- On the onslaught of livelihood and rights of workers including right to housing and shelter [in the context of the Urban Renewal program]
- On elections [the necessity to participate and to expose the system, as well as to put forth alternative]
- On the onslaught by monopolies / finance capital on livelihood of workers, peasants and middle strata.
- On the building and strengthening of Lok Raj Samitis / Sangharsh Samitis / Ward Samitis
- On the importance of work amongst workers, peasants, women and youth
- On the importance of strengthening the Ghadar Jaari Hai Abhiyan.
- On working to establish friendship between the people of the subcontinent.
- On the struggle against state terrorism.
1. On the onslaught of livelihood and rights of workers including right to housing and shelter [in the context of the Urban Renewal program]
In the name of Urban Renewal, the government has launched a massive campaign to evict slum dwellers and resettle them outside city limits. It is forcing small shopkeepers, traders, entrepreneurs and vendors to shut shop, depriving them mercilessly of their right to livelihood. The Delhi Master Plan 2020 that has been drawn up by the government with the avowed aim of planned growth of the National Capital Region is against the interests of the vast majority of people of Delhi and serves only big financial and business interests. Indian and international big business in collusion with the government are very keen to convert Mumbai into an International Financial Centre like London, Shanghai and Hongkong. A similar effort is on in fact all over India in over 70 cities under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. All these efforts are being made to provide world class infrastructure only to Indian and foreign capitalists while the mass of the working people, slum dwellers and small shop keepers, hawkers etc are either being denied any rehabilitation or being thrown like garbage near current garbage dumps outside city limits. LRS sangharsh samitis and members have been active in resistance to this attack on the human rights and livelihood of the people in Delhi, Mumbai and other areas. The AIC of the Lok Raj Sangathan severely condemns these attacks on the people in the name of urban renewal and calls for an immediate halt to this plan.
2. On elections [the necessity to participate and to expose the system, as well as to put forth alternative]
The political system in India is a legacy of the British Raj. It has served the interests of the ruling classes, while keeping the people of our country – the workers, peasants, women, youth, working intellectuals, the Adivasis, Dalits, various nationalities and minorities out of power. People have no say in deciding the orientation of the economy, the policies and laws. Decisions are taken without consulting the people and directly opposed to their interests and expressed wishes.
It is clear that the system is anti-people and needs fundamental change and no amount of superficial reforms are going to alter the status quo, however criticizing it from outside and boycotting the process will not advance the movement for empowerment at this stage. It is necessary for people to participate in the system so that they can learn the reality at first hand and expose it, while taking their awareness and organization forward through the strengthening of sangharsh samitis.
Lok Raj Sangathan has strengthened its roots among the people by participating in the present political and electoral process and has taken the bull by the horn in exposing the criminal activities of the big political parties who use the existing process to marginalize vast majority of people while serving the interests of big business.
The AIC of Lok Raj Sangathan takes note of the successes achieved in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Ulhas Nagar and Mumbai and resolves to continue to actively work in this direction.
3. On the onslaught by monopolies / finance capital on livelihood of workers, peasants and middle strata.
In their insatiable greed to maximize their profits, monopolies and finance capital, both Indian and foreign, are launching new attacks on the livelihoods of workers, peasants and the middle strata. In this they have the full backing of the Indian state. The Central government is doing all in its powers to support their drive, by enacting suitable laws, giving the capitalists fresh concessions, and so on, while the various state governments are bending over backwards and vying with each other to serve them. The machinery of the state, including its armed forces, police and judiciary are being used for this purpose. This is seen in the drive to set up SEZs, which will give huge benefits and concessions to the promoters and the capitalists, while stripping the workers of all their rights. The state is being used to take over land from protesting farmers, even by spilling their blood. Attempts are being made to facilitate big Indian companies as well as foreign companies to take over the retail trade of the country, at the cost of crores of people who own and work in small shops. Fresh onslaughts are being launched on hawkers to deprive them of their meager livelihood.
The AIC of the LRS condemns these attempts to fatten the monopolies at the expense of the hardworking people of India.
It resolves that it will intervene actively in the struggle against SEZs, against corporate retail and against the drive against hawkers.
4. On the building and strengthening of Lok Raj Samitis / Sangharsh Samitis / Ward Samitis
LRS considers the building and strengthening of Lok Raj Samitis / Sangharsh Samitis / Ward Samitis as a crucial element in
(a) Uniting the people to resist the onslaught on their livelihood and rights
(b) Providing a mechanism for people to assert their claims
(c) Intervening in the political process through selection and election of candidates
(d) Exposing the bankruptcy of the present political system and process and uniting people around the alternative to the same.
The All India Council of Lok Raj Sangathan resolves that building and strengthening these Samitis will be taken up in earnest by all its committees. It will also spearhead setting up such Samitis and strengthening them all over the country.
5. On the importance of work amongst workers, peasants, women and youth
LRS has considered, from its very founding, the necessity of organizing workers, peasants, women and youth as definite and important contingents of the people who should be the actual rulers. LRS has been supporting wholeheartedly the establishment of organizations of these sections and actively supporting their just struggles to defend their interests. LRS has been working to establish, in particular, sangharsh samitis among these sections of the people.
The AIC of LRS resolves to continue this work.
6. On the importance of strengthening the Ghadar Jaari Hai Abhiyan.
The Ghadar of 1857 was the culmination of hundreds of struggles of our people throughout India against the oppressive British rule. It was a glorious chapter in the history of our country, when people from all walks of life and different communities united with the single purpose of throwing out the hated foreign rule and establishing a modern Indian society where people would be the real masters and where they would live a life befitting human beings. The Ghadar failed due to the treachery of the ancestors of the ruling classes of today and due to the weakness of the organisation of the patriots.
The history of this glorious Ghadar and the innumerable uprisings that preceded and followed it is deliberately hidden by the ruling classes, lest they inspire the people of our country to carry out its unfinished tasks.
That is why it is so important to widely publicize and popularize this history, that the people of our country draw the correct lessons in order to solve the problems confronting us today.
The AIC of the LRS resolves to work actively to strengthen the GJH campaign.
7. On working to establish friendship between the people of the subcontinent.
The people of this subcontinent have a shared history, culture and heritage. The Ghadar of 1857 and the freedom struggle against the colonizers is a part of this glorious history. These people have longstanding ties of friendship and blood.
The British Raj systematically sowed distrust and disunity among the various people through their notorious policy of “Divide and Rule”. Many people of our country recognized this diabolic policy for what it was. The first attempt to partition Bengal was firmly defeated by the Indian people.
However the birth of the new countries was accompanied by the pains of partition and by the worst communal holocaust in history, organised by the departing rulers in collaboration with the representatives of the new ruling classes.
The scars of partition have still not healed. The imperialists, particularly the US imperialists, have constantly interfered in the region to sow distrust between the peoples. The ruling classes of the various countries have constantly incited passions against the people of the neighbouring countries to perpetuate their rule.
In particular, the Indian state, which is the tool of the big capitalists of India, wants to make India an imperialist superpower, by dominating first the neighbouring countries and then other countries as well. The policies of the ruling classes of these countries and various imperialist powers are a threat to peace in the region and the lives of the peoples of this subcontinent.
The AIC of the LRS resolves to strengthen efforts to establish friendship between the peoples of the neighbouring countries in the subcontinent.
8. On the struggle against state terrorism.
LRS has consistently opposed state terrorism in all its forms, whether it be the attack on the Manipuri people using the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), or the atrocities being committed against the Kashmiri people by the military forces, or the attacks on minority communities in the name of “war against terrorism”. It has unequivocally condemned the use of the state machinery to crush the struggles of the people for their rights such as in Nandigram, Navi Mumbai and other places. It has severely condemned the hounding and harassment of our activists by the Tamil Nadu police apparatus during the recent local body election campaign.
Increasing number of cases are being reported of custodial deaths and so called encounter deaths and disappearances of innocent people in the name of war against terrorism carried out by police, and armed forces. Despite hysterical propaganda that those who uphold human rights are agents of terrorism, LRS has proudly defended human rights and will continue to do so. LRS demands that all the draconian laws like AFSPA, Unlawful Activities Act, Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and so on be immediately repealed.
The AIC of LRS resolves to continue to oppose state terrorism in all its forms and defend the interests of the people.
