TOWARDS 18TH CONGRESS OF CPI(M)

Week Long Seminar On Problems Of Hindi Region

IN the run-up to the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), being held for the first time in the nation’s capital, the reception committee has organised a week-long seminar on “Hindi Region: Taqlifen aur Mukti ke Raste (Problems and ways of solution).

Beginning on March 17 and concluding on March 23, the topics for the seminar comprise Globalisation and Hindi Region; Social Problems (Fragmentation and Unification); Culture and Democracy; Culture and Modernisation; Media: Power and Responsibility; Education (Education Market and the People) and Hindi Region and Religion. (For details, see page 7 of this issue)

The seminar is intended to give an opportunity to broad sections of intellectuals, artistes, cultural and political activists to come together and discuss the prospects of strengthening the progressive and secular forces in the Hindi-speaking region.

Addressing a news conference here on March 12 in this connection, Professor Nityanand Tiwari said an attempt would be made during the seminar to identify the reasons for the cultural backwardness of the region and how to rectify the situation.

Blaming the policies of globalisation and liberalisation “which have created a culture of rampant individualisation and alienation, and distorted the development-oriented struggles of people”, he said in the Hindi-speaking region, in particular, “Communalism, religious fundamentalism, fascist vandalism, parochialism, obscurantism and sectarianism have struck deep roots in society”. But exuding optimism, he added “the people of the region have displayed the capacity to break the chains of degraded values in the past.”

Well-known Hindi writer, Professor Asghar Wajahat lauded the role of the CPI(M) in providing the platform for such serious discussion on the issues of the Hindi-speaking region which were hindering its development, noting that political parties hardly took initiative in this regard.

Emphasising that “secular cultural politics must replace fascist cultural politics,” Professor Sudhish Pachauri said from the interaction among 500 participants in the seminar, most of whom do not belong to the Party, the progressive movement is going to gain experiences which are presently diffused and not consolidated.

Professor Kamal Ahmad Siddiqui stressed that the objective of the seminar was to focus on the problems of the people of the Hindi region and not on the language itself.

Prominent participants in the seminar include C P Chandrasekhar, Dr Suraj Bhan, Vishwanath Tripathi, Habib Tanvir, Prabhash Joshi, Prabhat Patnaik, P C Joshi, Anil Sadgopal, Ramesh Upadhayaya, ajiv Lochan Shah, Jaidev Taneja, Prayag Shukla, Vishnu Nagar, G P Deshpande, MMP Singh, Vijender Sharma and Kumaresh Chakravarti.

Programme Schedule:

Major Jaipal Singh Sangoshthi Saptaah

Hindi Region: Taqlifen aur Mukti ke Raste

17-23 March 2005

10 am to 5 pm

Venue: V. P. House Lawn,

Rafi Marg, New Delhi-11001