The AIKM Uttarakhand State Conference was held on 16-17 December at Lalkuan in Nainital district. An impressive rally of peasants was also organised on the inaugural day on 16th as a mark of people’s organised assertion and unity.
The rally was addressed by Kisan Mahasabha’s all India President comrade Ruldu Singh who strongly criticised government’s pro-big capital anti-peasant policies. He said that the government is bringing new schemes every other day to grab the peasants’ lands, while farmers’ suicides are increasing and the crisis is spreading in the far corners of the country. He also criticised Uttarakhand govt. for not declaring Bindukhatta a revenue village, instead has made it a municipality which will deprive peasants of their due land entitlements.
AIKM’s Uttarakhand President Purushottam Sharma demanded to withdraw cases imposed on activists for leading struggles of the Bindukhatta peasants. Veteran revolutionary peasant leader comrade Bahadur Singh Jangi thanked the people who assembled there in large number to express their resentment against state government’s decisions and policies.
Comrade Awatar Singh, CPI(M)’s peasant leader emphasised on the unity of the left forces to address today’s challenges and said that people’s struggles are the key for the greater unity. Md. Yamin ‘Binni’, a leader of Van Gujjars, a struggling tribe, also spoke in the rally, where he criticised state government for discriminating between hill and terai regions by depriving terai gujjars from cultivation rights. He said that state government is violating Forest Rights Act 2006 by stopping gujjars from cultivation in forest villages on the one hand, and by not rehabilitating them as per the rule. The leader of Winsor Sanctuary movement Ishwar Joshi deplored the fact that in a state which was formed as the result of a strong people’s movement is now facing loot of people’s precious resources like water, forests and land owing to govt. policies. Many more speakers also addressed the rally which was conducted by Vimal Rauthan and Bhuvan Joshi.
The rally was followed by the delegate session of the Conference. The conference venue was rechristened after comrade Man Singh Pal who was a leading piller of Bindukhatta land struggle. A draft document was presented by com. Purushottam Sharma. AIKM leader from Punjab comrade Gurnam Singh was the central observer for the conference. He highlighted the need to expand the organisation in state and to learn from the experiences of various peasant struggles.
CPI(ML) Uttarakhand Secretary Rajendra Pratholi addressed the conference and emphasised on the stronger organisation for bigger struggles at a time when peasants and workers are facing attacks on their livelihood. He hailed Bindukhatta’s peasant movement which has now become examplary for being vibrant and consistent since last 40 years by incorporating new dimensions in it with changing times.
Raja Bahuguna, CPI(ML) Central Committee member, said that Modi’s foreign tour is going on amidst falling exports, ruining economy and growing revenue of capitalists like Adani, who is now 49% richer in just one year. He reminded delegates that the very first blow this govt. received was from the peasants of the country who forced Modi govt. to withdraw the land acquisition ordinance. He also said that the Congress Govt. in state and BJP Govt. in centre are following same pro-corporate policies.
The Conference elected a State Executive and a State Council with Purushottam Sharma as President and Atul Sati as Secretary and Bahadur Singh Jangi as Vice President.
