Press Release, New Delhi, 15 Sep 2013
“People joining our party became human beings of a higher order, they rose above all types of sectarianism; their thought process became broad, secular and progressive”. Thus wrote Sohan Singh Bakhna (1870-1968), the founding President of Hindustan Ghadar Party, formed 100 years ago with headquarters in San Francisco, California. The British rulers called them terrorists, while they were in reality motivated by the highest ideals of humankind. Their goal was to liberate Indian society from all forms of enslavement, exploitation and oppression, a goal that remains unfulfilled.
Our goal today is to fulfil the call of our martyrs — by laying new foundations for a civilised Hindustan. This was the key message that reverberated at a public event to celebrate Ghadar Centenary, held at Gujarati Samaj in Delhi on 15th September, 2013.
Over three dozen organisations had come together to organise this event, at the initiative of Lok Raj Sangathan. They included All India Forward Bloc , All India Loco Running Staff Association, All India Workers Council, All India Trade Union Congress (Delhi), Bangladesh-Bharat-Pakistan Peoples Forum, Campaign for Peace and Democracy (Manipur), Communist Ghadar Party of India, Delhi Shramik Sangathan, Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha, Ghadar Heritage Organisation (Canada), Ghadar International (UK), Indian Council of Trade Unions, Jan Paksh, Kamgar Ekta Chalwal, Lok Satta Party, Mazdoor Ekta Committee, Naya Daur Party, National Patriotic Front (Ghaziabad), Peoples Democratic Movement (Manipur), Purogami Mahila Sangathan, Rajasthan Shikshak Manch, Revolutionary Socialist party, Thozhilalar Ottrumai Iyakkam, , Samagra Bharat Natya Manch (Ghaziabad), Sikh Forum, Sikh Youth Forum, Subash Yuva Morcha (Ghaziabad), Socialist Unity Centre (Communist), Voice of Voiceless and Voltas Employees Federation.
Welcoming all the participants, S. Raghavan, President of Lok Raj Sangathan, highlighted the fact that the call of Ghadar is touching the hearts and minds of more and more of our people, especially the youth. The average age of the thousand strong audience was less than 25 years.
Delivering the opening speech, Prakash Rao of Communist Ghadar Party said, “Why should we, the people of India, not elect a new Constituent Assembly to formulate a new fundamental law, a new Constitution to enable Hindustan to march on the high road of civilisation in this 21st century? Those sitting in the Parliament consider this to be a dangerous idea. That is because they are dead opposed to giving up their monopoly over political power.” He declared that a human-centred economy is the alternative to the present capital-centred economy. He called for unity around the goal of establishing workers’ and peasants’ rule in the form of a voluntary union of nations, nationalities and peoples as the alternative to the present day Indian Republic, which is a legacy of colonialism.
Other speakers included Sr Advocate HS Phoolka, Wing Cdr Chhatwal, Dr Chhiber-Naya Daur Party, Dr Sanjeewani Jain, Birju Nayak, Guruji Hanuman Prasad-Rajasthan Government Employees, Renu Nayak-Purogami Mahila Sangathan, AP Singh-SUCI(Communist), Anurag Kejriwal-Lok Satta Party.
The resolution passed at the meeting observed that the labour and resources of our people are still being exploited and plundered by native and foreign capitalists; and the rulers of our country defend her loot and plunder, unleashing brute force to silence those who resist this injustice.
Concluding that the goal and aspiration for which Hindustan Ghadar Party was formed is still to be fulfilled, the meeting resolved to “continue the struggle to achieve a radical rupture with the colonial legacy; and to lay new foundations for a civilised India that respects and defends the rights of all members of society and all constituents of the union, guaranteeing prosperity and protection for all.”
The meeting also passed a resolution condemning imperialist interference in Syria and the proposed US aggression in the name of punishing the Government of Syria for alleged violation of international norms. It called on the Government of India to take an unequivocal stand in defence of the national sovereignty of Syria and against foreign intervention and interference in her internal affairs.
Yours sincerely,
S. Raghavan, President, All India Council of Lok Raj Sangathan
Prakash Rao, Secretary, All India Council of Lok Raj Sangathan
