People's Democracy

THE Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) has decided to launch a nationwide struggle against the central government’s anti-people policies, for which struggle it will collaborate with other Leftist youth and student organisations. This was announced at Calicut by DYFI president N N Krishnadas and general secretary Tapas Sinha after the conclusion of its three-day central executive committee meeting.

The DYFI said the BJP government is eroding the people’s rights regarding education and employment, and jeopardising our secularism and democracy. All the pillars of a civilised society are in the process of being dismantled by the saffron forces. But the youth and students of the country cannot remain passive onlookers to all this misdemeanour by a government that is being run by the Sangh Parivar. A meeting of the leaders of Left and democratic youth-student organisations had earlier undertaken a preliminary discussion on the matter. On the basis of that discussion, a March To Parliament will be organised in November when it meets for its winter session.

The DYFI said India has a population of 1.05 billion, but around 15 crore Indians in the 15-40 age group remain unemployed. Such a grave situation had never occurred in the country. This is an explosive situation, more dangerous than RDX or other explosives. On top of that, the government is arbitrarily withdrawing from its responsibility to provide employment to its youth, and torpedoing the reservation so far enjoyed by the backward and SC/ST communities who have been historically backward. This is widening the social cleavage. The government is bound to assure reservation to the backward and SC/ST categories as a constitutional right. This has to be done in all establishments, including the ones now handed over to the private sector as a result of privatisation.

The poor sections of the society are being chased out of education. It is the government’s responsibility to provide education to the people, whether rich or poor. But it is abdicating its responsibility due to slavish acceptance of the IMF-WTO dictates. Denial of education will affect not only the youth but the whole society. A society of uneducated men and women is in the offing.

Secularism is in danger under the BJP rule. The Sangh Parivar experimented in Gujarat how the masses would react if the minorities were exterminated, and now it is trying to hold elections there in the most anarchic condition. The BJP and its government have begun to devalue the constitutional bodies like the Election Commission that did not bow to the Sangh Parivar’s wishes to hold elections in Gujarat. The BJP wanted to celebrate an election victory on the skulls and skeletons of the minority men and women whom they massacred in their orgy of violence in Gujarat.

It is in this background that the DYFI has decided to launch a nationwide agitation against the onslaught on education, employment, secularism and democracy. It appealed to all young men and women of the country to participate in this agitation that involves a question of do or die.

The DYFI said the struggle would concentrate on the Hindi belt, though members from other states would also join the parliament march. Hence the coming three months will be the days of hectic agitation and struggles for the DYFI and other Left and democratic youth-student organisations in all states. On the day of the march, all states would witness militant actions.