SALUTE THE GREAT DETERMINATION AND RESOLVE OF PUNJAB KHET MAZDOOR UNION IN STAGING RALLY IN BATHINDA ON JANUARY 8TH .
THE EVENT WAS A GENUINE THORN IN THE FLESH TOWARDS THE RULING CLASSES WHO DISPLAY SHEER RUTHLESSNESS TOWARDS THE COMMUNITY OF AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS BY PAYING NO HEED TO THEIR PROMISES.
THE TO THE.EVENT PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN RAISING THE POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF DALIT AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS IN PUNJAB AND LAYING THE BASE FOR BUILDING AN AGRARIAN REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT.
VENUE IN BATHINDA ON DAY OF PMKU RALLY LITERALLY RESEMBLED A SEMI-BONFIRE SHIMMERING THE SPIRIT OF LIBERATION FROM RULING CLASS TYRANNY.TRIBUTE TO THE METICULUOS PLANNING AND GRASSROOTS WORK OF THE PUNJAB KHET MAZDOOR UNION AS WELL AS STRIVING FOR MASSLINE
On January 8th at Puda ground near Civil Lines in Bathinda I was privileged to attend a state-level gathering of 5000 agricultural labourers organized by Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union.
This rally had great qualitative impact to shape the political consciousness of the dalit agricultural labourers who are virtually enslaved by the tyranny of the govt policies that never fulfill their promises.
With the recent spate of lakhs of suicides of dalit landless agricultural labourers there could have been no more appropriate time to stage such an event.The event was a tribute to the painstaking hardwork ,planning and preparation work of the leaders and activists of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union.
It was a sight to behold witnessing the rage of the activists when shouting slogans and their response top the speakers.Their animosity with the prevailing system was virtually written on their faces The venue literally shimmered the torch of liberation like thousands of red lamps being lit.Above all heartening to witness the participation of around 1000 women labourers.
The speakers emphasized only by being given land could any progress be made in the lives of the agricultural labourers.
The most important issues were the issue scrapping the debt,distribution of land according to the land ceilings act,creating employment for the whole year for the labourers,awarding free education and medical facilities ,creating agro-based industries to provided employment for them.etc.
With no agrarian revolutionary movement prevailing today in Punjab such an event had very important role to lay platform for it's base.Such an organized gathering proved the revolutionary potential of the landless dalit peasantry who displayed relentless determination.Inspite of such a strong offensive of the forces of globalisation allied with feudalism to beak the backbone of the movement of landless labourers they never relented to the enemy and marched to the venue like troops carrying swords.
For almost 25 years the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union has lit the torch for the liberation of agricultural labour,striving to implement the massline.
Participation of so many women also had great political significance.
Punjab Khet Mazdur Union president,Zora Singh Nasrali described the tyranny of the day to day lives of the dalit agricultural labourers.
General secretary of P.M.K.U,Laxman Singh Sewewala described the methods of exploitation and the how the debts were literally extracted from the farmers .He summed up how the policies like supporting micro finance companies by the govt.were a severe blow for the welfare of the community He described several instances when for just for turning up 20 mins late for paying interest a labourer would be fined Rs 100..P.M.K.U.finance secretary Hamresh Malri described how all the political parties failed to keep their promises at election time b it the Akali Dali.Congess or A A .P..
He highlighted the importance of the agricultural laboures in understanding that the parliamentary democracy was virtually a pigsty .B.KU.(Ugrahan) presidentJ oginder Singh Ugrahan described how so many poor peasants were being robbed of land and turning into agricultural labourers.
He explained how the govt policies only favoured the landlord class and never fulfilled any promises it made to the masses on awarding land.Major Singh Karautke condemned the upper caste tyranny and the R.S.S.attacks on dalit comunity recently in maharsahtra and spoke about how pro upper caste the ruling parties were.Mukesh Malaudh and Tarsem Peter summed up the experiences of the Zameen Prapt Sangharsh committee in Sangrur.Balwant Singh chaired the meeting.The conclusion of every speech was interspersed with standing roars by the participants,literally igniting the effect of lightning..
It was also heartening to see the presence of activists of the landed peasantry giving moral support to the convention.The majority of the participants came from Muktsar district while others thronged from villages in Bathinda,Faridkot and Mansa.
The main formal demands were
1.Scrapping all debts awarded to agricultural labour and their families.
2.Implementation of the land ceilings act through re-distribution of land.
3.Awarding 10 marlas area of plot to al agricultural labour families.
4.Giving 3.3 lakhs to all dalit families for building houses.
To me such a conference is part and parcel of the overall movement in the country for the emancipation of dalit agricultural labour.
It proved whatever were the subjective weaknesses the Punjab Khjet Mazdoor Union pursue the revolutionary road and is not a victim of economism.
Weaknesses were the limited participation of students,youth and members of the industrial working class.
I also feel greater importance could have been given to the vital caste factor.
Sadly the bourgeois press gave the event virtually negligible coverage and reported it hardly giving it due justice.
SURVEY OF THE P.K.M.U.
The Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union in recent months carried out a major survey in the state.It felt that the basic reason behind the indebtedness of agricultural workers is the condition of their being landless. The thread of their living is tied to agriculture but they themselves are without any ownership of land. Only an insignificant section amongst them possesses small holdings.
There exists a heavy deficiency of accumulated capital, agricultural implements and means of irrigation with them. Farming on the land taken on rent also proves to be a loss making deal. A fact has come to the fore in our survey that 36 families out of a total of 1618 families have come under the debt of Rs. 75,14,000 because of their venture to take land on rent. Although this amount seems to be a small amount in comparison to the total amount of debt, the amount per family comes to be Rs. 2,08,722.
This amount is the highest amount of loan taken per family amongst the loans taken for other purposes. 12 families out of the total surveyed families possess merely 21 acres of land. According to the revenue record, 37,753 agricultural workers families (scheduled castes) in Punjab, own 64,513 hectares (1,61,282.5 acres) out of the total land holdings in Punjab. It comes out to be 4.27 acres per family. Out of these, 330 families have 4,754 hectares (11,885 acres) of land. They are, no doubt, counted as dalits but their class position has undergone a change. Amongst them are included dalit politicians and high bureaucrats.
34,306 families, having less than 10 acres own a total of 43074 hectare (1,07,685 acres) land. Out of these, 25,665 families, have 21,280 hectare (53,200 acres) land. In these 25,665 families, there are 16,167 families who have a total of 8,569 hectares (21,422 acres) land, which comes out to be about 1.32 acres per family. On account of small holdings and a deficiency of means of irrigation and agricultural implements, they cannot do farming in a profitable manner on their land.
If they give it on rent they get much less than the prevalent rate. If ever they attempt to take land on rent, it turns out to be a loss making deal because of high costs of production and heavy rent. On account of anti-peasant and anti-agricultural workers policies of the government, while agri-labourers are in deep crisis, the process of dispossessing farmers of their lands has also intensified. According to another survey conducted by B.K.U. Ekta (Ugrahan) in three villages of Moga and Barnala districts, 17% of the landed peasantry has already become landless.
Viewing from this angle, it emerges out that besides the agri-labourers, there are large number of non-dalit farmers, who have become landless or have small landholdings, although remain involved with agriculture and land, but being landless or having small land holdings, the agriculture for them has become a cause for mounting debts and has ceased to be viable. Moreover, the government policies are accelerating this process.
Another reason for the indebtedness of the agricultural workers is the extremely discriminative, blameworthy and blood sucking bank policy of the government for them. It can be clearly seen from this survey conducted by the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union that in the amount of debt standing against the agricultural workers, the amount given by the public sector banks is highly paltry. The only reason lying behind it is that the public sector banks are evading to give loans to the agricultural workers. The meager loans advanced usually carry 12% rate of interest.
On the other hand these very banks are providing loans to big capitalists and corporate houses either without interest or at abysmally low rate of interest. They are also given special concessions at the time of advancing the loans and its recovery.
A policy by the Reserve Bank of India has now been framed and implemented to accord recognition to blood sucking microfinance companies and self help groups which give loans to agricultural workers, women and other weaker sections at exorbitantly high rates of interest.
Besides being accorded legal sanction, these companies are also being provided huge amounts of capital by the banks. Their capital is being guaranteed and the recoveries of the loans is also being ensured.
There is a provision for cheap bank loans to the owners of the land. The rates of interest for these loans are 4%, 7% and 12%. No doubt, for the poor peasants the rate is not that high but the conditions of recovery are very hard. But in comparison with agricultural workers, this is a concessionary policy.
The extremely surprising position lies in the fact that arrangements have been made for providing cheap loans to the tune of thousands of crores to the owners of agro-based industries in the name of increasing manifold the allocation for loans to the agricultural sector. And now a policy has been made to provide capital to the usurers from out of the amount reserved for the agricultural sector.
Free reins have been given to the aggressive practice of these usurers to give loans to the agricultural workers at a rate of interest ranging from 24% to 60%. The avoidance on the part of the public sector banks to give loans to agricultural workers at cheap rates compels them to get loans from private moneylenders and landlords at high rates of interest. The governments are continuously in a denial mode to regulate the business of these moneylenders and to bring them within the legal framework.
To me such a conference is part and parcel of the overall movement in the country for the emancipation of dalit agricultural labour.
MAGNITUDE OF AGRICULTURAL WORKERS DEBT:
The total amount of debt of 1618 families covered under this survey is Rs. 12,47,20,979. the debt per family comes to Rs. 77,083.No. of Families surveyed Total amount of Debt Average debt per family 1618 Rs. 12,47,20,979 Rs. 77,083
Out of these 1,618 families, 254 families do not have any debt over their heads. Therefore total number of indebted families is 1364. As these families owe a debt of Rs. 12,47,20,979 (Rs 12.47 crore), therefore, average debt per family comes to Rs. 91,437. Out of 254 families found free from debt, some families informed that nobody is ready to give any loan to them. We still need to probe further into the condition of other families about their other supporting avenues of income. It has generally been seen that only those families of agricultural workers can remain free from debt, that have either its members in government service or have any other trade or work to do.
No. of indebted families Total amount of debt Average debt per family 1,364 Rs. 12,47,20,979 Rs. 91,437
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