AT the joint call of Delhi units of 11 central trade unions (CTUs), a strike was observed on July 20 by unorganised sector workers in Delhi and adjoining areas of Noida and Ghaziabad in NCR over their various demands including enforcement of notified minimum wage of Rs 13,896 for unskilled workers and fixation of minimum wage at Rs 20,000.
Mohd Salim while speaking on the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha
On July 20, there was discussion in the Lok Sabha on the no-confidence motion. Participating in the discussion Mohd Salim said “ the council of ministers lack confidence of this house”. When the discussion began in the morning this confidence further fell. The reason for that is that when the leader of the ruling party stood instead of focusing on the issues went to touch upon Madhya Pradesh. The council of ministers should have been defended, which was not done by their leader.
KERALA model of development has been acclaimed the world over for achieving human development indices that places it at par with several developed countries. A few years back Kerala was mentioned by the UN as the only state in India which lies at the very high in Human Development Index (HDI).
THE development of new knowledge is a fascinating exercise. Since humans evolved, they have been driven by curiosity to learn more and more about nature. Over time the knowledge accumulated came to be systematised and this is what we call science. The hunger for knowledge deepened and expanded our collective understanding of nature. This knowledge is utilised to create tools and other artifacts that humans use to improve conditions of living.
MARX and Engels then began, in The German Ideology, to apply the materialist approach, unlike Feuerbach and other materialist philosophers before him, not only to nature, but equally to human society and history. Thus they created historical materialism. They took the decisive step which Feuerbach had been unable to take.
ON July 24, a strong protest demonstration was held by five Left parties in Delhi. The call was to expose the terror unleashed by the TMC in West Bengal and the BJP-IPFT in Tripura. The central leadership of CPI(M), CPI, CPI (ML)-Liberation, Forward Block (FB) and RSP participated at Parliament Street. Such protests were also organised in different parts of the country.
THE milk producers are on a struggle since last 3 months in Himachal Pradesh. Under the banner of Himachal Kisan Sabha (HKS) - an affiliate of AIKS, this movement is being led. This is fought in 6 blocks of the state that produce largest quantity of milk. More than 1 lakh litres of milk is produced in these 6 blocks. The milk is sold to the state milk federation through the milk producing societies which buys directly from the milk producers.
THE All India Kisan Committee (AIKC) meeting was held at Rajapalayam, Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu on July 18-20, 2018. Massive struggles have been planned by AIKS independently and jointly with CITU, AIAWU and with hundreds of kisan, social, class and mass organisations.
CAPITALISM’S discourse on “development” which has become quite influential all over the third world in the neo-liberal period proceeds as follows: (i) “development” must consist in shifting the work-force from the traditional (petty production) sector which is overcrowded with low labour productivity, and hence constitutes a repository of poverty, to the modern (capitalist) sector which has much higher labour productivity.