Is Fighting for Basic Necessities a Crime?
(Open Letter by Revolutionary Youth Association, Punjab) Dear Friends We the youth of Chandigarh are writing this letter on behalf of landless daily wage rural labourers of Malwa. We want to address the learned citizens of Chandigarh about inhuman conditions in which the landless poor of our ‘Proud Democracy’ are living. The conditions, which have forced the innocent poor to take the steering wheel of politics in their own hands by acquiring the 1/3 share in Common Panchayti land which is their legal right and 50 year old unfulfilled promise of State and Center Govt., are as follow: • Where in Rural Punjab 20% of richest population owns 67.7% of productive forces, the bottom 40% owns only 2% of productive forces. So broadly the poor have almost no productive forces which include land and animals. • Only source of income left with the rural labourers is to work either on daily-wages (in Villages/Cities) or yearly contract with landlords. Daily-wage rate is Rs. 80-120 and yearly contract
