Local agitations, house to house campaigns and leaflet distribution

United movement under Bhoomi Adhikaar Andolan to forge widest unity of the peasantry and rural working class

Solidarity Agrarian strike on 2^nd September in support of the working class.

Solidarity action with the struggling peasantry and people of Bengal

The All India Kisan Council (AIKC) met at Bangalore from 1^st to 3^rd July, 2016 has decided to launch countrywide struggles independently and also in unity with other peasant, social organisations and working class movement to resist the anti- farmer, anti-worker and anti-national Neo-Liberal policies of the Narendra Modi led NDA Government.

The AIKC Meeting noted with concern that the BJP Government which came to power promising to end Farmers’ suicides, making agriculture viable by providing remunerative prices at least 50 percent above cost of production, greater investment in agriculture and a host of other things has betrayed each one of its promises.

There has been a rapid rise in Farmers’ suicides in the last two years. According to analysts everyday 52 Farmers commit suicide while the average for the last two decades was 42 suicides every day. In BJP ruled Maharashtra alone there were 2568 suicides in 2014. This has risen to 3228 suicides in 2015 which is the highest since 2001.

More than 3 lakh villages spread across 300 Districts and over 50 crore people of India are reeling under the worst drought since 1986-87 leading to acute water crisis, crop losses. The BJP Government has totally failed to provide relief and there were no contingency plans to address the situation.

Large scale land acquisition is going on across the country without consent of the peasantry and land and resources of Tribal people are being looted. BJP and the Prime Minister has done a U-turn by opposing FDI in Retail, Agriculture, Agro-processing and other sectors when in opposition and now paving way for 100 percent FDI in different sectors.  The E Platform announced by the Modi Government on agro produces market will aid the corporate looting of peasantry.

Average income a Farmer earns from farming activities, including what is retained for family consumption is merely Rs.20,000/- per year in 17 States, meaning a meagre amount of only Rs.1,666/- per month. It is in a scenario of high inflation in prices of food grains and essential commodities as well as health and educational expenses that peasants are having such low incomes. Growth rate of Agriculture which was 4.2 percent in 2013-14 in the first two years of the NDA Government contracted to (-) 0.2 percent in 2014-15 and hovered around a negligible (+) 1.1 percent in 2015-16. This is the dismal scenario under the BJP Government.

Independent struggles by Kisan Sabha

In this background, the AIKC adopted a 14 point charter of demands. Along with that the State units will add local demand points also and organise local agitations and struggles all over the country during August-September.  There will be house to house campaigns and leaflet distribution to mobilise the peasantry.  In continuation of these mobilisations, AIKS will organise four Jathas from Kanyakumari, Virudhunagar, Jammu and Kolkata. These Jathas will culminate with a Massive Rally of one lakh peasant activists at Delhi on 24^th November, 2016.

United struggles under Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan

AIKS will actively support the ongoing struggles under the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan and will launch countrywide united struggles. The forth coming conference of BAA on 16-18^th at Ahamadabad on protection of Democracy and water, Forest and Land Rights will decide on the course of united struggles.

Solidarity agrarian Strike in support of 2^nd September working class strike-

The AIKC passed resolutions against BJP Government’s betrayal of the peasantry and called for a two-week campaign from August 16^th -31^st followed by protest actions on “Demands Day”, 1^st September, 2016. Broadest possible unity will be built in carrying forward these actions and on 2^nd September the Working Class Strike will be actively supported in rural areas.

Solidarity action with the struggling peasantry and people of Bengal

The AIKC also decided to have solidarity action with the struggling peasantry and people of Bengal who are facing unprecedented violence under the TMC regime from 1^st to 7^th August 2016. A Bengal Solidarity Fund Collection has also been decided upon.

AIKC has taken decisions for launching massive struggles against attacks on peasantry and divisive tactics of the Government.

Sd/-

Hannan Mollah
General Secretary
13^th July, 2016
New Delhi

Charter of Demands

All India Kisan Jatha and Rally

November 2016

All India Kisan Sabha

(Adopted by the AIKC Meeting 1-3 July 2016)

1. Implement progressive and comprehensive Land Reforms all over the country and protect petty production in agricultural by upholding the interests of small, marginal and middle peasants.
2. Implement the Land Acquisition Act 2013 with protection for all dependants on land. Stop attempts to acquire agriculture land through draconian State Acts. Strictly implement Forest Rights Act and stop indiscriminate snatching of Tribal Land by corporate companies. Protect the rights of tenant farmers.
3. Implement comprehensive package of loan waiver for poor, marginal peasants and middle peasants. Reverse the anti-people Neo-liberal Economic Policies to stop farmers’ suicide. Provide Rs. 10 lakhs to compensate the families of all victims of farmers’ suicide. Provide interest free agriculture credit to small and marginal peasants, share croppers, tenant farmers, agriculture workers and middle peasants. Fix the interest rate of agriculture credit at 4%.
4. Ensure Minimum Support Price at the rate of 50% in addition to cost of production as recommended by M S Swaminathan Commission and ensure direct procurement by Food Corporation of India from farmers.
5. Immediately withdraw Foreign Direct Investment in agriculture and Food processing industry and E-marketing of agricultural products that serve corporate companies. Provide government funding to promote agro-processing industries and wholesale and retail marketing networks under social cooperatives of peasant and agriculture workers to manufacture and sell value added consumer products.
6. Ensure proper implementation of MGNREGA, 200 days of work per annum and fix the wage as not less than Rs 300 per day.
7. Enact central legislation for agricultural workers to ensure minimum wage and social security. Provide house sites free of cost to all landless agricultural workers and poor peasants.
8. Ensure supply of inputs at subsidised rate including seed, fertiliser, insecticide, water, diesel and electricity.
9. Ensure crop insurance to all crops and full compensation for the crop loss due to natural calamity, wild animal attacks, and crop diseases and fix revenue village as the unit for assessing compensation. Provide effective drought relief and compensation to the affected peasantry.
10. Ensure proper storage including cold storage, cold chain facilities, warehousing and marketing system for agricultural produce.
11. Ensure food security by enhancing agriculture production, procurement and distribution.
12. Ensure social security by providing minimum Rs 3000 monthly pension for all the peasants and agriculture workers all over the country. Ensure right to safe drinking water, house sites, housing, education and health to all.
13. Repeal proposal of anti-worker amendments in the labour law, child labour law, stop attacks on the working class and intensification of exploitation.
14. NDA government should desist from allowing free hand to communal and casteist