India- Massacre in Gadchiroli

From Democracy and Class Struggle:

People are looking in dead bodies, missing young women’s faces from their villages says Tameshwor Sinha

There is a news among the questions raised at Gadchiroli encounter that the police who claimed to be  Maoist, most of them were unarmed and innocent. villagers. Villagers, who went to the wedding ceremony in a nearby  village, were shot by bullets in the name of being Naxalites.

According to the sources, the 8 young young men and women(5 girls and 3 boys) in a village near Indravati river are missing from the village . According to the rural sources, the villagers were gathered in a wedding ceremony.  When the 8 boys did not arrive home , villagers became active to know the situation. They had heard the voice of  firing. A group of them arrived at the police station to inquire about the missing boys and girls, from where the police sent them to the police headquarters.

The police officers asked the villagers or their family to bring a photo of the original Base card and passport size photo.  When the villagers provided the Base card to the police, they were asked to know the dead bodies, but the family could not be able to  know the body, because their skin was completely lost in the water. The villagers still have remained in District Police headquarter , where the police are talking about being referred to the body after a DNA test.

Villagers have said that the police have killed them in the morning, when young men and women were returning from wedding.

People from the Gattepalli village , who are not able to return home after attending the wedding ceremony are :

1. Mangesh Bukalu ram, 2. Prithvi sweep maṇḍāvī , 3. Ankit Daewoo village , 4. understood him
5. Irapā Maṇḍāvī, 6. Mangesh cunḍū maṇḍāvī, 7. Prithvi Maṇḍāvī 8. Nusē Pēdu

Let’s tell you among the 8 of the people, Mangesh Chundoo Mandavi, who has 11 student in Bhamaragarh is also missing. The carcass of the dead body may have been rotten and these 8 young young men and women have not been recognized.

On the condition of not writing his name, one person said that the Naxals and security forces might have engaged fighting , they have also been killed, but the Naxalites who managed to escaped and the security forces started firing in the fear of being Naxalites in the marriage.

In which many innocent villages have also been killed. After the encounter,the news was given to the media  of the death of the Naxals.The whole media was competing with the name of the top Naxalite leader.

No one asked that a tribal village has also been killed? Due to this, the series of dead bodies continued for three days and the police have recovered 39 bodies so far.

The question is that when 8 young men and women in a village who attended the marriage ceremony, were victims of the police firing, the other village people nearby would have been in that marriage. Then it is natural, to demand for an independent investigation of this so called encounter from the various organisation including the revolutionary poet Varavara  Rao.

The news is that there is a panic in the villages nearby. Security forces have forced to the villagers not to tell anything to the people of  outside. There is a lot of fear in the nearby villages, looking for their own people. According to another know, nearby rural youths also are still missing. According to sources, three boys were taken to the police, and it is not yet known. Rajaram is missing among the  few young men from village

There is no Maoist record, no any police warrant, of any of the people killed by the police, who are claiming it as encounter. The smell of a deep conspiracy is in such a way.

Now the question has raised, the Police, somewhere, is not manufacturing  a  story for the suppression of the people?

Bastar / Gadchiroli  Saturday, 28-04-2018

(Tameshwor Sinha is young and energetic journalist, and now live in Bastar. He is known for  ground reports. )

source : Facebook : Lalsalam

From Democracy and Class Struggle:

People are looking in dead bodies, missing young women’s faces from their villages says Tameshwor Sinha

There is a news among the questions raised at Gadchiroli encounter that the police who claimed to be  Maoist, most of them were unarmed and innocent. villagers. Villagers, who went to the wedding ceremony in a nearby  village, were shot by bullets in the name of being Naxalites.

According to the sources, the 8 young young men and women(5 girls and 3 boys) in a village near Indravati river are missing from the village . According to the rural sources, the villagers were gathered in a wedding ceremony.  When the 8 boys did not arrive home , villagers became active to know the situation. They had heard the voice of  firing. A group of them arrived at the police station to inquire about the missing boys and girls, from where the police sent them to the police headquarters.

The police officers asked the villagers or their family to bring a photo of the original Base card and passport size photo.  When the villagers provided the Base card to the police, they were asked to know the dead bodies, but the family could not be able to  know the body, because their skin was completely lost in the water. The villagers still have remained in District Police headquarter , where the police are talking about being referred to the body after a DNA test.

Villagers have said that the police have killed them in the morning, when young men and women were returning from wedding.

People from the Gattepalli village , who are not able to return home after attending the wedding ceremony are :

1. Mangesh Bukalu ram, 2. Prithvi sweep maṇḍāvī , 3. Ankit Daewoo village , 4. understood him
5. Irapā Maṇḍāvī, 6. Mangesh cunḍū maṇḍāvī, 7. Prithvi Maṇḍāvī 8. Nusē Pēdu

Let’s tell you among the 8 of the people, Mangesh Chundoo Mandavi, who has 11 student in Bhamaragarh is also missing. The carcass of the dead body may have been rotten and these 8 young young men and women have not been recognized.

On the condition of not writing his name, one person said that the Naxals and security forces might have engaged fighting , they have also been killed, but the Naxalites who managed to escaped and the security forces started firing in the fear of being Naxalites in the marriage.

In which many innocent villages have also been killed. After the encounter,the news was given to the media  of the death of the Naxals.The whole media was competing with the name of the top Naxalite leader.

No one asked that a tribal village has also been killed? Due to this, the series of dead bodies continued for three days and the police have recovered 39 bodies so far.

The question is that when 8 young men and women in a village who attended the marriage ceremony, were victims of the police firing, the other village people nearby would have been in that marriage. Then it is natural, to demand for an independent investigation of this so called encounter from the various organisation including the revolutionary poet Varavara  Rao.

The news is that there is a panic in the villages nearby. Security forces have forced to the villagers not to tell anything to the people of  outside. There is a lot of fear in the nearby villages, looking for their own people. According to another know, nearby rural youths also are still missing. According to sources, three boys were taken to the police, and it is not yet known. Rajaram is missing among the  few young men from village

There is no Maoist record, no any police warrant, of any of the people killed by the police, who are claiming it as encounter. The smell of a deep conspiracy is in such a way.

Now the question has raised, the Police, somewhere, is not manufacturing  a  story for the suppression of the people?

Bastar / Gadchiroli  Saturday, 28-04-2018

(Tameshwor Sinha is young and energetic journalist, and now live in Bastar. He is known for  ground reports. )

source : Facebook : Lalsalam

From Democracy and Class Struggle:

People are looking in dead bodies, missing young women’s faces from their villages says Tameshwor Sinha

There is a news among the questions raised at Gadchiroli encounter that the police who claimed to be  Maoist, most of them were unarmed and innocent. villagers. Villagers, who went to the wedding ceremony in a nearby  village, were shot by bullets in the name of being Naxalites.

According to the sources, the 8 young young men and women(5 girls and 3 boys) in a village near Indravati river are missing from the village . According to the rural sources, the villagers were gathered in a wedding ceremony.  When the 8 boys did not arrive home , villagers became active to know the situation. They had heard the voice of  firing. A group of them arrived at the police station to inquire about the missing boys and girls, from where the police sent them to the police headquarters.

The police officers asked the villagers or their family to bring a photo of the original Base card and passport size photo.  When the villagers provided the Base card to the police, they were asked to know the dead bodies, but the family could not be able to  know the body, because their skin was completely lost in the water. The villagers still have remained in District Police headquarter , where the police are talking about being referred to the body after a DNA test.

Villagers have said that the police have killed them in the morning, when young men and women were returning from wedding.

People from the Gattepalli village , who are not able to return home after attending the wedding ceremony are :

1. Mangesh Bukalu ram, 2. Prithvi sweep maṇḍāvī , 3. Ankit Daewoo village , 4. understood him
5. Irapā Maṇḍāvī, 6. Mangesh cunḍū maṇḍāvī, 7. Prithvi Maṇḍāvī 8. Nusē Pēdu

Let’s tell you among the 8 of the people, Mangesh Chundoo Mandavi, who has 11 student in Bhamaragarh is also missing. The carcass of the dead body may have been rotten and these 8 young young men and women have not been recognized.

On the condition of not writing his name, one person said that the Naxals and security forces might have engaged fighting , they have also been killed, but the Naxalites who managed to escaped and the security forces started firing in the fear of being Naxalites in the marriage.

In which many innocent villages have also been killed. After the encounter,the news was given to the media  of the death of the Naxals.The whole media was competing with the name of the top Naxalite leader.

No one asked that a tribal village has also been killed? Due to this, the series of dead bodies continued for three days and the police have recovered 39 bodies so far.

The question is that when 8 young men and women in a village who attended the marriage ceremony, were victims of the police firing, the other village people nearby would have been in that marriage. Then it is natural, to demand for an independent investigation of this so called encounter from the various organisation including the revolutionary poet Varavara  Rao.

The news is that there is a panic in the villages nearby. Security forces have forced to the villagers not to tell anything to the people of  outside. There is a lot of fear in the nearby villages, looking for their own people. According to another know, nearby rural youths also are still missing. According to sources, three boys were taken to the police, and it is not yet known. Rajaram is missing among the  few young men from village

There is no Maoist record, no any police warrant, of any of the people killed by the police, who are claiming it as encounter. The smell of a deep conspiracy is in such a way.

Now the question has raised, the Police, somewhere, is not manufacturing  a  story for the suppression of the people?

Bastar / Gadchiroli  Saturday, 28-04-2018

(Tameshwor Sinha is young and energetic journalist, and now live in Bastar. He is known for  ground reports. )

source : Facebook : Lalsalam

People’s War seems to be on the increase in India

By សតិវ ​អតុ

A lot of news is coming out of India lately. The Guerrilla war, made up mostly of Maoist guerrillas, including the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and the Naxalite insurgency, seems to be on the increase. For the last several years various news sources in the West have reported that the Maoist insurgency has lost ground and activity has slowed down. But in recent years that seems to be changing. One of the latest reports from the British Daily Mail, “At least 37 Maoists killed in jungle raids in India,” reports:

“The Maoists are believed to be present in at least 20 Indian states but are most active in forested resource-rich areas in the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

Gadchiroli is a key transit point for Maoist guerrillas, connecting western India with central and southern states in a restive tranche known as the "red corridor".

Last month eight members of the security forces were killed in Chhattisgarh after suspected rebels blew up their vehicle with a landmine.

Two soldiers were killed last week in a similar explosion in the central state.”

In the last year The Network of Communist Blogs  (RBC) has had many articles on the various battles and massacres against the Maoists carried out by the Narendra Modi, and his fascistic Bharatiya Janata Party  government.   RBC, which this blog is a part of, has always backed the people’s war in India, but such reports of activity have increased over the last year or more. So we can expect more news and reports from India as we get them. Much of the news has been positive for the Maoist, but there has also been a lot of disturbing news about brutality and massacres conducted by the Modi government. Readers can expect more news to continue.

A comment about May Day, International Worker's Day

It's that time again, for articles about May 1, International Worker's Day. It is time for leftist all over the world to write in about May Day  - សតិវ ​អតុ

Translation to English Google:

From LUMINOUS FUTURE:

Comrades workers! The First of May is approaching, day in which the workers of all countries commemorate their awakening to a life with class consciousness, their solidarity in the fight against all violence and all oppression of man by man, in the struggle to liberate millions of workers of hunger, misery and humiliation. Two worlds stand face to face in this great struggle: the world of capital and labor, the world of exploitation and slavery, and that of fraternity and freedom ... READ MORE IN THE FOLLOWING LINK:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gUg85o8_rAMUji3gaaeJw7WOh7_M0IZp/view?usp=sharing

India-CONDEMN THE MURDER OF LITTLE GIRL NASIFA IN KASHMIR WHICH IS PART AND PARCEL OF THE HINDU SAFFRON FASCIST ATTACK

ON THE MINORITIES AND KASHMIRI PEOPLE AS WELL AS PEOPLE OF INDIA AT LARGE. SALUTE PROTESTS BY STUDENTS AND YOUTH GROUPS OF PUNJAB AGAINST THE SAFFROM MONSTERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GRUESOME MURDER OF 8 YEAR OLD GIRL NAFISA IN KASHMIR.ORGANISATION SFROM DIFFERENT SECTION SOF PUNJAB STUDENTS UNION AND NAUJWAN BHARAT SABHA ARE SHIMMERING THE TORCH TO EXTNGUISH THE DARK FORCES OF HINDU FASSCIM PREVAILING ALL OVER THE NATION.MAY THIS SPARK TURN INTO A PRIARIE FIRE TO PUNISH THE KILLERS OF NASIFA AND CONSOLIDATE THE FORCES RESISTING THE MONSTER OF COMMUNAL FASCISM.  

By harsh thakor

In state of Punjab a spate of demonstrations have been held in several nooks and corners condemning the brutal killing of 8 year old girl Nasifa and demanding punishment of the culprits. Really heartening to witness the huge participation of women and girls in protests. They are part and parcel of the protest against Hindu saffron communalism and fascism as a whole. Very significant that such rage is developing in the youth aginst the genocide unleashed by BJP government on the Kashmiri people.
It is a fascist attack on women, Kashmiri people and Mulsim minority as a whole. Sporadic protests all over the nation In over 1000 colleges Punjab Stundents Union and Naujwan BharatySabha have organized protests. In Sangrur in Dhuri region a major protest of over 200 girls was launched by Punjab Radical Students Union.In pockets in Malwa region Punjab Students Union (shaheed randhawa_ and Naujwan Bharat Sabha alos launched actions. A Rosh march took place in Barnala by Naujwan Bharat Sabha.Punjab Students Union held a major demonstration in Patiala and Istri jagriti manch in Sangrur..Punjab Students Union(lalkar) took out a protest in Ranvir college. Also march by punjab radical students union in Sunam in Sangrur district from the government school to the SDM office giving a memorandum demanding punishment of the rapists of Nasifa.If no action took place against the culprits the PRSU pledged to intensify agitation.Encouraging that many high school students joined the procession.

US- The opioid epidemic is really a fentanyl epidemic—and we don’t need all the hype

Thanks to the never ending “war on drugs,” the US has the world’s highest percentage of its citizens locked up behind bars. There are other factors in having such a high number, such as political prisoners. One example is Mumia Abu-Jamal, a radical journalist framed for killing a cop. The US has one of the most oppressive prison systems in the world and many of US capitalism’s problems are dealt with using brute force. While castigating other countries over human rights, the US has a terrible human rights record when it comes to such problems as drug addiction. The present “opioid epidemic” is just one more example of US overkill. This time most politicians are not looking to lock every addict up, as in years past, but as stated towards the end of the article, our Idiot and Chief Donald Trump wants to return to the bad old days of just locking people up.  - សតិវ ​អតុ

From The Idiot Factor:

At least a few times a week we hear of “The U.S. opioid epidemic.” The news is full of scary statistics, with staggering death tolls. Some news outlets claim this is one of the deadliest drug epidemics since the 1960s. But as with the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s, not all the news we got was accurate. If we could believe all the hype and hysteria the mainstream news media fed us, at times we should have seen the country fall apart with so many people using these dangerous drugs. But America has endured from one drug epidemic to the next.
What is being called the “U.S. Opioid Epidemic” should really be called the “fentanyl epidemic.” With all the deaths that are being reported, most are attributed to street drugs mixed with fentanyl. The latest celebrity to die from fentanyl was Prince. The singer was using the common painkiller Vicodin when, unbeknownst to him, it was laced with fentanyl. The obvious conclusion is that he bought bootlegged Vicodin and it was laced with fentanyl. Police are finding that drug all over the streets, even in cocaine. 
According to the National Safety Council, “Over 42,000 Americans died of opioid overdose in 2016, and government and public health officials are scrambling to find effective ways to reverse this frightening trend.” Such death statistics are constantly thrown at us by the mainstream news media. But what seems to be coming across more and more often is the fact that fentanyl is largely responsible for many of these deaths.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is supposedly cheap and easy to make. It is real powerful and is added to all kinds of street narcotics to boost their potency. The problem with this drug is that it is extremely potent.

According to Wikipedia, “fentanyl is about 75 times stronger than morphine for a given amount. Some fentanyl analogues may be as much as 10,000 times stronger than morphine.” Street heroin, in the past century, has always led some people to die from overdoses. For a regular dose of heroin to a non-addict is usually about half a grain. An addict will need several grains. That is a really small amount. For the same amount of fentanyl for the non-addict and addict, to get the same affects as heroin would require amounts that are no more than specs. A spec of salt or a single salt crystal would be the amount of fentanyl an addict might need to get high. It would not take much more than that to kill a person, addict or non-addict.

In the last few decades heroin has been sold in powder form, either in grams or “spoons” or “spoonful.” Recently some heroin has been stamped into pills. But the drug is almost always diluted or cut with other powders to stretch it out and make it appear as if the buyer is getting way more than they really get. Mostly milk sugar and quinine are used to stretch the heroin out. In the past, these powders have usually range from 10 percent to one percent heroin. So the user puts as much as a quarter gram, half or even a whole gram, when in reality the heroin is no more than a few pinches mixed with a lot of non-active powder. Some of the heroin today may be more potent and cheaper than in the past. The danger comes when a user buys heroin that is way more potent than usual. Other factors can contribute to an overdose, such as being drunk when shooting up. Alcohol and heroin are a deadly combination and should always be avoided.
In the case of fentanyl, the drug is so potent it almost has to be cut to prevent an overdose. And because it is so potent, it takes just a little too much, in a powder, to kill a person. It’s hard for the user to really understand how much of the drug they are using, especially when mixed with heroin, fake pharmaceuticals and non-narcotics such as cocaine.
The whole idea that doctors are the culprits, because they are writing too many prescriptions and luring people into addiction is ludicrous. Supposedly, according to recent news reports, people run out of their prescriptions and then head for the nearest heroin dealer. There are a lot of holes in this scenario. Overall this nation needs to be looking into stopping fentanyl and needs to stop wasting time chasing doctors who write too many pain killer prescriptions. There are plenty of people who need legitimate prescriptions for pain killers. There is no need to insist that the average person will become a heroin addict simply because he or she has a prescription to a common pain killer, such as Vicodin or Lortab. Such opioids are relatively harmless when prescribed for pain. We do need to spend public funds on drug rehabilitation for people who have serious problems or for addicts who want to quit. Funding for prevention also makes sense. What we don’t need is a lot of new regulations that make it harder for pain patients to get the medicine they need. We also don’t need more laws to punish people for having a drug problem. We don’t need more drug testing to throw addicts off of public assistance. Most of all we don’t need the hysteria that results from the hype and actions of politicians over these drug epidemics. We need to use common sense. In the 1980s we filled the prisons with people whose only crime was having a drug problem. Such laws created problems we are still trying to fix today. Recent statements and actions by our President Donald Trump make no sense at all, such as capital punishment for drug dealers. We need cooler heads and people who have common sense working on this epidemic and not reckless politicians. 

Pix by Why fentanyl is deadlier than heroin, in a .

The Tragic Regression of Anand Teltumbde – From ‘Mahad: The Making of First Dalit Revolt’ to ‘Bridging the Unholy Rift’

From RED POLEMIQUE:

By Abhinav Sinha

A year ago, I had read Anand Teltumbde’s book ‘Mahad: The Making of the First Dalit Revolt’. I found it to be a research work of the first degree and probably the best on the subject so far. Though the book never directly criticizes the Deweyan Pragmatism of Dr. Ambedkar, yet, through the comprehensive account of his political practice in the 1920s and early-1930s, the book reveals the extent of the impact of Deweyan Pragmatism on Ambedkar, especially for those who know what Deweyan Pragmatism is. For me, the book was extremely useful and I have prescribed the book in my talks and presentations throughout the country and outside the country as well. I considered it a commendable and rigorous fact-based research, despite the fact that the portion of historiography of caste was weak in the book. Therefore, when I came to know that Teltumbde has written the introduction of Dr. Ambedkar’s unfinished manuscript ‘India and Communism’, I bought it immediately in the hope that Teltumbde would have presented an objective account of Ambedkar’s relation with Marxist philosophy as well as Indian communists.

However, reading the introduction, which is named ‘Bridging the Unholy Rift’, came as a shocker to me, indeed a tragic one.

This ‘Introduction’ named ‘Bridging the Unholy Rift’ is not only full of factual and logical mistakes but also shows that Teltumbde understands the least about Marxism. He distorts facts about Ambedkar’s attitude towards communist philosophy, his attitude towards Indian communists (howsoever ideologically weak they were!) and makes a shame-faced attempt to make Ambedkar a sympathizer of Marxist philosophy. Anyone who has read Ambedkar knows that such a claim would be nothing less than a travesty of facts, a mockery of history. This attempt leads Teltumbde, first, to make a liberal appropriation of Marx, Engels and the entire Marxist philosophy and then show the vicinity of pragmatist liberalism of Ambedkar to Marxism as a science of revolution. Such wilful distortion of Marxism was not expected from Teltumbde. Also, he has revealed his “understanding” of Marx’s Capitalas well as his stand towards the use of parliament and establishment of socialism, not to speak of Lenin’s theory of Imperialism and the strategy and general tactics proposed by Lenin in the imperialist stage.

In the present essay I will attempt to show these serious shortcomings of this ‘Introduction’ written by Anand Teltumbde, mostly in chronological order.

For the rest click here.

Syrian Researcher: Focus on Alleged Chemical Attack Ignores War’s Ongoing Deaths by Airstrikes, Bullets

I have come across several people on the left who believe we should take a stand against the Bashar al-Assad (بشار اسد) Regime and some have even suggested supporting the Free Syrian Army, which the US has been supporting. There are a few points they try to make. Most have claimed they are not supporting US imperialism and yet they believe we should demand Assad step down. That is the same position the US takes and as far as I am concerned the US has no authority to tell a foreign leader to step down. Some of these so-called leftists are claiming that the slaughter of his own people is unjustifiable and we should take up the cause to get rid of him. They claim that Marxists must always support the people on the bottom of society in their attempt to overcome a leader or ruling class at the top. Some claim we should not support any dictators. Supporting a reactionary revolution is not a Marxist position and I totally oppose that.

I don't actually support Assad, but I oppose the FSA because it is a reactionary faction, similar to the Nicaraguan Contras. They are mostly Islamists. I am a Marxist and not an Islamist. I don't support Islamist revolutionaries. Many of those people would kill us if we went there. I refuse to take up the causes of US imperialism. They plan to put puppet governments all over the Middle East. That does not help anyone. The only revolutionaries I will support in Syria are Marxists. There aren't many Marxists there today. One thing I will not support is the imperialist efforts to replace Assad with a puppet government. - សតិវ ​អតុ

From Democracy Now:

As the United Nations Security Council holds an emergency session over the growing prospect of a war between Russia and the U.S., after President Trump threatened U.S. strikes in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, we get response from Syrian-Canadian writer Yazan al-Saadi. “Let’s remind everyone that the U.S. is striking Syria already. You have more than 2,000 soldiers on the ground. There are bases.” He adds, “For me, as a Syrian, I see it as an occupation, just like how I see the Russians are an occupation on the country.” Regarding the alleged chemical attack in Syria, he says, “This ignores the fact that most deaths are happening through conventional means,” such as airstrikes.

For the rest of this article click here.

India- Call: Actions for and for proletarian feminism - Anuradha Ghandy Campaign

From RED DAZIBAO:
We call a series of actions led by revolutionaries for proletarian feminism in the French state and throughout the world.
As of April 12, we will broadcast initiatives that encourage the development and reinforcement of proletarian feminism and the revolutionary organizations that defend it.
This date was not chosen by chance. It commemorates the 10th anniversary of the death of Comrade Anuradha Ghandy. This immense communist and proletarian revolutionary was one of the main leaders of the struggle of women for their emancipation in the Indian state. She died as a martyr, dying of a serious illness while serving people, women and their revolution. His writings and actions embody the synthesis and essence of what proletarian feminism means.
We also respond to the call of the International Committee for the Support of the People's War in India for the "Spring Thunder Tour", a set of manifestations of internationalist, anti-imperialist and revolutionary solidarity with the People's War in India.

Long live the struggle of proletarian women for their liberation! Honor Comrade Anuradha Ghandy! Forward in the development of a feminist proletarian movement in the world!

campagneanughandy@protonmail.com

Pix from Democracy and Class Struggle - Blogspot.

US- Kansas Radio ads appeal to greed and voter stupidity

From The Idiot factor:

Some smarmy under-handed conservative group is running dozens of ads every day, on NPR (National Public Radio), trying to tell us that we need to let the "elected" officials in Kansas decide how much school funding Kansas schools need. These new adds are filled with inaccurate information, appeals to personal greed and fear mongering.

These ads imply that it is unfair to let the "unelected" supreme court justices decide how much money we really need for our schools. And they go into fear mongering—warning listeners that property taxes could double or we may end up paying more than 10 percent sales tax (which is close to what we pay now).

As someone who actually works for the school system, I have watched while our past Governor Sam Brownback, gutted our schools and cheated Kansas youth out of the quality education that the generation before them had. The damage that Brownback did will take years to fix. But not if the people who run the ads get their way. As with the rest of the nation, we have an obligation to provide a reasonable and adequate education to every citizen of both Kansas and this country. In the long run, allowing poorly educated citizens to mature, vote, work and live in our society is very dangerous. We already have seen what the poorly educated citizens have done to the office of the president. We have a man who was elected by those poorly educated and easily fooled into believing a $billionaire con man would be an ally of the working class. Our president today has done nothing but take the rights of working people away and has done all he can to make sure that employers have all the rights and all the decision making power over working people who have been stripped of any rights or control over their jobs.

Trying to educate on the cheap is irresponsible and just plane wrong. There are too many people who whine about having to educate someone else's kid. They need to get over it. A lot of the politicians who have gotten elected over the last 10 years have been counting on the less educated and the gullible. When these folks get elected we all pay.

We need to stand up to the big money and greedy political people who have wrecked havoc on our school systems and want to continue this mistreatment of our young. We need to be responsible for education all citizens, so they can enter the work place with the knowledge they need to function well, the ability to understand the system they live under and the ability to see a con job when they vote.

Pix by NBC News.

India- A historic event exactly 27 years ago regarding comrades and their contributions and sacrifices

By Harsh Thakor

 DIP OUR BLOOD IN MEMORY OF 18 GLORIOUS MARTYRS OF SEWEWALA ON MARTYRDOM DAY TODAY ON APRIL 9TH WHOSE PATH TODAY CONTINUES IN PUNJAB LIKE THE WATER FLOWING IN A RIVER OR AN OCEAN.THEIR GLORIOUS RESISTANCE AGAINST THE FASCIST KHALISTANI TERRORISM IS EMBEDDED IN OUR MEMORIES FOREVER AND THEIR SPIRIT IS INEXTINGUISHABLE.THIS VERY SPIRIT PERVADES IN PUNJAB TODAY WITH THE VIRTUAL BONDAGE OF THE LANDED AND LANDLESS PEASANTRY TO THE TREACHEROUS DICTATES OF GLOBALIZATION WHERE ALMOST EVERY WEEK SOME FARMERS COMMIT SUICIDE BECAUSE OF DEBT ENTRAPMENT..THE MARTYRS OF THE FRONT AGAINST REPRESSION AND COMUNALISM STAGED HEROIC RESISTANCE AGAINST THE TWIN MONSTERS OF STATE AND KHALISTANI TERRORISM AND WE MUST FOLLOW THEIR EXAMPLE TODAY WHEN SAFFRON FASCISM IS AT IT'S HELM.NO REVOLUTIONARY CAN EVER FORGET THE MARTYRDOM CONFERENCES IN 1991 AND 1993 SHIMMERING THE TORCH OF LIBERATION.THE STRUGGLES OF THIS FRONT CREATED THE VERY BASE FOR THE MASS REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT IN PUNJAB TODAY. FRONT LEADERS REJECTED ANY ARMS FROM THE STATE AND GAVE ECHOES OF THE COMRADES IN VIETNAM FIGHTING THE ENEMY. RED SALUTES TO THE MARTYRS OF SEWEWALA (Martyred on APRIL, 9,1991)!

1. Introduction
Today is the 27th martyrdom anniversary of 18 activists of the Front against Repression and Communalism’ in Punjab in Seweala village in Faridkot. A 6 member gang of armed Khalistanis, armed with A K-47rifles attacked a meeting of the ‘Front.' This event will be written in red letters in the annals of the history of the Communist Movement in India. On this day revolutionary sympathizers and activists dip their blood in memory of the Seweawala martyrs. The ‘Front’ displayed exemplary examples of mass revolutionary resistance against the twin terrors of State and Khalistani terrorism. The front was originally backed by various communist revolutionary groups like the UC.C.R.I.M.L-Nagi Reddy group (later merged into the C.C.R.I. in 1988), THE C.T group, C.P.I.M.L.(Party Unity), the R,C,C.I (M.l.) etc. Below I am submitting a biographical sketch and a brief report of the event and the post-martyrdom conference. The purpose of he Front was to organize mass revolutionary resistance against Khalistani and state terrorism. It initiated a programme to combat the Khalistani terrorism inbuilding 'cores' of revolutionary resistance. No political leader could use the image of the front to project their political image. The Front would also not play a role of mass sectional organizations nor be attached to any group as 'front' organization. It would have it's independent structure, in order to pool all the possible resources against the twin enemies of Khalistan and State terrorism. It was reviewed that mere propaganda was in sufficient and a separate organization had to be created as a mass political platform to combat the enemy.

From the early 80's to the early part of the 90's the state of Punjab was ravaged by Khalistani terrorism. Communal fascists were a great threat to the people's democratic movement. The Akali Dal represented the Sikh communalists while the Congress represented Hindu Communalism. Both parties used the communal terrorists aganist each other. Indira Gandhi created and patronized Bhindranwale, a Sikh communal fanatic, to electorally defeat the Akali Dal. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale belonged to a Sikh fundamentalist sect which opposed the electoral Akali Dal politics. In the earlier phases the Akali Dal patronized the Sikh fundamentalistforces, harbouring several terrorists in religious temples. However when thecontradiction between the Khalistani liberation and Akali Dal ideologybecame acute, the Congress won Bhindranwale to their side to de-stabilisethe Akali Dal, the ruling party. The Khalistani movement wasused as an agent of the Indian state. Heavy stateterrorism took place in Punjab against the common people in the name of combating the communal terrorists. Often a truckload of weaponry sent for arming the Khalistani terrorist forces were allowed by the Police. The situation was reminiscent of the Vietnam war and in no post-partition period was such communal terror experienced. The rays of darkness had extinguished the light from the land of Punjab. The Khalistanis were armed to the core. Innocent Hindus were shot in buses by bullets from AK-47 machine guns. Women were raped who disobeyed the Khalistani dictates, houses raised to the ground.

2. Event

Village Sewewala is located on the Bathinda-Jaito-Faridkot road 2 km from Jaitu town to one side and Baghtuana to another. What was significant was that in a recent wage-hike struggle, the Sarpanch had tried to woo the Jat peasants and pit them against the Harijan of the village, who were mainly agricultural labourers. The Sarpanch tried to use the rural caste-divide for mobilizing the Jat peasants against the new organization. The entire Harijan basto became staunch supporters of the front. This has class-significance .

On April 9th in 1991, a local assembly was organized in the village by the ‘front.’ In Sewewala village. State –level leaders of the front were invited to participate in the platform. Five hundred people assembled in the compound. A popular anti-communal play was staged and a volunteer force team with pistols and fire-arms guarded the compound.
Khalistani terrorist forces camouflaged themselves and came through the village sarpanch’s house wearing green military uniforms carrying 3 assault rifles, 2 stun guns at least one 7.62 bore gun, and H-E 36 grenades. They attacked the manning members and moved from check post to check post. They lobbed a grenade onto the roof and destroyed the wall of the compound. They had discovered the minute details of the volunteer force like their positions, weaponry and numbers. Mata Sada Kaur, a woman activist from Bhatinda and Jagpal Singh, a state committee member of the front were the first to be killed. Mata Sada Kaur daringly challenged them to shoot her before they shot the young, while Jagpal Singh was shot when moving the children out of the range of fire .
The Khalistanis lobbed another grenade at the dais but it failed to burst. Megh Raj who had not been hit, snatched a 12 bore gun from a comrade and fired 2 shots. However by now his gun was empty and while re-loading his gun the terrorist showered bullets on him. Comrade Megh Raj could have saved his life had he not launched himself in hot pursuit of the Khalistanis, challenging and firing upon them as they were retreating after the attack. Mother Sadana could have saved her life, had she not stretched out her chest against the Khalistanis while unleashing her wrath, while Paapi invited his death by raising slogans against the Khalistani terrorists, amidst the shower of bullets.
Post-massacre summary and resistance

In this encounter, the Khalistanis remained superior, in the military context of killing men, came out winners, but in the political context of causing demoralization, they have failed. In fact the ‘Front ‘ became more popular after the attack.
The failure in thwarting the bloody attack has brought to light the serious weaknesses, limitations and defects of the ‘Front.' However this cannot deny that the Front launched a protracted fight against the Khalistanis. The Front should have conducted the fight with more seriousness, preparation and vigour.
This attack was not on the ‘Front’ alone. It was an attack on the rural labourers (the Harijans) and was specifically mentioned in the handout of the Khalistanis. Above all it was an assault on the entire democratic movement of Punjab.
On the day of the assault of the Khalistanis it looked like it was a victory for them and a loss to the Front but reflecting on the overall history of the period the Front had overlapped the enemies and gained many notable victories. The achievements of the front were fare greater than it’s defeats. The Khalistani forces felt that Megh Raj and his fellow-comrades would repent their doings and their families would be intimidated. But the Khalistani bombs and rifles could not fulfil their political plans, as the martyr comrades were not horrified by death, but mocked by it.
To combat the oppression of the communal –fascist forces activity was undertaken by party platforms and mass organs. Special issues of the ‘The ‘Inquilabi Jantak Leh’ and the ‘Surkh Rekha ‘ were printed as well as messages and statements of other Communist revolutionary groups. A printed statement of the Central Committee and the state committee of the C.C.R.I was brought out in a leaflet and a poster was also printed by the same organization.
Hundreds of people gathered at Baghtuana, Rampura, Selbrah and Dhilwan to bid farewell to the martyrs, marching to the cremation grounds, raising militant slogans. At Baghtuana, bodies of 4 martyrs were cremated in a common pyre, encased in red flags. The slogans raised reflected the resolve f the people to combat the communal fascist forces.
Bog Samagams(conferences) of individual martyrs were held in Bhatuana, Dhilwan, Selbrah and Rampura. In spite of terrorist threats they were successfully held. In these meetings, speakers from a huge range of mass organizations of agricultural workers, peasants, labourers employees etc displayed their resolve to combat the communal-fascist forces. Taking into consideration the earlier threats issued by the terrorists, great priority was given to security arrangements. They planned to foil any terrorist onslaught on the activists and that to thwart tan attack the democratic forces would retaliate in a more comprehensive manner, literally giving back the enemy a taste of their own medicine. One major problem was that it was not possible to move all men and material to smagams in 4 different places –all within 10 days of the massacre. Thus volunteers and arms had to be arranged locally. Effective measures were deployed to provide security cover not only to the pandal and procession but also to the participants on their way coming from all over the state.

On May 18th,one of the most memorable conferences or samagams (in Hindi) was held in memory of the Sewewala martyrs. The main aim was to project the revolutionary mass –political message of offering revolutionary mass resistance to the twin onslaught of Khalistani and State terrorism. The objective was to pool in all the revolutionary democratic allies and exclude forces like Paigam group that supported the Khalistani Movement. The aim was to narrow down the differences between the different communist revolutionary forces. It was decided that no revolutionary group should use the conference to project it’s political image and that it was not a forum to project party politics. This trend was predominant in the K.N Ramchadran group which refused to differentiate between the party and mass-political platform and believed that mass organizations were only needed to propogate economic demands. This trend was predominant in the K.N Ramchadran group which refused to differentiate between the party and mass-political platform. Some groups talked of mere class struggle,some gave less emphasis like the RCC on Khalistani terrorism while some like Ramchandran group insisted on participating only on the 'party' plane. The samagam organizers insisted that no party should participate in it's own name or it's own banner.
For the conference great preparations were made for adequate security arrangements. The firepower of all the Communist revolutionary groups was pooled together. Due care was taken to ensure that the communist revolutionary groups were not forced to expose their men and material. Some groups did not wish to expose their armed preparedness/squads. To satisfy these parameters, the participant groups were asked to specify only the number of volunteers and the quantity of arms and ammunition with them.C.C.R.I, (Centre of Communist revolutionaries of India)C.T .(Central Team)and R.C.C.groups acted collectively in this.It was planned that a volunteer force equipped with about two-thirds legal and one-third illegal weapons would be deployed.However,the number of armed volunteers and weapons grew beyond expectations.No armed licences from the state would be procured.
A committee of prominent mass leaders,intellectuals,writers,editors and democratic rights leaders were formed to conduct this programme.The purpose was to achieve maximimum possible mobilization of communist revolutionary, democratic and secular forces. It included Gursharan Singh (dramatist), Amolak Singh (editor, Surkh Rekha), Japal Jassi(editor, Inquilabi Jantak Leh), Sujan Singh (short story writer), Mohunder Singh Sandhu, Jagmohan Singh(Association for democratic Rights) etc. The people of Jaitu were greatly encouraged when they saw the security arrangements. Besides volunteers with firearms, hundreds of volunteers were armed with traditional weapons. As it was routinely apprehended that the terrorists in the garb of police personnel may hit at the participants while the latter were on their way to Jaitu, the police authorities were asked to inform the Samagam (conference) organizers about the deployment of their checkposts.The police refused permission for this. Mobile patrolling was undertaken by volunteers on jeeps and 2 –wheelers.
The function started at 9.a.m on May 18th.Militant slogans were raised and about 10,000 people assembled. At first only around 250 people assembled but like a spark turning into a prairie fire the number increased to 10,000. The speech that touched the hearts of most of the participants was that of Amolkak Singh (State convenor of the Front. The stage secretary Jaspal Jassi spoke about the need for combating both types of terrorism and also exposed the tendency in the revolutionary camp with either state or Khalistani terrorism. He explained the correct approach of mass revolutionary resistance against both kinds of terrorism. The masses responded warmly, continuously raising militant slogans. After the function, Jaspal Jassi discharged the responsibility of the staege secretary. After the conclusion of the Samagam, a militant demonstration was held in the town escorted by volunteers. At the parking place adequate security arrangements were made to thwart attempts of Khalistanis gangs to plant bombs in the trucks.
What was important was that the revolutionary democratic message was so effectively conveyed and that the conference was not utilized as a forum for projecting the line of any communist revolutionary group. It promoted the unity of communist revolutionary and democratic force s and combated any trend to convert mass –political platforms into party platforms. The samagam and the demonstration increased the confidence among people that a successful protracted fight can be waged. One was reminded of the spirit of the Vietnamese people when combating the Americans and the confidence they gained from the Vietminh combat forces. Please consider for publication nad confirm receipt.
The front martyrs and activities sowed the seeds for later revolutionary developments in Punjab.
Written with reference from journal ‘the Comrade’ issue of June 1991 and May 1991 supplement of magazine. The author wishes to remind readers that the ‘Front against Repression and Communalism’ did not belong or was a front organization of any revolutionary political group and thus should not be misunderstood as one. 

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India- Farmers committing suicide over unfair debts

Several farmers from various parts of Punjab, this week, gathered here and held a rally for their several demands including full loan waiver and higher compensation amount for farmers who commit suicide. The farmers assembled at Sector 25 here to participate in the protest rally on the call given by seven farmers outfits, including Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta), BKU (Dakonda), Kirti Kisan Union, Kisan Sangharsh Committee, and BKU (Krantikari). The farmers raised slogans against the Punjab government and the Centre and said the rally was a "warning" to both the governments. "Farmers in Punjab are being forced to commit suicides as they are unable to pay their debts. Our main demand is that the debt of those farmers and farm labourers who cannot pay their loans taken from banks, Arthiyas etc should be waived," said BKU (Ekta) General Secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan. "This rally is a warning to both Punjab and Central governments for not implementing their promises made to the farmers," he said. Kokrikalan also demanded remunerative prices for all the crops so farmers get better prices for their produce. "The government should also pay farmers for vegetable, maize, Basmati etc as per the recommendation of the Swaminathan Commission report," he said. The farmers also demanded that they should be given Rs 200 per acre as bonus for managing the crop residue. "Till the farmers are not given Rs 200 per acre, no case should be registered against them for burning crop residue," said Kokrikalan. The farmers also sought Rs 10 lakh compensation each for farmers who commit suicides after failing to pay their debt and a government job to one family member of these farmers. "If our demands aren't met, we will again hold a massive rally against the government after the completion of ongoing crop harvesting," he said. PTI CHS CHT CHT

Pix from Pinterest.

The 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.- be prepared for a lot of phony speeches

From The Idiot Factor:

Yesterday Ceremonies and other events were being held nationwide to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Of course most of us remember him as the leading figure of the civil rights struggle that lead to the end of "Jim Crow" laws, racial segregation and the guaranteed right for all people of all races to vote.

The other thing he is known for is his philosophy of non-violence.

King was a major mover and shaker in the civil rights movement, but that is not all he did. He also wrestled with such topics as poverty and ending the Vietnam War. I emphasis the last two things because politicians of all stripes will be giving speeches, today, on King and his work with the civil rights movement. They will focus on his commitment to using non-violence to accomplish his goals. Politicians today love a man of peace because conservatives are all about violence and intimidation to get what they want. Some conservatives have openly carried guns as a form of intimidation while protesting against Muslim Mosques. That happened here in Wichita in May of 2016. Then there were the heavy handed police attacks on the peaceful protests of the Occupy Movement. Oakland police used violence against some protesters back in 2012. So the idea of a group of political activist who will always reject violence is a wonderful thing for the conservatives who oppose most of what our modern protesters stand for.

As for poverty and inequality, no conservative Republican is going to champion that cause. And some Democrats are just as bad as Republicans. Today we have one of the most crass champions of the rich and their greed, as well as open hostility to those who are working poor or those living in poverty, President Donald Trump. As King once said:

"We have come a long way in our understanding of human motivation and of the blind operation of our economic system. Now we realize that dislocations in the market operation of our economy and the prevalence of discrimination thrust people into idleness and bind them in constant or frequent unemployment against their will. The poor are less often dismissed from our conscience today by being branded as inferior and incompetent. We also know that no matter how dynamically the economy develops and expands it does not eliminate all poverty."

This is not something that our Idiot 'n Chief, Trump would ever embrace. And almost all of our Kansas politicians, including our very own Representative Ron Estes would not touch the quote with a 10 foot pole. Today we have some of the nastiest-classist anti-poor leaders this country and the world have ever seen. Greed is rampant and guarded by our present day Republican Party. The country has moved very far away from the ideas and goals that King professed.

Another area sure to be disputed was King's dislike of the Vietnam War. According to The New York Times:

" Fifty years ago today — and one year to the day before his assassination — the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the most politically charged speech of his life at Riverside Church in Upper Manhattan. It was a blistering attack on the government’s conduct of the Vietnam War that, among other things, compared American tactics to those of the Nazis during World War II.

The speech drew widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum, including from this newspaper. Other civil rights leaders, who supported the war and sought to retain President Lyndon B. Johnson as a political ally, distanced themselves from Dr. King."

Today this nation is involved in wars all over the world. We occupy Iraq and Afghanistan. We are involved in wars in Yemen and Syria. This nation is addicted to war and there is almost no opposition to it at all, especially missing is anything from the Democrats. This nation hasn't been so found of war since World War II. Our culture and even our advertisements are full of pro-war messages.

So be prepared for some of the most hyped up, hypocritical and phony praise for Martin Luther King Jr. This is America, an anti-poor and pro-war nation. We have collectively ignored most of the advice from King and we are paying for it.

Pix by The Atlantic.

INDIA- OPPOSE THE FASCIST DESIGNS OF THE STATE IN SNATCHING THE RIGHTS ALREADY IN THE HANDS OF THE OPPRESSED DALIT COMMUNITY

IT PROVES THAT THE CURRENT MODI GOVernment IS BANGING EVERY NAIL AND COFFIN TO TOTALLY ISOLATE THE DALIT COMUNITY AND STRENGTHEN EVERY PART OF THE MACHINERY TO WEAKEN ANY DEMOCRATIC RESISTANCE OF THEM. WE MUST SALUTE ALL THE FORCES WHO WITHSTOOD THE POLICE BARRICADES TO IMPLEMENT PROTEST. IT IS PART AND PARCEL OF THE FASCIST AGENDA OF THE MODI GOVERNMENT. ON A WHOLE.A MOST ENCOURAGING AND POSITIVE ROLE PLAYED BY PUNJAB STUDENTS UNION AND ZAMEEN PRAPTI SANGHARSH COMMITE IN PLACES LIKE SANGRUR,LUDHIANA, NAKODAR, FARIDKOT, PATIALA  AND MUKTSAR. IN SNANGRUR OVER 7000 PEOPLE CONGREGATED. WITH GREAT DEDICATION THE PUNJAB STUDENTS UNION INTEGRATED WITH THE LANDLESS DALIT COMMUNITY TO SHIMMER THE TORCH OF LIBERATION.SALUTE VANGUARD ROLE PLAYED BY PSU AND ZPSC IN WORKING TO EXTINGUISH THE FASCIST HINDU SAFFRON FORCES.

By Harsh Thakor

A protracted movement was launched in several regions of the state by Punjab Students Union and Zameen prapti sangharsh committee to protest against the fascist court ruling against the dalit comunity. I received a report from Pardeeo Kasba, secretary of PSU who told me about the efforts of the student activists and the repression faced in Sangrur where they faced a major attack. Protests to k place in Sangrur, Faridkot, Ludhiana, Nakodar, Amritsar and Muktasr. The grassroots work of the ZPSC and the PSU played a major role in the rallies making an impact because of the perseverance of ideological grounding. Killing of protestors by police during Bharat Bandh strongly condemned
Zpsc strongly condemns the firing by police on the people, killing a number of them, protesting against Supreme Court order virtually doing away with The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Supreme Court issued this order despite rise in the number of murders, rapes, assaults and other atrocities being perpetrated against these sections and despite high pendency and very low conviction rate of the cases under the Act.
There have been countrywide protests against this Supreme Court order. People from different walks of life came out in protests. Rail and road traffic was blocked at a number of places and large rallies were organized by the people.
To crush these protests, Government took recourse to propitiatory orders, lathi-charged the people and fired live bullets on the protesters in which a number of them have been killed.
Today’s protests are against the growing atrocities against Dalits and other oppressed sections. Today’s protests are against the ruling class forces which are conspiring to finish off reservation from oppressed sections. Today’s protests are also against the conspiracy to impose upper caste chauvinist rule in the name of Hindutva by the ruling dispensation.
Zpsc calls upon the people to continue the protests against the Supreme Court order as well as the attempts by the Government to suppress the protests. We pay our homage to those who have laid down their lives against the chauvinist fascist rulers. We call upon all forces against caste oppression and suppression of the rights of the oppressed sections to join hands against the attempts by the Government and other wings of the state to deny them their rights.