Shaheed Bhagat Singh Diwas, 23rd March 2014

Shaheed Park - 10 am and Jantar Mantar - 1 pm 

 Sangharsh 2014

As a follow up of the Jashn-e-Sangharsh of movements, activists and community leaders along with cultural groups, held in Chirala (Andhra Pradesh) in January 2014, a political meeting of people’s movements, organised and unorganised sector trade unions and traditional natural resource based community representatives was held on the 22^ndand 23^rd February 2014 in Delhi.

The existence of social movements and trade unions dates back to the history of left movement in India; the mass organisations and trade unions in the country, affiliated to a party or otherwise, have played a very important role in deciding the future of government formation at the centre and the states. It is important that we take this historic opportunity to assert our militant unity and radical positions and re-emphasize the importance of social movements and its political views outside of the electoral politics.

Discussions within social movements, trade unions and the larger left constituency, in the context of the 2014 parliament elections in India, must bring in debates and dialogues of the leading political parties and an analysis of the emerging political trends.

Some of the main positions taken during the meeting were to recognise that:

Current times demand new political coalitions and alliance-building amidst social movements and between people’s movements and trade unions, bringing together the diversity of our political history as represented through the Red, Green and Blue flags! New political formulations that weave through class, gender and caste, organised and unorganised, environment and human must be found.   

This coalition must be built on the basic ideological premise of our collective opposition against global capitalism, brahmanism, feudalism, patriarchy, religious fundamentalism and jingoistic nationalism.

The need to effectively tackle and take forward the political resurgence of the past ten years, since 2004 WSF Mumbai, Sangharsh 2007 and the new political uprisings since 2000s, like; Nandigram, Singur, Mundra, Raigad, the hilly terrains of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Latehar, Chengara, Haripur, Nayachar, POSCO, Niyamgiri, Odisha, Chitrakoot, Bundelkhand, Khiri and Andhra coastal regions, Kudankulam, Kalinga Nagar, Jashpur, and Sonbhadra, Maruti workers, unorganized labour struggles led by the communities and workers themselves, which exemplify this.

At a time when people’s struggles are directed against the state-corporate nexus, there is a need for building a national joint platform of social movements and trade unions especially in the context of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2014.

The battle against patriarchy, and its manifestations in the physical and structural violence against women should be strengthened through strengthening women’s roles in family, society, movement and political dialogue

There is a historical need to re-assert the lives of leaders of political resistance and social change, like, Birsa Munda, Tilka Majhi, Sidhu Kanu, Ayyankali, Periyar, Savitribai Phule, Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Ambedkar, Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan

It was decided that the efforts to build this sort of a political alliance must be made immediately, especially in the run up towards General Elections 2014.

The need for evolving a joint agenda and rationale in the political dialogue with political parties, in the run up to the elections

1. The participation of critical mass-based movements in the election process – focus being on agenda-setting with movement demands
   
2. The realisation that movements and groups must engage with greater clarity, in a multi-party political democracy, to put forth our issues, concerns and ideological demands to a cross-spectrum of political groups
   
3. The realisation that some of the movement groups and leaders have decided to join the electoral process and to contest elections themselves. The situation needs understanding, but should not be allowed the space of political interpretation that all social movements and trade unions are with one political party
   
4. The realisation that the decades old struggles of social movements & trade unions and centuries old struggles of natural resource-based traditional communities – especially Dalits & Adivasis, have a collective strength that is rooted in the politics of being in the opposition, asserting the rights of people in the fight against the state. This must not be diluted.
   

There is a need to unite our demands and assert the fact that we are not pleading for legislations or to have our people in parliament or for our demands to be heard but are demanding a political dialogue on each of these issues and will be aiming towards drafting a people’s charter on these lines.

It was decided to give a call for a national level mobilisation of representatives, leaders, activists and cultural movements to assemble in Delhi on Shaheed Diwas, the commemoration day of the martyrdom of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his comrades. This will be a political gathering of Adivasi and Dalit groups, forest workers, fishworkers, handloom weavers, domestic workers, street vendors and hawkers, women’s groups and organisations that have been working in the country for social and political change. 

On the 23rd of March 2014, after paying respect to  the martyrs at Shaheed Park at 10 am, the program will continue at Jantar Mantar from 1 pm onwards. Leaders from other peoples’ organizations and from political parties will also be invited. The group is undertaking this action as SANGHARSH 2014. A brainstorming and strategy action planning meeting of activists, community leaders, solidarity groups, etc. will be held on the following day, 24^th March, 2014 in Delhi.

Inquilab Zindabad! Long live the victory of Working Peoples’ Movements!

All India Union of Forest Working People AIUFWP, National Fish Workers’ Forum NFF, National Hawkers’ Federation NHF, Krishak Mukti Sangharsh Samiti (KMSS) Assam, Handloom Workers’ Co-operative Union, A.P.; All India Tribal Youth Movement, Gujarat; Voices of Youth ,Gujarat; Delhi Solidarity Group (DSG)