CPIML Liberation

ABVP attacks woman student at South Asian University! Fight back ABVP hooliganism in the name of food choices!

28 February: A female student at South Asian University was attacked by a group of ABVP lumpens on the pretext of serving ‘impure’ non-veg food during the Mahashivratri. South Asian University which is a melting pot of different religion and cultures has been a shared space for students coming from different parts of SAARC countries. The student run mess in the university is responsible for feeding at least a thousand students on a daily basis. Catering to different food practices of diverse groups, the mess serves both veg and non-veg food for the students. However, on the occasion of Mahashivratri, a group of men entered the mess and demanded the removal of non-vegetarian food from the mess space. in South Asia, where dietary choices have often been the markers of caste identity and hierarchy, the demand of separation of non-veg food from veg reeks of casteism.

The mess committee, consisting of democratically elected student representatives, upon requests from the fasting students, made arrangements of ‘satvik food’ on the occasion of Mahashivratri. No student had any problem whatsoever in sitting and eating in the same mess area until a bunch of right-wing men entered the mess and tried to dispose away the non-veg food which was being served in the mess for other students. Upon which Yashada, Indian representative of the mess committee, intervened which led to a confrontation. The hooligans intimidated her with verbal abuses and ultimately punched her, touched inappropriately, and pulled her hair ruthlessly. This is not the first time the Indian mess committee representative has been attacked by these lumpens. In the past she had made several complaints against these men to the university administration, however, her complaints were ignored and dismissed.

It is appalling that the SAU administration implicitly supports the divisive politics of the Sangh. On many occasions the right-wing men have attacked women, non-Indians, and religious minorities to which the SAU administration turned a blind eye. These repeated acts of violence and harassment has made the university campus extreamly unsafe, especially for female students.

AISA extends solidarity to Yashada for standing up against the fundamentalist mob! We demand immediate intervention of the university administration to hold proper enquiry and take disciplinary actions against those responsible!

AISA - All India Students' Association

Kshama Sawant, economist and former socialist City Councillor of Seattle, is being repeatedly denied an Indian visa to visit her ailing mother in Bengaluru. Denying visa to OCIs critical of the Modi regime is the Modi model of #VasudhaivaKutumbakam! Shame!


- Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary, CPIML Liberation

CONDEMN POLICE ACTION AGAINST NEPALI STUDENTS IN KIIT (ODISHA)
Punish the Harassers, Ensure Justice for the Victim!

18.02.2025, Delhi

The All India Students’ Association (AISA) strongly condemns the tragic incident at KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, where a woman Nepali student died by suicide after facing months of harassment at the hands of another student named Advik Srivastava. The university has failed to provide justice to the victim, by not protecting her against the harassment and ensuring her safety. In fact, students of KIIT demanding justice were met with police action, and were reportedly evicted from campus!

The victim had filed a complaint with the International Relations Department of the university months ago, but the university admin did not take any action against the accused. This negligence allowed the harassment to continue, leading to the tragic incident. Advik Srivastava, a resident of Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), is reportedly the son of a builder and an influential BJP leader. Although this claim is yet to be verified, it raises serious concerns about how power and influence shield perpetrators under the current government. Due to the strong protests by students, the police were forced to detain Advik Srivastava at the airport while he was trying to flee.

This case highlights how institutions fail to protect students, especially women and international students. We have seen similar incidents before, where university administrations side with the accused instead of standing with the victim. The case of Rohith Vemula is a painful reminder of how institutional injustice forces students into despair. However, even after the suicide incident, protesting students were threatened by the police and KIIT admin, mocked for their nationality, and even told to return to their country. The situation became so severe that the Nepalese government had to intervene. Such an insensitive response reflects the Modi government's diplomatic failure. The responsible officials for such response must be identified and held accountable immediately.

AISA stands in solidarity with the protesting Nepali students and demands immediate justice for the victim. We call for a fair and thorough investigation, strict action against the accused, and ensure accountability of the university administration for their inaction. Additionally, we demand the establishment of an effective institutional mechanism to address grievances and ensure the safety of international students on our campuses.

Neha, All India President, AISA
Prasenjeet Kumar, General Secretary, AISA

CPI(ML) mourns the loss of lives in the tragic stampede at New Delhi Railway station

February 16, 2025, New Delhi: A tragic stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station has claimed 18 lives and left several injured on 15th February, Saturday, The stampede, triggered by the delays in multiple services during the Maha Kumbh rush, is a direct indictment of the Central government’s callous mismanagement of India’s railways. Despite clear warnings from ticket sales data—which showed 1,500 general tickets sold hourly—railway authorities failed to deploy adequate crowd control measures, leaving platforms dangerously overcrowded. Passengers, including women and children, were left to scramble for space, crushed under the weight of systemic apathy.

The severity of the incident was such that, the first responders rescuing the people were the coolies of the railway station. The railway administration didn’t have emergency measures in place to deal with an incident of this magnitude. It is clear, the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw whose focus is primarily on PR management and content creation has failed to strengthen the railway safety and administration.

Despite the Minister ordering a high-level enquiry, the abject failure of his leadership has repeatedly led to common people losing their lives in ever increasing train accidents and his gross failure in strengthening administrative mechanism. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw must be removed from his post forthwith.

The massive propaganda of the Modi-Yogi government stating that the Maha Kumbh has been organised keeping the pilgrims in focus, is exposed as each day passes. Both the state and central governments have failed to ensure a safe Maha Kumbh that was visible through the tragic deaths in the more than one stampede at Maha Kumbh, huge traffic snarls, abysmal planning of facilities and ease of movement for the general public, and whereas VIPs are being provided with green corridors.

It is time that the double engine government is held responsible for people’s miseries and deaths due to its gross mismanagement.

-- issued by Central Committee of CPI(ML) Liberation

"Shocked to hear about the passing of the great Bengali singer, lyricist and composer Pratul Mukhopadhyay. Pratulda added a new dimension to the genre of 'mass songs' in the progressive cultural camp with his unique style of singing, often without any instruments. His songs were full of life and love, unity and hope. His legacy will continue to inspire West Bengal and lovers of Bengali culture to shun hate, bigotry and sectarianism and fight for justice, liberty and equality." -- CPIML General Secretary Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya

CPIML Files Intervening Petition Defending the Places of Worship Act 1991

14 February 2025, New Delhi: CPIML Liberation through it's General Secretary, Dipankar Bhattacharya has filed an intervention petition in defence of Places of Worship Act 1991 in the Supreme Court. The promise of independent India was to move into a modern Republic and build on the progressive ethos of our freedom movement.

The values of secularism, brotherhood and fraternity are not just essential but corner stone of India's foundation. Any attempt to weaken it, is an attack on our constitution and our democracy.

It is in this effort, CPIML intervenes in the ongoing constitutional challenge to the Places of Worship Act 1991 to defend its letter and spirit.

The promise of India is to build unity in diversity with mutual respect, love and acceptance. CPIML promises to uphold our constitution, secularism and will defend the rights our of minorities in the Supreme Court.

-- Issued by N Sai Balaji on behalf of CPI ML HQ

Taking Turns to Mock the Tragic Reality of India's Poor

February 12, 2024 | New Delhi: Supreme Court Judge Gavai while hearing a case on the condition of shelters for urban homeless people launched an attack on political parties promising freebies ahead of elections and wondered whether this was creating a "class of parasites". The mainstream media have immediately latched onto this, with taglines screaming that the Supreme Court has fiercely criticised freebies, and asking the question whether the time had come to end the freebie culture.

That a sitting Supreme Court judge refers to economically deprived people as parasites, and condemns social welfare schemes that offer some solace to them, is concerning. That a judge of constitutional courts that most easily refrain from interfering with the government's anti-people policies citing separation of powers, makes such unrestrained remarks, becomes more than concerning. This is not merely an unfortunate or poor choice of words, but a mindset that refuses to acknowledge the survival crisis faced by the majority. A mindset that refuses to see the reality of the 80 crores who are now dependent of free rations.

The Judge goes on to add that instead of these freebies, these people who are "unwilling to work" must be integrated in society. This when unemployment is through the roof, promised jobs are not created. Funds for MGNREGA is cut affecting rural employment, and there are no plans for an urban employment guarantee act. The disastrous policies of the Modi government has resulted in job loss, forget about job creation. Majority who find employment do so in insecure and informal employments with no job, wage or social security. Instead of making such uncalled for remarks, the constitutional courts ought to hold the government accountable for failing to give people their constitutionally guaranteed life with decent living wages and dignity.

Hitting at the poor facing insurmountable hurdles to a dignified life has become the norm. A couple of years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a verbal war on opposition parties promising welfare schemes and services for economically deprived people referring to them with the pejorative phrase 'revdi culture'. Corporate honchos, who siphon off lakhs of crores of public money through write-offs and NPAs and who are also the biggest recipients of state largesse in the form of land and amenities at throw-away prices, have never held back. Just a couple of days ago Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Chairman and Managing Director S.N. Subrahmanyan, bemoaned that people prefer not to migrate since welfare schemes and direct benefit transfers make them reluctant to leave their villages!

Enough of this mockery. State policies are what are pushing people into grim poverty, and the few welfare schemes barely ensure their survival. It's time the people stand up and end these policies that are making a handful rich and elite at the cost of the majority who are expected to survive on crumbs.

-- Issued by Central Committee of CPIML Liberation

Indian Migrants Return Shackled and Dehumanised as Modi Regime Prioritizes Racist Trump over Human Dignity

February 07, 2025 | New Delhi:
CPI(ML) vehemently condemns the dehumanising and violent treatment of Indian migrants subjected to deportation by the Trump administration in the United States. The harrowing and heart-wrenching accounts of our fellow citizens—shackled, chained, and handcuffed during a soul-crushing 40-hour journey—serve as a chilling reminder of the colonial-era subjugation. This grotesque spectacle, where migrants are treated as criminals—stripped of their dignity, bound like captives, and subjected to conditions that mirror the horrors of colonial-era transportation—lays bare the deeply racist and inhumane nature of the Trump regime’s immigration agenda.

Equally unforgivable is the deafening silence of the Modi-led BJP government, which has failed to raise even a semblance of protest against this blatant abuse of Indian citizens. The Modi government’s deafening silence in the face of this abuse is not mere negligence—it is complicity. While the BJP peddles jingoistic rhetoric about “nationalism” and “protecting Indian pride,” it abandons Indian migrants to the mercy of racist deportation regimes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brazen embrace of Donald Trump—whom he calls a “dear friend” and for whom he openly campaigned during U.S. elections—now stands exposed as a betrayal of India’s migrant workers. Trump, in turn, repays this sycophancy by vilifying Indian migrants and deporting them in chains. This shameful reciprocity lays bare the BJP regime’s servility to the U.S. imperialist interests, mirroring the historical capitulation of the Sangh Parivar to British colonial rulers. Just as the RSS’s ideological ancestors bowed to colonial rulers, today’s Sangh Parivar kneels before the U.S. empire, trading the dignity of Indian migrants for hollow photo-ops and empty slogans of ‘nationalism.’"

We demand the Indian government to reject the inhuman treatment of Indian migrants and take immediate action to ensure their dignified return. The government must deploy necessary logistical support to facilitate the safe and respectful return of all Indian migrant workers facing deportation.

We reject the Modi government's complicity and Trump's racist agenda and declare: No worker is illegal! No human is disposable!

- Issued by Central Committee, CPIML Liberation