Struggle against Denial of Food still Alive

SubodhDatta

Kolkata: Ignoring heavy rains and disasters, in response to the call by the Left Front in remembrance of the martyrs of Food Movement launched on August 31, 1959, people thronged in large numbers. Esplanade was flooded with people on August 31. The massive gathering of people on the remembrance dayproved that even though there was no representative of the Left Front in the state assembly and LokSabha from the state, the Left Front and Red flag still held it place among people as they always stood by them wherever they were needed. The rally on August 31 issued a call for unleashing an intense agitation against the communal fascist BJP and the corrupt Trinamool government in the state against the hike in prices of food and essential commodities and demanding employment.
The program was scheduled for 2 o’clock. But long before that, processions started coming from Howrah and Sealdah. Ignoring the drizzle, people flocked to JawaharLal Nehru Road. Although the crowd got temporarily dispersed by the rain, soon they startedcoming back as soon as the rain subsided. In the crowd were students, youth, women, labourers, farmers, farm labourers and all of them ignored the rain and started chanting slogans just before the the speeches of the left leaders.
The meeting started with everyone paying respect to those who died in the mass movement and those who died in the last panchayat elections in the state.
Chairman of Left Front,BimanBasu presided over the meeting. He said that on August 31, 1959, the workers, farmers, farm labourers from villages had gathered at the foot of ShaheedMinar to demand food. Later the procession moved towards Raj Bhavan. It was here that police started baton-charging the peaceful march. According to the government, 80 protesters died on spot. In reality, the number of dead was much more. Today again the price of food and fuel in the country has skyrocketed. The communal BJP government at the centre and the corrupt Trinamool government in the state are not taking any measures to control prices and create employment. The fight against communalism and arbitrariness must be intensified. He submitted a charter of demands.
In support of the demands, state secretary of CPI, Swapan Banerjee said, ignoring the rain, this massive rally wants to warn both the Centre and the state governments that the people are awake, and are cautioning the ruling forces that their days are coming to an end. The price of daily necessities including food has skyrocketed, there is no opportunity for employment. Unemployment is growing fast. The communal BJP government at the Centreis keen to shatter the democratic system and establish a Hindu state. And the corrupt Trinamool government is busy selling jobs and smuggling coal, cattle and sand. Some leaders and ministers are in jail today. These two governments should be removed and people’s governments should be established at the centre and state.
CPI(M) state secretary, Mohammad Salim said that there has been a glorious food movement in this state. We will not let the country fall into the hands of corporates; we will save the state from the hands of robbers.
Naren Chatterjee of Forward Block, TapanHor of RSP and several others were among those who the assembly.
Notable among those who attended the rally were Prabir Deb, TapanGanguli, Kalyan Banerjee, Gautam Roy ofCPI,Suryakant Mishra, Ramachandra Dom of CPI(M). Leaders of Left parties were also present.
In the morning of August 31, Left leaders had paid tributes to the Martyrs of the Food Movement at the Raja SubodhMallick Square by placing floral wreaths.