EDITORIAL OF WORKING CLASS (JANUARY-2011): TOUGH CHALLENGE AHEAD

“With regard to the prices essential commodities, I can assure this August Conference that our Government is making serious efforts to moderate the inflation rates”. These were the assuaging words of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on 23rd November, 2010 in his inaugural speech in 43rd Session of Indian Labour Conference. Within a couple of weeks, petrol price went up sixth time during last six months by Rs. 2.96 per litre coupled with proposed increase in price of diesel and gas in days to come. And just before the New Year 2011, onion price of more than Rs. 80 per kg in the market, showed the hollowness and fallacy of such promises and assurances, made time to time by Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission in the span of last 21 months of relentless price rise in the country where 300 million exist at subhuman level and perhaps another 300 million or more, while not exactly starving, are bereft of minimum of housing, education and healthcare.

Such insensitive nonchalant response to miseries of common man shows the mind set of the ruling polity, which allows India to slip down every year in the Human Development Index, even as it attains dubious distinction of having the largest member of billionaires after USA is taken in its stride. The national exchequer loses around Rs. 1.76 lakh crore because of 2G spectrum scam while a public distribution programme covering the entire national population could reach food to each and every starving citizen would cost only half of that sum.

Such nonchalance grows from the so called high GDP growth process, the offspring of the liberalization process, set in motion during last two decades which has assured nation’s rich and corporate that they need not worry over what transpires with lesser beings even if the latter happen to be more than 70% of the population. The biggest and toughest challenge before the working class is to confront and end such kind of exploitation through united movement and struggle.

The call of “March to Delhi” on 23rd February in the New Year by the trade Unions is a part of the historic task of smashing the exploitative process in the name of liberalization. The nation is looking towards the working class to rise to the occasion and to give a fitting reply to the nonchalance of ruling polity and their corporate masters in and outside the country.