Punjab industrial labour leaders seek to accomplish complex task: Unite with farmers

By Harsh Thakor*
In Manesar in Haryana the Besonika Mazdoor Union has held a Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat at the Gurgaon District Collector’s office, protesting the “anti-people policies” of theModi government and the “pro-capitalist designs” of the rulers. Around 4,000 persons participated.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan was present with other peasant organisation leaders. Workers' organisations from Gurgaon and Uttarakhand also joined in. Interarc workers, in preparation, had staged a mini-maha panchayat a few days ago in Uttarakahand.
The Inquilabi Mazdoor Kendra szmade a considerable contribution, through ideological-political campaigning. Cloth Mazdooor Union workers, Ineterarc workers from Uttarakhand, Hitachi Contract workers, and Aisan workers participated.
Belsonika Union secretary Ajit Singh explained the objectives of the Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat and narrated the goal of the four labour laws instated by Narendra Modi and why it was essential to get them scrapped.
Ajit elaborated the strategy of the management to break the backbone of the workers' organised movement by installing contract labour system, retrenching old workers, bringing in fresh team trainees and dismantling trade unions. Unemployment has scaled unprecedented levels, with all permanent workers replaced by contract or badly workers, it was pointed out.
Ajit went on to narrate how the workers and peasants waged a battle against a common enemy and their struggle could not be viewed in isolation of each other.
He stated it was imperative that it forged unity in struggle in a common front, by linking issues. Both classes were equally victimised by the government policies. It was time for the workers and peasants to challenge the wrath of capitalism and raise a national level stir against the ruling BJP and imperative to undertake a ground level preparatory campaign to build a collective organisation.
Last year on November 14, the Mazdoor Kisan panchayat staged an identical programme, in which workers participated in huge numbers.
For some days the Belsonika Union undertook preparatory work to stage the panchayat, through leafleting, postering and social media like facebook. It turned out effective. The methods they adopted in mobilising were most complementary.
It was complex and challenging to unite workers and peasants on a common platform, considering differences in culture, outlook, production methods etc. This is because the gap, which has to be narrowed through consistent and painstaking ideological work, remains high. Mere mobilisation can never substitute grassroots work.
---
*Freelance journalist who covers mass movements

Comments

Manmade disaster? Infrastructure projects in, around Vadodara caused 'devastating' floods

Counterview Desk In a letter to local, Gujarat, and Indian authorities, several concerned citizens* have said that there has been devastating flood and waterlogging situation in Vadodara region since Monday 26th August 2024 which was "avoidable", stating, this has happened because of "multiple follies, flaws and fallacies across all levels of governance."

Everyone we meet is a teacher – if we only know how to connect the dots

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD* We observe Teacher's Day on 05 September every year. In my journey from being a student and later a teacher which of course involves being a life-long student, I have come across many teachers who have never entered the portals of a educational institution, in addition to those to whom we pay our respects on Teachers Day.

Labeled as social lending, peer-to-peer system is fundamentally profit-driven

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak The Sumerian civilisation, one of the earliest known societies, had sophisticated systems of lending, borrowing, credit, and debt. These systems were based on mutual trust and social currency, allowing individuals to engage in economic transactions without the need for physical money or barter. Instead, social bonds and communal trust underpinned these interactions, facilitating trade and the distribution of resources.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Shared culture 'makes it easy' to talk about Indo-Pak friendship across the border in Punjab

By Sandeep Pandey* The Socialist Party (India) recently organized a India Pakistan Peace and Friendship March during 9 to 14 August, 2024 from Mansa to Atari-Wagha border in Amritsar District. Since the Modi government has come to power it has become difficult to cross the border otherwise it would have been a march going inside Pakistan as one was organized in 2005 between Delhi and Multan.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Teachers in conflict zones displaying 'extraordinary commitment, courage' in the face of adversity

By Bharat Dogra* While the devastation of conflict and war zones often draws attention to the tragic loss of life, a less visible yet equally alarming crisis unfolds over time: the disruption of education. This turmoil poses a significant threat to the future prospects of children and their opportunities for growth.

'Historic': Battling jellyfish stings, fierce tides, Tanvi, mother of two, swam across English channel

By Harsh Thakor* On June 30, 2024, Tanvi Chavan Deore, a 33-year-old swimmer and mother of two from Nashik, Maharashtra, made headlines by becoming the first Indian mother to successfully swim across the English Channel. This grueling 42-kilometer stretch of water between the UK and France is widely regarded as one of the most challenging swimming feats in the world.

Search This Blog