They came from the battlefield; the battle to guard what the women of India have achieved with much effort, the battle to protect their dignity, the battle to claim and ensure their rights as citizens of the Secular Democratic Republic Of India.

The programme was conceptualised as a National Convention titled, ‘From Remission to Wrestlers’ Struggle: Challenges before the Women’s Movement and Way Forward’. In the convention, rich tributes were paid to those veterans who founded the organization on June 4, 1954and built it defying all opposition.

Amongst the founders of the organisation were such stalwarts as Aruna Asaf Ali, Renu Chakravartty, Hajrah Begum, Geeta Mukherjee, Anasuya Gyanchand, Vimla Dang, Vimla Farooqi, all tall leaders of women’s movements in India and well known freedom fighters.

Those veterans who are among us made it a point to attend this historic event. Alka Prasad, daughter of late Girija Kumar Sinha and Dinesh Kumari Sinha came along with her sisters Shobha Chandra, Archana Sinha, Aruna Sinha and Amita Sharma and her daughter Sushobhita, her son Navendu and his wife Lakshmi. Along with Navendu came KV Sharma, wife Nishi, and Manish and Bharat, their sons, to participate and witness the celebrations.

Sudesh Kumari, Ramesh Kumari, Veena Jammu, Sumitra Kumari, daughters of (Late) Comrades Kailash Wanti and Jai Chand, were also among the participants.

Many mothers brought their daughters and some of them even granddaughters to be there to share the historic moment.

The statement of 92-year-old Ranjana Ray, the seniormost leader of the National Federation of Indian Women(NFIW), said, “All citizens, even if they are law makers or agricultural workers, rich or influential, are equal before the law,” was received by all with slogans and huge applause.

The young volunteers in uniform from Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab among others added to the enthusiasm and determination of each of the participants to carry forward the struggles and campaigns for a Genderjust, democratic, secular and peaceful country.

The programme began with a welcome address by Aruna Sinha, national secretary of the NFIW. While delivering her inaugural speech, Aruna Roy, President, NFIW, highlighted the wide-ranging rights-based work done by the organisation over the last seven decades for social, political and economic equality. She recounted the history of the movement that was the history of standing with the most marginalized in every other section of the society to strengthen struggles for justice and against communal violence of any kind. NFIW has taken battles from streets to courts to secure constitutional rights and justice.

Gargi Chakravartty, senior Vice President of NFIW, said that the women’s movement has to make its priority to vote out of power the present RSS-BJP regime which is aggressively poisoning the country with vicious anti-minority propaganda, communal hatred through distortion of history and misinformation at all levels.

Annie Raja, general secretary, NFIW, said that the women of India are passing through a war like situation. Increasing violence, visible and invisible, with unprecedented brutality, impunity to the mighty and powerful, rich and influential and, political patronage to the perpetrator, all have become the new normal under RSS-BJP regime. While greeting the participants she said that the struggles are not for us only but for everywoman of India. She reminded them of the ceaseless work of our founders and other leaders to bring together a large number of women’s organisations and women’s rights groups to work unitedly and how it has contributed to the vibrancy of women’s movement in India.

It was followed by two panels, which were coordinated by Kanwaljeet Kaur and Nisha Siddhu, national secretaries, with activists from different organisations working with cross-sections of women. They all condemned the apathy and anti-women stance of the present Modi-led government, as well as pointed to the real challenge today to pull the country out of the bigoted, patriarchal, misogynist, fascist quagmire that it is sinking in today. Through a 30 minutes visual history, Dr Supriya Chottani recalled the history of the tremendous work done in the past and the present struggles launched by the organization by way of social and legal reform, on question of sexual violence against women, abolition of dowry, for education, employment, health, food security, communalism, international peace and solidarity and political equality.

The celebrations included felicitation of the senior and veteran leaders of NFIW. In spite of their ill health and age related issues, around twenty five veteran leaders were present in the programme. They include Asha Mishra, Susheela Sargam, Susheela Sahai, Kushal Bhaura, Philomina Cardoz, Kamal Sadanandan, Rema Chatterjee, P Padmavathy and others.

Along with solidarity messages, women leaders from AIDWA, AIDMAM, AIMSS, PMS, JWP, and democratic organisations PUCL, ANHAD and academics Dr. Lianboi Vaiphei and Prof. Apoorvanand, senior journalist Pamela Philipose, well known activist Navsharan Kaur, Nishat Husain, general secretary of AIYF Thirumalai Raman and others reiterated their resolve to continue their work towards a genderjust society.

As part of the year-long celebrations, NFIW has decided to conduct legal education for one million young women by June 4, 2024. A poster on this was released during the national convention.

Alongside celebrations, NFIW has taken up this occasion to express its deepest and continuing solidarity to the struggling wrestlers and to the cause of strengthening and strict implementation of POSH and POCSO Acts related to sexual harassment of women and children respectively.

Since April 24, 2023,NFIW units across the country are consistently organizing protest programmes in solidarity with the struggling wrestlers .NFIW members collected lakhs of signatures demanding immediate arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, BJP MP and the then President of the Wrestling Federation of India, against whom the Women Wrestlers, including a minor, have filed complaints of sexual harassment. (IPA Service)