Volume 48 No. 8 Organ of the SOCIALIST UNITY CENTRE OF INDIA (COMMUNIST) December 1, 2014 Founder Editor-in-Chief : COMRADE SHIBDAS GHOSH Price : Rs. 3.00 This new party office will function as the nerve centre of revolution Comrade Provash Ghosh at inauguration of new central office of the Party On 17 November, 2014, the day Secretary, hoisted the Red Flag at 12 noon on 17 commemorating the 97th anniversary of victory of November slogans thundered in front of the Party historic November Revolution in Russia under the Office urging upon the toiling people to spread leadership of great Lenin, the new Central Office revolutionary movements in every corner of the building of our Party, the SUCI (Communist), was country. The Red Flag was fluttering high when inaugurated. Hundreds of party workers and the leaders of our Party paid revolutionary sympathizers assembled at Lenin Sarani at the tributes with flowers and floral wreathes to the Subodh Mullick Square crossing in Kolkata to great teachers and leaders of the proletariat witness the inauguration of the new central office Lenin and Shibdas Ghosh. Tributes were paid by building of our beloved party SUCI (Communist). the Comrade General Secretary and Polit Bureau With the new building growing up in place of the members Comrades Ranjit Dhar, Manik old effete one, people who had traversed this Mukherjee, Asit Bhattacharyya. Polit Bureau road, the many people at villages towns cities member Comrade Krishna Chakraborty could not localities trains who had contributed to the building be present and pay his tribute as he has been fund all had shown lively interest about when convalescing after a serious ailment which only eventually the new building would be inaugurated. recently brought grave danger to his life. So after the day for inauguration was fixed on 17 Comrade Tapan Roychowdhury, West Bengal November, commemorating November revolution State Secretariat member, paid floral tribute on it was spread far and wide in many ways. At the behalf of Comrade Krishna Chakraborty. Tributes end of sixty-six long years after our Party was were also paid by Central Committee members founded in 1948 by Comrade Shibdas Ghosh in Comrades Debaprasad Sarkar, C K Lukose, K course of a historic arduous struggle with a Radhakrishna, Saumen Basu, Gopal Kundu, handful of his revolutionary compatriots, our own Satyawan, Sankar Saha and Chhaya Mukherjee. party office stands tall upright with the shining State secretaries and representatives from portraits of the great leaders of the proletariat- different states of India were also present and Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin-Mao Zedong and paid floral tribute to the great Marxist authorities, The new Party Office Shibdas Ghosh. All these years, our Party has Comrade Lenin and Comrade Shibdas Ghosh. The tall upright Party Office building replaced laboriously plunged and pitched into the historic Thereafter Comrade Provash Ghosh delivered his the old dilapidated one from where Comrade task of building up revolutionary mass movements brief but inspiring inaugural speech. The newly Shibdas Ghosh guided the building up of Party throughout our country and to contribute our part built Central Party Office had an exhibition of organization as well as mass and class struggles in strengthening the world revolutionary articles used by Comrade Shibdas Ghosh in the in different parts of the country. Since Comrade movement. hall on its 4th floor which roused the emotions of Shibdas Ghosh left us it was from the same As Comrade Provash Ghosh, our General the comrades present there. Contd. on page 4 Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (Marxist) founded In a central convention held from 20 to 23 November in Dhaka, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (Marxist) was founded based on Marxism-Leninism-Shibdas Ghosh Thought. A 9-member Central Conduction Committee with Comrade Mubinul Haider Chowdhury as the General Secretary was formed. Seen in the photo is a part of the gathering at the open session of the central convention. (Inset- from left) Speaking are Comrades Mubinul Haider Chowdhury, Subhranshu Chakraborty of BASAD(M) and Provash Ghosh PAGE TWO DECEMBER 1, 2014 PROLETARIAN ERA Fresh onslaughts on education put it in total jeopardy During the last Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, education Skilling India. Before elaborating ‘Modernization of education does was swamped with a virulent spate of so-called reforms. Framed at the it, we may add that with these two not mean westernization, but behest of the ruling capitalist class and conforming broadly with the prongs of attack the Modi Indianization’ (p8). For example: fundamental tenets of educational reforms since independence, aimed at government intend to smash even ‘We should not demean ourselves curtailing education for general people on this or that plea, the present the vestiges of scientific secular by calling our beloved reforms were laid down also in tune with the imperialist agenda of democratic education that may still Bharatbhoomi by the shudra name globalization- liberalization- commercialization thrust upon the world. These be existing in the country. India’. He adds that we should use were meant to comprise an all-out attack embracing education at all levels the term acharya who practices, right from the primary to the highest. The process continues under the new BJP’s agenda of Indianization instead of using Professors who BJP-led union government with fresh spell of changes looming large over The BJP’s agenda of profess or preach (p.40). And his the sphere of education. But before dealing with their implications, we may Indianization of education have Indianization is intimately linked need some background information. been made evident quite elaborately with religion as he thinks ‘It is better control vested with the power from from a series of nine books to die for one’s religion. An alien Essence of reforms A to Z, from framing syllabus to written in Hindi by DinanathBatra religion is a source of sorrow’. The more significant ones curbing any resistance towards and translated in Gujarati. Each of (p118) In line with this thinking a among those so-called reforms implementation of the government these books seeks to teach children Supreme Court judge even asserted included awarding people with the policies in the name of giving shape ‘facts’ about history, science, that given a choice, he would like to Right to Education (RTE) 2009 Act to a uniform policy and of curbing geography, religion and other introduce the Bhagavad Gita and given effect to with much fanfare unwarranted play of forces affecting ‘basics’ and carries a customized the Mahabharata for study from and illusive promises albeit only after teaching-learning and teachers- message from Narendra Modi and class 1 in schools. In defence of the six long decades since students. praises for him by the author, IIM- Indore’s offer of some ‘gyaan’ independence. And even then the Further, another striking reform indicating that these were meant to (knowledge) on Bhagavad Gita, a right was awarded to a was refashioning of student – serve the BJP-RSS interest in an all- professor of the Indian Institute of microscopic minority of student teacher relations with students being out way with blessings from the Management- Indore who is as well population between ages 6 and brought into evaluation of teachers Modi government. The author Batra a member of International Society 14; for this section of students too, while themselves studying largely himself is a veteran RSS ideologue for Krishna Consciousness the Act has made it a legal with a mind-set to get returns worth and holds or held several key (ISKCON) suggested to compulsion to pursue no-detention what they pay; teachers in turn are positions including that of the management students that the well- policy upto class VIII for aided compelled to work overloaded and convenor of the Sangh Parivaar- known scripture would help students schools, now being extended to the under discriminatory crass organized Siksha Bachao Andolan on how to combat challenges in their minorities schools hitherto commercialized corporate system of Samiti, in the national executives of professional as well as daily exempted. The result is evident ‘differential competitive the RSS-run Vidya Bharti schools, personal life. Though the course has from the review report of remuneration’, often with an or in the NCERT body etc. He is been made optional, the signal from implementation of RTE 2009 (253rd unsecured future as part-time or also the man who used to file suits the authorities was amply emphatic. Report of the Department-Related guest teachers. against any research or study he So, quite a number of students Parliamentary Standing Committee Congress initiated reforms feels to be critical towards the enrolled for it. Batra further on HRD) placed in the Lok Sabha were never opposed by BJP or doctrine of Hindutva of the Sangh maintains ‘it is not correct to say on 26th April 2013. It was emphatic other parliamentary parties. Parivar (for example Wendy that Indian culture is a mixed in making the comment: “The At this stage we should take Doniger’s book on Hinduism), culture’ because ‘After mixing in the Committee feels that a student may note of another important point. branding them as ‘anti national’. As Ganga, there is no entity for those not be motivated to work hard to These so-called reforms were reported in the media (e.g., who flowed in it’ (p15). learn if he/she is aware that his/ her implemented largely by the Ahmedabad edition of the Indian The themes are made further promotion to the next grade is Congress-led UPA government. The Express, on July 25, 2014) the clear in this and other books like guaranteed”. It categorically story had been the same with some books written by Batra have been Tejomay Bharat (Shining India) or recommended reintroduction of the differences in jargons, with the BJP- made compulsory reading in Prernadeep (Light of inspiration) pass-fail system at the elementary led NDA government at the Centre, Primary and Secondary schools of etc.