Addressing a seminar organised in the Jagjivan Ram Institute of Parliamentary Studies & Political Research in Patna on February 26, CPIML General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya noted that the country is going through a difficult time and various forces of social change have to unite. The seminar 'Challenges of Social Change in Bihar' was part of the Jagjivan Ram Smriti Lecture Series.
The program was presided over by Member of Bihar Legislative Council and retired teacher of Patna University, Prof. (Dr.) Ramvachan Rai and Director of the Institute, Dr. Narendra Pathak.
Remembering the struggles of Ambedkar-Phule-Savitribai-Fatima Shekh, Com. Dipnakar discussed the struggles for social change going on in the last 200-250 years within the country and Bihar. He noted that social change is a necessary condition for the marginalized sections of the society. In this regard, we also have to view the country’s freedom movement not just as an act of political freedom but also as an assertion for social change. Referring to the background of social change, he said that this fight is sometimes fast, sometimes slow but it’s a continuous process.
“Social change does not mean getting land or economic power, but the struggle against the deprivation of education and other rights of Dalits and women due to the caste system is also included in the agenda of social change,” added Com. Dipankar.
He described the year 1936 as a crucial juncture in the history of the country and Bihar. It was the period when the impulse of militant peasant movements arose in the country and at the same time Babasaheb Ambedkar came forward with the idea of ‘annihilation of caste'. Independence came in 1947. Political equality came with independence but the struggle for socio-economic equality and justice still continues. In the people’s movement that arose under CPIML’s leadership in the 1970s, along with land, wages, the question of social respect was also a major question.
In his presidential address, Prof. Ramvachan Rai said that the government in the country today is doing the business of hatred in the name of Amritkal. Expressing his gratitude to Com. Dipankar, Prof. Ramvachan Rai said that he hopes that CPIML will become the carrier of this social change.
