All India People’s Forum (AIPF) held a convention in Delhi on Wednesday, 27 May, to assess the changes caused and challenges posed by the Modi government in the last one year on livelihood, Rights and democratic fabric of the country.
The speakers at the convention highlighted the policy shifts that have been instituted in the last one year of NDA government at the Centre. It is clear that the government has worked overtime to hand over the country’s land, water and forests to corporate houses. The concerns of the common people have been sacrificed as they have been made to bear the brunt of these pro-corporate policies.
The government has been sponsoring corporate loot through Land Ordinance and has even proposed changes to Forest Rights Act, which was won after prolonged struggle. Farmer suicides have once again peaked as Acts, plans and policies have been floated to loot land, labour and livelihood of the people. Those who do not have land are being stolen of their labour through supposed ‘reform’ measures accompanying the “Make in India” slogan that Modi harps upon on his foreign visits. Even the small freedom available to the country’s children is being looted by putting their labour for sale following the cabinet approval to change child labour laws.
While corporates are being wooed with offer of the country’s resources and its future, the poor have faced serious threats to their existence. There have been massive budget cuts in allocations to health, education, food security, women’s empowerment and other public services. Instead it has invited the private companies to make profit out of people’s needs for health and education.
To cover up the surrender of people’s interests to corporate bodies, the government has periodically unleashed the Sangh outfits to drum up communal tension. It has also been saffronising the public institutions of the country including education. The Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) has become the latest ploy to undermine higher education in the country so as to keep it ready for corporate take over.
Analysing these patterns of Modi government’s functioning and destruction of public institutions and people’ rights, the speakers at the AIPF convention noted the challenges posed in countering it. Senior counsel ND Pancholi noted how Right to work was being robbed and the absence of democratic measures available to the people to challenge these as the government undertook labour reforms. Journalist-activist Gautam Navlakha, pointed out that while 1 crore 20 lakh young people were added to the workforce each year, the government had only generated 20 lakh jobs. NTUI leader and AIPF member Gautam Modi, pointed out that the Labour Amendment Act , 2014, which offered self certification and compliance by companies was undermining labour rights by equating a profit making company with a citizen of the country to negate the labour rights during industrial disputes. Journalist-activist and AIPF member Kiran Shaheen who also conducted the meeting, said that Modi government’s attempt to sell away the country’s resources was by dumping Indian markets with foreign products despite grand talk of ‘Make in India’.
CPI-ML General Secretary pointed out that restructuring of laws and policies were taking place not only on land and employment but also finance and education to complete the corporate circuit of exploiting the country’s resources. Educational restructuring he said was as much part of the ‘Make in India’ campaign as Indian youth were being offered to foreign investors as pliable cheap skilled labour rather than future makers of the country. Economist and Professor Atul Sood said that the government’s ‘Make in India’ was posing a new definition of nationalism where creating an environment for business was made out to be national duty. State were pushed into a competition for garnering foreign investment and labour rights were being systematically violated in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where these models have already taking off. While capitalist crisis was being softened by the government, its infilitartion was being opened up in peri-urban areas. ‘Smart cities’ were only to soften the blow on the middle classes, who would inevitably fall prey to the capital’s crisis.
Highlighting the patriarchal nature of the communal hate-mongering, AIPWA leader Kavita Krishnan, pointed out that violations were being justified in the name of family. Women were being forced back on families in the name of honour while Sangh goons invoked ‘ghar wapasi’ campaign to undermine minority rights. The family arguments of Sangh parivar, she said was bound to fail as evident during anti ‘love jihad’ drives of the Hindutava goons when girls refused to be brain-washed into surrendering their free-will.
Vijay Pratap observed that there was a greater need for mobilisation of united resistance against the policies. Journalist-activist Gautam Navlakha, stressed that solidarities be made with other movements. He pointed out that there was no dearth of alternatives in popular action, movements, and models from within the Left, democratic, progressive experiments in the country and that dialogue be initiated between various streams to expand these ideas. Gautam Modi said that debating and uniting would continue under AIPF. Dipankar Bhattacharya said that various groups in AIPF were working to build the resistance campaign of 30 June on issues of land, labour and livelihood against the emerging Company Raj.
The meeting was attended in large numbers by students, workers and activists from across Delhi. Theatre group Sangwari’s members sang songs against the loot of labour.
