1 july - not only people's war in india

Bhilai, Chattisgarh – Invitation for Shaheed Divas, July 1

INVITATION FOR 1ST JULY SHAHEED DIVAS AT BHILAI
IN MEMORY OF 17 CONTRACT WORKERS MURDERED IN POLICE FIRING BY THE BJP GOVT IN 1992, AND TO RESOLVE TO CARRY FORWARD THE IDEALS OF SHAHEED SHANKAR GUHA NIYOGI.
It is a tough time for the working class and working class struggles. The brave struggle of the Maruti workers continues determinedly despite hundreds in jail and hundreds thrown out of work. Tens of thousands of contract teachers in Chhattisgarh returned empty handed after a 35 long day strike and only electoral exigencies made the government take back thousands of suspension and dismissal orders. From Bangladeshi garment workers to Chinese poultry workers, hundreds of workers are dying in horrendous industrial accidents. Yet, as the global financial crisis deepens, and the workers of Europe come out on the streets, it becomes more and more clear that socialism is the only solution. Workers must dare to lead the political struggles of the toiling people – that is indeed the only way to survive.
In the past year our small working class organization – Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (Mazdoor Karyakarta Committee) too has continued its dogged struggle. The contract cement workers are fighting for employment for local workers, regularization of contract workers and implementation of the Cement Wage Board in the units of Swiss multinational Holcim, ACC and Ambuja Cement, both on the streets and in the courts. In the medium engineering factories of Bhilai and Urla-Siltara industrial area of Raipur, the organization is swimming against the tide to implement minimum wages, ESI, PF and safe conditions of work. Working class women struggle to protect their bastis and to take their rightful place of equality and dignity alongside the working class men. As a part of the Sanyukt Trade Union Manch, we have investigated industrial accidents and are carrying out a creative mass campaign for drastically increasing the miminum wage which is so miserably low that workers are prepared to work a 12 hour day or do inhuman overtime for sheer survival.
Despite our own small strength, we have felt it our political repsonsibility to stretch ourselves to participate actively in the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan – a platform of organizations struggling against displacement, for adivasi and peasant rights, and particularly against corporate loot in the state. Today, when both the BJP Govt in the State and the Congress Govt at the Centre are hawkishly pushing further militarization and army deployment as the only solution to the unrest in Bastar and the adjoining adivasi areas, we feel it our duty to repeatedly assert the democratic position that for de-escalation of violence the burning issues of these areas must be addressed, even though we are aware of the absolute intolerance to dissent in Chhattisgarh.
Friends, we invite you to join us for the Rally and Public Meeting at Bhilai on 1st July, Rally will leave Niyogi Chowk at about 12.30pm and the Public Meeting will begin at about 2pm at the Bachat Stambh near Bhilai Powerhouse Railway Station.
For those friends coming from outside, if you don’t mind the spartan meals and protecting yourself from mosquitos, you are most welcome to stay with us in the union office at Labour Camp, Jamul.
Your support and solidarity is our most precious asset.
Ham banabo nava pehchan, Raj karhi mazdoor kisan!
Lootero ki jageer nahi, Chhattisgarh hamara hai!
Shaheedon ka rasta amal karo!
Inquilab zindabaad, Samrajyavaad Murdabad!
Bansi Sahu, Sudha Bharadwaj, Rajkumar Sahu, Ramakant Banjare, Kaladas Dehariya, Saraswati Sahu, Pinki Verma, Mahesh Sahu, Kaushal Sahu, Kalyan Patel.