Though often overlooked in official narratives, Shariati remains one of the most influential intellectual figures behind the Iranian Revolution. His ideas, which linked Shi’ism with modern revolutionary theories drawn from thinkers such as Frantz Fanon and Jean‑Paul Sartre, helped shape the ideological climate that culminated in 1979.

Revisiting his legacy is essential not only for understanding Iran’s modern history but also for examining the broader intersections of religion, social justice, and political transformation in the Muslim world.

Born in 1933 in Mazinan, Shariati grew up in a religious household during a turbulent era. The 1953 overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and the Shah’s subsequent modernization drive—perceived by many as an attempt to erase cultural and religious roots in favor of Western approval—formed the backdrop of his intellectual evolution. Shariati’s activism led to imprisonment, and later, study in Paris, where exposure to existentialist and anti‑colonial thought profoundly shaped his worldview. He rejected Marxist materialism but embraced its critique of inequality, reinterpreting Islamic history to highlight figures such as Abu Dharr al‑Ghifari as symbols of resistance and social equality.

From this synthesis emerged Shariati’s concept of “Red Shiism,” a dynamic, activist Islam rooted in sacrifice, justice, and resistance, inspired by the legacy of Karbala. His slogan “Return to the Self” urged Muslim societies to break from blind imitation of the West and rediscover their intellectual heritage. His lectures and writings reframed Islam not as a passive spiritual refuge but as a force for liberation, capable of mobilizing the masses against tyranny. By the late 1970s, his ideas circulated widely among students and activists, laying the intellectual foundations of revolution.

Shariati’s critique extended beyond Marxism to liberalism and existentialism, which he faulted for neglecting the spiritual dimension of humanity. In works such as Marxism and Other Western Fallacies: An Islamic Critique, he argued that Islam offered its own emancipatory paradigm, distinct from Western secular traditions. He did not seek to make Islam socialist but rather employed Marxist sociological tools to galvanize Muslims into revolutionary action. His criticism of Iran’s Marxist Tudeh Party underscored his insistence on adapting political thought to Iran’s cultural and religious context.

Although Shariati died in 1977, two years before the revolution, his intellectual imprint was unmistakable. Pakistani writer Mukhtar Masood recorded that Iranians across social strata identified Shariati as the architect of the movement. Yet, as the revolutionary state consolidated power, charismatic leadership overshadowed intellectual activism, and Shariati’s role receded into obscurity. His story illustrates how revolutions often celebrate political victories while neglecting the thinkers who shaped their ideological foundations.

Shariati’s legacy endures as a reminder that religion, when reinterpreted through the lens of justice and resistance, can become a powerful agent of social transformation. His vision of Islam as a force for liberation continues to resonate in debates over faith, identity, and political change across the Muslim world.

Author is freelance journalist.

Courtesy: CounterView

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Resurrecting the outlook of Father Stan Swamy and Prof. G. N. Saibaba, Whither Human Rights in India is both a chronicle of resistance and a call to reshape the future of democracy and human dignity.

Reviews highlight it as imperative for understanding the struggles of minorities, the role of activist scholars (like contributors Harsh Mander, Teesta Setalvad), and the impact of laws like the UAPA on activists.

It is an illustrative and lucid anthology that provides a panoramic view and an unwavering critical analysis of the aggravating crisis in human rights in India, offering profound research on systemic failures and the ongoing fight for justice.

Principally, the book is a comprehensive exploration of how the devastation of human rights over the parts decade are not just a continuation of past patterns but symbolise a crucial departure or rupture, manifesting a new fascist paradigm which will make it an arduous task for future generation s to stand up against to restore past rights.

The essays trace the historical and ideological roots of India’s human rights evolution. They explore how colonial past and constitutional ideals grossly contradict current realities. Critiques analyse the rise of majoritarian politics, state violence, and impunity, especially against minorities.

The book scrutinizes the judiciary, hate speech, “bulldozer justice,” and development models. Features contributions from leading voices like Teesta Setalvad, Harsh Mander, Gautam Navlakha, and Kalpana Kannabiran.

The book addresses the persecution of activists (like the book’s editor, Anand Teltumbde under laws like the UAPA.

In a most illustrative and congeal manner the chapters of the book encompass the unprecedented destruction of human rights during the tyranny of BJP rule.

The first part includes seven papers that give a clear theoretical cognitive on vital spheres lie state violence, impunity, ‘Urban Naxal narrative, the hate speech epidemic persecution engineered by the constitutional executive, controversial supreme court rulings, growing inequality, and the superstructure of New India promoted by BJP, the Gujarat model and the ‘bulldozer justice.’

The second part features nine papers, documenting violations on minority communities like Muslims and Christians.

Introduction by Author

Teltumbde gives a most comprehensive introduction where he explores the evolution of human rights in India from the Colonial days of the British rule, linking it with the rise of British liberalism. He examined the contradictions of British imperialism with liberalism as well as the percolating of liberal ideas and catalysed social reforms that addressed oppressive practices. He chronicled the events that orchestrated the wave of human rights in the Freedom struggle and why World War 2 became a turning point in the global recognition of human rights, with creation of United Nations. Teltumbde has appraised the Indian Constitution of 1950 that secured important rights, praising India’s dedication to preserving human rights in that era.

Pertinent and positive that Tetumbde exposes the glaring loopholes in late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s policies, who he described as fostering caste discrimination as well as inequality to engineer a largely undemocratic social order, promoting even Preventive Detention and toppling the elected government of Sheikh Abdula h in Kashmir and the Elected Communist party in Kerala.

Anand makes an intensive exploration of the gradual deterioration of human rights in periods like Indo-China War, Emergency, and events under the Congress regimes that were the precursor-sponsored rise of BJP neo-fascism was bitterly critical of the regimes of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, supressing workers and student movements. He scrutinized how the 1991 economic reforms although boosted private enterprise and consumer freedom, escalated economic equality, displaced large populations and marginalised the poor due to privatisation, and linked those aberrations with informalisation of labour and commercialisation of services like healthcare and education that engineered a new era of human rights violations.

Teltumbde recounted the Babri Masjid demolition orchestrating communal polarisation and widespread violence and the transition to the 202 Gujarat agenda, with the gruesome Godhra carnage. In the main Teltumbde navigated how in essence the state’s actions stood in stark contrast to the lofty ideals of the constitution.

Anand finally explored and evaluated the making and fabric of fascism in India under Narendra Modi He reflected the role played by the media. He elaborated how Modi regime viewed civil society as an enemy, mercilessly framing activists and dissenters as threats to national security. Teltumde chronicled events symbolising the multidimensional assault on human rights, like Pulwama action, Citizenship amendment act, abrogating article 370 in Kashmir, criminalising human rights organisations, extensive use of colonial era laws like UPA.etc.

In his conclusion of the introduction, he diagnoses a return to the ancient Brahmanical order, stripping al human rights. He expresses fear of the silence and indifference of the Indian public on Modi’s regime and relentless propaganda that conceal the truth.

Chapters in the Volume

Kalpana Kannabiran examines how state actions over seven decades have reinforced impunity and aggression.

Ajay Gudavarthy and G Vijay navigate targeting of activists as anti-Hindu and terrorist to supress resistance of civil society.

Mihir Desai explores the Supreme Court’s failures to safeguard constitutional rights over the lats decade.

Subbhas Gatade draws similarities of the bulldozing of Muslim homes with Israeli demolitions in Gaza.

Teesta Setalvad diagnoses the reactionary character of the ‘Gujarat Model’, evaluating it as facade to engineer corporate welfare and communal polarisation.

Gautam Navlakaha recollects life serving a sentence as an undertrial prisoner, revealing how special laws are designed to undermine the principle of innocence until proven guilty, denying bail to prisoners making them languish for years.

Harsh Mander touches on the escalation of hate speech, vilifying Muslims as traitors.

Aakar Patel explores the persecution of Muslims, tracing it to the ideological roots of the BJP, describing Modi’s regime as one mercilessly promoting nationalism.

Vineeth Srivastav characterises Modi’s regime as fascist, which fuses rhetoric nationalism, religious identity and anti-elitism to trigger Hindu nationalism. He lucidly analyses Fascist underpinnings exploring how the cult of Modi, the normalisation of Hindu nationalism, the mockery of constitutional values, the power of propaganda, the dominance of mob mentality, the revival of religious myths, as national narratives and ‘bulldozer justice’, are a testament to New India’s transformation into a fascist society. This new India’s characterised by a fascist revival of a mythic past as well as a dynamic relationship of the state, corporate interests and highly mediated cultural nationalism, bolstering ultra-nationalism with crony capitalism.

Anand Teltumbde investigates the organised erosion of Dalit rights, in the backdrop of the marinization of constitutional protection.

Vernon Gonzalves chronicles the systematic extinguishing of prisoners’ rights under Modi.

Lancy Lobo describes the Violence unleashed on Christians, with anti-conversion laws enforced to attack on Christians.

Irfan Engineer covers the escalating violence and discrimination of Muslims under Modi’s rule.

Mahruk Edenwala exposes the failure of child protection laws, particularly in aftermath of NRC.

Bittu KR analyses the restriction on rights of the LGBTQIA for living freely and equally.

(The author is a freelance journalist)

Related:

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Iconoclast: Path breaking biography of BR Ambedkar projects his human essence

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Ritwik Ghatak films (Ghatak’s filmography) is a treasure trove of cinematic brilliance, transcending unexplored horizons, to reinvent contemporary Indian art. Each film is an intensive exploration of complex human emotions against the backdrop of socio-political realities, reflecting the turbulent times in which he lived.

He was an individual with a characteristic and independent working style, and one of the mascots of the parallel cinema. He also waged a rebellion against a national cinema whose conventions he wanted to make a major rupture from with each of his work.

Ghatak’s life ran parallel to some of the most traumatic periods in the 20th century India, which had a major bearing or influence on the course of his work. He was a product of the convulsions of the 1940s – World War II, the terrible “man-made famine” of 1944, the communal violence that came with independence, and especially the partition of Bengal.

Characteristics of Ghatak Films

 Ghatak’s approach to filmmaking had autobiographical overtones and often reflected his personal experiences. He would experiment with narrative structures, visual aesthetics, and sound design, creating films that were not only intellectually appealing but emotionally vibrant. His works manifested a commitment to truth, a deep empathy for his characters, and a keen sense of social justice.

Ghatak used the theme of alienation to manifest harsh truths of human experience under oppressive social and economic systems. His work expressed a form of cultural resistance against foreign domination, utilising myth and epic to examine cultural conflicts and the fragmentation of Indian identity in the post-colonial era.

Marxist ideology fundamentally shaped his work, his films cantered on the lives and struggles of ordinary people, both rural and urban, particularly the trauma of the Bengal partition. Ghatak’s Marxist perspective was expressed   in his critique of the bourgeoisie and his portrayal of characters who, despite facing adversity, manifested a resilient human spirit.

Ghatak believed that exploring the collective unconscious through Jung was essential for exploring the inner world and that it complemented his materialist, Marxist analysis of social and political reality.  His films, especially his “Partition Trilogy,” used Jungian archetypes, symbolism, and mythologies to explore and manifest the collective trauma and rootlessness of the Bengali refugees.

Ghatak did not see a contradiction between Marx and Jung, but rather as different ways of interpreting the human condition. He diagnosed that the collective unconscious affects unconscious behaviour, while class structure determines conscious behaviour.

What distinguishes his work was a deep engagement with the human psyche and an unapologetic exploration of societal issues.  His subjects repeatedly projected the uprooted and the dispossessed: parentless children, homeless families, disoriented refugees, and the petit bourgeoisie, economically broken by their exile. With touches of artistic genius, he invokes glimmer of optimism in even the darkest adversity

The ability to fuse stark reality with poetic symbolism symbolised a constant struggle, against an age and society which sold itself to the shackles of rampant modernization, and against a national cinema whose conventions he wanted to make a rupture with in each of his works. His films exude sense of emptiness, giving us a feel of what it is to be alienated from one’s roots.

Ritwik Ghatak‘s work is a concoction of socialist ideology with a deep critique of post-partition India, focusing on themes of trauma, class struggle, and the commodification of culture. His female characters, epitomise both specific Indian experiences and universal human struggles against systemic oppression.

Influences in Early Life

His father, Rai Bahadur Suresh Chandra Ghatak, a magistrate in Mymensingh and Rajshahi districts of east Bengal, instilled in him the love for Sanskrit classics, the Vedas and the Upanishads, which often formed an integral theme in his films. In 1942, he was brought back from Kanpur to Rajshahi.

Involved from an early age in politics and in theatre, Ghatak was a member of the Indian Communist Party and considered Brecht and Eisenstein his role models.

He promptly submerged himself into the 10,000 books in the public library of Rajshahi. He was driven by and cultivated a love for the anti-Fascist movement of World War II which included Marx and Lenin. He later read a great deal on archaeology, on the Buddha, he examined the works of Jung, especially his psychology of the collective unconscious. The films he made between 1956 and 1966 bear powerful hoof prints of his deep and obsessive study of these books.

Best Films

It is interesting to note that despite being referred as the most creative artist in the area of filmmaking that India has produced, he only had 8 full length feature films to his credit. This speaks volumes of the impact that his 8 films made in comparison to the tons of films made by his contemporaries.

Ajantrik (1958) is a cinematic essay on the acceptance of the machine into the mental make-up of someone embedded or rooted in an ancient and totally un-mechanical tradition.  Ajantrik it is a ramshackle taxi driven round the town of Ranchi on the Bengal-Bihar border by an eccentric peasant called Bimal. The taxi is a target of ridicule to most who see or drive in it, but for Bimal it has a human character which is alternately jealous, loving and uncaring. Thus it breaks down when Bimal is attracted to a stranded girl.  At the end of the film, with the taxi’s death caused by a betrayal, the machine seems more reliable than its human counterparts.

‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’, ‘Komal Gandhar’ and ‘Subarnarekha’ form the famous trilogy, portraying the complicacies of the refugee families from the erstwhile East Pakistan.

Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960) (or ‘The Cloud-Capped Star’), is the most captivating portrayal of a harsh life in Bengal following the dreaded partition highlighting the atrocities experienced by the refugees. He used music and sound with magical effects. This film is, a ruthless, stunningly bold critique of the family as an institution.

The central character is Nita, who virtually sacrifices her life to keep her family afloat even when she realises that the man she loves, and who professes to love her, is about to marry her more sensual sister. All this is witnessed by Shankar, her musician brother who eventually leaves home, returning to find Nita in a sanatorium. In the film’s last scene, with the singer brother visiting Nita in hospital, the warning vibrato of a Pahadi folk song can be heard before he enters, as we witness the beautiful countryside around the clinic. Nita, sobbing, says to him: ‘Brother, I want to live. I want to live.’ For Ghatak, sound and music often became synonymous, with such scenes forging a perfect synthesis.

Also known as A Soft Note on A Sharp Scale, Komal Gandhar (1961) is the second movie in the Ghatak’s trilogy after Meghe Dhaka Tara.

Along with revolving around the theme of the Partition, the movie also is a narrative of a star-crossed couple and the rift that split apart the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA). ‘Komal Gandhar’ explored three interconnected themes, Anusua, the lead character’s dilemma, the infamous divided leadership of Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) and the tragic fallout after the partition of India. Unlike his other works, this one ends with the lead pair (Vrigu and Anusua) being reunited ultimately.

Subarnarekha (1965) is the last instalment of Ghatak’s Partition Trilogy. ‘Subarnarekha’ narrates the life story of three refugees in West Bengal: a Hindu man, his little sister, and a low-caste boy. Subarnarekha navigates the lives of a man, his child sister and a young boy whom the man provided shelter after the boy loses his mother in a melee. The film begins in a refugee camp of the then Calcutta, where a number of refugees have assembled in the hope of building their homes afresh. It explores how poverty and homelessness transform an individual’s attitude and his decisions throughout his life. Subarnarekha projects the plight of the three characters, the effects of hardships on shaping their thoughts, actions and the very paths they pursue in their lives. It is a tale of darkness and despair at its zenith. It conveyed that there was no political answer to Partition and that the resulting spiritual confusion could not easily be resolved.

The deep sense of waste is sharply expressed and the film itself Ghatak’s most brutal description yet of the social consequences of a political act. The female protagonist, Sita, symbolises a political uprootal. Ghatak restores the imagery of T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland in this film. Ghatak’s ‘wasteland’ is Calcutta and Sita is the ‘waste’ within it. The wasteland of Calcutta forbids Sita the freedom to live up to the mythical name she was christened with. She cannot accept this reality when she discovers that her ‘client’ is none other than her brother Ishwar, who ‘mothered’ her. Sita’s suicide makes a statement of protest against the dehumanisation of values in a modern, plagued society. Nevertheless life resurrects for the hero of the tragedy, with his sister’s child looking forward to a better life on the banks of the Subarnarekha River.

Titas Ekti Nadir Naam (1973 was originally an epic novel based on the tragic lives of a fishing community in the valley of the River Titus, Bangladesh. The film resurrected Ghatak’s obsession with the female principle, navigating the life and ultimate dissolution of a fishing community on the banks of the river Titash in Bangladesh. The river starts drying up. Death and starvation endanger the lives of the fishing community. Urban vested interests exploit the situation. The fishermen are displaced, and Basanti alone stays back, remaining a live witness to and victim of the incident. It featured multiple characters in a conglomeration of interconnected stories. The film is a powerful parable about the destruction of a traditional Bengali fishing community striking an analogy with the displacement caused by the Partition of India. A  poetic film that portrays the life of a fishing community along the Titas River to navigate realms  of cultural decay, memory, and fate.

In his final film, Jukti Takko Aar Gappo:  (1977) Ghatak played an alcoholic, disillusioned intellectual who comes into contact with Naxalites. The film explores the political and social realities of Bengal in the early 1970s. The film lacked any specific political ideology, navigating the story of an intellectual’s crisis and the isolation he experienced from society. The film is a deeply personal political statement, playing a pioneering role to project the crystallizing of Naxalite movement just taking shape in Bengal.

(The author is freelance journalist; he acknowledges the sources for this article: Times entertainment, Shoma Chatterji in ‘’High on Films’, Shreya Biswas in Indiatoday.in, Philatelyhobby.blogspot and Shoma Chatterji in Hindustan Times)

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This book unpacks Niyogi’s ideas and seeks to explore new discoveries and heights of labour’s interaction with ecology and technology. The study is a testament to tensions and contradictions being an integral part of any endeavour challenging economic, social and political backwardness.

The author explores four major aspects.

1. Through resurrecting Niyogi and the CMM, the author navigates and examines how the ideological frameworks, structures and processes forge a crucial bond between labour and environment.
2. Whether a worker has the capacity to be part of the process of democratising technology, or bridging the boundaries between the ‘user’ environment and the ‘developer’ environment of technology.
3. Whether examining aspects of nationality and sub-nationality, ethnicity and identity hinder aspect of identity deeply rooted in labour
4. Finally, whether debates around technology, environment, and nationality were a contravention of class-based trade union practice.

In addressing these questions, this book will be recommended reading for students and scholars of environment studies and labour studies.

The book explores the path breaking achievements undertaken by Niyogi. The author taps Niyogi’s visions of labour foreseeing the factory as an ecological component within the broader framework of the farm and the forest. He gives a most vivid description of the developmental debates which post-colonial India opened up which welcomed anti- people technological formats. It is a most compelling and illustrative narrative of the journey of the CMM led by Niyogi, in orchestrating the unified resistance of Adivasis, famers, peasants and workers and thus forging links between factory and forest. Most intensively it explores and dissects how the CMM planted the seeds, for a genuinely pro-people alternative of a developmental model. The book also untaps how it used semi-mechanisation to combat technology displacing labour and contractual workers forged a link with Adivasis in forests, in background of industrial pollution plaguing living conditions.

In chapter ‘A 24*7Union’ in immaculate detail it traces the historic transition of the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha in the backdrop of a spectrum of political events or parallel organisations and movements alongside.

The chapter on ‘Labour and Technological Changes in Chhattisgarh ‘makes a clinical and lucid diagnosis of the applicability of traditional Gandhian methods or conventional Marxist approach, and explores the creative role of Niyogi and his path breaking innovations in technology and labour methods. The book explores how Niyogi synthesised Gandhi’s ideas with that of Marx, not blindly or mechanically following either. It threw light on CMM made a major departure from economism, not merely confining itself to boundaries encompassing wages and working conditions. Ecological concerns were made an integral complement to other basic demands. Aspect of technology became a major part of the discourse. The chapter elaborated how Niyogi differed with Gandhi in utilising strike as a weapon and visualised labour as a creative, collective force in contrast to Gandhi’s vison of labour as a moral, individual duty. Unlike Gandhi Niyogi foresaw labour as capable of, innovating, interacting, creating and transforming existing structures. However Niyogi did endorse Gandhi’s critique of mechanisation and support to village technologies, in opposition to mass production of the machine. Still hands down he opposed Gandhi’s semi-feudal structures of rural economy. The chapter also invoked a detailed exploration of the economic model of Kumarappa.

Niyogi invented a Marxist method that addressed ecological contradictions and tensions and spurred workers, trade unionists and activists to re-evaluate their concept of what constitutes the working class. A critique was made of technology imported from former Soviet Union. CMM asserted that to be categorised as ‘socialist’, it had to promote labour participation in the manufacturing process, and not cause retrenchment of labour.

In Chapter on ‘Green and red Imagination’ makes a most extensive and illustrative exploration of how the CMM virtually created a new world for the workers and tribals, highlighting the abolishing of contract labour, winning rights for a fair wage, housing, free health and literacy. It elaborated how a path-breaking model had been constructed by Niyogi, with health facilities for workers transcending horizons unexplored.

In chapter ‘Chhattisgarh for Whom’ the author makes a thorough study of the nationality question and movement in Chhattisgarh. Linking it with the broader framework of political liberation and economic revolution. The experiences are located not only in their historical context, but also in the broader arena of debates on environment, science and technology, and movements for statehood and identity.

A concluding chapter ‘The Road not taken’ reflects how after Niyogi’s death after being murdered on September 28, 1991, the CMM movement strived to walk on the trail or pursue the legacy of Niyogi by keeping his ideas intact.

The work analyses practicality of Niyogi’s ideas in respect to current political and economic scenario. It navigates how globalisation and liberalisation era policies shaped the course of the CMM, recounting protests of CMM against Dunkel in 1994and 1998, jointly with farmers organisations of Punjab and Karnataka. Now the dialogue between forest and factory had sharpened with growth in process of industrialisation.

The CMM reformulated its environmental campaigns, designing posters, songs and entire campaign showcasing this theme. The CMM took an ant-war stance on Kargil after Pokhran blasts in 1998 and also formulated a powerful ant-communal agenda.

This chapter also mentions how selective memories have been obliterated of Niyogi, on environmental movements, ecological concerns and alternative technological and developmental agendas.

(The author is a freelance journalist).

Related:

“The Cell and the Soul: A Prison Memoir” by Anand Teltumbde stands as one of the most powerful indictments of Indian democracy

Iconoclast: Path breaking biography of BR Ambedkar projects his human essence

Weavers of Banaras are forced to work for less than the minimum wage

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It meticulously traces the evolution of Hindutva neo-fascism since the Narendra Modi-led BJP government came to power in 2014. The narrative bridges the gap between the incarcerated and the free, offering a painstaking scholarly dissection of Teltumbde’s persecution and the broader collapse of democratic principles. It powerfully conveys that in today’s India, free thought itself is a seditious act.

Teltumbde’s memoir provides an illustrative picture of prison conditions, the authorities governing them, and their role in undermining judicial processes, access to basic resources, and hygiene. His firsthand experience of systemic injustice makes this work a testament to the complexities of India’s judiciary. The book transcends the daily routines of prison life, beginning with an exploration of the state’s tightening grip on dissenting voices. It is both a narrative of confinement and an investigation into the farcical democracy that orchestrates it.

Comprising 22 of the over 100 notes Teltumbde wrote during his 31 months of incarceration, the memoir transcends personal catharsis to examine jail life, exposing the humiliation, cruelty, and high-handedness of prison administration.

The book’s symbolism lies in Teltumbde’s astonishment that a man of his stature—a professor of Big Data Analytics, an IIM alumnus, a corporate professional, and a practitioner of capitalism—could be branded an enemy of the state. “I was under the delusion,” he admits, “that because of my qualifications, integrity, and public image, I might not qualify for arrest.”

The memoir offers a grounded examination of how a so-called democracy imprisons its thinkers. Teltumbde recounts his shock at the blatant lies presented by the Pune police in their initial press conference, which formed the basis of the charges against him. His pleas to quash the case were repeatedly rejected, with courts accepting sealed envelopes from the prosecution. Despite his background in corporate and business academia, he never imagined a ludicrous charge of being a Maoist could stick—until his arrest shattered that illusion.

The memoir opens with a poignant observation: incarceration is often seen as a fate worse than death, especially for those who have committed no unlawful act. It begins with Teltumbde being woken by his wife, who received a call from the Director of the Goa Institute of Management (GIM) informing her that the Pune police had raided the campus and stormed their home. This moment captures a life upturned.

Teltumbde writes that watching a raid on television is one thing, but experiencing it at your doorstep is “like fluid from a festering wound seeping into your being.” His analysis extends beyond prison walls, drawing parallels between underreported COVID-19 deaths inside jails and those outside, reflecting the same insensitivity in both realms. For Teltumbde, prison mirrors India’s moral decay. “Prison is a mirror image of society,” he writes, “except that it does not pretend to be free.”

The most evocative passages focus not on physical suffering but on psychological torment, illustrating how a man whose life revolved around teaching, writing, and thinking was stripped of his intellectual freedom. The book shifts between the personal and the political, navigating Teltumbde’s longing to complete his course at GIM and his victimization in a neo-fascist state. This duality defines the work.

“These notes,” he writes, “are not just a glimpse of jail life but a commentary on the system that perpetuates problems while pretending to solve them.” Teltumbde condemns the judiciary for obscuring the truth and the police for their complicity, citing the case of Param Bir Singh to expose the farce of India’s “rule of law.” He describes the Bhima Koregaon case as a landmark in how democracies crush dissent and evolve into neo-fascist states.

The memoir is dedicated to Teltumbde’s late brother, Milind Teltumbde, killed by security forces and branded a Maoist, ironically also a co-accused in the same case. Their intertwined fates highlight the height of state paranoia, equating a brother in the jungle with one in an IIM classroom as enemies of the state. “It was my pursuit to make the world a better place that landed me in prison,” Teltumbde writes in the prologue, encapsulating the book’s moral gravity.

Despite his anguish, Teltumbde initially placed faith in the judiciary and media, hoping they would recognize the fabricated charges against him. However, a broken democracy and complicit media maligned his image, with letters meant for police custody inexplicably reaching news channels without scrutiny. Even when the judiciary warned the police of this unlawful act, the oppression of Teltumbde and other intellectuals persisted, as the government sought to silence those exposing the truth.

Teltumbde vividly describes life inside a prison cell, recalling his childhood curiosity about the fate of prisoners, many of whom were mascots of liberation. He examines how a repressive system sows inequality, injustice, and bitterness, breeding crime. Yet, he never imagined he would end up in a dark cell, with only a cheap cot for rest. The memoir urges readers to look beyond the spectacle of arrests and trials to the repressive state machinery behind them, reflecting that what happens in Taloja jail mirrors society at large.

In the Bhima Koregaon case, arrests during the COVID-19 pandemic weakened protests against these unconstitutional detentions. Accusations against Muslims, Tablighi Jamaat, and migrant workers served as a distraction, obscuring the false evidence and mass arrests.

Teltumbde questions why the government ignored the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, which, according to the World Health Organization and The Lancet, significantly spread the virus, while targeting other groups. The pandemic exacerbated prison conditions, with social distancing imposed amidst overcrowding, and prisoners denied proper diets, hygienic facilities, and basic resources. Teltumbde asserts that the death of Father Stan Swamy was a custodial death.

In the chapter “Entering the Hellhole,” Teltumbde explores how the right to dignity, enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution, is trampled within prison walls. He requested a pen and paper from the Superintendent of Police to keep notes, but the request was denied. Despite a biometric database linked to Aadhaar, he was forced to provide fingerprints repeatedly, enduring constant harassment. At Taloja jail, he was stripped naked and searched under CCTV surveillance—a tactic to assert fascist power over prisoners and their loved ones.

The state’s prime targets, seen as adversaries, are not only imprisoned but barred from expressing their views, exercising fundamental rights, and maintaining their identity. In the Bhima Koregaon case, intellectuals were prohibited from writing to courts, and when permitted, the delivery of their letters was deliberately delayed.

Teltumbde includes an article he wrote in prison criticizing the Narendra Modi government’s privatization of Public Sector Units, falsely promoted as an economic boost.

The Superintendent summoned him for writing it, and despite Teltumbde’s argument that publishing from prison is not unlawful, he and his co-accused were banned from sending or receiving letters—a clear violation of constitutional rights.

Teltumbde compares Indian prisons to those in developed countries like Norway, Portugal, New Zealand, and Switzerland, where correctional facilities are regularly updated to avoid harming prisoners’ consciences. He holds little hope for Indian prison reform, given the dire reality, and advocates for their abolition to enable true rehabilitation.

In the chapter “Of Labels and Labelling,” Teltumbde critiques the hero-worship of Marxism and Ambedkarism, offering a nuanced analysis of their ideologies. He finds coherence in Marx’s framework but sees Ambedkar’s as incomplete. He views Ambedkar’s Buddhism as a rationalist reinvention rejected by traditionalists and subtly compares the opposing origins of Marx’s and Ambedkar’s ideologies. Teltumbde criticizes Ambedkar’s endorsement of religion, particularly his views on Dhamma, which he believes fueled a personality cult and sectarianism.

Harsh Thakor is a Freelance Journalist

Courtesy: Counter Currents

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The book serves as a wake-up call to the gross human rights violations inflicted on thousands of undertrials. Kolhatkar’s detailed discussions—some spanning multiple meetings—reveal personal anecdotes from the prisoners’ time behind bars. She brings to light not only their experiences but also the deplorable prison conditions, including issues related to space, hygiene, medical care, and food. The research offers a comprehensive and disturbing insight into life within prison walls, particularly how conditions deteriorated to near-unbearable levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, with grievances left unaddressed.

Beyond its urgent call for prison reforms, The Feared is also a compelling narrative of resilience, courage, and endurance. It captures stories of solidarity and the unexpected bonds formed in confinement. Kolhatkar interviewed members of trade unions, communist parties, and even the Shiv Sena, providing a diverse spectrum of perspectives. Above all, she underscores the critical role of journalists as the fourth pillar of democracy—a role that is rapidly eroding.

The book features conversations with political prisoners such as Sudha Bharadwaj, Nilofer Malik, Sameer Khan, Koel Sen, Prashant Rahi, Shikha Rahi, Sanjay Raut, Kishorechandra Wangkhem, Anand Teltumbde, Rama Ambedkar, Binayak Sen, Kobad Gandhy, Muralidharan K, and P. Hemlatha. These interviews introduce an element of suspense and unpredictability as they explore the circumstances of their arrests and the harsh realities of their incarceration.

Kolhatkar offers one of the most incisive examination of the growing fascist tendencies within the Indian state. She highlights how the ruling BJP has dealt a severe blow to the fabric of democracy and the Constitution. The book not only documents the erosion of human rights but also ignites a call for resistance against neo-fascist injustice. The interview with Sudha Bharadwaj, in particular, stands out as deeply moving.

Drawing parallels between India’s political prisoners and the treatment of dissenters under Nazi Germany in the 1930s, Kolhatkar examines the fascist nature of laws like the UAPA. She also references Peter Benson’s research on political prisoners in Portugal during the same period.

The book provides an in-depth psychological analysis of imprisonment, revealing how incarceration often strengthens a prisoner’s resolve rather than breaking their spirit. Through meticulous research and extensive conversations with prisoners and their families, Kolhatkar uncovers the lasting psychological scars inflicted by prolonged incarceration. She notes, “The first night in jail is reputed to be the hardest. After that, you learn how to survive, though many prisoners carry lifelong scars.”

Kolhatkar also shares her motivation for writing The Feared, emphasizing the need to shift public perception about political prisoners. She states, “People assume that if someone is behind bars, they must have done something wrong. It’s time we understand that being imprisoned doesn’t necessarily mean guilt. One of the aspects I wanted to highlight was the mental toll on prisoners and their families. Even after acquittal, many continue to live in fear because the legal battle never truly ends.”

The book features a powerful introduction by Julio Ribeiro, who examines the stripping of human rights from prisoners and critiques India’s growing neo-fascism. He condemns the hypocrisy of a nation striving for economic supremacy while suppressing fundamental freedoms. Ribeiro provides a gripping account of the injustices faced by Sudha Bharadwaj in Yerawada Jail, Pune, and Byculla Jail, Mumbai, and the ostracisation of Varavara Rao, who was denied contact with his family. He also recounts the unjust incarceration of Kishore Chandra Wangkhem in Manipur for opposing the glorification of the Rani of Jhansi.

Justice Srikrishna, in his foreword, discusses the prolonged incarceration of political prisoners and the grim state of Indian jails. He stresses the importance of upholding free expression, regardless of ideology, and condemns the practice of imprisoning individuals merely to silence dissent. He remarks, “I am a Hindu, but that does not mean I should hate someone who isn’t or put them behind bars. These political prisoners have not been convicted of any crimes, yet they remain incarcerated. Even if a person is convicted, they do not cease to be human, even though some of their constitutional rights may be restricted.”

At the book launch, senior advocate Aspi Chinoy also shed light on the appalling state of Indian prisons, emphasizing that “any self-respecting civilized nation cannot allow such conditions to persist.” He pointed out that political prisoners like Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, have been acquitted in most of the cases against them. “The goal is not to convict them but to detain them indefinitely. People are jailed for years simply because of their political beliefs. Anand Teltumbde was denied a mosquito net, and Father Stan Swamy was denied a sipper. Indian jails are overcrowded, lacking even basic necessities. They should not be turned into concentration camps,” he added.

Kolhatkar expresses deep gratitude to those who supported her in bringing The Feared to life, including Sanober Keshawar, Freny Maneckshaw, Susan Abraham for documentation resources, Ramya Sharma for encouragement, and Carol Andrade, Father Rudy Heredia, Rupa Pannalal, Mondipa Mukherjee, and Advocate Sunip Sen for moral support. 

(The author is a freelance journalist)

Also Read:

Iconoclast: Path breaking biography of BR Ambedkar projects his human essence

Convention of Contract labour Union call for Independent Force

Weavers of Banaras are forced to work for less than the minimum wage

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De-mythifying Ambedkar

Iconoclast projects Ambedkar as a man of flesh and blood, who reflected the times in which he lived and endeavoured to achieve his goals. In contrast to the hyperbole often associated with his legacy, Teltumbde eradicates any element of myth and eulogy to convey the essence of the man behind the legend. Iconoclast projects Ambedkar as a man of flesh and blood, who was a product of his times and one who endeavoured to achieve his goals.

Quoting Teltumbde . “A biography often becomes a eulogy, an unquestioning celebration,” Teltumbde remarked. “That wasn’t the book I wanted to write, especially today when Ambedkar’s legacy is being co-opted across the political spectrum. “But upon reflection” – he continued, explaining the prefix ‘reflective’ before the biography – “I agreed to look at him not as a god to be worshipped, but a case study. If we are to be inspired by him, we must see him as a real person.”

Surgically, Teltumbde has both de-mythified and demystified Ambedkar who was often confusing and inconsistent figure. For example, Teltumbde recounts Ambedkar, writing a book supporting Partition and the creation of Pakistan, only to retract this position in a second edition.

In this work, Ambedkar is presented not as a deity of devotion but as an important case study for the present generation to learn from. The author traced the methodology with which he evaluated the Buddha, whom he regarded as his master, to present Ambedkar’s life and legacy with a critical analysis rather than mere eulogy.

Distinctive character of Ambedkar

Teltumbde recounts that there were several leaders who worked on different issues that ailed society but these leaders directed movements by the upper castes and did not concern with the caste exploitation of the majority of their own people. This realisation gave birth to the non- Brahmin movement of Jyotiba Phule and later to Dalit movements in various provinces with varying visions and approaches.

The book unravels that after the 1930s, Ambedkar overshadowed other Dalit leaders and ovements that mushroomed across various regions, becoming the most impactful leader for Dalits, who constituted one-sixth of India’s population However, despite his stature, he was casteinto into oblivion by the ruling classes after his death. Dalits had to struggle tooth and nail to erect his statues, and it took a decade even before a marker was established at his cremation site.

Ambedkar as distinguished from other leaders, singularly characterised the caste system as the main obstacle in India’s progress and demanded its annihilation. He characterised castes as not only a social evil but also a religious evil, and spoke of dynamiting the Hindu Dharmashastras that sustained it. After realising the impossibility of this task, he concentrated on the political solution and came in confrontation with stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi. Even in his intellectual navigation, he challenged giants like Bertrand Russell and John Maynard Keynes. It is this very rebellious attitude towards established icons and ideas that makes him an iconoclast.

The author narrates, Ambedkar’s sheer hatred for Communism in his writings, quoting his stating that Communists had disregard for the Constitution and parliamentary democracy. He is also critical of Ambedkar’s silence against the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha and concludes that his goal was to alienate Communists or Marxist thinkers.

Distorted role in authoring the Constitution

Teltumbde also recounts how Ambekar’s role as architect behind the Constitution is a myth which had to be dispelled. This was evident in Ambedkar’s sentiments in the years after the Republic was formed. “Ambedkar said he was used as a hack to get the support of the Dalits for the book, and he would be the first one to burn the constitution.”

While Ambedkar did indeed make the most significant contribution among the seven members of the Drafting Committee, it is important to understand that he was not solely responsible for writing the Constitution. TT Krishnamachari, a member of the Drafting Committee,

acknowledged in November 1948 that the “burden of drafting this [revised] constitution” fell largely on Ambedkar because other members were unable to make “substantial contributions” due to “death, illness, and other preoccupations.” Additionally, Ambedkar’s role in piloting the draft constitution is evident from the Constituent Assembly debates, where he actively defended and explained its various provisions.

Ambedkar himself expressed anger with being labelled the “architect” of the Constitution. In a debate in the Rajya Sabha on September 2, 1953, he responded to a member’s remark by saying, “I was a hack. What I was asked to do, I did much against my will… My friends tell me that I have made the Constitution. But I am quite prepared to say that I shall be the first person to burn it out. I do not want it. It does not suit anybody.”

Important historical coverage

In detail, the author unravels the pro-caste policies of Mahatma Gandhi like his stand during Poona pact, which deprived Dalits of political power. Extensive coverage given to subject of annihilation of caste. In detail, the book describes how Ambedkar located the evils of caste  system in the Vedas, Shastras and Puranas. The book traces Ambedkar’s antagonism with Hinduism in retrospect to death of Ramabai and what drew him into Buddhism. Important reference to the temple entry Satyagrahas like the one at Mahad and the struggles of untouchables in Nasik and Pune. In immaculate depth, the author navigates how and why Ambedkar resorted to taking refuge in Buddhism.

Important aspects delved into in the book are aspects from the pre-independence era when episodes of class-caste struggle are explored, electoral politics, manifesto of Independent labour party, Annihilation of caste, the Moonje factor, Ramabai, Communal award, anti-Khoti bill, Manmad conference, bills of 1937 and 1938, tryst with parliamentary democracy and backward castes are markers. There is also a detailed look at how the Round Table Conference, Cripps Mission, Gandhi-Irwin pact and second World War shaped Ambedkar’s path.

The author also recounts details around the popular Strike of the Municipal Workers Union, where Ambedkar united with the Communists. Regretfully, the Communists did not acknowledge Ambedkar or his party, the Indian Labour Party. The book narrates Ambedkar’s ’travesty with post-  independence India in ‘Taste of Swaraj.’, dealing with his reaction to the ‘Constitutional state, Tricolour, Socialism, Buddhism embracement, Hindu code bill, Scheduled ‘caste refugees, and the 1951 elections.

Inspiring the modern generation

The book unravels the historical processes crucial for the new generation who risk falling into the trap of a blind-ed devotion to Ambedkar, unable to diagnose their own condition, the factors responsible for their plight, or what hinders their movement. Iconoclast paves the way for them to revisit him with a critical perspective, a process which can shape their politics and develop strategies for the future. Vested interests have promoted Ambedkar in a way that encourages his followers to merely glorify him rather than assess his ideas critically. Ambedkar’s ideals projected without the right guidance, has bred crass opportunism by this generation which can be seen in the significant support that Dalits have extended to the BJP, which glorifies Brahmanism.

Opponent to Brahmanical fascism

Teltumbde concludes that had he lived today, Bhimrao Ambedkar would undoubtedly been a serious threat to this regime and would likely have found himself imprisoned under draconian laws like UAPA, possibly even as the co-accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case.

Teltumbde reveals how Ambedkar was head and shoulders opposed to hegemonic Brahmanism, which the current regime glorifies. No one more acutely slapped the politics of the Sangh Parivar as sharply as he did when he stated, “If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt, be the greatest calamity for this country.… Hindu Raj must be prevented at any cost.” Tragically, in today’s scenario calling for his symbolic reincarnation among his followers, he would find no one morally abiding with him. Even the so-called Ambedkarites would not support him for not dancing in tune with their brand of Ambedkarism.

Flaws in the book

This book does not however adequately unravel Ambedkar’s negation of revolutionary class struggles or collusion with reformism, particularly in the Workers front projecting Ambedkar as a social revolutionary, rather than a social reformer. There are no words or analysis, no criticism of how Ambekar did not give a cutting edge to the class struggles or Communist influenced movements or the glaring contradictions between Ambedkarism and Marxism.

Icon-isation of the Iconoclast

In this concluding chapter Teltumbde concludes that Ambedkar’s conflating with the struggle of an entire people is unparalleled. In history. He also asserts that the icon was plagued with his share of limitations.

Significant parts are Teltumbde’s narration of the 1953 land Satyagraha in Marathwada, which he praised for taking up issue of land to the landless. It went on to unravel the subsequent Satyagrahas in 1964-65 engulfing Punjab. Madras, Mysore, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. They heroically withstood attempts of the state to shatter it, with 3,50,000 people imprisoned., which was unprecedented in India. It was the turning point in Dalits asserting their right to procure a concrete share of the wealth and not be restricted within the periphery of mere socio-cultural aspirations.

He also encompasses the formation of RPI, impact of Dalit Panther movement in 1973, role of Kanshiram, the Hindutva counter revolution, individual and collective empowerment of Dalits, impact of Ambedkar’s Praxis and Cultural state of Society today.

The author reflects on how the movement Ambedkar built is in tatters, with leaders thriving on the Ambedkar cult systematically patronised by the ruling classes. They have made the Marxists and Communists their prime target, instead of the Brahminic zealots. This has origins in the anti- communist slant of Ambedkar, who spoke against Marxism and Communism. The author professes that even after seven decades, Dalits are alienated from non-Dalits, and the Ambedkarite Dalit movement, with factor of untouchability, still intact. In view of the author, Ambedkarism has been the root cause of splits within the Dalit movement, be it Dalit Panthers or RPI. The Congress by projecting Ambekar as chief mentor the Constitution, made the Dalits embrace it as a holy text.

(The author is a freelance journalist)

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On the call of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan), thousands of farmers, farm labourers, women, youth and students thronged to Amritsar to protest and hold demonstration against the on-going propaganda for the G-20 summit to be held in Delhi in September this year, demanding that agriculture, industry, education, health, electricity and water etc. should remain free of the tyranny of the imperialist powers.

The meeting also demanded scrapping of “the anti-people” agreements signed with the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Addressing the gathering at the occasion of the protest demonstration, leaders Jogindar Singh Ugrahan and Sukhdev singh Kokri Kalan classified the G-20 platform as one for mortgaging the country in the hands of imperialists, adding, various conferences being organised in India, including the one in Amritsar, were being held to carve a strategy for plundering the country and Punjab.

They said that during G-20 summit, schemes are to be designed for further intensifying of exploitation by the imperialist countries by mercilessly subordinating open education sector fully to the big powers. It would seek further amendments in labour laws so as to strangulate the toiling masses.

They termed the claims of the state government about development of Punjab with the help of foreign investment as false and misleading. They affirmed that chief minister Bhagwant Mann was repeating the history of the colonial era by betraying martyrs Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru and giving sanction to imperialism by literally inviting them to the doorsteps.

According to them, foreign investment paves the path for the plunder of the rich natural resources and exploitation of labour in order suit the needs of the imperialists. It will be an instrument of destruction rather than that of development.

The dwindling industry of Punjab and the crisis-ridden agriculture are in turmoil under the sins of the new economic and industrial policies implemented under the agreements signed through such platforms, they opined, adding, the black agriculture laws were by the Central government were under pressure of imperialist organisations WTO.

The move too get rid of government-controlled agricultural markets, privatisation of state electricity boards, import of foreign wheat, opening of private universities, ruining the state education system by introducing new education policy, privatisation of water distribution – all these, they said, are part of the strategy of imperialist control.

They further said that on one hand the Punjab government is claiming to work out ways to retrieve agriculture from crisis, but on the other hand its policies are pushing the state agriculture into crisis. They demanded that state government should design a new agriculture policy in accordance with the draft given by the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan).

The design is to plunder the natural resources and labour power of the country through the platforms supported by G-20 countries

Another senior leader Shingara Singh Maan said that the group of 20 countries are currently in a leading role in working out exploitative formulations of WTO, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in order to impose them on backward countries in name of development.

Agreements are sought to be signed for further strengthening the power of multinational companies in agriculture, industry and trade of countries, said Maan, adding, the design is to plunder the natural resources and labour power of the country through these platforms. In fact, G-20 is the platform to mortgage the country in the hands of the imperialists.

Woman leader Harrinder Kaur Bindu, while summarising the role of valiant women like Gulab Kaur and Rani Jhansi, in the struggle against the British colonial rule, declared the support of women agriculturalists against the new imperialist policies and decisions sought to be supported by the government.

Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union leader Lachhman Singh Sewewala, Hushiar singh Salemgarh, leader of PSU Shaheed Randhawa and Ashwni Ghudha, leader of the Naujvan Bharat Sabha pledged support to the protest. They insisted that issues like unemployment, debt, suicides and pollution being faced by workers, farmers, youth and common people have their roots planted in foreign lands – those who are members of the f the G-20 group.

*Freelance journalist who has covered mass movements across India and has frequently toured Punjab

Courtesy: https://www.counterview.net

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“After the introduction of the New Economic Industrial Policy, public industries were privatized all over the country, the national wealth was looted by the big capital houses and the rights of the workers were attacked. Whichever party was in government, it curtailed the rights of the workers and worked to abolish the laws made in the interests of the workers.”

The above things were said by Dinkar Kapoor, President of UP Workers Front.

In the 20th convention of contract labour union at Renukoot, Sonbhadra, on 26th February, he said that the present government has eradicated all the labour laws and managed to get four anti-labour laws passed by the Parliament. This government is determined to increase the working hours from 8 to 12.

The Yogi government had even attempted to get the laws passed   during the Corona pandemic. However it had to be withdrawn after the Union seeked reprieve in the High Court. In the present times, it is an imperative task for workers to establish their own independent political force to give a striking blow to the pro-corporate and anti-labour policies, of the capitalist political parties.

He aspired that the contract labour union would proceed in this direction.

Taking a proposal in the conference, the speakers said that the condition of contract labourers in Sonbhadra, the main industrial center of the state, was grave.  On the basis of the law, they are forced to work for their whole life at one place, permanently.

Due to non-proviso of revised wages of labourers from 2019, they have been forced to work for very low wages. Women labourers are made to work for just Rs.200.

There are arrears of wages in projects like Anpara and Obra. Due to non-provision of safety equipment in industries, death of workers in accidents are a routine or everyday affair. Benefits like employment card, attendance card, pay slip, ESI, gratuity, bonus are also not being given to laborers in many industries.

In such a situation, instead of shattering their morale, the workers will have to unite to prevent the anti-labour actions. In the conference, Yuva Manch convenor Rajesh Sachan said that unemployment was escalating day by day, giving a mortal blow to the economic state.

After obtaining a degree in engineering, the youth is forced to work as a contract labourer being paid a very low scale of wages. Employment rights campaign is engulfing the whole country on the demand of establishing employment as a fundamental right, filling the vacant posts, giving unemployment allowance and giving a minimum wage of Rs 25000 to every labourer. Contract labourers should also join hands in this.

Expressing anguish over the current attack on democracy, the conference strongly condemned the notice issued by the police to popular Bhojpuri folk singer Neha Singh Rathore and demanded the government to withdraw it.

Kripashankar Panika was elected president and Tejdhari Gupta was elected minister in the conference. Apart from this, Tirath Raj Yadav, Joint Minister Mohan Prasad, Publicity Minister Sheikh Imtiaz, Treasurer Govind Prajapati and Office Secretary Antaral Kharwar and a 15-member executive were elected on the Vice President.

The conference was presided over by the councilors of Pipri, Mallar Devi, Tirath Yadav and Tej Dhari Gupta and coordinated by Kripa Shankar Panika. The conference was attended by Ravi Gupta, President of Electricity Employees Union, Pipri, Com. D’s leader Krishna Yadav, District President of Yuva Manch Ruby Singh Gond, Savita Gond, Dwarika Chandravanshi etc addressed.

Workers representatives from Anpara Obra Lanco, Hindalco, Grasim Chemical Plant, Grasim Cement, Coal Mining etc were present in the conference. Artists of Mandar Kala Manch and folk singer Muneshwar Panika presented their mass songs in the conference.

Positive to witness representatives of workers from a diverse range in the meet.

Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist who has covered mass movements around the country.

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

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With the goal of raising class consciousness and mobilizing the working population of Banaras, especially the weavers, a meeting was organized at the Swayamvar Vatika on behalf of the Fatima-Savitri Janasamiti. The weavers themselves openly discussed the issues related to their status and wages in the programme.

Mohammad Ahmad Ansari, who toils with his family on power looms, said that due to the monopoly of capital and middlemen on the market, morally the wages of people engaged in weaving work are not even Rs 400, as compared to construction workers. In the same context, the aspect of education also arose in consideration   of the social backwardness of the Muslim population and the comparatively worse condition of women.

Ahmed said that when the wage-income is so rock bottom, the major concern is about maintenance or education. The grave economic condition, has forced the children of the weavers to study in madrasas..

Progressive intellectuals assert that breaking the chains binding the feet of the productive forces is the only means of accomplishing the historical mission of the working class.

In order to raise class consciousness and mobilize the working population of Banaras, especially the weavers, a meeting was organized at the Swayamvar Vatika on behalf of the Fatima-Savitri Janasamiti. The weavers themselves openly discussed the issues related to their status and wages in the programme.

Vinay of Bhagat Singh Chhatra Morcha said that along with low wages, the question of education is inter linked to the autocratic political structure of the ruling class.

He said that today the ruling class has made education a commodity to be exchanged in the market.

Harihar Prasad, convenor of Janwadi Vimarsh Manch, said that the new education policy is being implemented to enforce the sustainable development agenda of the United Nations. Under this, path is paved for preparing cheap and skilled labour to provide for domestic and foreign capitalists.

Due to this, higher education cost is soaring. Strongly advocating equal and free education for all, he said that if it is not opposed, the children of poor-disadvantaged sections will be deprived of higher education and it will turn into the privilege of the rich.

While conducting the program, poet-critic Dr. Vandana Choubey said that the imperialist Mahaprabhus created an atmosphere supporting or paving the way of opening up the economy completely by spending vast capital.

Institutional intellectuals were patronised to spread the ideology of fragmentation. He said that with the objective of camouflaging the conspiracy on the basic question of master-labour, identity-discussion was created to relegate the basic question from the peripheral questions.

He said that the question of women and education is also directly related to the problem of stagnation and recession in the economy and unemployment. If we want to solve the problem of marketing of education, then we have to link it with the question of unemployment.

Referring to the era of Fatima Shaikh, he said that she was not running the colonial structure of India during the British era independently. The Brahminical forces that were here, the forces of the affluent people, who had wealth, dominance, caste power, all allied with those forces.

He said that even after achieving independence, to a considerable extent the British system of education continued. Describing the present phase as the second phase of imperialism, he said that after independence people placed great faith in government institutions but gradually this trust began to decline in the 90s.

An atmosphere has been built popularising the private sector with the help of capital. Disbelief was expressed in every government thing and the narrative was made in such a way that all areas of public utility services should be opened to the private sector.

A whole round of publicity and advertisement came and it was told that the name of freedom is to open everything for capitalists and companies. He said that when the government is responsible for education and health, then we have the right to raise our voice against their poor quality because we form the government by voting.

After control was handed over to the private sector, they were unable to speak because the private sector undertook activities only for accumulating profits.. Sharing his experiences related to weaver-Muslim settlements, he said that the question of communalism and the debate on it is very minute tickling the Muslim community.

The labourers expressed their concern on  how to make a living for themselves and to provide for their families on June 2.

He said that this so called democracy is the oligarchy of the capitalists. The government has opened all channels for the capitalists by removing all the tariffs and duties and opening all the avenues of the market. This has broken the back of the working class.

This autocratic social structure os what the government terms as democracy. We have to understand the hypocrisy of this so called democracy..It is imperative to  fight for democracy, but under no means  can one consider the democracy monitored  by the government and capitalists as democracy.

Amit of Disha Students Organization said that the education system of the country is undergoing  a phase of drastic change .. He said that the exploitative system of the past is continuing in the present education system as well.

Without destroying this capitalist system which sucks the blood of labourers and extracts profits from their blood and marrow, it is not possible to construct a system of mass-scientific education. He said that the question of anti-people rule remains as important today as it was during the British era.

Pawan Kumar, a social activist associated with the labour movement, said that in this capitalist marketism, education is not an isolated feature from other needs of life like health, family environment, house, food, clothes etc. but all are connected to each other.

Education is not only formal education available in schools and colleges, but with this formal education, informal education starts from birth as well as parents, family environment, surrounding environment and economic social conditions of the family. And nowadays this informal education is being given continuously through WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media.

Higher education is restricted only to the rich and capitalists who buy labour and is snatched from the reach of those who earn their livelihood by selling their labour. He said that in this system, by those who live by selling labour; there is no bigger lie and illusion than propagating that. good days will also come for the common people.

Launching a scathing attack at today’s capitalist polity, identity-discussion (backwardness, casteism, feminism, regionalism etc.), he said that the ruling class wants evade the issues of the common people and make the working people forget it.. That’s why it has been invested billions of dollars to the NGO-world to divert attention from the basic issue of capital vs labour. He said that education policy needs to be fought in an organised manner, integrating it along with other problems.

Social activist Advocate Shahzade said that the process of knowledge cannot develop without inculcating social consciousness, it takes 18 years for any brain to mature, during this time education based on religious prejudices, and caste discrimination spoils the personality of a human being. Education armed with social consciousness, which is oriented with the mode of production, creates a man who exudes the spirit of collectivism-co-operation.

He said that the capitalist tries to maintain continuity in the long-standing social system by controlling the social consciousness to fulfill its purpose.

Dr. Mohd. Arif of All India Secular Forum while portraying the garve picture of unemployment and scarcity among highly educated youth said that on the issue of weavers, statements are published in newspapers every day, due to the demand related to flat rate of electricity. Addressing  subject of additional social pressures on dress and overall upholding  of personality on those doing mental labour as opposed to manual labour, he said that even the so-called highly-educated people are as much troubled by the aggravation of the crisis-stagnant economy as the common man.

Kusum Verma of AIPWA, Indrajit of Bihar Nirman and Unorganized Labor Union, Swaraj India’s Mohd. Ahmed Ansari, Indrajit of Uttar Pradesh Construction and Unorganized Labor Union, social worker Pratima etc. also addressed.

Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist who has covered mass movements around India

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

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