http://sanhati.com/articles/4330/
November 16, 2011
Translated by Suvarup Saha
Mazdur Kranti Parishad (MKP) has been active in West Bengal for the last five years, functioning primarily as a political organization of the working people. It consists of workers and employees of various factories and institutions, laborers belonging to the unorganized sector, landless laborers in the farm sector, daily-wage earners, poor farmers and various other working people.
Soon after its inception in 2006, MKP became an active constituent of the Singur movement to protect the farmers’ rights over their cultivable lands and livelihoods. The ruling left front government of the time had unleashed brutal terror via police to break the people’s resistance and like others, MKP activists had also been physically assaulted on numerous occasions. At the time when Ms. Mamata Banerjee was fasting in December 2006 to force the government return the farmers’ lands, MKP leader and worker of the Hindmotor Car factory, Mr. Avas Munsi had accompanied her in the fast for 20 straight days! In 2007 February when the Singur farmers decided to break the fortification put up by the TATAs in their lands, the MKP leadership was in the forefront of that movement and bore the brunt of the police excesses.
Following the Singur movement, in the Nandigram movement, strike in Hindusthan Motors, Lalgarh movement – MKP has played a consistent role in championing the cause of the wronged people. During the 2009 Loksabha elections when the Trinamool Congress (TMC) decided to join hands with the Congress (whom they have been calling CPIM’s B-team), MKP severed all ties that it had with the TMC in the sphere of social movements. For the last two years, MKP has strived to independently developed its own struggles against rampant price hikes and various other attacks directed towards the working people. In last assembly elections in West Bengal, MKP fielded some candidates to further these struggles and present their ideas to a larger audience.
In West Bengal, a new government led by Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee was sworn in after the complete rout of the CPIM, a party which had shamelessly surrendered the interests of the working people at the altar of large capital. In her stupendous victory, she talked about ending the hegemony of the party in various institutions and usher in a new practice of transparent democracy. Soon after, the notorious CPIM leader Susanta Gosh of Gorbeta (West Medinipur) was arrested after discovery of a large number of buried skeletons, evidences of his regime of terror. This led to an exodus of ‘Tapan-Sukur’ and their accomplices – the gang that has been calling all the shots in the area for last few decades. The void was almost instantly filled in by a bunch of new ‘Suasanta-Tapan-Sukurs’ in Chandabila, Kharkusuma and other villages of Gorbeta, who declared that it is not permitted tobecome activist of any political party other than the TMC. If any one dares to do so, they would be marked as Maoists and reported to the Police.
In the last two years, we have grown as an organization in the Chandrakona-Gorbeta region. MKP has stood its ground and worked with the people with their local issues. It has provided leadership to various struggles against injustice. This naturally has made us vulnerable to the wrath of the ruling establishment. Earlier what had been CPIM threats have now translated in to TMC threats. The two pronged tactic of threats and conspiracy is exactly the same. Last October 2nd we took a deputation to the Gorbeta PS fearing for an attack on our activists. We went back with promises of security by the CI. But on the very next day, our West Medinipur district secretary Rustam Mullick was severly beaten up by TMC goons in his own locality in Chandbila village. His mother and uncle also were injured when they went to save Rustam. They even planned to attack our district president Aijuddin Mullick but had to retreat when the local people of Chandbila resisted. But the threats remain rampant and this is coupled with penalties decided by village councils against MKP activists – just like the old days of CPIM rule.
The conspiracies to involve our activists in false cases are being hatched every day. Illegal arms found in TMC leaders’ houses are shown to be found in MKP activists’ places. The local police are complicit in these exercises. Rustam Mullick, Aijuddin Mullick, Sapura Bibi - they all have lodged FIRs with the police against these TMC goons. But, these people, gainst whom there are FIRs for attempting to kill Rustam are allowed to roam around freely. They are further threatening the MKP leadership and their families and the police is just a mute spectator in these cases. If everything is so uncannily reminiscent of the CPIM regime, then where has the much touted ‘change’ taken place?
It is this very fact that we had tried to put forward to the people during the last elections. And this is what we want to remind our working class friends. CPIM has betrayed the working people and insulted the red flag drenched with the blood of the working people. As a result, they have been overwhelmingly rejected by the people of West Bengal. Those who replaced these villains seem to be following their very footsteps. But it is not the time to get disheartened. The working people need to organize and resist the assault on them. Let us fight this ‘change’ under the flag of the working class and MKP is more than eager to join hands with you
Aizuddin Mallik (President, MKP, West Midnapore)
Rustam Mallik (Secretary, MKP, West Midnapore)
Rustam Mallik (Secretary, MKP, West Midnapore)
