and who is the author of this great Communist Manifesto of Harrison On Fri, Sep 5, 2008 at 10:51 AM, anil tharayath <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:
> > Friends > found this article circulating on the net............. > > Another spokesperson for the party. I have a feeling that now a days > teachers/ professors in Kerala are teaching the malayalam version of > CPI(M) manifesto > > > Chengara Land Struggle: A conspiracy that apparently precedes another > Nandigram > > > A grand conspiracy is being contemplated by certain elements owing > allegiance to religious forces along with Naxal-Maoist groups in > Kerala to thwart the historic efforts of the ruling LDF Govt. to > provide the downtrodden sections with land and houses, on a massive > scale. That it is a conspiracy has become clearer of late with several > reports on the real endowments of the so-called landless activists of > the Chengara strike coming out. There are telling evidences to > substantiate that these unlawful act of encroachment is aided and > abetted by imperialist forces in collusion with the anti left forces > mentioned above. However, in elite media and among the liberal > intellectual circles, it is being deliberately portrayed as a landmark > struggle for land reforms, redistribution of excess land and ever so > many other radical transformations in Kerala. This section of the > media leaves no opportunity to celebrate this incident as an > indication of some grave crises in the agrarian sector in Kerala and > that it is going to be a harbinger of greater changes in agrarian > relations, something that a CPI (M) refuses to implement. They try to > accuse the CPI (M) of anti peasant and anti working class attitudes by > citing Chengara strike as a symbol of its subjugation to the rich and > influential sections of the society. This is evidently a distorted > version of the affair that deserves to be refuted. It is nothing but > a premeditated attempt to tarnish the face of the LDF government and > the CPI(M). > > The Chengara agitation was started on August 3, 2007, by two > organizations that claim to be of dalits and adivasis under the common > banner of Chengara bhoosamara aikyavedi samathi, for grabbing and > distributing the land of Harrison plantation, Chengara, Pathanamthitta > District. Now, almost about a year since then, the agitators have > literally seized the area rendering hundreds of plantation workers > jobless. The agitation was initiated under the guise of an innocent > demand for land for the landless dalits. The occasion of launching the > struggle is particularly significant since it was the time when the > LDF government had emphasized its resolve to grab all the unlawful > possessions of the land mafia across the state. It is widely known > that the LDF government is seriously pursuing this with a view to > create a land bank, which could be duly distributed to dalits, > adivasis and other landless people. As we understand it clearly now, > the agitation has other intentions, much greater and far-reaching than > what they say. They intend to divert the attention of the public from > the visionary steps taken by the government and attract a section of > apolitical intellectuals towards a non-issue to create chaos and > unrest in the state. The initial steps of the struggle somehow or the > other resemble the covert sprout of a Nandigram model debacle. > > One of the startling observations regarding this struggle is that > these organizations receive substantial monetary assistance from > several domestic and foreign agencies such as the Ford foundation, > USA. This struggle would have been justifiable if the LDF government > had shown an iota of aversion to the cause of landless dalits and > adivasis in the state. In fact, the LDF government has already > announced its commitment to the concerns of the poor and initiated > many a landmark decision to safeguard the interests of the landless. > One major step towards this direction has been the unprecedented > resolve to find out all illegal possessions of the land mafia as > stated earlier. This has been widely acclaimed as the most daring step > a government could ever take. No UDF government has attempted it > before. Since comprehensive land reforms have already been enacted in > the state, the second stage would be to ensure land and house for all, > particularly the poor. The LDF government has been largely successful > in cracking down the land mafia and grabbing unlawful possessions, > without letting these steps go into irresolvable legal complexities. > > When a government, which is unambiguously committed to such serious > concerns rules the state, why should someone come out with a struggle > on such a non-issue? > > It is in this context, we doubt the intentions of the Chengara > struggle, which is sponsored by forces of dubious backgrounds with the > support of Naxals and Maoists. Though there had been constant attempts > to provoke the police and create untoward incidents, which could flare > up, the government has maintained exemplary restraint and foiled the > efforts of the samara samithi. The agitating groups now show signs of > disintegration as evinced by the several voices of dissent from within > the group. Initially, followers were enticed by assuring that each one > would get five acres of land if they contributed Rs 1500-3000 to the > organizers of the struggle. Many people, even from neighbouring > districts had ventured to participate in the struggle in response to > this promise. Interestingly, almost every one of them has own land and > home. Now, with the realization that it is a dream quite unlikely to > be materialized, most of them have lost faith in the intentions of the > leadership and the agitation is gradua lly subsiding. > > The socio economic profile of the participants of the struggle is > testimony to the wicked intentions of its sponsors. While the struggle > proclaims to be a genuine response of the landless poor to get > endowments for minimum subsistence, most of the participants own > assets worth more than minimal. For instance, Thankamma, an active > participant of the struggle owns a house in her 20 cents of land as a > beneficiary of the housing project of the Grama Panchayat. Nany, > another participant has 10 cents and a house. Recently she has bought > five more cents. Karunakaran owns 40 cents and is well off. Thankappan > has sent her wife to the gulf and lives comfortably in his own house. > While Ammini, unit president of the samara samithi has her own house, > Valia Karuppel Sasi, unit secretary of the samara vedi has two houses > in his possession. Kunju Pillai, another ardent participant has 1.5 > acre, adjacent to Chengara estate. His two sons have also their own > houses. Soman reached the agitation camp leaving his house locked. He > has built this house with the financial assistance from a housing > project of the Block Panchayat. He had motivated people in his > neighborhood to join the struggle by promising each one five acres of > land. His children now stay with his brother. Soman who is a rubber > tapper left his job in anticipation of getting five-acre land and Rs > 50000, as reported by him. Konthanalil Sasi who has motivated many > people to participate in the struggle is the beneficiary of > Janakeeyasoothranam, the people's plan programme that provided him > with a house. He is alleged to have collected money from these people. > Similarly, several participants are beneficiaries of some or the other > developmental projects of the government or the local body. > Poovallimuruppel Bose, who owns 30 cents haS built his house with the > help of SC Development Corporation, also participates in the struggle > for more land and money. Kallungal Kunjukunju is a beneficiary of SC > Corporation and he owns two houses and 35 cents of land. About two > dozen people of Chittar in Ranni assembly constituency also camp at > Chengara to participate in this struggle. This list is not complete. > > However, it would be queer to look at the case of the agitation's most > vigorous leader Laha Gopalan, who spearheads the movement. Gopalan, a > retired employee of the KSEB has one acre and nine cents at > Aruvappulam Panchayat (survey No.540/1/1/328, 540/11/328/130). He says > that he bought it with the money he got in connection with his > superannuation in the KSEB, which amounted to Rs. 4 lakhs. When the > credentials of the leaders were exposed, one of the women leaders > Thattail Saraswathy resigned from the organisation. She also owns 1.5 > acre arable land which she bought by taking loan from SC Corporation. > Paradoxically, while 90 % of the agitators have either home or land, > 70 % of the plantation workers, who have lost job since the agitation, > have neither home nor land. Recent interpretations of the ultra left > groups and left liberal intellectuals argue that the plantation > workers should also join the strike and grab the land. The > participants of the agitation unscrupulously tap the rubber trees and > sell out latex worth thousands of rupees to meet their huge expenses. > Moreover, fearing a setback, the organizers of the agitation forcibly > prevents the participants who have decided to dissociate with the > struggle from going out of the camp in the estate. Those who fall > sick are also not allowed to leave the place and be treated. The > organizers fear that if people were allowed to leave, they would leave > the agitation altogether, and forever. > > However, the forces that have fuelled this spiteful campaign have not > conceded defeat. Bolstered by rich funding sources, there are all-out > efforts to rekindle the lost vigour and revive the struggle. A section > of the media is still creating confusion among the public through > contorted interpretations. They try to establish that the government > of Kerala is not responsive to the clamour of poor dalits. Moreover, > several questions as to whether the CPI (M) has departed from its > inherent ideological positions have also been raised. On the contrary, > they have neither bothered to acknowledge the foreign aid that the > agitation receives nor tried to condemn the impropriety of such an > action against a government with favourable attitude to their demands. > > That the agitation has foreign connection became evident when the > Israeli youth spotted at Chengara revealed on interrogation by police > that he works for the Israeli peace movement tiblin, which is now > under the surveillance of RAW and he is an activist of Global > Democracy, a World Bank organisation. Deshabhimani, the CPI(M) daily, > unearthed the foreign connection in the agitation. In fact, the sadhu > jana vimochana samyuktha vedi leads the struggle at the behest of two > organizations, one based at Delhi and the other at Thiruvalla, Kerala. > These organizations have been at the forefront of the issue right from > the beginning. They purposely internationalized the agitation to > spread canards against the LDF Govt across the world. They are eager > to blow the issue out of proportion and ascribe ideological and human > rights dimensions to the incident. They also spread pre-mediated > stories on ''atrocities'' against dalit women by the local trade union > activists and estate workers, which is a damn lie. Solidarity- an > organisation that supports the agitation- in its publication viz. > "update collective" made an appeal to the funding agencies to provide > financial aid to a great social movement involving 45,000 poor > families who are desperately struggling to get land and house in > Kerala. They had also furnished addresses and phone numbers to send > money. A website of the Dalit Foundation says that in Kerala, they > give donations to Navachethana. New York based Ford Foundation is one > of the international agencies that finance Chengara agitation. Human > Rights Foundation, another organisation that help the struggle > receives money from several European agencies and the World Christian > Council. Delhi based Dalit Forum have openly admitted that they have > close liaison with Dynamic Action, the agency which spearheads the > agitation against the LDF Govt. Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri > Balakrishnan has expressed the doubt that Chengara agitation is > thriving on money from abroad, considering the methods of the > struggle. > > It is noteworthy that unlike what had happened at Muthanga during the > UDF regime, the Government of Kerala exercises exemplary restraint in > handling the agitation. It has never tried to forcibly remove the > protestors from the estate. The LDF, led by the CPI (M) seeks to deal > with the issue pragmatically by offering land to all the landless and > the poor in the state as a matter of its committed policy. LDF > convener Vaikkom viswan observes that the sole aim of Chengara > agitation is to defeat the efforts of LDF govt. to distribute land to > dalits and adivasis. The Chief Minister has reiterated his commitment > to grab unlawful possessions from the land mafia as early as possible > and distribute them to the poor. In spite of all these promises, > proven repeatedly through daring steps, the Chengara struggle is still > on, to malign a progressive and pro poor government. Its intentions > are dubious and do not have any justification, ideologically. Rather, > it marks a political maneuver that apparently precedes another > Nandigram. > > > -- > "There are more ideas on earth than intellectuals imagine. And these > ideas are more active, stronger, more resistant, more passionate than > ''politicians'' think. We have to be there at the birth of ideas, the > bursting outward of their force: not in books expressing them, but in > events manifesting this force, in struggles carried on around ideas, > for or against them. Ideas do not rule the world. But it is because > the world has ideas... that it is not passively ruled by those who are > its leaders or those who would like to teach it, once and for all, > what it must think" - Foucault > > ANIL > > Anil Tharayath Varghese > National Centre for Advocacy Studies > Serenity Complex, Ramnagar Colony > Pashan, Pune 21 > Phone - 02022952003/4 > Mobile - 09890387877 > email - [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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