JNUSU Pamphlet dated 5th Sept, '07

05-09-07

9 girl students of Sanskrit Centre have submitted a written complaint to the VC against the Chairperson of the Centre accusing him of sexual harassment. JNUSU is committed to ensure a gender sensitive campus, such acts being completely unacceptable. We demand that the GSCASH must immediately start enquiry into the allegations and strict action be taken against the guilty.

OUR STRUGGLE FOR SCHOLARSHIPS LONG LIVE!!

Friends,

This is to inform the student community that disbursement of the scholarships for M.Phil/PhD students worth Rs 3000 and Rs 5000 per month respectively has been started by the Administration. Office orders in this regard are being sent to the respective centres, in the name of individual students who are receiving no scholarships. All the students who have applied for the scholarship will receive the office order by the end of this week. We appeal to the students to contact their respective centres to get a copy of the office order and fill up the claim forms to get the scholarships.

While it is a result of the consistent pressure of the student community that the Administration has started the process of disbursal of scholarships, the cut off date has been fixed at April 2007. The JNUSU has consistently demanded that the cut off date for the scholarships should be July 2005. It is unfortunate that the Administration is not honoring its own commitment on 12th July 2007 to disburse scholarships with effect from July 2005. In today’s Council Meeting the JNUSU will decide on a future course of action to pressurize the Administration to disburse the scholarships from July 2005.

At the same time, the Administration after the agitation during the summer vacations had agreed to increase the amount of MCM for BA/MA/MSc/MCA students to Rs 1500 and increase the income cap to Rs 1 lakh. Till date the Administration has taken no concrete step to implement its own commitment. We demand that the Administration must immediately call for an Academic Council meeting to ratify the increased amount of MCM as well as the income cap for the eligibility for MCM scholarships.

We appeal to the student community to rally behind the JNUSU in future struggles for more scholarships.

Sd/-Dhananjay, President, JNUSU.

SFI pamphlet dated 5th Sept, '07

Date: 05-09-07

9 girl students of Sanskrit Centre have submitted a written complaint to the JNU VC against the Chairperson alleging him of sexual harassment. This is a very serious allegation. Such acts should not be tolerated in JNU. The GSCASH should immediately enquire into the allegations and strict action must be taken against the guilty.

OUR STRUGGLE FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE LONG LIVE!!

Friends,

We congratulate the student community for successfully pressurizing the Administration for starting the disbursal of scholarships for MPhil/PhD students worth Rs 3000 and Rs 5000 per month. The JNUSU under the leadership of SFI-AISF has been at the forefront of the struggles to ensure more scholarships for students and increasing the amount of MCM. While the starting of the process of disbursal of scholarships for MPhil/PhD students is welcome, it is unfortunate that the Administration has fixed the cut off date at April 2007. The JNUSU has been consistently demanding that the scholarships must be disbursed with effect from July 2007. SFI appeals to the JNUSU to formulate a proper course of action in tonight’s Council Meeting to pressurize the Administration to disburse the scholarships from July 2005. At the same time, the Administration has taken no step to implement its own decision of increasing the MCM for BA/MA/MSc/MCA students to Rs 1500 and increase the income cap for MCM to Rs 1 lakh. The Council should also deliberate on this matter.

It is unfortunate that the Convenors for different schools and committees have not been elected as yet, while we have reached the fag end of the tenure of this JNUSU. This state of affairs is a result of the JNUSU General Secretary’s refusal for the entire last semester to call for Council Meeting until he was given a written requisition on behalf of the councillors of SFI-AISF. The Youth For (In) Equality in the most undemocratic manner boycotted whatever Council Meeting that took place thereby not allowing any formal Council Meeting to take place. The JNUSU General Secretary as well as the YFE owe an explanation to the student community for not allowing a formal Council Meeting to take place, thereby not allowing the election of Convenors of different schools.

Sd/- Rajiv Kumar Ranjan, Secretary, SFI-JNU.

Sd/- Roshan Kishore, President, SFI-JNU.

SFI's "An Evening Against Imperialism" on 6th Sept, ' 07

ATTEND THE PROGRAMMES IN LARGE NUMBERS!!

UNITE AGAINST US IMPERIALISM!!

PROTECT OUR SOVEREIGNTY AND INDEPENDENT FOREIGN POLICY!!

SFI Pamphlet dated 2nd Sept, '07

02-09-07

INDO-US NUCLEAR DEAL: EXPOSE THE HYPOCRISY OF THE RSS-BJP-ABVP!!

Friends,

The Left parties have strongly opposed the Indo-US nuclear deal and asked the UPA Government not to proceed further. This deal has little to do with the interests of India or the Indian people. It is not a stand-alone agreement, but part of a wider strategic alliance to make India the outpost of American interests in Asia. Other agreements with the US have also been reached by the Government on defence, on agriculture, on industry, which will have wide reaching negative implications on the lives of the Indian people. Already the foreign policy of the Government is under pressure because of the strategic alliance with America. It is a result of the opposition of the Left that the Government has been forced to constitute a committee to look into the Left's objections and examine the implications of Hyde Act which has been passed by the US Government. To that extent the Government has agreed that it will not immediately go to the next step of approaching the IAEA for safeguards agreement.

It is in this context that the ABVP in campus, finding itself and the RSS-BJP to be completely sidelined by the opposition of the Left to the Indo-US nuclear deal, have brought out a pamphlet full of lies against the Left. At the very outset it needs to be noted that the opposition of the RSS-BJP to the Indo-US nuclear deal is completely hypocritical. It should not be forgotten that the NDA regime under the leadership of the RSS-BJP was the most pro-US government that the country had ever seen. While the nuclear deal is the expression of a fresh tactical approach on the question of Indo-US nuclear relations by the UPA government, as compared to its predecessor, there is nevertheless a basic strategic continuity with the nuclear policy that was inaugurated by the NDA government following the nuclear weapons tests of 1998.

With the 1998 test, the NDA government announced India’s readiness to accede to the global non-proliferation order presided over by the United States provided India was accommodated as a nuclear weapons state. In particular, Vajpayee declared his government’s willingness to sign the CTBT and co-operate in the negotiations for a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. It was clear that any attempt to deal with the diplomatic and foreign policy fallout of the nuclear weapons tests, while trying to retain even a fig-leaf of ‘nuclear weapons state’ status, would involve substantial concessions to the United States in foreign policy terms. It also soon became clear that this was a price that the NDA government was more than willing to pay.

After conducting the nuclear tests at Pokhran in May 1998, the BJP-led government entered into prolonged secret negotiations with the US. Following the visit of US President Clinton to India in March 2000, the BJP-RSS combine felt that it had achieved its cherished goal of getting the US to accept India as its ‘natural ally’ and not Pakistan. The urge to be a subordinate ally of the US prompted the NDA Government to become the first government anywhere in the world to welcome the National Missile Defense programme announced by George Bush. In the ftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, the BJP-led Government offered to be a partner in Bush’s “war against terrorism” and place India’s military facilities at its disposal. The NDA Government also went to the extent of planning to send Indian troops to Iraq during the US-led invasion but was eventually prevented due to the groundswell of public opinion in India. In its desperation to woo their bosses in the USA, LK Advani went to visit the CIA headquarters. The Indian Government did not even protest against the atrocious act of US security agencies, when the Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes was strip searched in the USA. Is this the brand of patriotism that the ABVP wants the campus to believe? The NDA left all pretensions of leading the Non-Aligned Movement and abandoned our age old support to the Palestine cause while buying weapons from Israel. These agents of US imperialism have no concern for the sovereignty of India. Basically the BJP is 'hurt' by the fact that they could not strike this deal with the US. One remembers the childhood fable of sour grapes, looking at the positions of BJP.

The ABVP should remember that the NDA Government was routed from power because of a mandate of the people against the communal politics of RSS-BJP and its proclivity to US imperialism and ruthless pursuance of neo-liberalism. In their greed for power to earn dollars, through multiple corruptions, like Bangaru Laxman in the Tehelka expose, they are desperate to see the UPA government voted out in Parliament. This is not surprising since during the NDA regime, the entire period was tainted with scams, be it the Tehelka expose, coffin scam, petrol pump scam, stamp scam etc. Very recently one of their MPs was caught red handed in a case of woman trafficking and again some of their MPs were caught taking money to raise questions in Parliament. One needs no lessons in patriotism or morality from political forces who are willing to sell off the nation to earn money. As far as the issue of withdrawing support is concerned, who are the fascistic RSS-BJP-ABVP to advise the Left in this regard when it was the opposition to their communal and pro-imperialist policies that resulted in the formation of UPA and the Left's support to it from outside? The Left needs no counsel from them since we are aware of the fact that the BJP will be more than willing to act as junior partners of US imperialism, since they are a pro-imperialist party. We appeal to the student community to isolate the pro-imperialist and communal politics of ABVP and rally behind the Left in opposing the Indo-US nuclear deal, upholding our sovereignty and independent foreign policy.

Sd/- Rajiv Kumar Ranjan, Secretary, SFI-JNU; Sd/-Roshan Kishore, President, SFI-JNU.

SFI release on Anti-Imperialist Rally in Kolkata

DOWN WITH US IMPERIALISM!!

UNITE TO MAINTAIN OUR INDEPENDENT FOREIGN POLICY!!

SFI pamphlet dated 30th Aug '07

30-08-07

INDO-US NUCLEAR DEAL: COMPROMISING OUR SOVEREIGNTY TO SERVE US INTERESTS

Friends,

The National Common Minimum Programme sets out the basic tenet of the foreign policy of the UPA Government in the following terms: “The UPA government will pursue an independent foreign policy keeping in mind its past traditions. This policy will seek to promote multipolarity in world relations and oppose all attempts at unilateralism.” There is no mention of any strategic relations or partnership with the US. However, the UPA Government has tried, since its inception, to circumvent and breach this important provision of the NCMP and continue with the NDA Government’s policy of deepening India’s strategic ties with the US and become its subordinate ally. However, within a month all these formulations were forgotten and series of strategic tie up with the US was achieved:

INDO-US NUCLEAR DEAL AND INDIA'S STRATEGIC TIES WITH THE US:

● On June 28, 2005, just prior to Bush-Manmohan Agreement of July 18, 2005, New Framework for India-US Defence Relationship was signed. In this Agreement, it is stated, U.S.-India defence relationship derives from a common belief in freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, and seeks to advance shared security interests. Considering that the Iraq invasion was justified by the US as bringing democracy to West Asia, a reference to a shared belief in democracy and rule of law cannot be acceptable to the Indian people.

● The Bush-Manmohan agreement was followed immediately by India’s vote against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA). Senator Lugar in his opening remarks in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had noted, approvingly, “We have already seen strategic benefits from our improving relationship with India. India’s votes at the IAEA on the Iran issue last September and this past February demonstrate that New Delhi is able and willing to adjust its traditional foreign policies and play a constructive role on international issues.” Manmohan Singh’s oft-repeated claims that India’s foreign policy would not change due to this Deal, is not borne out by his Governments’ record, especially when the US officials are busy selling the agreement to the US Congress on the strategic value of India aligning with the US.

● Currently, the Manmohan Singh Government is negotiating a Logistics and Service Agreement. This would virtually reduce India to an American ally in Asia. It essentially allows refueling and complete access to Indian facilities for all US ships and aircraft. The US navy can bomb Iraq and Iran and then come to India’s ports for rest, recreation and refueling, before going back for another round of hostilities. Step by step, from a vote against Iran, we are now to become hosts to the US navy in its military misadventures in West Asia and elsewhere. More importantly, as far as the 123 agreement is concerned, the Hyde Act categorically demands India to fall in line with US as explained below:

HYDE ACT AND INDIA'S INDEPENDENT FOREIGN POLICY:

The Hyde Act is an enabling legislation that allows the US Congress to consider an agreement for civilian nuclear co-operation under the section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act. The Hyde Act said very clearly that India’s foreign policy needed to be congruent to the US; it had to work in tandem with the US on isolating Iran. It demanded that India join the illegal PSI regime. It also restricted India’s access to technology to fuel and import of reactors. It denied access to technology for the fuel cycle – enrichment or reprocessing – and also for heavy water. It also made clear that in the event the Deal was canceled, the fuel supplies from the US would not only stop but the US would work with other suppliers to stop their supplies to India too. This is a major issue as earlier also, the US had stopped supplies to Tarapur reactors. If we put in a substantial nuclear program using imported reactors, this would mean our power program could be held hostage to the US’s continued goodwill.

All these tie ups with the US and the Hyde Act provision of the 123 agreement, seriously compromises our sovereignty and independent foreign policy. Should we allow our sovereignty be compromised by acting as junior partners of the greatest war machine and imperialist power that the world has ever seen? It is in this context that the Indo-US nuclear deal is not a narrow issue of the Left. It is about struggling to ensure that the sovereignty of our country is protected.

Today, it is the Left forces, who are spearheading the struggle against US domination of our country and the tendency within ruling classes to act as junior partners of imperialism. It is shameful that when the Left is engaged in a heated struggle against US imperialism, the 'infantile' ultras of AISA in the most sectarian manner is attacking the Left, only strengthening the hands of the right wing slander. Their political bankruptcy gets reflected by the fact that instead of mobilizing opinion against the deal, they are more interested in parroting the slanders of the media against the Left. This is a manifestation of their frustration, since the CPI(M-L) is irrelevant as far as the future of this deal is concerned. With regard to their point about voting out this government, let us remind our friends in AISA that the RSS Chief KS Sudarsan has said the same thing in a latest editorial in Organizer. So it is quite obvious whose politics they are serving by taking this position. We appeal to the student community to stand united against the Indo-US nuclear deal and in defence of our sovereignty and rally behind the Left.

Sd/- Rajiv Kumar Ranjan, Secretary, SFI-JNU; Sd/- Roshan, President, SFI-JNU

Comrade Karat's Interview on Nuclear Deal in Frontline

OUR STRUGGLE AGAINST US IMPERIALISM LONG LIVE!!