Police Disrupt Campaign at Baruipur

Asanghatit Khetra Shramik Sangrami Manch condemns the unilateral police action on  October 6, 2015 to break up our state-wide campaign at Baruipur. The motorcycle rally was stopped early in the morning by police from the Baruipur Police Station, when they were about to proceed from the place where they had stayed the night before at Sashan after a successful day of campaigning at Baruipur.

Motorcyclists and the jeep which had the microphone that was being used for the campaign were not even allowed to get on to the road.  The excuse given by the police has been that the motorcycle rally did not have “permission”. As far as we know, no such law exists banning motorcycle or other rallies or processions in South 24 Parganas district.

The police threatened to take away the papers of all the motorcycle and the pick-up with microphone that was with the rally. They also insisted that banners be taken off and that the microphone be removed. All this is illegal and much beyond the powers that the police have.

It should be mentioned that the police, including DGP Police, and all concerned SPs from all districts through which the rally is passing, were informed about the route of the rally, number of participants on motorcycles, stoppages, chief places of campaigning and major programmes on September 29, 2015. No information or feedback has been received from the police till date about the illegality of the programme. Also, the programme has been going on for five days without any such information.

Coming just two days after the rallyists were attacked with bombs by TMC goons in Bibekpur village under Keshpur block (Paschim Midnapore), the situation reflects very poorly on the attitude of the Government and the ruling party towards the rights and demands of the unorganised sector, which form 97% of the workers in the state. This is more or less a continuation of the way in which the administration is neglecting demands of the Manch members for declaration and implementation of the living wages in all sectors, for creation of employment under MGNREGA, for immediate implementation of the National Food Security, for regularisation of the civic police volunteer force, for the right to organise trade unions, for 20% bonus for tea garden workers etc.

The Manch will now be organising a rally at Malda town on October 8. In addition, rallyists will be proceeding through Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Burdwan and Hooghly districts toward Palashi, where the final programme is to be held on October 9. We are apprehensive that similar attacks by the administration and goons who say they are from the ruling party could take place.

  

Swapan Ganguly, Somnath Ghosh (Convenors) 

Campaign For Alternative Politics Gets Going From North Bengal

The Osanghatit Khetra Shramik Sangrami Manch’s statewide campaign began on October 2 from Newlands Tea Garden near the Assam border. The campaign was formally started by Kiran Kalindi, president of the Progressive Plantation Workers Union (PPWU), with participation of about forty motorcycles, and about 90 people who set off for the rally. Many women workers from neighbouring tea gardens also arrived to send off the rally.

The main issue of the rally was the burning need for an alternative politics that is based on working people’s demands and needs. The rally also focused on four main local issues:

• The unresolved issue of yearly bonus to the workers, for which negotiations are presently underway. Workers are demanding 20% while the employers association wants to get away with only 8.33% or at most 13.5% in most gardens
• The pending issue of declaration of a minimum wage for tea workers by the State Government;
• The long-standing demand of the workers for a right to their homes, as all of them are homeless and live on company land, always under threat of eviction
• The illegal closure of the 16 gardens owned by Duncans , as well as the demand to re-open 7 other gardens.

A gate meeting on the above issues was organised at the Newlands factory. Soon after at about 3 p.m. the rally set off for Alipur Duar. At Alipur Duar, from seven till nine at night, the rallyists along with a pick-up and a microphone campaigned through the streets. A street corner meeting was also organised at one of the most important cross roads in Alipur Duar town. The rally was joined by APDR members and individuals from other Left parties like the SUCI and CPI(ML) Liberation. Also present were members of a local platform who focus on violence against women and members of other cultural organisations in Alipur Duar. The main organiser was Suman Goswami of APDR.

On October 3, the rally travelled to Kalchini, covering tea estates like Dima, Rajbhatkuwa, Atiabari, Mechpara, Chuapara , Kalchini, Raimatang etc. They were joined at Dima by 6 members of the Uttar Banga Banshramajivi Manch on motorcycles.

All throughout there was campaigning on the need for alternative politics and the 4 local demands. At Kalchini, again a street corner meeting was organised where, despite having given prior information to the police, the rally was stopped and warned against entering the next block till 5 p.m. as by-elections were going on there.  A police escort then joined the rally, without even being requested for.

The rally stopped for lunch and a meeting with local people at Chinchula Tea Gadren, where the members of Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Buddhists) organised lunch for the rallyists at their local Buddhist temple. A great festive air prevailed with colourful Buddhist prayer flags fluttering, and all the women workers and their families present. The unit secretary of Progressive Tea Workers Union joined the meeting, which was addressed by Baijnath Naik, General Secretary of the PPWU. Both spoke of taking up the issue of 20% bonus unitedly at the next bonus negotiation meeting on October 6.

The rally then travelled to Sishubari in Madarihat, starting at 3.30 p.m. in the afternoon. It covered Hashimari and gardens such as Varnabari on the way to Madarihat. With some minutes left for the 5 p.m. deadline, they were stopped by the Madarihat police, who insisted on their waiting for the 5 p.m. Election Commission deadline. After campaigning on the way, the rally ended at 6 p.m. at Shishubari, where the local unit of Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity had organised a local school for their night stay and dinner and breakfast the next day.

Statewide Campaign On Alternative Politics, October 1-9

The Battle of Plassey was an important event in the history of the British East India Company and subsequent military domination by imperialist British state over the people of this sub-continent by snatching away their social, political and economic independence.

The name of Plassey has been the hallmark of first defeat and thereby losing independence/freedom of 'India' to the British. Mir Jafar was one of the key persons held responsible for the defeat by many and his name is commonly associated with betrayal.

While avoiding debates around historical interpretations, Osanghatit Khetra Shramik Sangrami Manch is ending its campaign symbolically at Plassey on October 9.

The purpose of the campaign, which has already started in some places, is to initiate a dialogue with people about the form politics is taking today and the need for an alternative politics. The voices and the demands of the workers must become the prime moving force in politics through their direct control and collective participation, with active vigilance over those whom we elect, who often sell our democracy and our country for their own selfish interests.

While in a number of areas the campaign has already started, taking the form of cycle rallies, padayatras and street corner meetings, from October 1-9, a motor cycle rally will be traveling all over Bengal. After starting from five corners of the state, namely the Assam border, the Bangladesh border, the Jharkhand border, the Orissa border and the Bay of Bengal, five rallies would meet at Plassey.

At Plassey, we plan to identify the modern day Mir Jafars and to pledge to start a new movement for freedom, especially freedom from wage slavery, at the spot where we identify and assume that we lost our independence.

Somnath Ghosh and Swapan Ganguly (Convenors)

Statewide Campaign On Right To Food And Work, Sept. 26 - Oct 9

Join State Wide Awareness Campaign Programme  from September 26 to October 9

The Demands:

Ø  A Food Security Act Guaranteeing Food For All

Ø  Work For Every Hand All Through The Year

Ø  A Living Wage For Everyone

Ø  Support to Food Production,

Ø  Acquire Food at Fair Support Prices, Increase Decentralized Storage Capacity

Ø  Immediate Implementation of Maternity Benefit of Rs.6000 given in the NFSA

Ø  Increase Allocations For All Food Security Programmes like ICDS, MDMS

The Right to Food and Work Campaign- West Bengal invites all of you to participate in its state-wide awareness programme. We are demanding immediate implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA). We have been especially amazed at the strange manner in which beneficiaries are being selected in West Bengal for the rations under NFSA. A month long programme for registration of names in August of those who had been left out of NFSA beneficiary lists turned out to be farcical.

There was limited public display of lists, though this was mandatory. Lists were in English and arranged in such a manner that people found it very difficult to find their names. Green forms and white forms for inclusion of names were unavailable in many places. As a crowning glory, the inclusion of new names will now be done after forms are verified by civic police volunteers in September and October. (The civic police volunteers are an ill paid, highly exploited, untrained group of Government workers who are more used to traffic control and law and order duties than activities involving identification of the hungry!!).

The demand that we want to raise through our campaign — stop this farce of beneficiary selection. Start immediate implementation of the NFSA. Ensure universal coverage for food.  When we look around at the beautification works in the State, we believe, surely our Government has money for a basic essential like food 

It is also not sufficient to have an Act that ensures distribution of food but does not ensure its production, its procurement or its storage. This year, 12 districts of West Bengal have experienced floods. Acres of paddy seedlings were just washed away. This flood will inevitably lead to a shortage of production of paddy and other crops. We are therefore demanding that the Government must take special measures to ensure that agriculture is protected and food production is encouraged. It must also ensure that food is procured in a decentralized manner and at fair prices.

We also want to raise the issue of gradual pull back in the MGNREGA. We are seeing the worst performance in the history of this scheme. Work is not being given , payments are delayed and wages are very low. We therefore demand work for all and a living wage for everyone.

The NFSA also has a provision for Rs.6000 as maternity benefit. This has not started anywhere, and there is neither any money allocated for it. Nor are there rules in place for implementation. To make things worse, programmes for women and children like ICDS and MDMS are seeing a huge cutback in funds. The Centre has drastically reduced its support for these programmes, but there is no surety that the State Government (though it has extra funds in its kitty) will step in to fill this gap.

Please join our awareness campaigns at various district towns and villages. We intend to cover 13 districts through our mass awareness on Government Social Security Schemes and the fundamental rights to food and work over the next few weeks.