‘D-Voters’ of Assam
In Assam, thousands of women face a relentless battle for their identity, disproportionately impacted by the state’s complex citizenship verification process. Many are labelled as ‘D-voters’ (Doubtful Voters) or ‘doubtful foreigners,’ categories that strip them of their basic rights and subject them to a precarious existence. These women, often from marginalised communities, find themselves entangled in bureaucratic nightmares, struggling to prove their Indian citizenship despite having lived in the country for generations.

The crisis in Assam is deeply gendered. Women, especially those who are poor or illiterate, are often the most vulnerable. With limited access to formal documentation, many face an uphill battle in the courts, forced to defend their nationality against a system that disproportionately targets them. They lack access to legal representation, are uninformed of their rights, and often face harassment and social stigma. Many of these women are left stateless, their lives in legal limbo, unable to vote, access government services, or secure livelihoods.
CJP

Dockers Blocked Bullets Bound for Israel
On Thursday 17 October, COSCO Dockers at the Port of Piraeus detected a container full of bullets that had entered the country via North Macedonia and was bound for Haifa, Israel, to be used in the massacre of the Palestinian and Lebanese people. The COSCO Dockers, led by their trade union, the Container Handling Workers’ Union at the Piers of Piraeus (ENEDEP), took decisive action to prevent the container from being loaded onto the ship and demonstrated on the spot, calling on the people of the region to join the demonstration.

Other workers of Piraeus, the Labour Centre of Piraeus, the Union of Metal Workers of Attica and the Shipbuilding and Repair Industry of Greece, the Shipwrights’ Union and a representative of the Union of Palestinian Workers took part in the demonstration.

The working class has shown its strength and is standing on the right side of history. On the side of the people of Palestine and Lebanon and not on the side of the “strategic allies” of the bourgeoisie who support the murderous state of Israel and the other Euro-Atlantic butchers of the peoples. This message makes the entire working class proud, and echoes the feelings of the Greek people who stand with the people of Palestine, Lebanon and the other peoples of the region.
Communist Party of Greece

‘Sumanta Banerjee’s Great Betrayal…’
This has reference to Sumanta Banerjee’s article ”The Great Betrayal of the ideal of Communism by Stalin Mao and their Political Heirs” that has appeared in the Autumn Number of Frontier [Vol 57, No. 15 - 18, Oct 6 - Nov 2, 2024] is in bad taste as his pontification on the ‘failure’ of the Great Revolutions of Russia and China and his dark portraits of Stalin and Mao awfully lacks any substantial back- up material to prove his case. He seems to be one who puts his faith in the ‘Western Marxists’ who have the tendency to fetishise the ‘purity’ of the basic tenets of Marxism and Communism laid out by Marx and Engels. In truth it is a crude analogy but communists would like to argue that there could be no pure revolution excepting in Plato’s Cave. Mao said that the revolution is not a dinner party and one can add that it would have ups and downs and what is needed is a thorough study with a historical and philosophical perspective to understand why a revolution went wrong or how it could not stand up to the promises made without denigrating the great leaders that led them and thousands and thousands of men and women who martyred themselves to keep the revolution move forward.
S V Rajadurai

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 20, Nov 10 - 16, 2024