People's Democracy

The September 29 strike in Maharashtra elicited overwhelming response from the state government employees, central government employees, banks and insurance employees, post and telecom employees, defence industry workers, public sector workers, school and college teachers, organized and unorganized workers in thousands of factories and so on. One of the most significant impacts was made by the Airport Authority Employees Union, whose strike against the privatization of the Mumbai and Delhi airports for the first time brought the prestigious Mumbai airport to a halt and grounded almost all flights. This was despite union civil aviation minister Praful Patel camping in Mumbai and issuing dire threats to the airport employees.

Another significant feature of the strike in Maharashtra this time was that the striking workers and employees came out on the streets in their thousands on that day and held massive joint rallies at practically all district centers and several tehsil centers as well.

In most of these rallies the CPI(M), CITU and other mass fronts participated in a big way, and leaders of the CPI(M) and CITU addressed these rallies to rousing ovations.

Reports that have now come in from all the districts indicate that, as per the CPI(M) state committee decision, nearly 1.75 lakh people in 93 centres in all the 29 districts where the Party has some presence participated in strength in the independent actions led by the Party and mass fronts at the district and tehsil centers. This was the highest independent statewide mobilization by the CPI(M) in Maharashtra so far.

The previous high mark had been achieved in October 2002, when 1.30 lakh people had participated in the statewide land satyagraha call given by the CPI(M) state committee. But since that was a one-point issue of land, over 1 lakh of that mobilization had been that of the Adivasis in only two districts of Thane and Nashik. This time, since issues of food and employment were also added, not only did the mobilization increase, but it was also more balanced. Nashik and Thane districts this time accounted for 82,000 out of 1.75 lakh, showing that the other districts had done substantially better than last time.

The largest mobilization this time was achieved in Nashik district, which accounted for a participation of 50,000 at 14 different tehsil centers. The biggest rallies here were 10,000 each at Surgana and Dindori, 5,000 each at Peth and Kalvan and 4,000 each in Nashik city and Igatpuri. One of the distinctive features in Nashik district was that Party and mass organization activists led an intensive campaign of filling up over 1.5 lakh forms from the people on questions of land, ration cards, employment and homesteads. These forms were submitted to the government authorities in the rallies on September 29.

Thane district had a participation of over 32,000 at 8 different tehsil centers, the biggest rallies here being a 10,000-strong action comprising Jawhar, Vikramgad and Mokhada tehsils, 8,500-strong action at Talasari, 4,000 at Shahapur and 3,500 at Dahanu. On October 10, which is traditionally observed as Martyrs’ Day, another round of militant actions took place all over Thane district, reports of which are awaited. The September 29 actions in Thane district were preceded by an extensive campaign of meetings.

In Solapur city, a massive 15,000-strong rally was organized on the main issues of ration, employment and the re-opening of the closed mills in the city, demands of unorganized workers in the beedi and powerloom sectors as well as domestic workers and so on. The CPI and AITUC also participated in this rally that was led by the CPI(M) and CITU. For the first time in Solapur district, the rally also comprised over 2,000 flood-affected peasants that had been organized by the AIKS on the issue of their rehabilitation.

Seven other districts registered a total mobilization of between 5,000 and 10,000 each. These were Nandurbar, Kolhapur, Nanded, Parbhani, Hingoli, Beed and Ahmednagar. This was certainly a creditable feature. In Mumbai, the mobilization was around 3,000, but throughout the state it was only in Mumbai that militant rail roko stirs took place at two places – Andheri and Goregaon. Here local trains were stopped for 30 to 45 minutes each, throwing the Western Railway suburban rail service out of gear. In many other places in the state, there were rasta roko agitations and at Kalamnuri in Hingoli district, the Hyderabad-Akola national highway was blocked for over four hours.

Just three days before the September 29 actions, the SFI state conference took place at Nanded and it opened on September 26 with a 4,000-strong student rally that was addressed by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, among others. The day earlier, Sitaram Yechury also addressed a jam-packed joint convention of political parties and trade unions at Aurangabad, which was held to prepare for the September 29 strike.

Just two days after the September 29 actions, the AIAWU state conference took place at Nandurbar and it began on October 1 with a massive 10,000-strong rally that was addressed by AIAWU general secretary A Vijayaraghavan, MP and AIAWU joint secretary Suneet Chopra among others. In Nandurbar district also, the CPI(M) had led a campaign and filled up over 11,000 forms from the agricultural workers and peasants as regards employment and land, and these were submitted to the district collector.

Most of the above actions led by the Party on September 29 received excellent publicity in the local print and electronic media. The CPI(M) state committee had published 12,000 printed posters for the September 29 struggle and these were put up far and wide in the state. The agit-prop material sent by the CPI(M) Central Committee for the September struggle was translated and published in the state party weekly ‘Jeevanmarg’ and it helped the Party cadres to conduct the campaign in their areas.

The number of leaflets published and distributed by all the district and tehsil committees of the Party and mass fronts separately for the September 29 campaaign and struggle would collectively come to a few lakhs. Thousands of village meetings and street-corner meetings, many large public meetings were organized throughout the state in the month of September. In all major industrial centers, joint trade union conventions were held to prepare for the strike. The convention in Mumbai was addressed by CITU president and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Dr M K Pandhe, who also addressed another large meeting of Mumbai airport employees.

To conclude, the political situation in Maharashtra today is marked by three prominent features. First, there is growing disillusionment with the policies and performance of the INC-NCP state government. Second, the revolt of Narayan Rane from the Shiv Sena and the continuing tensions and bickering within the BJP-RSS after Advani’s certificates to Jinnah has rocked and destabilized the SS-BJP communal alliance. Third, the constant friction within and amongst all the above four leading bourgeois parties in the state continues unabated. It is due to all the above three factors that a political vacuum is emerging in the politics of the state. The unprecedented mass success of the September 29 strike and struggle in Maharashtra is in fact partly a result of this emerging vacuum.

This is the time for all left, democratic and secular forces in Maharashtra to cast aside all the earlier political opportunism exhibited by some elements and to come together to lead a massive and sustained joint struggle on peoples’ issues. The CPI(M), while helping to give momentum to this process, must at the same time never lose sight of its main thrust that was decided at the last state conference at Solapur, viz. continuing to bend all its efforts to greatly increase the independent strength and influence of the Party and of all mass organizations led by it. That will be the main focus of the ensuing Party state committee meeting to be held next week to finalize the One Year Plan for Party Development in Maharashtra.