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People's Voice Organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India Volume 29 – Issue 24

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December 16-31, 2007

No justification for the violation of human rights! International Human Rights Day is being observed in India this year in the midst of a hot debate over the gross violation of human rights by p a r t i e s i n p o w e r, whether Congress or BJP or CPI(M). At the centre of this debate is the very definition of human rights, what they are and what they imply about the duties of a State in modern times. This debate reflects the struggle between the Old and the New. On one side stands the old world of exploitation

born to society and have rights by virtue of being human.

of the majority by a minority, with rights enjoyed by a privileged few while the rest have only duties. On the other side stands the new world that is struggling to emerge, on the basis of recognizing that human beings are

During the period of the Cold War between the two superpowers, the very conception of rights was completely debased. The US imperialist promoted a conception of rights according to which individuals, collectives and even countries that opposed US imperialism were branded as agents of Soviet Union to be deprived of all rights. The Soviet Continued on page 10

Gujarat elections

Wide spread opposition of the people to the Congress and BJP Elections to the state assembly in Gujarat are being held in two phases on December 11 and December 16. Both the campaigns being run by the Congress and the BJP – the two main contenders for power – as well as the coverage in the media are being conducted in such a manner as to deliberately exacerbate tensions and inflame divisions among the people not just in Gujarat but in the country as a whole. They are also designed to spread misinformation about the widespread opposition of the people to the anti social offensive of liberalisation and privatization, and the communal and fascist terror. The election campaign clearly shows that neither the BJP nor the Congress

has been able to whip up any enthusiasm amongst the people for their respective parties. This is a reflection of the deep dissatisfaction amongst the peasantry and tribal people as well as other sections of working people against the liberalization and privatization program. The Congress Party as well as BJP are vociferous proponents of the same liberalization and privatization program. Various organizations of the bourgeoisie, including the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, have awarded the government of Gujarat certificates for pursuing these reforms with a vengeance! The bourgeoisie is afraid that the assembly elections are revealing the deep opposition of the

people to the liberalisation program. In this situation, tremendous propaganda Continued on page 7

In this Issue Economy 2  Boom in the Indian Stock Market Voice of Party  This is not communism!  Repeal of ULCRA

3-4

Lok Raj Sangathan  Resolutions of the Fourth

5-7

All-India Convention World  Hitlerite campaign continues

8

Letters to the Editor

9

Voice of Toilers & Tillers 11  March to Parliament on Dec. 10

Economy

Boom in the Indian Stock Market – Part I The Indian stock market has experienced an unprecedented boom as well as volatility since the UPA Government came into power with the promise of ‘reforms with a human face’. Around 1500 companies are listed on the Indian stock market but the top 30 companies account for as much as 25 percent of the market capitalization. Market capitalization is a value arrived at by multiplying the share price with the total number of shares issued by a company. With the share price of most companies touching their highest ever levels, the total market capitalization of all the shares listed on the stock market is now around Rs.60,00,000 crore (USD 1500 billion). This is nearly one-and-half times the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country! Share prices in India are tracked through the 'Sensex' which is based on the share price of 30 companies having the highest market capitalization. Share prices of April 1979 form the Sensex base of 100.

Steep Climb of Sensex Year 2004 2005 2006

2007

Month Sensex Value May Jun Nov Mar Oct Dec Jul Sep Oct Oct

4,500 7,000 9,000 11,000 13,000 14,000 15,000 17,000 19,000 20,000

The Sensex went up by nearly 2.7 times in two years. The government justified and celebrated this abnormal share price appreciation by claiming it to be due to the strong ''fundamentals'' of the economy. An increase of 4500 points in four-and half months between midAugust to November 2007 cannot be on the basis of economic ‘fundamentals’! The Sensex had taken 15 years to reach 4500 level before this boom started. 2

For the ruling class, GDP growth rate is the only fundamental economic parameter that matters. GDP growth rate has been 8-9% for the last four years, which is much less than the rate of increase in share prices.

Large Sensex Falls and Rises in one day Date, 2007

Sensex Fall

22 May 27 Jul 1 Aug 16 Aug 9 Oct 15 Oct 17 Oct

1100 669 615 643

1744

Sensex Rise

788 640 1408

From the sharp increases and falls in share prices, it is clear that the share market is completely under the domination of speculators. Only 35 lakh people in the country invest in shares. Most small investors stay away from the stock market having burnt their fingers in repeated scams and collapse of share prices. By the government’s own admission, share prices have boomed recently due to investment in Indian shares by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). These institutions are generally pension funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity funds, insurance companies and large banks that are all the time looking for places to earn higher and higher return by investing their large capital. FIIs control a very high percentage of tradeable shares in a majority of Sensex companies of the country. Nearly 50% of the shares are owned by Indian and foreign promoters, which are generally not traded. FIIs own more than 36% of tradable shares of these companies, which makes FIIs the most dominant investor group. In 25 out of 30 Sensex companies, FIIs control more tradeable shares than the ‘Indian public’. Given the high degree of control of

December 16-31, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 24

tradeable shares by FIIs, they exert significant influence on share price movement of Sensex companies. The fact that only about 1000 registered FIIs control such a significant section of the share market, gives them more market power than any other market participant. Under these circumstances, a sudden increase or reduction of FII investment in the Indian stock market leads to chaos and sharp increase or fall in stock prices. This is the primary cause of the volatility of Indian stock market. Another cause of volatility is that major stock exchanges around the world are interconnected "around the clock" through instant computer link-up: volatile trading on American market, "spills over" into the European and Asian stock markets thereby rapidly permeating the entire financial system of the world. A few global players drive all markets. Since these financial entities tend to behave in herd-like fashion, rushing into particular markets and instruments when the profit seems good and withdrawing together when uncertainty strikes, their decisions determine the buoyancy or lack of it in most markets of the world. Foreign institutional investors are estimated to have pumped in around Rs.45,000 crore ($10,700 million) into India's markets in 2005 and a further Rs.22,000 crore ($ 5,000 million) by May 2006. When they decided to pull out around Rs.8,500 crore ($2,000 million) between May 11 and May 25, 2006 a sharp downturn ensued. Over the past few months, Sensex has soared by over 5,000 points to touch record levels. Much of this boom has been again fuelled by foreign investors who have pumped in more than Rs.18,000 crore ($4,500 million) in shares of big Indian companies over one fortnight alone. This year, net inflows by foreign portfolio investors have exceeded Rs.70,000 crore ($17,500 million). Continued on page 8

Voice of Party

Buddhadeb's apology is not acceptable! This is not communism! CPI(M) leader and Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, stated at a press conference in New Delhi on 4th December, “We have failed in Nandigram. It was an administrative and political failure. We have learnt lessons from Nandigram that we have to take people into confidence. We have to ensure that Nandigram does not repeat itself.” Bhattacharjee also expressed regret for his provocative pronouncement made last month that those opposed to the CPI(M) and land acquisition had been “paid back in the same coin”. Buddhadeb’s statements to the press were made after the Politbureau of CPI(M) met to discuss the political fallout of their ‘recapture’ of Nandigram. The leaders of CPI(M) have been forced to reckon with the widespread condemnation and criticism of their actions, both outside and within the communist movement. Over 60,000 artistes and intellectuals of Bengal demonstrated on November 14, 2007 in Kolkata, just a day after Buddhadeb’s provocative statement, to voice their opposition to CPI(M)’s justification for state terrorism. There has been disagreement even within the Left Front in Bengal, with the Forward Bloc and the RSP expressing reservations about the line of CPI(M). The ‘apology’ of the Chief Minister is the response of the CPI(M) leadership to end its present isolation in the communist movement and amongst the broad sections of progressive intelligentsia as a consequence of its recent actions. Buddhadeb's apology cannot and must not be accepted. What happened in Nandigram cannot be called an administrative failure by any stretch of imagination. The state administration and ruling party in West Bengal consciously planned and executed the terror campaign to win back Nandigram under the control of CPI(M). The armed

hit squads of the ruling party were assembled from all parts of Bengal for this “recapture”. They were set in motion, assured of full state protection. They butchered and raped in order to ‘teach a lesson’ to the peasants who dared to challenge the authority of CPI(M). Such a conscious and planned act cannot be called a mistake or failure. In truth, it is a monstrous crime against the people. In March 2007, there was a public hue and cry against the West Bengal Government’s use of force against the people in Nandigram. Following this, Buddhadeb publicly announced the withdrawal of the land acquisition program in Nandigram. He also publicly admitted that his party and government had not taken people into confidence, that the party must do so in future. In November, CPI(M) launched the second bloody invasion of Nandigram, better planned than the first invasion. Can one really believe the leaders of CPI(M) any more? What do the leaders of CPI(M) mean when they say it was a “political failure”? They mean that their calculation, that they would gain politically in Bengal and India through the forcible recapture of Nandigram, was wrong. The credibility of CPI(M) has gone down as a result. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and the leadership of the CPI(M) are now doing what is known as spin doctoring, in an attempt to regain their lost credibility. Communists and all those who defend human rights must not allow themselves to be fooled by Buddhadeb’s words. These ‘apologies’ and ‘regrets’ are made with political calculations, to advance the interest of CPI(M). They show that the leaders of CPI(M) are only concerned about whether their own party gains or loses. They have no concern for whether the workers and peasants gain or lose. They have neither

any respect for human rights not any concern for people’s lives. For the sake of promoting the interest of their own party, the leadership of CPI(M) justifies use of force against any and every rival, including other parties in the communist movement. They used force against the Naxalites and the CPI(ML) in the late sixties and early seventies. Today they use force against all their political rivals. Anyone who expresses opposition to the program and policies of the Left Front government in Bengal is considered an enemy and use of force against such people is justified. CPI(M) routinely declares such people to be “Trinamul Congress” or “Maoists”. CPI(M) treats its political adversaries in much the same manner as George Bush declares all those who disagree with him to be terrorists deserving liquidation. Leaders of CPI(M) are quoting the Security Advisor of the government of India to “prove” that Maoists were running a gun factory in Nandigram! This is no different from the US imperialists justifying their invasion of Iraq quoting CIA reports that Iraq had WMDs. Use of force against political rivals and to quell all opposition among the people, for the sake of promoting one’s own party’s interest, has nothing to do with communism. Communists work for advancing the interests of the working class. Their aim is to bring the working class and peasantry to power, not to establish and defend a party dictatorship by fire and sword. It is the bourgeoisie that resorts to violence and terror to safeguard and strengthen its rule. CPI(M)’s unleashing of terror in Nandigram for the second time in a year is not accidental. It reflects which class CPI(M) is serving. It is defending the interests of the bourgeoisie and not that of the working class. 

December 16-31, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 24

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Voice of Party Maharahstra

Repeal of Urban Land Ceiling Regulation Act On 29 Nov 2007 the Maharahstra State Assembly approved scrapping of the Urban Land Ceiling Regulation Act, (ULCRA) in the state. Builders described it as a “red letter day for housing in Maharashtra”. The share prices of real estate companies shot up on hearing the news of repeal of ULCRA but people of Mumbai saw it as yet another blow to their dreams of an affordable house in the city. The repeal of ULCRA is yet another step in the liberalization of the economy. Land will be held and traded speculatively. It will pave the way for the richest and wealthiest builders and private companies to monopolise all the land and further consolidate their hold over real estate. Affordable housing for the working people of Mumbai and other cities will become an even more distant dream. ULCRA was promulgated by the Central government in 1976 with the aim of capping the ownership of land in notified urban areas. In Mumbai, any land in excess of 500 sq meters could be acquired by the state government for a social purpose. ULCRA was promoted as a boon to low cost housing. After 31 years, the Maharashtra government has been able to identify only 3600 acres of land as surplus in Mumbai for acquisition under ULCRA, out of which only 2300 acres have been acquired so far. However, nearly all the owners have challenged the acquisition of their land in the court. After repeal of ULCRA, government is likely to lose out all the acquired land. The State government used to grant exemption from ULCRA, at its discretion, provided ten percent of houses built on surplus land were surrendered to government. The government was expected to sell these houses to low income families. Builders, however, repeatedly violated ULCRA by selling flats meant for low income housing themselves. The state government

4

has levied penalties of around Rs 1000 crore on builders but has so far collected only Rs 100 crore. So, the state government neither acquired surplus land and built affordable houses for people nor did it insist on surrender of even a small proportion of houses built on surplus land. If the repeal of ULCRA today exemplifies the reform agenda of the bourgeoisie, the promulgation of ULCRA decades ago exemplified "Nehruvian socialism" – where private property and accumulation by a minority was to be enabled and assisted by the state, but for maintaining the illusion of building a “socialist pattern of society”, such laws were promulgated. Non-implementation of such regulations was not an aberration but the norm. The law was meant to be violated and the violators were never punished; in fact, there were deliberate loop-holes in the law for the benefit of the rich. That is why under ULCRA "excess" land in any substantial measure was not appropriated by the state to be applied in the service of housing for the working population. At the present time, Indian bourgeoisie has launched a massive drive to upgrade infrastructure in the cities to make them world class centres. Capital is pouring in from all over the world to make super profits in infrastructure development, and the government has

initiated a mammoth program called the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM). ULCRA has been found to be a bottleneck in the way of capital today. Maharashtra has nearly 88 projects entailing an investment of Rs 25,000 crore awaiting the clearance under the JNURM. Due to ULCRA, land owners transferred surplus land into fictitious names and did not use the land. The Central government scrapped ULCRA in 1999 and asked the states to do the same. The Indian State has totally abdicated its responsibility of providing affordable housing for people. Big bourgeoisie is being encouraged to enter housing and treat it like any other industry for making profit. Foreign capital and large foreign real estate companies are being invited to build large housing complexes, townships and even develop new cities in the country. These big real estate companies need large areas of land and ULCRA was obviously a hindrance for their growth. The repeal of ULCRA by the central and state governments is for promoting the interest of large Indian and foreign companies who wish to enter real estate in a big way and without any constraints. The repeal of ULCRA is yet another antipeople policy of the present state. It is yet another example of surrendering the interests of people for the benefit of the big bourgeoisie. 

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December 16-31, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 24

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Resolutions of the Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan Towards People’s Power The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan recognizes that a direct democracy without the intermediate agency of power brokers is vastly superior to the current system of representative democracy that is dominated by political parties that want power exclusively in their hands. This Convention resolves that Lok Raj Sangathan will use every opportunity to prepare the conditions for renewal of the current political system and political process, which are required for the establishment of direct democracy where the people will exercise power. Towards this end, Lok Raj Sangathan will redouble its efforts in the coming period to build lok raj samitis and initiate widespread discussion and debate on genuine electoral reforms and constitutional guarantee of rights.

On the right to livelihood The Fourth Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan resolves that the right to livelihood – food, shelter, clothing, education, health care, affordable and adequate supply of safe water and electricity and protection during old age, disablement and sickness – is universal, enforceable and inalienable. Hence, the State cannot absolve itself of its constitutional responsibility to provide these rights for the people. The Convention demands that constitutional guarantees must be provided and enforced for the realization of these rights.

On State terrorism The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan strongly condemns

the ‘war against terrorism’ being conducted by the Indian state and ruling parties as a war against the people and their rights; and demands that those guilty of terrorist acts, including communal violence and encounter killings, either directly or through holding command responsibility, should be apprehended, tried and punished in the most severe fashion, irrespective of any official or elected position they may hold. The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan demands the repeal of all fascist laws including the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Disturbed Areas Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, and others that violate basic human rights and democratic rights. The Convention vehemently condemns the escalating attack on minority communities, people of the north-east and Kashmir, and fighting forces in other parts of the country in the name of curbing so-called fundamentalists, terrorists, secessionists, naxalites, and others.

On Agrarian distress and the peasantry The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan takes note of the acute agrarian distress that has led to many thousands of peasants and farmers committing suicides, about 90,000 in the 9 years 1997-2005 and expresses its strong condemnation of this tragedy and those responsible for it. It holds the State and ruling parties, the policies of successive central and state governments, geared to maximize the private profits of big corporations, responsible for this situation.

The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan further demands that: 

the governments should provide adequate support prices for all crops in all regions of the country, and establish a network of public procurement for ensuring a stable market for all agricultural produce.



all risks threatening the producers of all crops should be covered under a public insurance scheme that is not geared towards maximizing profits.



the tiller of the land should be guaranteed a secure livelihood and state support to increase productivity and achieve economies of scale, so that agriculture can fulfil the needs of the whole of society, as well as the needs of the peasants.

Corporatisation of wholesale and retail trade The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan expresses its deep concern at the rapid course of corporatisation of wholesale and retail trade in the country, directly enabled by government policy in this direction. The Convention strongly condemns the use of force by the State against working people and shopkeepers in order to promote the corporatisation of trade. The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan demands that: 

trade should serve the interests of ensuring availability of all essential goods and services to all members of society at affordable prices

December 16-31, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 24

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

wholesale trade should be nationalized in the interests of the small producers and the urban working people



retail trade should be subject to social control and regulation to ensure that there is no threat of profiteering and hoarding at the expense of the working people and small traders

Land Acquisition and the SEZ Act The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan observes that the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act, passed by the UPA Government in 2005, legitimizes corporate land grabbing, and serves the aim of concentrating prime land in the hands of capitalist corporations. It enables big capitalists to select whichever land they want and then the central or state government concerned acquires that land using whatever means, including through the use of force, backed by the SEZ Act and the colonial Land Acquisition Act. The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan upholds the principle that land is a vital natural resource that belongs to nations and peoples. It cannot and must not be owned and managed by self-serving private corporate interests. Agricultural land needs to be secure in the hands of those who till it, while urban land must be brought under social ownership and control. Based on the observations enumerated above, the Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan demands

prohibit forcible acquisition of land by private corporate entities and ensure that peasants cannot be deprived of their land without their consent and approval by the concerned people and legislative bodies

Violence and terror in Nandigram The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan unequivocally condemns the violence and terror unleashed in Nandigram against those who are opposing the ruling CPI(M) led Left Front Government and its policy on land acquisition. Use of force by the State and ruling party to suppress people’s opposition to land acquisition cannot be justified under any pretext. Use of force to settle problems of an economic and political nature is antidemocratic.

lands, the present day rulers of India are pursuing a narrow minded foreign policy driven by imperialist self interest. With the aim of developing India as a big imperial power, successive governments in New Delhi have been striking deals and alliances with other aggressive imperialist powers, including the United States. Such a course increases the threat of war and chaos in South Asia. The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan condemns the moves of the NDA and UPA governments to forge a strategic political, military and economic alliance with the United States, and demands Amendment of the Constitution to ensure that the Government of India cannot ratify any international agreement without the approval of twothirds of the members of Parliament. This Convention resolves to mobilize public opinion around this demand.

Displacement The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan unequivocally condemns the displacement and deprivation of livelihood and rights of thousands of tribal peoples, forest dwellers and adivasis in different parts of India, all in the name of development, and demands that 

Government at all levels must ensure that the interests of individuals and collectives are harmonized with each other and with the general interests of society, without allowing a minority of private interests to thrive at the expense of others.

Foreign Policy 

Repeal of the colonial Land Acquisition Act;



Repeal of the SEZ Act; and



Enactment of a new law that will

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December 16-31, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 24

The Fourth All-India Convention of Lok Raj Sangathan observes that whereas the peoples of this subcontinent have a long history replete with examples of mutually beneficial trade and cultural relations with the peoples of other

Constitution of LRS T h e Fo u r t h A l l - I n d i a C o n v e n t i o n recognises the need to prepare LRS as an organization capable of playing a central role to bring together all the fighting forces of India under one banner, so that in the coming period the people’s agenda will occupy the centre stage of politics. Toward this, the Fourth All-India Convention resolves to adopt the draft Constitution of Lok Raj Sangathan as a political organization with the amendments approved by this general body.

Future Work The Convention resolves to deepen and scale up the work of building Lok Raj samitis in work places and residential areas and building and strengthening the regional councils of LRS. Continued on page 7

Resolutions of the...

in the political arena, including in the electoral arena.

Continued from page 6

The Fourth Annual Convention resolves to take steps in the coming period to engage all the political forces in India who are committed to the empowerment of the people, in working out a common platform to intervene

Gujarat elections ... Continued from page 1

is being whipped up to portray these elections as a mahayuddh between communalists and secularists, Gujaratis and the rest of Indians, and so on. There has been widespread revolt in the ranks of the BJP in Gujarat. Many of those who revolted were leaders in the genocidal slaughter of Muslims in 2002. They have now joined the Congress party, or are standing in the elections with Congress support. This reveals the hollowness of the “secular” plank of the Congress party. Despite being in power at the centre for the last four years, the Congress led UPA government has taken no action at all to bring to book those responsible for the communal carnage in Gujarat in 2002, including the then state government of Narendra Modi. The reason for this is very clear. The Congress party and government themselves have organised similar communal massacres, as in November 1984, and they have no intention of setting a precedent of punishing the guilty of such massacres. They know that doing so will only backfire on them. Modi and the BJP are portraying this contest as a fight between Gujarat and

The Fourth Convention resolves to intervene in the state assembly elections due in 2008 in Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and parliamentary elections as well as in the General Elections due in 2009 and to work closely with all

the rest of India. Their campaign slogan is“Jeetega Gujarat”. Any attempt to draw attention to the crimes of the Modi government is being dismissed as an attack on Gujarat and the Gujarati people. According to the bourgeoisie, Gujarat is a model of “development”. The truth is that growth has been registered in certain sectors of manufacturing and services only, with the majority of the benefits being cornered by a small stratum of wealthy capitalists. Most of it has been concentrated in SEZs, where the big capitalists are not constrained by even minimum labour laws and other regulations, and in certain urban corridors. On the other hand agriculture, on which the majority of working people depend, has suffered definite decline, leading to overall impoverishment in the rural areas, particularly in southern and eastern Gujarat. Inequalities between classes, between the urban and rural areas, and among the different regions of Gujarat, have sharply increased. The “Vibrant Gujarat” of which BJP boasts completely leaves out the suffering peasants, of whom hundreds have committed suicide under BJP rule, as well as the large proportion of tribal people in the state. Both in terms of its economic conditions, as well as in terms of the politics of communal violence and

forces engaged in similar initiatives, putting the cause of empowerment of people at the centre of our efforts. The Fourth Convention resolves to organize joint actions all over the country to mark Human Rights Day (December 10) in defence of human rights against black laws, and to punish those guilty of communal violence and genocide. 

state-organised terror, Gujarat is not a special case, but is typical of what is going on in India as a whole today under the rule of the big bourgeoisie. The conditions of the toilers – the working class, peasantry, tribal and other people – are getting worse while pockets of “high growth” are making the big bourgeoisie ecstatic. At the same time, Gujarat is a very clear case of how state terrorism and communal and fascist violence are being systematically unleashed as a method to impose the agenda of the ruling bourgeoisie on the people and stamp out all opposition. The present political system and process enables the bourgeoisie to replace one party that rules on its behalf with another, to carry on the same program. In this situation, organizations of workers, peasants, tribals and working people have taken up the task of exposing and opposing the Congress as well as BJP in these elections. They are campaigning for an alternative to the liberalization and privatization program. They are exposing the hollowness of the opposition of the Congress party to state terrorism and communal and fascist violence. They have fielded candidates to challenge the Congress and BJP. This struggle of the working people of Gujarat deserves the support of all those who are fighting the anti social offensive of the bourgeoisie. 

December 16-31, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 24

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World US intelligence agencies report Iran not making nuclear bomb

Familiar Hitlerite campaign continues In a rare moment, all sixteen US intelligence agencies are reported to have reached a consensus view that the government of Iran is not, in fact working on a nuclear bomb. This view is contained in the US National Intelligence Estimate, which declares that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program way back in 2003! This has once again exposed the hollowness of the claims of the US-led imperialist powers. They have been crying themselves hoarse as to how Iran is hell-bent upon developing a nuclear bomb. Never mind that it is, in fact, the right of a sovereign government to develop and possess nuclear weapons given the present global situation in which the most dangerous powers such as US and Israel not only possess huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons but also have threatened to use them many a time.

Stock market boom... Continued from page 2

The factors underlying the heavy inflows of foreign institutional investment into India's stock markets are now well known. Indian government has, since 1993, freely allowed foreign investors to buy and sell shares in India and given them a number of tax incentives to encourage them.

The interest rates and the potential profit rate of big corporations in the growing sectors of economy in India are much higher than in international markets. FIIs therefore borrow from countries like Japan where interest rates are very low and invest in India to take advantage of the higher interest rates and potentially high profits. Recent FII inflows are also driven by expectations of further appreciation 8

This however does not mean that the US-led imperialists are going to lay off Iran. Much before they aggressed upon Iraq in 2003, UN-appointed weapons inspectors had gone on record expressing doubts about the very existence of “weapons of mass destruction” (WMDs), one of the purported reasons for the AngloAmerican imperialists to attack Iraq. No evidence of the existence of such weapons, which allegedly threatened the security of the world, was ever found. Soon after the aggression and occupation of Iraq, it became abundantly clear to the vast majority of people in the world, that control of energy resources and other strategic and political aims dictated the aggression, WMDs were only a cover. The familiar Hitlerite campaign continues in the case of Iran too. Dastardly

of the rupee. The problem is that when investments are attracted to the Indian market with expectations of speculative gains from rupee appreciation, such capital flows themselves push up the value of the rupee. Larger the inflow of foreign capital, greater is the tendency for the rupee to appreciate. The rupee has appreciated by 12 percent over the past one year. The more the rupee appreciates, greater is the flow of foreign investment to earn additional profit from rupee appreciation, besides the profits from booming stock prices. And more the FII investments, more does the stock market boom. So the stock market is like a casino, a place for gambling, where speculators try to influence both the Sensex and the value of rupee against dollar, for earning super-profits. A rapid rise in stock prices does not reflect the creation of new value. It reflects the concentration of already created value in fewer and fewer hands. In other words, the stock

December 16-31, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 24

economic sanctions have been enforced by the US-led imperialists, making it very difficult for third countries to trade with Iran. Readers would recall that debilitating sanctions were in place in Iraq for several years, completely ruining the economy of that country, prior to the 2003 aggression. The government of Iran is clearly sought to be isolated and threatened because it has not accepted US dominance and asserted its’ sovereign rights. The peoples of India and Iran have ties of friendship and cooperation going back several centuries, which the USled imperialists want us to jettison. People's Voice calls upon the Indian people to continue to stand by the brave Iranian people. We must instead force our government to jettison its strategic alliance with US imperialism, the most dangerous power on earth today! 

market enables a small minority of super rich individuals to become richer as rapidly as possible, at the expense of all others in society. The stock market is of great importance to the big business houses. How it is used by them to enrich themselves and how the working people are hurt directly and indirectly by the games played on the stock market needs to be understood by all. This will be further elaborated in the subsequent parts of this essay. 

Internet Edition of Mazdoor Ekta Lehar (Hindi) & People's Voice at www.cgpi.org, e-mail:[email protected]

Letters to Editor CPI (M) exposed Sir, I am writing to congratulate the Central Committee (CC) of the Communist Ghadar Party of India (CGPI) on its statement condemning the CPI(M) on the violence it has unleashed in Nandigram, and clearly identifying the activities of the CPI(M) led Left Front Government of West Bengal as state terrorism. The CC has correctly pointed out that these acts of left fascism are a result of the complete merger of the CPI(M)'s policies with those of the big bourgeoisie. I could not agree more with the contents of the statement that draw attention to the whitewashing of the crimes of the CPI(M) cadre in Nandigram, to the arrogance of state power manifest in the statement of Mr.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, to the acts of revenge seeking which is the path of the most reactionary circles. Through its actions the CPI(M) stands exposed in the eyes of all justice loving peoples of the world. This is also a time for all working people and toiling people to recall once again that the path that is being charted by the big bourgeoisie and its parties is that of disaster for the majority of the Indian people. Let no one be under any illusion of what the real character of globalization and liberalization is. This path is going to be one that is replete with violent confrontation between the oppressed and dispossessed sections against those in power and those with capital. In order to maximize profits

capital will expand wherever it sees opportunities, it will seek to exploit the vast natural wealth and products of the labour of the toiling masses of the country, even if it means displacing hundreds of thousands. The act of resistance of the people of Nandigram and the Nandigrams to come is a legitimate struggle and justice loving peoples should come to its defence, irrespective of narrow sectarian interests.The statement of the CC in exposing the activities of the CPI(M) is a right step in this direction. Sincerely, Amarinder, Thane

Terrorist killings in Uttar Pradesh Sir, I am writing to thank the CC of the CGPI for its statement "Condemn the terrorist killings in Uttar Pradesh.'' I join the CC in its expression of anger at the loss of innocent lives and in its offer of condolences to the families of the victims. The Party has consistently maintained that organizing of terrorist strikes across the length and breadth of the country is part of the preferred policy of the state to cause confusion and to paralyze the people, indeed to derail the struggle for rights in the country. It is also a cover for the policy of repression and state terror, whose present victims happen to be primarily Muslim men and youth. By constantly raising the bogey of Islamic terror, the state has armed itself with greater and greater powers of detention, arrest and incarceration. The present victims of terror happen to be lawyers in UP, which comes from what the statement describes as an englightened section of the society. It is my submission here that lawyers and others in the legal profession are

now a deliberate target of state terror, and indeed of intelligence services, as many in this profession have played a very important role in the struggle for democratic rights in the country. At a great personal cost to their professional success, and against all odds, many brave lawyers have taken up cases to defend innocent victims of an unjust judicial system. It is as a result of this that they have become a target — a signal being sent to them

not to take up cases of defence of those arrested under various anti-terrorism laws, against those organizing for rights of tribals, displaced, workers, and so on and so forth. I join your appeal to broad sections of society to not yield to terror and give up their struggle for rights in the country. Sincerely, A. Narayan Bangalore

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December 16-31, 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 24

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Voice of Toilers & Tillers No justification for... Continued from page 1

social-imperialists likewise condemned those who opposed or criticized them as imperialist agents and on that basis denied them their rights. Within India today, the forces of the status quo are opposed to the modern definition of human rights – which is that human beings have rights by virtue of being human, and that it is the duty of the State to ensure that these rights are fulfilled and never violated under any pretext.

The bourgeoisie uses the imperialist concept of rights to justify their widespread violation in the country. The Constitution lists various nice sounding policy objectives in its Directive Principles. These are just a wish list of what the state should ensure. These are not rights which the state is duty bound to enforce. They are not justiciable. The government cannot be hauled up in court for disregarding them. The Indian state violates the rights of people at will in the interest of the big capitalists who rule the country. The right to life and livelihood, the right to

History of Struggle over Human Rights Fifty-nine years ago, on December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since then, every year, December 10 is being celebrated as Human Rights Day. The United States and other colonial powers ensured that the Declaration adopted in 1948 contained no measures or mechanisms to enable the realization of human rights for all. The delegation from the socialist Soviet Union struggled hard to make the Declaration meaningful and a weapon in the hands of people to overcome their exploiters. The main contention at that time was on the question of the role of the state in ensuring human rights. The US delegation, headed by Eleanor Roosevelt, categorically refused to accept the obligation on governments to assure the enjoyment of these rights. The Soviet delegation proposed far reaching amendments relating to right to work (article 23), right to social security (article 22), and others, which were turned down. As far as the imperialists were

concerned, the dyad of rights and duties meant the right of capitalists to continue their exploitation and the duty of the exploited to accept their fate. In essence, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was turned into a document that is harmless to bourgeois rule. The imperialists refused to accept the modern definition of human rights as rights that are inviolable, and which cannot be given or taken away by anyone. On the contrary, the imperialist powers defined rights as something which can be given or taken away by the state, to suit the interests of the ruling class. With the coming to power of Khrushchev and the transformation of the socialist Soviet state into a social-imperialist state, the cause of human rights suffered a decisive blow. The social-imperialist Soviet Union promoted the concept that rights depend on whether a people aligned themselves with the US camp or the Soviet camp. The continuation of such a conception and policy can be seen in the conduct of the CPI(M) and the West Bengal government today.

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lead a decent life, the right of nations to self-determination, and other economic, social and political rights are violated in India on a daily basis. Communists.are duty bound to champion the modern definition of human rights and to fight to establish that kind of state and society wherein human rights are realized in practice. Human rights include the right to conscience, right to life, to work and earn a secure livelihood, right to a dignified standard of living befitting the modern age, among other things. Human rights belong to all human beings by virtue of being human. It is the duty of the state to guarantee these rights by providing enabling legislation and mechanisms for their realization. There cannot be any ideological or other justification for the violation of these rights. It does not matter whether it is the Congress, the BJP or the CPI(M) that tries to advance ideological and political justification for trampling on human rights.Those who trample on human rights, and try to advance justifications for doing so, are part of the old world. There can be no justification whatsoever for the violation of human rights in modern times. 

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Voice of Toilers & Tillers Hundreds march to parliament on December 10:

Let us build a new India to guarantee human rights for all! Calling for an end to state terrorism and the violation of rights of all sections of the people, hundreds of activists of various people’s organisations gathered at Mandi House in New Delhi on December 10, on the occasion of International Human Rights Day. They then proceeded in a lively and colourful demonstration to Parliament, to protest against the violation of rights of people and to express their determination to carry forward the struggle for the realisation of our rights Reflecting the broad spectrum of the movement for rights were the variety of organisations that participated in this action. Together with Lok Raj Sangathan, were leaders and activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), National Forum for Workers Rights, Rikshaw Pullers Association of Greater Noida, Manipur Students Association of Delhi (MSAD), All Manipur Students Association, Masjid Moth Residents Welfare Association, Sanjay Colony Lok Raj Samiti, Purogami Mahila Sangathan, Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha, Nagrik Shasan, activists from Myanmar opposing the military dictatorship, and others.

Through bold banners and placards as well as militant slogans that they raised all the way, the demonstrators vividly brought out the people’s anger against the gross violation of rights. “Down with AFSPA!”, “Down with Army terror in Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland!”, “Punish the criminals of 1984-19922002!”, ”Punish those responsible for state terrorism in Kashmir, Nagaland, Manipur, Assam”, “Down with mass

displacement in the name of SEZs!”, “No to Indo US strategic alliance!”, “Our demand – human, democratic and national rights!”, “Hum hain iske malik, hum hain Hindostan, mazdoor-kisanaurat aur jawan!” – slogans such as these drew the attention of passers by, among whom thousands of copies of the joint leaflet issued on the occasion were distributed. At Jantar Mantar, near Parliament, the demonstrators rallied around in a circle and representatives of the participating organisations addressed the gathering. Demanding exemplary punishment for those guilty of crimes against the people, Lok Raj Sangathan's All-India Council member Sucharita called upon all present to reaffirm our resolve to work for a new India in which people will have mechanisms for the realisation of our human, democratic and national rights, where we shall be masters of our own destiny – an India based on the voluntary union of all nations and peoples. Mohammad Talah of the Jamaat-eIslami Hind denounced the Indian state for its crimes against all sections of the Continued on page 12

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Voice of Toilers & Tillers

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Hundreds march to parliament... Continued from page 11

people and the portrayal of muslims as ”terrorists” as well as the persecution of muslims in the name of ”fighting terrorism”. He pointed out that when we look at Nandigram, or 1984, or Gujarat, we witness the phenomenon of political parties unleashing terrorist violence to maintain their rule over the people. He hailed the united manifestation in defence of human, democratic and national rights. Gunarjit, president of the MSAD highlighted the intolerable crimes of the Indian army against the people of Manipur under the AFSPA and the peoples struggle against it and called on All-Indian people to unite to end this terrible oppression. He pointed out that how could Manipuris feel proud of being Indians when their mothers and sisters were raped by the Indian armed forces and the youth were mercilessly killed and there was no justice for the people. He was joined by Khumba, president of the All Manipur Students Association, in condemning the crimes of the state against the people of Manipur. Joysen, representative of NPMHR, pointed out that over one and half lakh

Nagas had been killed by the Indian state security forces in sixty years since independence. He described the present day Indian Union as a prison house of the different nations and nationalities and called for a united struggle to put an end to the atrocities being committed against the Naga people by the Indian army and other agencies of the Indian state.

Lipika of the National Forum for Workers Rights described the pitiable conditions of the unorganised workers in the construction and other sectors and emphasised the need for a strong united resistance movement for the enforcement of our rights. R anju Minhas, secretary of the M a s j i d M o t h R e s i d e n t s We l f a r e Association, elaborated on the struggle to secure basic amenities and the right to a safe and dignified existence. Representatives of other organisations also addressed the rally. All speakers unanimously reaffirmed the need to strengthen our fighting unity and work to build a new India, in which rights will be guaranteed to all and those who violate the rights of any section of people will be severely punished. The December 10 demonstration and rally in New Delhi clearly showed that people are no longer willing to accept the violation of their rights by the state. The movement for establishing constitutional guarantees and mechanisms in the hands of the people, for the realisation of human, democratic and national rights, is steadily gaining strength. 