The Gift of Globalization

LEFT ALIGNMENT (Vol. 1, Issue 1, August 2009)

Pravin Mishra

Elaan is born!

EDITORIAL (Vol. 1, Issue 1, August 2009)

While launching “elaan”, the clarion call of the New Socialist Movement, one cannot but recall the opening lines of the “Manifesto of the Communist party” written by Marx-Engels way back in 1848:

"A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of communism. All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Pope and Tsar, Metternich and Guizot, French Radicals and German police-spies…”

Yes, a spectre, though young and embryonic, has indeed come into existence to become the beacon for the struggling masses of Gujarat and ofcourse, the spectre to fear, hate and to be exorcised by exploiters of all hue! Ever since the middle of the nineteenth century, the capitalist world has been fondly waiting for the spectre of communism to vanish and they really believed that it had happened with the fall of Soviet Union in 1990s; the old communist parties that carried out the gigantic historical tasks of transforming the Soviet Union and China from backward semi feudal stage to the post second world war advanced societies, were perhaps not equipped to lead the peoples struggle in the post colonial period after the second world war. Dialectics, however, do not cease to operate. Like the fresh new leaves after the grey autumn, new ideas bloom. New parties are born. Some struggle to break away from the past whereas some are born free.

The soil of Gujarat however, has never been fertile for any communist movement to take roots; the working class movement under the Majoor Mahajan Sangh, influenced as it was by Gandhiji’s ideas of trusteeship, not only destroyed the working class militancy but stifled the growth of any progressive or revolutionary ideas. This void allowed the BJP led forces to capture the centre stage and create a formidable rightist state machinery by 2000. All political opposition was subdued including the weak CPI(M) and CPI. Under these fascistic conditions, the dialectical opposite was born. The New Socialist Movement (NSM) which was functioning as a quasi-political organization ever since 1989 alongwith its two sister organizations, the Gujarat Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) and the Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM), decided to shed its ambiguity and declare itself as a political party in 2002.

The birth of NSM was a direct consequence of the situation created after bloody massacre of the Muslims who were systematically butchered with the help of the State machinery in 2002. NSM firmly stood by the side of the minorities and led a militant anti-communal struggle in every possible front including in the legal battles. In the specific conditions of Gujarat on and after 2002, the party adopted an anti-communal, pro-democracy mass-line within a broad anti-globalization coalition. Different struggles of different marginalized sections were brought under a common banner and the communal division was combated through joint struggles.

Elaan will be initially published in English and Gujarati language and will share with the readers its experiences of the past seven years both in the sphere of practice as well as theory.

The happenings in West Bengal are ofcourse of foremost interest to all communists since the events of Nandigram, Singur and now Lalgarh reflects the deep malaise of the left forces in India. We deal with that event as well as the latest development in the Nanavati Commission at the other end of the country. The consolidation of the trade union struggles under the banner of the Trade Union Centre of India at the national level would perhaps create the genuine revolutionary mass organization that the left movement desperately needs today. We are proud that the first issue of Elaan starts with the clarion call to the working class to participate in the national protest day on 13^th August, 2009.

Elaan is not just the declaration of the struggle of the New Socialist Movement but is a determination to be the voice of the new left!

In search of the true shade of red: the tragedy of Lalgarh

ARTICLE (Vol. 1, Issue 1, August 2009)

Mukul Sinha

It took more than 40 years for the CPI(Maoist), the metamorphosis of CPI(ML), to prove that history does indeed repeat itself but when it does, it does so as farce. In 1967, the peasant uprising in Naxalbari sent red jitters all over the country, while in 2009 the red has faded out in a place ironically called Lalgarh!

In April, 1969, the CPI(ML) was born out of the CPI(M) as an aftermath of the Naxalbari uprising in 1967. A section of the CPI(M) led by Charu Mazumdar and Kanu Sanyal the Siliguri District Committee of the CPI(M), supported a violent peasant uprising in 1967, in "revolutionary opposition" to the CPI(M) leadership. Led by Charu Mazumdar, initially an All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries was formed in November 1967, as an inner-party pro-China splinter-faction of the CPI(M). On April 22, 1969 the AICCCR formed the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), breaking away from the CPI(M)

The insoluble contradiction and the pathological hatred between the CPI(M) and CPI(Maoist) in 2009, goes back to these formative years. With time, the differences multiplied between the two parties, with the CPI(M) preferring the parliamentary path towards “socialism” and the CPI(ML), later on the CPI(Maoist), opting for revolutionary “armed struggle”. On the land question, the protagonists of Naxalbari declared the appropriation of land by the use of revolutionary force whereas the CPI(M) chose to carry out the land reform in accordance with law that partially led to their vote bank amongst the Bengal peasantry for 30 years.

Nandigram and Singur have however changed that cultivated pro-peasantry image of the CPI(M). The bankrupt policy of the CPI(M) to ally with the big Indian bourgeoisie and global capital to fuel their industrial development dug their grave in Lalgarh too. The tragedy is that the Maoists are lending a helping hand to the Trinamool Congress to dig that grave. Stuck to the jungles in search of their semi-feudal line, the Maoist put into practice their theory of “annihilation of class enemies” on the fattened cadre of CPI(M) and slaughtered several of them. What a farce my comrades!

The two leading “communist parties” of India going for each others jugular in Lalgarh would have warmed the hearts of the rightists but for their own deep differences. After the debacle in the 15^th Loksabha elections, the rath of L.K.Advani seems to have got stuck in the virulent mud of failed Hindutva. Varun Gandhi’s limb-chopping histrionics did not disturb the minority moral whatsoever; in fact such vulgarity united the minorities behind Congress and chopped off whatever little chance the BJP had to come near the power centre.

And who is smiling? Take a look at Manmohan Singh; or even Mamta. They are grinning and busy demolishing the left and posing as the allies of the poor peasants! Strange are the changes bourgeois elections can bring about within a short period. The centrist party that was struggling against the onslaught of the left and the right, leapfrogged into the seat of power. Symbolically Tatas may nurture their Nano in either West Bengal or Gujarat, bastions of the left and right respectively, but the Big Bourgeoisie of India has obviously chosen Congress to bat for them.

While the Indian big bourgeoisie, their loyal agent Congress and its allies like Trinamool are consolidating their positions, it is a tragedy that the left forces are in such disarray. Instead of alleviating the sufferings of the Adivasis of Lalgarh, the Maoist have only aggravated their agony and shockingly, it is the CPI(M) which is responsible for their suffering in the first place. In the confusion of colours at Lalgarh, will the people find the true shade of red?

Intas Pharma union Struggle: victory against contractualization of labour

LABOUR NEWS (Vol. 1, Issue 1, August 2009)


In a struggle that showcases a rare victory of sorts against the increasing deregulation of labour in an era of monopoly capitalism, GFTU successfully fought against the contractualization of the workforce in Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd. What makes the victory particularly relevant to labour’s fight against the machinations of capital is that it was done through a combination of legal battles in the courtroom and militant struggle at the factory gate.

The Intas Pharma union was formed in December 2003, and on Jan 28th 2004, Intas tried to hit back refusing to employ all the contract workers and issued a lockout. This action gave a platform for workers to militantly resist the company’s oppressive tactics. Intas, in an attempt to break the union, continued with the lockout until Feb 2nd 2004. After being forced to lift the lockout, they continued to victimize the workmen in order to break the union. The workers went on a strike, and the union went on a militant offensive when management tried to resist. Stones were thrown at the factory gates, and violence ensued between management and workers.

The union had to use very creative language when going on strike because of the increasingly anti-labour legislations being passed in the country today. They had to be careful about the way the strike was worded, yet had to wage a militant agitation on behalf of the workers.

16 workers were arrested because of injuries caused to the company security officer, and were released on bail only after he was released from hospital. All 16 were terminated from the workforce. This was another move by management to break the union, as the main leadership of the union was targetted, and an attempt was made by the company to get the courts to deem the strike as illegal. Through a battle, now waged on the legal front, the union got the High Court to issue an order saying that a peaceful agitation could continue at the gates, dealing another blow to management.

The union, through the legal team of the GFTU, attempted another mechanism under labour law. An interim relief application was filed under the Industrial Tribunal. The tribunal issued two directives for management to take back the workers into full employment and with proper wages as per the contract settlement. After that, the union took up the cases of the 16 workmen who were fired. In between, management made yet another attempt to break the union by pushing for second settlements with a section of the contract workers. The union however did not buckle under pressure, and remained firm.

In a rare reversal of labour deregulation through struggle, under increasing pressure from the union led by GFTU, management gave permanent positions to 90 out of 540 workers, and the union has now filed for the rest to be absorbed as permanent staff and get paid technician-level wages, at around Rs12,000 per month. The victory is particularly relevant considering that the majority of the workforce are working-class Dalits, who fought against the double-whammy of caste and class oppression.

This struggle represents a tiny, yet important, example of the fact that even with increasing pressure on labour in an age of monopoly capitalism, militant unions who remain firm to fighting for labour’s emancipation and don’t go down a revisionist path of class-reconciliation can still beat the tide and reverse capital’s marauding march.

Fascism Through Farce

OPINION (Vol. 1, Issue 1, August 2009)

Sriram Ananth

If the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat led by the Sangh Parivar showcased the execution of fascism through cold-blooded violence, the Nanavati Commission , even after seven years has unraveled nothing to give justice to the victims.

Throughout these seven years however, one movement has bravely withstood the odds and fought the good fight. A people’s David against a venomous multi-headed Goliath, Jan Sangarsh Manch has left no stone unturned to publicly corner both the state and the Commission (now synonymous with one another) in its fight for justice. Withstanding heavy pressure and intimidation early on as well as later laughable attempts at legal badgering from the state, JSM has doggedly pursued a legal struggle in bringing the main leaders of the pogrom to book.

Most recently, in what can be a huge shot in the arm for justice, JSM retrieved phone records clearly pointing to the role of numerous leaders in the 2002 pogrom, especially in the massacres of Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gam, including records from Narendra Modi’s office. Based on this evidence, a petition has been filed for the Special Investigation Team to investigate into the role and conduct of the CM and other leaders in both the communal handling of the Godhra incident as well as their involvement in the post-Godhra pogrom. The phone records along with the extra-judicial confessions of numerous mid-rung Sangh Parivar leaders during the 2008 Tehelka sting operations have shown beyond a shadow of doubt the venomous culpability of the Sangh Parivar in the 2002 pogrom.

It remains to be seen how much longer it will take for justice to be served, and what more venomous counter-measures the fascist state will take in protecting their cowardly behinds. However Jan Sangarsh Manch has proved that even in the heart of fascism in India, progressive civil society can ultimately prevail if it’s willing to fight it out. In standing up to the fascists with a smile, telling them that they can lash out at us all they want but no matter what, we will not be terrorised into submission, a small battle has already been won. The people’s David will indeed prevail, and the fascist Goliath will fall, history beckons it to…however the path will not be easy or short, and will not be lacking in struggle.

TUCI call for all-India protest against Globalization on August 13th

ANNOUNCEMENT (Vol. 1, Issue 1, August 2009)

A call has been issued by the Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI) for an all-India protest on August 13th resisting increasing globalization and the pro-capitalist, bourgeois policies of the present UPA government. TUCI, a militant national trade union federation of which Gujarat Mazdoor Sabha is a leading affiliate, is planning protests and rallies across the country in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab and other regions. Four demands are being made of the government: (1) Implementation of Building and Other Construction Workers Act, (2) Implementation of meaningful legislation for the social security of workers in the unorganized sector, (3) Abolition of contract labour in all perennial industries, and (4) Reversal of anti-labour trend in the judiciary

Hooch Tragedy in Gujarat and JSM's intervention

ARTICLE (Vol. 1, Issue 1, August 2009)

Sriram Ananth

The tragic death of over 150 people, primarily from the toiling unorganized labour class, brought to light the deep contradictions and class-based hypocrisy in Gujarat’s longstanding policy on prohibition.

History has shown us that prohibition has never worked as a policy, giving rise to the mafia and organized criminal syndicates in the US in the 1920s and 1930s, that ultimately also infiltrated trade unions. Due to prohibition Gujarat has an alternate, underground economy on both country-made liquor as well as Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). This alternate economy runs into many thousands of crores, with the tentacles of corruption and beneficiaries stretching right from the petty beat constable all the way to MLAs and MPs. In a stark manifestation of ludicrous hypocrisy, the Gujarat state government even asked the central government for Rs. 3000 crore as compensation for losses incurred due to the implementation of its own prohibition policy in the name of Gandhi! This they calculate as approximately 10% of the alternate liquor econonmy occurring to the state, which pegs the economy at around Rs. 30,000 crore, even from a conservative standpoint as per the state’s own calculations.

The hooch tragedy resulted in numerous organizations as well as the corrupt Congress Party opposition in the state going on rallies demanding stricter implementation of prohibition and calls for further punitive measures. Nowhere were the actual victims seen as worthy of attention, with some portions of public discourse even suggesting that they be refused compensation since they were drinking.

The class-oppressive nature of the discourse was easy to see, as the elite and upper classes would have no cause to worry since they would be able to access high-quality bootlegged liquor!

Once again it required the intervention of Jan Sangarsh Manch in a dharna on July 17^th in front of the Town Hall in Ahmedabad, to expose the hypocrisy of the prevailing discourse, and demand compensation for the victims in addition to punishment for the state and police officials involved in the hooch tragedy. Furthermore, in a sharply progressive deviation from the oppressive mainstream climate on the issue, JSM called for a review of prohibition in the state and a state-wide debate on the merits of such a problematic policy. JSM also offered full legal support to the families of the victims in their struggle for justice.

Indeed the immediate chord struck in the hearts of the affected people with JSM’s stand could be seen in a spontaneous rally supported by JSM at Kantodia Vaas, the main site of the tragedy and a centre for illicit country-made liquor. At the rally the masses readily stood with JSM and were steadfastly keen on engaging in a struggle for the justice due to them.