Harsh Thakor

With the goal of raising class consciousness and mobilizing the working population of Banaras, especially the weavers, a meeting was organized at the Swayamvar Vatika on behalf of the Fatima-Savitri Janasamiti. The weavers themselves openly discussed the issues related to their status and wages in the programme.

Mohammad Ahmad Ansari, who toils with his family on power looms, said that due to the monopoly of capital and middlemen on the market, morally the wages of people engaged in weaving work are not even Rs 400, as compared to construction workers. In the same context, the aspect of education also arose in consideration   of the social backwardness of the Muslim population and the comparatively worse condition of women.

Ahmed said that when the wage-income is so rock bottom, the major concern is about maintenance or education. The grave economic condition, has forced the children of the weavers to study in madrasas..

Progressive intellectuals assert that breaking the chains binding the feet of the productive forces is the only means of accomplishing the historical mission of the working class. In order to raise class consciousness and mobilize the working population of Banaras, especially the weavers, a meeting was organized at the Swayamvar Vatika on behalf of the Fatima-Savitri Janasamiti. The weavers themselves openly discussed the issues related to their status and wages in the programme.

Vinay of Bhagat Singh Chhatra Morcha said that along with low wages, the question of education is inter linked to the autocratic political structure of the ruling class. He said that today the ruling class has made education a commodity to be exchanged in the market. Harihar Prasad, convenor of Janwadi Vimarsh Manch, said that the new education policy is being implemented to enforce the sustainable development agenda of the United Nations. Under this, path is paved for preparing cheap and skilled labour to provide for domestic and foreign capitalists.

Due to this, higher education cost is soaring. Strongly advocating equal and free education for all, he said that if it is not opposed, the children of poor-disadvantaged sections will be deprived of higher education and it will turn into the privilege of the rich.

While conducting the program, poet-critic Dr. Vandana Choubey said that the imperialist Mahaprabhus created an atmosphere supporting or paving the way of opening up the economy completely by spending vast capital. Institutional intellectuals were patronised to spread the ideology of fragmentation. He said that with the objective of camouflaging the conspiracy on the basic question of master-labour, identity-discussion was created to relegate the basic question from the peripheral questions.

He said that the question of women and education is also directly related to the problem of stagnation and recession in the economy and unemployment. If we want to solve the problem of marketing of education, then we have to link it with the question of unemployment.

Referring to the era of Fatima Shaikh, he said that she was not running the colonial structure of India during the British era independently. The Brahminical forces that were here, the forces of the affluent people, who had wealth, dominance, caste power, all allied with those forces…..

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