The Politics of Pandemics

EVERY global pandemic must be seen in its political, social and economic context. The Covid-19 pandemic is occurring at a time when neoliberal capitalism has ravaged all the basic services which are vital for the well-being of people. Privatisation has denuded or dismantled the public health system in many countries; the State has abandoned the responsibility of providing for the basic needs of the people – food, housing, education and public transport.

KERALA: LDF Govt Ensures Food, Shelter to all Migrant Workers

THE Kerala state government has deployed as many as 2.36 lakh youths to combat Covid-19 in the state. All volunteers, in the age group of 22-40 years will work in groups of 200 people in each of the 941 panchayats across the state, said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on March 26. Groups of 5,000 volunteers each will work in the 87 municipalities and 600 each would render services in the six corporations in the state.

Changes in Crop Insurance Scheme - For Whose Benefit?

THE central government has made major changes in crop insurance scheme. The scheme is now going to be ‘voluntary’ for all farmers. Changes have also been made in the way of determining the amount of compensation. The states have been given freedom in respect of providing more protection to farmers. The union agriculture minister Narendra Kumar Tomar claims that this will enable farmers to face risks involved in production of crops; that famers’ income will be stabilised and insurance claims will be properly settled due to the speedy and accurate method of assessing production.

CITU Urges PM to Provide Food, Shelter to Migrant Labour

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), on March 30, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to make special arrangements for food, shelter and health check-ups for the lakhs of migrant workers during the corona lockdown period. It warned that failing to take appropriate measures would lead to mass starvation and a huge loss of life.The CITU said that it is shocking to see lakhs of migrant workers walking for hundreds of kilometres with children and elders to reach their native places. “Many were thrown out of their rented accommodation by the house owners.

DELHI: Continuing Relief Effort Despite Lockdown

THE CPI(M) Delhi along with CITU, JMS and DYFI is reaching out to workers and families affected by the abrupt lockdown. This includes the area of north east Delhi which had suffered due to communal violence. Volunteers are conducting relief work by strictly following the regime set by the government with curfew passes.

Prof. Arjun Dev (1938–2020)

PROF. Arjun Dev, eminent historian and educationist, passed away on March 29, at the age of 82. His academic career spanning several decades at the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), was marked by a deep commitment to zealously promoting secular, democratic and progressive values. Prof. Arjun Dev played a key role in initiatives to produce textbooks that enshrined these values.

The Week in Parliament

THE CPI(M) has opposed the Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Bill, which was brought in to settle tax disputes between individual and the income tax department without any penalty or interest. Speaking against the bill in Rajya Sabha, CPI(M) member Elamaram Kareem said the scheme was highly discriminatory against honest tax payers. It is, like, regular tax payers got no relief but dubious persons against whom the government cannot impose what they preach.

‘Unions in Action’ SFI holds students’ union convention

ON February 29, office bearers of students’ unions across the nation came together to join the efforts to resist the dark phase in the country; to unite against the steeply growing politics of hatred, particularly against state-sponsored attacks on Muslims in Delhi; to join hands for peace.‘Unions in action’ is one of the very prominent steps to bring together such students’ unions across the country, which have been upholding progressive stands in the fight against the oppressive Sangh regime.The convention took place following a collective call of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’

‘Time to Use Our Resources to Save Lives’

The general secretary of CPI(M), Sitaram Yechury, has written a letter to the prime minister on March 23. Below we publish the text of the letter.THE country and the people are in the midst of the grim battle against the spread of COVID-19. In many states, a general lockdown is being enforced to stop the community spread of this lethal virus.During such lockdowns, it is imperative to scale up the testing of people particularly those with declared symptoms. On this basis, specific areas that are vulnerable can be identified and a lockdown to be enforced in such a

Observe March 22 as People’s Solidarity against Coronavirus

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on March 20THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) appeals to the people to observe March 22 as a day of People’s solidarity in the fight against the coronavirus.However, since the prime minister has not proposed any concrete steps to deal with the health and economic aspects of this fight, the CPI(M) appeals to the people to observe the day with the following demands:1. Scale up testing for the virus to cover the widest sections of people, especially those with some symptoms like cold, fever, cough etc.2. Announ

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