Hundreds of thousands of people marched against the economic attacks on the working people in Spain, Ireland, Greece and the United Kingdom. Severe unemployment, rising prices, cuts in wages, cutbacks on health care and other social services aggravated the falling standards of living that the working people in these countries have been experiencing.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched against the economic attacks on the working people in Spain, Ireland, Greece and the United Kingdom. Severe unemployment, rising prices, cuts in wages, cutbacks on health care and other social services aggravated the falling standards of living that the working people in these countries have been experiencing.
US imperialism continued its savage aggression to ensure its domination over the whole world. War and war mongering have been greatly intensified. The US imperialists and their allies launched a savage offensive, including intensified aerial bombing, etc. against sovereign nations and peoples, justifying their efforts at regime change and in the name of countering the threat of “Islamic fundamentalism”. People of the Islamic faith were, time and again, declared to be terrorists and imperialist crimes justified by lying propaganda that it was to save “democracy and freedom”. All the major imperialist powers, US and other leading European imperialists, Japan, China, etc. have greatly intensified their military adventures in strategic regions of the world. Arms sales and military expenditure has been greatly increased and the governments of the warmongering imperialist powers have been clamping down on the working people’s rights and liberties, in the name of security. Millions of people protested against war and bombing of sovereign nations, and demanded an end to war.
The wars and devastation of nations by the imperialists have turned masses of people into refugees and forced them to flee their countries, in the most dangerous and humiliating conditions, seeking refuge in various countries of Europe. Fascist forces, with the support and protection of the capitalists and their governments, have been unleashed in many of these European countries, to attack the victims of imperialist war and destruction, to divide the working people and further curtail their rights.
In India, workers and peasants protested against the attacks on their livelihood and rights. In the past one year, the BJP-led government spearheaded the programme of privatization and liberalization which was implemented by the Congress led UPA government when it was in power. At the behest of the monopoly capitalist class, the government further intensified its anti-social onslaught by opening up various sectors like defence, insurance and railways to foreign direct investment (FDI). Massive protests were organized in various parts of the country, against the government’s attempts to make land acquisition even easier for the big Indian and foreign capitalists. Protests were also held against the ruination of agriculture and peasants forced into suicide, as a result of the state policies in favour of the big Indian and foreign agricultural monopolies.
A massive attack has been launched against the working class, with various states bringing about “reforms” in labour laws and the central government also proposing to bring about such “reforms”, which would make it easier for the capitalists to hire and fire at will, close down factories, greatly increase the scope of contract labour and cut down on all forms of benefits and social security for workers. Workers across the country came out in large numbers to protest against these attacks. Country-wide strikes of workers across most important industries were organized during the year. Workers in the public and private sector – railway employees, airline employees, transport workers, as well as doctors, nurses, health workers, teachers and many other sections of the working people came on to the streets in protest against the attacks on their livelihood and rights.
Parts of the country such as Kashmir and Manipur and other northeastern states witnessed widespread protests against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and continued state terror and killings and disappearances of innocent people, the rape and humiliation of women by the armed forces and state security forces.
Simultaneously, agencies sponsored by the state carried out widespread communal and sectarian propaganda, killings and provocations. State organized communal violence and terror was also stepped up, to break the united resistance of the people. People came out in protest, to oppose the state organized communal violence and terror. People, across the country, marched on 1st November and 6th December, to mark the genocide and criminal killings of the Sikhs and Muslims, and declared that “an attack on one is an attack on all”. In a massive show of unity, thousands of people marched in Delhi and other places to show their unity against such communal terror.