People's Democracy

Powerful Widespread Protest Actions By Peasantry  

THE All India Kisan Sabha and All India Agricultural Workers Union congratulated the peasants and agricultural labourers of the country for their powerful protest actions of rail roko and rasta roko against the government pursuing anti-peasant and anti-labour policies dictated by global financial institutions, multinationals and the WTO. They also congratulated the working class of India for the successful all India general strike called by the Sponsoring Committee of Trade Unions against  privatisation, globalisation and liberalisation.

The following actions by kisans and agricultural workers have taken place all over the country:

In Uttar Pradesh, the Rajdhani trains were stopped at Meja Road in Allahabad district by a mass of agricultural worker and peasant activists led by the CPI(M) MLA of Meja, Ram Kirpal and the DYFI state secretary, Sudhir Singh. Trains were also stopped in Allahabad, Muwaima, Ghurpur, Varanasi and Chandauli, while roadblocks were organised at many places, including Bulandshahar, Bareilly, Deoria,Mirzapur and Sultanpur.

In Bihar, trains were stopped at Khagaria, Kishanganj Bhagalpur and Begusarai, while roadblocks were observed in Darbhanga, Samastipur, Chapra, Patna and Motihari, among others.

In Karnataka, trains were stopped at Gulbarga and Bangalore, while roadblocks were  organized at Kolar, S Canara, Raichur, Bellary and Bijapur.

In Maharashtra actions of rail and road roko were undertaken in nearly 80 spots including Nasik, Thane, Nandurbar,Nanded,Beed, Parbhani,Wardha, Yawatmal, Haingoli and Kolhapur districts.

In Punjab, rail roko was organised at Amritsar, Mansa, Phillaur, Mukherain, Batala, Dhuri and Garhshankar by  thousands and 30 roadblocks were organised all over the state.

In Haryana, roadblocks were reported from Fatehabad, Jind and Hissar.

In Assam, actions have been reported from Sonitpur, Kamrup, Barpeta and Kachar.

In Madhya Pradesh there was rail roko at Gwalior, Shahdol and Ratlam, and roadblocks at Bhind and Morena.

In Rajasthan, road and rail roko actions took place at Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, Churu Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh.

In Tamilnadu, 75,000 kisans and agricultural workers participated in these actions in 150 places all over the state. In Andhra Pradesh, reports of roadblocks in over 30 places have been reported in Srikakulam, Prakasam, Warangal, Karimnagar, Anantapur and Nalgonda districts. The AIKS and AIAWU have condemned the attack on Ganapati and other leaders at Bandavasi in a brutal  lathicharge by the police.

Besides, successful bandh has been organised in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.

Apart from lakhs of peasants and agricultural labourers, members of DYFI, SFI, AIDWA and other mass organisations participated in large numbers.

The two organisations appealed to the government to ensure that the discredited policies of the previous governments of P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari  Vajpayee are not pursued. They asked the prime minister to abandon these policies and stick to implementation of the CMP. Saying that the protection of small scale agriculture and the land of the peasantry was necessary to ensure both subsistence and employment, the organisations warned that the people will not allow it to be replaced by  the reversal of land reforms and by contract farming, monopoly control over seeds and inputs, electricity and water, leading to dispossession, unemployment, starvation and suicide. Stating that the September 29 action was a warning, the organisations asserted that the campaign of “Kheti Bachao, Desh Bachao” will go ahead unless the demands of the peasant masses are heard by the government and met.