UTTARAKHAND

CPI(M)’s Second State Conference In Uttarakhand

 Vijay Rawat

THE second state conference of Uttarakhand CPI(M) was held at Rishikesh on 15 and 16 January. The venue of the conference was the Rishikesh Town Hall which was named Nayanar Nagar in memory of Comrade E K Nayanar. The entire town and chiefly the Haridwar - Badrinath route was decorated with party festoons, flags and posters. Arrangements for the stay of the delegates were made at two large Dharamshalas where gates in memory of D P Bhatt, a DCM of Dehra Dun and S R Sharma of the IDPL were made.

AN IMPRESSIVE PUBLIC MEETING

The formal opening of the conference was preceded by an impressive public meeting at the local Mukherji Chawk, where hundreds of women, peasants, youth, students and working men participated despite the extreme winter weather and rain. There were peasants from the western most part of the state, the Jamuna valley and students from 10 districts where the party has extended its reach since the First Conference. The  rally reflected the composite character of the state in terms of communities, nationalities and religions amid the preponderance of the Uttarakhandis.

The rally before culminating into the public meeting passed through Haridwar Road, Lakshaman Jhula Road and then branched of to the historic Mukherji Chawk where all the political gatherings have been held since independence in this small yet important town, which happens to be a kind of entry point to the Uttarakhandi Heartland and centres of legendry pilgrimages as also the area of operation of late Communist Martyrs Nagendra Saklani and his companion Bholu Bhardari. Rishikesh with all its trappings of a religious town has a glorious anti-imperialist and anti feudal tradition and modern working class movement being the centre of now withered IDPL. The impressive turn out at the rally justified the choice of the town for the conference.

The media and the local townspeople in general were surprised to witness such an outstanding participation in a rally of the CPI(M). It was said that this was one of the most significant rally witnessed by the town in about a decade after the historic Uttarakhand movement.

The public meeting was chaired by Om Prakash Chaudhury, a veteran of the undivided party and now of the CPI(M), whose son was martyred defying Mulayam Singh government’s bullets during the Uttarakhand movement. Comrade S R Pillai was the main speaker at the rally, who while speaking in English could communicate and enthuse the audience through Hindi translation of his speech. What he said in essence was that the CPI(M) unlike other parties takes its democratic tradition very seriously, it draws every member and every unit into discussing and formulating the tactics of the party all the time and particularly at the time of its Congress. This is one reason which makes the CPI(M) competent in taking correct decisions on social, economic and political issues. He added that the experience of the CPI(M) is that whenever sections of people and masses struggle for their democratic and other rights the ruling class parties and classes take recourse to oppression and comit atrocities. It is therefore imperative to have alternate policies and politics which can bury the danger of communalism for all times and to initiate people oriented social, economic and political policies. This can happen only around the pivot of the Left. He called upon the audience and the people of Uttarakhand therefore to rally round the flag of the CPI(M). He was delighted to be present at Rishikesh on this historic occasion when the CPI(M) in the newly created state was entering new areas and new sections of the people.

Brinda Karat, speaking on the occasion commented that the rally and the public meeting demonstrates and reflects the reality of the Uttarakhandi society in the overwhelming presence of women both in the rally and the public meeting. About four years have passed since the formation of the state of Uttarakhand, out of which about three years have been spent under Congress rule. During this period the Congress party has done nothing which could differentiate it from its predecessor the BJP in this state. The people gave an opportunity to the UPA government, it adopted a CMP, but not even a reflection of it is visible in the state of Uttarakhand. It has therefore, become necessary that while defeating communalism in the state, a beginning for an alternate politics be made. This is possible only through fighting for the demands raised by the Uttarakhand movement, the class demands of the workers and the peasantry and by fighting the evils of social discrimination against women and the poorer sections of our caste ridden society. In order to make such a beginning, the unity of Left needs to be strengthened, and for this to happen the strength of the CPI(M) has to be increased manifold. She recalled the glorious, militant and revolutionary traditions of Uttarakhand and therefore believed that a beginning to such a struggle will be made by the people of Uttarakhand. Many of the problems of the present day Uttarakhand are a result of the discriminatory nature of the UP Re-organisation Bill 2000, which instead of solving some of the problems have complicated matters by allowing the interference of both the Centre and UP governments in matters relating to the new state and for this the BJP is to be squarely blamed ably supported by Congress, specially the then MP and now the CM of Uttarakhand. She assured the people that whenever the situation demanded and the need arose the Central Committee of the CPI(M) will extend its wholehearted support to such struggles.

The state secretary of the party Vijay Rawat, said that the party in the state has been in the forefront of the struggles to defend the rights of the people on forest, land and water and energy resources in the past and will continue to do so more intensively and extensively in near future. He appealed to all secular and progressive forces scattered throughout the sprawling state to join the CPI(M) in this endeavour so that a mighty movement becomes possible in the state to politically make it possible for the people to obtain their dream of a modern and democratic Uttarakhand. The meeting was also addressed by Kanswal, Ganga Dhar, Indu Naudiyal, Surendra Sajwan and Bhandari.

Apart from activists of the AIDWA, the SFI, the Kisan Sabha, workers of the weakened IDPL a very significant number of Flex Food workers led by their militant leader Mala Mall and DYFI contingents were present in the rally.

INAUGURATION OF THE CONFERENCE

The red party flag was hoisted by comrade Chaudhury amid a roar of revolutionary slogans and was followed by remembrance and floral offerings at the martyrs column, S R Pillai leading the delegates and others present.

The town Hall and its environs had been tastefully decorated, the credit being that of the Dehra Dun DC volunteers both young and old. S R Pillai in his thought provoking inaugural speech brought out the essence of the party programme while elaborating the international and national situation as it developed during the last three years. He explained to those present the course of development and the successful test of the party’s tactical line since the 17th party Congress in the main he stressed the outlines of our party’s struggle in the coming future. We will have to devote our energies in struggles against imperialism, communalism and the disastrous economic policies being pursued by the ruling classes. He stressed the need for waging struggles on local issues of the people in order to enter new areas and new sections of the people.

The resolution paying homage to the martyrs and condolence was moved by Ganga Dhar on behalf of the Presidium. E K Nayanar, Ram Sumer Yadav, Ravi Sinha, P K Tandon, D P Bhatt, Nripen Chakravarty and Yasser Arafat were specially remembered among others including those who died at Tehri Tunnel disaster and those who died in various road and landslide accidents in Uttarakhand. Homage was paid by observing silence for two minutes.

SECRETARY REPORT

Vijay Rawat presented the report and in his speech narrated the story of party building and its campaign from the date when a humble meeting was held four years ago at Kalu Mal Dharamshala and later the First conference. From our work in only four districts at the time of the formation of the state organising committee our work has expanded to nine districts and the Second Conference has delegates elected from 10 District and Local Committees. The membership since separation from UP has become one and a half times of what it was then. As part of UP the only priority district was Dehra Dun. During last three years we added new priorities and it was being reflected in the conference. Politically speaking, the party has been able to break its isolation which was forced on it during a decade long Uttarakhand agitation for a separate state. This was possible because of our sustained campaigns, our fight for the rights of people, for our fight against oppression of all kinds and above all due to the correctness of the policies enunciated and applied by the party since the 16^th and 17^th Party Congresses. The Lok Sabha election, in which we contested one seat proved to be a landmark in this direction when the UKD and CPI(M) shared a platform against BJP and Congress on the basis of common demands. He reported that the coming together of the CPI and UKD and CPI(M) at the time of the death of Baba Uttarakhandi was a positive development of the period.

This period has seen intensified attacks on the people’s rights on forests, alienation of land, corporatorisation of water resources sale of river waters and those of rivulets in the name of micro hydel projects, the problem of Tehri Dam oustees persist and new stream of oustees is going to be started with Maha Kali and other projects. Industries like IDPL are being forced to die while hospitals suffer for want of medicines, elementary health care. Hundreds of women die from falling from hill sides and trees, their lives could be saved if ordinary medicines and elementary healthcare was provided. A severe fuel crisis, potable water crisis, food security crisis is in the making. All these issues have to be taken up and fought for. This cannot be done if we do not add quality to our work among mass organisations and the party. For this special attention will have to be paid to new entrants, educate them and re-education of the old will have to be taken up. Party classes at various levels, improvement of the district and state centres, an efficient cadre policy, more resources for the party and finally enhancement of circulation of party organs manifold were the points made by the secretary. He pointed to the shortcomings relating to the attitude towards women and other socially oppressed sections.

He said further that the next state committee in its meeting will formulate a charter of struggle for the party in Uttarakhand, many of its issues being the ones raised during our campaign in 2003.

The credential committee report presented by Rajendra Singh Negi indicated the presence of 108 delegates. Five delegates could not attend due to reasons of sickness and other maladies. Ninety-five men and 13 women took part in the conference. Age wise 13 delegates were in the age group between 20 and 30, 23 were between 30 and 40, 46 between 40 and 50, 18 between 50 and 60 and six were above 60 years of age.

There was only one illiterate, the youngest delegate was Anjali Purohit being 22 and the oldest was Sat Prakash at 85. Socially speaking 13 SCs, 12 OBCs, seven from minority communities participated in the conference. The class composition favoured the middle class with 45 delegates, 38 from peasantry, 12 from working class, and 5 khet majdoors were represented. The front wise figures showed seven on student front, 21 on youth, 36 on kisan, women-9, and 26 on the TU front.

INCREASE THE INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES

Twenty-five delegates representing 10 units took part in the discussion on the report. Five delegates spoke on the frontal activities. The delegates offered valuable suggestions to conquer shortcomings, specially in relation to the inter relationship between party and the mass organisations. They stressed the need for improving the work of various fraction committees and the need for strengthening the centres of party and mass Organisation. They rightfully hoped that given favourable situation at the present there is every possibility to increase independent activities in all areas of the state.

It was suggested that the TU front will increase its membership to 15000, the Mahila Samiti to 15000, the Kisan Sabha to 30,000, the youth and student fronts to 15,000 and 10,000 each respectively. Resolution to the effect of reviving IDPL, end to the oppression of women, on Forest Rights, Unemployment, Privatisation of Water; the settlement of Tehri Dam Oustees, and Tsunami victims were adopted. The steering committee was authorised to bring out other resolutions on relevant issues for want of time. The state committee announced the first instalment of Rs 10,000 for the Tsunami Victims Fund.

NEW COMMITTEE

After the report was unanimously adopted the panel of 15 was presented by the secretary which was unanimously adopted. The panel included Vijay Rawat, Kanswal, Ganga Dhar, Indu, Rajendra Negi, Surendra Sajwan, Bhagwan Singh Rans, R P Joshi, R P Jhakmola, Bharat Negi Anant Akash, Lekh Raj Madan Misra, Awtar Singh, Bhandari. The new state committee elected Vijay Rawat as secretary and a secretariat of six which includes Kanswal, Ganga Dhar, Indu, Sajwan, Rajendra Negi.

The conference also elected the delegates and the observers for the 18th Congress.

Brinda Karat congratulated the new committee and expressed the hope that in the coming months we will build on the foundation laid by the campaigns and our work since the last conference. She said that we will have to become the champions of the regional aspirations of the people and the exploited, of the class and socially oppressed populations. The ruling class parties in the state are no different from the BJP hence the imperative need to combat them. In order to achieve this a sustained, properly planned movement will have to be launched. While stressing the need for unity with the Left and the UKD, she once again laid special emphasis on increasing our independent activities.

She called upon the new leadership in the state and the delegates to overcome the shortcomings pointed out in the report and emerge as the pivot of the struggle and unity in the stae.

Ganga Dhar Nautiyal thanked the volunteers for having made excellent arrangements for stay and food, he specially singled out the comrades from Rishikesh for their effort.