FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION
Prepare for the Coming Revolutionary Storms
People's Voice
Organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India
Volume 29 – Issue 19
Ram Setu issue:
The dirty divisive and diversionary politics of the ruling
bourgeoisie
T
he current furore over the Ram
Setu issue represents yet
another deliberate attempt by
the ruling Congress Party, as well as
other parties, to stoke the embers of
communal division and indulge in dirty
vote bank politics.
In response to a PIL being heard in the
Supreme Court, which charged that the
Setu Samudram Canal Project off the
southern tip of Tamilnadu endangered
the underwater land formation known
as Ram Setu, the affidavit filed by
the Ministry of Culture made the
provocative pronouncement that there
was no evidence either that Shri Ram
ever existed or that he had built a
bridge to Lanka.
For many people in India and the world
over, that Lord Ram existed and is an
“How Should Communists Work in the Working Class?”
T
he Maharashtra Regional Committee of
the Communist Ghadar Party of India
had organised a school for its members
and supporters on this topic on September
9, 2007. This was in line with the decision of
the Regional Conference held in April earlier
this year. Over the years the composition of
the working class has been changing, all over
the country. Some sectors of industry have
been dying out while others are coming into
being. Large sections of those newly joining
the work force are not unionized. At the
same time, a substantial proportion of the
work force is highly skilled and educated. It
was felt necessary to look afresh at the work
of the Party comrades organizing amongst
the workers, so as to strengthen this work.
This proposal had been enthusiastically
endorsed by the comrades of the Region.
A committee of young communist workers
was set up to study the teachings of Marx,
Contribution – Rs. 5/-
One consequence of the
present furore is that serious
objections to the project, for
reasons that have nothing
to do with religion, are being
drowned in the din about the
existence or non-existence
of Shri Ram. Opposition to
the project is being equated
with taking a “communal”
position, while support to
the project is being equated
with the “secular” position
of “development at all costs”
regardless of people's
livelihood and sentiments.
avatar of god, and that his army built a
bridge near Rameshwaram is a matter of
faith. This was not unknown to the UPA
government. It was also not unknown
that on the very day the matter came
Engels, Lenin and Stalin on this subject and
lead the discussion amongst the comrades
in the region on this issue.
Welcoming the participants, who
consisted mainly of young workers, to
the school, the Secretary of the Party
in the region pointed out that the
young comrades of the committee had
heroically carried out their task. While
grappling with real-life problems like
long working hours, and pressures of
jobs, the committee had met several
times for collective study sessions
which often went on till the wee hours
of the morning. Their energy and
enthusiasm were such that often their
October 1-15, 2007
up for hearing in the Supreme Court,
the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which had
filed the PIL, had organized protest
demonstrations in Delhi.
All evidence points to a deliberate
effort of the Congress Party to inflame
communal passions and try to polarize
the polity as well as society on this
issue. It knew that the BJP would have
to necessarily pick up this issue as it
claimed to represent Hindu sentiments.
On its part, the BJP, which when in
power had supported the canal project,
has now become a vociferous campaigner
for “realigning” the canal so that it does
not destroy the bridge allegedly built by
Shri Ram. It is trying to whip up passions
amongst religious people that the
existence of their beloved god is being
Continued on page 12
friends, who were not members of the
committee, would drop in and try to
Continued on page 3
In this Issue
Politics 2
 Truth be damned
 Montek Singh's admission
Economy 4-5
 Exchange rate of the Rupee
 Get the tillers deeper into debt!
Ghadar Jari Hai 6
 Meeting in Agra
Lok Raj Sangathan 7-8
 Call of Delhi Regional Council
 JPM meeting
Voice of Toilers & Tillers 9-11
 Anti-war demonstration
 Attack on Gujarat adivasis
 Fashion Express workers in struggle
Politics
"Truth be damned, you brought us into disrepute!" -- Colonial
justice in modern India
O
n 21st September 2007, the Delhi
High Court sentenced four people
associated with the newspaper
Mid Day to four months’ jail because
of the role they played in publishing
a report alleging that the family of
Mr. Sabharwal, former Chief Justice of
India, had benefited greatly as a result
of his judgements ordering sealing of
thousands of shops and commercial
establishments in Delhi last year.
The High Court did not accept the
journalists’ plea that their report was
based on truth backed by hard evidence
and that the allegations against the
former Chief Justice should be probed
by a competent body. Instead it punished
them for their “unrepentant behaviour”
Indian public is against privatisation, admits Montek Singh
M
ontek Singh Ahluwalia, well
known champion of free market
reforms and currently Deputy
Chairman of the Planning Commission
under the Manmohan Singh government,
was recently interviewed by Tom Leander
in the international media. Asked about
privatisation of banks, Montek said,
"That's one respect in which our reforms
have differed from the reforms of other
developing countries. Solid support for
privatisation doesn't actually exist. A lot
of people say that's because of the Left's
power in government, but it’s the public
that opposes privatisation."
This is a rare admission of fact by
one of the champions of privatisation.
It is an admission that he and his
government are pushing an agenda
that is unacceptable to the majority of
Indian people.
Asked how the government is coping with
the public opposition to privatisation,
Montek Singh said, "We are trying
to couch it in other terms". This is
another admission, a clear confession
of consciously planning to deceive the
people. He pointed to the example
of the banking system in India, where
private ownership was only 5% about
2 October 1-15, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 19
in bringing the Supreme Court into
“disrepute” by this report. People's
Voice joins the thousands of journalists
and publishers and democratic people
of India in condemning this attempt
by the judiciary to muzzle freedom of
expression, particularly in respect of
exposing wrong doings at the highest
levels of the judiciary itself.
As the Campaign for Judicial
Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) has
been pointing out, the law of contempt is
used as a stick to brow beat all attempts
to seek accountability and transparency
from the judiciary. In recent years, the
judiciary has been increasingly used to
push through orders which it would be
30 years ago, but now it is 25%, and
according to Montek it could cross
50% some years later. So by allowing
private enterprises to compete with
public entities, it is possible to achieve
the same end goal without privatisation
as such, that is without selling public
assets to private bidders.
The UPA government headed by
Manmohan Singh is pushing an extremely
unpopular anti-people agenda, just like
the previous NDA government headed
by Vajpayee. Montek is admitting
that the bourgeoisie is dishing out old
medicine with a new label to deceive
the people.
Montek Singh observes that the people
are opposed to selling public assets to
private owners because they think that
"robber barons will make a lot of money".
Montek thinks this is a foolish thought
that Indian people have. In actual fact,
this is a very sound thought, which
is consistent with the actual track
record of privatisation in India. Who
gained from the sale of Modern Foods
and Balco? Who is gaining from the
privatisation of airports? Is it not
Hindustan Levers, Sterlite, Tatas and
Birlas, Ambanis and other monopoly
politically difficult for the legislature
to enact and for the executive to
implement. Thus, for example a bench
of the Supreme Court headed by Mr.
Sabharwal ordered the sealing of tens
of thousands of shops and commercial
establishments in Delhi, disregarding
the fact that they had been in existence
for decades on end and were meeting
the needs of, and providing livelihood
to, literally millions of people in the city.
In fact, it has been admitted by the
authorities that the Delhi Development
Authority (DDA) had failed to construct
even half the required amount of
commercial space required by the city,
with the result that tens of thousands
Continued on page 8
capitalists of Indian and international
origin? Did these robber barons not
make a lot of money?
The program of privatization was
launched by the bourgeoisie and its
ideologues and economists like Ahluwalia
with big fanfare in the nineties. It was
a program to enrich the biggest Indian
and foreign monopolies through the
loot of public assets. The ideologues of
this privatization carried out a no holds
barred campaign berating the public
sector and justifying its privatization.
The valiant struggle of the working
class and people, led by communists,
as well as the negative experience of
privatization witnessed by people, led
to a situation wherein the privatization
program became completely discredited
in the eyes of the broad masses
of people. However, from Montek
Singh’s comments, it is clear, that
the bourgeoisie and Montek Singh is
committed to the sale of public assets
to the Indian and foreign monopolies.
He is merely counseling his capitalist
friends to be patient. Working class
and people must remain vigilant to face
fresh onslaught from the bourgeoisie on
this front. 
Politics
“How Should Communists Work...
Continued from page 1
learn whatever they could. They had
studied “On Strikes”, “What is to be
Done?” and other literature and were
going to endeavour to present what
they had learnt in the context of today’s
conditions. The comrades had initially
found the task quite daunting. Their
effort is heroic. Heroism is manifested
in many forms. On the battlefield, as
well as in the struggle to persist with
a necessary, difficult, and seemingly
daunting task. Marxism-Leninism is a
science, and mastering science is not
easy. It demands intensive effort and
years of persistence. Yet it must be
done if we are to liberate our land from
capitalism.
Before the presentations were made,
the participants were asked to express
his or her expectations from the school.
“I want to learn about the history of the
trade union movement.” “I have learnt
a lot about trade unions, but did not
understand. I want to learn.” “I want to
learn so that I can explain to the people
among whom I work.” “I have been
working in the trade union movement
for many years. I will compare what
I have learnt through my experience
with what I will learn today so I can
work better.” These were some of the
responses. One young comrade said.
“In school I used to be a shaitaan, but
here I have come voluntarily to learn
because I think what I learn will be very
useful. I want to increase my knowledge
about trade unions. I like this subject.
I like strikes. This is a brahmastra of
the working class. If they take it away,
how will we fight? There has been a lot
of betrayal by the leadership of various
unions. This school will help us to work
among the workers.” “How should
we work in the working class is what I
want to learn.” This was expressed by a
veteran comrade who has spent several
decades in the trade union movement.
The Regional Secretary assured the
comrades that we would revisit these
expectations at the end of the school
when we would sum up what we had
achieved and what needs to be done
to improve our schools and our work leadership can win the demands of the
further. We would look at the various workers, but they still are within the
concrete activities that we could take system. In the hustle and bustle of
up to work both in the large industries their daily life, the workers generally
as well as among the unorganized have neither the time nor the energy
workers. to increase their understanding. But
when they are on strike, they have the
The next session of the school began time as well as the inclination to learn.
with a presentation “On Strikes” by a If the leadership is communist, it can
young woman comrade. The discussion use the strike as a great opportunity
at the end was very lively. “Workers to increase the consciousness of the
who go on strikes are accused of being workers. Consciousness about the
lazy. I learnt that it requires a lot of necessity of overthrowing the system,
sacrifice to go on strike, and it is not and a conviction that it can be done.”
easy. I also learnt that the strike has
to be properly planned and organised. Summing up lessons from Lenin's
I did not know that sometimes the path breaking pamphlet “What is to
maalik himself encourages the workers, be Done?”, the comrade presenting
through his agents, to strike work.” declared that he had to read it many
“The pamphlet was written when trade times and discuss it thoroughly before
unions were illegal in Russia, and hence he started understanding something.
strikes too. That situation may come “But it was well worth the effort. I
tomorrow in our country. It is already noticed that the more I understood, the
there in SEZs.” more my activity level as a communist
went up!” It was decided that comrades
The self-proclaimed shaitaan pointed out should be allowed to intervene during the
how his misconception about strikes course of the presentation itself. They
had got cleared during the session. could ask questions or explain a point
“I learnt that a strike is an important in their own words, using contemporary
weapon of the working class, but it is examples as illustrations.
not a brahmastra. It is a school of war,
but not war itself.” “The leadership of When the first day of the school
a strike is very important. Otherwise concluded, all the comrades expressed
it can lead to failure, and worse still, their strong feeling that such study
demoralization. Strikes do not bring was very essential. They planned and
about revolution, but if led properly, assigned tasks for the next session
they can have a great morale-boosting of the school, to be held in October
effect and can help the working class 2007. 
to appreciate its own strength. Proper
Request to Readers
We request our readers to send in reports/articles
on the life and struggles of workers, peasants,
women, youth and every section of the working
people. This will contribute to strengthening the
political unity and struggles of workers and peasants
for the renewal of Indian society.
send your mail to mail@cgpi.org
October 1-15, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 19 3
Economy
How does the exchange rate of the Rupee affect us?
Why does it go up or down? What could be done about it?
B
etween 1985 and 2005, a period
of 20 years, the exchange value,
or exchange rate of the Rupee
went down from about 10% of a US
Dollar to just a little above 2%. More
recently, that is since 2006, it has
gone up to around 2.5% of a US Dollar.
About 40 rupees now exchanges for
one Dollar, as compared to 10 rupees
in 1985, and 45 rupees in 2005.
How does it affect us?
The reason that the exchange rate
of the Rupee affects us all, workers
and peasants included, is because the
external trade of India, export and import
of commodities, impacts us directly
or indirectly. When the Rupee goes
down in value, exported commodities
from India become relatively cheaper
in the world market, while imported
commodities become costlier in the
Indian market. The opposite happens
when the Rupee goes up in value.
When import prices rise, they push up
the prices of many commodities in the
market, which has a negative impact
on the purchasing power of all working
people. When export prices rise, they
lead to the closure of many export
oriented units whose products no
longer sell in foreign markets, throwing
many workers in India out of jobs. Fall
in import prices drive many peasants
and small producers out of business.
The impact of the Rupee exchange value
on our lives has increased over time,
because the share of external trade in
the economy of India has gone up from
around 10% to over 40% of GDP during
the past two decades.
The exchange rate affects us also
because the foreign debt owed by
the Government of India and by Indian
corporations are denominated mostly
in US Dollars. When the Rupee goes
down in value, the burden of foreign debt
becomes heavier than before; when the
Rupee rises in value, the external debt
4 October 1-15, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 19
burden becomes lighter than before.
The exchange rate has a major effect on
the rate of profit that foreign investors
can earn in the Indian market. Foreign
investments into our country are
generally made either for setting up
new factories or for buying shares of
existing companies. When the value
of the Rupee goes down, the profit
rate reaped by foreign capital goes
up. Every dollar that gets invested
commands more commodities in the
Indian market than before. When the
Rupee goes up in value, the rate of
profit earned by Indian capitalists who
invest abroad goes up. Big windfall
gains have accrued to the Tatas, for
instance, who raised US Dollar loans
to acquire foreign assets, such as
Corus steel company. The repayment
of the Dollar denominated loans have
become cheaper for the Tatas as the
rupee has gone up in value since that
deal was made.
What makes the Rupee go up or
down?
Until the 1970s, the Reserve Bank
of India followed a fixed exchange rate
policy, pegging the value of the Rupee
at 13.3% of the US Dollar, that is
at Rs 7.50 per dollar. The US Dollar
commanded a hefty premium in the
black market in those days, which
showed that the RBI was overvaluing
the Rupee. The capitalists of the world
put pressure on India to let the Rupee
fall in value. A gradual devaluation
began to take place in the 1980s. The
big jump came in 1991, when the Indian
bourgeoisie launched its program to
globalize its capital and production,
through liberalisation and privatisation.
The Rupee was devalued by about 20%
in one stroke, to boost the profitability
of Indian exports in the world market,
and the profitability of international
investments in India.
The Reserve Bank of India kept on
purchasing more and more dollars in the
market during the period 1995-2005,
accumulating huge foreign currency
reserves as a result. In whose interest
was this being done? It was being
done in the interest of the Indian big
capitalists who were keen to expand
their export of goods and services to
foreign markets, and in the interest of
attracting more foreign capital to the
Indian market. By deliberately keeping
the exchange rate of the Rupee below
its market value, particular sections
of the big bourgeoisie, Indian and
international, were benefiting at the
expense of the entire people.
When the rupee went down in value,
between 1985 and 2005, Indian
capitalists engaged in commodity
exports benefited from higher rates of
profit, and so did the foreign investors
who brought their capital to India. When
the rupee has risen in value in 2007,
Indian capitalists investing abroad have
benefited, as well as foreign companies
eager to expand their commodity sales
in India. It would appear from this
that different sections of capitalists
have been driving the Rupee value up
or down, in line with their sectional
interests. However, this is only part
of the truth.
Movements in the exchange rate of the
Rupee to the Dollar has been driven not
only by the actions of governments that
serve capitalist interests. They are also
governed by objective economic laws,
that operate independent of the will
of any individuals or governments. The
Continued on page 9
Economy
Government's response to peasant indebtedness
"Get the tillers deeper into debt!"
A
number of suicides of desperately
indebted farmers have been
reported over the last few years
from various parts of the country from
Kerala to Punjab that underscore the
intensity of the crisis in agriculture and
its exacerbation. Suicide incidents of
twenty-one poverty-stricken farmers
in just 72 hours were reported from
Vidarbha as recently as in August
2007. So while "experts" may nit-pick
the causes of the suicides to prove
that they are not because of farm
distress, the facts are stubborn
and can be confirmed by any serious
investigation of the situation. A study on
Agricultural Indebtedness, which report
was released in August 2007, has
confirmed that the crisis in agriculture
is profound and widespread. The study
panel, headed by the Director of the
Indira Gandhi Institution of Development
Research in Mumbai, studying the
indebtedness of farmers, endorsed
the fact that the root cause of the
current crisis is not indebtedness -
indebtedness is a symptom.
The root of the crisis lies in the fact
that making a livelihood from agriculture
is becoming increasingly uncertain and
risky for the vast majority of peasants.
A majority of peasants have been forced
to enter into commercial agriculture
to meet their living expenses but are
facing increasingly costly input prices,
and uncertain outcomes of their
investment. Added to the uncertainty
of nature are the growing uncertainty
of market conditions, and absence of
guaranteed procurement and output
prices.
On its part, the UPA government has
not addressed, in the three years of
its tenure, any of these basic issues
affecting Indian agriculture and the
tillers; on the other hand, it is proposing
that the solution is to make institutional
credit available to the peasants. The
Finance Minister and the Prime Minister
have repeatedly expressed their concern
over the sluggish growth of institutional
Land is one of the most
valuable assets and the
bourgeoisie is eyeing this
most valuable asset in the
countryside. The deeper the
tiller gets into debt, the
more the hold of the financial
institution on his assets.
It has been reported that
indebtedness amongst farm
households has almost doubled
in the past decade. Moreover,
the financial institutions are
flush with funds and it is only
through lending that profits
can be made on this capital.
credit to agriculture and have been
making a lot of noise about banks
increasing agricultural lending and also
about reversing the decay of the rural
financial institutions (RFIs). These RFIs
- comprising of the Primary Agricultural
Credit Societies, District and State
Cooperative Banks - which were set up
in the context of the Green Revolution
to enable the capitalist growth in
agriculture, have all been in a state of
decay because their funds (public funds
channelled through the nationalized
banks) were appropriated by a minority
of politically powerful rural elite and their
assets milked dry by this section which
were closely allied with the ruling parties
at the state and Centre. The RFIs had
served their purpose then; now there is
a move to revive them under the pretext
that these will deliver the tillers from
their plight.
More recently the World Bank has
announced that it will extend US
$300 million to strengthen rural
credit in India. According to the Bank,
the proposed project "supports the
Government of India’s (GoI) program to
reform and revitalize the country’s rural
credit cooperative banks," It claims that
such a revival of rural credit will "reduce
indebtedness, diversify rural economic
activities, increase incomes, and
improve livelihoods, thereby supporting
October 1-15, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 19
broad-based rural growth, poverty
reduction and equity!"
There are several explanations for
why the bourgeoisie is bullish about
rural credit. The main reason is that
it makes good financial sense for the
banks to lend to agriculture. Lending
to the peasantry is not fraught with
risks as it is made out to be. Land is
one of the most valuable assets and the
bourgeoisie is eyeing this most valuable
asset in the countryside. The deeper
the tiller gets into debt, the more
the hold of the financial institution on
his assets. It has been reported that
indebtedness amongst farm households
has almost doubled in the past decade.
Moreover, the financial institutions are
flush with funds and it is only through
lending that profits can be made on
this capital. It is also possible that
with the push towards liberalization of
agricultural marketing and expanding
private wholesale operations, the
infrastructure is being laid for easy
credit in the countryside.
The tiller, from his perspective, simply
cannot afford to think of the banks as
a safer lender to borrow from than the
money lender. The latter charges twice
or thrice the bank interest rate, which
makes the borrowing very expensive;
however, the principal has to be repaid
all the same, whichever the source of
borrowing. To believe that freeing the
peasants from the clutches of the
moneylender is sufficient condition to
end his woes is to deny the fact that
the banks and rural financial institutions
are going to extract every rupee of
principal and interest from the borrower
and attach his land if he defaults. There
have been reports from Punjab and
other states of banks sending out their
musclemen to "collect" dues from the
peasant. It is one of degree as far as
the impact on the peasant is concerned
whether it is bank credit or loan from
a moneylender; the peasant remains
indebted.
Continued on page 10
5
Politics
1857 – Ghadar Jari Hai ...

Ghadar Jaari Hai…

Newsletter Meeting to unite the divided people of the subcontinent

of the
organising
held in Agra

T
committee of he historic city of Agra, known for its friendly
the Ghadar atmosphere and ever hospitable people,
Jari Hai.. was witness to another gesture and a
Abhiyan serious attempt on part of the people of this
subcontinent, now divided into three different
Issue No.8 countries, to come together to end the legacy
October 2007
of division and animosity fostered by the rulers
of these countries.
Addressing the gathering, representative of
Communist Ghadar Party of India said that this
division should be seen against the backdrop of the
great unity that was displayed by Indians across
the entire sub-continent during the Great Ghadar
of 1857 and the freedom struggle. Partition of this
subcontinent is part of the colonial legacy and the
strategy of the imperialists to keep the people of
this subcontinent divided and at loggerheads with
each other, so that they do not unitedly challenge
the imperialists. The present Indian state is part
of this game-plan. He pointed out that struggle
against all kinds of oppression is going on and
1857 – Ghadar Jari Hai ...
Coordinating the proceedings of the meeting Brij
Khandelwal in his opening remarks reported that
many people from across the border, from Pakistan
and Bangladesh, were to join this meeting, but were
denied Visa by the government of India. Comrade
Ramkishore, Convener of the Bangladesh-Bharat-
Pakistan People’s Forum, narrated the initiative taken
up by the forum in the context of facilitating building
unity of people across the borders. In his speech he
said that civilization and imperialism cannot co-exist
and imperialism has to end.
All the speakers pointed out that it is crystal clear
that the division was the machination of the British
colonizers and imperialists of the world, to whom the
unity of the people was and remains the greatest
danger. It is they who are interested in continuing
with the legacy of division in their own narrow
interest; whereas the people in the three countries
are struggling to unite with their brethren to ensure
peace and prosperity for all.

appealed to the youth present in the meeting to
fight for a new India that would end the colonial
legacy along with the division of people.
The meeting was organized by the Bangladesh-
Bharat-Pakistan People’s Forum. Students,
teachers, political activists, communists,
intellectuals participated and addressed the
meeting, expressing their firm resolve to end
the division.
Prominent speakers in the meeting included
Dr. John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council;
Prof. Ramesh Dixit, President, Nationalist Congress
Party, Uttar Pradesh; Maqsood Ahmad, Jamaat-
e-Ulema Hind; Dr. Mittal; C.P. Rao; and others.
Dr. Tejeshwar Prasad, Former Director, Institute of
Social Science, Agra, chaired the meeting along with
Com. Ramkishore. 

Ghadar
Jari Hai
A magazine dedicated to the call of the times
- The Navnirman or Renewal of India
Available in English & Hindi Suggested contributions Rs. 25/-
For Copies please write to: Lok Awaz Publishers & Distributors, E-392, Sanjay Colony, Okhla, Phase-II,
New Delhi - 110 020 or call : 09868721375 or 09818575435

6 October 1-15, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 19

Lok Raj Sangathan Delhi Regional Council takes up call to build
Lok Raj Samitis

T
he Delhi Regional Council of the Lok
Raj Sangathan (recently elected
at the Convention held in Delhi on
August 26) met on September 9 to plan
its strategy for the coming months.
The meeting began with an animated
discussion on the Indo-US strategic
alliance and nuclear deal. Members
unanimously expressed their
apprehension that a strategic alliance
with the US will necessarily be an
imperialist alliance, which will threaten
peace in our subcontinent and lead to
Indians being used as cannon fodder
in imperialist wars. They demanded
that the government should explain
how this is supposed to benefit the
Indian people. They also demanded that
treaties such as this should be subject
to public debate and parliamentary
ratification, and that the Constitution
of India should be amended to make this
mandatory.
The terrorist attacks in Hyderabad
in which innocent people lost their
lives, and the subsequent state
terrorism, the persecution of the
Muslim community there in the name
of “catching the terrorists” – this was
another issue on which views were
shared. Several members pointed out
that such incidents are occurring with
increasing frequency and seem to be
following a pattern. The real culprits are
never identified or punished; instead,
specific communities are targeted by
the security agencies of the state
and innocent people are simply locked
up, tortured or even eliminated in
fake “encounters”. The Delhi Regional
Council agreed that state terrorism in
all its variants has to be consistently
exposed and denounced and the rights
of the people defended.
The Delhi Regional Council made serious
plans for expanding membership of LRS
in Delhi and the neighbouring regions
of the National Capital Region. The
work of LRS in defence of the rights
of the students and youth from the
Northeast, the UNI employees, the
Honda workers in Gurgaon and other
aggrieved sections provides ample
scope for this.
The important role of LRS in the
struggle of the people of Transit Camp
against the demolition of their houses
and eviction, the order of the Delhi
High Court to the DDA and MCD to
provide documents showing the terms
and conditions under which the people
were settled there and what are
the resettlement plans, came up for
discussion. This struggle needs to be
energetically pursued. In this context
it was also proposed that a campaign
be launched in coordination with other
organizations, against the drive of the
civic authorities to demolish slums
and seal small commercial properties,
as part of the ongoing struggle in
defence of the right to shelter and
livelihood. Proposals were made to try
to popularize all struggles of the people
in various parts of Delhi and surrounding
areas through the media.
Lok Raj Sangathan
All India Convention on
Building the future – Organise
for People's Power
Nov 17-18, 2007
Venue - Rajendra Bhawan
Deen Dayal Upadhaya Marg, Near ITO
Contact: 9818575435 email: lokrajsangathan@yahoo.com
http://www.lokrajsangathan.org
The need to build and strengthen Lok
Raj Samitis in residential colonies and
work places was discussed. These are
essential to organize people to fight on
the basis of their own strength, without
relying on favours and hand-outs by the
political party leaders. People organized
in the Lok Raj Samitis have to demand
that they alone have the right to decide
on issues affecting their lives and that
the elected councillors have to be
answerable to the people. The ongoing
efforts in this direction will be stepped
up, while trying to expand into newer
areas, it was decided.
The Delhi Regional Council of LRS took
the important decision to study the
Constitution and Program of LRS,
in order to organise better and take
the work forward. It noted that the
Fourth All India Convention of Lok Raj
Sangathan on the theme “Building the
future – organize for people’s power” is
to be held in Delhi on November 17-18,
2007 and the Delhi Regional Council has
a significant role to play in mobilizing and
organizing people in the region for this
important event. 

October 1-15, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 19 7

Jan Pratinidhi Manch coordination committee meeting:
Put pressure on the authorities to deal with the problems of the
people!
T
he coordination committee of the
Jan Pratinidhi Manch met in Delhi
on September 10 and took the
decision to organize the people to put
pressure on the authorities to look into
their demands.
Following up on the campaign of JPM,
to empower residents of slum colonies
with the requisite information and
mechanism to procure their ration
cards, various lacunae in the existing
system and errors in the ration cards
issued were discussed. It was decided
to organize a large group of residents
from Sanjay Colony, Transit Camp,
Indira Vihar and other colonies where
this work is being carried out, to
submit their demands in writing to
the appropriate officers in charge of
the Public Distribution System, asking
for implementation within one month,
failing which further action will be
undertaken.
With regard to the struggle of the
people of Transit Camp against the
sealing of their houses and threat of
eviction, it was noted that the Delhi
Truth be damned...
Continued from page 2
of small commercial establishments had
no choice but to operate in residential
areas in contravention of the “Master
Plan”. It would have been politically next
to impossible for the Delhi government
to order the sealing itself, since the
people would be up in arms and defeat
the government of the day in the next
election.
Former Chief Justice Sabharwal's
sons, it was revealed by Mid Day and
8 October 1-15, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 19
High Court has ordered the DDA and
MCD to provide documents showing
the terms and conditions under which
the people were settled there and what
the resettlement plans are. The JPM
coordination committee proposed that
an open letter be prepared, demanding
that the authorities clearly state their
plans for the “green area” from which
the residents of Transit Camp are to be
evicted and the plans for resettlement
of the evicted residents. Affected
residents could be organized to sign
this letter in large numbers and then go
in a delegation to submit this letter to
the Delhi Chief Minister, the minister for
Urban Development, the Lt. Governor,
members of Parliament, etc.. This would
also be publicized in the media.
The case of the evicted residents of
the slum in Jahangirpuri, who are at
present without any shelter and for
whom no resettlement plans have
been announced, also came up for
discussion. The coordination committee
was informed that after talking with
these people, senior advocate Prashant
Bhushan had agreed to file a writ
corroborated by further investigation
by the CJAR, were in partnership
with developers of shopping malls and
commercial complexes. As a result of
the sealing drive, many of those whose
establishments had been sealed had
to book space in such shopping malls
and complexes, the rentals and prices
of which had sky – rocketed as a result
of the sealing drive! Thus Sabharwal's
orders directly benefited his sons’
businesses. And the journalists of Mid
Day have been punished by the High
Court with imprisonment for bringing
this truth to light!
petition on behalf of the affected people
of Jahangirpuri. JPM coordination
committee decided to follow up on this
as well.
It was observed that the basic problems
of shelter, livelihood, PDS and civic
amenities faced by the majority of the
working people of Delhi are due to the
fact that the existing economic and
political system is not geared towards
serving the needs of the people. Only a
very small section has access to all the
resources and the power to use them
for their own private interests. The
JPM coordination committee took up
the challenge of preparing for a public
debate and discussion on an alternative
system that would first and foremost
serve the interests of the majority
of the working people of Delhi. It also
took up the task of drafting a proposal
for a convention on reforms urgently
needed in the electoral system, in
order that people have a greater say in
deciding matters that affect our lives
and the elected representatives are
accountable to the people. 
On the day of the sentencing by the
Delhi High Court, scores of journalists
belonging to various publications held
a demonstration outside the court.
Several senior journalists and retired
judges, as well as social and political
activists and others, have spoken out
against the muzzling of freedom of
expression using the colonial law of
contempt. The coming weeks are likely
to see further protests and actions
against the attempts by the higher
levels of the judiciary, an arm of the
bourgeois state, to insulate itself from
scrutiny and criticism by the people.
Voice of Toilers & Tillers
Massive Anti-War Demonstration in Washington DC
W
ashington DC witnessed
a massive anti-war
demonstration on September
15, 2007, as people from all over the
US converged on the nation’s capital
to demand an end to the war in Iraq,
the warmongering against Iran and
the crimes being committed against
the people of Palestine as well as the
attacks on immigrants in the US.
Over 100,000 people are estimated to
have taken part in this event, organised by
ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War
and End Racism) and other organisations.
Prominent among the participants
were war veterans and military families
themselves, who have had to bear the
brunt of the unjust wars. As usual, youth
participated very enthusiastically, along
with political and social justice groups,
peace activists as well as some religious
organisations. The broad character of the
anti – war movement and the desire of
the people to forge unity in action were
evident from the presence of various
national minorities and groups such as
Asians, African – Americans, Latinos,
Arabs and others.
Demonstrators demanded the
government must actually implement
the will of the people, which is to end
Rupee appreciation
Continued from page 4
more rapid the rise in the productivity of
labour in India, than in the productivity
of labour in the United States, is an
objective factor underlying the upward
pressure on the value of the Rupee in
recent times.
Money is a measure of the value of
commodities. The value of commodities
are determined by the quantity of social
labour required for their reproduction.
This means that one Rupee represents
a fixed quantity of socially necessary
Indian labour. Similarly, one Dollar
represents a certain quantity of socially
necessary American labour. If the rate
of increase in labour productivity is
all US wars of aggression and bring
all US troops home now. In addition,
people denounced the US crimes
against the Palestinian people and
the warmongering against Iran. They
also voiced their stern opposition to
attacks on immigrants in the US. The
disgust and distrust with the current
political set up was strongly expressed
in slogans and placards that not only
demanded the impeachment of Bush
and Cheney for war crimes, but their
imprisonment as well. The refusal of
Congress to take action to stop funding
the war was condemned, as were
the leaders of the Democratic Party
who rode to power on the anti – war
sentiments of the people but continue
faster in the Indian economy than in the
US economy, which has been the case in
recent times, then this would lead to a
rise in the exchange value of the Rupee
with respect to the US Dollar.
What could be done about it?
We could demand a stable exchange
rate policy, so that people do not face
day to day uncertainty and volatility.
But the experience of the past shows
that it is not wise to hold the Rupee
constant forever, ignoring relative
movements in the productivity of labour
in India and the rest of the world.
Such a policy leads to black markets in
foreign currency. The Rupee exchange
rate could be held stable, and at the
same time periodically reviewed and
October 1-15, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 19
to covertly and overtly aid the war plans
of the ruling US elite.
The police reacted brutally to the
demonstration, pepper – spraying them
without provocation and arresting 179
people, including dozens of veterans and
activists, when they tried to deliver
their anti-war message to Congress.
This demonstration is very significant
and shows the growing recognition of
the people that they must organize
themselves to bring about the changes
needed in their country, as expressed by
the slogans " Another US is Necessary!”,
“Together This Can be Done!” and “Time
for an Anti-War Government!" 
adjusted in line with changes in relative
productivity. A state that respects the
labour of its citizens would not follow a
policy of deliberately under-valuing its
own currency.
In conclusion, what could be done, and in
fact needs to be done, is a reorientation
of the economy and economic policy,
including exchange rate policy. The
economy and economic policy are
currently driven by the interests of the
biggest capitalists, with the working
people left to bear the consequences.
This must be turned around, with
the working people becoming the
decision makers and their state taking
responsibility to ensure that every
member of society is provided with
prosperity and protection. 
9
Voice of Toilers & Tillers
Adivasis of Gujarat brutally attacked
A
divasis residing in the Ummarpada
taluka of Surat district are
reported to have been cruelly
attacked by forest officials and police
on September 5. According to the Lok
Sangharsh Morcha, which has been
fighting for the rights of the adivasis
there, more than 250 armed forest
officials and police, accompanied by
the taluka magistrate, entered the
forest land, which the tribals had been
cultivating, at 7 a.m. without warning,
and destroyed about 200 acres of their
standing crops. Nearly 3,000 adivasis
from the neighbouring villages rushed to
save their crops and resist the attack,
at which the police used tear gas and
opened fire. Criminal cases have been
lodged against nearly 58 adivasi leaders
while crops worth Rs. 25-30 lakh have
been destroyed.
The victims are adivasis from 16 villages
of the area, who were displaced by
the Ukai Dam project. They have been
living there since they were displaced
in 1971 and have been cultivating the
land. They have repeatedly petitioned
for legal rights over the land, to the
Government's response to...
Continued from page 5
Take the case of the Vidarbha peasants
in the current season. It was reported
in August 2007 that many of the
peasants had taken the drastic step
of committing suicide because the local
banks refused to give them fresh loans
for current sowing; they had already
defaulted. In some cases, the sowings
were washed away in the current kharif
season following incessant rains and
they had no money for fresh sowing.
It is indeed true that they needed
money to sow the fresh crop, but they
were already deep in debt and more
borrowing would only add to their
existing burden. If they did borrow and
if the new crop fails due to inclement
weather or pests, they would be deeper
in debt to the banks for thousands of
rupees with no capacity to pay. What
they would then face is the confiscation
10 October 1-15, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 19
district magistrate of Surat and the
forest officials, and have demanded
enactment of the Forest Rights Bill,
2006. Forced to survive in extremely
poor and difficult conditions, they have
no other means of livelihood. Lakhs of
youth from the area have to migrate
in search of livelihood. Education and
health facilities are non-existent. Surat
district is not even covered under the
much-touted NREGA.
The attack of September 5 is part of
a systematic campaign by the local
administration and the forest officials
to evict the adivasis from the land they
have been living on and cultivating for
the last 36 years. It is ironic that even
as the adivasis of Ummarpada taluka are
being attacked in this brutal manner,
the Chief Minister of Gujarat is busy
announcing ‘development packages’ for
adivasis under the ‘Ban Bandhu Yojana’,
with an eye to the coming elections!
The Lok Sangharsh Morcha called for
a massive rally on September 17,
to protest against the attack on
the adivasis of Ummarpada and the
of their land, appropriated by the bank
against non-payment of loans.
What the tiller needs immediately is a
comprehensive and effective insurance
scheme that will protect him from
such complete ruination, as he faces
now, in the event of a crop failure. The
government has only paid lip service to
this demand, and several schemes -
crop, farm income and rainfall insurance
- have been proposed in response to
the recommendations of several official
committees set up to enquire into
peasant distress. However, the only
one that has been actually implemented
- the crop insurance scheme under
the National Agricultural Insurance
- is covering barely 10 per cent of the
country's cropped area. There is lack of
a comprehensive coverage at this point
to all peasants.
It is clear that the government cares
attempts by the administration to evict
the adivasis. The adivasis are demanding
immediate action against the officials
responsible for the attack, withdrawal
of false cases lodged against the adivasi
leaders, compensation for damaged
crops, legal rights over the land and an
end to the police terror.
The situation faced by the adivasis of
Ummarpada taluka is the same as that
being faced by millions of people all over
the country, who are being ruthlessly
evicted from their lands in the name
of “development” and “conservation”,
with no thought being given to their
rehabilitation or their livelihood. It is
estimated that more than 50 million
people were displaced in this manner
between 1955 and 1995. The Indian
state has used the same anti-people
laws devised by the British colonialists,
such as the Land Acquisition Act 1894
to evict people at will and attack them
when they resist.
People's Voice denounces the attack on
the adivasis of Surat and extends full
support for their struggle. 
very little about providing the peasantry
a secure livelihood, and all the official
response to this growing crisis has been
nothing more than empty promises.
More than a year ago, when the spate
of suicides provoked popular public
outrage and there was widespread
demand to cancel the debts of the
tillers with immediate effect, the UPA
government made half-hearted promises
in this direction that were soon totally
forgotten. The Prime Minister visited
Vidarbha district and announced a "Debt
Relief" package with much fanfare. But in
actual fact there was no debt waiver!
A government that works in the
interests of the producers of such an
essential good for society would not
only provide immediate relief in the face
of crop failure and other calamities, but
would also implement policy that would
secure their life and livelihood in the long
term. 
Voice of Toilers & Tillers

Fashion Express workers struggle for their rights

W
orkers in Fashion Express,
a garment export house
in Udyog Vihar, Gurgaon,
Haryana have been in struggle for the
past two years, against harassment
and discrimination by the management.
They have been locked out illegally by the
management, without prior notice as
required by law, from 23rd September
2007. The workers are however
determined to fight for justice.

The company employs about 100

permanent workers and nearly another
100 on contract. The workers work six
to seven days per week, from 9 a.m. to
8 p.m. While the permanent workers
are paid about Rs.5,000-6,000 per
month, the contract workers are paid
Rs.120-150 per day.
According to reports received by
People's Voice from the Fashion
Express Karamchari Sangathan, the
management made every effort to
prevent the workers from forming their
own union, which was finally registered
on June 13, 2006, after much struggle.
The management has been following a
discriminatory policy in the disbursal
of bonus and other benefits, favouring
certain workers, in order to break their
unity. Cases of sexual harassment of
the women workers (who constitute
nearly 50% of the total workforce) by
the factory owner have been reported.
When the union filed a case against the
management and the case came up
for hearing in a local Gurgaon court, in
November 2006, the affected women
were forced by the management,
through threats and intimidation, to
retract their complaint and accept an
out-of-court settlement. At the same
time, the union president, general
secretary and treasurer as well as
another union worker were terminated.
4 women workers who had complained
of harassment were also suspended.
In the face of continuing harassment
and persecution, 40 women employees
sat on dharna on the shopfloor for 19
days, from March 21 to April 8, forcing
the management to reach a settlement
with the union. However, the union has equipment and stocks have been moved
alleged that the management violated out, company funds are being diverted
the terms of the settlement, which elsewhere, production is being in done
included taking back all the terminated in sweatshops outside, etc. The factory
and suspended employees. Many of premises are never cleaned, drinking
them have not yet been reinstated. water and toilet facilities have been
closed down and the management is
Meanwhile, at a meeting of the union deliberately creating conditions to justify
office bearers and the owners of the a lockout in the immediate future.
company in July 2007, the latter
clearly stated that they were planning Since the workers have not received
to shut down the factory. The union their wages since July 2007, they are
presented the terms of settlement, in extremely dire financial condition
including VRS, settlement of dues, legal and many have been forced to stop
compensation, etc. Subsequently, the sending their children to school. After
management put up a notice declaring they were locked out, the workers
that the workers were spreading false determination to fight for their rights
rumours, that they had no intention has got stronger. As we go to the
of closing down the company but were press, the workers have mounted a
‘trying to revive it’. 24 hour vigil outside the factory gate
in order to prevent the management
According to the workers, they have from taking out machinery.
received several indications that the
management is planning to close down People's Voice condemns the injustice
the factory. After July 2007, production being done to the workers of Fashion
has stopped, the owners and managers Express and fully supports their
have stopped coming to the company, struggle. 
People’s Voice (Fortnightly)
Annual Contribution: Rs. 200 (within India), US $ 25 (abroad) Send
Cheque/Demand Draft in the name of:
Lok Awaz Publishers and Distributors, E-392, Sanjay Colony,
Okhla Phase - II, New Delhi - 110 020

October 1-15, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 19 11


Voice of Party
Ram Setu issue:
Continued from page 1
questioned. As soon as the matter was
sufficiently inflamed, the Congress Party
conveniently backtracked, disowning
responsibility for the offending statement
and making scapegoats out of two
officials of the Archaeological Survey of
India. While passions are being inflamed,
it is now acting like an innocent party in
the whole matter.
People cannot afford to be fooled time
and again by these dirty tricks played
by these ruling class parties for their
own interests. This is not the first
time that the Congress has sought
to play the “secular” card against
BJP's “communal” card, in the process
setting off a storm of passions in which
divisions among people on the basis of
their ideology or beliefs are brought
to the fore. These are then utilised
to consolidate or expand the electoral
bases of these parties, and to divert
attention from their failure to resolve
the serious problems facing the people.
One has only to recall the Rajiv Gandhi
government's interventions on the “Ram
shilanyas” issue in Ayodhya and on the
Shah Bano case, to see how this kind
of criminal communal politics is played
out. In the present case, the Tamilnadu
Chief Minister has joined in the fray
with his own provocative remarks about
Ram. Subsequently a Tamilnadu-bound
bus in Bangalore was torched and two
passengers lost their lives.
Ever since the idea was first mooted
nearly 150 years ago, of digging a canal
which would allow ships to pass from
the western waters off India to the
east coast and in reverse direction
without having to go around Sri Lanka,
it has met with serious objections
from various quarters. As many as
14 commissions have been formed
to look into these, following each of
which the project was shelved. In July
2005, the project was inaugurated
at a projected cost of nearly Rs 300
crores, even though environmentalists
and the fishing community and others
whose livelihood would be affected
Lok Awaz Publishers & Distributors,
E–392, Sanjay Colony, Okhla Phase-II, New Delhi - 110020
continued to raise serious objections. “secular” position of “development at all
These objections have been simply costs” regardless of people's livelihood
overruled, obviously in the interests of and sentiments.
those shipping, mercantile and finance
capitalist interests that stand to The developments over the
benefit. India's neighbour Sri Lanka, Sethusamundram project once again
which would be directly affected by the show the anti-people character of
consequences of the dredging right parliamentary democracy in India.
next to its coast and other aspects They show the thoroughly cynical and
of the project, also expressed grave self-serving character of both ruling
apprehensions. and opposition parties at the centre
and the states. They point to the fact
One consequence of the present that the politics and the development
furore is that serious objections to the schemes of the ruling bourgeoisie
project, for reasons that have nothing serve extremely narrow big capitalist
to do with religion, are being drowned interests, trampling on the rights of
in the din about the existence or non- the vast majority of people. They show
existence of Shri Ram. Opposition to that the Congress Party, no less than
the project is being equated with taking the BJP, is responsible for perpetuating
a “communal” position, while support to communalism and communal violence as
the project is being equated with the preferred methods of rule. 
Revolutionary Celebrations
on the occasion of the
Birth Centenary
of
Shaheed-e-Azam
Bhagat Singh
organised by
Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha
Get Organised, Become the Rulers
Transform Society!
October 7, 2007 2 p.m.
Chinmaya Mission Auditorium,
Lodhi Road, New Delhi
Contact at: E 392, first floor, Sanjay Colony, Okhla Ph II,
New Delhi 110020, ph: 09968259246 e-mail: hnesabha@yahoo.com