Bangalore
On May Day 2013, New Socialist Alternative – Bangalore Branch (CWI-India) and members of the May 17 Movement intervened with a Kannada leaflet by trying to reach out to the working people across the city.
Our leaflet highlighted the growing disparity between the working people and the elite, which is no better than it was 65 years before independence. The income gap between the CEO’s of companies and Lok Sabha members as against the 836 million people of India who earn not more than Rs.20 a day is something that the Indian ruling class wish to simply brush aside.
Early in the morning, we started distribution of leaflets to people in various places, colonies and bus stations of Bangalore city. In sum, it was an overwhelmingly active day for the members of Bangalore branch, where we managed to distribute around 4000 leaflets and did our best to articulate ideas through our leaflets in the prevailing circumstances.
May Day 2013 (Kannada)
Pune
New Socialist Alternative- Pune along with LokChetna Manch, a left group in the city have been working with workers in various industrial units across Pimpri-Chinchwad (an industrial city near Pune) for some time now. On 1st May we called for workers’ march and considering worst drought in the state the march was called on this issue in solidarity with farmers and toilers in rural Maharashtra. Earlier New Socialist Alternative- Pune actively participated in meetings and campaigns held by ‘Maharashtra Association for Relief and Eradication of Drought’, an association of left groups working on the issue of drought. We prepared a poster exhibition on this issue exposing not only inaction of government causing drought but also rural landlords along with capitalists who are profiteering by exploiting water resources and thus depriving masses of even drinking water.
On 1st May, we displayed this exhibition at Shivaji Chowk, Bhosari and reached out to people in the area. Meanwhile 70 odd workers assembled at KSB Chowk, Chinchwad and took out a march on 2 wheelers to Shivaji Chowk, a stretch of around 5 km. After garlanding statue of Shivaji, what followed was a round of energetic sloganeering that grabbed the attention of many people in the surrounding area. We had prepared many placards that boldly conveyed the message. Slogans and text on placards read like –
‘Stop the profiteering of water – No pepsi, No Coke’,
‘Water must be distributed equitably’,
‘Run sugar factories under democratic control of peasants, land labors and workers’,
‘Long live the unity of workers, peasants and toilers’
‘Down with capitalism’
‘Duniyabhar ke mazdoor – Ek Hai’
‘Aare Awaj do – Hum Ek Hai’
Then we took out a march to the statue of Shahid Comrade Rupmay Chatterji. Again on this stretch of around a kilometer there was continuous sloganeering and leafleting. At Chatterji statue, we sang revolutionary songs after garlanding the statue. Then workers and senior comrades addressed the rally revealing how excessive and disproportionate water consumption by big landlords and capitalists along with futile irrigation works involving corruption of billions of rupees has brought the state on the brink of water disaster. Rally was concluded with workers resolving to fight the battle against capitalism with full vigor.
Youvraj B
Pune
May Day 2013 – Pune
Posters on Maharashtra Drought