People's
Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) No. 08
February 23, 2003
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) |
Vol.
XXVII No. 08 February 23, 2003 |
THE
eleventh
all
India
conference
of
the
Students’
Federation
of
India
has
begun
at
Kozhikode,
Kerala,
with
a
grand
rally
and
demonstration
of
students,
pouring
in
torrents
in
the
coastal
township,
the
place
where
the
first
trade
union
movement
and
the
embryonic
communist
movement
was
born.
The
city
reveled
in
colorful
banners
of
the
students
movement
and
enthusiastic
slogans
of
the
young
SFI
volunteers.
Veteran
CPI(M)
leader
and
former
West
Bengal
chief
minister
Jyoti
Basu
was
the
main
speaker
at
the
public
rally.
In
his
speech
Jyoti
Basu
called
upon
the
student
community
to
fight
imperialism,
which
is
now
engaged
in
the
process
of
waging
war
in
all
parts
of
the
world
citing
one
pretext
or
another.
US
imperialism
is
bent
on
creating
war
zones
across
the
world
and
it
is
imperative
that
the
student
movement
takes
up
the
issue
of
disarmament
of
the
imperialist
powers.
He
also
called
up
on
the
students
to
fight
the
anti-people
and
anti-student
policies
of
the
central
NDA
government.
The
rally
held
at
Comrade
K
V
Sudheesh
Nagar
(Corporation
Stadium
Ground)
was
presided
over
by
P
Krishnaprasad,
the
national
president
of
the
SFI.
CPI(M)
Polit
Bureau
member
Pinarayi
Vijayan
and
central
committee
member
Kodiyery
Balakrishnan
and
SFI
national
secretary
Samik
Lahiri
also
addressed
the
inaugural
rally.
Hectic
work
has
been
going
on
in
the
district
for
the
successful
conduct
of
the
conference,
which
is
being
attended
by
more
than
800
delegates
representing
more
than
30
lakhs
of
members
in
different
states.
The
district
was
enjoying
a
festive
mood
on
account
of
the
different
meetings
and
seminars
so
far
held
as
part
of
the
conference.
The
well-known
poet
and
lyric
writer
Javed
Akhtar
has
reminded
the
people
and
the
student
community
of
India
that
BJP
is
the
logical
extension
of
the
Congress.
He
said:
“wherever
you
have
sowed
Congress,
you
have
reaped
BJP”.
He
was
inaugurating
the
eleventh
national
conference
of
the
Students
Federation
of
India
at
Bhagat
Singh
Nagar
(Tagore
Centenary
Hall),
Kozhikode.
Earlier
homage
to
the
martyrs
and
a
condolence
message
on
the
death
of
various
political,
social
and
art
personalities
in
India
and
abroad
since
the
tenth
conference
preceded
the
inauguration.
P
Krishna
Prasad,
the
president
of
SFI
presided
over
the
inaugural
ceremony.
The
poet
in
his
address
thanked
the
SFI
leaders
for
inviting
him
to
inaugurate
the
conference.
He
said,
he
considered
it
an
honor
because
the
time
during
which
the
conference
is
held
calls
upon
us
to
stand
up
and
say
in
unison
that
we
do
not
accept
the
fascist
agenda
presented
to
us
by
the
Sangh
Parivar
forces.
The
nation
faces
a
difficult
situation;
and
two
polarised
forces
are
standing
face
to
face.
The
first
one
is
the
people
abiding
by
the
Constitution
of
India.
They
believe
that
the
people
of
our
country
should
not
be
discriminated
on
any
count,
religion,
colour,
gender,
caste
or
creed.
They
believe
that
every
Indian
has
the
same
dignity
and
self
respect.
Every
Indian
has
the
right
to
expression
and
freedom
of
thinking.
The
other
force
has
a
different
agenda.
They
don’t
believe
that
all
people
are
equal.
According
to
them
it
is
just
and
right
to
discriminate
on
the
basis
of
religion.
They
would
not
grant
freedom
to
a
large
chunk
of
the
people
just
because
they
are
a
minority.
Javed
Akhtar
said,
that
many
parts
of
the
country
are
going
through
communal
tension;
there
are
riots,
rallies,
slogan
shouting,
demands-
all
in
the
name
of
religion.
.
In
every
part
of
the
world,
at
some
or
the
other
period,
fundamentalists
tried
this
game,
said
Javed.
“They
played
it
in
Nazi
Germany,
in
Fascist
Italy,
in
fundamentalist
Pakistan,
in
Taliban’s
Afghanistan
etc.
Recently,
very
recently
they
played
the
same
game
in
India
-
in
Gujarat.
What
ever
be
the
color
of
the
fascists,
they
spread
canards
and
hatred.
They
say
that
their
group,
their
people
are
reduced
to
naught,
that
they
are
under
threat
of
elimination,
that
this
is
no
time
for
dissenting
with
the
General
of
their
creed.
They
urge
upon
their
audience
who
gradually
turn
to
be
their
followers
and
sincere
adherents
that
they
surrender
their
rights
and
privileges
to
their
leader.
The
fascist
poses
himself
as
a
potent
savior.
But
remember,
he
is
only
a
pretentious
savior.
Remember
Taliban
was
the
worst
enemy
of
the
people
of
Afghanistan
just
as
the
RSS
is
in
India”,
he
said.
Javed
stressed
on
the
need
to
uphold
secularism.
“But
upholding
secularism
is
not
just
rejection
of
communalism.
We
have
to
fight
all
anti-national,
anti-democratic
forces.
We
have
to
teach
the
people
the
right
perception
of
history.
We
have
to
teach
people
the
real
priorities.
The
fundamentalists
never
do
it.
They
always
address
to
a
fake
kind
of
love
for
their
Motherland.
But
what
is
the
love
for
Motherland
without
love
for
the
people
of
the
land?”,
he
questioned.
The
presidium
for
the
conference
consisted
of
P
Krishna
Prasad
(convenor),
Sanjay
Madhav
(Rajasthan),
Apurva
Chatterjee
(West
Bengal),
P.K.
Biju
(Kerala),
G
Mamatha
(Andhra
Pradesh),
Albeena
Shakeel
(Delhi),
Imem
Chachanu
(Manipur),
Maha
Rudra
Rooke
(Maharashtra),
and
Seema
Shivach
(Haryana).
The
central
secretariat
is
acting
as
the
steering
committee
while
the
resolution
committee
is
constituted
by
Nayan
Bhupan
(Assam),
Abdul
Kaifi
(Bengal),
G
Muraleedharan
(Kerala),
Shanmukha
Sundaram
(Tamilnadu),
Ramakrishnan
(Karnataka),
Prasenjit
Bose
(Delhi)
and
Jaibhagwan
(Haryana).
SFI
general
secretary
Samik
Lahiri
presented
the
report
of
activities
during
the
last
three
years
and
his
report
has
aptly
documented
the
struggles
and
growth
of
the
fighting
student
movement
in
a
concise
and
beautiful
manner.
P
Krishna
Prasad,
presented
before
the
delegates
the
draft
of
the
updated
SFI
programme.
E
K
Nayanar,
former
chief
minister
of
Kerala
and
CPI(M)
Politburo
member
greeted
the
conference
after
the
inaugural
ceremony.
Others
who
greeted
the
conference
were
C
Bhaskaran,
the
founder
president
of
the
SFI,
M
A
Baby,
former
president,
A
Vijaya
Raghavan,
(All
India
Agricultural
Workers
Union),
K
N
Balagopal,
DYFI
and
K
Chandran
Pillai,
CITU.
The
audience
included
besides
delegates
a
cross
section
of
he
people
of
Kozhikode
and
also
leaders
of
student
movement
in
the
past
like
advocate
Kunhirama
Poduval,
C
P
Aboobacker,
member
of
the
Preparatory
Committee
for
the
formation
of
the
SFI.
A
spate
of
seminars
have
been
planned
as
part
of
the
all
India
conference.
They
have
been
classified
into
two
groups,
local
and
central.
Kanti
Biswas,
the
education
minister
of
West
Bengal,
Sukomal
Sen,
eminent
trade
union
leader
and
others
have
addressed
various
gatherings
in
different
parts
of
the
district.
An
exhibition
on
the
history
of
the
SFI
is
displayed
at
Town
Hall,
Kozhikode.
The
history
exhibition
brings
out
the
struggles
waged
by
the
student
community
in
the
independence
movement
and
the
post-independent
India.
The
first
conference
hosted
by
Kerala
in
1970
is
covered
elaborately
in
the
exhibition.
The
exhibition
is
accompanied
by
a
book
festival,
too.
Another
important
feature
of
the
exhibition
pavilion
is
the
display
of
free
software
while
the
central
and
state
governments
are
running
after
the
expropriating
and
exploitative
Microsoft
for
their
software
requirements.
The
organising
committee
has
prepared
a
documentary
highlighting
the
most
eventful
occasions
in
the
history
of
the
Indian
student
movement.
It
highlights
the
past
and
present
of
the
revolutionary
student
movement
of
India.
The
documentary
is
entitled
“We
shall
overcome”.
