kisani manifesto

8/10/2019 Kisani Manifesto

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A group of social activists in India felt concerned over important issues that had

emerged after the collapse of Soviet experiment in building socialist society and

later drifting back to naked capitalism in almost all the rest countries of world

socialist camp. In its wake the rapid disintegration of so-called communist/socialist

parties world over including in India like pack of cards was at !rst glance shocking."hey however were not down continued their games to befool. #$orts to analyse

the international and national situation with latest developments threw up

challenges of theory and practice.Jan AdhikarSangthangave shape to few of them

in 1%%&-'. (ater a broader platform Kisani PratishthaManchin 1%%) came out with

some important answers and a Kisani Ghoshnapatra in *indi was issued. (ately

however a necessity was felt to summarise these issues in #nglish as also take into

account the latest development in globalised economy led by corporate capital.

+isani ,anifesto however is not a document of the peasantry alone it reects the

whole of society in its purview. arming is viewed as integral for whole of the

society. "his Draftis put up for dialogue and discussion that may help in building an

alternative. 0#ditor

KisaniManifesto

Preamble

A sub-continent of superb mix of natural resources with varied climate and a sturdy

peasantry on its own natural course of progress India su$ered a fatal blow at the

hands of a cunning group of traders from outside led by 2ritish who bled it with

malice to !nance industrial spree in #urope. or once India lost momentum to

advance on its own course and su$ered untold humiliation misery and social-

cultural slide. At the dawn of freedom from colonial slavery India was a rootless

giant ready to awake when another tragedy of sorts occurred having to bite the

rotten course at the hands of its leadership3 a discredited path of development with

industry and trade in lead was forced on it to adopt. And this was not wholly

unexpected 2ritish rulers had diligently prepared a pliant section of its people

themselves to repose faith in a fake dream with a mix of its own pliant socio-cultural

ethos4

5nce Family Farminghad a !rst place of honour as avocation that man adopted

while Services as despised lowest and trade something degrading3 Uttam Kheti,

Madhyam Viyapar, Nikrishta Chakri. 6ow the order is reversed3 Chakri is Uttam

while Kheti is Nikrishta but by a design of the elites who rule3 !rst 2ritish

colonialists propounded a Principle o !minent "omainto make it an easy grab of

land mineral and forest resources here to !nance capital-based industrial interests

of #ngland and made *industan succumb to their dictation. 7nfortunately the new

rulers after 1%)8 found the same principle !ne to their advantage and are keen to

use it for grabbing national resources in their favour. It has worked to the ruin of


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rural India while converted agriculture into a highly paying agro-business for rich-

men club.

India has started reaping what its elites deliberately had sown for it. or last three

hundred years Industry and trade has put the world virtually on !re. alse gods are

made to rule. And vast ma9ority of miserable people is asked to smile in the midst of

s:ualor they have created all around. Industry and trade as a rule cannot but create

a world of internal strife tension 9ealousy and war perpetually and countrymen are

led to believe its virtues. "hese evils are its conditions for survival4 "he ;inn told

innumerable lies about its virtues and consistently labelled amily arming to be

sterile on insipid logic and patent falsehood.

India on its part unnecessarily stepped into the mess when it got a chance to move

ahead. A few of the elites propounded a circuitous way to reach their dream3 they

wished to have a babe but despised facing an unruly young man out of it evading a

universal truth that capitalism is bound to grow into a rogue by manhood. It never

has a human face to please its victims. "o have faith in state ownership of capital

and seeking a regime of plenty through sponsored industrialisation at the cost of

family farming proved as barren a ground as another false god but at much higher

cost to the social de!cit4 2eware4

"he fatal pitfall was at hand from unexpected :uarters too3 +arl ,arx and . #ngels

were forthright in denouncing the dehumanising nature of capitalist path of

development and put forth an alternative instead in icardo that found place in the system of

thought which helped derail the movement for socialism itself in conse:uence.

or one ,arx-#ngels had marked the se:uence of stages in human relations fordevelopment history on the basis of mainly western studies. It duly provided a

fertile ground for revisionists of ,arxism to take history mechanically especially by

those who choose easy way to learn theorems leading to a determinist attitude

towards delineating future pro9ections of history. ?rowth on capitalist path was

taken as a necessary course before socialism could be ushered in4 It proved

ridiculous such fatal experiments more so in @eople=s >epublic of hina and 7SS>

are there to learn. "o work for dehumanising man or woman as crash individual

which capitalist relations do create hourly before one could be transformed into a

community man/woman in socialism is a craBy formulation for society to travel. 2ut

organised communists in every country did it at the fatal cost of society in India no

less. "hey are still working for capitalist growth on this fallacious theory branding

India as a


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victims everywhere. "his situation amounts to defying aspirations of the freedom

struggle to remain free. It is the direct result of a course political leadership

deliberately adopted at the dawn of freedom from colonial rule and simultaneously

focussing on industrial-commercial nexus for growth at the cost of agriculture and

allied functions. or almost past seven decades this nexus worked feverishly to

consolidate its grip for a 9ump-start and ruin the future of its working population inconse:uence more so its vibrant family farming that had the capacity to sustain

billions for a digni!ed life.

"o say India is a developing country hides this bitter truth of rapacious ;inn and is a

misnomer. After passing over the !rst stage of capitalist development as a liberal

democratic economy through public !nance in 1%%1 the ruling leadership took a

:uantum 9ump for providing commanding heights to its corporate houses at heavy

public cost by crafting such mechanism as public-private-partnership 0@@@ S#C etc

and to integrate it with global economy at the back of people. "he treachery was

committed in the name of development for public good. "hey could do it despite

Indian onstitution by manipulating state power and succeed through crafting ofpublic opinion with active help of elaborate machinery at their hand including a

docile academia and embedded media.

During these past two decades or so of a changed course the manmohan-

economics of trickle-down theory in a fully liberal and globalised market with a law

that sancti!es survival of the strongest duly sponsored and protected by state has

been working over-time for the corporate capital to ourish by ploughing in billions

and billions of rupees from state funds every year while cutting expenditure on

social sector drastically releasing a dynamics of its own. Ehile people su$er for

want of proper development of social sectors including education and public health

this skewed economics has put the country to an imperialist circuit demanding ahigh place for its native capital in the globalised economy no matter how it may be

so painful for its citiBens in general and deadly to its ethos. Indian case of

governance since 1%)8 is a classical one where rulers take the people granted and

decide on policy matters at the back of its constituents with impunity that has put

their life in 9eopardy and a$ect their future deeply. If one likes it may be called a

dance of democracy in reverse where minority rules over ma9ority to the advantage

of the rich-men club with no sense of guilt ever.

As a result in the !rst two decades of its second phase of growth since 1%%1 alone

a new era of a di$erent hue has dawned for this club thanks to ,anmohan Singh

and his team in government for utter enrichment of corporate houses that nowdictate political-economic-legal script for the country to the ruin of rural/ peasant

economy. Ehen people got angry its 2-team took over to ful!l the given task as

6arender ,odi is now made to come in front for the same agenda no matter of his

past credentials. (et us not forget a new high in sinister attack on family farming

had come from Atal 2ihari Fa9payee government of 2;@ through its 6ew Agriculture

@olicy-&GGG laying out a blue print for takeover of agriculture by corporate houses.


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#very government since in centre or states 0including the leftists has been in

competition with each other for translating this takeover easy through step by step

route to obviate any violent opposition.

Ehile during the !rst phase of its growth the internal expropriation of an

unprecedented scale had put the native capitalist class on the expressway to gain

muscles the second phase starting in 1%%1 has made it Maha#ali, out to take a

plunge for imperialist ventures with gusto$"his tra9ectory as per rule has produced

a bunch of super-rich where convergence of corporate capital and the state is

almost complete to decide everything to the advantage of industrial-commercial

ventures while on the other hand a vast number of citiBens are scrambling for odd

9obs on menial rates to keep hunger at bay where uncertainty rules after a day of

hard labour. If scrutinised closely this convergence of interests of corporate capital

and governance found bold reection when occasion came to the periodic renewal

of political class in recently held elections to 1Hth(ok Sabha in April-,ay &G1).

(et it be !rmly noted3 #lection-&G1) to (ok Sabha symbolised where Maha#ali

corporate houses choose to decide who will rule the country for next !ve years and

how. @reviously it was the state establishment that used to lead benevolence to

them balancing re:uirements of its electoral democracy. "his time a whole state

structure worked as if in tandem over time to fructify the outcome.

"he way this crafted economics unfolds now is best related by a report in 2loomberg

Eashington3 ,ukesh Ambani and ?autam Adani the two most prominent of the

corporate houses that heralded change of guards after exhausting ,anmohan Singh

as @, gained 1.' billion dollars in a single day of share market upsurge after

6arender ,odi established lead in counting of votes for (ok Sabha election on 1H th

,ay &G1) much-much more than they have invested in their Campaign Modi as

PMfor over a year. *ow this economy did 9ustice that day to peasants on brink of a

disaster that visit them hourly and nearly 88 of the population that is made to

survive on less than rupees &G per day has not attracted any one to work out so far

barring perhaps a few of them who could catch a ladoo free in celebration of

electoral victory by 2;@ cadres to the glee of media barons on their kill.

"here is a !gure to ponder and to feel the e$ect on national health including man

who labours hard on land3 on average around &GGG peasants are forced to leave

family farming e%ery dayin search of another 9ob for food security4 And it is not

because that they are laBy liBards3 it is the result of manmohan-economics with a

designed tra9ectory that has already another achievement to its credit where the

number of peasantry has gone down through s&icides. (est one forgets3 nearly three

lakhs peasants have already perished due to induced suicides more than 1HGGG in

?u9arat alone since &GG1 leaving others to distribute poverty among themselves for

the sake of comfortable data sheet4

And all this is being done under a cultivated myth based on a string of awed

premises starting from Adam Smith->icardo to ,anmohan Singh in India that growth

through industry and commerce alone will pave the path to paradise with a


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secondary prescription that someone has to pay price for it that someone has

always to be a peasant to carry out this !ction does not worry the rulers and their

lackeys in academia or the servile media4 ,ore than three lakh peasants in India

since 1%%J have paid this price with their lives already still demand is for more4

,ind it price always has to be paid by rural India especially its family farmers with

their life for sacri!ce as the rule under it prescribes4

"he game of deceit is going on under another cultivated myth being maintained

through an elaborate system of half-truths that the government of the day has a

legitimacy to tread this path through electoral mandate every !ve years boiling

down to another mischief that blames the people themselves about their current

miseries. "aking lesson from past the peddlers of such democracy do not mind the

periodic cost they have to incur for maintaining this !ction to work in treachery.

"he present situation has come as a result of a de!nite course the country was

made to travel. (et it be recapitulated in brief for some important lessons in order to

move ahead3

Background

1. *umanity is su$ering for the sins of capital domination for almost three

hundred years. Industry and trade has introduced features to human

behaviour that led them to constant strife and turmoil. "he fake dream of

plenty produced rather acute poverty and deprivation for ma9ority despite

honest labour - situation of constant tension informs all walks of life. "here is

an urge for alternative to what they are grappling with.

&. *istorical reasons so unfolded that India was not allowed to proceed on its

natural course of development. amily arming with Indian characteristics

having resonance with nature had given rise to its own indigenous science

and rationality in thought and culture which helped it tide over vagaries of

time. It was !rst Adi Shankarwho led counter-revolution that had put the

wheel back a$ecting its dominating ethos its culture and resonance. ,ingling

spiritualism with rationality of farming played havoc to its strength and

dynamics of social fragmentation based on brahmanical disorder that put the

social order at fatal disadvantage. (ater another disaster at hand awaited3

colonial powers intervened here for loot enslaved and suppressed its growth

for long. It was a man-made intervention which natives had to contend and

contest hard to regain its right of self-management and governance of its own

a$airs according to their own capabilities and social-cultural ethos.

'. India had the opportunity to move forward on a fresh course in 1%)8 and

save itself from pitfalls others have experienced earlier by following a failed

system that had led the countries to two Eorld Ears in twentieth century

alone with vast destruction and miseries constant strife within its womb was

enough to remain scared of its captivating but fatal embrace. 2ut it did not

happen. "he leadership of its freedom struggle betrayed the trust while the


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people faulted in simplicity by reposing faith in them due to a contrived

Concept o A&thority drilled into its head consistently by protagonists of

present representative democracy leaving the people a passive force to live

by an alien force mas:uerading as messiah of the masses.

). "he commoners were not victims of deceit from political establishment alone

after independence in general the section of academic class and the media

that were part of its freedom movement too betrayed the trust of Indian

people. In real terms being its intellectual product they became fully

subservient to the interests of corporate capital and refused to be creative

and innovative alive to the re:uirements of the native land. 2y now the

corporate capital-state nexus has completed this taken over of these

elements as essential part to its establishment while people stand fully

disarmed through an elaborate strategy of sorts.

J. Ehat was presented to be a golden path of peace and plenty by the new

masters to the people actually turned out to be a beaten path of constant

strife and expropriation of the working population with dubious formulations

and theories that people could not understand they experienced later that it

is as fatal as it had been during its colonial past. "here was nothing

unexpected about it the law worked as per known script rhetoric apart.

H. 7nfortunately state power was captured by the representatives of aspirant

native bourgeoisie through manipulation with active collaboration of

departing 2ritish colonialists and in the given circumstances they undertook

the pro9ect of capitalist development seriously. As a !rst step the worst form

of e'traction insidiously by depressing the entitlementsmanifold in family

farming and the policy of adopting highly discriminatory trade terms were

used by Indian state since day one after independence to augment resources

for !nancing the ind&strialisation spree and in the process robbed agriculture

of its capacity to develop for meeting the re:uirements of a growing

population and its aspirations for a better life. Depressing the entitlements of

family farming is the main invisible conduit of extraction for the transfer of

resources from rural-unorganised to the urban-organised providing family

farming a false look of natural inferiority to the false look of ourish

industries but with the help of state. As a result rural economy by now is

gasping for breath to the glee of ruling nexus on its kill who had crafted this

design for complete hold over the country in perpetuity.

8. It is well recognised that all wealth in a nation is actualised through the

labour of its people working singly or in group with their bare hands or with

tools on the means of production. "he only rational explanation where a

worker at the tail end does not have suKcient even to eat while the man at

the top wallows in wealth is through an elaborate system of sheer

deprivation.


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L. "he economic system is concerned with the production of goods and services

as well as their distribution whereas distribution is a reection of built-in

entitlements of di$erent partners in production. "he legitimate entitlement of

an individual is relatable only to the ural India3

"he (ight to )iewith "ignityunder Article &1 of the onstitution is directly

related to the (ight to *ork. 2ut the concept of >ight to Eork has been keptvague and even confused that too with purpose. "he >ight to Eork has to be

relatable to a minimum wage which should be suKcient for the upkeep of a

family comprising of H to 8 members including the living elders at a

reasonable level of digni!ed existence. Eith the concept of parity in

entitlements it cannot be lower for peasants and workers in agriculture as

also for those in allied functions like artisans than what a skilled worker in

organised sector is accorded today along with all other fringe bene!ts

accruing thereto. 2ut it is not. India lives in its villages and it will continue to

live so but not as a prisoner of circumstances local or global in utter

helplessness.

@rohibiting discrimination e+&alitybetween citiBens is the principle built in

Indian onstitution. Articles 'L '% of the onstitution of India de!ne

obligations for governance which mandate as under3

38. 0i "he state shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by

securing and protecting as e$ectively as it may a social order in which


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9ustice social economic and political shall inform all the institutions of

the national life

0ii "he state shall in particular strive to minimise the ine:ualities in

income and endeavour to eliminate ine:ualities in status facilities

and opportunities not only amongst individuals but also among groups

of people residing in di$erent areas or engaged in di$erent vocations.

39."he state shall in particular direct its policy towards securing-

0a that citiBens men and women e:ually have the right to an

ade:uate means of livelihood

0b that the ownership and control of the material resources of the

community are so distributed as best to subserve the common

good

0c that the operation of the economic system does not result in the

concentration of wealth and means of production to the commondetriment

0d that there is e:ual pay for e:ual work for both men and women

0e that the health and strength of workers men and women and

tender age of children are not abused and that citiBens are not forced

by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or

strength

In case of unorganised sectors more so in family farming this constitutional

mandate for care of the disadvantaged stands agrantly violated with no

:uestion asked despite a hyper-active 9udiciary when matters favouring the

system arise. "his is the truth rural India is victim of.

"he ?overnment of India is signatory to I(5 onvention that lays down

principles for wage determination and Supreme ourt of India has ruled for

e:ual pay for similar work. 1Hth(abour onference mandated that for L hour

physical work a worker must be compensated with &)GG calories of energy

daily to recover the spent strength and maintain a family of !ve. ?overnment

of India has accepted that a worker must get enough to lead a family of !ve

with honour and comfort so that he regains the lost energy in L hours work

for output next day and ful!l his obligations to the family by meeting its

social educational entertainment and health concerns.

*owever problem arises when adopted principles are operationalised by

political and executive bureaucracies who have mastered the art of

deceptions and treachery to rob the disarmed and unorganised more. 2oth of

these have worked ruthlessly in case of rural sector with no sense of regret.

Articles 'L and 'L stand starkly violated by every ruling party in the country

despite the ;udiciary that remains vested with extra-ordinary powers of

supervision and interpretation3 government policies are crafted so as to


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accentuate ine:uality daily and hourly since 1%)8 more so since 1%%%1.

"here is hardly any voice for the disinherited during this period for them4

"o illustrate how the system was tailored to work and rob farming through a

maBe of contrived policies the following points may suKce3

1. "he !rst mischief was to categorise workmen into organised andunorganised sectors for purposes of wage determination. "he

organised sector comprises merely L.J of the total work force and

the rest is placed unorganised.

&. "he organised were further categorised into trade wise workers for

di$erential wage !xation. "rade wise workers were further

categorised as highly skilled skilled semi-skilled and unskilled for

this purpose.

'. 7norganised work force was categorised as agricultural and non-

agricultural

). Agricultural workmen were categorised as ploughmen head-

loaders herdsmen etc

J. 6on-agricultural workforce was then categorised trade wise workers

for wage determination. (ikewise list goes on to keep workforce

divided and rob them by section wise handling of issues arising of

the discrimination so built around.

So di$erent criteria were framed for organised and unorganised sectors in

matters of wage determination and a highly discriminatory wage structure

was formalised. "he worst su$erer was the farming sector. "he idea behind

perhaps was to keep the ma9ority of workmen deprived of decent wage and

create a middle class comprising of organised sector as a shock absorber to

the system of expropriation for safe sailing. In bonus it keeps

workmen/women and farmers divided as also peasant movements

fragmented.

arming was clubbed with &norganisedsector where working unit comprises

labour-unit of two adults instead of one as in the organised sector against a

family. arming was declared an &nskilled9ob with the result that for !xation

of minimum wage rate under the relevant Act agricultural labour got the last

category of least paid while !xing minimum support price of agricultural

products family labour was accounted on the scale the family is supposed to

give to agricultural labour4 In the bargain both stood robbed of a due wage

for the labour put in production. In addition family unit in farming sector was

declared arbitrarily consisting of three consumption units instead of !ve as in

the organised sector. urther the family labour was counted for the work-

hours bureaucracy determines it spent in farming operations. It is for 1JH


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days in a year through this mechanism instead of 'HJ days. or rest of the

days farming family was deprived of even the starvation wage. @utting

together all these subterfuges farming was made the worst looser. 2y such a

crafty mechanism rural sector was deprived of even a living wage and

drained it o$ the additives it created by their labour to !nance the industrial-

commercial sectors. As a result cities thrived and village economy collapsedwith hunger and wants lurking around. Agriculture thus was made to

subserve the interest of industry and trade by a cunning ruling elite to

subserve their sectarian interests.

1&.As the organised sector holds complete control on the money system in India

and all centres of political and administrative power belong to it this elite

club has the last word on distribution of the total national product and takes

advantage of its position in a variety of ways.

1'."he most sinister subterfuge is resorted while !xing the relative value of

labour input made by di$erent categories of workmen/women in production

by devising highly discriminatory criteria for workers in arbitrarily categorised

sectors as organised and unorganised. "he level of discrimination is

unexceptional3

"he minimum wages being prescribed by governments in di$erent states and

the centre through legislation reect the deep-rooted bias of the decision-

making power elites exercise against workers in unorganised sectors. "he

wage so !xed for a worker in unorganised sector ranged between J to 1G

rupees per day in 1%LH for the upkeep of worker family of three units i.e. &

adults and & minor children when the class iv employee in the organised

sector was getting at least four times the perks and service security for

lifelong was an extra bonus in his case. "he central labour commissioner on

1.).&GG) noti!ed a minimum wage of rupees %8.LG per day for unskilled

workers in central undertakings and class iv regulars were getting )8&1 per

month as ordained by ifth @ay ommission and not less than rupees 1GGGG/

per month under vi pay commission while 88 of population was living on

rupees less than &G/ per day in &GG)-GJ according to report of ommission on

7norganised workers headed by Ar9un Sen ?upta. "his disparity has taken

alarming proportions in wages between organised and unorganised sector.

"he situation in agriculture is worse. irstly farming is categorised as

&nskilled work in &norganisedsector where two adults instead of one in

other avocations working for maintaining a family of ' labour-units accounted

for -. dayslabour in a year while calculating input costs for working out

,inimum Support @rice 0,S@ for agriculture products thus heavily

depressing arbitrarily the actual income for a farming family. It was

subterfuge to extract heavily the labour-value out of farming that was

ploughed in for !nancing free industry and trade sector. It spelt disaster for

family farming and released land for sale to the rich. See an example3


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In 1%%G the average wage for a farmer worked out at the rate of rupees 1G/-

per family per day for 1)8 0now 1JH days in a year. (ater the rate was

rupees 1J/- in 1%%J rupees 'J/- in &GG8 and is around rupees )J/- at present

while class iv employee gets )GG/- teacher 1GGG/- district collector no less

than &JGG per day while there is no limit for the corporate honchos despite

the compelling di$erence in use-value of agriculture products for foodsecurity of the nation. It works out that nearly 8 lakh crores of rupees are

extracted on this account alone from rural sector to !nance the urban sector

i.e one crore per village per year4

1)."he discriminatory valuation of work done and value-addition by workmen

between organised and unorganised sectors is thoroughly arbitrary un9ust

and unconstitutional to the core. Still it is ruling the scene with impunity.

1J."he second most important mechanism after arbitrarily depressing

entitlement used by the ruling elite for extracting surplus value from rural

economy for the bene!t of urban economy is through genocidal interest on

agricultural credit by applying compound rates meant for sectors which grow

on geometrical scale while agriculture by its nature has an organic growth on

mathematical scale. "he 2ritish colonialists having no sympathy with Indian

masses in matters of loot respected this law of economics and did not resort

to such insidious methods. At a time when Indian peasantry had perished in

scale due to induced calamities like famine for over extraction 2ritish rulers

under pressure of public opinion back at home though enacted (and

Improvement Act 1LL' and Agriculturists (oans Act 1LL' where terms of

credit had to be in harmony with the nature of the purpose supporting

agricultural activity. ompound interest was prohibited and made usurious

under an Act in 1%1L. "he Act of 1LL' clearly stipulated that period ofrepayment shall ordinarily not exceed 'J years and simple interest was

prescribed at ) per annum. "he situation in independent India has gone

worst than a native Sah&karwas despised for3 compound interest is the rule

and repayment in few years was made a concession. Ehen peasantry in

independent India is thus abetted to commit suicides in lakhs the system

does not care4 "he more credit is advanced to peasantry the number of

suicides sore higher.

1H."he third agonising method used for eecing peasantry is through

manipulating the sale prices of agricultural products. "he system is highly

discriminatory arbitrary and oppressive. If peasantry is surviving in rankingpoverty it is due to misuse of state power against them. "he terms of trade

are designed to be adverse and perilous.

18.ourthly principle o eminent domain is being used to rob community

resources like land forest water mineral wealth by transferring their

ownership rights to multinationals. urrently transnational companies are

targeting India in a massive land-grab. India=s central belt is crawling with


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mining companies like >io "into 2*@ 2illiton South +orea=s @5S5 the

2ritish multinational Fedanta and the Indian-owned #ssar and "ata eager for

the coal iron aluminum and other minerals under the ground.

1L."he state has crafted various ways to beat rural India white. or purpose of

illustration alone four main items are recounted above to draw broadcontours of the ground reality. In fact there is nothing to counter on record if

we say that the whole system is crafted to operate against family farming

and if peasants a class optimist by nature of its profession are pushed to

unprecedented suicide trail it testi!es to the criminality of the oKcial policies

in operation.

1%.*ave a look3 about 8G of our people were engaged in agriculture and allied

activities in 1%JG. About the same proportion was reportedly engaged in

1%%G. "he share of these 8G rural-unorganised in ?D@ of whatever worth in

1%)8 as HJ in 1%JG was H' but their share in 1%%G came down to &8 in

&GGJ to &1 and slated to go down to H by the year &G&G for a reducedpopulation of HG through sheer manipulation in policies to make family

farming completely unviable and unattractive N a policy to free population

from agriculture so that land is available for sale to non-farming minority that

possess capital with the help of state as 2ritish colonialists did here in their

times. Since 1%%1 of liberal-globalised economy the share of agriculture in

?D@ is reduced by about 1 every year as a matter of deliberate policy

wrecking disaster to rural economy while corporate capital is ourishing to

the level where it is out to seek foreign markets for its money products and

services with a corresponding rise in defence expenditure to provide a

security cover free to this predatory capital.

&G."he preceding para above illustrates how the crisis was scripted out in

agriculture from day one with a de!nite purpose to serve as a result the land

was available for sale to the rich while pushing a large number of population

on the verge of hunger with a begging bowl in hand so that this vast reserve

army is available cheap for industrial-commercial ventures and service

sector ocking to towns which have increasingly been made as centres of

economic activities where capital dominates with master-servant relations to

regulate the life and a corresponding decline of a vibrant rural economy with

its community life style.

&1."he design has worked to script3 amily arming is on the verge of untimelydeath to the glee of corporate world. It had its concomitant result3 the Family

and its supportive Neigh#o&rhood Comm&nity, as corresponding social

institutions for family farming to survive are under severe attack to give way

to the crash individualistic way of life instead so that industrial-commercial

venture may !nd convenient conditions to ourish. 6ow for this reason

almost every rural family and its community in villages are paying the price

of ignoring the danger for almost seven decades these are passing through a


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severe condition of internal war like situation between two set of cultures

where its young Nboth boys and girls - especially those educated by

institutions of industrial-commercial vintage are knowingly or unknowingly

the foot-soldiers for an entirely alien cultural mode to expedite an early death

of these institutions.

&&.Despite concerted moves to turn rural India barren of its vitality through this

long period it still has the potentiality to move ahead and take up challenges

of the future. It still survives with little of its collective way of thinking and

collective way of action in a community setting to manage its a$airs that

provides a silver lining amidst a gloomy present.

&'.Oes village life is now deeply infected with alien features of industrial-

commercial mode like degenerated culture of sel!sh kind that make it sick

highly. Eith the myth of seeking solutions of its problems through state power

taking over consciousness the electoral politics of almost seven decades

designed to serve this mode has ravaged the cohesiveness of rural life to

fearful proportions making life a virtual cauldron of strife with itself. If one

seeks rational answer to the present conditions there is no other way except

reclaiming amily arming to its pristine best and Family in a community

setting regenerated with its social-cultural mode as its base.

&).Another concomitant result of this corporate capital led economy has served

the ruling class very well in election exercise for easy manipulations on cheap

terms and low promises.

&J.All governments led by 2;@ ongress or others did it with glee having least

sense of guilt towards this vast number of population. It establishes the fact

that rulers are out to smash village economy in the interest of industrial-commercial-service sectors.

&H.Situation in India has reached a boiling point. @resent system is surviving on

periodic renewal of hope through elections. 5ver half a century has passed

dabbling in such a game of chance. 2ut enough is enough. "here is a need

for sustainable alternative.

Now3

Remembering that ?overnment of India was happy to accept the ?A""

proposal to include agriculture in the trade regime of E"5 as also the

suggestion from an American delegate at Davos conclave in 1%%) gatheredthere to ratify Dunkel proposals on ?A"" to work for DI? 0disposal income

group which constitutes &G of country=s population. Indian government

since then has tailored its policies to ful!l this wish-list. As a result LG of the

population stands now disinherited and written o$ the oKcial register for care

at government hands despite occasional commitments to the contrary by

political leaders at the time of elections.


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Realisingthat state power stands by now converted fully as a tool in the

hands of minority to tame the ma9ority for its rule and political parties

through their leadership are part of its mechanism to control democracy in

the interest of expropriation by this minority rule

Recognisingthat it is the political establishment in India that has not only

failed the people but betrayed their trust in negating the legacy of freedom

struggle

Knowing that India after independence is a land of rich resources in the

midst of harrowing misery and wants galore for its billions due to a

treacherous path of development its workmen /women are facing a

degrading present and bleak future despite honest and hard labour

Knowing further that agricultural crisis at present in India is not the

outcome of any natural reason or due to any de!ciency in its capacity to grow

but the result of a deliberate policy so far to subserve interests of the

capitalist growth that there is no poverty in India it is an induced misery forthe common workingmen/women. @eople in India are disinherited not poor

unemployment is the result of uneven development inherent in the system

opted deliberately and that corruption is like mobile-oil for it to keep running

N a deliberate satrap an illegality to run legality for the rich

Subscribingto a system of production and distribution that is in consonance

with the cherished goal of social rather than individualist way of life with a

legacy of self-management peace harmony and suKcient to ful!l needs

rather than constant strife misery and oppression and that the real

democracy subscribes to the tenet that Po/er rests /ith the People with a

natural right to sel0management

Believingthat it is people=s power that is central to any meaningful change

in relations and that the innovation and creativity of the people are

fundamental to the growth in society

Disbelievingthat the state power is an instrument of development/growth

or a fundamental change in society i.e. its social-economic-political relations

Decrying the concepts like representative democracy leadership/authority

as seriously in9urious to the health of society that impede its growth seriously

in9uring the initiative and creativity of the people making them completely

docile as also dependent on formal structures of state instead of thecommunity and which most of the time do not work for the disinherited

Underliningthe ground reality that society today basically su$ers from the

octopus like growth of state structure including its education system as an

instrument of minority to subdue the ma9ority for working in the interest of

corporate capital that one day was born out of necessity to govern a$airs of

society coming out independently of farming and that the second most


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important truth of social relations is the contradiction between capital and

la#o&rwhich !nds manifestation here in the form of urban-organised 0the

inheritors versus rural-unorganised 0the disinherited broadly having a slight

twilight Bone in between though the pace of polarisation has increased

manifold lately during its liberal-globalisation process.

Taking that the task of an organisation is to release the creativity and

initiative of people and not to act on their behalf while taking measures

where organisation is not above people nor to over shadow them and that

the !rst crucial battle in this war against in9ustice expropriation indignity

ine:uality and oppression N of neo-colonial- neo-imperialist like slavery has to

be in the realm of ideasand concepts

Notingthat in this battle the youth Nboth boys and girls belonging to the

disinheritedsection of society is the !rst category which is being induced to

work as its foot-soldiers by the corporate capital for demolishing rural India

and its way of life for complete take over through other means especially its

land water forest and mineral wealth as also to plough in boys and girls for

its sex-based ventures by making farming non-viable and unattractive

through speci!c policy initiatives on the one hand as also by making its

ventures alluring to the gullible on the other.

Realising that community way of life with family as its basic unit must

remain the fulcrum of socio-economic planning. It is important that its

familiar cultural-social mode is protected where collective way of thinking and

collective style of working remains the norm.

Address ourselves to further the interests of the presently ruled ones

including the farming community so that coming generations could redeemtheir future safe with no one to dictate where people can live a life in dignity

and pleasure with no discrimination while respecting a similar right of others

as also save its youth from a degraded life made charming to a life of honest

labour with values and ethics in consonance with ourishing family farming at

its core.

e! who subscribe to the above! resolve that"

Ee re9ect the premise that the mode of production with industry and

trade as its pivot is a path of bliss and plenty. It is a false god created

to cheat the people4

Kisanihas to be made the fulcrum of growth and development in the

country with family farming as its mode with a corresponding cultural

milieu. Kisaniin family farming mode is the future for India.

Family Farmingis a way of life in India and has to remain so. It cannot

be converted into a commodity of a market driven economy unless

HJ of population is made disposable


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Ee decry the legacy of Adi0Shankar counter-revolution and its

#rahmanicalsocial order. Imbibing rationality of family farming having

resonance with nature must remain free from alien characteristics so

as to provide humanity a blooming future

*uman labour instead of capital will form the basis of life in operation amily in a community setting being the natural and informal growth

with farming shall have to remain the basic unit of labour social

identity and the strength of the economy.

"rade terms have to be redrafted that will not discriminate against

family farming

Agriculture has to be taken out of ?A"" agreement and E"5

amily arming must ensure food security to all no one should go

hungry

7se of chemical fertiliser and pesticide in agriculture need be banned

Seed autonomy of farmers has to be ensured and protected

orest Eater and mineral wealth constitute a common legacy with the

community. "hese must not be turned into commodities for private or

corporate gain. (and right rests with those who reclaimed it for family

farming. (and need be brought out of market as a commodity. Principle

o !minent "omain is colonialist in nature and repugnant to social

ethos of the country must be repealed forthwith. "he use of land for

non-farming purposes must have the concurrence of village

community.

Fillage community has the natural right to autonomy in conducting its

a$airs as per need and follow its traditions and customs to resolve

internal a$airs

"he use of ?, foods and use of genetic engineering for food products

need be banned

In consonance with family farming its social-cultural frame has to be

strengthened

#ducation has to cater the needs of crafting a suitable milieu that willhelp develop human values and a rational human being.

7nity of rural working forces has to be maintained and guarded to face

the onslaught fairly and with determination disruptive politics

defeated.


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6o organisation is above the people not even the peasant

organisation commitment is towards rural India and its ethos. 6o e$ort

will be made to divide village cohesiveness on account of separate

identity of or loyalty to organisation.

5rganisation will act only as a catalytic agent of social change. Itcannot be the master of social-political-economic and cultural a$airs.

Ee decry the Concept o A&thority as divisive oppressive and

repugnant to the ideal of e+&alityand fraternity.

Ee do not accept the concept of stateas a vehicle of social change

and development community is. 6either political parties are

instruments of such a change for the better of humanity parties do not

belong to di$erent classes but only to one class i.e ruling class and

work to advance its cause.

#very mass movement is not fertile to deliver only that is worth whichhas a clear agenda and style that always resonates the basic ob9ect.

As a last word it is instructive to keep note of what the industrial-

commercial culture does to a society and what state establishment in fact

performs to shape a nation. or the !rst as a typical example one can

recollect the remarks from that ?reat 2ritish Scholar ?eorge 2ernard

Shaw when he sums up his own nation that trumpets its achievements in

trade and industry. *e comments3


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Now for seeking liberation from such a present dark alley let us build

mass pressure to checkmate the advance of these marauding forces and

give death blows to its anti-people policies.

Relying on the people=s power after regaining their creativity and

initiative that age long lethargy had built in thought and action by

sanatani:#rahmanicalconcepts of life we can do it. Ee need to innovate

and create another course better for our bene!t to follow than what

hitherto have informed the stale mass movements in the name of social

change and delivery of peasantry from expropriation.

kisani manifesto

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