CorCom urges workers, peasants to unite
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 30 2022: On the occasion of the International Workers' Day (May Day), the Coordination Committee (CorCom) has called for unification of all the workers and peasants.

The CorCom, through a statement issued by its Publicity Committee, also conveyed best wishes to the people of Manipur (Kangleipak), particularly workers and peasants.

May Day is observed every year in commemoration of the historic workers' protest held in Chicago on May 1, 1886 against exploitative capitalist class.

Reduction of daily working hours to eight hours and increment of workers' wages were the main demands of the movement, it said.

The May Day reminds every one of how a small capitalist class has taken control of the world's wealth and resources by mercilessly exploiting the working class.

It also reminds one of the many formidable challenges faced by the working class, said CorCom.

The May Day also brings to the fore the wretched condition under which a larger number of workers have been living in different parts of India and the world.

The policy which pushed to the working class to such wretched condition is being upheld by the governing class and their military forces, the CorCom asserted.

The International Workers Day is not merely about reduction of working hours and enhancement of wages.

It is also about abolition of the policies and practices which have been exploiting and victimising workers, it said.

Because of living under alleged colonial rule for more than 100 years, the economy of Manipur (Kangleipak) is heading in the direction of the one which is based or dependent on international investment, alleged the outfit.

There are two phases of colonialism, the first one being the British colonialism.

The second one is the existing Indian rule over the entire WESEA, it alleged.

Even though Manipur (Kangleipak) enjoyed two years of independence following the Second World War, India wasted no time in taking the place of the departing British colonial masters.

As a result, the people of Manipur (Kangleipak) did not get any opportunity to chalk out a course for determining their own future, the CorCom remarked.The life of the common people was severely affected following implantation of an economy based on investment from India.

With Manipur transformed into a captive market, no other group of people except middle class and working class could take roots, it continued.

The ruling class based outside the State has been exploiting the people to the hilt.

After Manipur witnessed two Nupi Lans which were all directed against exploitative policies of the ruling class, the exploitative policies were made less visible, it said.

The CorCom asserted that the ever increasing number of daily wage earners and street vendors is a testimony to exploitation and oppression.

Women working as street vendors, drivers, construction workers etc are all creations of Government policies.

At the same time, the Government has been projecting these women as courageous bread winners, comparable to their male counterparts, it remarked.

Poppy plantation is being taken up extensively in the hill areas of Manipur (Kangleipak) with huge investment from within and outside the State and a large number of Manipuri people residing in hill areas are being employed as labourers.

Poppy plantation not only upsets ecological balance but also exploits local people to earn huge profits by a handful of people.

Even though the local people know that their involvement in poppy plantation is undesirable, they have been left with no other option.

Whereas those investors are protected by Government policies, people working for wages are victimised in the name of war on drugs.

It is an attempt to turn the daily wage earners into enemies of the State and eliminate all their sources of livelihood, it contended.

It is essential for all the people to understand that the economic condition of workers and peasants has been deteriorating day by day because India has been strangulating the economy of Manipur, it alleged.

The CorCom further alleged that both the alien rule and the global capitalist class are enemies of the workers and peasants of Kangleipak.

So restoring the sovereignty of Manipur (Kangleipak) is of paramount importance in order to lift the working class from the wretched condition in which they are living, it asserted.

May Day is a day of confronting and overcoming the challenges, it said.

The CorCom also pledged that it would always serve as the vanguard in the working class and masses' fight for their rights and interest.

It then called upon all the peoples, workers and peasants to unite together and overthrow the alien rule.

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