People's Democracy

London Calling

Harsev Bains

THE depression of the long winter season combined with the economic gloom in Britain has been sharply pierced by the natural enthusiasm of youth from the tropical shores of Kerala. Following on from the visit of Sitaram Yechury to Cambridge, a number of young men huddled together in East London to discuss ways and means to advance the struggle of the working class in Britain and in their motherland back in India.

During the last decade, with globalisation, has come a new wave of migration of skilled labour - highly educated and trained people.  They have joined the established community of Indian diaspora in Britain and Ireland. 

The new migrants though arriving in much improved conditions with statutory rights compared to their much earlier compatriots are nonetheless facing similar challenges for survival. With the effects of the capitalist crisis really beginning to bite in Europe, the economic conditions have worsened.  Employment prospects for youth are much reduced. The wages received often fall short of the set minimum and lag below the underlying inflation. Fees for education, especially for overseas students and rent for accommodation have reached unprecedented levels.

It is all the more significant that the new migrants should look towards the Left for inspiration and emancipation. They have found this inspiration from Sitaram Yechury’s brief tour to Cambridge and solidarity action at the camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London. The news of his visit has spread through electronic media and social network sites. 

The meeting held on a cold blistery night in East London is the start of a campaign to engage and involve new strata of the Indian community in Britain, the vast majority of whom hail from South India and have strong links with the CPI(M), DYFI and SFI.

For the first time a comrade from Kerala, Sughathan has been nominated and elected as the branch secretary of the newly formed East London branch of the Association of Indian Communists. The Association of Indian Communists is a democratic representative body of the CPI(M) in Britain. The AIC subscribes to the programme and policies of the CPI(M). Plans are now being made to galvanise the organisation throughout Britain and Ireland. 

PRAKASH KARAT

TO VISIT BRITAIN

Indian comrades throughout Britain are keenly awaiting the visit of Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to London and Leicester. A general body of the AIC will be held in Leicester with new members attending such a meet for the first time. In a tightly packed programme, Karat will inaugurate the newly built Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet Hall and address a public rally in the evening.