Reasons of High Prices of Medicines: J S Majumdar

PM Modi met and made some commitments - mainly on patent protection; clinical trials; and medicines prices; - to the US drug MNCs during his visit to USA in September 2014. Three Indo-US working groups were formed at that time. One was on pharmaceuticals.

DPCO-2013: Cause of High Prices of Essential Medicines

Under neoliberal drive, DPCO-2013 was issued by an Executive Order, just months before the 2014 Parliament elections, making the entire drug control mechanism upside down.

• First Drug Prices Control Order (DPCO) 1979, issued under Essential Commodities Act; brought (i) all medicines under price control and (ii) fixed - cost + 40% / 50% / 100% - as retail price cap of all medicines based on 3 Lists of all bulk drugs of which List-1 was of 145 Essential Bulk Drugs.
• With the onset of neoliberalism, drug price control went on getting diluted by subsequent DPCO-1987 and DPCO-1995 ultimately limiting price control only of essential bulk drugs in the List-1, reducing it to 76 bulk drugs and their formulations (final stage as medicines) and raising their retail price cap at cost+100% plus excise duty.
• By DPCO-2013 the Government handed over the price control to the market. DPCO-2013 proposed to ‘control’ prices of 348 medicines in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) (which was prepared by the Expert Committee as per Supreme Court’s Order in 2005); by putting cap on the price of each Essential Medicine fixed at its average retail price of different companies, having 1% and above market share; with the right of the drug companies to increase the price upto 10% in April each year!
• Coming to power, though Modi government increased the number of medicines in NLEM from 348 to 376 in 2015 as per core committee’s recommendation, the hitherto out-of-price-control of the additional medicines continued their price tags even after inclusion in NLEM.
• High Taxes on Essential Medicines Prices
• Vide Central Excise Notification No. 22/2013-CE dated July 29, 2013 the then UPA government had exempted all 348 essential medicines in NLEM from Central taxes. But, Modi government brought it back through back door via GST route. It manipulated in the fixation of ‘GST Rate Schedule’, applicable from July 1, 2017, by picking up ‘Essential Drugs’ from the non-existent List-1 of DPCO-1995 bypassing the existing 348 Essential Medicines in NLEM and ignoring PM Modi’s addition to it. For Modi government NLEM does not exist anymore. Most of essential medicines in NLEM is having high rate of GST of 18% and more. Even fixing GST rates of 76 Essential Drugs of List-1, most of these are in 12% or more GST rate.
• The Central government’s part of GST (CGST) is in lieu of erstwhile Central Excise Duty (CED) on medicines. But, while CED was being fixed on quantity-cost at production level, CGST is calculated on retailers’ price level, which is more than 100% to 500% over the cost. Thus, in one jump CGST part of GST increased causing shooting up of medicine prices.
• Further, CGST became ad valorem i.e. with every retail price increase by the drug company; CGST also automatically increases adding to spiralling price of essential medicines.

Earlier, essential medicines were exempted from sales tax in most of the States. With introduction of GST, this exemption is also removed and relief on essential medicines withdrawn.

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Drive to Privatise Healthcare System: J S Majumdar

Defending Public Healthcare system against attempt of its privatisation has become essential and urgent against the neoliberal onslaught being aggressively pursued by Modi government. Ayushman Bharat is a part of this project.

Both, morbidity (sickness) and mortality (death), in the Healthcare are major issue of the people’s movement as Marx has shown in his thesis The General Law of Capitalist Accumulation (‘The Capital’; Vol.-I). Marx and Engels, for the first time, propounded the sociological theory of illness and disease, a thesis of connection between capitalism and poor health. Marx and Engels have shown that the association between poverty and disease is a social, not individual, phenomenon.

Since Marx and Engels’ writings in mid-nineteenth century; there have been widespread Public Health Measures and the emergence of National Healthcare systems in different countries of the world. Each of such gains of the working class and the people has been the outcome of intense and protracted class and political struggles in different countries of the world.

Health Planning Discarded

Immediately attaining independence, India envisaged Public Healthcare system as important part of the planning process. Health Planning was integral part of the Community Development Programme since the very First Five Year Plan (1951-56). There were several deficiencies in the formulation and in the implementation of Health Planning. Low budget allocation for healthcare had been a big hindrance in implementing and strengthening the Public Healthcare system. Yet, Health Planning remained a guide of direction and development of Public Healthcare.

As soon as Modi government came to power at the Centre in 2014, it discarded the planning process. With it, Health Planning has also gone out in smoke. The people of India were deprived of planned development of their Public Healthcare and it became directionless. Thus, the ground was prepared for the market to take over healthcare sector for profit replacing the Public Healthcare system – the conversion of ‘Healthcare Service’ to ‘Healthcare Industry’.

NHP- 2017 – Foundation of Privatisation of Healthcare

On the basis of Alma Atta Declaration “Health for All by 2000 AD” of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1978; India adopted its first National Health Policy (NHP) 1983. NHP-1983 had four components - (i) Free and Comprehensive Primary Healthcare Service linked with Health Education; (ii) Involvement of ‘Health Volunteers’; (iii) Free Referral System for Treatment in government-run hospitals for Secondary and Tertiary Treatment and (iv) Integrated Network for Specialty Services, free for the needy.

These were supposedly to be achieved by 2000 AD. NHP-1983 admittedly failed to achieve these goals. But, it certainly gave direction to the nation about the mode and method of Universal Public Healthcare System.

First shift from it came in 2002. The NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee adopted NHP-2002 replacing NHP-1983 on the alleged ground that NHP 1983 was based on ‘over-estimation’ and was ‘unrealistic’; and, taking note of worldwide neoliberal push, there was need of private sector to play ‘some role’ in the healthcare. The policy promoted some role of the private sector side by side with Public Healthcare.

By March 2015, the Public Healthcare network had more than 1.53 lakh Sub Centres, 25,308 Primary Health Centres, 5,396 Community Health Centres and district hospitals and medical colleges. In urban areas, there are also hospitals/dispensaries in subdivisions and under municipal local bodies in Public Healthcare System. Even these developments, though far behind the Free Universal Public Healthcare goal to achieve ‘Health for All’; were not in total compliance of the neoliberal agenda of the international finance capital even though India’s ruling dispensations made efforts in that direction. In this background, Modi government, after discarding Health Planning, adopted a new National Health Policy 2017 (NHP-2017).

NHP-2017 made two significant points in the privatisation of public healthcare. (i) It noted the ‘emergence of a robust healthcare industry estimated to be growing at double digits’ (underline added for emphasis); and (ii) the policy aims to ‘align the growth of private healthcare sector with public health goals’ to ‘enable private sector contribution to making healthcare systems more effective, efficient, rational, safe, affordable and ethical’.

Ayushman Bharat – PM-JAY

Following this, in the very next year, in 2018, in his Independence Day speech, the Prime Minister announced introduction of Ayushman Bharat project. Ayushman Bharat project has converted the Government’s role in Public Healthcare from a ‘Service Provider to a Financier’ as was said by the former Union Health Secretary Sujatha Rao. AB-PMJAY (Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna) is insurance-scheme-based healthcare for secondary and tertiary treatment of the marginalised section of our people replacing the Central and State governments responsibility of healthcare services through Public Healthcare network.

Corporate insurance companies are in business for profit. They designed the schemes for treatment including the entitlement aspects in alignment with private hospitals, diagnostic centres, doctors and medicine companies and their suppliers for the best deal for their own profit, not for the best treatment.

Thus, insurance companies’ schemes regarding doctor-diagnosis-treatment-hospital-medicines replaced the Public Healthcare network and services to the poor of this country – the first step of privatisation of healthcare by Modi government.

Not only handing over the healthcare of the poor to the insurance companies, both the Central government and most of the State governments have also completely withdrawn from administering it except paying huge insurance premium at 60:40 ratio for all registered persons.

Huge Growth of Private Sector in Healthcare

There is big neoliberal push through foreign takeover of private healthcare sector in India. Hospitals, diagnostic centres and new medicines’ trials attracted FDI worth US $6.72 billion during April 2000 - March 2020, according to the data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). In hospital sector, the value of merger and acquisition has jumped upward by a record 155% in 2019 over the previous year. The healthcare market is expected to increase three-fold to Rs.8.6 lakh crores by the year 2022 according to government’s projection.

For this huge growth of foreign investment, there is need of matching healthcare market. For that Modi government took the next step.

In the next year came notification of Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules 2019 to make it easy for clinical trial by foreign drug companies on the people of India. India now is favoured destination for human clinical trials for drug MNCs. The FDA of USA has, now, offices in India to supervise and control such clinical trials in our hospitals even without the knowledge of DCGI (Drug Control General of India). On the basis of registered clinical trials up to first quarter of 2018, there is estimated around 9 per cent growth of such clinical trials in India.

Next Big Push for Privatisation of Healthcare - NDHM

It was the next big move for privatisation in healthcare when PM Modi made a ‘major’ declaration, as termed by him, in his Independence Day speech in 2020 about introducing National Digital Healthcare Mission (NDHM), initially applicable in six union territories under Central government to be expanded in the States in coming days. NITI Aayog report on NDHM recorded its root in NHP 2017.

While AB-PMJAY targeted the poor for insurance driven healthcare on government’s funding; NDHM targeted the rest of the population, who are outside PMJAY coverage, for healthcare on personal expenses. Both are administered by NHA.

The patients have no choice in the health market, unlike other commodities and services, and on the control of their expenses. He/she has to rely for both, the required services and expenses, on others – the doctors, diagnostic centres, hospitals, medicines prescribers and medicines suppliers. NHDM is a digital platform, designed by NITI Aayog to bring this hapless customer, the patient, and his/her service and material providers in a common health market. PM dubbed it as ‘major’ development; and the Union Health Minister is promoting it as the way to achieve ‘Health for All’ in India.

This health market, NDHM, has the customers - all citizens nationally registered in (i) ‘Health-IDs’ with their (ii) ‘Personal Health Records’, which also include other ‘sensitive’ data; - and the sellers - the service providers, which include the doctors, available in the national e-register called as (iii) ‘DigiDoctor’; private hospitals and diagnostic centres etc available in the (iv) ‘Health Facility Registry’; (v) ‘Telemedicine’ facility for online medical consultation, diagnosis and e-prescription; and (vi) ‘e-Pharmacy’, the online medicine suppliers.

National Health Authority is to maintain, facilitate and coordinate among the Health-ID card holders, Digi-Doctors and Health Facilitators. The rest three modules – from maintaining and using ‘Personal Health Records’; tele-Consultation and generating e-Prescription in Telemedicine to the supply of medicines through e-Pharmacy - are left for the private sector and also additionally to create their own modules.

Several questions arise about the legitimacy of NDHM. It violates Medial Ethics, Medical Secrecy, Drugs & Cosmetics Act, Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act.

NDHM is a danger to privacy of ‘Personal Medical Records’ being available to private sector and in public domain for their misuse and blackmail; converting Indian people as guinea pigs for use of medical trial by multinational drug companies for new drugs without their full knowledge in the weak regulatory environment in India; when such trials are difficult in economically advanced countries under strong regulatory mechanism.

Individual Health ID is a replica of Aadhaar card. However, a separate Health ID became necessary as Aadhaar card cannot be used for this purpose; and also to circumvent Aadhaar Act and Supreme Court’s judgment.

Prior to declaration of NDHM by the PM, NITI Aayog brought in public domain the draft of National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB) on 15 July, 2020 which includes sensitive personal data of (i) financial information such as bank account or credit card or debit card or other payment instrument details; (ii) physical, physiological and mental health data; (iii) sex life; (iv) sexual orientation; (v) medical records and history; (vi) biometric data; (vii) genetic data; (viii) transgender status; (ix) intersex status; (x) caste or tribe; and (xi) religious or political belief or affiliation.

This is the fascistic method of indentifying a citizen by several sensitive data including caste, religion, political beliefs and affiliations etc to be used by the present dispensation in future days to come to control over them.

The Health Minister, in his write up in the print media claimed that the whole NDHM and providing information for it are ‘voluntary’. You won’t get any medical treatment unless you have a Health-ID and Personal Medical Records submitted. That is how voluntary it is. We have ‘voluntary’ Aadhaar card experience.

NDHM is not only for privatisation of healthcare. Instead of fair competition, it leads to monopolization also. In medical practice it threats livelihood of large number of medical practitioners, particularly vulnerable are young doctors and most of the private medical practitioners.

It leads to monopolisation of supply of medicinal products replacing 8 lakh self-employed medicine retailers, having average more than 2 employees each, thereby, threatening the livelihood of about 25 lakh people to be replaced by monopolized e-Pharmacies like of Reliance and Amazon, who within a week’s time of NDHM announcement by the PM gobbled up some small e-Pharmacies in Chennai and Bangalore.

Also it leads to monopolisation of drug manufacturers threatening the survival of thousands of MSMEs in drug production, who are the real strength of medicine manufacturing base in India catering generic medicines at low cost in domestic and international markets, and also lakhs of their employees.

Thousands of crores worth of public hospital buildings built over decades of investment to strengthen the public health system and several lakh crores worth of public land are either in the process of being handed over or have already been given to private entities across India. It’s ostensibly happening to upgrade hospitals and build medical colleges through the PPP (public-private partnership) mode, reported Times of India in its 10 July edition.

This process of partnering with the private his process of partnering with the private sector received a push in 2017 when the central government and Niti Aayog, in consultation with the World Bank, recommended operating government hospitals with 300 or fewer beds and setting up medical colleges under the PPP mode. In 2020, the Centre unveiled its viability gap funding scheme, under which it would provide 30%-40% of the capital expenditure for private entities to set up such colleges and the state government would provide another 30%-40%. It further recommended 25% each from Centre and state for the operation and maintenance cost of each project for the first five years

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Modi Government’s Covid Vaccine Policy: J S Majumdar

Tuned to Privatisation Policy

Modi government’s Covid vaccine policy has to be seen in the background of this government’s healthcare policy which mainly is privatisation of entire healthcare system including national health policy and the drug policy.

Drug Policy: Establishment of public sector pharma companies, Patent Act 1970 and Drug Prices (Control) Order 1979 were the three instruments with which India could become self-reliant in almost all medical products, including vaccines, at economically affordable prices; and major supplier of generic (non-patented) medicines in different countries of the world.

With neoliberal policy the drug policy were systematically diluted in all three areas and finally all public sector drug companies are being sold out by Modi government.

Health Policy: Having objective of national health policy for free universal public healthcare system, from primary to tertiary treatment, also went on getting diluted since adoption of neoliberal economy. Finally, Modi government made big push in privatising the entire healthcare system making business of ‘health for profit’ through (a) giving up Health Planning along 5 years plans; (b) adopting National Health Policy in 2017 which includes side by side private healthcare system with that of the governmental healthcare system; (c) Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) renamed as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PM-JAY), announced in the budget speech on February 1, 2018, which is insurance driven policy with private healthcare network participation; and (d) in 2020 introducing National Digital Healthcare Mission (NDHM), a governmental platform for promoting Tele-medicines and E-pharmacy with private sector participation.

Modi government’s Covid vaccine policy was tuned to the above mentioned health and drug policies as against the need of free public universal vaccination in the situation of pandemic.

Failures in the management of Covid pandemic and the Vaccine Policy

Modi government failed in overall handling of the pandemic — in organising and building public healthcare capacity, medical equipment, oxygen, equipping medical and paramedical personnel etc. Their folly on the vaccine front is monumental.

After the first wave of Covid, Modi government came to the conclusion that Covid-19 attack ended and there was no need to take defensive measures against its further attack.

Manufacturing Failure

Since January 2020, during the very first wave of Covid-19 pandemic, there should have been a roadmap of Covid vaccine’s development, production, procurement, distribution and vaccination.

Government did not take any initiative for indigenous capacity of vaccine’s production by (a) Placing advance orders; (b) Extending bank credit for expansion of production capacity; (c) Take initiative for public sector production; and (d) Share with other vaccine manufacturers Covid vaccine technology of Covaxin.

Covaxin technology is available with the Central government, as it was only vaccine technology available and developed in India by ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) and NIV (National Institute of Virology) from inactivated virus and produced by BBIL (Bharat Biotech India Ltd) at Hyderabad.

Again, only recently, the Government said that it will be using three public sector enterprises for manufacturing Covaxin to augment the manufacturing capacity under Mission COVID Suraksha. These PSEs are (1) Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd, a State PSE under in Maharashtra; (2) Indian Immunologicals Ltd at Hyderabad of National Dairy Development Board; and (3) Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation Ltd, Bulandshahr, a CPSE under the Department of Biotechnology.

All other PSEs like IDPL, HAL etc, including heritage companies like BCPL and Bengal Immunity are in the sale list of the Govt.

Not Diversifying Production: Government did not diversify the production of Covaxin geographically and involving more public sector companies as well as smaller biological manufacturers. This would have given the government greater leverage in its dealings with the MNCs like AstraZeneca, the owner of Covishield and produced at SII.

In contrast, the production model of RDIF (Russia Direct Investment Fund), the owner of the Sputnik V vaccine, is spread over nearly 10 different companies in India, mostly small and medium-sized biological manufacturers with easy transfer of technology. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratory (DRL) is playing a “facilitator role” by coordinating production among these companies.

In China, they are utilising all technologies and wide bases of production. There is cooperation between China and Cuba, while Cuba brings its biotechnology capabilities, China offers its manufacturing expertise.

A vaccine for mass inoculation is produced on getting orders. For a vaccine, it takes time for production, distribution, inoculation, time gap between two doses and time for the body to develop antibody. Therefore, early mapping for vaccination is important to complete the process.

Delayed Order: To face the Covid pandemic while several other countries placed their first order for vaccines in 2020 - UK in May, Japan and USA in July, EU and Brazil in August and Australia in September; Modi government waited till January 2021.

Measly Quantity: Modi government placed delayed order for vaccine in measly quantity – in January 2021 for 16.5 million doses to last for 10 days; next order was in February of 14.5 million doses. In all, the government placed orders for the supply of just 311 million doses as against nearly one billion people in the 18+ age group with two doses each.

Distribution Failure

1st Phase of Vaccination: In the first phase, healthcare workers, frontline workers and those above the age of 45 selectively were supposed to be vaccinated. The Centre procured the entire quantity of vaccines from the manufacturers and distributed it to States to administer the vaccine free of cost and to private hospitals that charged recipients Rs 250 per dose.

Next Phase: In the disastrous next Policy Statement effective from May 1, 2021 the supply was divided into two baskets: 50% for the Centre and 50% for the open market.

GOI’s 50% would be available at all vaccination centres to vaccinate healthcare workers, frontline workers, and those above 45.

Second 50% include state governments, private hospitals and industries to procure doses directly from manufacturers. This is to vaccinate the people above 18 years of age.

Short Supply: Between 3-9 April, 2021 an average of 3.54 million doses a day were delivered. In the first week of May, it dropped to 1.80 million doses a day and by end of May grim reality of shortages was exposed.

Already short supply to States put them in tremendous pressure to inoculate health workers, front line workers and 45+ age group. Central government’s sudden direction to include 18+ population without ensuring adequate supplies of doses has collapsed whole inoculation drive.

Within the 45+ age group, many are facing the danger of overshooting the medically prescribed time interval between the two shots.

Manufacturers’ Refusal: Situation has, further aggravated when the manufacturers refused to deal with the State Governments against the State Government’s tenders and said to deal with the Central government only.

Black Market

There were several deficiencies in Modi government’s vaccine policy announcement effective 1 May, 2021 just at the onset of Covid’s second wave of attack. These are (a) 3-tier procurement and distribution by the Centre, States and Private health care; (b) Of the Centre’s procurement, the Centre would keep half and split the remaining half between the States and the private channels; (c) it added ‘free-market’ adage by prescribing that the States and the two manufacturing companies are “free” to “direct” negotiation for rate and supplies; (d) it introduced layered pricing regime, which in the name of “free” market was promoted for notional entrepreneurial zeal for abundant vaccines supply; (e) the decision to extend the vaccination drive to the 18-44 age group from May 1 despite short supply situation; (f) it was aggravated by naming as “Liberalised and Accelerated Phase-3 Strategy” of Covid-19 in the vaccination policy announcement in April by Modi Government.

As a result, the vaccine “market” is having a field day. The three-way split between the Centre, the States and the private channels is facilitating rampant profit and thriving of black market across India. It is evident that private channels are adding their own mark-up to the prices set by the two main suppliers, SII and BBIL.

Covid vaccination in the private sector, in large corporate hospitals, smaller nursing homes and even pathology labs shot up to Rs.1,800 a dose. It is reported in the print media that 9 top corporate hospitals cornered 50% of the doses, meant for private sector in May 2021, procured at higher prices from the manufacturers. These hospitals include Apollo, Max, H N Hospital Trust of Reliance Foundation, Medica, Fortis, Godrej Memorial, Manipal Health, Narayana and 

Techno India Dama.

Wide Spread Protest & Victory of the People

Such a vaccination policy, the only medically defensive mechanism against predicted third wave of Covid attack, led to wide spread countrywide protest and agitation. All opposition parties, the Chief Ministers of opposition-ruled States, several mass organisations of workers, farmers, agri-workers, women, youths and students, other social and cultural activists raising their voice of protest. CITU protested against the market-based policy statement of the Modi Govt of May 1 calling for countrywide protest and agitation. The joint platform of trade unions also launched protest demanding universal free vaccination for all. Latest round of independent campaign by CITU is now going on 1-10 June inter alia raising the issues related to Central Government’s vaccine policy. SFI’s case was heard by the Supreme Court and criticised Modi Government’s April 2021 Vaccine Policy as irrational, arbitrary and lack of mapping and directed for free vaccination and Central government’s responsibility.

Ultimately, the BJP’s Modi Government retreated and reversed its Vaccine Policy of 1 May 2021. The new Vaccine Policy, announced by the Prime Minister on 6 June, will come into effect on and from 21 June, 2021.

By this policy the Central Government would procure 75% of the entire doses of vaccine and supply to the States free for free vaccination of entire adult population of the country; and restricting Rs.150 per injection cost plus vaccine cost by private sector for those who would like to avoid public mass inoculation centres.

This is big victory of the people demanding free universal public vaccination. Modi Government not only retreated from its announced “Liberalised and Accelerated Phase-3 Strategy” of Covid vaccine, effective from 1 May 20121; but also a reversal from its announced health policy.

 The author, J S Majumdar, is a Trade Union Leader and Central Committee Member of CPI(M)

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Worker's Tribute to Comrade Lenin: J S Majumdar

22 April 2020 marks the 150th birth anniversary of the greatest world working class revolutionary leader, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (World calls him simply as Lenin).

Under his leadership, through October Revolution in 1917, a working class led State was established as ‘Soviet Union’ ushering in a Socialist State for the first time in the world history of human social development.

Taking forward the foundational work of Marx and Engels, Lenin analyzed the phase of capitalist development in early twentieth century; and characterized the same in his work as ‘Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism’; found the weakest link in the world capitalism in the imperialist stage; struck at it breaking the chain through October Revolution and established the first working class led state.

Under his leadership, the working class formed their own party with firm alliance with other exploited class, the peasantry, producing food for the humanity. This firm alliance is symbolised in the hammer and sickle permanently embossed in the red flag with revolutionary message. CITU inherited this symbol in its flag to uphold class-orientation of the trade unions and class struggle for the emancipation of the working class, the peasantry and other toiling sections in India and to carry on work for proletarian internationalism.

Under Lenin’s leadership, while fighting the imperialist countries’ encircled armed attacks to nip the nascent Socialist State in its bud; the working class, under Socialist State, embarked upon Socialist Construction, for the first time in human social history, as practical work in the existing and changing realities and as part of continuing class struggle; to provide minimum basis necessities for the citizens – food, health, shelter, education and social recreation – and also to remove the hitherto followed social disparities between human beings and classes in the distribution of national wealth, created by human labour, for its redistribution for social common good and in the development of the quality of human life for higher human social development for creating a society that ends exploitation of man by man.

In bourgeois democracy in the capitalist system, people are involved only in parliamentary elections to elect candidates of political parties for playing the role of ruling and opposition in the parliament. People have no role to play. Marx and Lenin has shown us that in essence it ensures continuation of capitalist class rule for profits while society functions under its framed rules in production, distribution, administration, marking guilty for violating these rules and giving painful punishment.

Under Lenin, the Socialist State ushered in a new form of democracy, The ‘Socialist Democracy’, the participative democracy involving all sections of the people in the process of decision making and in their implementation with the understanding that issue-based ‘criticism and self-criticism’ in existing material conditions are the essence of scientific debate to arrive at the correct decision and learning further from their implementation.

In Trade Union Democracy also there is nothing as ruling and opposition. The principles of socialist democracy are practiced in the working class organisations, in trade unions. That is why it is said that trade union democracy is the learning stage of Socialist Democracy.

Led by Lenin, the October Revolution has ushered in a new historical epoch in human social development characterized by four main fundamental social contradictions and struggle in the world today. Despite dismantling of Soviet Union and setbacks in several erstwhile east European socialist countries, the present epoch with contradiction between Capitalism and Socialism remains as the Central Contradiction with contradictions and struggle between the labour and capital, between the imperialists and third world countries and inter-imperialists as the main remaining valid in this epoch as proved during last 40 years in the world human social developments after dismantling of USSR.

Lenin characterised revolutionary stages; formulated ‘strategy’ for the entire specific stage and tactics according to the changing realities and developments during that specific stage.

Lenin firmly stood against all forms of reformism and collaborationism including opportunism, anarchism and Left extremism.

Lenin distinguished work of the working class party among the masses and of the mass organisations among the classes with different approach, understanding and agenda yet keeping linkages between the two.

Lenin always emphasised as priority task of establishing centres at every level of a revolutionary party and separately of its mass organisations.

Lenin always emphasised on propaganda – communist propaganda and on political agenda by the Party; and agitational propaganda by the mass organisations.

Three world events – devastation caused by inter-imperialist 1st World War, the working class led revolution in Russia unnerving the capitalist world, and wave of rejuvenated working class struggle along with heightening of national liberation movement in colonial countries; paved the way for creation of International Labour Organisation (ILO), the world’s only tripartite forum of labour, employers and governments, as part of the ‘Treaty of Versailles’ ending the WWI.

The preamble of ILO constitution states,

1. “Whereas universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice;”

2. “And whereas conditions of labour exist involving such injustice, hardship and privation to large numbers of people as to produce unrest so great that the peace and harmony of the world are imperiled;” and an improvement of those conditions is urgently required;

3. Whereas also the failure of any nation to adopt humane conditions of labour is an obstacle in the way of other nations which desire to improve the conditions in their own countries.

Even before October Revolution, Lenin studied Indian freedom movement and working class participation in it despite they not having any modern trade union or a working class party. When Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was convicted and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment on charges of ‘sedition’; Lenin wrote, “The infamous sentence pronounced by the British jackals on the Indian democrat Tilak…this revenge against a democrat by the lackeys of the money-bag evoked street demonstrations and a strike in Bombay. In India, too, the proletariat has already developed to conscious political mass struggle – and, that being the case, the Russian-style British regime in India is doomed!”

October revolution also galvanized Indian working class quickly forming modern trade unions and establishing their first centre of Indian trade unions as ‘All India Trade Union Congress’ led by Lala Lajpat Rai giving orientation and momentum in India trade union movement and freedom movement.

The united struggle of the working class inspired by the formation of its trade union centre also gave rise to the formation of their own party – the Communist Party in India and also several currents of revolutionary movement paving way for formation and struggle of the peasants and other mass organisations side by side of the national freedom struggle.

On this occasion of 150th year of birth anniversary of the working class leader and revolutionary Comrade Lenin, we pay our respectful homage to Comrade Lenin and rededicate ourselves to follow his teachings for implementation to go forward in the working class revolutionary movement in India.

Red Salute to Comrade Lenin!

J. S. Majumdar, A Trade Union Leader, A Central Committe Member of CPI(M)

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Government's Action in J&K Ominous for People of Indian Republic :JS Majumdar

With unprecedented speed - from Monday, August 5, to Friday, August 9, - RSS-led BJP government at the Centre amended the Constitution of India, dissolved and dismantled the State of Jammu & Kashmir and brought its entire geographical territory and 1.25 crore population (2011 census) under its direct control.

As a first step, on August 5, bypassing the Parliament and the people of Jammu & Kashmir; the Union Ministry of Law & Justice issued Government’s order - “The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019” - making “All the provisions of the Constitution, as amended from time to time, shall apply in relation to the State of Jammu & Kashmir etc”, thereby, ending the special provision under Art. 370.

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Whose Forest is This: Dwaipayan Ghosh

On 29th December 2006, an Act of Parliament, a path-breaking legislation, has received the assent of the President of India that acknowledges the injustice meted out to India’s forest dwellers, particularly tribes. The act is “The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006” popularly known as Forest Right Act, 2006. In the preamble of the law it was claimed that the act recognised the customary and historical rights of scheduled and non-scheduled tribe communities, who have been residing in forests in India but whose rights couldn’t be recorded earlier and undo the “Historical Injustice” done to the tribes and forest dwellers since pre-independence. FRA recognised that jungle dwellers have equal rights in the forests to the flora and fauna and they are an important and integral part of forests. The provision that was enshrined in FRA recognised that forest inhabitants would be involved in sustainable development, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of the ecological balance, as they have a vast habitual knowledge on this. In that way, not only the rights were given to customary forest dwellers for usage of forest resources but also for its management and governance.

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माकपा की एक टीम ने माब लिंचिंग के शिकार परिवार से मुलाकात की

सीपीआईएम की एक 5 सदस्यीय टीम जिसमें पार्टी के राज्य सचिवमंडल सदस्य प्रकाश विप्लव, सुफल महतो, एडवा नेत्री रंगोवती देवी पार्टी के सरायकेला - खरसावां जिला कमिटी के सचिव सुचान महतो तथा पूर्वी सिंहभूम जिला के सचिव जे. पी. सिंह शामिल थे ने सरायकेला - खरसावां जिले के कदमडीह गांव जाकर माब लिंचिंग के शिकार तबरेज अंसारी के परिवार से मुलाकात की। 

5 सदस्यीय टीम ने तबरेज की मासुम पत्नी जो कि अभी भारी दहशत की हालत मे है को ढाढस देने की कोशिश की। टीम ने इस बात को नोट किया कि इस जघन्य घटना से स्थानीय युवाओं मे बहुत आक्रोश है। मृतक तबरेज अंसारी पर लगाया गया चोरी का आरोप भी पूरी तरह झूठा है। यह इस घटना पर पर्दा डालने के लिए गढी गयी साजिश है। तबरेज एक युवा स्किलएड मजदूर था जो पुणे में वेल्डिंग का काम करता था और ईद की छुट्टी मे अपने घर आया था। घटना के दिन वह टाटा मे रहने वाली फूफी से मिलकर अपने दोस्तों के साथ अपने गांव लौट रहा था रास्ते में धातकीडीह गांव मे वह माब लिंचिंग का शिकार हो गया। 

यह घटना झारखंड मे पिछले दिनों हुए 12 माब लिंचिंग की जघन्य घटनाओं की कडी है। जिसमें 10 मुस्लिम अल्पसंख्यक और 2 आदिवासी उन्मादी हिन्दूओं के सांप्रदायिक भीड के शिकार हो गए हैं। 

आज प्रधानमंत्री नरेन्द्र मोदी ने संसद मे इस घटना की निंदा करते हुए कहा कि इस घटना से झारखंड को बदनाम नही किया जाय लेकिन यह तभी हो सकता है जब इस प्रकार की जघन्य बारदात को रोकने के लिये सांप्रदायिक विभाजन की घटिया राजनीति पर सख्ती से रोक लगायी जाय क्या प्रधानमंत्री ऐसा करेंगें?

झारखण्ड में उन्मादी भीड़ द्वारा की गयी हत्या की सूची

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