A convention was organised by the CPI(ML) against increasing state repression on forest dwellers and vulnerable communities and minorities on 15 January. Jayaprakash Narayan, National Vice President of the All India Kisan Mahasabha presided over the anti-repression convention which focused on resisting bulldozer rule and defending land and forest rights. He called upon all democratic forces to unite and wage a collective struggle against this regime of bulldozer rule.
Professor Ravikant Chandan of Lucknow University, a noted Dalit intellectual, said that the language and terminology through which communal fascism seeks to conceal itself have now been clearly recognised by the people. Despite deep inequalities, people are uniting around their core concerns. He warned that state institutions are being misused to suppress every voice of resistance, and stressed the need to build broad public awareness against this assault.
CPI(ML) Polit Bureau member Ramji Rai said that behind the Modi–Yogi government’s rhetoric of development is actually the development of destruction of livelihoods and lives of poor and vulnerable sections of the society. The devastation of Adivasi and hill communities— who have historically protected forests and mountains—poses a grave threat to environmental protection and climate stability.
Krishna Adhikari, state president of AIPWA, condemned the bulldozer actions being used against forces struggling to defend the Constitution and their basic rights. She pointed out the irony that those who did not participate in the freedom struggle are being glorified with statues, while the Yogi government is forcibly taking away the land of marginal farmers in the Terai region.
Kaushal Kishore, National Vice President of Jan Sanskriti Manch, observed that people’s movements are routinely portrayed as criminal and anti-development. He emphasised the urgent need for cultural and ideological resistance.
The convention was addressed by CPI state council member Parmanand and State Secretary of the Forward Bloc Dr. Arti. CPI(ML) district in-charge for Lucknow Ramesh Sengar conducted the proceedings of the convention which was attended by participants from Lucknow as well as from Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Kanpur, Jalaun, Ayodhya, Basti, Gonda, Unnao, Hardoi, Hamirpur and many other districts.
The Convention adopted four resolutions. The first opposed the policy of protecting forest and land mafias while unleashing bulldozers on the poor. It demanded strict implementation of the Forest Rights Act and the recognition of Adivasi and forest dwellers’ rights over forests, land, and forest produce. The resolution also called for an immediate halt to eviction drives against poor families settled on gram sabha land, barren land, and fallow land in different parts of the state; the regularisation of such lands; and the protection of citizens’ rights to shelter and livelihood. Bulldozer action against minority religious and educational institutions and shrines was strongly condemned.
The second resolution sharply criticised the Uttar Pradesh government for its undemocratic and repressive actions in filing fabricated cases under grave criminal charges, including attempt to murder, against CPI(ML) State Secretary Sudhakar Yadav and Mirzapur District Secretary Jeera Bharti for leading struggles to defend the land and forest rights of the poor and Adivasis, and for sending them to Mirzapur jail. It demanded the cancellation of FIR dated 3 January 2026, registered at Lalganj police station in Mirzapur, under which CPI(ML) leaders and villagers were arrested, and called for the immediate release of all those detained.
The third resolution demanded the registration of FIRs on the basis of complaints filed by injured women and villagers against forest personnel who, along with JCB machines, carried out a violent attack on the night of 2/3 January in Tendua Khurd village, entering homes and assaulting women. It also demanded punishment for the male police personnel who allegedly assaulted and humiliated the woman leader Jeera Bharti after her arrest on 3 January.
Another resolution condemned the practice of sending police to the homes of CPI(ML) and Left party leaders and activists in Mirzapur to place them under prolonged house arrest, harassing their families, and creating an atmosphere of fear and terror. These actions are an assault on democracy and a manifestation of authoritarian rule. The resolution demanded an end to house arrests, respect for individual liberty, and the creation of a normal and conducive environment for peaceful democratic activity.
