JHARKHAND NEWSLETTER

CPI(M) Plans Protest Actions

MEETING at Ranchi on July 2, with Rajender Singh Munda in chair, the Jharkhand state secretariat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) decided upon the following programmes.

AGAINST SENDING TROOPS TO IRAQ

As a part of the all-India programme, party units and members throughout the state will stage demonstrations against sending Indian troops to Iraq by the Vajpayee government under US pressure and in violation of the spirit of the resolution adopted by parliament, against the opinion of Indian people and against the country’s interest. The protesters will demand that Indian army must not be treated as cannon fodders for the US’s colonial occupation of Iraq.

PROTEST RALLIES IN AUGUST

As a part of the same all-India programme, the party will organise protest actions in the state against the Vajpayee government’s capitulation to the increasing US pressure --- either in our internal matters or in our foreign policy. Protest will also be organised against the Sangh Parivar-BJP’s rampant communalisation drive and against the government’s anti-people economic policies that are attacking the workers, employees, peasants, agricultural workers, youth, students, women and other toiling sections. The party will hold protest rallies at Dhanbad, Ranchi and Jameshedpur; these will be addressed by all-India leaders of the party. Prior to these, village level meetings, street corner meetings and other forms of mass campaign will be conducted. Demonstrations will be held in front of block offices and at district headquarters from August 16 to 31.

The secretariat also adopted resolutions on five important political issues.

ON MASSALIYA DEVELOPMENTS

The CPI(M) state secretariat condemned the reported attack on Stephen Marandi, opposition leader in the assembly, and his entourage by a group of people claiming to be CPI(ML) members, in Massaliya village in Dumka district, and also condemned the attack on CPI functionaries by the same group in Nala block of Jamtara district. The secretariat said the CPI(M) is strongly opposed to individual attacks and terrorism in any form.

The CPI(ML) Liberation, led by its state secretary Subhandu Sen and MLA Mahendra Singh, has already publicly distanced themselves from this group. It seems this group belongs to some other faction as revealed in the recently held press conference on July 1.

It is unfortunate that the JMM has targeted the CPI(ML) Liberation, even though facts are known to Stephen Marandi, and has heightened this incident at political level in order to malign the Left in general. This will only help the communal BJP that is ruling the state.

Taking advantage of this incident, the police has launched an attack on the functionaries of Left parties in the district and is harassing the innocent, including tribal landless and poor peasants.

This political stand of the JMM, combined with police actions, have encouraged the landlords in the area to intensify their oppression against the landless and poor peasants in order to suppress their legitimate claims on land and on sharecropping. The CPI(M) has demanded immediate release of the innocent people who have been arrested and an end to police atrocities; distribution of the lands that are in illegal occupation of landlords, among the landless. It has also demanded an appropriate recording of rights of the sharecroppers.

LOWLY POLITICS AT STUDENTS’ COST

The CPI(M) state secretariat welcomed the joint initiative of Jharkhand and Orissa education ministers for publication of NCERT books in Oriya language with help from the Orissa government. The task must be completed at the earliest as a large number of students are suffering for want of books.

Further, the secretariat condemned the BJP-led Jharkhand government for not having responded as yet to the West Bangal chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya’s letter to the then chief minister Babulal Marandi, offering help in publication of NCERT books in Bengali language for a large number of students in Jharkhand. The BJP-led Jharkhand government is thus playing lowly politics at the cost of future of thousands of students in Jharkhand ---only because the West Bengal government is a Left-led government.

ARJUN MUNDA’S SURRENDER TO TATAS

The CPI(M) state secretariat opined that the lease given to the Tatas by the Arjun Munda government is total surrender before the Tatas, at the dictate of the Vajpayee government at the centre. Regularisation of 86 bustees in Schedule IV of the leased area was already decided and was overdue. But the rest of the land in Schedule IV has been given at less than the lease rate, causing a huge loss to the state government. The Arjun Munda government has also decided to renew the lease of the vacant land in Schedule V, giving the Tatas monopoly over it, instead of utilising the land for development of industries, from which the state could have earned a huge amount. The vague assurance given by the Tatas about Rs 10,000 crore investment is no consolation, particularly when they have resorted to large-scale reduction of workforce in their existing factories. There is no guarantee of employment generation and jobs to those ousted from the land and to the poor tribals of the concerned areas.

It was shameful on the part of the chief minister to keep the deal secret. He did not take into confidence even the land revenue minister who was demanding a proper account of the amounts received from the Tatas.

The CPI(M) state secretariat has demanded cancellation of the lease given to the Tatas in Schedule V areas and of unoccupied lands in Scheduled IV areas. It has also demanded recovery of the real amounts from the Tatas.

OTHER ISSUES

The CPI(M) state secretariat noted that the front led by sitting BJP MP Salikhan Murmu, forming at Babulal Marandi’s instance, is busy targeting the main opposition party, the JMM, in order to occupy the opposition space in a typical RSS style. The front is also trying to drive a wedge in Left unity. Salkhan is encouraging the landlords against tribal interests and has launched a hate campaign to divide the workers and toiling sections. The front led by Salkhan Murmu is thus helping the ruling classes and the BJP.

The secretariat welcomed the Jharkhand government’s notification against the sell-out of HEC land. The sale of HEC to private promoters is on the cards as the Vajpayee regime has refused to give to the BIFR a revival package for the HEC. One will note that HEC is located in the scheduled areas in Jharkhand where tribal lands cannot be given to private industries.

The secretariat urged upon the people to remain vigilant against any possibility of a volte face by the BJP-led Jharkhand government under mounting pressure from the centre.   

ON SANTHALI LANGUAGE

Earlier, the Jharkhand state committee of the CPI(M) had demanded that the state government move a resolution in the assembly in regard to the inclusion of Santhali language in the eighth schedule of the constitution of India. The state BJP government has been ignoring this demand.

In fact, once the chief minister had even informed through media that Santhali language was going to be included in the eighth schedule of the constitution. The West Bengal state assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution and sent it to the central government demanding inclusion of Santhali language in the eighth schedule, but the Vajpayee government has not yet responded even though a few years have lapsed. Now that two and a half years have passed since the formation of Jharkhand, the CPI(M) demand is that the Arjun Munda government move a resolution in the next assembly session for the purpose.

Munda has also informed through media that he recognises tribal languages of Jharkhand as state languages. But the CPI(M) has queried as to where the notification about it is. In what manner will these languages be made state languages? Demanding recognition of all tribal languages as state languages, the CPI(M) has demanded opening of primary schools for teaching through these languages --- on the principle of primary education through mother tongue. However, no action in this regard has so far been taken either by the former Marandi ministry or by Munda ministry.

ATROCITIES BY LANDLORD

A clash took place on June 12, between a landlord and the poor peasants of Nawadih village in Garhwa district, in which several persons were injured; many peasants as well as the said landlord were hospitalised. The clash took place when the landlord and his goons tried to occupy 52 acres of land that is in the possession of poor peasants and landless, most of them Dalits, and which these peasants have been cultivating for years. The landlord’s attempt to forcibly occupy the land was resisted by men and women of the village. A mass meeting against this attack was held at Nawadih on June 16; addressed by CPI(M) state committee member and state AIKS joint secretary Prafulla Linda.

Since the formation of Jharkhand, landlords at several places in Garhwa district have launched gruesome attacks on poor peasants and landless. Most of these poor peasants are Dalits, tribals and other backward classes.

In village Kupa (Bhawnathpur block, Garhwa district) in March, a number of policemen fired upon villagers when they came on the plea of finding out the armed MCC (Maoist Communist Centre) groups. Instead of MCC men, however, they arrested a CPI(M) district committee member Ramji Bhuiya and other leading party functionaries, severely beat and humiliated them, and forced them to lick the spit on the policemen’s boots. In protest against these atrocities and the attack on CPI(M) functionaries, the villagers staged a dharna and demonstration in front of Bhawnathpur police station on April 25, addressed by state Kisan Sabha president Rajendra Singh Munda and state joint secretary Suphal Mahto. A team met the deputy commissioner and demanded immediate action and punishment to concerned police officials.

The real purpose of the police attack was to terrorise the poor peasants at the instance of landlord Udai Pratap Singh who is trying to forcibly evict these peasants from about 60 acres of land. These poor peasant families were given possession of this land that was beyond ceiling but in possession of the said landlord. Poor peasants and agricultural labourers are also struggling in villages Kaharwa, Rohania, Amrola and Nawadih in Bhavnathpur, Meral and Kharandi blocks of Garhwa district.

The Kisan Sabha organised protest on May 12 in different parts of the state against such atrocities on poor peasants and agricultural labourers by Garhwa police. The Kisan Sabha is striving to forge ahead the struggle in the district against the landlord’s illegal occupation of land.