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Letters

Hasan Ali and NRC
Hasan Ali of Hans Chopra village in Assam narrowly escaped death when his friends cut down the rope he had used to hang himself after a goof up by the National Register of Citizens (NRC) authority led to his name being left out of the NRC draft.

Ali had filed his application in 2015 and was shocked to discover that his name was missing from the list. When he complained to the NRC Authority he was told that he had riot submitted any application. But Ali promptly produced not only a receipt, but also the Application Registration Number (ARN).

He sent a complaint letter to the NSK where he had filed his application. That's when it was discovered that his application had been placed with D-Voters documents by accident and this is why his paperwork was never processed.

The NRC authority accepted its mistake and promised to fix the problem. The Deputy Commissioner of Morigaon directed the circle officer and CRCR to immediately rectify the issue. But no progress was made and a frustrated Ali tried to hang himself on March 8. Luckily he had a lot of friends who genuinely cared about him.

After preventing his suicide they have been constantly providing him support. CJP Community Volunteers also reached the spot within 30 minutes and have not only offered him assistance with the NRC process, but have also been counselling him not to lose hope. They are now coordinating with the local NSK to promptly resolve the matter.
A Reader, Assam

'No' to BJP and NDA
During the five year rule in Delhi the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led NDA government insidiously attempted to destroy all the democratic institutions of the state when its ideological mentor, the RSS with its multiple frontal outfits, continued their mass movement for communal polarisation, exclusion and hatred. The BJP government in power brazenly served the interest of loot and plunder and expropriation of labour and nature by the foreign corporate giants and their Indian agents and expected the backing of the state machineries to the RSS for promoting obscurantist and primordial Brahminical values and for fanning communal passions. Thus the BJP and Sangh Parivar epitomises the economic interest of the section of corporate ruling class constituting the Indian big business houses like Ambanis, Adanis et el and the interest of the forces of regressive values of patriarchy and fascist ideology of a theocratic state. This policy against the interest of the Indian people has been pursued by the abject and blatant surrender to the global imperialist neo-liberal regime under US hegemony.

When the masses badly need the breads and jobs, this government has taken the measures to lower the wages and the income of the majority of the working people and the rural poor. Through GST and demonetisation, this government has destroyed the manufacturing farm sectors and informal workers. The neo-liberal policy of selling the public property has been pursued through privatisation in break neck speed, the petty traders are hard hit through 100% FDI in retail and the price-scissor is widened through cut-throat prices of food items. When the small and marginal peasants need their own control or public control on the land and public expenditure for production and circulation of agricultural products, they have been left to the vagaries of money-lenders, agri-business corporate, and they have been evicted in vast expanse of land especially in the heartland of India. The Big darns and climatic destruction and sea level rise have displaced lakhs of fishing community in vast coastal region, Adivasis and peasants. All these were done to serve the interest of the global corporates and their domestic partners for capital accumulation through displacement of workers, peasant masses and various sections of the working class. The fascist danger looms large due to this unbridled anti-people policy persuasions and the coming together of economic interest of the sections of the big capital and the interest of the obscurantist forces for a theocratic state. So it becomes the principal task of the working class and the people to defeat the BJP backed by the Sangh Parivar who seek legitimacy of their jingoistic ultra-nationalist fascist agenda in the forthcoming parliamentary husting.

The CPI(ML), PCC thinks that it's a sort of parliamentary cretinism to harp on narrow  short term electoral gains instead of acting for the creation of a favourable situation and space for the toilers for strengthening of their struggle.

The party appeals to the people to vote for the strongest candidates who can defeat the BJP and NDA candidate in each and every constituency.
Subhas Deb, CPI(ML), PCC
16-03-2019

Niyamgiri Again
The villagers in the area were protesting outside Vedanta's Lanjigarh refinery demanding jobs as they alleged they had lost livelihoods after losing their lands due to Vedanta's interventions in the area.

As per activists on the ground, "there is a massive crackdown going on at Lanjigarh with the police violently assaulting everyone and anyone on the streets". Villagers of Basantpada village have faced severe assaults during the lathi charge. Two people have been reportedly critically injured and "are fighting for life while more than 30 people have suffered grave injuries".

The mining giant Vedanta has, for several years, eyed the mineral rich region of the Niyamgiri mountains in Odisha's Kalahandi-Raigarh district. As protests against the mining project that Vedanta wanted to implement, mounted, the Supreme Court of India passed an order to conduct grarn sabha hearings in 12 affected villages. All the gram sabhas unanimously voted against the company. However, Vedanta has continued its onslaught and exploitation of the natural resources in collusion with the state machinery.

Just days ago Lingaraj Azad, convener of the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS) of the Niyamgiri movement was arrested on charges of being a Maoist just because he joined the protest on March 5 by several Adivasi-Dalit-Bahujan groups and forest dwelling communities. The people were protesting against the Supreme Court order that threatened their existence. Lingaraj Azad had joined the protests with bows and arrows. After protests against his arbitrary arrest he was released on bail on March 12.

Villagers were waiting, at the time of writing, outside the gate with the dead body. Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was imposed in the area. There are likely to be more casualties in the coming days.
Sabrang India

Nehru–the Original Sinner
China was an original Permanent Member of the Security Council from the signing of the UN Charter in 1945.

After the Communist takeover of China in 1949, the seat continued to be held by the ousted Govt of Chiang Kai-Shek based in Taiwan, which called itself the Republic of China. Nehru rightly felt that this arrangement lacked credibility and that a tiny island state could not be a Permanent Member with veto power on the Council.

Nehru therefore called on the other Permanent Members to admit Communist China (PRC) to the UNSC and give it the Permanent seat held by Taiwan.

US understood the objection to RoC but was unwilling to admit the Communist PRC.

In this context it was suggested that India take over the Chinese permanent seat. Nehru felt this was wrong and would compound one injustice to China with another. He said the RoC seat should be given to PRC and India should one day get a permanent seat in its own right.

Remember that India could not have replaced China on the Security Council without an amendment to the UN Charter. Such an amendment could not have passed over the USSR's veto, which at the time (well before the Sino-Soviet split) it would have exercised.

So Nehru did not "give the Indian permanent seat to China". There was no Indian seat to give and it was far from certain the US idea would have worked.

The BJP prefers to fight over the past because they have failed India in the present and can offer no hope for the future.
Ram Puniyani

Frontier
Vol. 51, No. 40, Apr 7 - 13, 2019