National

Convention
of
People's
Struggles
Indefense of democracy, to protect
land, water, forest and livelihoods
Context of BhoomiAdhikarAndolan
The survival of farmers and sustenance of agriculture is in deep
trouble in the whole of India today. Everyone is worried if the
land for farming or even the profession of farmers will survive
or not in this country. Almost every day, farmers are coming
from various corners of the country to New Delhi to protest and
demand cancellation of this ordinance. In the entire country,
various programs are being organized opposing the ordinance.
While farmer-worker organizations from across the country
have come together and plunged into the campaign.
The Central Government in power is leaving out no opportunity
to give away not just land but also our water, electricity,
mineral resources and peoples labour at cheaper rates. All this
facilitates companies to produce at lesser costs and ensure
maximum profits. Our current Government calls this mode of
production as development and our Prime Minister has named
this mode of loot as Make In India. This model has no laws in
the interest of the workers. It makes the workers highly
dependent on the companies and the companies in total
control. It is not an exaggeration to say that today the country
is not run by the Constitution, but by the companies.
The Government is not even ashamed to say that the interest
of companies is equivalent to interest of the nation! The
corporate-controlled minister ArunJaitley states in the
Parliament that taking consent from the farmers on the Land
Acquisition could pose a threat to nations interest. It is
incomprehensible as to what kind of nationalism are we talking
about when they state that taking the consent of the affected
farmers-workers poses threat to the nations interest!

Who else would know the truth of the Company Raj better than
the people of India who have very closely seen the cruel world
of Company Raj? Around 300 years back, in a similar manner, a
company known by the name of East India Company had
come to India for doing its business and established its rule by
1757. For the sake of its profits, this Company destroyed the
Panchayats that were prevalent then and replaced it with
Zamindari system. Collaborating with the landlords, the
company did various kinds of injustices to the people of this
country. The Company-led-Government looted the farmers,
destroyed traditional farming and traditional enterprises,
snatched away traditional rights of the Adivasis from the forests
and destroyed the forests through deforestation. In this
Company Raj, farmers had to pay the taxes in the case of
destruction of crops even if it was due to drought and floods.
They had to literally sell themselves or their families to pay the
debt. Clothes and other goods produced abroad from the raw
materials of India were being sold in India. This led to the
disappearance of weavers other similar professions. When
people raised a voice against all these injustices and atrocities,
the Company caused the burning of several villages, sparing
not even women and children. The people of this country know
that the current Company Raj too will reap similar injustices
and atrocities as the East India Company. The government will
provide these companies all resources for the production
cheaply; the companies will make stacks of profits; and the
farmers of this country will be ousted from their land and will be
forced to become bonded labourers of these companies.
Various farmer organizations, trade unions, urban poor,
fishworkers, Tribals, women organizations, youth organizations,
pro-people intellectuals, and various political parties outside
and inside the Parliament are protesting against the Land
Ordinance to stop Company Raj from ruling this country again.
All these people are protesting in their own ways and are also
coming together at various platforms to campaign against the
Ordinance. On February 24th, various farmer organizations and

organizations working on the local issues across the country got

together under Land Acquisition Ordinance Protest Platform.
Only one amendment was made in the original Ordinance: it
stated that around the corridors, for roads and railway tracks
only 1 km space would be taken instead of 3 km on both sides.
The Government also knows that land provides livelihood to the
farmers over generations and compensation can never be an
alternative to their livelihood. Everyone also knows that when
cultivable land and farmers would not be left in the country
then the countrys food sovereignty will come to an end which
will lead the nation to be dependent on countries like Australia
and America for food grains. In a similar manner, landless
farmers and agricultural workers associated with the land,
village artisans, small traders, etc. will be wiped out from the
countrys map. In spite of all this, the nations Prime Minister
NarendraModi is calling himself the biggest well-wisher of the
farmers and workers! He projects the ordinance by assuring
four times compensation of the land taken, when in reality, the
BJP ruled state governments are giving only two to two and a
half times compensation for even excessively fertile lands.
Across the country, waves of protests have intensified against
the loot of land, unconstitutional procedures and erosion of
farmer-labourers. In a strategy meeting held on 2 nd April 2015,
more than 300 farmer organizations, trade unions, urban poor,
fish workers, Tribals, women organizations, pro-people
intellectuals from across the country decided the future course
of action and have given the name of this campaign as
BhumiAdhikarAndolan.
It was decided to intensify this
campaign and carry forward the struggle at local, regional and
national levels. In this context, across the country at various
places protest programs are being organized.
About Convention
People's movements defending land, water, environment,
livelihood, and democratic rights are coming together to
organize a national convention in defense of democracy in April

month at Ahmedabad, in the context of burgeoning onslaughts

under the new government.

The new government at the Centre has made it amply clear

that it is going to pursue the pro-corporate and anti-people
policies of the previous dispensation with much more vigor,
coercion, and rapid pace. The reality of 'achchhe din' stands
exposed and the people's aspiration for better life has been
channelized to nefarious communal polarization.
The new government has shown its true intentions: allowing
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) not only in multi-brand retail
but also in the defense sector; amending the existing labor laws
to suit the industry; diluting environmental laws to turn
clearances into mere formalities; and even to amend the much
flawed Land Acquisition Act brought by the previous regime in
order to do away with the minimum relief it provided to the
people.
The new PM and his governments silence on the communal
riots and the attempts made its political affiliates to vitiate the
communal environment in the run up to the recent by-polls has
surpassed the famous silence of Manmohan Singh government
on corruption. Communal groups, including elected party
officials are making inflammatory statements and stoking
communal tensions. The communal Hindutva agenda, together
with all that underlies it, is rapidly permeating the very air we
breathe.

Both these threats of corporate loot of natural resources as well

as communalism are greatly undermining our democracy.
Resistances by people and movements against the economic
offensive will be met by an aggressive repressive regime as
well as by extra-constitutional violent outfits supporting the

regime. Even the judiciary will be weakened through various

means and the corporate-controlled media will turn a blind eye.
Such an ordeal before the people's movement has very few
precedents in recent history. It is in this context, that the
peoples movements and democratic groups have decided to
call for a national convention during 23-25April 2016 in
Ahmedabad, Gujarat to discuss the challenges and the way
ahead.

PROGRAMME
Day -1 April 23, 2016
Presentation by people's struggles
existing situation
way forward
Formation of drafting committee
Day 2 April 24, 2016
Discussion on the draft of declaration
Discussion on follow up future programs
Day 3 April 25,2016
Public Meeting/ Open session
We request you to kindly ensure and extend your solidarity to
this national convention.

Local contact personsHirenGnadhi, Krishnakant, Neeta Mahadev, Ashok bhai

Organizers-

National Alliance for Peoples Movements (NAPM), All

India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), All India
KisanSabha (Ajay Bhawan), All India KisanSabha
(Cunning
Lane),
AkhilBhartiyaKrishakKhetMazdoorSangathan,
LokSangharshMorcha,
YuvaKranti,
Jan
SangharshSamanvayaSamiti,
ChhatisgarhBachaoAandolan,
KisanSangharshSamiti,
SanyuktKisanSangharshSamilti, INSAF, Delhi Solidarity
Group, KisanManch, BhartiyaKisan Union