CLICK TO ENLARGE
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
HARYANA: CONVENTION AGAINST COMMERCIALISATION, CENTRALISATION OF EDUCATION - Vinod Deshwal & Mukesh Kumari
ON October 10, several mass organisations including the Students Federation of India (SFI), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Janwadi Mahila Samiti (JMS), Haryana Government Teachers Association, Haryana Gyan Vigyan Samiti (HGVS), Parents Forum, Al India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), organised a convention at Rohtak in defence of public education. The purpose was to generate awareness against the onslaught of privatisation, commercialisation and centralisation of education in the state and the country.
The convention took place in response to the call given by the national convention, that had taken place in New Delhi on August 13, and to propagate its decisions. The state convention decided to organise district level conventions in order to constitute “Save Education, Spread Education Forums” in all districts of Haryana and to mobilise people for the March to Parliament scheduled to take place on December 2 coming.
Former Haryana education minister Professor Shyam Chand, School Teachers Federation of India’s national treasurer Satyapal Siwach, Dr Mahasbir Sharma, Dr Rajendra Chaudhari, Dr Nilima Dahiya, Dr Jagmati Sangwan, Dr R S Dahiya, Master Wazeer Singh, Jai Bhagwan, Atar Singh, Dinesh Siwach, Vinod Deshwal, Rajkumari Dahiya, Subhash Lamba, Advocate O P Sharma, Mangat Ram Shastri and HGVS state secretary Sohan Das were the main speakers at the convention. Search and Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) organised a books exhibition on this occasion in order to popularise the progressive literature in the state.
Dr R S Dahiya (senior physician at the PGIMS), Advocate O P Sharma, Dr Subhash Chandra, Master Balbeer Singh, SFI state secretary Manoj Kumar and JMS state secretary Savita constituted the presidium that conducted the proceedings.
Moving the main resolution at the convention, Satyapal Siwach pointed out that while the UPA had promised to effect far-reaching changes in education after coming back to power, nothing like that has taken place even after a lapse of one year and a half. In fact, instead of effecting pro-people reforms in Indian education, the government is implementing the LPG policies in the field and thus depriving an ever increasing section of the people of education. A seven member commission called the NCHER has been imposed the realm of higher education, in order to take it out of parliamentary scrutiny, so that the government might push its neo-liberal agenda here with impunity. The government is out to facilitate the entry of foreign universities in the country in order to commercialise our education system. The convention’s resolution pointed out that the UPA regime has totally gone back upon its promise to spend 6 per cent of GDP and 10 per cent of union budget on education even though the whole education sector, including higher education, is facing a severe resource crunch. While the central government pushed through the parliament the Right to Education Bill for the sake of children in the 6-14 age group, the bill made the state governments responsible for mobilising resources for the purpose; the centre thus unashamedly gave up its responsibility in this regard. On the other hand, the fund made available for implementing the Right to Education Act is being handed over to private hands in the name of public-private partnership (PPP). The centre is also striving to bring education out of the concurrent list and put it in the union list in the name of abolition Class 10 exams and creation of a single board for Class 12. (One recalls that education was transferred from the state list to the concurrent list during the authoritarian Emergency regime in the mid-1970s.) On its part, the Congress government of Haryana is faithfully toeing the central policies without any qualm of conscience. It is promoting the opening of private institutions in the name of encouraging higher technical education institutions in the state, thus leaving the parents vulnerable to the private sector’s loot. At present, the state government is spending only 16.21 per cent of its budget on education, which is for away from the demand that 30 per cent of the state budget must be earmarked for the sector.
Former minister Professor Shyam Chand said the initial budget of Rs 630 crore for the Commonwealth Games was later hiked to Rs 70,000 crore in order to benefit a handful of people through corrupt methods, while the Congress governments have been constantly running away from their responsibility spending 6 per cent of GDP for education. Master Wazeer Singh said thousands of teacher posts lying vacant in the state are not being filled up while there is the pressing need of creating thousands of new posts for implementing the Right to Education Act. Subhash Lamba pointed out that the state government is not sincere about implementing its own directives regarding 25 per cent reservations in educational institutions for the students coming from the economically and socially weaker sections, while parents have been agitating for it for long. Dr Nilima Dahiya said the government is ignoring the teaching of humanities subjects and seeking to mould the curriculum according the needs of the market.
Dr Jagmati Sangwan lambasted the out and out patriarchal attitude of the state government which is constantly ignoring the episodes of sexual oppression and harassment, and has failed to curb the savour crimes like honour killings, thus contributing to a worsening of educational environment in the state. It has taken only token steps in the direction of constituting an anti-sexual oppression committee and ignored the Supreme Court’s clear-cut directives in this regard. DYFI state president Dinesh Siwach said the government is facilitating the exploitation of unemployed educated youth by the private sector; that is why it is avoiding the formulation of a concrete policy for providing them permanent employment. SFI state secretary Vinod Deshwal said there has been a ban on student union elections in Haryana for the last 14 years, in a bid to suppress the possibilities of organised opposition to the neo-liberal policies in education. The privatisation and commercialisation of education led to severe fall in its quality.
The main resolution of the convention was unanimously adopted after several suggestions were incorporated in to it. The convention constituted a Save Education, Spread Education Forum, Haryana in order to resist the anti-education policies in the state. A number of eminent educationists and intellectuals, apart from representatives of the participating organisations will be the members of this forum, which will have Satyapal Siwach as its convenor. The convention also constituted a four-member committee, based on Dr Subhash Chandra, Sohan Das, Mukesh Yadav and Vinod Deshwal, for creation of publicity and awareness material for the proposed campaign.
On behalf of the presidium, Dr Subhash Chandra said all sections of the society are resenting the moves at the privatisation and commercialisation of education, and we have to mobilise them in order to give their resentment a positive direction. Outlining the proposed campaign, he said, the series of district level conventions would be completed by November 10, and then a joint statewide campaign would start in order to ensure maximum possible participation from the state in the December 2 March to Parliament of students, teachers and parents. He expressed the hope that the Save Education, Spread Education Forum would be able to forge a powerful grassroots level movement against the anti-education policies of the central and state governments.
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org
Vol. XXXIV, No. 43, October 24, 2010
The convention took place in response to the call given by the national convention, that had taken place in New Delhi on August 13, and to propagate its decisions. The state convention decided to organise district level conventions in order to constitute “Save Education, Spread Education Forums” in all districts of Haryana and to mobilise people for the March to Parliament scheduled to take place on December 2 coming.
Former Haryana education minister Professor Shyam Chand, School Teachers Federation of India’s national treasurer Satyapal Siwach, Dr Mahasbir Sharma, Dr Rajendra Chaudhari, Dr Nilima Dahiya, Dr Jagmati Sangwan, Dr R S Dahiya, Master Wazeer Singh, Jai Bhagwan, Atar Singh, Dinesh Siwach, Vinod Deshwal, Rajkumari Dahiya, Subhash Lamba, Advocate O P Sharma, Mangat Ram Shastri and HGVS state secretary Sohan Das were the main speakers at the convention. Search and Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) organised a books exhibition on this occasion in order to popularise the progressive literature in the state.
Dr R S Dahiya (senior physician at the PGIMS), Advocate O P Sharma, Dr Subhash Chandra, Master Balbeer Singh, SFI state secretary Manoj Kumar and JMS state secretary Savita constituted the presidium that conducted the proceedings.
Moving the main resolution at the convention, Satyapal Siwach pointed out that while the UPA had promised to effect far-reaching changes in education after coming back to power, nothing like that has taken place even after a lapse of one year and a half. In fact, instead of effecting pro-people reforms in Indian education, the government is implementing the LPG policies in the field and thus depriving an ever increasing section of the people of education. A seven member commission called the NCHER has been imposed the realm of higher education, in order to take it out of parliamentary scrutiny, so that the government might push its neo-liberal agenda here with impunity. The government is out to facilitate the entry of foreign universities in the country in order to commercialise our education system. The convention’s resolution pointed out that the UPA regime has totally gone back upon its promise to spend 6 per cent of GDP and 10 per cent of union budget on education even though the whole education sector, including higher education, is facing a severe resource crunch. While the central government pushed through the parliament the Right to Education Bill for the sake of children in the 6-14 age group, the bill made the state governments responsible for mobilising resources for the purpose; the centre thus unashamedly gave up its responsibility in this regard. On the other hand, the fund made available for implementing the Right to Education Act is being handed over to private hands in the name of public-private partnership (PPP). The centre is also striving to bring education out of the concurrent list and put it in the union list in the name of abolition Class 10 exams and creation of a single board for Class 12. (One recalls that education was transferred from the state list to the concurrent list during the authoritarian Emergency regime in the mid-1970s.) On its part, the Congress government of Haryana is faithfully toeing the central policies without any qualm of conscience. It is promoting the opening of private institutions in the name of encouraging higher technical education institutions in the state, thus leaving the parents vulnerable to the private sector’s loot. At present, the state government is spending only 16.21 per cent of its budget on education, which is for away from the demand that 30 per cent of the state budget must be earmarked for the sector.
Former minister Professor Shyam Chand said the initial budget of Rs 630 crore for the Commonwealth Games was later hiked to Rs 70,000 crore in order to benefit a handful of people through corrupt methods, while the Congress governments have been constantly running away from their responsibility spending 6 per cent of GDP for education. Master Wazeer Singh said thousands of teacher posts lying vacant in the state are not being filled up while there is the pressing need of creating thousands of new posts for implementing the Right to Education Act. Subhash Lamba pointed out that the state government is not sincere about implementing its own directives regarding 25 per cent reservations in educational institutions for the students coming from the economically and socially weaker sections, while parents have been agitating for it for long. Dr Nilima Dahiya said the government is ignoring the teaching of humanities subjects and seeking to mould the curriculum according the needs of the market.
Dr Jagmati Sangwan lambasted the out and out patriarchal attitude of the state government which is constantly ignoring the episodes of sexual oppression and harassment, and has failed to curb the savour crimes like honour killings, thus contributing to a worsening of educational environment in the state. It has taken only token steps in the direction of constituting an anti-sexual oppression committee and ignored the Supreme Court’s clear-cut directives in this regard. DYFI state president Dinesh Siwach said the government is facilitating the exploitation of unemployed educated youth by the private sector; that is why it is avoiding the formulation of a concrete policy for providing them permanent employment. SFI state secretary Vinod Deshwal said there has been a ban on student union elections in Haryana for the last 14 years, in a bid to suppress the possibilities of organised opposition to the neo-liberal policies in education. The privatisation and commercialisation of education led to severe fall in its quality.
The main resolution of the convention was unanimously adopted after several suggestions were incorporated in to it. The convention constituted a Save Education, Spread Education Forum, Haryana in order to resist the anti-education policies in the state. A number of eminent educationists and intellectuals, apart from representatives of the participating organisations will be the members of this forum, which will have Satyapal Siwach as its convenor. The convention also constituted a four-member committee, based on Dr Subhash Chandra, Sohan Das, Mukesh Yadav and Vinod Deshwal, for creation of publicity and awareness material for the proposed campaign.
On behalf of the presidium, Dr Subhash Chandra said all sections of the society are resenting the moves at the privatisation and commercialisation of education, and we have to mobilise them in order to give their resentment a positive direction. Outlining the proposed campaign, he said, the series of district level conventions would be completed by November 10, and then a joint statewide campaign would start in order to ensure maximum possible participation from the state in the December 2 March to Parliament of students, teachers and parents. He expressed the hope that the Save Education, Spread Education Forum would be able to forge a powerful grassroots level movement against the anti-education policies of the central and state governments.
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org
Vol. XXXIV, No. 43, October 24, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
PEOPLE’S RESISTANCE TO ANARCHY GROWS IN SOUTH BENGAL - B PRASANT
SPECIFICALLY in three places, north and south 24 Parganas and east Medinipur, popular struggle has forged ahead against the undoing and riotous activities of goons, history-sheeters, and plain old criminals with a police record several metres long. All of these ‘jewels’ in the right reactionary ‘crown,’ expectedly belong to the Trinamul Congress.
Near the dwip or peninsular-island communities of south and north 24 Parganas, touching the mangroves of the lovely Sunderbans, Biman Basu, CPI(M) Bengal state secretary addressed meetings, rallies, and generally spoke to the people. The masses, rural and semi-urban in nature, came in their droves of thousands. Across to Haroa-Mina Khan, you run into a maze of riverine Gangetic plateau with its soft alluvial soil and fertile grounds.
Deeper south, some of the fields and market places where Biman Basu has of late addressed meetings, teemed with people, waving countless Red flags, bright in the afternoon sun, spring is finally here, albeit late, hanging on to the speaker’s every word. Yet violence hung like an albeit shredded coverlet over and across the dwip region, replete as the area is with multitude of riverine wetland patches green with vegetation, full-grown forests of short, thick trees that sport more flowers than leaves, mangrove clutches, large openings of rice paddies, water bodies, and also, menacingly, tragically, enough cover for terrorists to run loose and mount ambushes.
Already five CPI (M) comrades have had to face martyrdom and countless others have been left with varying degree of assault-related injuries, over the past months soon after the popular resistance to the Trinamuli misrule in the Zillah Parishad commenced of late, under the vanguard leadership of the CPI (M). The resistance continues as the popular tide fills out with fervour and militancy.
Across the moth of the Ganges to east Medinipur, Sunia near the Dariapur side of Kontai, has already seen a steady stream of marchers moving across the rural and semi-urban areas, the areas being then cleared of anti-social elements with appropriate help of the district authorities. Lately, Haldi has been witness to several large rallies in which thousands of people have taken part.
Near the dwip or peninsular-island communities of south and north 24 Parganas, touching the mangroves of the lovely Sunderbans, Biman Basu, CPI(M) Bengal state secretary addressed meetings, rallies, and generally spoke to the people. The masses, rural and semi-urban in nature, came in their droves of thousands. Across to Haroa-Mina Khan, you run into a maze of riverine Gangetic plateau with its soft alluvial soil and fertile grounds.
Deeper south, some of the fields and market places where Biman Basu has of late addressed meetings, teemed with people, waving countless Red flags, bright in the afternoon sun, spring is finally here, albeit late, hanging on to the speaker’s every word. Yet violence hung like an albeit shredded coverlet over and across the dwip region, replete as the area is with multitude of riverine wetland patches green with vegetation, full-grown forests of short, thick trees that sport more flowers than leaves, mangrove clutches, large openings of rice paddies, water bodies, and also, menacingly, tragically, enough cover for terrorists to run loose and mount ambushes.
Already five CPI (M) comrades have had to face martyrdom and countless others have been left with varying degree of assault-related injuries, over the past months soon after the popular resistance to the Trinamuli misrule in the Zillah Parishad commenced of late, under the vanguard leadership of the CPI (M). The resistance continues as the popular tide fills out with fervour and militancy.
Across the moth of the Ganges to east Medinipur, Sunia near the Dariapur side of Kontai, has already seen a steady stream of marchers moving across the rural and semi-urban areas, the areas being then cleared of anti-social elements with appropriate help of the district authorities. Lately, Haldi has been witness to several large rallies in which thousands of people have taken part.
On 2 October Mukundapur, also near Kontai, was witness to a massive rally of marchers that covered in jatha form, 52 villages, and areas in between, over a period of two days and two nights. Everywhere the marchers were welcomed and offered a surfeit of refreshments. The villagers strung up numerous Red banners, buntings, and posters welcoming the jatha. The intermittent bike-borne assaults by the Trinamulis, especially the incident of bomb-throwing at Deulpota, a Trinamuli ‘stronghold,' were indifferently brushed aside by the large mass of the people who marched on regardless and then took part in a sit-down rally at Mukundapur. The township of Kontai strained in sympathy of the marchers – and held rallies in support of the march and against the tyranny let loose in the district by the forces of right reaction and ‘left’ sectarianism.
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
ORIYA VERSION OF CAPITAL, VOL 1, COMES OUT - Pradip Mohanty
PRAKASH Karat, general secretary of the CPI (M), recently released the Oriya translation of Volume I of Karl Marx’s magnum opus, Das Kapital, at Jayadev Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. As we know, the volume not only traced the genesis and development of capitalism till that time, but also signalled the doom of the capitalist social order and the inevitability of the advent of a socialist society.
On this occasion, Karat addressed a big gathering at Jaydev Bhawan, where people from all sections of society were present. He said that, contrary to the motivated bourgeois and imperialist propaganda, the views put forward in Das Kapital still hold valid in the today’s world situation. The value created by labourers goes to them only partly whereas another part of it passes away as surplus value to the capitalist class. A worker gets a wage for his labour power but is made to create more than what he gets. Karat further said the neo liberal economy of today is nothing but primitive accumulation of capital in a changed form --- a phenomenon which has been amply explained in Volume I of Das Kapital. The rampant loot of mineral resources from our country in general and especially from Orissa is a significantly example of the loot which the primitive capital accumulation today is. He called on people to oppose this capitalist loot. He added that the Oriya translation of Das Kapital, Vol. 1, is a remarkable task in respect to making people aware of this loot and preparing them to get up and resist it.
Renowned Marxian economist Prabhat Pattnaik was the chief guest at this release ceremony. He said capitalism today cannot bring changes to the life of the people. Whatever change is possible, can be brought by socialism alone. He emphasised that no amount of progressive policies can bring about radical social changes if they fail to absorb the concepts propounded by Karl Marx. Capitalism creates unemployment with low level of wages. It deprives peasants and other small producers from their respective properties, which are very small. In India, during the last few years alone, 80 lakh peasants have been evicted from their lands. This is a significant example of what consequences the capitalist path of development may bring about. Compared to the level of 1953, the per capita consumption of food has got drastically reduced. This is the ‘gift’ of capitalist growth path in India over the last 57 years.
On this occasion, Karat addressed a big gathering at Jaydev Bhawan, where people from all sections of society were present. He said that, contrary to the motivated bourgeois and imperialist propaganda, the views put forward in Das Kapital still hold valid in the today’s world situation. The value created by labourers goes to them only partly whereas another part of it passes away as surplus value to the capitalist class. A worker gets a wage for his labour power but is made to create more than what he gets. Karat further said the neo liberal economy of today is nothing but primitive accumulation of capital in a changed form --- a phenomenon which has been amply explained in Volume I of Das Kapital. The rampant loot of mineral resources from our country in general and especially from Orissa is a significantly example of the loot which the primitive capital accumulation today is. He called on people to oppose this capitalist loot. He added that the Oriya translation of Das Kapital, Vol. 1, is a remarkable task in respect to making people aware of this loot and preparing them to get up and resist it.
Renowned Marxian economist Prabhat Pattnaik was the chief guest at this release ceremony. He said capitalism today cannot bring changes to the life of the people. Whatever change is possible, can be brought by socialism alone. He emphasised that no amount of progressive policies can bring about radical social changes if they fail to absorb the concepts propounded by Karl Marx. Capitalism creates unemployment with low level of wages. It deprives peasants and other small producers from their respective properties, which are very small. In India, during the last few years alone, 80 lakh peasants have been evicted from their lands. This is a significant example of what consequences the capitalist path of development may bring about. Compared to the level of 1953, the per capita consumption of food has got drastically reduced. This is the ‘gift’ of capitalist growth path in India over the last 57 years.
Patnaik also pointed out that in today’s world finance capital is not prepared to tolerate the Keynesian theory of intervention to save capitalism from its downfall. The real course of development today cannot be properly understood without understanding what capitalism is. He said that the Oriya translation of Das Kapital, Vol I, by Lambodar Nayak is a timely effort, very different from the Oriya translation of Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto by Bhagabati Panigrahi in 1937. it is after a long period of 73 years that Oriya translation of such a valuable work has come up, and its credit goes to Lambodar Nayak.
Dr Dolgobinda Panda, a prominent intellectual and Marxist author, also eulogised the timely Oriya translation of Das Kapital, Vol I. Those in the release ceremony were also addressed by CPI (M) state secretary Janardan Pati, Sivaji Patnaik and state CITU general secretary Bishnu Mohanty.
At the outset, state CITU president and the translator, Lambodar Nayak, welcome the chief guest and the audience. The meeting was coordinated by Santosh Das, sub-editor of Marxist Oriya weekly Samyabadi. He concluded the meeting with a vote of thanks for all the participants.
The Oriya version of Capital came out on August 16. It was a heartening event as it was on the same day 143 years ago when Karl Marx had presented his historic work the working class of the world.
The publication of this volume was taken up by one Progressive Publishing House, Lokshiksha Pratishtan, Orissa.
Source: www.pd.cpim.org
Dr Dolgobinda Panda, a prominent intellectual and Marxist author, also eulogised the timely Oriya translation of Das Kapital, Vol I. Those in the release ceremony were also addressed by CPI (M) state secretary Janardan Pati, Sivaji Patnaik and state CITU general secretary Bishnu Mohanty.
At the outset, state CITU president and the translator, Lambodar Nayak, welcome the chief guest and the audience. The meeting was coordinated by Santosh Das, sub-editor of Marxist Oriya weekly Samyabadi. He concluded the meeting with a vote of thanks for all the participants.
The Oriya version of Capital came out on August 16. It was a heartening event as it was on the same day 143 years ago when Karl Marx had presented his historic work the working class of the world.
The publication of this volume was taken up by one Progressive Publishing House, Lokshiksha Pratishtan, Orissa.
Source: www.pd.cpim.org
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)