Class Struggles in India

In the last month, several articles have been published that detail the intensifying class struggle in India, where the rich and poor are locked in an admittedly one-sided struggle (where the rich are pummelling the poor and complaining whenever the poor lifts a finger in protest). That these titanic struggles have been left out of most mainstream press accounts of a "new shining India", is yet another indication of the anti-democratic nature of commercial media and its slavish service to the upper consuming classes.

P. Sainath's on Gurgaon is an enlightening if not depressing account of the struggles in old and new Gurgaon, where redevelopment is creating gated communities on top of the lands of workers. The recent fightback on the part of Honda workers, which was described in the media as a violent explosion, is part of this story of repression, police brutality, and the brazen injustice being visited upon India's working class by the emerging MNC-tied urban elites.

Shivali Tukdeo reports from Mumbai, that in addition to facing devestating floods, has embarked upon a draconian slum clearance campaign that has left over 300,000 homeless over the last year.