People's Democracy

EDITORIAL

May 21 -- All India Strike

Asli Bharat Shall Rise

THE indomitable Telugu poet, Gurazada, who galvanised millions into action for our country's freedom, had once said:

The country does not mean brick and mortar

The country means its people.

Hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder

To march across the country.

Come May 21, this asli bharat -- the people of India -- are going to rise in an unprecedented fashion in protest against the disastrous economic policies being pursued by the Vajpayee government. While the government may be celebrating its five years of existence, the people would be out on the streets and in the fields protesting against a set of policies that have, on the one hand, mortgaged India's economic sovereignty and, on the other, imposed severe burdens on the vast majority of its people. 

Lakhs of workers have already served strike notices to their employers in preparation for the May 21 all-India industrial strike.  The peasantry and agricultural labourers reeling under one of the worst onslaughts unleashed by any government since independence have risen to the occasion extending solidarity with their working class brethren and to protest against these ruinous economic policies by calling for rasta rokos all over the country on that day.  Rural India, under Vajpayee's rule, is witness to large-scale starvation deaths and distress suicides, the like of which independent India has never seen before. 

Joining these sections of our people, who together constitute a majority of India, are the youth, students and women whose militant organisations have also given similar calls all across the country on May 21.   In various states, political parties, especially of the Left, have given calls for hartals. In all likelihood, therefore, May 21 shall be one of the largest manifestations of popular protest in independent India.

Two important aspects of this action must be noted.  Over the recent years, public anger and protest against the reckless liberalisation and privatisation policies of the government has been growing. Militant strike actions have taken place virtually in every branch of Indian industry and the service sector. While these had drawn millions into protest actions, they were limited by the constraint of being organised in their specific areas of influence.  We had seen a three-day strike by the coal workers, strike by the public sector workers, strikes by the banking employees, strikes by the insurance employees etc.  May 21 will see the convergence of all these militant streams into one massive popular protest.

This convergence is not confined only to the working class. In the recent years, massive protest actions have taken place amongst the peasantry and the agricultural labourers.  Millions marched all over the country against the total sell out of Indian agriculture by this Vajpayee government at the behest of the WTO.  The ruination of the peasantry and the depravation of the agricultural labourers was accentuated by the severe drought last year.   The Vajpayee government displayed inhuman callousness by refusing to part with the necessary resources to meet such a huge calamity.  On May 21, this year, the popular anger in rural India is going to converge with the action of the working class to send a clear signal to this government that asli bharat rejects policies that they are pursuing catering to the interests of foreign capital and Indian big monopoly capitalists.

The convergence does not stop here either. A huge army of the middle classes, youth, students and women who have, during recent years, been independently drawing millions of people into protest actions will also be joining the May 21 strike.  In other words, all those who have not sold their conscience to the enemies of our country will join ranks to safeguard India's economic sovereignty and the interests of its people.

The second feature of this action that was visible in the preparatory campaigns was the qualitatively higher degree of politicisation of the working people. It is now become clear to all that protests on the ground against the economic policies must be matched by sending such representatives to the Parliament and the assemblies who will carry this opposition to these policies in these people's forums.    For, we have seen in the past, millions marching against, say, the privatisation of the insurance sector, being betrayed by the elected members of Parliament who join together to legislate such privatisation.  This consciousness is slowly, but surely growing to ensure that protest actions on the ground must find reflection  in the people's legislative bodies as well.

Apart from registering a massive people's protest against the economic policies, May 21 will also serve notice to the communal forces that asli bharat will not fall prey to their machinations which seeks to divert their attention away from issues of life and bread into disruptive communal polarisation.  The RSS/BJP and this Vajpayee government have come to the conclusion that they cannot secure any popular support on the basis of either their policies or performance and, hence, are increasingly taking recourse to whip up communal polarisation as the only means to remain in power.  The unity that shall be displayed on May 21 is poised to foil the diabolic machinations of the RSS-led communal forces.  In other words, May 21 will demonstrate the real nationalism of the Indian people that unites patriots belonging to all religions, castes, communities and languages in a popular movement in defence of our country, as opposed to the pseudo nationalism that the communal forces parade in the name of cultural nationalism (read Hindu nationalism).

As May 21 approaches, one should be prepared to expect an orchestrated  campaign by the drum-beaters of liberalisation crying hoarse that  the country would loose crores of rupees due to such strike actions.  Which country, one may ask?  The asli bharat, or, that small minority of predatory  foreign capital and Indian monopolists who continue to loot the country.  A loot that is eagerly facilitated by this Vajpayee government.  This action of May 21 is to serve notice to this government that the overwhelming majority of the people of this country reject the policies that it is implementing.  If this government refuses to heed the voice of this asli bharat, then, for the sake of our country and its future, the Vajpayee government must be forced to quit office at the earliest.