People's Democracy

Towards The Eighth All India Conference Of The DYFI

Tapas Sinha

THE Eighth All India Conference of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) will be held in Chennai from May 7 to 11. The venue of the conference is named as Vellore Shaheed Nagar and the dais as “1857 Shaheed Manch”. ‘Strengthen India’s Future - Invest in Youth’ is the central slogan of the conference. More than one thousand delegates representing the 1,63,15,887 members from all over the country will be participating in the conference. Apart from the delegates, fraternal guest delegates from different parts of the world would also be participating. This includes delegates from Cuba, Greece, France, Burma, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Palestine, Bangladesh and also other World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) member countries. The conference will begin with a mass public meeting and rally of the youth in the city at Bhagat Singh grounds. Former student youth leader, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and MP Sitaram Yechury, freedom fighter N Sankaraiah will address the meeting. The inaugural session will begin on the next day by paying floral tributes at the martyrs column. The conference will be inaugurated by the renowned film actor Mammooty. An international seminar with the slogan ‘For Better Future - Invest in Youth’ will also be organised. This seminar would be attended and addressed by various fraternal delegates. An exhibition of important political organisational activities of DYFI from 1980 to 2007 is also being put up at the conference venue. The reception committee with the eminent journalist N Ram as chairman and S Kannan as secretary is making all out efforts to make the conference successful. Many sub- committees under various heads are leaving no stone unturned for the success of the conference.

UPA GOVERNMENT & UNEMPOYMENT

The slogan ‘Jobs For All And Education For All’ remains the main slogan of DYFI. When the seventh conference was held in November 2003 at Amritsar, the NDA government was ruling at the centre. The then conference gave a call to intensify the struggle against the NDA government’s pro-globalisation policies and communal approach. It also gave a call to defeat the NDA government in parliamentary polls and install a secular and democratic government in its place. The NDA government was ousted from power and UPA government came into being with the outside support of the Left parties. However, despite the assurances made in the National Common Minimum Programme to the youth and common people, the UPA government failed to implement them. Today, there are more than five crore registered unemployed in India.

The economic survey 2005-06 said that unemployment on a daily basis has risen. From 1993 to 2004 unemployment rate for males increased from 5.6 per cent to 9 per cent in rural areas and from 6.7 per cent to 8.1 per cent in urban areas. Similarly unemployment rate for women increased from 5.6 per cent to 9 per cent. Even after nearly three years since assuming office, the UPA government did not find time to implement most of the assurances given in the CMP. On certain issues the UPA government is taking steps diametrically opposed to what is stated in the CMP. The conference will discuss ways to strengthen the campaign to compel the UPA government to fully implement the commitments given to the youth and toiling people of India while forming the government at the centre.

ON PRICE RISE

The prices of almost all essential commodities have skyrocketed due to the forward trading in essential commodities permitted by the government of India. The public distribution system has nearly collapsed due to less procurement and allowing private traders to hoard essential commodities to create artificial scarcity. The DYFI eighth conference will address this question seriously and a countrywide campaign will be planned to ensure that the price index reflects the actual rise in price.

A JOURNEY OF STRUGGLES

Membership is a mechanism through which we reach out to the mass of the youth. It is a very important and basic organisational activity. More over it is important for a democratic organisation to improve the quality of the membership along with quantitative expansion. During this period (2003 onwards) the DYFI could sustain its rate of growth in terms of membership. The growth has helped us to reach 1,63,15,887 membership. Since the last conference, membership has risen by more than 37 lakhs. The journey of the DYFI from its first all India conference at Ludhiana to the eighth has been a journey of struggles. Various kinds of attacks in the form of ideological, political, organisational and even physical were unleashed against us. After the collapse of socialism in Soviet Union and East European countries, when there was a major attack on the basic ideology of our movements and when progressive and democratic forces worldwide had abandoned the idea of socialism, we stood by it with the slogan “Socialism is the future and the Future is ours”. The DYFI has continuously championed the cause of anti- imperialist solidarity. It is still fresh in our memory how imperialism has devastated various nations for its greed through various hegemonic methods. Yugoslavia, Chile, Indonesia , Panama, Columbia, Palestine and the latest being the unilateral war against Iraq point towards the nefarious designs of imperialism. In the name of suppressing terrorism, the imperialist US has brought its trail of devastation and death to many regions of the world. The DYFI has always stood by the forces fighting against imperialism. To win the struggle we have to mobilise more and more people. The communal forces pose a serious challenge to our movement. Nationwide movements and struggle are being organised by the DYFI amongst the youth to champion the cause of brotherhood and peace.

This journey has also seen a large number of our brilliant, dedicated and committed cadres being killed, murdered by the forces of communalism, ruling class and lumpen elements. This more than three-decade march gives us an excruciatingly painful picture of hundreds of youth activists being lost because the organisation refused to succumb to the pressures of such anti-social elements. Be it communalism or combating the anti-national forces, the DYFI has always stood up to protect the secular fabric of this country. Very bravely, the DYFI stood in the forefront against the Khalistan movement in Punjab, against the separatist movement in Assam and North East, against the separatist and anti-national forces in West Bengal, against the terrorist insurgents in Tripura and also against those who wanted to turn Kashmir as an appendage to USA.

The struggle for safeguarding the future of democracy is vital for the advancement of our movement and for achieving socialism. Our aim is for making a new history, which will come into existence through the participation of one and all. To win the struggle ahead we will have to rally more and more people behind our slogans. The rising of the golden sun from the deep darkness will enlighten the entire universe. We will march on the path of this golden sun.