kashmir, a historic opportunity

its historic...

the results for the elections in kashmir have come in...for me the results had already come on the day the polling happened. the participation of the common man in the elections is a very important development...

its a good turning point to have nc as the single largest party. nc is the only party to have the representatives winning from all parts of the state...

omar speech in the parliament was one of the best speeches till date...

farooq abdullah has a big responsibility at hand...he has to come above petty local politics and lead the state with consensus...

bjp and pdp would be spoilsport...they would be working with narrow interests in mind...only focussing to their communal constituencies...

the congress can go a length further and associate itself with national conference and get a new beginning...

nation is watching the congress...if it starts bargaining looking at the weakness of nos of the national conference...the nation would not forgive them...

its a mandate against the congress...they should accept the verdict and act responsibly...

if kashmir comes into the mainstream india, we would be a truly secular country....

regards

prakash kutty

bandhs

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2008

I happen to be an active participant in enforcing bandhs in the past. This includes throwing stones at buses. Forcefully pulling down shutters of the shopkeepers, intimidating people going onto railway station etc.

The working class does not have any weapons to fight its own struggle. He doesnot have the money power or the propoganda machine that the capitalist class has. The only weapon he has is a disciplined army of workers led by the communist party.

The protest movements organised by the communist party and the mass organisations especially the trade unions in its command have the sole porpose of creating pressure on the capitalist – big landlord led ruling class. This is to increase the bargaining power of the working class against the ruling class.

The protest movements start with certain forms. In trade union circles, with a signature campaign, black bands, walkout during lunch hours, work to rule, tools down, one day token strike and thenultimately indefinite strike.

In these progression of events, the vanguard is not starting with the 'convinced' or the 'converted' worker. The whole lot of initial protest forms have a duel purpose. One to send across the message to the capitalist to agree the demands and more important to make the workers aware of the demands, their strengh, to organise them for the next form of protest.

The communist party cannot be short sighted to intimidate workers with their muscle power and go for the ultimate step of 'indefinate strike'.

It is very important to go through the initial forms of protest to bring about 'conciousness' amongst workers.

The difference between a simple trade union and the trade union led by the communist being the trade union led by the communist would inculcate a political conciousness apart from making him aware of the collective bargaining strength of a trade union.

When the workers in banks strike in support of striking teachers or striking post office empleyees a certain ammount of working class solidarity, a conciousness of working class as a homogenous force comes into fore.

The communist party with his army of workers through these small struggles are preparing for the ultimate taking over of power to establish a classless society.

But in the whole process, as i said before, there cannot be any short cuts. The voluntary participation in protest action is very necessary.

Voluntary participation is been ignored. The focus is on the success of protest action.

The communist party is the vanguard of the working class, and to a great extend of the society. It has the responsibility of convincing the participants of these struggles. It cannot act as brahmins of the working class.

The convincing is difficult, time consuming but unavoidable.

If the people are convinced, the bandh would be spontaneous.

There is a big unorganised sector. They have to be organised. The task is much more tough. They have everything to loose. The hire and fire policy is much more rampant in this sector. But making it impossible for them to reach work during a bandh is not the kind of participation of the unorganised sector i envisage.

Organising them would take time but there is no alternative to participatory struggle and action. The organised sector cannot make a situation where the daily wages person wants to work but is unable to.

Every action, any form of protest action should be seen as a form of awareness campaign, a form of participation by unorganised, weaker sections of the society.

Unfortunately, we the communist party have engineers to implement a protest action. Strikes in industrial sector in the past by intimidation. These tactics were taken over by the trade union careerists like datta samant and geoge fernandes in mumbai.

Now we have a bank of engineers who can implement bandhs in an efficient way. The technology has been pirated by other political parties like the trinamool in bengal and bjp and the muslim leage in kerala.

There was an argument about the public transport. Let the public transport trade union participate in the bandh. Let the small, petty traders association participate in the bandh. Then engineers would be jobless.

Support or no support for the cause, its taken for granted, the bandhs would be successfull.

ONLY VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION CAN TELL HOW SUCCESSFULL THE BANDH WAS.

The engineers of these bandhs, i myself use to be one, should be fired.

If bandhs have to have its impact as an ultimate working class tool, it has to be used more discreetly.

But alas, that's the easiest of the protest actions today. The degree of error is zero. They are bound to succeed.

It is in this context, i completely agree with comrade bb.

Although i completely disaggree with the way it was communicated. It sets a bad precedent. He should not have kept mum inside the party(as he himself admitted). He should have kept mum at the press conference. I don't think it serves any purpose to be in the good books of the capitalist class (merchants chamber).

We should realise, all through out the nandigram crises and the singur crises we are coming across as the saviours of the exploiting class.

We have to communicate agressively. More investements, more progress, more exploitation. But we are trying our best to improve the living standards of people within the capitalist society.

So i agree with comrade bb on what he said but not where he said.

india and south africa

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2008

india and south africa

india and south africa

the two nations with a similar colonial history can share a lot today.

india colonised by british and the caste discrimination within the society is very similar to the colonisation of south africa and then the racial discrimination which was prevalent there some years ago.

after the reconciliation amongs the white and blacks there has been a democratically elected govt mainly dominated by the ANC.

in india after independence from the british rule the democratically elected govt have been dominated by the INC.

the concerns of these two nascent nations are also the same.

the economic deprivation of the poor, very low literacy rate amongst the poor, health and hygene problems, creating jobs for the majority population...

south africa also is a very diverse country. people belonging to different tribes and religious faith come together to form the country.

the country happens to a mix of the modern and the primitive.

the plantations are all electronically controlled. the watering, humidity, pestisides, and security is all controlled electronically.

controlling crime is a very big challenge to the south african govt.

our govt and the sa govt should form a free trade zone.

we should both pool our resourses to share our expertise and experience in diff feilds.

these countries have a lot in common as compared to the european countries or the USA.

the expertise in farming and plantations can be helpful here. the expertise in medicine, education can be helpfull for them.

regards,

prakash kutty

justice and change

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2008

justice is prime...

justice for the pandits of kashmir...

pandits have been cleansed from the valley of kashmir, the reason, they belong to the hindu religion. they have been living in the camps in jammu in appalable conditions for more than fifteen years now. they have become refugees in their own country.

the rehablitation package is too late, too little. this is not a dignified way of treating our own citizens.

there is no urgency what so ever from any quarters of our country to bring the pandits back with complete security to kashmir valley...

justice...?

justice to the people in kashmir

kashmir has been on the boil since India got independence. it has to be remembered the muslims of kashmir were in forefront along with the indian jawan to fight the pathan army of pakistan during 1947-48. this in the background of the maharaja of kashmir running away to jammu. jawaharlal nehru himself, at lal chowk in srinagar and then in the united nations had promised plebiside. where the people of kashmir can choose to be 1. stay with the indian union 2.to be a part of pakistan or 3. to be an independent nation.

we never kept the promise.

we signed the nehru-sheikh abdullah agreement.

under article 370 of the indian constitution

no one outside kashmir can buy property in kashmir.

the state would have complete autonomy except for:

1.defence 2.currency 3.communication.

the state of kashmir would be having a separate

1.flag

2.the chief minister would be called the vazir-e-azam. (prime minister)

3.the governor is called the president of jammu and kashmir.

4.the state would have a different constitution.

these were all diluted as the time went on...

we in the main land do-not trust the people in the valley.

democracy was conveniently distorted to serve the rulers in delhi.

this includes the jailing of a elected chief minister and keeping him jail without trial.

during this turmoil thousand of innocent people have disappeared/ killed by the army and by the militants.

we cannot speak for the militants. but certainly there should be accountability on behalf the army. there is tremendous loss of confidence amongst the people of jammu and kashmir.

justice?

sikhs in delhi.

thousands of sikhs were butchered in delhi in the aftermath of assasination of indira gandhi.

so far no conviction have been made. where is accountability. accountablility of the police machinery, accountablility of the justice department.

all the people who lost their loved ones only because they belonged to sikh religion are still brimming with anger.

if justice is denied, they would not hesitate to take law into their own hands...

falling of the babri masjid

a structure belonging to the archeological survey of india was demolished in broad day light in front of the media, covered all over the world.

none have been found guilty of this crime.

its been more than 12 years and still there are no signs of anybody been convicted by the justice department.

if the guilty are not found and brought to book there would be reprisals on monuments belonging to the hindu community.

justice however difficult and costly and bitter has to be done.

the aftermath of babri demolition

the angry crowds belonging to the muslim community went on a rampage in reaction to the babri masjid demolition targeting hindu businesses. none of the culprits have been booked.

the administration and the police were very lithargic in taking action.

reprisals followed.

the aftermath of the babri demollition 2

in reprisals to the muslim reaction. the hindu militants started attacking the muslim bussiness intrests. since the police were nowhere in picture and many places blatantly partisan, the miscreants grew bolder. in one of shameful acts in civilised society the biggest ever religious clelansing began in mumbai. thousands of people in mumbai were butchered on the streets of mumbai: there crime they belonged to muslim community. the police looked the otherway.

none have been convicted for this barbaric crime.

all the relatives of the people who lost their belongings their lives savings and their loved ones are looking for revenge. because the state has FAILED. justice was denied.

godhra

more than 85 passengers were mercilessly burnt to death by miscreants in a train at godhra station in gujrat.

till date we don't have a credible story on who was responsible for the gruesome murder of these passengers.

reprisals followed

aftermath of godhra.

no assurance came from the authorities that the guilty would be brought to book instead 'the revenge theory' was encouraged. in the worst carnage in independent india thousands of people belonging were butchered on the streets and burnt alive in their homes. their crime they belonged to the muslim faith.

none have been convicted till date for this crime.

all the people who lost their loved ones are looking for 'revenge'

the mumbai shootout

we were not prepared... we failed...in protecting the people...

these should have been the words of our cheif minister and home minister. we all know what they said, and what they did.

what use is it with spending crores of rupees in installing cameras on the platform, the metal detectors on the platform but the constables not equipped with weapons to encounter when somebody is detected with a gun.

the police, i am sorry to say were looking like a bunch of amatures on the day of the incident.

they fought valiently but were failed by their superiors who did not arm them sufficiently for the fight.

the affected people have been calm, but won't be calm for ever... if justice is not done. they are waiting... its gratefull they are giving time. or they would take the law onto their own hands so that 'justice is done'.

justice system has to be overhauled. the notion that the trial can go on for ever has to be changed. a time period of 2 years for the verdict can be a good idea.

the court going on vacation should be cancelled.

the judge transfer should be done only after min 5 yrs. A transferrable judge should not be given any new case, since a new judge has to go for a retrial.

the no of courts and the no of judges should be proportional to the population. it is far less in proportion to the population. more law colleges should be opened to fill the vacuum.

there has to be a balance between ethics and morality when it comes to the conduct of the lawyers and judges. now it is ethics over morality.

only some ideas...

bandhs

bandhs

I happen to be an active participant in enforcing bandhs in the past. This includes throwing stones at buses. Forcefully pulling down shutters of the shopkeepers, intimidating people going onto railway station etc.

The working class does not have any weapons to fight its own struggle. He doesnot have the money power or the propoganda machine that the capitalist class has. The only weapon he has is a disciplined army of workers led by the communist party.

The protest movements organised by the communist party and the mass organisations especially the trade unions in its command have the sole porpose of creating pressure on the capitalist – big landlord led ruling class. This is to increase the bargaining power of the working class against the ruling class.

The protest movements start with certain forms. In trade union circles, with a signature campaign, black bands, walkout during lunch hours, work to rule, tools down, one day token strike and thenultimately indefinite strike.

In these progression of events, the vanguard is not starting with the 'convinced' or the 'converted' worker. The whole lot of initial protest forms have a duel purpose. One to send across the message to the capitalist to agree the demands and more important to make the workers aware of the demands, their strengh, to organise them for the next form of protest.

The communist party cannot be short sighted to intimidate workers with their muscle power and go for the ultimate step of 'indefinate strike'.

It is very important to go through the initial forms of protest to bring about 'conciousness' amongst workers.

The difference between a simple trade union and the trade union led by the communist being the trade union led by the communist would inculcate a political conciousness apart from making him aware of the collective bargaining strength of a trade union.

When the workers in banks strike in support of striking teachers or striking post office empleyees a certain ammount of working class solidarity, a conciousness of working class as a homogenous force comes into fore.

The communist party with his army of workers through these small struggles are preparing for the ultimate taking over of power to establish a classless society.

But in the whole process, as i said before, there cannot be any short cuts. The voluntary participation in protest action is very necessary.

Voluntary participation is been ignored. The focus is on the success of protest action.

The communist party is the vanguard of the working class, and to a great extend of the society. It has the responsibility of convincing the participants of these struggles. It cannot act as brahmins of the working class.

The convincing is difficult, time consuming but unavoidable.

If the people are convinced, the bandh would be spontaneous.

There is a big unorganised sector. They have to be organised. The task is much more tough. They have everything to loose. The hire and fire policy is much more rampant in this sector. But making it impossible for them to reach work during a bandh is not the kind of participation of the unorganised sector i envisage.

Organising them would take time but there is no alternative to participatory struggle and action. The organised sector cannot make a situation where the daily wages person wants to work but is unable to.

Every action, any form of protest action should be seen as a form of awareness campaign, a form of participation by unorganised, weaker sections of the society.

Unfortunately, we the communist party have engineers to implement a protest action. Strikes in industrial sector in the past by intimidation. These tactics were taken over by the trade union careerists like datta samant and geoge fernandes in mumbai.

Now we have a bank of engineers who can implement bandhs in an efficient way. The technology has been pirated by other political parties like the trinamool in bengal and bjp and the muslim leage in kerala.

There was an argument about the public transport. Let the public transport trade union participate in the bandh. Let the small, petty traders association participate in the bandh. Then engineers would be jobless.

Support or no support for the cause, its taken for granted, the bandhs would be successfull.

ONLY VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION CAN TELL HOW SUCCESSFULL THE BANDH WAS.

The engineers of these bandhs, i myself use to be one, should be fired.

If bandhs have to have its impact as an ultimate working class tool, it has to be used more discreetly.

But alas, that's the easiest of the protest actions today. The degree of error is zero. They are bound to succeed.

It is in this context, i completely agree with comrade bb.

Although i completely disaggree with the way it was communicated. It sets a bad precedent. He should not have kept mum inside the party(as he himself admitted). He should have kept mum at the press conference. I don't think it serves any purpose to be in the good books of the capitalist class (merchants chamber).

We should realise, all through out the nandigram crises and the singur crises we are coming across as the saviours of the exploiting class.

We have to communicate agressively. More investements, more progress, more exploitation. But we are trying our best to improve the living standards of people within the capitalist society.

So i agree with comrade bb on what he said but not where he said.

india and south africa

india and south africa

the two nations with a similar colonial history can share a lot today.

india colonised by british and the caste discrimination within the society is very similar to the colonisation of south africa and then the racial discrimination which was prevalent there some years ago.

after the reconciliation amongs the white and blacks there has been a democratically elected govt mainly dominated by the ANC.

in india after independence from the british rule the democratically elected govt have been dominated by the INC.

the concerns of these two nascent nations are also the same.

the economic deprivation of the poor, very low literacy rate amongst the poor, health and hygene problems, creating jobs for the majority population...

south africa also is a very diverse country. people belonging to different tribes and religious faith come together to form the country.

the country happens to a mix of the modern and the primitive.

the plantations are all electronically controlled. the watering, humidity, pestisides, and security is all controlled electronically.

controlling crime is a very big challenge to the south african govt.

our govt and the sa govt should form a free trade zone.

we should both pool our resourses to share our expertise and experience in diff feilds.

these countries have a lot in common as compared to the european countries or the USA.

the expertise in farming and plantations can be helpful here. the expertise in medicine, education can be helpfull for them.

regards

prakash kutty