The All India People’s Forum (AIPF) organised a Seminar in Patna on 12 August on ‘75 years of Freedom: Challenges before the Country’. This was addressed by Prof. Shamshul Islam from Delhi, Dr. Ram Puniyani from Mumbai, CPIML General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, leader of Congress legislative group in Bihar Dr. Shakil Ahmad Khan, ex-speaker of Bihar Assembly Uday Narayan Chaudhary, AIPWA General Secretary Mina Tiwari and presided over by Ghalib. The seminar was conducted by AIPF leader Kamlesh Sharma, while Pankaj Shwetabh, Prof. Shamim Ahmad, KD Yadav, Vishwnath Chaudhary were present on the occasion. The subject was initiated by Kumar Parvez.
Comrade Dipankar said that we have to build up a big movement first to rescue the country from the present disaster and then to rebuild the nation as per the dreams of our martyrs. When the fascist forces in India are thinking of ruling the country for a hundred more years, then we too have to build up the movement on a war footing, a struggle that will not limit the definition of freedom only to the extent of restoration of what is damaged or lost, on the contrary we have to confront and defeat the fascism decisively to fulfil the targets set by our constitution.
Dr. Shakil Ahmad said that the opposition parties’ first meeting was held in Bihar which gave hope and led to the formation of I.N.D.I.A. in the second meeting. All parties who are in defence of the Constitution and democracy are with this alliance.
Dr. Ram Puniyani reminded the audience of dangers posed by fascism and said that Hitler had pushed his country back by 25 years, while Indian fascism is much more dangerous with an army of thousands of pracharaks and swayamsevaks working to destroy the country. If they win one more election then the possibility of holding such a meeting will diminish to great extent. The society was developed through social movements without which democracy was impossible, and without democracy social movements can not flourish. Hence, we have to organise all the forces striving to defeat fascists.
Uday Narayan Chaudhary said that brahminical forces are posing great danger today. They tried to withdraw reservations in 2015 but we challenged them, still that danger persists as they are gradually taking away reservations on various pretexts. Today the right to reservation has been reduced to negligible and it is needed to expose the real intent of BJP-RSS before the youth, oppressed sections and dalit communities.
Prof. Shamshul Islam quoted many sections of Manusmriti to explain how the Hindutva forces are most dangerous for the existence of Hindu women and dalits. He also focussed on the negative role of RSS during the Freedom Movement and said that fundamentalists are always a danger for secularism and democracy. There are lies being spread against the muslims, we must recall that it was the muslims of this country who held the biggest rally 1940 against the demand of formation of Pakistan.
Mina Tiwary condemned what is going on in Manipur and said that the fact that women’s bodies are being weaponized to perpetrate atrocities, exposes the politics of BJP. The RSS ideology is anti-women and gestures on teen-talaq are only a facade to hide its real character. The recent Nyay Samhita in place of the existing Criminal Code is nothing but a more powerful instrument to crush whatever has remained in the name of women’s freedom.
The Seminar was attended by a large number of members of intelligentsia, students-youth, dalit intellectuals who pledged to unite to defeat the danger of fascism as posed by BJP and RSS.
