Presidential Address by Comrade Amra Ram
Dear Comrades,
On behalf of All India Kisan Sabha I greet all the delegates, observers, CKC members, guests, volunteers, media persons and all other comrades and friends who have assembled in this inaugural session of 34th Conference. This is the second Conference being held at Hisar after quarter century.
Four years passed since the last conference at Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu. It is a matter of pride that during this period, the peasant movement has emerged as a force of struggle capable of mobilizing to force Governments to yield to the genuine demands of the peasantry in different parts of the country. We have to further advance as a powerful All India movement and leader of united struggle of the peasantry. We have to also build a massive united movement of resistance by joining hands with the movements of workers, agricultural workers, students, youth, women, Adivasis, Dalits and Minorities to challenge the Central Government and reverse the anti-people agrarian as well as economic policies – the root cause of the current acute agrarian crisis. I hope this conference will be a landmark event in that direction.
The democratic peasant movement has undergone indescribable violence and attacks during this period in many parts of the country. The most heinous atrocities were in West Bengal, our largest base, now under the authoritarian rule of Trinamool Congress. Scores of our activists and peasants have been killed and subjected to pain, humiliation and human right violations. There were severe attacks on the peasant movement in which many activists and farmers were killed in police firing as in Jharkhand, Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal and many other states. We strongly condemn all Governments responsible for such crimes.
As discussed and resolved in the 33rd Conference the conscious and systematic efforts under the leadership of CKC and AIKS Centre was to respond to such repression and violence through further advancing the peasant movement based on issue-based united struggles. The CKC had fixed priorities and tasks to mobilise at the grass root level to build powerful, independent, vibrant and massive peasant movement. Our committees from CKC to the village level as per its strength and influences have tried their best to address the various pressing issues from credit, to price, and displacement, right to trade cattle wealth and protection of environment.
One of the timely and effective intervention by AIKS was the resistance built against the Land Acquisition Ordinance and the formation of united platform of peasant, agriculture worker and social movements namely Bhumi Adhikar Andolan. The consistent and massive struggles and rallies under the leadership of BAA and other peasant organisations, the suicide of a farmer Gajendra Singh Kalyanwat of Dausa, Rajasthan in a rally at Jantar Mantar, the unity of the opposition parties and open dissent of some allies in the ruling NDA as well as fear of repercussions in the Bihar Assembly elections forced the Prime Minister to suspend the enactment of the anti-farmer Land Acquisition Ordinance.
Likewise many struggles were organised collectively and independently at various levels that helped to activate the peasant movement and create an atmosphere of massive resistance. The Nabanna March of the peasantry organised two times braving brute police repression in West Bengal was attended by lakhs of farmers and agriculture workers and helped to instill confidence among the cadre and the peasant masses. After the massacre of six farmers in police firing in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh the AIKS took the initiative to visit families of the victims and by joining hands with all other peasant and farmer organizations, formed two wide platforms namely- All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) and Rashtriya Kisan Maha Sangh and effectively observed the All India Protest Day on 16th June 2017 successfully. We have to review all these rich experiences in this Conference and resolve to further advance the struggles with determination.
The defeat of the UPA II Government and formation of the NDA Government in May 2014 signifies a further rightward shift in Indian Politics. The neo-liberal, authoritarian and communal character of the Central Government is dangerous to the interests of the country and the people. It will lead to the complete domination of the corporate houses and Multi National Companies on Indian Economy especially on agriculture. The propaganda of hate, intolerance, promotion of communal division and mob violence is to facilitate this aim by emasculate the unity of the people.
The BJP manifesto in 2014 election had promised many pro-farmer proposals antagonistic to the neo-liberal reforms. During the Lok Sabha election, in more than 300 public meetings, Mr.Narendra Modi had promised that if the BJP got elected it will provide remunerative price to peasantry for all crops at 50% above cost of production as recommended by the National Commission of Farmers headed by Dr. M S Swaminathan. Another promise was freedom of farmers from indebtedness and to arrest the peasant suicides. Comprehensive insurance cover to all crops, water and electricity to all fields, doubling the income of farmers were among the big promises.
In the last three years and four months after coming to power, none of these promises were implemented by the NDA Government. Instead, an affidavit was submitted in the Supreme Court by the Central Government stating that it is not possible to implement the recommendation of providing 50% above cost of production to crops as remunerative price. The Finance Minister is repeatedly stating that the Central Government will not give money for loan waiver to the peasantry. The flagship programme of Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana has been proved a damp squib and the lion share of the premium amount of Rs 21,500 crores -collected from the Central and State Governments and the farmers- has been snatched by the big Corporate Insurance companies. Thus in the name of protecting peasantry, the Corporate companies are indulging in unbridled profiteering. A Central Government circular has warned the State Governments not to pay bonus over and above the centrally fixed support price for paddy and wheat claiming that it is market distorting and threatened that the Food Corporation of India will not facilitate procurement from any State going against the decision. Instead of doubling income of farmers as promised, the NDA Government has been devoted to doubling the misery of the peasantry and the working people.
The demonetisation exercise was a direct attack on agrarian economy and peasant livelihoods. The shortage of currency and enduring restrictions on bank transactions had forced distress sale of agricultural products and robbed farmers off their hard earned surplus. The imposition of Goods and Services Tax-GST- was another disaster for peasants, petty producers and traders. It has badly affected the business all over the country. GST erodes the federal power of the State Governments and hurt the democratic structure envisaged in our Constitution.
The economy of the country is facing serious challenges. The GDP growth has declined by 2.2% in the April-June quarter of 2017- stands at 5.7%- compared to 7.9% in the same quarter of 2016. The loss incurred by the people is estimated at Rs.3.3 lakh crore and this will have snowballing impact on economic and social life of the people all over the country in the future. There will be larger political consequences. On the other hand the NPA of the corporate companies is increasing beyond any control and has reached more than Rs 10 lakh crore from the Rs. 6.5 lakh crore during May 2016.
The budget proposals and policy announcements in the last three years have exposed the pro-corporate policy direction of the central Government. The first year of 2014-15 had witnessed announcement of large scale acquisition of agriculture land for corporate business and industry and real estate purpose. The infamous Land Acquisition Ordinance helped to dispel illusions about the BJP led Government in farmers’ minds. The second year’s budget of 2015-16 had announced 100% Foreign Direct Investment in agriculture and many other vital sectors including Railway and Defence. The 2016-17 Budget had declared linking the agriculture markets all over India through E-platform. It was an important policy announcement that will facilitate centralised procurement of agricultural produce directly at cheap rate for the benefit of big traders and agribusiness companies. The budget of the year 2017-18 had announced contract farming. That will aid corporate dominance over agriculture. This conference has to discuss the impact of all these policy direction of the Central Government, how that is going to wreck the livelihoods of petty producers and cause unprecedented havoc in the agrarian sector.
The looming economic crisis has been coercing the peasantry to respond by initiating massive struggles in various parts of the country. However the Central and many State governments have resorted to indiscriminate police repression. 7 tribal farmers had been killed in Jharkhand by the Raghubar Das led BJP Government while resisting the amendments made in the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act in 2016, the Shivaraj Singh Chouhan led BJP Government has killed six farmers while on struggle demanding freedom from indebtedness and remunerative price in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh in 2017, the Sarbananda Sonowal led BJP Government of Assam killed two farmers including a women and the Mamata Banerjee led TMC Government killed two farmers in West Bengal while resisting forcible land acquisition and displacement. This conference has to resolve to undertake widespread countrywide campaigns to expose the anti-farmer face of the Governments headed by BJP.
The most dangerous, anti-national character of the BJP-RSS combine and the Central and State Governments under their leadership is the communal ideology. The RSS cannot claim as ‘nationalist’ since had no tradition of anti-imperialism and was never part of the freedom struggle for Indian Independence. The present unity of the India has been created by the consistent and widespread massive struggles against British Imperialism and through independence movement. In the long and enduring movement for independence the Indian National Congress, Socialists, National revolutionaries and Communist parties have contributed making heroic sacrifices. The RSS indulged in divisive anti-Muslim propaganda helpful to British rulers to successfully pursue the divide and rule policy and suppress the independence struggle using brute force. RSS stands for destroying the culture of unity in diversity that unites India and propagates a narrow casteist Hindu elite value system. It stands for a Brahmanical order steeped in feudal ideology, culture and traditions drawing inspiration from ‘Manusmriti’.
In the last three years, we have witnessed organised communal propaganda and violence to wreck the unity of the people and the country. The Central Government has been a party to this either by maintaining silence or the Prime Minister and Ministers openly supporting the communal propaganda. More than 23 people were killed in different incidents of mob violence and public lynching in the name of protection of cow. The right to privacy was questioned; restrictions on food and dress were imposed and anyone who articulated dissent was declared as anti-national and asked to leave to Pakistan. The horrific murder of Gouri Lankesh, at Bangalore after similar kind of series of murders of Com.Govind Pansare, Dr.Narendra Dabholkar, Prof.M.M.Kalburgi has evoked countrywide shock and opposition.
The image of the country is being denigrated world over due to the narrow-minded, communal and divisive outlook of the NDA Government. The latest issue is the NDA Governments stand on Myanmar Rohingya refugees. India had never treated refugee issue on communal lines; it was seen as a humanitarian issue. When East Pakistan was liberated to form Bangladesh, more than one crore refugees who were Muslims took asylum in India and then the people of India and the Central and State Governments extended all humanitarian concern and facilitated livelihood support to them and helped Bangladesh to settle the refugee issue amicably by taking time. The stand taken by NDA Government on Rohingya issue was criticized by United Nations (UN). It is an infamy to the Indian tradition.
The NDA Government did not succeed in bringing normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir and the situation has deteriorated rapidly under its tenure. North- Eastern States also continues to experience denial of democratic rights and human rights under Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA) and National Security Act (NSA) which has been misused by the State apparatus to silence dissent.
The denial of right of farmers on cattle trade is an example of how the NDA Government is manipulating to make political benefit by communalizing issues and at the same time facilitating expropriation of the wealth for corporate profiteering. It has imposed a ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter in cattle markets across the country by notifying amendments to the rules under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Bulls, cows, bullocks, buffaloes, steers, heifers, calves and camels are defined as cattle. The small and medium farmers will not be able to sell their unproductive cattle which in turn will deprive them of the money required to buy new animals. Being unable to sell their cattle in the markets, they will be forced to sell to big traders and corporate houses who will buy them at the farmers’ door steps at throw away prices.
When Pehlu Khan a dairy farmer was killed at Alwar Rajasthan, the AIKS has timely intervened and mobilised public opinion along with Bhumi Adhikar Andolan against the conspiracy of communal forces to misuse the issue of cow protection to propagate communal polarization. AIKS had countrywide campaign to collect financial resources from the peasantry and contributed Rs.15 lakhs as compensation to the family of the victim. It gave confidence to different sections including minorities to stand up and protest and build unity of the oppressed and exploited to ensure their own rights. Also it helped to create conviction that when Government fails, the people collectively could ensure justice to victims and isolate the criminal elements.
Atrocities against women, rape and gang rape, sexual harassment at work place, child abuse and sexual assaults on children continue to be reported from almost every day from different parts of the country. AIKS members, men and women by extending all help including legal aid to victims must actively resist the dominant patriarchal culture in the society.
In the present context of severe agrarian crisis and rampant peasant suicides, the 34th conference of AIKS has to evaluate the recent successful struggles in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The Maharashtra unit of AIKS has achieved great success through a long term plan of series of struggles and campaigns mainly on the issue of freedom from indebtedness to end peasant suicides and remunerative price along with other demands. The success in building wider unity and consistent and effective role of AIKS leadership to safeguard the struggle movement from opportunistic elements helped to advance the struggle to the logical end of negotiations and arriving at agreement with the state government winning loan waiver of around Rs. 36000 crore to the peasantry. I am using this opportunity to greet the Maharashtra unit of AIKS for their success to open a new chapter in the path of issue-based united struggles in the history of peasant movement of the entire country.
The recent massive struggle in Rajasthan under the leadership of AIKS has been another achievement during this period. AIKS has to examine the details as a case study. It was a continuation of the series of struggles on the issues of water, electricity and insurance at different period of time in the past. Following the legacy of the peasant struggles of 1935, 1938, 1951, 1968, 1987, 1997, 2005 and 2016, this peasant struggle of 2017 has emerged as an example to follow. This sharp decisive movement has brought a new life-message for the peasantry of India: “struggle, not suicide”!
The movement was based on the common issue of freedom from debt, remunerative price, and right of farmers on cattle trade. The struggle helped to mobilise lakhs of people in Sikar, the nerve centre of the peasant movement while tens of thousands of peasants have participated in all other districts. It is perhaps the first instance of movement in Rajasthan, probably in India too, that there was no violence of any type. There was a time during the agitation when the cities, towns, villages and dhanis in an area of Jaipur, Sikar, Nagour, Jhunjhunu, Churu, Bikaner, Hanumangarh, Sriganganagar etc, stretching over 500 kilometers from Rural Jaipur to Sriganganagar were in the hold of the peasants.
As the movement picked-up, more and more support gathered. There was support from working class, traders associations, employees’ organisations, bar associations, goat-market, buffalo-market and educational institutions. They were competing to arrange food for around 15000 protesters. The Brick Kiln Mazdoor Union took out a tractor-trailer rally. The fruit and vegetable sellers joined the bandh. The Bar Association boycotted the Courts.
The office-bearers of milk transporters union come on Jatha to feed milk to all the protesters. Medical Sales Representatives’ Union organized free medical-aid. The Reverse Osmosis (RO) water Suppliers’ Union, auto-rickshaw Union, and city Bus Union, District Agricultural Produce and Grain Merchants Association, Sarpanch Union of the Sikar District all took out rallies in support of the bandh. Around 100 DJ party trucks performed in the city with music and dance in support of the peasantry.
Public have started sensing that BJP Government can be defeated if people unite and fight. The peasant struggles, the anguish of the student and youth and disaffection amongst the labouring class, employees, shopkeepers and business persons can thus work to change the scenario.
After a 13-day Mahapadav and a 65-hour State-wide chakka-jam, the group of ministers and the AIKS delegation reached an agreement on the 11-point demands of the kisans at the conclusion of four-rounds and 13 hours of talks. A committee has been formed that will study the process of debt-relief undertaken in States like U.P., Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka and the committee will give report in a month’s time. According to an estimate, a debt-relief of 50,000 Rupees per indebted farmer will involve an additional financial burden of 20,000 Rupees.
The pension at reaching the age of 60 years will now be Rs 2000 instead of the Rs 500. Now, the Kisans will be able to sell two-year old calves. The points of agreement on the Swaminathan report shall be sent to the Central government. The government will ensure the purchase of guar, moong, groundnut and other farm products at support prices at the purchase centres. The SC has already stayed the ordinance on animal-slaughter. The SC and ST scholarship that has been stuck for past two years will be released.
The Hindu-Muslim unity during the agitation was exemplary. Not only the Muslim animal traders but also the common Muslims masses came forward to support the movement. This movement didn’t have any single leader but the true peoples’ heroes were the lakhs of Kisans who participated in it.
Harness all the support and cooperation for the bigger struggles in future was the motto of this successful peasant agitation. The participation of women and youth in this agitation was remarkable. It was for the first time that the traders and the common-folk gave such an open support. From this movement a call was given for formation of a nine-member committee in every village out of which at least two should be women. The experiences of many such struggles all over the country teaches us a lesson that only through struggles we can gain strength, win rights and also protect and improve upon that.
The current political situation in India gives immense strength to the fighting movements of workers, peasants and all other toiling sections. The crisis in the economic sector in our country is a reflection of the crisis in the entire capitalist world. The world capitalist countries are under the grip of a systemic crisis and still unable to overcome the burden of the economic crisis of 2008. To wriggle out of the economic crisis these countries have adopted the course of the austerity and bail-outs to corporate and increased burden of the masses.
The ‘annual’ growth rate of United States of America in the first quarter of 2017 was only 0.7% compared to 2.1% in the previous quarter, the worst performance since the first quarter of 2014. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), annual growth rates in the G7 were stagnant – 1.8% in Germany, 1.1 in France, 1% in Japan. Economic growth in China and India has also started to slow down. The reality is that the global crisis is not abating; it is getting accentuated.
Capitalism is intensifying attacks on the working class and the toiling people to come out of this crisis. Austerity measures including cuts in wages and social security benefits are being imposed. This has resulted in the unprecedented pace in the growth of inequalities across the world. As per the Oxfam report- 8 men today own 50% of the world’s wealth, i.e. the same wealth as 362 crore people who constitute the poorest half of humanity in the world. The bottom 50% of the world’s population has just 0.2% of the world’s wealth. The Oxfam report says that since 2015, the richest 1 per cent has owned more wealth than the rest of the planet.
In India, income inequalities are rising at a faster rate. The gap between the rich and the poor is worse than the global average. The top 1% of people in India own wealth equal to that of the bottom 58.4%. Just 57 billionaires in India have the same wealth ($216 billion) as that of the bottom 70% of the population in the country.
In the capitalist countries, cost of wages is being brought down by various means. Permanent jobs are increasingly being replaced with contract works. Use of mechanisation, automation, and of robotics is increasing. Huge amounts of taxes are evaded with the active connivance of the governments. In India, the tax evasion by corporate houses is to the tune of Rs 6.59 lakh crore, the NPA is said to be over Rs 12 lakh crores; in addition the concessions and tax exemptions provided to them every year amount to around Rs 5 lakh crore.
Natural resources and public enterprises are grabbed or handed over by corporate friendly governments at throw away prices. Agriculture is made unviable. Peasants and petty produces are forced to part with their produce at cheap rates. The attempts at profit maximisation have assumed the predatory nature of primitive accumulation. The daily increase in the rate of diesel, petrol and gas is an example, of open robbery of the people by the corporate houses in connivance with the State apparatus.
Today discontent against the impact of the neoliberal policies is growing around the world. In many countries workers are coming out in bigger struggles against the attacks on their working and living conditions, against austerity measures and curbing of their rights and benefits. Huge strikes and mobilisations are taking place in many countries in Europe including Greece, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, England etc and in the United States as well.
An international poll conducted in 16 countries in March 2017 shows that 73% of people were worried about losing their jobs and 80% say minimum wage is not enough to live on. Large proportion of people feels that the governments are working more in favour of the corporate companies than in the interest of the people. 85% people felt that it was time to rewrite the rules of the global economy.
Discontent against the capitalist system is growing among the youth in many countries, particularly the advanced capitalist countries. It is reported that large numbers of people are showing interest and becoming members of the socialist organisations in the US.
In India, the transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich has been hastened. Between 2014 and 2016, India’s total wealth increased by Rs 17 lakh crores. The top 1% of the population appropriated this entire increased wealth. In addition they have also taken away Rs 13 lakh crore belonging to the bottom 99% of the population. According to a new report by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), about 31% of the world’s 689 million ‘multidimensionally poor’ children live in India.
The BJP in its election manifesto 2014 promised to create 2 crores jobs per year. However, according to the Labour Bureau, only 2.31 lakh new jobs were created across eight labour intensive sectors in the nine months till December 2016. Around 77% of the households were reported to be having no regular wage/ salaried person.
The present situation provides immense possibilities and opportunities for us to present the alternative to the present exploitative agrarian system. The General Secretary’s report has elaborated the vision of AIKS how to link the issues of the peasantry with the policies of the government and expose the politics that drive these policies. AIKS has to help peasantry in a big way to challenge corporatisation of the agriculture and develop cooperative agriculture as potential alternative.
The basic slogans of 34th conference – ‘issue based united struggles to resist the agrarian crisis’ and ‘Kisan Sabha in Every Village, Every Kisan in Kisan Sabha” were coined with our sound outlook on role of peasant movement today.
This conference has to prepare a concrete plan for our independent campaigns encompassing the major problems of the peasantry as well as other sections of people including working class. We have to make serious efforts to strengthen unity of the peasantry and worker –peasant alliance. The tasks on organisation as well as the movemental tasks are framed to equip the AIKS to attain these targets.
I hope this conference will deliberate in depth, review our activities as per the direction of the 33rd Conference and formulate concrete action plan to unite the peasantry and strengthen the struggles.
With greetings,
Long Live AIKS
Long Live Worker-Peasant Alliance
Amra Ram
President
All India Kisan Sabha
