WHERE ARE WE HEADING TOWARDS :

WHERE ARE WE HEADING TOWARDS ? In reality, neither booms nor slumps in and of themselves cause revolutions. But it is the rapid successions of boom and slump, the interruption of the "normal" pattern of existence, which provokes general uncertainty and instability, and causes people to question the existing state of things. Even more profound are the shocks caused by wars, which turn the world upside down, uproot millions and compel men and women to shed their illusions and finally stand face to face with reality.

Anna's agitation was a concrete expression of the fact that the old regime had reached an impasse.
But to expose something is not to cause it. The crisis on international finance markets and the run on Dollar recently exposed the chronic weakness of the Capitalist economy.The decay of U.S. capitalism has taken place gradually over a period of decades, disguised by the general upswing of the world economy. This was explained by the Marxists decades ago. The difference now is that, under the relentless pressure of world capitalist crisis, the mass of the American people are beginning to wake up to the fact.

The mood of discontent emanating from the industrial centers found an echo in the ranks of the army, suffering from corruption and exhaustion. The crisis of the regime anticipated the movement of the masses.

Every revolution begins, not at the bottom, but at the top. Its first manifestation is a series of crises and splits in the ruling class, which feels itself to be in a blind alley, and unable to continue to rule in the old way.

A revolution breaks out when all the antagonisms of a society have reached their highest tension. But this makes the situation unbearable even for the classes of the old society - that is, those who are doomed to break up."

The smell of corruption and scandal always hangs around a regime which has outlived itself. The present-day epidemic of political and financial crisis and greed of of the corrupt in Europe, Japan, the USA, are no more an accident than the Rasputin regime at the court of "Nicholas the Bloody," or the "Pompadour factor" of the Ancient Regime in France.

ON PEOPLE'S ROLE :
=================

In reality, as Trotsky explains, the essence of a revolution is the direct intervention of the masses in the life of society and politics. In "normal" periods, the majority of people are content to leave the running of society in the hands of the "experts" - the parliamentarians, Councillors, lawyers, journalists, trade union officials, university professors, and the rest of them.

Over a period, which may be a protracted period of years or even decades, society may acquire the appearance of a certain "equilibrium." This is particularly true in a prolonged period of capitalist economic upswing, like that which lasted for nearly four decades after the end of World War Two.

In such periods, the ideas of Marxism are not readily accepted or understood, because they appear to fly in the face of "the facts." On the contrary, the illusions of the reformists Labor leaders of a slow, gradual, evolutionary change - "today better than yesterday, and tomorrow better than today" - achieve a widespread audience.

However, beneath the apparently calm surface, powerful currents are building up. There is a gradual accumulation of discontent and frustration in the masses, and an increasing malaise among the middle layers of society. This is particularly felt by the intellectuals and students, who are a sensitive barometer reflecting the changing moods of society.

In a marvelously graphic phrase, Trotsky refers to the "molecular process of revolution", which goes on in uninterrupted fashion in the minds of the workers. However, since this process is a gradual one which does not affect the general political physiognomy of society, it goes unnoticed by everyone - except the Marxists.

In just the same way, the ground appears to be solid and firm under our feet ("as steady as a rock," as the saying goes). But geology teaches that rocks are by no means steady, and that the ground is constantly shifting beneath our feet. The continents are on the march, and in a state of perpetual "warfare," one colliding with another. Since geological change is not measured by years or even centuries, but aeons, the continental shifts remain unnoticed except for specialists. But fault-lines build up, subject to unimaginable pressures, which eventually erupt in earthquakes, wars and revolutions.

.

IRONY:
======The irony is that in every elections we see that candidate of working class (left or other) is either the last or out of race.To sum up even the working class voters who take out rallies and observe Strikes and Dharnas on their call but , do not vote for them.Then they vote for the candidate of their caste,relative,friend etc.
That makes it even more important for Union Functionaries to work for raising the Political Quotient of members and non-members through periodic classes on the subject. Bipin Ghosh the task is difficult particularly when the member or non-member comes from a society ridden with all sorts of divisive elements. The slate is already filled by the time an innocent mind comes out of college or adolescence and before writing anything a fresh ; it needs to be cleaned-up.
               

                         WHY DEVELOPED COUNTRIES CONTINUE TO BE RICH ?
=================================================================

One of the many things that the powerful nations (through the IMF, World Bank, etc.) prescribe is that the developing nation should open up to allow more imports in and export more of their commodities. However, this is precisely what contributes to poverty and dependency.

[I]f a society spends one hundred dollars to manufacture a product within its borders, the money that is used to pay for materials, labor and, other costs moves through the economy as each recipient spends it. Due to this multiplier effect, a hundred dollars worth of primary production can add several hundred dollars to the Gross National Product (GNP) of that country. If money is spent in another country, circulation of that money is within the exporting country. This is the reason an industrialized product-exporting/commodity-importing country is wealthy and an undeveloped product-importing/commodity-exporting country is poor. [Emphasis Added]

…Developed countries grow rich by selling capital-intensive (thus cheap) products for a high price and buying labor-intensive (thus expensive) products for a low price. This imbalance of trade expands the gap between rich and poor. The wealthy sell products to be consumed, not tools to produce. This maintains the monopolization of the tools of production, and assures a continued market for the product. [Such control of tools of production is a strategy of a mercantile process. That control often requires military might.]

                ON PEOPLE'S REVOLUTION
                ========================

Not long ago, we celebrated the 200th anniversary of the French revolution. Despite the fact that this was a bourgeois revolution, despite the fact that it occurred two centuries ago, nevertheless, the ruling class in France and elsewhere could not refrain from denigrating the memory of 1789-93. Even such a distant historical event was an uncomfortable reminder to the rich and powerful of what happens when a given socio-economic system reaches its limits. They even propose to change the terrible words of the "Marseillaise."!

Yet revolutions happen, and not by accident. A revolution becomes inevitable when a particular form of society enters into conflict with the development of the productive forces, which form the basis of all human progress.

One of the greatest books of the twentieth century is Leon Trotsky’s History of the Russian Revolution. This monumental study of the event of 1917 has never been equaled. It is an outstanding example of the use of the method of historical materialism to elucidate the processes at work in society. The events leading up to October are not merely recounted, but explained in a way which has a validity and an application far more extensive than the Russian Revolution itself.

In an effort to discredit the October Revolution, the ruling class, through the agency of its hired hacks in the Universities, has assiduously cultivated the myth that the Bolshevik Revolution was only a "coup -d’etat" pulled off by Lenin and a handful of conspirators.

WHICH IS WHY ! BUT HOW?

Today the country is experiencing a far deeper divide in economic gap between the rich and the poor, the poor are turning more poorer whereas the rich are becoming more richer. On one hand a handful of people have accumulated huge assets at the other side 80 % of the population is finding it hard to make even square meals within their access. Ever increasing prices of essential commodities, out of reach in basic amenities like: education, health & housing are getting to infinitive distance. Agriculture is facing a negative trend and the sector has become UN-remunerative for bare sustenance of life with human dignity and as result Lakhs of peasants are forced to commit suicide under the in-surmountable burden of debt.

The sketch is not of some African or a Latin American country but that of present day India, a country which was once called ‘GOLDEN–BIRD’ and which is still the largest importer of Gold .Local Capitalist is being forced to close down under shrinking market conditions and decreasing market demand and heavy penetration of Foreign Capital which is all-n-all out for the kill; Fly by night nature of such Fluid- Money keeps the market on the tenterhooks. Industrial out-put is at it’s lowest, high inflation resulting in fall in real incomes of workers , growing un-employment and deep rooted corruption in all walks of life in connivance with the Nexus of Trio – Corporate, Politicians and Criminals backed by Imperialist Capital is making life of a common-man very difficult. It is shocking to note that at the time of independence which was an Agreement between the economically and militarily weaning Imperialist Great Britain as an out-come of 2^nd World-War, which in spite of victory of Allied forces left them too weak to directly control and manage a vast country like India with growing unrest amongst different sections of the society; the peasants up-rising in Telangana, Taibhaga and Punpra Wylar; the Naval revolt of 1946 and work Strike by Police Force in some parts of the country – the entire citizenry was full of angst against the trial of Seghal, Dhillon and Shehnawaz : National Heroes from Azad Hind Fauz. The worst was that Students and Workers were out on roads and massive protests were witnessed day in and day out.

Circumstances during 1945 to 1947 not only terrified the ruling Imperialist British but, a chill ran through Indian Capitalist Class and the two together started devising way out .The resultant out-come was Lord Mount-Batten Plan which was an agreement between British Looters and Indian Capitalists , this agreement became the basis of India’s Independence in 1947 . The story doesn’t end here , it goes on to establish another agreement between the Indian Capitalist and Feudal / landlord section engaged in rural exploitation of small farmers and landless laborers, by brutally controlling every activity in all spheres of life in villages. India’s Independence never accomplished the else-where adopted scheme of things of demolishing the Feudal System to replace it with Capitalist Democracy. What-ever , this provided the Imperialist to continue their Loot – though indirectly and the Indian Capitalist along with Rajas , Nawabs and Zamindars to take on the path of mixed economy – widely known as Nehruvian Economic Model.

It sure will interest the concerned that at time of Independence, we had some 22 Monopoly Capitalists in the country whose total assets in 1957 were worth Rs.312.63 Crores which grew to Rs.158004.72 Crores in 1997 : 500 times. This makes one thing amply clear that the Govt. has a Class Character no matter what  kind of nomenclature is given to it – a monarchy , a dictatorship or a democracy and it makes no difference from which strata of the society the leader comes from , the only thing which counts is which Class is being benefitted by the policy of the Govt. As of now India has more than 50 billionaires in terms of U.S. Dollars and has Lakhs of farmer suicide to hang its head if shame has any meaning what-so-ever. Such sharp contradictions are proof enough to say we live in Bourgeois/Landlord controlled system which needs to be replaced through People’s Democratic Revolution to finish the undone work of liberating the masses from the clutches of exploitation.

Seventies begun with a decisive victory in a war against Pakistan resulting in a built-up of larger than life personality – even the Opposition declared the then P.M. as an Avtaar of GODDESS DURGA but, soon it all started to fade and wide spread unrest led by Jay Prakash Narayan seeded deep down amongst cross section of society along-side a Judgment by Allahabad High-Court declaring the election of P.M. Mrs. Indira Gandhi as null and void, protests in every nook and corner of the country created a situation for snatching away whatever little freedom people enjoyed under the Constitution. There-by Emergency was promulgated in 1974 and activists and leaders opposed to Govt. Policies were put behind Bars for eighteen months. What was to be the end of EXPERIMENT OF DEMOCRACY, offered a blessing in disguise for opposition to forge a unity for dislodging Congress from the MONOPOLISTIC POWER POSITION.

However this opportunity could not build upon a unified opposition for a long and fell apart for want of alternative policies and resulted in Congress returning back with a thumping majority. The aspirations of people were betrayed but, one aspect did emerge that Congress is not an invincible Party and the developments offered other forces in play to exert their ideologies. People friendly left remained confined in their bastions but, the reactionary Communal forces succeeded in building majority hype around birth place of RAM and emerged as a force to capture power at the Centre. Though their efforts lasted only for 13 days – still the passion and sensitivities helped Communal and Fascist outfits to return back to the seat of power. This time for a bit longer period of 13 months, again the clash of ideologies forced them out. The passion had still not been washed away and for the third time the RSS mask in BJP bore enough clout amongst the people in general thus a Fascist party in garb of nationalist image got into power but, this time they have learnt lessons from the past mistakes and could successfully net in other power hungry regional parties who were in no mood to lose their chance to a join the gang for appropriating loot from people’s wealth. Eighties became witness to marriages of conveniences and strengthening of Regional players which was seen in return of near similar parties in a new format of United Progressive Alliance led by Congress but, then it had one mismatching ideology of Left which withdrew it’s outside support to the Govt. on issue of Nuclear Deal with U.S. This deal was to make India a junior partner to Imperialist America and compromise on independent Foreign Policy of the country. U.P.A.  Govt. survived on the floor of the parliament, with the support of others waiting in the wings to climb on to the band-wagon of power.

Before further developments are discussed, it is important to look into the Global happenings during the earlier times. Emergence of USSR in 1917 as a Workers State compelled the industrially advanced West to hand out social benefits to their workers for fear of revolt against the exploitative Capitalist System in practice in those countries but the disintegration of Socialist States gave Capitalists a ready made platform for propaganda against socialist pattern of society and a few went to the extent of declaring that Socialism has died and now there is no other alternative to human progress but , CAPITALISM. This made a Uni-polar World and U.S.A. the only force in-charge of Global Affairs. As is with all false- hood, this theory too had a short life and the world faced an unparalleled economic crisis in 2008. This Global Economic Crisis not only badly dented the Capitalist Propaganda but also exposed to the world that Capitalism which is based on 1% consuming and amassing 99% percent of global resources has no answers to  the basic and fundamental needs of the remaining 99% of populace.

Early Nineties witnessed the fall of Nehruvian Economic Model as it was destined. For it was merely an arrangement for the intervening time period to compliment the Capital requirement for local Industrialists, who were short of funds to invest in large core sector projects which had long gestation period and huge Capital requirement, to build–up of BIG-MONEY. This was possible only by way of either taxing people and through deficit financing which resulted the purchasing power of the citizenry shrunk, with no expansion of market  it led to closure of lakhs of manufacturing units. Another way  adopted for collecting ‘BIG- ‘BIG-MONEY’ was through the route of foreign borrowings – the result has been that now the economy is entrapped in the web of foreign debt compelling the Govt. to compromise the vital national interest of economic sovereignty , meaning that development process got arrested . This surely built the much needed basic infrastructure for the Indian Capitalist. As an obvious outcome - Nehruvian Economic Model failed. Rajiv Gandhi’s Govt. and the era there-after were pushed the national economy into a deeper ditch in a desperate attempt to come out of the debt matrix as the path taken up was that of Pure Capitalism. Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization has allowed speculative foreign capital, which is fluid in nature and operates in fly-by- wire mode has immensely benefitted the Monopoly Capitalists and further worsened the sufferings of the masses and putting us in a Neo-Slavery. The Imperialists now have good enough control over our independent decision making powers and the Govt. is in no position to work for the interest of its people. It is solely the reason as to why the plight of youth, farmers, women and workers is increasing every day and the Govt. seems to have gone deaf and crippled; that’s what you call: POLICY PARALYSIS. No implementation of Labor Laws, No employment for youth, No social security, No farmer friendly Agriculture Policy, No protection to women and No rehabilitation of displaced; is this what is expected of a Govt. Increasing prices of essential commodities with ever increasing inflation , increasing corruption with ever new exposure turning bigger than the previous one and increasing attacks on Schedule caste, tribal’s and minorities ; where are we heading? Is there a way out? Could we have a country of our dreams, do we have a system which will better our lives? YES! The things though at their worst still don’t instill a ‘TINA AFFECT’, there sure is an answer: SITA!

So, the question is whether such a system is allowed to survive at the cost larger majority and what could be done about it? One most essential requirement to get rid of this exploitative nexus is to forge unity amongst the forces worst affected and hit by the system and for it identification of friends along with isolation of forces and foes inimical to people in general. Who will be allies in the necessitated change and who all have vested interest in continuance of the system?

The further a section is from the means of production the stake is greater , workers have nothing to lose but their chains and so, have the biggest stake and their natural ally are the farmers , particularly the landless farmers. Youth have their future at stake and so, they too have lot in common to join the platform looking ahead for getting rid of a stale, decaying and a dying capitalist regime. The others who have big to gain are small traders, women and intellectuals. Now segregating Industrialists, Corporate, Monopoly Capitalist, Criminals and Landlords is not difficult but, how could the other enemies be left out: Communalists, Casteists and Separatists, are individually and jointly creating the divide in the society which works as an impediment in unification of tolling masses.

Through this unity of friendly forces the first step is to bring about people’s revolution which will reorient the agricultural sector and bring the fundamental changes in land ownership status together with actual realization of their produce, with the increased income and purchasing power the economy will expand resulting in increased demand for industrial products, this will in turn create more jobs for the youth and the cycle will thus be there for continuous betterment of living conditions and a life worth human dignity. Last but, the foremost aspect is that entire fight for the change will be led by the working class which will form the core of the people’s unified struggle and so, workers have the biggest responsibility to work beyond their economic demands , which often keep their energies pre-occupied, towards political education which alone will empower them with the much needed class consciousness without which no meaningful change could be brought about. Where RAM failed SITA will Succeeded, Socialism Is The Answer! And those wooing TINA, there is no alternative, will meet the doom.

What's Wrong With Our System :

The concept of real democracy is based on the premise that evolution emerges from the combined intelligence. When group of ordinary individuals having simple intelligence work together they evolve systems which are better than the system arrived by few most intelligent individuals using most advanced analytical tools. That how nature work and creates sophisticated system .in an study done by Stanford university scientists have found that a simple creature of nature like ant are able to develop more optimal route plan for transporting food grain from their catchment area than the route plan developed by most intelligent town planner of modern cities. In nature we can find many examples which prove that there is a limit to which analytical tools can help us to find solutions of our problems. Even the most sophisticated intelligent computers made by men cannot match the efficiency of the mind of a toddler in recognising the patterns and deriving meaning from these patterns

The solutions to most complex social problem need to be evolved from combined intelligence. We will never get solutions to our problems by design of few individuals. The cause of all our social problem lies in our failure to decipher this wisdom.

Human being has been trying to create a society by imposing a social order designed by self proclaimed most intelligent people. We have never permitted society to evolve its social structure based on common intelligence. when fate of majority is decided by few ,the system such evolved , will be highly inefficient and undesirable, the reason being when individuals make decisions they are influenced by their own self interest, preferences and prejudices but when group make decisions their individuality give way to larger whole. Larger the group better will be the decisions.

Democracy promises public participation in decision making which is essential for evolution of a just society but in existing form of democracy public contributions in decision making is nil. Decisions are being made by their representatives without taking in to consideration the views of the people they represent. In most of the cases even MP do not have freedom to make independent decisions, they have to follow instructions of high command. This form of democracy can never evolve a good society.

There is need to make fundamental changes in our system of governance, the existing party system is doing most damage to our political system, we need to find out alternative to party system of politics. May be we can think about a multi-layered government system in which no public Representatives represent more than 2000 members and people at one level of governance elect representatives at higher level. This indirect representation will result in very few people’s involvement in election at each level therefore avoiding the necessity for huge election expenditure. This will eliminate the dependence of elected representative on party fund, which is the main reason for political parties to indulge in corruption and to indulge policy formulation skewed in favour of corporate sector.

As every elected representative will be representing only 2000 people at any level he can have direct contact with all of them making it possible to understand the views, needs and necessities of the people they represent and at the same time he can very easily be held accountable for his decisions. People should have authority to remove their representatives at anytime when they fails to represent views of the people they represent by a simple process of impeachment with 2/3rd majority.

It should also be made mandatory for contesting election at higher level that candidate must have served at lower level So that only people with right track record can reach at higher level in the hierarchy of governance. This will eliminate the evil of criminalisation of politics.

Structural change in our politics giving opportunities to real public participation in decision making is only way to evolve a good society.

ON ANIMAL SACRIFICE :

YOU MAY AGREE OR DISAGREE....
I am, personally, against animal slaughter in the name of 'Religion'...
...and I find both Islamic and Hindu rituals of animal sacrifice during Eid and Kali puja/Durga Puja equally disgusting and depressing.
The practice of Qurbani in Eid is derived from the Abrahamic legend - that he dreamt/ got a vision of God asking him to sacrifice his son Ishmael. But ultimately the son's life was saved by divine intervention and in place a lamb was sacrificed..
For Kalipuja/ Durga Puja and many other non-Vaishnabite Hindu pantheon it is believed that through the sacrifice -Boli- one may clear his or her being from evil shades - Tamah...symbolically..
I am not sure how many who offered goats/ cattle in the name of their respective religions stood purified and attained spiritual development...
I have personally known some professional criminals even suspected murderers who every year faithfully sacrifice cattle during Eid and 'shared' meat, to the poor as Islamic ritual makes it imperative, only to revert to their original self next day.
I have also seen similar characters- having a soap-soaked bath and flaunting massive gold chains dangling from the neck and wrists -offer 'Black Goat' at the feet of the Mother ...Many of them are virtually indirect descendants of all those famous Dacoits, who used to perform similar sacrifice before committing dacoity...
It is, however, not the question who performs, the point is how far such practice of animal slaughter in the name 'Religion'...despite the fact of they being handed down to us from ancient times... can be accepted in a society which is expected to develop on the basis on rational thinking, reasoning and scientific approach/ understanding of life ...Not to be guided by some silly 'vision' or 'belief'.
------
Just for information for my friends from outside India : Kalipuja the animal sacrifice is even government sponsored in Tripureswari Temple in Udaipur ( in some other cases too). The District Magistrate by virtue of his position is the Sevayet.. ( Due to instrument of Merger agreement of Royal Tripura with India)... Its all about rules and tradition... as the government's support for Hajj...And this typical Indian brand of secularism..

JEST FOR YOU :

Who else can do this but a SAMART INDIAN SETTLED IN U.S. OR CANAIDDA! A family in Punjab was puzzled when the coffin of their dead mother arrived from the USA, sent by their sister. The tiny corpse was so tightly squeezed inside the coffin that their mother's face was practically touching the glass cover

When they opened the coffin, they found a letter from their sister pinned to their mother's chest, which read dearest brothers and sisters, I am sending you our mother's remains for burial in Amritsar . Sorry I couldn't come along as the expenses were so high. You will find inside the coffin, under Mama's body, 12 cans of Libby's corned chicken and 12 cans of Luncheon Meat. Just divide it amongst yourselves. On Mama's feet is a brand-new pair of Reeboks  for Happy Singh. There are four pairs of Reeboks under Mama's head for Tunde's son & Tomi's sonS Unnataar  & Ekhataar, bahataar. Mama is wearing six Ralph Lauren T-shirts - one is for MILKHA, MIKKA, FOZA, SWEETO, HONNEY , and the rest are for my nephews. Mama is also wearing one dozen Wonder Bras (your favourite), one for DIMPY, EKWINDER, SIMIRAN, SONIYA, RIMPY & PREETO, and the rest divide them among yourselves. The 2 dozen Victoria 's Secret panties that Mama is wearing should be distributed among my nieces and cousins .Mama is also wearing eight Dockers pants - HARJINDER , please get one for yourself PARMINDER, LOVEY and the rest are for the boys.

The Swiss watch you asked for is on Mama's left wrist, please get it. Aunty TAIJJU, Mama is wearing what you asked for - earrings, rings and a necklace; please take them. Also, the six pairs of Chanel stockings that Mama is wearing one is for LAKHAN , one is for SUKHWINDER, BALJEETEY, HARJEET, SURJEETEY, and the rest must be divided among the teen-age girls/boys there. I hope they like the colours.

Your loving sister - JASSI 
                                                                                                                                                              P.S. Please take care of finding a nice dress for Mama for her burial. (YOU MAY GO TO LUDHIYANA OR PATIALA FOR A CHEAP KAFFAN..) In case you need anything that I may have forgotten, please let me know as UNCLE IS NOT FEELING TOO WELL....

Is she caring and thoughtful of her family or just too greedy? Is all about having fun, continue to add flavour to your life. laugh a fab MORNING  to y'all!

JEST FOR YOUR SAKE :


HOW SEX IS GOOD FOR U

It has been known for many years that sex is good exercise, but until recently nobody had made a scientific study of the caloric expenditure of different sexual activities.
Now, after original and proprietary research, we are proud to present the results:

REMOVING HER CLOTHES:
With her consent............ 12 Calories
Without her consent...... 387 Calories

OPENING HER BRA:
With both hands............ 8 Calories
With one hand.............. 12 Calories
With your teeth.............85 Calories

PUTTING ON A CONDOM:
With an erection........... 6 Calories
Without an erection.... 315 Calories

PRELIMINARIES:
Trying to find the clitoris.. 18 Calories
Trying to find the G-Spot. 322 Calories

POSITIONS:
Missionary................ 252 Calories
69 lying down..............378 Calories
69 standing up........... 1312 Calories
Wheelbarrow............. 716 Calories
Her on top................ 924 Calories
Doggy Style............... 726 Calories
Donkey punch.............. 1412 Calories

ORGASMIC:
Real..................112 Calories
Fake................ 315 Calories

POST ORGASM:
Lying in bed hugging........ 18 Calories
Getting up immediately.......36 Calories
Explaining why you got out of bed immediately................8816 Calories

GETTING A SECOND ERECTION: If you are
20-29 years old........ 36 Calories
30-39 years............ 80 Calories
40-49 years.............1124 Calories
50-59 years........... 1972 Calories
60-69 years........... 2916 Calories
70 and over....Results are still pending

DRESSING UP AFTERWARDS:
Calmly............ 32
In a hurry........ 98 Calories
With her father knocking at the door... ...............1218 Calories
With your spouse knocking at the door................. 15521 Calories
So All the Best! Cum fast cum slow, How/What/When/Where/With whom.. choice is Urs!

NO COMPANY HAS ANY RIGHT TO CARY OUT BUSINESS IF IT CAN'T ENSURE : LIVING WAGES TO THE WORKERS

WAGE is the money one gets after the job is done , it could be a piece-meal work , a day's work , casual work , seasonal work , temporary work , contractual work or a permanent job . In a piece-meal work - the payment is related to quantity of job assigned , daily wage earner gets his / her day's payment on completion of that day's work . At a permanent work place - at time certain odd job requirements arise and to meet this requirement casual worker is employed his / her payment is calculated on the no. of days worked he/she has put in . A seasonal worker is put to job for seasonal nature of work as of ' PYAOO ' in Rail-Ways - his / her payment is also on no. of days put in the job . A Probationer is the one under observation for the given time frame and if found satisfactory at his/her work is confirmed in the job , the payment in this case is on monthly basis . Then we have our permanent worker - who is paid on a monthly basis .

In this note two terms have been used quite often - day's work and monthly payment; ; this is what needs to be understood : ' A day means 8 hours of work time including lunch n tea breaks and a month is of 30 days .A Sales Promotion Employee is a permanent worker and gets his / her wages on monthly basis and any extra work he / she is made to do entitles him / her for payment of over-time wages which are double that of normal rates . To Protect the Workers from greedy and exploitative employers our Constitution made a provision for guaranteeing protection through Labor - LAWS and one such LAW is that of MINIMUM-WAGES ACT . NOW THE QUESTION ARISES AS TO HOW TO ARRIVE TO A PARTICULAR AMOUNT , being hand n glove and to be true being a tool of the Capitalist Class , though elected by the majority Working Class , the Minimum Wages declared by the Govt. from time to time have always proved below bare needs of a man to live with dignity - without which one is reduced to an animal existence .

FIGHT FOR WOMEN'S LIBERATION IS FIGHT FOR SOCIALISM !

Capitalism and oppression are intricately linked. Sexism, as well as racism, able-ism, homophobia and all other oppressions, intersects with class oppression; therefore, in order to tackle any one of these oppressions we must also fight capitalism. This pattern can be traced to its development during the Neolithic revolution, and followed through to its continued existence as we see it in modern society.

Capitalism relies on the oppression of the majority to maintain the power of the minority, and oppression thrives in the economic and social inequalities created in a capitalist system.

We need socialism and a fight for every reform possible; measures that are vital for the immediate protection and emancipation of women. Violence against women, harmful societal attitudes, denial of education and many other forms of brutal gender discrimination must be fought against as rapidly and strongly as possible. However, there is only so much that social reforms can achieve.

Whilst we champion women’s liberation and join in with the struggle to end gender based oppression, the solution does not lie with bourgeois feminism, which simply advocates equality between the sexes at the top of society. Such an ideology does not help the majority of women, primarily through its ignorance of all other forms of oppression, allowing only a select few women to reach the higher echelons of society. Here, as bosses or bourgeois politicians, etc., they in turn can exert their own subjugation of women, often without realizing it. This is all capitalism can promise in terms of equality: the occasional chance for the oppressed to become the oppressor.

Full equality can only be reached with destruction of the source of oppression: capitalism. Socialism demands the equal treatment of all women: rich or poor; black or white; sick or trans. Social reforms must be matched with a planned economy to guarantee a society free of discrimination and subjugation for all, in the workplace, healthcare and the legal system, as well as online, on the streets and at home. Socialism has no need for oppression; if anything it would hinder a socialist economy, which would depend on and ensure the upholding of equal and fair treatment of all citizens.

As PROGRESSIVE PEOPLE - we must stand for equality for all and aim to fight every form of oppression as well as its roots in capitalism. Our aim should be to provide a safe place for discussion and the commitment to giving accurate scientific analysis of current issues and offer a socialist solution.

WHAT SOCIALISM OFFERS :

  With socialism will come the end of all of the many forms of oppression used by the capitalist system, including that faced by women. A socialist society would have no need for the nuclear family, often at the forefront of the exploitation of women, necessary for the passing on of private property and the raising of the next generation of workers for the capitalist.

While capitalism relied upon strict gender roles, socialism would do away with this repressive pigeonholing of individuals. Relationships and families that do not conform to monogamous ideals (required by capitalism for tracking inheritance, reliant more on female monogamy than male monogamy of course) will be as accepted socially as those that do.

This will all be achieved through the guarantee of work for all, with the fair redistribution of working hours giving each worker more free time to spend as they choose, including to care for their family. Bias on the basis of sex, including the reluctance to employ or fairly pay a woman who the employer considers to be of “childbearing age”, would be prohibited. No worker should have to face any form of discrimination or oppression. This, along with equal maternity and paternity leave and an education system emphasising equality (including gender equality), would aid in fighting sexist attitudes on society, such as the expectation of women to be the maternal and caring child raisers and homemakers.

Universal free childcare is a simple solution to alleviating these expectations, allowing parents of all genders to be free to work while their children are safely looked after. In the current economic system, it is women who are saddled with the double burden of shorter working hours and lower wages than their male counterparts, leading to the “logical” conclusion that it is only fair for them to therefore make up this shortfall at home, cleaning, cooking, raising children to name just a few of the societal expectations. Women are also considered to be the natural caregivers, thus relatively expendable in the workplace, at the mercy of the capitalist.

There would also be complete reform of the many institutions with deeply ingrained oppression or discrimination against women. The legal system, with its infamous culture of victim blaming, harsher criminal sentences and such like against women, would become radicalized transformed, operating in the interests of the working class and not the interests of the bosses and those in power. The healthcare system would provide accurate, reliable and respectful care to women, informing them of all their reproductive choices without judgement or misinformation.

We cannot simply wash away the acutely institutionalized oppressive beliefs within society through gender quotas in boardrooms and “real beauty” campaigns from makeup giants. We must refuse to be pandered to by capitalist powers; it is only through a socialist economic system and the reforming of oppressive social views that we can achieve full equality.

 ON WOMEN'S OPPRESSION


The origins of women's oppression :

Despite being one of the most obvious questions to ask of any societal phenomenon, the question of the origin of women’s oppression is one which is rarely tackled seriously. It is of the utmost importance that we understand where this oppression comes from, as on this basis the link between class society and oppression of women becomes clear.

Women’s oppression is one of many forms of oppression – class, race, sexuality and obviously class oppression itself – that is created out of a society based upon the exploitation of the many for the profits of the few. With this understanding we can also develop ideas of how to fight women’s oppression. Clearly this involves fighting for every reform and raising the question of women’s rights; but the basis of women’s oppression also points to its place in the class struggle for socialism.

As documented in Engels’ Origin of the Family, the oppression and degradation of women is not ever present throughout the history of human beings. It is true that even in the first beginnings of humanity – a period referred to as ‘primitive communism’, as undeveloped conditions meant that tribes had to work together in order to just meet their basic needs, as there was no surplus to profit from – the work of men and women was split according to sex. For biological reasons women were required to look after children and hence their role in food production was based around gathering close to the home while men hunted further afield. However, despite the split in work, women were not viewed as inferior to men and their status was aided by the fact that families were traced through the mother line, since without marriage and fidelity as a social norm it was impossible to be certain of a child’s father.

The Neolithic revolution brought tools and the domesticity of animals which, for the first time in human history, allowed for not just basic needs to be met, but also for the creation of a surplus. The creation of surplus saw the beginnings of class society, as it was now possible for some men to sell their surplus for profit, creating distinctions between rich and poor. As some began to amass wealth they also bought slaves and paid other men to work on their land; here we see the first example of worker/landowner.

This process led to women being seen as inferior to men in society as it was within the work of men that profit was to be found. The creation of surplus also led to the creation of inheritance. The greater status of men meant that families were now traced through the male line, which necessitated the enforcement of female fidelity. Here we see the origins of marriage.

Female oppression began in the embryo of class society and as it has grown into the system of capitalism so too has the oppression of women become more complex and ingrained. To emancipate women we must overthrow the system that created and exploits our oppression.

DPCO-2013: WILL DECONTROL DRUG PRICES

Introduction :

Since the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP),

under the Union ministry of health and family welfare,

notified the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO-2013)

on 15 May this year, the rumour is afloat that prices of

medicines, including lifesaving drugs, will become

cheaper by up to eighty per cent and the consumer

stands to benefit with lowered prices of medicines.

But, such act of the rumour-mongers through wide-

spread media coverage is of no use to the suffering

Indians who are forced to buy medicine at its escalating

cost every time. Pharma corporate in India, backed

by foreign multinationals, are playing a hoax with the

new DPCO. On one hand they are claiming that there

will be an immediate value erosion of country's

pharmaceutical market to the tune of 1,600 crores

(nearly 2.2 per cent of current market) which will reduce

their profitability. On the other, they are welcoming

the move of the government because they are feeling

that "the policy (DPCO-2013)is unlikely to have any

major negative implication for the (pharma) sector".

However, it will be illusive and erroneous to conclude

that DPCO - 2013 will reduce the drug prices to bring

a sigh of relief for common Indians.

Replacing the 1995 Order, the DPCO - 2013 issued

under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, proposes

that retail price of 348 drugs will be fixed at the simple

average price of all brands that have one per cent or

more market share which, according to DoP, is called

Market Based Pricing"

 

(MBP). This will make a

complete shift from earlier DPCO which promulgated

the formula of fixing retail price of medicine based on

input costs of manufacturing. Moreover, the National

Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will be the

implementing authority for the new DPCO.

Pharma Industry in India after Independence

The development of an indigenous, self reliant and

growth oriented pharmaceutical industry in India is

having its own historical background with many

contributing factors. One of them was, obviously, the

price control mechanism in post independent India.

Shortly after independence, through :

"Industrial PolicyStatement, 1948 "

Government of India openly invited

the multinationals hoping that their entry would attract

enough capital useful to form industrial base in the

country. Following, the flood gate was opened for the

entry of the multinational drug firms in India. But, the

initial investments by them in India were insignificant.

Here, most of the leading multinational drug companies

established themselves as trading companies and

started importing finished drug formulations and

marketing them. Later on, they started importing bulk

formulations and got them packed in this country.

Thus, India did neither obtain technology to form an

industrial base for production of bulk drugs from the

basic stage, nor capital was formed through foreign

investments. On the contrary, India had to shed

enough from its exchequer towards expensive imports

of medicines and common people had to pay the price

for it.

High Price Regime

During fifties, drug prices in India were one of the

highest in the world. The multinational drug firms of

US origin heavily over-priced their medicines,

particularly antibiotics, supplied in India. This was

noted by the Kefauver Committee, a United States

Senate committee set up to study the working of

pharmaceutical companies. Government of India filed

a suit in the American Courts of Law in 1974 against

US companies namely Pfizer, American Cynamid Co.,

Squibb Inc, E R Squibb and Sons and I&C etc for

overcharging prices of the broad spectrum antibiotics

supplied by them and the claim was for $ 38.315 million.

In July, 1981 the US Senate passed a bill amending

the anti-trust Law (Clayton Act) to debar Indian

government from pursuing the claim which pushed India

to settle outside the court with a meagre amount of

$0.8 million.

Hathi Committee

These revelations brought the multinational drug

firms under sharp criticism and resulted in debate both

inside and outside the Parliament. It is in this

background, government of India in line with Kefauver

committee agreed to constitute the Committee on Drug

and Pharmaceutical Industry with Jai Sukhlal Hathi

as its Chairman. This 15 member committee consisting

of the Members of the Parliament and experts was

constituted in 1974 and is popularly known as the Hathi

Committee. After examining the existing situation in

drug industry, Hathi Committee submitted its 275 pages

report to government of India in April, 1975 with number

of recommendations in pursuant of reducing drug prices

in the country. Ironically, no action was taken during

the entire period of emergency. After the emergency,

Hathi committee report was brought out and following

its recommendations a Drug Policy was announced

for the first time in the country in March, 1978.

DPCO - 1979

Though some major recommendations of Hathi

Committee were rejected in the process and some were

diluted, Drug (Prices Control) Order (DPCO - 1979)

was issued on 31 March, 1979 based on Drug Policy,

1978 and its recommendations. It was aimed towards

the availability of essential drugs at affordable prices

and played a vital role in directing the pharmaceutical

industry's fortune by putting a ceiling on prices of all

mass-usage bulk drugs and their formulations. It was

to ensure restricted yet reasonable return to the

producers. The DPCO, 1979, put 370 bulk drugs and

their formulations under price control which was around

80 per cent of the Indian pharma industry in value

terms. These drugs were segregated into four

categories, having different MAPE (Maximum

Allowable Post manufacturing Expenses). The most

important drugs, including life saving drugs were put

in Category I which had the least MAPE. In fixing the

price, the government continued to advocate the

profitability ceiling and an upper limit was put on the

return on net worth or capital employed for pharma

companies. The retail prices of controlled formulations

were decided by applying the concept of MAPE. It

was a mark-up on ex-factory costs, provided to cover

selling and distribution costs including retail and

wholesale trade margins. The pricing formula was:

Retail Price = (MC+CC+PM+PC) x (1+MAPE/100) +

excise duty, where MC was the material cost including

cost of bulk drugs / excipients, CC was the conversion

cost as per the dosage form is, PM was the cost of

packing material suitable to dosage form and PC was

the packaging charge worked out in accordance with

established costing procedures. The experiences show

that there was price increase of decontrolled group of

drugs during post DPCO, 1979. However, the Order

was a landmark regulation in the sense that it had

several implications in shaping the country's

Pharmaceutical industry.

Price Control before 1979

Price control over drugs was first introduced in India

through the Drugs (Display of Prices) Order, 1962 and

the Drugs (Control of Prices) Order, 1963 under the

Defence of India Act, 1915. Thereafter, a series of

price control regimes were notified through various

Orders from time to time based on different principles.

The Drugs (Prices Control) Order of 1966 and the Drugs

(Prices Control) Order of 1970 were issued under

Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955

declaring drugs to be essential commodities.

Priceless PSUs

Besides DPCO, with setting up of the Indian public

sector drug companies (PSUs) like HAL, IDPL etc.

the prices of medicines, particularly that of antibiotics,

were reduced as much as by 60 to 70 per cent. Hathi

committee described the activities of the multinationals

as anti-national and recommended their nationalization 

and till such time their equity share to

be gradually reduced to 26 per cent. Supported by the

Indian Patent Act, 1970; the Drug Policy, 1978 and

DPCO, 1979 the PSUs played the leading role in

fulfilling the drug-needs of the people and country's

self-reliance in drugs. Due to powerful pressure lobby

of the multinationals, the process of conspiracy was

started to cripple the PSUs from both inside and

outside. Arjun Sen Gupta committee was constituted

by the Central Government, headed by Indira Gandhi.

Finally, the conspiracy gained momentum during Rajiv

Gandhi's regime with official recognition of the slogan

of privatization of PSUs on the alleged ground of

inefficiency. Thereafter, out of vested interests,

constant attempts were made to push public sector

drug units into sickness.

Post 1979 Developments

Moreover, the Drug Policy, 1978 which dealt with

certain major areas like licensing, pricing, drug-needs

of the people etc. and the DPCO, 1979 were not

accepted by the drug cartels mostly by the

multinationals. With sharp criticism, they were out to

challenge these two major and significant steps towards 

.self-reliance, legally and through anti-campaign .

13 multinational corporations challenged the Order in

different courts and obtained stay orders to block its

implementation. They also resorted to cut in the

production of essential drugs to create artificial scarcity.

Their pressure tactics started yielding results. During

Rajiv Gandhi's regime - the Govt. of India agreed to

review the Drug Policy of 1978 and DPCO OF 1979.It

appointed steering committee and working groups

having representatives of the drug multinationals in

these committees. In 1984, the Kelkar Committee

came out with its recommendations of excluding

number of drugs from the purview of price control. The

committee stressed the need to liberalize the strict

profitability curbs that were allegedly acting as a hurdle

to the growth of the pharma sector. The government

de-licensed 94 bulk drugs in 1985 changing the basic

contents of the Drug Policy of 1978 and resorted to

liberal imports.

DPCO 1987

Subsequently, the Drug Policy, 1986 and DPCO,

1987 were announced. These two were essentially two

surrender documents under the pressure from the drug

multinationals and in contrary to the country's

economy, self reliance and the ailing people. The

DPCO, 1987, promulgated on 26 August, reduced the

number of bulk drugs under price control from 370 to

142. From Category I  20 and from Category II  122 drugs

were taken off. In addition, the categories of control

were reduced to two and higher MAPE was provided

for each category of controlled drugs. The MAPE for

Category I and Category II was increased from 40 per

cent and 55 per cent respectively to 75 per cent. The

MAPE for Category IV was increased from 60 per cent

to 100 per cent. Even the new drugs that were brought

under price control got a liberal 75 per cent MAPE.

Furthermore, industrial licensing norms were changed

which allowed the multinational corporations to amend

their product mix ensuring improved profitability. Still,

around 75 per cent of the pharma industry was under

price control.

DPCO -1995

The process of liberalization in India set in motion

in 1991 which considerably reduced the scope of

industrial licensing and demolished many non-tariff

barriers to imports. In September 1994, the new drug

policy was announced through which the criteria for

selecting bulk drugs or formulations for price control

were liberalized. In addition, industrial licensing was

abolished for all bulk drugs and foreign investment up

to 51 per cent was allowed in case of all bulk drug

their intermediates and

formulations. FDI above 51 per

cent was to be considered on

a case to case basis. The

DPCO, 1995 was passed on 6

January. The span of price

control under DPCO, 1995 has

been liberalized considerably

from 142 drugs to just 76.

While fixing the maximum retail

price of a bulk drug, the

government has to provide

either a post-tax return of 14

per cent on net worth or a return

of 22 per cent on capital

employed. Each company can

choose one of the two methods

mentioned above as per its own

free will. So, the choice of

method is company-specific

and not product-specific.

Moreover, under DPCO, 1995,

a uniform MAPE of 100 per

cent is given on all formulations

under price control. This is in

contrast to the earlier practice

of giving a MAPE of 75 per

cent on some formulations. In

the new system, the retail price

of a DPCO formulation is fixed

as:

Retail Price =

(MC+CC+PM+PC) x 2 +

excise duty

. However, this

price is not the Maximum Retail

Price (MRP). Local taxes are

additional. For imported drugs

and formulations, the landed

cost including customs duty

and clearing charges.

The Later Years

A Planning Commission

panel pointed out that there

was nearly 40 per cent average

rise in all drug prices between

1996 and 2006. Those in the

Essential Drug List (EDL)

increased by 15 per cent while

the price of drugs that were

neither under price control, nor

under the EDL grew by 137 per

cent. The Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare under the

government of India prepared

and released the first National

List of Essential Medicines

(NLEM) of India in 1996. This

list was subsequently revised

in 2003. Under these

circumstances, The National

Pharmaceutical Pricing

Authority (NPPA)

was

established in August, 1997

inter alia, to fix / revise the

prices of controlled bulk drugs

and formulations and to enforce

prices and availability of the

medicines in the country, under

the DPCO, 1995. Further,in

order to review the drug price

control mechanism , with objective

inter-alia of reducing the rigors of 

price control , where they have become 

counter productive.

a committee, called the Drugs

Price Control Review

Committee (DPCRC) was set

up in 1999. The DPCRC

recommendedto have effective moniteering

and enforcement system so as to move 

away from the controlled regime to a 

a moniteering regime

.The DPCRC also suggested the low cost

drugs measured in terms of cost per day per 

medicine may be taken out of price control.

.

Following the recommendations of DPCRC

The Pharmaceutical Policy -2002

was announced. All

these exercises were meant for

diluting and abolishing the

effective price control

mechanism.

NPPA and NLEM:

The core committee meeting

of NLEM, initiated by Drug

Controller General of India

(DGCI), held on July 22, 2010

deliberated that although WHO has prepared an updated list

of essential medicines it cannot be accepted and adopted

and the NELM should be India specifc - considering 

the disease prevalence , cost of  medicine etc in the

country.

In the meeting

the criteria for inclusion/

deletion of medicines were

developed and a road map for

the revision and updating of

NLEM, 2003 was drawn. Later,

during 3-4December, 2010

National Consultation Meet for

Revision of National List of

Essential Medicines was

organized by Department of

Pharmacology, AIIMS, Central

Drugs Standard Control

Organization (CDSCO) and

Ministry of Health and Family

Welfare. The recommendations

of the Workshop were further

deliberated upon by the Expert

Core Committee on 4 Jan and

31 Jan, 2011 at CDSCO.

Thus, the revised NLEM

2011was prepared. 348

essential medicines were

included in NLEM, 2011 while

the 2003 list had 354; number

of medicines deleted was 47

and 43 medicines were added.

Out of the 348 medicines, only

37 medicines were under price

control by NPPA. Under the pretext

of careful selection of a limited range of

 essential medicines and more effective

use of health resources for higher quality 

of care and better management .Scope

 was given to the Pharma Corporates

to loot the common people

through increased medicine prices

prices.

DPCO - 2013

DPCO - 2013 proposes

complete withering of price

control on medicines.

According to it, prices of

medicines would be determined

in the open market, by the

market and for the benefit of

the market under the dictate of

the multinationals. The National

Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy

(NPPP), 2012 was approved

by the Union Cabinet on

22November, 2012 and later it

was notified on 7 December,

2012. While laying down the

Principles for Drugs Price

Control and Determination

, the

The NPPP- 2012 noted the methodology

of fixing a ceiling price of NLEM medicines

 by adopting the simple Average Price of

 all brands having market share of 1% or more

. It was further noted that the formulations

will be priced only by fixing a ceilingprice

 (CP) and the CP WILL BE FIXED  ON THE 

BASIS OF MARKET BASED DATA ,

which would be

available through IMS Health.

NPPA would only check the

data through appropriate survey/ evolution.

If required , the principle also suggested

that the prices of NLEM - 2011 medicines

 will be allowede an annual increase as per 

 Whole Sale Price Index as notified by by the

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion

and accordingly on 1st of April every year 

companies will automatically authorized to increase 

 the prices of their products .

. NPPP-2012 also suggested that the non - essential drugs 

should not be under under a controlled regime and their 

prices be fixed by market forces.

.

The CP of imported drugs would also be

determined as mentioned

above. However, the pricing of

Patented Drugs would be

finalized based on the

recommendations of a separate

Committee constituted by the

Government order dated 1

February, 2007.

Conclusion:

It is clear from the above

discussion that the Indian

pharmaceutical industry will be

heavily benefited from NPPP -

2012. The drug market in India

will become more profitable

and viable. There will be an end

to price control regime.

Ironically, it took a long time to

finalize NPPP

–

2012 due to

differences between ministries

of health and chemicals and

fertilizers. There were also

oppositions from many

quarters. However, amidst

much criticism, DPCO

–

2013

was announced based on the

above recommendations of

NPPP

–

2012. Earlier, while

hearing a writ petition, the

Supreme Court division bench

comprising of Justices G.S.

Singhvi and S.J.

Mukhopadhaya made critical

observation and commented

that

the government should

not alter the drug price system.

It is patently clear that the

government of India is hell bent

before the multinationals

pressure. It will not even prefer

to listen to the Supreme Court.

FMRAI has demanded that the

prices of medicines should be

capped with maximum 100 per

cent margin on manufacturing

costs. Such demand is directed

only towards a peripheral

remedial measure to benefit the

ailing countrymen. For actual

and effective price control of

Indian Pharmaceutical Market,

FMRAI is committed to build

colossal movement. FMRAI will

bring the broadest section of

the society along with it