Dear Editor,
I have been reading the website of All India Forum Against Privatisation (AIFAP) for the past several days. The special feature of this week has been that an important public sector of our country, the Indian Railways, observed a Protest Week from 13 to 18 September. Our finance minister has recently announced the National Monetisation Pipeline. The working class is strongly opposing this decision. Both the major federations of Indian Railways, the All India Railwaymen’s Federation and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen, have organised protests against monetisation.
I am very happy that the news of the protest week and photos and videos of the struggles in various parts of the country are being published on the AIFAP website. These reports aid the common struggle of the working class. I hope that the workers of other sectors will take inspiration from this and intensify the struggle against the privatisation of their sector. Moreover, a lot of our media works for capitalists. That is why it is our responsibility as workers to keep visiting this website and share the news of the struggles with the working class. Before reading the newspapers of capitalists or listening to their reports, we must visit the website of AIFAP every day.
The struggle against privatisation has intensified over the past several months. Workers from one sector after another are opposing privatisation. In the Zoom meetings organised earlier by KEC and now by AIFAP, not only the leaders from the sectors being discussed but also those from other sectors have been participating. Hence, the anti-privatisation movement is gaining momentum. The government is trying to sell public assets, which were created from the tax money of every citizen of our country, to private profiteers for a few pennies. Because of working class opposition to this sale of public assets, the government has changed its tactics. It is now taking the path of monetisation. Under monetisation, the government will hand over public assets to capitalists for a large period. The working class has well understood this move of the government and has opposed it from the very beginning. Whether it is an open sale of assets or the policy of monetisation, we have understood that the use of public property for private profit is privatisation, even if it is called by any other name.
Indian railway workers have understood this policy and started to oppose it, but the struggle against monetisation and privatisation needs to be broadened. We have to fight against monetisation in every public sector enterprise. Every small protest should be united with the larger struggle of the working class. We have to keep abreast of the struggles of our sector as well as the struggles of the workers of other sectors and issue statements in their support. Finally, we must also involve our family members, friends and public sector consumers in our struggle against privatisation. Only our solidarity can defeat the demon of privatisation.
Mazdoor Ekta Zindabad!
Inquilab Zindabad!
Prathamesh, Mumbai
A sustained struggle is the need of the hour.