South Asia

The present government crisis in Sri Lanka arises out of the JR Jayawardene constitution, adopted in 1979, which gives dictatorial executive powers to the country’s President.

“The thirteenth day of our strike has ended with a glorious victory!” declared Saranapala Palihena, member of the Janaraja Joint Health Services Union and Executive Committee of United Socialist Party (CWI Sri Lanka).

The health workers’ strike in Sri Lanka is now (21 September) in its 6th day. The workers are agitating on the main demand of rectifying an unfair wage anomaly. It came about as a result […]

“Nine bombings in as many months, almost 100 people dead, and some 200 injured: Bombay is in the midst of … the longest-running terror offensive any major Indian city has ever encountered…” (Editorial in ‘The […]

“Nine bombings in as many months, almost 100 people dead, and some 200 injured: Bombay is in the midst of … the longest-running terror offensive any major Indian city has ever encountered…” (Editorial in ‘The […]

In the name of Liberalisation, the deadly disease of Privatisation has attacked the working class throughout India. It has killed and destroyed 250,000 factories and has thrown 25 million workers and their families into a […]

According to V. K. Gupta, one of the joint secretaries of the National Confederation of Bank Employees, 50 million took part in this historic strike. Some of the veterans of the movement say this was […]

Leading up to the planned demonstration of 12 April, in Bangalore, there was a week-long campaign demanding, "No to war". In spite of the apparent ‘conquest’ of Baghdad, the action was quite successful in terms […]

THOUSANDS OF people on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC, the Line that divides Pakistani Occupied and Indian Occupied Kashmir) in Kashmir, different cities in Pakistan and Europe, recently celebrated the 19th anniversary […]

There were delegates representing many different sectors including women, students, youth, farmers, fisher folk, tribal rights activists, daliths (’untouchables’) and trade unionists. Peace/ anti-nuclear and environmental activists were also present. The Left parties also present […]

Though hardly any of the political observers predicted a defeat for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), very few foresaw the huge victory that the protagonists of Hindu chauvinism managed to secure in the Gujarat elections […]

"The peace process is the most important issue in Sri Lanka today. The war shows the incapability of the capitalist class to develop society. It is extremely weak and dependent on reactionary elements to stay […]

OVER 800 people, including a state minister, were killed by the Islamic militant groups during legislative assembly elections in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK).

THIRTEEN DEMONSTRATORS were arrested on 30 September, including the general secretary of the left-nationalist National Awami Party (NAP), when police baton-charged and tear-gassed a peaceful demonstration protesting against the extension of the Mangla dam in […]

From August 14-19, a delegation of comrades from the United Socialist Party (USP) of Sri Lanka made an historic visit to Jaffna via Vavuniya. This follows a recent ceasefire between LTTE (Tamil Tigers) forces, fighting […]

"THE ENEMY doesn’t value human life", said George Bush when launching his "war against terrorism". Neither it seems do his troops after they bombed and blasted a collection of villages in Afghanistan killing up to […]

Kashmir has been fought over by India and Pakistan ever since British imperialism’s divide-and-rule partition of the subcontinent in 1947. The Kashmiri people have been brutally oppressed, denied democracy and self-determination, and suffered two wars […]

Council elections in Sri Lanka have reinforced last December’s general election results with the United National Party strengthening its position further. It was bolstered, above all, by the cease-fire deal with the separatist Liberation Tigers […]

"The latest is that yesterday, three youth, including children aged 16,12,and 8 were killed in the heaviest shelling in Nakyaal sector, where the prime minister of Pakistani Occupied Kashmir is holed up unable to move […]

An anti-war demonstration of hundreds organised by socialist and left activists in the Jammu and Kashmir National Awami Party (NAP) and National Student Federation (NSF) was attacked by members of the reactionary Islamic Hizb-Ul Mujahadeen […]

Some ’lasting good’ will come out of the war against Afghanistan, promised Tony Blair last year. But promises given by capitalist politicians are usually written in sand, especially the kind made in wartime.

The world is nearer to nuclear war than at any time since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. The United States and the Soviet Union came close to a nuclear exchange, when Khrushchev based nuclear-armed […]

FOR THE people of Kashmir, India and Pakistan, the prospect of a war which may escalate into a nuclear conflict is terrifying. George Bush and Tony Blair claim to be horrified but the US and […]

Kashmir, India and Pakistan stand on the edge of a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions. Two unstable regimes with nuclear weapons threaten to bring destruction to millions of people already suffering from poverty, disease and mass […]

AN ATTACK on an Indian army camp in Kashmir by Kashmiri separatists has increased tensions between India and Pakistan threatening a potentially horrific escalation in the region’s long-running conflict.

CWI Kashmir and Jammu section celebrates May Day.

The unabated communal carnage going on in the State of Gujarat in particular and the communal tension all over the country in general, is in a way the logical conclusion of the chauvinistic build up […]

The 13 December attack on the Indian parliament, alleged to be the work of the Islamic group, LET backed by the Pakistani military and security services triggered off the largest military build-up since the 1971 […]

The 13 December attack on the Indian parliament, alleged to be the work of the Islamic group, LET backed by the Pakistani military and security services triggered off the largest military build-up since the 1971 […]

The situation is still very tense and if anything it is probably more tense since Blair’s visit to the Asian sub-continent writes a Kashmiri CWI member. Commentators have described Blair’s visit as a sightseeing tour […]

The past week has witnessed the start of a new stage in the US military’s attack on Afghanistan. Ground troops have been in action for the first time and air raids have begun on Taliban […]

International Resistance, the anti-capitalist youth campaign initiated by the Left Socialist Party (the Belgian CWI-section) organised a school strike and an anti-capitalist youth march in Gent, on Friday 19 October. The main slogan of the […]

"An Invasion of Peace", "An endless succession of colours" is how Liberazione – the paper of the Italian Communist Refoundation Party (Prc) – described the gigantic anti-war procession that made its way across 25 kilometres […]

Nobody could have predicted the dramatic turn of events in Afghanistan, and particularly the speed of developments in the last few days. The Northern Alliance has captured the key urban centres of Afghanistan, particularly in […]

The anti-war demonstration that took place in London on 13 October was significant for its size and mood. Socialist Party (CWI England and Wales section) members responded to the demonstration brilliantly, with hundreds making up […]

War in Afghanistan

War in Afghanistan

In the aftermath of the 11 September attacks on the WTC and Pentagon, the US led strikes in all the major cities of Afghanistan, which began on Sunday (6 th October) night, anti-US and pro-Taliban […]

War in Afghanistan

War in Afghanistan

War in Afghanistan

War in Afghanistan

Support for military action from Pakistan’s General Musharraf has been duly rewarded by George Bush. Sanctions imposed on both Pakistan and India following their 1999 nuclear weapons tests have been lifted. However, in siding with […]

Even at this early stage, the anti-war movement is gathering pace across the US. Thousands have been involved in peace demonstrations. Over 2,000 marched in Berkeley. 500 demonstrated in Oberlin College, Ohio, where, as The […]

More than 10,000 people took part in a demonstration against the war in Berlin on Saturday 22 September.

Around 2,000 people at a London rally on 21 September heard speakers condemn Bush and Blair’s plans for war.

Most of the long-suffering Afghan people would welcome the overthrow of the Taliban regime. However, neither the country’s opposition militias nor Western imperialism provide a solution to their problems as the experience of re-introducing capitalism […]

As we go to press, Bush’s military machine is preparing for action. Air-strikes against Afghanistan are imminent.

US president Bush says he’s targeting the Taliban regime because it’s harbouring terrorists around Osama bin Laden. But in the 1980s it was the US CIA which helped arm, finance and instruct Bin Laden and […]

President Bush’s administration are gung-ho about taking military action against Osama bin Laden and his Taliban hosts.

The recapture of the strategic Elephant Pass by the Tamil Tigers inflicted a severe blow to the Sri Lankan army. President Chandrika Kumaratunga has declared a state of emergency, suspending democratic rights and demanding yet […]

Even as we are sending this out there is heavy fighting around Jaffna. The ‘Tigers’ have taken a vitally important bridge and yesterday claimed to be 3 kilometres form the town itself. It looks like […]

Eighty percent of low paid workers in Britain are women. They are the cleaners, cooks and hairdressers forced to work in poor conditions with no legal minimum wage. In the public sector, low pay is […]

Women constitute half the population of Sri Lanka and play a crucial role in the affairs of the country. On the one hand, both the president and the prime minister are women and the world’s […]

Much has changed since the revolution of 25th of April 25 years ago. Working class women gained through the revolutionary process very advanced constitutional rights by comparison with the rest of Europe. Before 1974 women […]

Company unions and harmonious labour-management relations? Japanese culture is different and Japanese women are obedient? That is not at all what Japan is about. There are working women with some guts!

Capitalist India – the land of a million festivals – has a unique trick up its sleeve to turn the most radical of events into a ritual to perpetuate its feudal status-quo. International Women’s Day […]

The 8th of March is a very significant date in fighting for a socialist future. This is the day of international solidarity of working women in the struggle for their economic, social and political rights.