People's Democracy

 Towards  DYFI 7th  All India Conference

 Tapas Sinha

‘JOBS For All, Education For All; Resist Imperialism – Combat Communalism; these are the slogans for the ensuing 7th all India conference of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), to be held in the historic city of Amritsar from November 6-9, 2003. The conference will take place at the venue named Jallianwala Bagh Nagar in remembrance of the thousands of martyrs of the freedom struggle.

Nearly 1000 delegates from different parts of the nation will attend the conference representing the DYFI membership of over 1.25 crore – the largest youth organisation of the country. The heroic role played by this city and the entire district in the freedom struggle and the number of martyrs it has given to the country is a fitting place for holding this conference.

The conference will be preceded by a jatha march from the venue of the DYFI founding conference – Ludhiana on November 3, the DYFI foundation day.  The jatha will culminate at Amritsar on November 6 paving way for the inauguration of the 7th all India conference.  The conference will begin with the paying of floral tributes at the martyr column in Jallianwala Bagh.

Apart from the delegates of DYFI, fraternal guest delegates from different countries of the world will be participating in the conference.  These include delegates from China, Greece, South Africa, France, Great Britain, and other World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) members.  The four-day all India conference will be held in a hall named after the legendary leaders of the democratic youth movements of Punjab, Gurnam Singh Uppal and Sohan Singh Dhesi.  An international seminar on ‘Globalisation And Its Impact On The Youth’ will be organised on this occasion, which will be attended and addressed by various fraternal delegates.  The conference will culminate on November 9 with a massive rally and public meeting in the city of Amritsar. 

The venue of the mass meeting has been named after the legendary Shaheed Bhagat Singh. This meeting will be addressed, among others, by Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Sitaram Yechury, Md Saleem and Balwant Singh. Alongside the conference, various cultural programmes and sports activities will be organised daily. The reception committee is making all out efforts to make the event successful and a memorable one.  Nineteen sub committees working under various heads are leaving no stone unturned for ensuring the success of the conference. 

The state committees all over the country are being geared for the event.  In most of the states, the respective state conferences have been completed.  Wall writing, postering, general body meetings on a massive scale have been going on throughout the country. Seminars on the focal theme of the impact of globalisation and communalisation on the youth are being organised at various state capitals and district headquarters in the run up to the conference.

The 7th all India conference of the DYFI will be a landmark in the democratic youth movement of our country. This conference shall update the programme and Constitution, a draft of which has been circulated to the state committees in order to involve the widest section of the DYFI membership in this process.  Every single member of the organisation can move the amendments. To facilitate this, every state committee has been asked to translate the draft in regional languages and ensure the widest participation of members.

The journey of the DYFI from its first all India conference at Ludhiana to the ensuing seventh one in Amritsar has been a journey of struggle and sacrifice.  Various kinds of attacks in the form of ideological, political, organisational and even physical were unleashed against us. After the collapse of socialism in the eastern block when there was a sharp and scathing attack on our movement’s basic ideology and when many progressive forces worldwide were abandoning the idea of socialism as a path for emancipation of mankind, DYFI stood by it and further consolidated with the slogan of ‘Socialism is the Future, and the Future is Ours’ The DYFI has continuously been championing the cause of anti-imperialist solidarity.  It is still fresh in our memory how imperialism has devastated various nations through its various hegemonic methods. Yugoslavia, Chile, Indonesia, Panama, Columbia, El-Salvador, and the latest additions of Afghanistan and Iraq point towards the nefarious designs of imperialism.  In the name of suppressing terrorism, the imperialist US is blazing a trail of devastation and death. The DYFI has always stood by the forces fighting against imperialism. With a vigilant eye on the situation we have to continuously monitor the changes taking worldwide.  To win the struggle we have to mobilise more and more people. 

This journey has also seen a large number of our brilliant, dedicated and committed cadres being killed, murdered at the hands of the forces of communalism, ruling classes and paid goondas of feudal elements.  This more than three decade of march gives us an excruciatingly painful picture of hundreds of youth activists being lost because the organisation refused to succumb to these physical attacks.  Be it communalism or anti-national forces, the DYFI has always stood in the forefront to protect the secular fabric of the nation.  Very bravely, the DYFI stood up against the Khalistan movement in Punjab, against the separatist movements of Assam/North-East, against the separatist and anti-national forces of West Bengal, against the terrorist insurgents of Tripura and also against those who want to make Kashmir an appendage of the US. 

The communal forces have also posed a serious challenge for our movement.  The DYFI has been organising nationwide struggles and campaign amongst the youth to champion the cause of brotherhood and peace. 

The DYFI has also been in the forefront against the attack on the people’s livelihood through successive governments in the form of anti-people policies.  In the economic field for the last one decade the policies being adopted under the directions of IMF-World Bank are ruining the lives of working people in every sphere. Mills and factories are closed down, profitable state owned organisations are being sold out at throw away prices, insurance sector has been de-nationalised and foreign capital has got free access to the economic sector.  It has severely affected the agricultural and cottage industries as well, small- scale industries have fallen in crises and large-scale unemployment is being witnessed.  This situation is also a challenge to our economic independence and sovereignty.  The DYFI has been in the forefront to champion the cause of the people and has militantly raised the voice of the millions of youth who are unemployed, destitute and living in utter poverty. 

The DYFI has also given a platform to the youth of the country in the sphere of sport, cultural and social awakening.  The threat of the capitalist kind of culture can also be seen in our day-to-day work.  Cynicism, a helpless feeling of TINA (there is no alternative) and so on are also affecting our movement. In such a situation we have to very ably build a culture of collective action overcoming the grip of individualism.  It is because of this reason that the DYFI has also become the largest social organisation of this country with largest numbers of blood donors and eye-donors on its rolls.

We are conscious of the need to further broaden our struggle against imperialism because the future of democracy in our country is also dependent on this struggle. Our struggle is for socialism. Our aim is to make history, to create an egalitarian society which will come into existence through the participation of one and all. To come out victorious in this crucial task we have to undertake massive movements and consolidate organisationally.   To win the struggle ahead we will have to rally more and more people behind our slogans. We firmly believe that our dream will become a reality. The sun will rise from the deep darkness. There will be golden dawn and our march towards that will continue with vigour.