Left groups protest across Punjab, seek to revive spirit of Bhagat Singh's martyrdom

By Harsh Thakor*
Despite political change of guards, which brought Aam Aadmi Party to power, recent events suggest that Left-wing forces of different shades appear to be steadily gaining ground in Punjab. At a commemoration meeting on March 23, the 91st martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) held conferences at 23 places in 18 districts of Punjab.
The decentralised campaign continued the spirit of the farmers’ protests at the Delhi Singur border, where a commemoration programme on the martyrs was held last year. There was impactful gathering in the districts of Malwa region, with highest participation in Sangrur, Moga and Bathinda. In total over a lakh and a half farmers participated.
BKU (Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan said that at all the conferences tens of thousands of farmers and labourers along with their families, contract workers, students, youth and others participated. Slogans of Inquilab Zindabaad and Down with Imperialism -- echoing the ones raised by the martyrs at the gallows -- were raised as a token of appreciation of the exemplary sacrifice.
Protesters spoke about how today dozens of mammoth corporate houses akin to the East India Company were seeking to enslave labour of farmers. The rulers of our nation were patronising such plunder. Hence it was the need of the hour to unitedly struggle against World Trade Organisation and the imperialist policies as a whole, it was pointed out.
A few weeks later, several oganisations came together to stage protest against the arrest of political prisoners, who it was claims were framed on false charges. Held on April 8 in Singrur on the very day Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru flung a bomb in the parliament house to symbolise liberation from colonial slavery, the Kirti Kisan Union, Punjab Students Union, Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Zameen Prapti Sangharsh demanded unconditional release of political prisoners.
Speakers summarised how activists like Gautam Navlakha , GN Saibaba, Rona Wilson, Anand Teltumbde, Varavara Rao, Umar Khalid, Sudha Bharadwaj, Devinder Ghullar etc. were branded for waging a conspiracy against the state as they were posing a question to the autocratic character of the rulers or confronting fascism.
Speakers explained how the rulers were leaving no stone unturned in penetrating the poison of Hindu religious fundamentalism to divide and rule the people just like the British. Gross violations of making available basic amenities to political prisoners was highlighted. They asserted, in the days to come the tentacles of the central rulers would sharpen even more with state repression to crush all political dissent.

Speakers summarised how activists were branded for waging conspiracy against the state as they were posing a question to the autocratic rulers

In yet another successful programme, on April 9, speakers touched upon how under the current rulers the monopoly or grip of Hindutva fascism and feudalism had escalated to an unprecedented scale. Accent was given to how means of production was most unevenly distributed. Student leaders spoke about how education was saffronised at unparalleled levels. They raised the burning issue of re-instatement of ration cards, demanded allocation of land plots, and pointed towards the illegal occupation of land by upper caste landlords.
In yet another programme, the Krantikari Pendu Mazdoor Union (Punjab) and the Punjab Radical Students Union staged a play in village Namol dedicated to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev raising the issues of emancipation of workers. Addressing people who had gathered for the play, Revolutionary Rural Workers' Union president Sanjeev Mintoo and secretary Dharmapal Singh said that the freedom for which the martyrs sacrificed their lives has not come.
President of Punjab Radical Students' Union Raspinder Jimmy said that while raising voice against the saffronisation of education the students and youth should play their due role against the Indian rulers as well. Another play "Before Disappearance" by Shaheed Art Bhagat Bhagat Singh, left deep impression on the minds of people. Revolutionary songs were sung by Major Upli and Billu Singh. The programme ended with loud chants of "Martyrs, think a little and watch carefully".
---
*Freelance journalist

Comments

Prof. Vidyut Joshi: Gujarat’s knowledge institutions have lost their soul, urgent reorientation needed

By A Representative In a thought-provoking column published in Sandesh , eminent sociologist and former Vice-Chancellor Prof. Vidyut Joshi has raised urgent concerns over the erosion of intellectual autonomy and social relevance in Gujarat’s leading research and academic institutions. Building on insights from the recent paper Secret of Creating High Performing Knowledge Institutions by development economist Prof. Tushaar Shah, Joshi paints a stark picture of institutions that have strayed far from their foundational vision.

Top civil rights leader announces plan to lead delegation to Pakistan amidst post-war tensions

By A Representative In a significant move, well-known academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey has announced the plan to send a 22-member delegation to Pakistan to engage in dialogue with its government and civil society. The delegation proposed to go to Pakistan under the banner of Socialist Party (India) as a fact-finding mission to help seek solution to continuing tensions between the two countries over the fallout of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Global recognition at UNHRC: A breakthrough for communities discriminated on work and descent

By Amit Kumar, Naveen Gautam* In a historic moment for global human rights, the 59th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council opened with a powerful acknowledgment of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD)—groups affected by caste-like systems of exclusion, marginalization, and inherited inequality. This recognition was delivered by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk during his global human rights update, signaling a major shift in international discourse.

Former civil servants raise alarm over conflict of interest in Supreme Court's forest advisory panel

By A Representative In a strongly worded open letter to the Chief Justice of India, 60 retired senior civil servants from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and other central services have raised serious concerns over what they term a “conflict of interest” in the current composition of the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC), tasked with advising the Court in forest and environmental matters. The signatories, all part of the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), expressed grave apprehension that the CEC—now comprising entirely of recently retired officials from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC)—may lack impartiality in ongoing litigation, particularly those challenging the Forest Conservation Amendment Act (FCAA), 2023.

J&K's Mallabuchan villagers symbolically cut Off pipeline in protest against ‘water injustice’

By A Representative In a striking act of peaceful protest, residents of Mallabuchan village in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district symbolically disconnected the Ahmadpora-Tangmarg water pipeline on Thursday, denouncing decades of official neglect and violation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) norms.

Few Bollywood actors possessed Sanjeev Kumar's subtle detachment and sensitivity

By Harsh Thakor On 9th July, we celebrated the 85th birthday of legendary Hindi film actor, Sanjeev Kumar., known as Haribhai Jariwala. Sanjeev Kumar penetrated zones of versatility or acting craft, almost unparalleled in Hindi cinema. He was one one the very few who touched horizons of true genius, transcending regions in acting virtually unexplored. Rarely did any artist get stuck as thickly into the skin of the character. The diversity of expressions in his moves reminded one of the different water colours of a painting. Sanjeev manifested the ventures of an artist to tap the regions unexplored. He simply defied all conventions of Bollywood, making path breaking experiments. His acting had a subtle degree detachment and sensitivity, which few Bollywood actors ever possessed. He may not have possessed the drop dead looks of a Dev Anand, Dharmendra or Sashi Kapoor or the professionalism or star charisma of an Amitabh Bachan, Rajesh Khanna or Shah Rukh Khan. However in pure acting...

Climate action in rural India can go hand in hand with sustainable livelihoods: NGO shows the way

By Bharat Dogra Mobilizing an adequate response to climate change is often seen as an expensive task and then there is a lot of talk about who’ll bear the burden. However in rural areas both climate mitigation and adaptation can be integrated well with the promotion of sustainable rural livelihoods and in such conditions people become very supportive towards it. In such conditions climate response can progress much more smoothly without becoming burdensome.

A healthier model for goat-based livelihoods in remote Madhya Pradesh villages

By Bharat Dogra While buffaloes and cows often receive greater attention in animal husbandry-related government development schemes, goats remain vital for poorer households. Therefore, enhancing goat-based livelihoods is especially important for marginalized communities—particularly when such efforts reduce villagers' costs and lower goat mortality rates. One promising strategy involves training local villagers, especially women, to provide essential veterinary services. A welcome byproduct of this is that several women gain a respected source of income within their own villages.

Nation marks 10 years of Digital India, yet RTI filing with Parliament remains offline

By A Representative As India commemorates a decade of the ambitious Digital India mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 1, 2015, a critical digital gap remains unaddressed: citizens still cannot file Right to Information (RTI) applications online with the Indian Parliament.

Search This Blog