“A Single Spark can Start a Prairie Fire”
So goes the old Chinese saying much popularised by Comrade Mao through his writings. When we ideated and realised this magazine a year ago, the inspiration for the name was due partly to this saying and partly to the organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) named ‘Iskra’ (meaning ‘Spark’ in Russian), started by Comrade Lenin and others in 1900. The history of the Russian socialist revolution teaches us the catalysing effect of an organ. For instance, it shows how an organ nucleates an organisation around it. Essentially, our inspiration was not merely confined to a word, rather it emerged out of a historical duty to carry forward the torch of the world communist movement. With this dream, some of us came together to flag off the journey of Spark aimed at inculcating an alternate lens to look at the world. In a period of intensifying fascism, it becomes an even more urgent task to bring the truth to people. Within our limited capacity, we try our best to counter the pro-establishment narrative put forth by mainstream journalists.
As we walk into the election year, it is particularly important to understand where the state and (not) its people stand right now. Recent headlines like the 2022 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, the suspension of 146 MPs, and bulldozing of changes in the criminal law show the direction we are hurtling towards. Let us start off with the 2022 NCRB data released on 3rd December, 2023. The data has brought up certain very disturbing trends that paint a picture of a society bursting at the seams with discontent.
First and foremost, it reveals a harrowing surge in crimes against women and children in India. With 4,45,256 cases registered in 2022 alone, the data shows an escalation of ~4% as compared to 2021. As many as 1,62,449 cases of crimes against children were registered during 2022, showing an increase of 8.7% compared to 2021. Almost 40% of the total cases were filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Secondly, there has been a 24% increase in the number of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) cases compared to 2021. Out of the 1005 cases registered in 2022, almost 76% came from Assam, Manipur, UP, and J&K. While activists across the country have vehemently opposed the Act itself due to its clear cause of suppressing dissent, where the process becomes the punishment, the state has not just made its provisions more stringent, but also intensified its (mis)use.
Thirdly, a total of 1,70,924 suicides were reported in India in 2022, an increase of 4.2% as compared to 2021. Daily wage earners accounted for the highest number of such incidents with 44,713 daily wage earners (26.4% with 41,433 male and 3,752 female daily wage earners) ending their lives in 2022. Moreover, 1,09,875 suicide victims or almost 64.3% of the total number were reported to have an annual income of less than Rs. one lakh.
“We have no money, moneylenders are not ready to wait. What should we do? We can’t even afford to take onions to the market. You are just thinking about yourself, Modi saheb. You must provide the guaranteed price for the produce… The finance guys threaten, and the patpedhi (cooperative society) officers abuse. Who should we go for justice?… Today, I am forced to commit suicide because of your inaction.”
These were the last words of Dashrath Lakshman Kedari before he died by suicide in 2022 in Pune. Numerous such instances of bankruptcy and indebtedness added to the cause of suicides and was higher compared to the previous two years. The numbers clearly indicate that the systemic neoliberal dismantling of the agricultural sector has gotten worse in the Modi years. Besides, daily wage earners, student suicides have also shown an alarming increase accounting for 7.6% of all suicide deaths in the year 2023. Summing up, the NCRB data shows a worsening condition of workers, women, students, and anyone who dares to point out these issues. The same week that the NCRB data was released, the Parliament experienced an intervention by a group of youth inspired by Bhagat Singh’s act of Assembly bombing. These six youths came together from different parts of India, united by the common causes of fascism, rising unemployment, price rise, unending violence in Manipur, and agrarian distress. The incident of them setting off smoke canisters in the parliament led to them being slapped with UAPA, thus equating this act of legitimate dissent as an act of terrorism.
In the next few days, the MPs who demanded a statement from the Home Minister, were simply suspended from the parliament in big batches leaving millions of Indians without a representative. In their absence, a host of contentious bills were passed unopposed. Some of these are the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, and the Telecommunications Bill, 2023. Each one of these has been designed to facilitate fascist onslaught through legal means. No wonder, the opposition had to be ousted from the parliament to prevent any objection.
At this point, where does an analysis of these objective conditions take us? As many of our readers might know already, the people responsible for Spark have been also trying to build a place for democratic dissent in Bangalore by forging a workers’-students’- farmers’ unity. It is only through massive street actions that the times can be changed. Spark has been designed to supplant this process by sparking new ideas within the student and youth.
On behalf of the editorial board, I heartily thank you for helping us morally and financially to continue this initiative. This is not just a non-profit framework, rather we subsidise every copy of Spark to keep it within the reach of general student masses. This would not have been possible without the support of well-wishers in the city and outside.
I will end with saying, we will keep the Spark alive.
Long live revolution!
