NK'S POST

NK SINGH The current labour trouble in the Delhi office of The Statesman has more than meets the eye. On the surface, it seems to be a simple case of labour-management scuffle plus intra-union rivalry. A closer look, however, shows that it is an instance of the rapprochement between the government and the industrial owners of newspapers- Tatas, Martin Burn and Andrew Yule in this case at the top and the understanding between the management and the unscrupulous labour leaders the CPI in this case at the level of labour relations. Further, it symbolises the wages of trade unionism. The entire concept of trade unionism has changed recently instead of fulfilling the dual role of providing temporary relief to workers and intensifying the class struggle it has become a tool in the hands of the exploiting classes for disrupting the solidarity of the working classes and diverting their struggle towards petty economic gains.  Consequently, a whole class of unscrupulous labour Meaders has, o...

NK SINGH Driven by acute poverty, the Gauds, an aboriginal tribe living in the villages around the two military-proof ranges at Itarsi and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, have taken to an unusual and dangerous occupation. They sneak into the artillery-proof range, entry into which is strictly prohibited, and pick up shells of the fused bombs which are exploded there. The shells contain brass, copper, aluminium and iron, which are processed separated and sold to unscrupulous traders at a fraction of the original value of the metal. The rich traders, who are alleged to wield political influence in the state, sell the stolen metal at an exorbitant profit through their well-organised network. The half-clad, illiterate people, including many adolescents and even women, wait behind nearby bushes and trees as the heavy mortars roar. Most of them race towards the fused shells even before the smoke caused by the firing clears. Experience gained through years in the trade has developed in them a cru...

Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha NK SINGH The delicate question of the right of self-determination is as old as the institution of the State itself. Be it Biafra, Bangladesh, Ireland, Nagaland, Kashmir or Tibet, it is the same old story. The whole of Indochina, especially Vietnam, is aflame because the biggest imperium List power in the world was deprived of its right to self-determination. In this book, Mr Sachchidananda Sinha has forcefully pleaded for the right of self-determination and the right to secede of different nationalities "who for reasons of history is part of one of the existing nations, but in all other respects are different and capable of having an independent national existence". He bitterly criticises the federal system of government, points out the 'disturbing trend of centralisation of power and seeks to re-examine the whole Centre-State relationship in this light. All this has been written with special reference to the Indian context, the author may be cred...

NK SINGH Perhaps never since the Second World War, the extraоdinary 'slack' year of 1966-67 interluding in-between, the prices had gone up so rapidly in the history of Bhopal as in the year 1973. The consumers' price index for Bhopal, which went up from 100 in 1960 (base year) to 199 in 1972, showed a startling rising tendency this year. It shot from 212 in January to 257 in October, and if the persistent trend is any indication, it must have galloped to 270 by now, a rise of about 60 points. Prices of all the essential commodities, especially cereals, pulses, edible oils condiments and spices, showed an alarming increase, most of them shooting up by 50 to 60 per cent as compared to the previous year. Fuel touched an all-time high, and firewood went up by as much as from Rs. 10 to about Rs. 22 per quintal.  Scarcity On top of all this, there was a persistent scarcity of many essential commodities throughout the year. baby food, ghee, Bread, suji and maida were not available...

NK SINGH The food authorities are seriously considering a proposal to exempt vegetables from the essential commodities price control order imposed under the Defence of India Rules, it is learnt. The reason for this 'back to the pavilion' step is said to be the miserable failure of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies to invoke DIR against vegetable dealers. The department, it is learnt, could not even collect data about vegetable prices, not to speak of enforcing the price line. It may be mentioned that vegetables had been included in the list of essential commodities, whose prices were brought under the DIR price control order on August 28 last. Having failed to enforce the order, the authorities are now thinking of retracing the step and excluding vegetables from the provision of DIR. Several factors, including the marketing system of vegetables and the impractical nature of the DIR order, are understood το have brought about this failure. Instead of fixing the maximum m...

NK SINGH Though a Govt. directive has frustrated the earlier efforts of the MPSRTC to increase the city bus fares by as much as 300 per cent, the public resent even the 25 per cent hike. It is "totally unjust, uncalled for and arbitrary", this is the consensus that has emerged from an opinion conducted by "Commoner" among a cross-section of politicians, public men, trade union leaders, and last but not least, the common bus travelling public. However, a section of the people held, that an average passenger would not grudge a slight pinche in his pocket provided the MPSRTC toned up its services. But far from being satisfactory, the MPSRTC-run city bus service in the capital is an endless tale of woe. Hours of long waiting, over-crowding people clinging to window panes frequent breakdowns, age-old fleet of buses, unimaginative routes and the attitude of passengers one can be patient only when he is sure to get into the next bus are some of the ills plaguing the city b...