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| NEWSLETTER | JUNE - JULY 2022 |
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“Singing in the rain” – for Democracy and Equality! An overview of our activities from June through July 2022 |
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| Campaigns on Unemployment |  | The current steep rise in the prices of daily necessities is the result of the BJP government’s conscious pro-corporate economic policy. On the one hand, the government subsidies the big corporations through tax breaks and loan write-offs worth lakhs of crores of rupees and on the other hand it proceeds to further shrink the meager earnings of the people through ever increasing GST levies on essentials as well as taxes on petrol and diesel. Lakhs of government posts lie vacant public sector employment shrinks rapidly, while corporates are handed over public sector enterprises for peanuts, worsening the unemployment crisis.
Official discourse as well as the corporate lapdog media distract people from this reality through increasing hateful and divisive propaganda. We strive to expose this reality through regular and creative street campaigns.
In these two months, we organised one campaign every week on unemployment and price-rise in crowded markets in the heart of the city as well as some tourist spots such as Shaniwar Wada. We attracted the attention of the people there using placards and by singing a catchy composition on unemployment, set to the tune of popular Hindi film song “Papa Kehte Hain”. Then we had a conversation with those who gathered round, about the real reasons for the economic crises and alternative policies.
Campaigning in the rainy season is a challenge. A couple of campaigns were disrupted by heavy rains but we soon found a solution. Instead of larger teams campaigning among crowds, pairs of activists campaigned among small, dispersed groups of people.
We also organised an in-depth discussion on inflation and LPG price rise and another on the reality of the “Agnipath” scheme.
Lokayat Nagari Samiti wrote, rehearsed and performed a street play on LPG price rise in two bastis in the Shivajinagar area.
| Anti-Caste Campaigns |  | In addition to our campaigns on economic issues, we organised two street campaigns titled “Todu Jatichya Bedya” (Break the Chains of Caste) – focusing on having frank conversations, in public, about the reality of systematic casteism in all areas of our society. The last two months’ campaigns happened to be in areas of the city known to be populated mostly by the so called “upper”-caste middle-class. Our experience has been mixed – we find in equal measure those who are sensitive and willing to change as well as those who turn a blind eye. Every iteration of this campaign underscores the need to continue it. |
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Regular Activities by Abhivyakti
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| Campaigns on #BanSexistSongs |  | The campaign called “Ban Sexist Songs” continued every week throughout the two rainy months, with an improved street-play performed mainly by volunteers who have become active in just the last few months. This play has been getting a good response from men and women, young and old alike.
We urge the readers of this newsletter to volunteer for Lokayat and Abhivyakti campaigns in the coming weeks. | Abhivyakti’s Collective Sessions |  | These sessions on gender sensitization, mojaorly for females, help them to express themselves in a safe environment and gain confidence as well as knowledge. They are combination of intellectual and physical activities. In June and July we organised:
Two discussions on “Black is Beautiful”, to understand the social roots of India’s obsession with fair skin. Women of self help groups at Tadiwala road near Pune station participated in the first and new volunteers of Abhivyakti participated in the second. A fun session of dance and dogdeball. Many participants expressed their delight at having got the opportunity to freely dance and play for the first time in years. An exception to the rule – a session open for all genders and conducted by our male activists – screening of the film “Man’s World” aimed at sensitising the men towards those who are at the receiving end of patriarchy. This received a good response. | Abhivyakti Monthly Meetings |  | Abhivyakti monthly meetings for women are organised to broadly plan the upcoming month’s activities and to give women and girls the space to take a proactive and leading role in organising. |
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| |  | We are working closely with the team of Sarvodaya Sangam (sarvodayasangam.com) in organising “Yuva Sangam” - a series of residential workshops for young activists who wish to pursue Constitutional ideology and activism. This workshop is being organised for a different state each month. The four day workshop comprises interactive discussions and team activities. The participants gain an understanding of Constitutional values - justice, liberty, equality, fraternity - the situation of these values in Indian society today and insights how to strengthen them through activism.
The camp for Rajasthan was organised at Jalore in June and for Karnataka at Bengaluru in July. Both saw enthusiastic participation by more than 50 young activists in each camp.
We urge our young friends to watch this mailing list or the Yuva Sangam web page for announcements of the upcoming camps in their states. |
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| Efforts by Lokayat Nagari Samiti (Citizens’ Committee) |
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| Campaign for Universalised and Improved Ration System |  | India is going through a crisis of malnutrition, exacerbated by increasing unemployment and inflation. We organise the people to resolve their ration related grievances and shortages through official channels. Simultaneously we organise them to demand from the State and Union governments that the Food Security Act be fully implemented and extended on a war footing.
In the previous two months the Nagari Samiti organised this house-to-house campaign in the Peth areas of the city as well as in Wadarwadi and registered numerous ration related grievances. Our activists along with Nagari Samiti convener Nitin Pawar met the city Food Distribution Officer to follow up pending grievances. The meeting was quite fruitful and the FDO pushed the area-level officials to expedite the existing complaints. We happily report that tens of more families will soon gain their rightful share of the rations due to the efforts of these two months.
With the Modi government cutting down procurement and food-subsidy budgets to eliminate the ration system altogether the educative aspect of the campaign has increased in importance. So, we organised one outreach campaign specifically among those who started receiving rations due to our efforts. We encouraged them to volunteer for future activities and to organise their neighbours and families.
An in-depth workshop on the politics and economics of the ration system was organised for all those who volunteered. Lokayat Nagari Samiti wrote, rehearsed and performed a street play on LPG price rise in two bastis in the Shivajinagar area.
The Nagari Samiti organised discussions for activists who hail from the bastis, on a variety of topics. In these two months we discussed climate change, India’s external debt crisis and the science of menstruation. |
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|  | #Jai #Bhim Dance | Kafila | Lokayat |
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 | तुझ्या हाती तूप आलं, तुझ्या हाती साय |
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| We continue to regularly make progressive content on social media. This month as well we targeted issues of petrol, diesel & gas price hike, privatisation, caste inequality, gender & economic crisis etc. |
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| Volunteer for poster making activity if you are interested |
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| | | Fill this form to join us: |
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| Lokayat, 129/B Erandwane, opposite Canara Bank,
Law College Road, near Nalstop, Pune.
Rishikesh : +91 94235 07864 | Shakuntala : +91 98502 54679 |
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