapasi Malik,, Dula Mandal, Lakhiram Tuddu, Satyabhama Whose names we know, And the hundreds of adivasis of Bastar Whose names will remain unknown till we claim them. Why this essay? I don’t live in Bastar, and I am not an adivasi. But I have been active in the working class movement of Chhattisgarh for the past 22 years, a movement which became legendary under the charismatic leadership of Comrade Shankar Guha Niyogi. And I strongly feel that understanding what is happening in Bastar today is of the greatest significance not only to us in Chhattisgarh, but to all those who want to understand imperialist onslaught and corporate land grab, particularly in the resource-rich adivasi areas; for all of us involved nationwide in the anti-displacement … [read more]

This overt war serving to facilitate the looting of the land and resources by Indian and international corporations for fabulous profits and the destruction of the livelihood of the countless numbers of the poorest of the poor in India is named as "Operation Green Hunt". While in different regions of the country the same operation may be named differently, the Indian state shamelessly tries to hide this banditry against the people of India and utterly open servitude to the imperialism as "war against the Naxalites"-- imposing a severe reign of terror and repression on progressive and democratic forces and individuals everywhere across the country. Countless intellectuals, authors, film makers, academics, and other professionals such as lawyers and doctors who abhor the Indian state's … [read more]

We are of the view that the Central Government, and not the State Governments, should be the authority to conduct talks as the problem covers various states. Additionally, the Central Government should ensure that, while the talks are being held, all MOUs, if entered into, should be frozen and not implemented; no compulsory acquisition of tribal lands and habitats be undertaken; and tribals should not be displaced. This is because the Central Government is bound under law to strictly comply with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution that, among others, safeguards manifold rights of the tribals including their ownership over land and resources. We further urge that during the period of the ceasefire and the course of talks, independent teams of observers and human rights groups … [read more]

Although just over two years old now, this speech by GN Saibaba of the Revolutionary Democratic Front in Birmingham, England on 15th December, 2007 is a rich source of material on the issue of displacement in India and the growing resistance movement of the people. Land is in many ways the heart of the struggle in large parts of India, and a vast movement of resistance in India and internationally against this displacement and the neoliberal onslaught is an important component of any work on solidarity with India. This speech has been slightly edited. I am very happy to be here in the Shahid Bhagat Singh Memorial Centre in Birmingham. I am honoured to be given an opportunity to speak to you. First of all I would like to extend revolutionary greetings from the revolutionary masses of … [read more]

Rally Against War on Peoplefrom Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street11 am, 17th December 2009, New DehliDear friends,For a vast majority of the people of our country, these are indeed difficult times. It is not just because the prices of every commodity in the market is rising sky high, not even because jobs are being cut and workers are facing retrenchment, also not because health care and education are increasingly going out of reach of the man on the street. In this period of an all-encompassing crisis, when a vast majority of the people in the cities and villages of this country are struggling to procure even the basic necessities of life and to make the ends meet, a greater and more immediate crisis is looming large on a section of the most oppressed people of this country: the entire … [read more]

Declaration of the Left Radical of Afghanistan (LRA)The tragic and barbarous war machine of US/NATO in Afghanistan continues to be fed by the blood of the Afghan people and of the troops of imperialist countries present in Afghanistan.According to surveys conducted in US, Canada, Europe and rest of the involved countries in the Afghanistan war, the majority of their people oppose the war and presence of their troops in the disastrous mission in Afghanistan. Only a small minority in power support the war and the bloody tragedy and are seeking to promote their dirty interests by looting, killing and the destruction of other nations, as well as victimizing their own countrymen as solders and financial resources through their tax payments.The same story is with Afghanistan. It is only the … [read more]

A short music video on the Adivasi (indigenous people) struggle in India.The short and entertaining video focuses on land, resources and importantly adivasi way of life which is being undermined by the Indian government .It’s inspired by Bhaghwan Maaji, leader of the adivasi struggle against bauxite mining in Kashipur (India)."Gaon Chodab Nahi" – "We Will Not Leave Our Village"Watch online:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M5aeMpzOLU Download Video:http://www.myupload.dk/showfile/375075cbf49.wmv Download Song:http://www.myupload.dk/showfile/375032173d4.mp3 Additional:One minute explaining the struggle of Adivasis:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCG7zp6n3og Gallery showing crimes against Adivasi:http://www.slide.com/r/lq5sVwLP7D9moFB9aaxxKcepal8FWaq4 … [read more]

What the State Wants to Destroy is the Alternate Development Model-An Appeal to Thinkers, Intellectuals, Artistes, and Writers-Dear Friends,The Indian state has amassed troops in central India on an unprecedented scale, to swoop down on the people. It is the latest of the wars launched by the Indian State against the people living in this country. The government says that it has to move against these areas as Maoists hold sway over it and it is not under the control of central or state authority.In fact the natives of these jungles have been living there for thousands of years and have protected these forests as they ensure life to them and is their only source of livelihood for survival.These tribals are the most poor and wretched in our land. Popularly called adivasis, they are the … [read more]

by Amit BhattacharyyaIn the recent days, two important developments took place in the national scene—both of which have far-reaching implications. One, of course, is the battle for Lalgarh. The second—that has some bearing on the Lalgarh movement also--is the banning of the CPI(Maoist) after it was tagged to the long list of what the central government described as ‘terrorist organizations’. It implies that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2008(UAPA) would henceforth be applied to the members of the Maoist party or people sympathetic to their cause. The Maoist party was banned on an all-India level with a ‘terror’ tag on 22 June 2009 and, henceforth, it came under the purview of the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention(Amended) … [read more]

Part II By Ron RidenourSri Lanka—formerly Ceylon, in English, and Serendib in Arabic (which gave rise to the word serendipity)—is commonly referred to as the “pearl of the orient” due to its beauty and wealth of natural resources, flora and fauna. Today, it is a land torn apart by hatred: racist government policies, ethnic cleansing, and terror war just ended albeit continuing in the form of incarceration of hundreds of thousands of Tamil people in the north. A key reason for this brutal hatred is the dispute over whether a minority of its people, the Tamils, should have: equal rights with the majority Sinhalese, and if this is denied (as will be shown it has), should they have the right to their own autonomous territory. Sri Lanka’s first aborigines with … [read more]

As the Indian government is stepping up the military repression against the liberation movement of the adivasis (the native people and lowest castes) led by the Maoists (Naxalites), a broad defence front is in the making. It is supported by renowned personalities like Arundhati Roy and others. (See the open letter to PM Manmohan Singh and its list of endorsers. ) As Anti-imperialist Camp we do not only support and join the initiative but will actively engage in spreading it across the world. However is ready to co-operate is requested to contact us. The Indian government has deployed 100,000 troops in addition to the existing paramilitary and police forces in parts of central India, including Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand, Maharashtra Lalgarh - Jungalmahal area of Bengal -- a vast … [read more]

Director: Gopal Menonwww.youtube.com/watch?v=rygJzzutBOg www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Kvl3e1MlM We have been hearing many stories about the human rights violations before and after Operation Green Hunt was announced. Allegations and counter-allegations have been going around. Fact-finding investigations have uncovered the atrocities security forces are committing in these areas, but now those very findings are being questioned.At such a time it is crucial to present the reality and tear the veils obscuring the truth. When the State Declares War on the People is a 15-minute trailer by Gopal Menon based on his recent coverage of the ground reality in Chhattisgarh. This short film contains exclusive interviews with victims and their testimony including 1 ½ year old Suresh who had three … [read more]