We mark this May Day in the midst of the Israel’s continuing uncontrolled one-sided genocide in Gaza. Nearly 1 percent of Gaza’s population has been killed and nearly 3 million people have been pushed to the edge of human existence lacking the most basic needs of drinking water and food. The massacre continues unabated as the United States and its West European allies continuing to support Israel with arms to carry out the genocide and with active and direct support in the United Nations including Israel’s blatant disregard of the International Court of Justice’s ruling on genocide. Israel’s collective punishment of Palestine includes expanding Jewish settlements and continuing violence in the West Bank and cancelling of Palestinian permits to work in Israel.
India’s BJP government is one of the very few countries in the global south that has been supportive of Israel by frontloading terrorism over democratic rights at the UN Security Council and promoting Indian companies to sell drones and other defence related equipment as well as sending workers to replace Palestinian workers to Israel.
Over the last decade, India’s BJP government has aligned itself with Israel to get closer to the US in their desire to be their pivot against China. This is a misplaced policy as India is unable to chart a path of economic development independent of Chinese manufactured goods. Hence, the westward tilt also limits India’s ability to resolve border tensions not just with China but with all our neighbours. Under the BJP, our foreign policy has become the instrument primarily for stoking hatred, especially against Muslims, and demonising Pakistan.
Fuelling hatred and prejudice is at the core of the BJP’s divisive agenda. This is the route they pursue to gain electoral advantage by pitting communities, linguistic groups, states, regions and religions against one and another by creating an environment in which the deprived and the disadvantaged are convinced that not government policies, not employers, not the rich, but people of a different community or religious group are somehow responsible for their misery. This also creates the opportunity to redefine society and rewrite history to sustain the reshaped society rooted in prejudice. These are illusions that are created out of advancing different ideas in society that are false, irrational and rooted in prejudices, that demonise one another to advance the BJP’s political project. A society so redefined and shaped around hatred also provides the political space to redraw the lines in the economy in favour of the rich and the private sector. The last 10 years of BJP government has seen a reorientation of legislation and policy for the benefit of the rich and the private sector.
With an economy that was ravaged by the BJP government policies during its first term [2014-19] the runaway tax reduction in 2019 meant that even during the pandemic while people suffered with jobs and even food owing to the entirely ill-timed and ill-prepared draconian lockdown, corporates made historic profits. Our misery worsened with the inflation caused by the Ukraine war and the supply chain crisis.
Real wages have stagnated over the last 10 years and for woman workers it has in fact declined over the last decade. Women’s participation in the workforce has declined steadily including for the reason that they have been replaced by men who lost their jobs as a result of demonetisation and COVID-19. Large number of workers who returned to their villages when faced with starvation during the COVID-19 lockdowns have remained in their villages because of the lack of jobs in towns and cities. More workers are today dependent on the MNREGA than ever before in the 17-years of the legislation. This is an absolute measure of distress.
Much is said about India’s demographic advantage because of a young and able population. One in ten Indians is in the age group of 20-24 but of these nearly half are unemployed. Scores of young workers are being thrown into the gig economy not out of choice but because of the lack of it, competing with one and another, to barely survive. A growing section of the workforce that is not unemployed is being labelled as ‘self-employed’. Much of such work is invisible, at the absolute lowest end of the service economy and mostly engaged in self-exploitation and living below the subsistence level.
Both in government and in the private sector permanent decent-paying jobs are being replaced with jobs on contract. Almost all new jobs are only through labour contractors or the newly legislated fixed term contracts that have no minimum length of contract or protection effectively legalising casual day labour. Our so-called demographic ‘dividend’ is thus turning out to be a potential social catastrophe as we transform into a young, unemployed and unwaged society surviving on its dregs.
This situation cannot be reversed without a strong and sustained resistance from the working class and its movement. The working class is the one class that is created out of solidarity within the class, breaking barriers of gender, caste, religion, language or region. Solidarity and fraternity form the very basis of the working class, of a society free from prejudice and hatred that dividine us and built on rationality, the scientific temper and unity amongst peoples.
This May Day let us together resolve to strengthen the working class movement and build union power to re-create a world that is peaceful and democratic, equitable, and just.
Inquilab Zindabad!
Workers of the World Unite!