[Reader-list] INVITATION FROM CMM FOR 1ST JULY SHAHEED DIVAS AT BHILAI.

[arshad amanullah]

1st July, Shaheed Diwas-Shapath Diwas

 Bhilai Chalo!

Dear Friends,

Mazdoor Karyakarta Samiti, Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha, Bhilai,Chhattisgarh
invites to join us in observing 1st July, Shaheed Diwas, commemorating the
martyrdom of 17 workers who were killed in the police firirg on the Rail
Roko Agitation by the BJP govt. of Sunderlal Patwa in 1992.

The onslaught of big capital - foreign and Indian on the working class as
well as adivasis in Chhattisgarh has much intensified since then. CMM Bhilai
has been battling bravely to implement 8 hour work day, minimum wages and
safe working conditions for the young generation of contractual workers and
has been successful in several companies after braving serious attacks by
management goons, long periods of lockouts, repeated arrests of agitaing
workmen etc. The working class bastis, particularly the women, are
militantly resisting the land mafia of industrialists and struggling for the
bare necessities - water, electricity, ration cards, BPL survey ..Workers in
the cement factories of multinationals Holcim and Lafarge and
of Aditya Birla are trying to unite and agitate across unions to break the
Chhattisgarh cement cartel and implement the Cement Wage Board to abolish
contract labour in the cement industry.

Fighting economism and continuing Shaheed Niyogis tradition: "Injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere", the CMM has been actively
participating in the struggle of 7 villages of Rajnandgaon against the
forcible acquisition of their lands for a SIZ -Food Park; protested against
the arrests of Adivasi Mahasabha leaders and peasants in their agitation
against land acquisition by Tata and Essar; demonstrated against the deaths
of workmen in a factory explosion in Godavari Ispat Factory at Urla etc.
etc... and is active in the movement for the release of Dr Binayak Sen and
the repeal of the black law: Chhattisgarh Special Public Safety Act
(CSPSA).Its cultural wing is taking the story of the 1857 adivasi hero
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh to village after village and trying to build upon
the rich progressive folk culture of Chhattisgarh.Recently irked by the
vocal protest of the CMM agaisnt the violent widespread displacement of
lakhs of adivasis in Bastar in the name of Salwa Judum and also against the
atrocities of police and paramilitary, the DGP had issued a statement
"Niyogi was a Naxalite", a not-so-veiled threat that CMM activists would be
booked under the CSPSA.There was a strong protest demonstration against this
on 7 April 2008with CMM activists saying openly "Shaheed Niyogi was a
declared Marxist-Leninist and if the sacrifices he made for the working
class made him a Naxalite, then we are too!"

Unionising in these tough times of "free hand to industrialists", "hire and
fire economic regime" and "militarised state", demands a high level of
integrity commitment and political maturity from the
leadership.Developing committee system at all levels of the organisation to
allow for the most democratic participation and carrying out incessant
struggle through this against the efforts of the industrialists to
terrorise, buy off, or sweet talk the leaders is a big challenge and CMM can
proudly say that it is carrying out this democratic exercise with vigour.

On 1st July there will be a procession and public meeting at the site of the
police firing namely Bhilai Powerhouse, about 40 km from Raipur, the capital
of Chhattisgarh. The nearest railway station is Durg. All are welcome to
stay in our union office and partake of the modest working class fare in the
common mess.

Please contact 0788-3205766, 09754777988 (kaladas, bansi); 09826689317
(kalyan patel); 09926603877 (sudha);

We look forward to your active participation:

Sudha Bharadwaj (advsudhacmm at yahoo.co.in)
C/o CMM Office, Labour Camp, Jamul, Bhilai, Chhattisgarh.