South Asia Citizens Web

19th May, 2020: National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) condemns the absolutely insensitive, anti-poor and anti-working-class approach of the Govt of India, reflected once again in the ‘mega economic package’ of Rs. 20 lakh crores, announced by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister in the past 5 days. Despite all word-play around ‘Atma-nirbharta’, the current regime has ‘Abandoned’ millions of toiling masses, who are left to fend for themselves in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic and horribly managed ‘lockdown’! Instead, the agenda of corporatization and privatization has been pushed forth, across multiple sectors in the garb of ‘relief’ and ‘development’!

Это было в мае 1995 года, ровно 25 лет назад. Хари Васудеван (калькуттский университет), Пураби Рой (Джадавпурский университет) и я сам (калькуттский университет) находились в Москве в течение двух месяцев, работая в составе группы, посланной Азиатским обществом в Калькутту в связи с проектом сбора документов из недавно открытых советских архивов по индо-русским отношениям : 1917-1947 годы.

The Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) has expressed anguish at total sidelining of allocations on health in the packages announced by the finance minister. In her two hours long speech yesterday she hardly spent 4-5 minutes on health. In a statement Dr S S Soodan - President IDPD, Dr Arun Mitra – Sr. Vice President IDPD, Dr Shakeel Ur Rahman – General Secretary IDPD said that she only provided breakup of the already announced package of 15000 crores by the Prime Minister. Out of which 4000 crores has already been spent, she said. The health sector needs over one lakh crores immediately in this crises and there after it has to be a continuous process in the budgets.

It was May, 1995, exactly 25 years ago. Hari Vasudevan (Calcutta University), Purabi Roy (Jadavpur University) and I myself (Calcutta University) were in Moscow for two months, working as a team sent by The Asiatic Society, Calcutta in connection with a project of collection of documents from the newly opened Soviet archives on Indo-Russian Relations : 1917-1947.

Full Text of Joint Press Statement by Central Trade Unions released on 15th May 2020