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Asia Pivot: US boosts military aid to Philippines, aims to 'contain' China

INDIA: DRAFT JOINT STATEMENT ON ATROCITIES ON CULTURAL ACTIVISTS AND DALITS.

Democracy and Class Struggle ask comrades to republish this statement on Facebook has our access to Facebook has been disrupted. 


DRAFT JOINT STATEMENT ON ATROCITIES  ON CULTURAL ACTIVISTS AND DALITS.

 

 

We the undersigned are extremely appalled and outraged by the arrest of Kanwal Bharti eminent Dalit writer for his comments on Face book. If one looks seriously at the banner headlines of the Corporate media, the Indian ruling classes have being the new economic power house of the world and being the largest democracy. Various clauses of the Indian constitution guarantees the fundamental rights of its citizens ie right to expression, right to choose ones cultural and political views.

The pretensions of the Indian state about it being a liberal democracy has proved to be a total mockery of the very meaning of the words like liberalism, democracy and rule of law. Since the past six decades under draconian laws like AFPSA, UAPA, National security act etc. Tens of thousands of people have died in face encounters, thousands of youth have vanished from Kashmir and Punjab.

There are genocides happening on the struggling people of oppressed Nationalities, thousands are tortured, there are thousand of unknown mass graves in Kashmir. Thousand of woman are raped, tortured and killed in police custody.

When it comes to writers and cultural activists the Indian state has always bared its fascist and castist fangs again and again. There glaring examples are the false prosecution of the members of Kabir Kala Manch, (Eminent Revolutionary Balladeer Ghadar who is a living legend in the revolutionary peasant resistance struggle was shot fatally by Andhra Police some years ago, and had to be hospitalized for months.

Jiten Marandi an eminent radical cultural activist from Jharkhand was jailed for years on trumped up false criminal charges. Progressive poet and writer Savyasachi Goswami is still languishing in Jail on false criminal charges, and the ruthless murder of comrade Gantiprasadam of RDF who was a famous revolutionary writer.

The above facts prove that dalit writers and cultural activists are ruthlessly oppresses and persecuted by the Indian state. In this context one has to look seriously at the dialectics of the rise of identity politics in Indian via the Mandal and Kamandal debate. The rise if identity politics in late 80’s and early 90’s which has created an opportunity for the rise of a thin strata of OBC kulaks, who join hands with upper caste landlords to commit atrocities on Dalits. The Vanniyar Sangham hooliganism clearly proves this. However one has to look at the identity question in a dialectical prism.
 

There are identities and identities some are oppressed some are oppressors. We  should discern the democratic content of the identity struggles we should firmly stand with the oppressed identities. History has shown it is only the oppresses can break their own chains.  We appeal to the left and democratic organizations, and the progressive intelligentia to join hands and fight together against the right to expression and atrocities on Dalits.
 

The very logic of Predatory Neoliberalism accentuates the class differentiation within the endogamous caste group further creating class polarization and exploitation. On one hand it pauperizes vast masses of Dalits, OBC’s pasmanda muslims on the other hand a handful of minorities rich peasantry and the kulaks elements of the OBC’s join hand with upper caste land lords to perpetuate atrocities.

With the rise of identify politics in late eighties and early nineties especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar these elements have become the subsidiary part of the Indian Ruling Classes. We draw attention of another danger in contemporary Identity discourse, the rise of Slogans like Dalit Capitalism and formation of neoliberal clubs like DICCI, its ideologues conveniently forget the fact that 90% of the super exploited agricultural labourers are predominantly dalits and the dalit female agricultural laboures are also sexually exploited.
 

These stooges of wall street simply over look the fact that under the Neoliberal regime it’s the Dalits, Adivasis, Poor OBC’s and Muslims form that vast mass of Super exploited mobile insecure “foot loose labour” which forms a bulk of the contractual, informal workers in the post fordist production relations and labour process. Therefore this dubious notion of Dalit capitalism is an albatross in the neck of every exploited Dalit.
 

1.      We demand the withdrawal of all criminal cases on Jiten Marandi, Aparna Marandi, Savyasachi Goswami, Members of Kabir Kala Manch and Kanwal Bharti.
 

2.      We demand a high level judicial enquiry on the murder of Com Ganti Prasadam and the resignation of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister for this tragedy.
 

3.      We demand Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav apologise to the Dalits of this country
 

 

1.      1. Arjun Prasad Singh                   PDFI

2.      2. Prof. Uma Chakravarty             Women Against Sexual Violence (WSS)

3.      3. Anand Teltumbde                     CPDR, Mumbai

4.      Kiran Shaheen                               (WSS)

5.      Shiv Sethi                                      SANHATI, Bangalore

6.      Subhash Gatade                            Convenor, New Socialist Initiative

7.      Anirban Kar                                  SANHATI, Delhi Chapter

8.      Students for Resistance                Delhi University and JNU

9.      Swati Birla                                    SANHATI, Mumbai and State Representive (WSS)

10.  Mahtab Alam                                Civil Rights activist, Delhi

11.  P.K. Sundram                               Research Scholar, JNU

12.  Usman                                           Research Scholar, JNU

13.  Mayur Chetia                                Research Scholar, JNU

14.  Kaveri Rajaraman                         SANHATI, Bangalore

15.  Nayan Jyoti                                   Krantikari Naw Jawan Sabha (K.N.S.)

16.  Rakesh Ranjan                              Nowroz, Delhi

17.  Asit Das                                        Contributing editor, India resists.com

18.  Imran                                             Potential and Powerful Research Scholar in Hindi literature

                                                      and firm and committed activist of Radical left.      

19.  Wilfred D’costa                            INSAF

20.  Pravin                                            NSI, Delhi

21.  Vivek Sunder                                Human Right Activist Mumbai

22.  Vira Sathidar                                 Republican Panthers  

23.  C. Laxmanan                                 Dalit Intellectual Collective, Chennai

24.  Shirisha Naidu                              SANHATI, Chennai

25.  Rita Jyoti Bandopadhaya             Assistant Professor in History CSSS, Kolkata

26.  Virbharat Talwar                           Professor CIL, JNU

27.  Kamayani Bali Mahabal                Social Activist, Mumbai

28.  Sumit Chakrabarty                        People together Kolkata

29.  Nisha Biswas                                WSS

30.  Sudha Reddy                                Social Activist, Bangalore.

31.  Shamshul Islam                             Nishant Natya Manch

32.  Neelima Sharma                            Nishant Natya Manch

33.  Reyazul Haq                                 Research Scholar, JNU

34.  Bhuvi Gupta                                 Research Scholar, JNU

35.  Aryama                                         Academic  Delhi University
 

 

 

Note: Please send your endorsement to asit1917@gmail.com

El Baradei Resigns during Egyptian Massacre

Vice-President Mohamed ElBaradei discussed his resignation by phone with US Secretary of State John Kerry, according to a US state department spokeswoman.

Breaking the Brotherhood: Is Egypt sliding into bloody civil war?

Egyptian security forces forcefully dispersed protesters loyal to ousted President Mohammed Morsi at protest camps in Cairo early Wednesday. At least 15 people, including some members of the security forces, were reported killed in the clashes. Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad, however, claimed that as many as 600 people had been killed and 5,000 injured in the police operation. RT talks to Hugh Miles who has written extensively about Cairo and the revolutions in the Middle East.

Stop the Visit of Narendra Modi to the UK! : The Gujarat State Higher Secondary Board, to which nearly 98 percent of schools in Gujarat belong, requires the use of certain textbooks in which Nazism is condoned

The Gujarat State Higher Secondary Board, to which nearly 98 percent of schools in Gujarat belong, requires the use of certain textbooks in which Nazism is condoned. In the Standard 10 social studies textbook, the "charismatic personality" ...of "Hitler the Supremo" and the "achievements of Nazism" are described at length. The textbook does not acknowledge Nazi extermination policies or concentration camps except for a passing reference to "a policy of opposition towards the Jewish people and [advocacy for] the supremacy of the German race." The Standard 9 social studies textbook implies that Muslims, Christians, Parsees, and Jews are "foreigners." In 2002 the Gujarat State Higher Secondary Board administered an exam, while the riots were ongoing, in which students of English were asked to form one sentence out of the following: "There are two solutions. One of them is the Nazi solution. If you don't like people, kill them, segregate them. Then strut up and down. Proclaim that you are the salt of the earth."

Source: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2003/24470.htm

Stop the Visit of Narendra Modi to the UK! : Final Solution - A Documentary investigating the Genocide of Minorities (Muslims) in the 2002 Gujarat Riots in India

Final Solution by Rakesh Sharma is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 - July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Moslems in Gujarat.

 It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscient of the Nazi Germany of early/mid-1930s. Final Solution is anti-hate/anti-violence as “those who forget history are condemned to relive it”. Final Solution was banned in India by the Censor Board for several months.

The ban was lifted in Oct.'04 after a sustained campaign (an online petition, hundreds of protest screenings countrywide, multi-city signature campaigns and dozens of letters to the Government sent by audiences directly).

A pirate-and-circulate campaign was conducted in protest against the ban (get-a-free-copy-only-if-you-promise-to-pirate-and-make-5-copies). Over 10,000 free Video CDs of the film were distributed in India during this campaign, which ended in Dec. 2004.

Final Solution was offered free to Anhad for their campaigns; it was included in their anthology titled "In defence of our dreams". Subscribers of several journals/mags also got a copy of the film free of cost.

These included Communalism Combat (Ed : Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand), Samayik Varta (Ed : Yogendra Yadav), Janmat and several smaller journals.

Final Solution was rejected by the government-run Mumbai International Film Festival, but was screened at 'Vikalp: Films for Freedom', organised by the Campaign Against Censorship. Rakesh Sharma has been an active member of the Campaign since its inception.

Rakesh has been working on distribution of the film on a full-time basis since March 2004. Formally, about 21,000 video CDs and 4,000 DVDs of the film have been distributed.

 Informal circulation estimates ( post the pirate-and-circulate campaign) put the number somewhere between 40,000 to 100,000 copies.

The film is now being dubbed in Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil. An additional 25,000 video CDs of the language versions are expected to be released soon. The film has been screened on BBC, NHK, DR2, YLE and several other channels. It is yet to be shown on Indian television.

Stop the Visit of Narendra Modi to the UK! Remember the Gujarat genocide of 2002

Picture Narendra Modi


We the undersigned write to express our concern at the invitation to address the House of Commons issued to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi by the Labour Friends of India and the Conservative Friends of India.

We strongly believe that Narendra Modi, who is responsible for the 2002 genocidal attacks in which over 2,000 men, women and children from Gujarat’s Muslim minority community were systematically killed, must not be allowed to visit the UK. Modi’s past visits to the UK have been used to raise extensive funds and support for communal violence, and a visit at this time when Modi is launching a campaign to become India’s next Prime Minister, and continues to try to gain votes using openly fascistic and anti-minority rhetoric, would be particularly dangerous.

In the wake of the 2002 genocide and the extensive documentation of Modi’s role in co-ordinating and sponsoring it. the UK, other EU, and US governments were compelled to distance themselves from Modi and the Gujarat government. However recently we have seen the British government take steps to rehabilitate Modi, as evidenced by meetings between the British High Commissioner and Modi in Ahmedabad.

This puts the interests of British corporates wishing to invest in Gujarat ahead of any concerns for human rights and justice, and makes a mockery of the rights of the three British citizens who were murdered during the genocide and whose families are yet to receive justice. We condemn this collusion in Modi’s attempts to deny his role as a mass murderer. We demand that the invitation to Modi is withdrawn and he is refused a visa to the UK

Sign Petition Here :

Philippines :7 Government Soldiers killed in 4 NPA offensives in Misamis Oriental

PRESS STATEMENT
By LORENA MANGAHAS
Spokesperson, NPA Sub-Regional Operations Command
Eastern Misamis Oriental - Northeastern Bukidnon

 

7 government soldiers killed in 4 NPA offensives in Misamis Oriental

 

For four consecutive days, the New People’s Army under the Eastern Misamis Oriental-Northeastern Bukidnon Subregional Command has launched four harassment actions against operating troops of the 58th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army in the town of Claveria, Misamis Oriental province. Seven of the reactionary troops were killed in these attacks.

• 09 August -- an NPA squad encountered 58th Infantry Battalion troops in Barangay (village) Aposkahoy, Claveria, Misamis Oriental. The Red fighters positioned themselves atop a hill being traversed by the mercenary troops. Two of the soldiers were killed when the NPA unit used a command-detonated explosive against them. According to reports from the locals, the enemy soldiers transported their casualties on a 6×6 military truck. On the other hand, the comrades safely withdrew after the harassment.
• 10 August -- at around 9:30 AM, an NPA reconnaissance team encountered returning 58th IB troops in Brgy. Aposkahoy. Another 58th IB column met up with these withdrawing troops. There is yet no information whether or not the enemy soldiers had any casualties. The NPA suffered none.
• Yesterday, 11 August -- yet another attack was successfully launched by an NPA team in Brgy. Bulahan, Claveria. Around 6:00 AM, the NPA team, positioned beside a trail, attacked the passing 58th IB troops. Only about three meters separated the two troops’ positions. Four were killed and three were wounded among the enemy troops. The NPA team safely withdrew.
• 12 August -- around 2:00 PM, in Brgy. Farmbugas, Claveria. An NPA team harassed 58th IB troops. According to the partial report from the field unit, one enemy soldier was killed while the NPA team safely withdrew without casualties.

At present, military operations in Claveria are still going on. The enemy has spared no effort at hunting down the revolutionary movement in the province since April. The revolutionary forces have, however, become more steadfast at foiling the attempts of the fascist troops through close coordination with the widening and deepening mass base in the area.

The Global South - Harry Vanden interviewed by Saroj Giri in India on Latin American Social Movements

Democracy and Class Struggle publishes this interview for information and does not endorse all the views expressed in the video, nevertheless we feel this interview deserves a wider public.

Saroj Giri interviews Prof. Harry Vanden about the struggles in Latin America, and the work Peruvian marxist, Jose Carlos Mariategui.

See Also: http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/to-undertand-mariategui-by-chairman.html

http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/mariategui-comintern-and-indigenous.html

http://www.marxists.org/archive/mariateg/works/1928/index.htm

http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2013/ds230713.html