Ours is moving towards being a stunted nation, where the wealth creators are turning into slaves, denied of human rights. The lockdown has thrown up the burning issues, like utter penury, hunger and the pandemic. Meanwhile, the workers, among whom forty percent are migrants, are on their heels, trying to walk away from the disaster and reach the safety of home. But that window also has been shut brutally. The Home Ministry has issued an order on April 19 that stops the workers from crossing the state borders. It is shocking as the huge masses of workers are stranded everywhere, in shelter homes, where they have neither food nor water, or on the roads. Cashless and jobless, these workers, when the lockdown opens, will not be the same. As they are pushed to wall, and yet asked to slog, they are getting baptised in fire, the fire of extreme discontent. They are also closer to realize their strength, the strength of their productive capacity, of sheer manpower. Their plight is no more unknown, there are the trade unions, Communist Party, and then the social media, advocating for them. Their right to get unionised and organised is soon to be taken away, but in their suffering, they cannot remain passive for long. Despite the conditions like the Great Depression, the miseries of the toilers are now shared by the masses as well.
Today, when we celebrate the birth anniversary of our great leader, scientist, philosopher on May 5, it must be remembered that it was Karl Marx who had predicted that it would be the Working Class that would change the course of history. The dialectical materialist methodology does not go by predictions, it was discovered by the genius himself scientifically analysing the motion of the historical evolution, since there is nothing that comes suddenly. Covid 19 came as a catastrophe, but grounds were matured enough for the further shift. The class divide along with the surplus was the spine for the capitalist society, yet the moment for transition did not come easily. It was only after scientific technological revolution, and the follow up changes, like the end of huge masses of workers engaged in production, individualisation of work force, and finally crisis in finance capital that underlined the basic changes in the character of the working class itself. There were changes taking place for last more than two hundred years.
It was on May 1, 1886 that the demand for eight hour working day reached its culmination and got acceptance. There was blood and lives sacrificed and the day became memorable. It was a step towards the dream of Socialism, since till then, it was only a utopia, without maturity in the objective conditions. Now perhaps the moment is here, but with a world of change. (IPA Service)
TOILING MASSES FACING NEW CHALLENGES IN CORONA ERA
REMEMBERING TEACHINGS OF MARX WILL HELP
Krishna Jha - 2020-05-01 11:06
It is a moment of smouldering anger. Deprivation has reached to the core, and the process continues. All the gains achieved through bitter struggles are taken away unceremoniously. More than a century ago, when the toilers were raising their flag of revolt, sacrificing their life, in Chicago, the culminating moment arrived, the demand for eight- hour was acceded, though only after taking the toll of eight lives, who were hanged on court orders. Today, corporate led ruling powers, on the pretext of fighting Covid 19, are keen to set the clock of exploitation back, legalising the twelve-hour working day. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, both BJP ruled states, have already set the ball rolling. There has also been raised the demand to reduce the wages for the contract workers. And that is not all. There are attempts to finalise the labour law codification process, and hammer in the final nail taking away the right to get organised, go on strike, and demand justice.