The Socialist

By Prof Madhu Prasad, Dr Vikas Gupta* The All-India Forum for Right to Education (AIFRTE) organized on February 18 in Delhi a protest demonstration at Parliament Street, a nation-wide referendum on education policy, a People’s Parliament (Jan Sansad), and an evening of cultural resistance as part the full-day All-India Shiksha Hunkar Rally. Thousands of students, teachers and education activists from across the country participated in the programme. They opposed the policy of privatization, commercialization and communalization of education. They demanded public-funded free and equitable quality ‘common education system’ from KG to PG based on mother-tongue with social justice for Dalits, bahujans, adivasis, laboring masses, linguistic and religious minorities, transgenders, disabled, de-notified and nomadic tribes, especially girls. The programme began with a protest demonstration at Sansad Marg addressed by Brinda Karat (CPI-M); Kavita Krishnan, CPI-ML (Liberation); N. Rama...

Justice Rajindar Sachar 1923-2018 Qurban Ali Vetaran Socialist leader noted jurist and champion of human rights Justice (retired) Rajinder Sachar passed away in Delhi on 20th April 2018. He was 94. A distinguished advocate for the protection of human rights, and poor, Justice Sachar was a former Chief Justice of Delhi and Sikkim High Courts. He vociferously promoted the cause of human rights and was also head of People's Union of Civil Liberty (PUCL). He authored many reports on Kashmir. Paying emotional tribute on the sad demise of late Justice Rajindar Sachar, senior journalist Seema Mustafa wrote “One of our finest has gone. Justice Rajinder Sachar has left us, fairly suddenly without too much notice except that delivered by age. A mentor, a friend, a man whose doors were always open he will be sorely missed. He did not really care---unlike Delhi’s famous---whether he was invited to speak or not, if he supported the cause he was there in the audience, listening att...

Bhai Vaidya (left) with Joshy Jacob and veteran Socialist P. Viswambharan in Kerala on May 4, 2003. (Image: Aby John Vannilam, MAVELI RAJYAM  ( CC BY-SA 2.5 IN ) By Joshy Jacob, Samajwadi Janaparishad National Executive Member and former National President. My heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of Com Bhai Vaidya. He joined the socialist movement while a student. He joined the quit India struggle and participated the Goa liberation struggle and tortured and imprisoned. He got physical handicap by the police torture. He was a close follower of Maharashtra veteran socialist leader S M Joshi. When S M Joshi decided to split from P.S.P. and merge with socialist party led by Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia to form the Samyukta Socialist Party (S.S.P.) he also stood with S.S.P. stream. When the nation was so moved by the student and youth agitation under the leadership of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan Bhaji was the Mayor of the Pine municipal corporation. That time he organise...

Bhai Vaidya भाई वैद्य (22 June 1928 – 2 April 2018) (Image: Aby John Vannilam,  MAVELI RAJYAM  ( CC BY-SA 2.5 IN ) Veteran socialist leader, former Maharashtra home minister and former mayor of Pune Bhai Vaidya (Bhalchandra Sadashiv Vaidya) died of old age and cancer-related complications at 7.30 pm on Monday April 2, 2018 at Poona hospital in Pune. He was 89. He had been admitted to Poona hospital after he was diagnosed with cancer three weeks ago after complaining of breathlessness. Few months ago, he had undergone Angioplasty. He is survived by son Abhijit Vaidya, daughter Prachi Rawal, a grandson and a granddaughter. Vaidya’s body was cremated with full state honors on Tuesday April 3 evening at the Vaikunth crematorium in Navi Peth, where thousands of people from all areas were present. Before performing the last rites, Vaidya’s mortal remains were kept at Sane Guruji Smarak, the headquarters of the Rashtra Seva Dal (RSD) where people from various walks of lif...

The Bhartiya Janta Party has recently won a huge electoral victory in Uttar Pradesh, a big state, after single handedly forming the Central Government in 2014; on the other hand the leaders of this party in power have played a huge role in handing over the country’s politics to the capitalists. The irony is that despite changing and forming policies in the interests of the exploitative class, this party in power still claims to be nationalist. For Samajwadi Jan Parishad two interests are primary, the interests of the oppressed section and the interests of the country. Our party clearly believes that it is harmful in the interest of the nation to put the interests of the capitalists above all. Crony Capitalism and Agriculture Even the foreign policy of the Central Government is in favor of the capitalists connected to the ruling class. The Prime Minister visits countries which are economically weaker than us and announces loans worth crores of dollars to them. These loans are given...

Kamal Krishna Banerjee (Image: Aby John Vannilam,  CC-BY-SA-2.5-IN) Aflatoon (Image: Aby John Vannilam,  CC-BY-SA-2.5-IN) Jateswar (Alipurduar district, West Bengal, India), May 1, 2017: Kamal Krishna Banerjee (West Bengal) and Aflatoon (Uttar Pradesh) were on Monday, 1st May unanimously elected as the National President and National General Secretary respectively of the Samajawadi Janaparishad (S.J.), the Socialist political party in India. The party also elected other members of its National Executive on the concluding day of its 11th biennial national conference, which held in Jateswar (West Bengal) from April 29 to May 1, 2017. The National Executive elected , Nisha Shivurkar, Lingaraj Azad (Odisha) and Ajay Khare (Madhya Pradesh) as National vice presidents, Dr. Chandra Bhushan Chaudhari as treasurer, Ranjit Rai as National organizing secretary and Fag Ram as National secretary of the party. Joshy Jacob, National Executive Member  (Imag...

K.P. Janardhanan Namboodiri (1930 — 2017) Photo- Aby john Van-nilam Cherpulassery (Palakkad, Kerala): Samajwadi Janparishad State vice president and Freedom fighter K.P. Janardhanan Namboodiri passed away on Saturday March 04, 2017. He was 87. Janardhanan Namboodiri breathed his last at P.K. Das Hospital at Vaniamkulam in Palakkad at around 6 PM. The funeral was held at 2 PM on Monday on his house premises. He is survived by his wife Savitry Antharjanam and children Hari Narayanan Jaya Narayanan and Babu Narayanan. Samajwadi Janaparishad National President Joshy Jacob, Plachimada anti-Coca Cola stir leader Vilayodi Venugopal, Samajwadi Janaparishad State President Vinod Payyada and Lohia Vichara Vedi district convener Vidhyadharan K were among those present at the funeral. Socialist leaders Dr. Swaty, Mahesh Vikram and Lohia Vichara Vedi general secretary E.K. Sreenivasan, among others, condoled Janardhanan Namboodiri’s death. Condolence message by Joshy Jacob, Samajwa...