You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot build up a nation, you cannot build up morality. Anything that you will build on the foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole. – Dr.B. R. Ambedkar in ‘Annihilation of Caste’.

Written in 1936, the teachings of ’Annihilation of Caste’ remain entirely valid today. Moreover, caste has spawned the “unparalleled social abuse of untouchability” (A.J.Toynbee). Due to its roots in patriarchy, caste has similarly enforced a degraded status on women. These poisons are not confined to Hinduism alone, but have leaked into the other religions as well. Thus, the eradication of caste is a national project of the greatest importance.

SP(I) believes that annihilation of caste is a precursor to the establishment of a society founded on justice, liberty, equality and fraternity, as envisaged in the Constitution. Furthermore, SP(I) is committed to a programme of action that will lead to such a society. It will, first and foremost, work towards establishing fraternity, for it is fraternal feelings between all citizens that will ultimately guarantee justice, liberty and equality.

This commitment rests on two insights. One, SP(I) cannot be a spearhead for change unless its members are all individually committed to the vision of a casteless society. It expects all members of the party to not only declare their commitment, but to elevate it to singular importance in their personal and public lives. Two, fraternity cannot spontaneously emerge in a vacuum but must be assiduously cultivated, for everywhere caste hierarchy blights social intercourse. In this regard, SP(I) resolves to strengthen the tools already available: affirmative action in the form of reservations for Adivasis, Dalits and OBCs, and the Hindu Code Bill, which empowers women with rights that were denied throughout our history. SP(I) understands these measures not only as affirmative action to redress injustice, but also as measures to ensure representation of all hitherto excluded categories in every aspect of our nation’s life. It is only when people of all castes are represented in the institutions of the state, that we can begin to move towards annihilating caste. Thus, SP(I) commits itself to the expansion and effective implementation of caste-based reservations. It recognizes the need to ensure that the benefits of reservations reach all subcastes. Similarly, it supports the reservation of seats for women, apportioned by caste, in the Parliament, State Legislatures, and Panchayat Raj Institutions. SP(I) will itself ensure equitable representation of all castes, religions, genders, in the party organisation.

More than seven decades after independence, violence against Adivasis, Dalits, women, and religious minorities remains endemic. SP(I) will take the lead in ushering in a society free of violence, and will support to strengthen the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocity Act, the Elimination of Manual Scavenging Acts, the recommendations of the Mandal Commission and Sachar Committee. Furthermore, SP(I) will broaden and deepen the struggle for a fraternal society. It commits to (i) provide equal and quality education to all the nation’s children by implementing a common school system – cultivating fraternal feelings amongst children from various castes, religions and social backgrounds, is the most effective way to move towards a fraternal society, (ii) encourage inter-caste marriages, (iii) establish localities where people of different castes can live together, (iv) eliminate manual scavenging, which is the savage face of casteist discrimination.

SP(I) also acknowledges that caste hierarchies are reflected in class hierarchies, and that any programme to annihilate caste must include measures to combat economic inequality. Thus it also commits to (i) implement land distribution programmes, (ii) social security measures such as minimum income and universal health care.

Furthermore, SP(I) will judge the progress of the nation’s war against caste and untouchability by the status of Dalit women, who are at the intersection of the two categories of oppression, and bear the greatest burden of violence and dispossession.

Thus, SP(I) will strive in every way to foster the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood amongst all citizens, so that we may transcend the artificial divisions of caste, and emerge a united people.

In theory, India has a universal public healthcare system, however, in practice, due to the lack of proper infrastructure and facilities and an inadequate workforce, along with widespread corruption and inefficiency, only a very small portion of India’s population is able to benefit from this system. In recent times, thanks to our shift towards neo-liberal economic policy, government expenditure on healthcare as a fraction of its total budget has gone down dramatically. Instead, national health policy has become more focused on providing support and encouragement to the private health sector.

1.4 million Indians die every year because they cannot access quality services during a health emergency. This is a death toll greater than that of all Indian wars and COVID combined. Through this system, poverty is effectively criminalised: those who cannot afford quality healthcare are fated to die. Our healthcare system is thus not only unjust but deeply violent.

India spends 0.9% of its GDP on healthcare — the figure is higher even for countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. We believe that access to free and quality healthcare is a human right. There is an urgent need to formulate stronger policies and legislation which will lead to the universalization of access to basic healthcare and social insurance.

About 70% of the total expenditure on healthcare in India, is out-of-pocket for its citizens. Most of this amount is used for hospitalization services and for purchasing medicines. Public spending on preventive measures like water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, adequate ventilation, immunization etc. is even lower. This creates an undue burden on the poorest and most marginalised sections of society, profoundly affecting their overall wellbeing and their life outcomes. This makes it even more difficult for them to break out of the cycle of poverty.

Thus, there is an urgent need to nationalise all components of healthcare ranging from preventive, promotive, and palliative, to curative and rehabilitative care. What is needed is a robust economy of care, driven by publicly employed health workers and the community, rather than an indiscriminate push for automation or techno-solutionism. This will also help create employment in the healthcare sector and build social solidarity.

Nationalisation is not enough; the aim should be the socialisation of health. It is important for the healthcare system to prioritise public welfare, involve public participation, and to be accountable to the public.

The rights of workers, particularly to collective bargaining and peaceful collective action, must be protected. Social security, in the form of life and health insurance, and an old age pension should be provided to all workers in the unorganized sector. The State should ensure high quality common and free education and health services to all members of the working class.

Workers should be empowered to unionize, and co-operatives must be popularized and subsidized to promote worker autonomy. The minimum wage should also be enough to meet basic meets and guaranteed.

The monopoly of big banks, conglomerates, and corporations over entire industries is harmful to the interests of workers. Such monopolies must be broken and small businesses encouraged and protected.

India has the world’s largest number of people subject to modern forms of slavery; any form of bonded or forced labour, human trafficking, and child labour must be brought to an end.

India is the largest single big purchaser of military hardware in the world. It pays thousands of crores of rupees to foreign manufacturers every year to strengthen its armed forces. This drain of public wealth must end. As an initial step, no more military purchases should be made from western manufacturers. Let our scientists, engineers, and technicians, who have put satellites in the sky, develop and produce heavy armaments and vehicles for our armed forces.

India is not a military state and should withdraw from the international arms race, which hampers our social and economic development. In accordance with our professed cultural values of non-violence and compassion, we should destroy our stockpile of nuclear weapons and advocate for similar measures around the world.

Mining is India is often carried out indiscriminately, with utter disregard for the rights of local communities and mine workers, aided by a corporate-political nexus, and causing extensive damage to the environment. There is a dire need for stronger regulatory mechanisms and for involving local democratic bodies in the selection of areas to be mined to ensure that mining is done sustainably and with the mandate of those affected.

The objective of India’s Panchayati Raj system is to ensure democratic, local self-governance, and to have at the foundation of India’s political system a decentralised form of government where each village has a degree of sovereignty over its own affairs. The proper functioning of this system is key to establishing true grass-roots democracy and allowing the least privileged among us to have a voice in the political system. Unfortunately, large-scale corruption, and social discrimination based on caste and gender, prevent the panchayat system from serving this purpose. In addition, in recent times there have been moves to weaken the sovereignty of the Gram Sabha by allowing private organisations such as companies and NGOs to step in to perform functions which should ideally be carried out with the mandate of the Gram Sabha. The Socialist Party (India) believes in Gandhiji’s vision of Gram Swaraj and is working to strengthen the Panchayati Raj system in India.

Nuclear power in India has a long and troubled history of unmet projections, huge costs to the exchequer, frequent accidents, and widespread anti-nuclear agitations. India’s nuclear energy program is to a large extent shrouded in mystery, and we have limited information about matters like the functioning of nuclear power plants, the causes and consequences of accidents during plant operation, and the measures being taken to prevent exposure to radiation. This in itself tells us about the undemocratic nature of the program, and indicates that there is a lot the establishment has to hide.

Yet even an analysis of what we know makes it clear that the viability of continuing to develop civilian nuclear power is questionable, and in a country like India, whose government is often found guilty of corruption, a disregard for human rights, and apathy towards the underprivileged, and being disproportionately influenced by the USA and other western powers in its functioning, it seems reckless and dangerous. The long term health effects of exposure to even small quantities of continued nuclear radiation over a long period of time, which plant-workers and populations living close to nuclear facilities are exposed to are a matter of much scientific debate. The processing, transport and disposal of radioactive nuclear waste is expensive and energy-intensive, it also poses health risks to those who carry it out and those who may be accidentally exposed to such waste due to inefficient management. Uranium mining is environmentally destructive and has adverse effects on the health of mine workers and communities which live close to the mines.

Globally, public opinion about the benefits of nuclear energy has taken a major down-turn in recent times, especially in the light of the recent accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. Many countries are phasing out their nuclear energy programs and focusing more on alternatives. India too must realize the enormous potential it has for generating solar, wind, geothermal, and other forms of alternative energy, and invest in these green technologies to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

Separatist movements are currently prevalent in the Indian states of Jammu Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura. As the insurgency is fast receding in all these areas, the military should be withdrawn and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act lifted with immediate effect. Issues in these states should be resolved peacefully with due regard to the rights and aspirations of the people.

The Socialist Party expresses concern particularly over the terrorist attacks and assaults aimed at those who have been participating in the democratic process in Jammu and Kashmir. The discrimination which often occurs against people of these states living in other parts of India for education, employment, and self-employment etc. should come to end. The terrain in these border states being difficult, greater priority should be accorded to providing rail and road facilities to ensure equitable development and access to opportunities.

All major separatist movements threaten to destabilize the entire religion and upset the global balance of power, especially considering their vicinity to three nuclear nations. However, we believe that every separatist movement is fuelled by gratuitous violence against civilians, and a perceived threat against the values of the people. To mitigate this, the people must be ensured their basic rights and freedoms, and given a voice to determine how they are to be governed.

The Western model of development poses a serious threat to the environment the world over. Since this model of development sustains itself through the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources, the call of its propagators for ‘sustainable development’ or ‘development with a human face’ is hollow.

The People’s Agreement adopted by the 2010 World People’s Conference on Climate Change, held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, states, “Humanity confronts a great dilemma to continue on the path of capitalism, depredation, and death, or to choose the path of harmony with nature and respect for life. It is imperative that we forge a new system that restores harmony with nature and among human beings. And for there to be balance with nature, there must first be equity among human beings.”

Climate change is no accident. It is a direct result of the economic and social system that governs the planet – capitalism. Capitalism can only survive by continued accumulation, extracting resources as quickly as possible and turning them into commodities that can be bought and sold. Climate change will shape world history as much as colonialism and imperialism have done in the past and the left needs to take this seriously and take a lead in building the mass movements that are needed to confront this crisis.

The Socialist Party has constituted a committee to find genuine solutions to the present climate crisis. The committee will examine the threat posed to the eco-system by the capitalist model of development and suggest alternatives based on the thoughts of thinkers who advocate harmony between nature and people and differentiate between need and greed.

Under no circumstances will the capitalist elite find more sustainable ways for developing more sustainable forms of energy production. The two solutions would be: 1) to reduce their influence by breaking up massive corporations; 2) incentivize publicly funded research into sustainable energy and its effective implementation. This must also be done with a clear plan to move workers in the fossil fuel industry to this new market.

The Public Distribution System in India is aimed at eliminating hunger and ensuring food security for every Indian. Unfortunately, India remains home to about 1/3rd of the world’s hungry people and about 47% of Indian children are malnourished. It is obvious that the design and functioning of the PDS leaves a lot to be desired. The food subsidies provided are not universal and due to unfair criteria for ascertaining target groups and errors in registration and identification of the poor, many deserving people are unable to access them. Rampant corruption and inefficiencies lead to large-scale diversion of grains and wastage. Also, the current food quota of 25kg of grain per month per household for BPL families is insufficient.

For the PDS to be successful, it is important that it be universalised so that every household in India is guaranteed a minimum quantity of food grain. This will automatically eliminate errors of exclusion which are inherent in a targeted system. Recent initiatives by the government to introduce an Universal Identification Card to improve targeting will only aggravate the problem of unfair exclusion as it could be affected by fingerprint issues, connectivity and power-supply problems. Direct cash transfers will expose the country’s poorest people to the vagaries of the open market, to which many of them currently do not even have proper access due to lack of roads and transport facilities. The government should concentrate its resources and energy on universalisation of the PDS, and increasing food entitlements to ensure food security and address the structural roots of hunger.

Violence towards women at home, in the workplace, and on the streets must stop. For this men need to radically change their patriarchal mindset and grant women the power, respect, and equality which they have for so long been denied. The party supports the women’s reservation bill as it believes that giving women more political power will help empower them socially and economically.

Cosmetic gestures like introducing an exclusive bank for women are not enough; the channelling of an adequate flow of banking and financial services towards women, from all banks and financial institutions, should be ensured. We must also abolish the gender pay gap.

The party rejects the gender binary and believes that all people regardless of sexual and gender identity deserve equal rights and opportunities. All religious-patriarchal social policing of the human bodies and sexuality should end.

Comprehensive sex education in schools, provided at an appropriate age, is extremely important. Through such education the importance of consent and mutual respect in relationships, and sexual health and safety, can be emphasised. Learning about and openly discussing matters related to gender and sexuality from an early age would lead to responsible, open-minded and emancipated attitudes around sex and gender relations in the general public, which would greatly empower women and people belonging to other gender and sexual minorities.

Condoms, tampons, hygienic pads, and any product essential to women’s health must be covered by an inclusive healthcare program and made readily accessible to all women.

The SP(I) believes in validating people belonging to all sections of the LGBTQ community. People who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, demisexual, non-binary, genderfluid, intersex, transgender, and queer — all have the right to their identity and to a life of dignity.

We reject the gender binary and heteronormativity. We also believe in protecting the freedom of any individual who may face discrimination based on their sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, gender performance, and expression. We believe that the rights of the LGBTQ+ community must be protected in the domains of housing, employment, social security, and any other guaranteed freedoms with strong anti-discrimination laws. All couples should be recognized legally in case of civil unions and domestic partnerships (even platonic). All groups in society also deserve protection against hate crimes and bullying through legislation.

While we wholeheartedly support the identity of anyone identifying as the third gender, we do not support BJP’s totalitarian imposition of their Hindu-centric gender norms on LGBTQ+ people, which are as problematic as Western heteronormative frameworks.

Forests are vanishing rapidly all over India. In the corporate greed for monetising forest resources, and to make way for mines, industries and cities, we are cutting them down indiscriminately and with little regard for the consequences. In this process we are destroying not only our environment and the habitats of a diverse array of wildlife, but also threatening the way of life of millions of people belonging to indigenous and forest dependent communities. These communities have been the stewards of our country’s forests for thousands of years, and have a deep relationship with nature. There is a lot mainstream society can learn from them, and it is likely that they hold the key to helping us move away from our environmentally destructive and unsustainable economic system. Yet indigenous people are often deprived of their rights to their homes and lands, and denied access to forest resources in the name of conservation.

Ironically, the state Forest Departments which implement these conservation laws are often themselves responsible for large-scale deforestation. The Forest Rights Act, 2006 is a recent piece of progressive legislation which for the first time gives such communities the right to protect and manage their forests. However, implementation of the Act leaves a lot to be desired, and the rights of Adivasi communities continue to be neglected. To ensure that India’s forests are conserved and Adivasi communities allowed to retain their traditional way of life, the Forest Rights Act must be implemented in letter and spirit in all parts of the country.

Maintenance of world peace and cooperation, and the protection of human rights should be the guiding principles of our foreign policy. Our bonds of friendship with our neighbours and other countries of East Asia and Africa should be strengthened. Sincere diplomatic deliberations should prevail upon direct military action. Violence can only be justified if committed in self-defence, in retaliation to a violent attack by the other side. Jingoistic rhetoric by the government or political parties is harmful and only exposes the hollowness of their real commitment to national wellbeing.

Our foreign policy should reject all kinds of neo-imperialist pressures and interests. For example, the treaty on a gas pipeline between India and Iran was dropped under pressure from the USA. The party does not support direct military action and believes that all international disputes should be resolved through bilateral negotiations. But the party does support and demand policies which would protect our local markets, small and middle scale industries and local craft artisans across the country. Such a resolve will strengthen our economic power. The Socialist Party firmly demands that the Indian land occupied by China in the war of 1962 must be vacated and calls upon the Indian government to review its position with regard to Tibet, particularly in the light of persistent Chinese intrusion throughout the Indo-Tibet border.

The Party expresses its deep concern over the unabated violence in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The same imperialist forces, that are responsible for the havoc in these countries, are responsible for the rise of Islamophobia through their propagation of erroneous and one-sided perceptions of Islam and Muslims. These forces, in their lust for profit, are not ready to allow peace and harmony a chance to prevail in the world.

Global solidarity and pan-Asian unity must be promoted in the face of growing ultra-nationalist, separatist movements. Following Brexit, the European refugee crisis, and a collapsing European Union, it is clear that nations cannot be isolationist and survive. Freedom of movement between countries and economic cooperation are the way forward.

India should continue to offer humanitarian aid, and support allies. We should unconditionally condemn international wars, such as those being waged against Palestine and Ukraine, and always advocate for peaceful dialogue.

India should take a strong stance against totalitarian regimes which restrict individual and political freedoms, like Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia.

Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail was recently allowed in India in the face of mass protests, by a leadership apathetic to its implications for the millions of small business owners, traders and self-employed people working in the unorganised sector who currently drive the Indian retail industry. The move is likely to affect the livelihood of millions, lead to large-scale job-loss, increase urban migration, and fundamentally change the way a large portion of our country’s population works and lives. Yet, the decision to implement it did not involve any kind of public participation or pre-legislative consultation. If FDI is truly in the long-term interest of all Indians, there was no reason to not give them a say in the decision. The move is indicative of the increasingly elitist and anti-poor nature of Indian economic policy, which focuses on the superficial idea of growth, and has little to do with the ground realities of a majority of India’s people.

India should oppose the WTO which pushes FDI into Banks, Insurance, water, electricity, defence matters. Efforts should be made to steer Indian economy from being dependent upon, and being geared to benefit, corporate capitalism. India must not rush into signing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and other bi- and multi-lateral trade agreements that would jeopardize access to essential and affordable medicines, seeds and adversely impact other sectors of small and medium scale enterprises. The Socialist Party believes in sustainability at local level as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi’s Gram Swarajya and Dr Lohia’s ‘Four Pillar’ model. Opening markets internationally does not provide equal level playing field to domestic players. We have seen how big industries (whether domestic or multinational) are given undue benefits and promotions to help protect their markets and domestic players are dealt with a heavy hand making it all the more difficult for them to survive.

The state of basic education in India is dismal. 25% of India’s population is illiterate, and only 15% of Indian children reach high school. Drop-out rates are high, with one out of every three children enrolled dropping out before class five, and one in two dropping out before reaching class eight. The vast majority of those in school are part of India’s public education system, but due to insufficient funding and a lack of proper facilities, the quality of education in government schools very often leaves a lot to be desired.

The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 which makes education a fundamental right is a welcome step towards ensuring universal access, however the Act also has many shortcomings, especially when it comes to closing the gap between the standard of education and educational facilities accessible to the rich and those provided for the underprivileged, especially children belonging to Dalit and Adivasi communities. Loopholes in the Act will allow many private schools to get away with not implementing the 25% quota for poor children. Also, it puts little emphasis on improving teaching standards, the first step to which would be to provide teachers with better working conditions and salaries, and to make all public school teachers permanent government employees.

Children often face abuse, caste-based discrimination and mistreatment in school, and are put under tremendous pressure to perform. Rote-learning is encouraged and there is little scope for self-expression and creativity. There is a need to rethink our system of education and devise more meaningful teaching and evaluation methodologies. All of this can only be achieved if our government reformulates public policy to make education reform a top priority.

Education must be guaranteed and expanded for all citizens of India, extending the right to free and compulsory education to the age of 18. We believe that education should be democratic, allowing both teachers and students a say in pedagogical methods and practices.

Our education system is discriminatory towards girls, those form Dalit and Adivasi communities, and LGBTQ and neurodivergent children. There must be comprehensive policies and educator sensitivity trainings to support first generation learners, and those with learning differences and disabilities. Currently, the education imparted in our schools is too exam-oriented, monotonous, and alienating for students. There is a need for more creative and student-friendly educational methods and assessment practices to be devised and implemented in classrooms.

The increasing privatisation of higher education in India is a matter of concern. However, even within the public sector there is a lot of variation in educational standards and facilities. While elite technical and management education institutions such as the IITs and IIMs are flush with funds and have developed world-class infrastructure, most Indian central and state universities are struggling to retain good faculty and maintain standards. This indicates a bias towards promoting vocational programmes such as engineering and management over the natural sciences, the humanities and social sciences, and the arts. In addition, many elite institutions are highly exclusive and discriminatory. Due to the grossly ineffective implementation of reservation policies, and the nature of their entrance examinations, they invariably exclude even highly capable people from marginalised communities.

We believe that higher education must be accessible to people of all communities and regions. Reservation policies must be implemented in both letter and spirit, and efforts made to sensitise students and faculty to issues related to caste and gender inclusivity through discussions and trainings. Funding should be extended to all areas of education to encourage progress in all fields of human endeavour.

An effective communal violence law must be enacted without delay and strictly implemented. Innocent Muslims are often rounded up in combing operations and made to languish in jails indefinitely. Persons responsible for terrorist acts must be brought to book, but ordinary people must not be unjustly harassed in the process.

The Socialist Party has made a demand that the mortal remains of Bahadur Shah Zafar should be brought back to India from Rangoon (presently Yangon), Myanmar, by the government of India. The party has submitted a memorandum to this effect to the President of India. Zafar was the leader of our First War of Independence against the colonial powers and a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity. The Socialist Party, at its national convention, launches an all India movement in favour of the demand.

India’s agricultural policy since the time of the Green Revolution has been focused on promoting industrial agriculture. This has meant a large-scale shift from traditional agricultural methods to chemical-intensive, mechanized farming leading to an exponential rise in production costs. Trade liberalization has opened up the seed, fertilizer and pesticide markets to big agri-business corporations which with their non-renewable, input-intensive seeds, and expensive, environmentally destructive chemicals have rapidly changed the nature of farming.

Chemical fertilizers are heavily subsidized by the government, and over time chemically-treated soils become lifeless and require larger and larger quantities of inputs to produce the same yield, this makes a transition back to organic, self-reliant agriculture difficult. These developments have been accompanied by falling prices of farm commodities, which has meant that farmers often spend more on growing their crop than they earn from it, pushing them deep into debt. In the last 15 years close to 250,000 farmers have committed suicide many more have been forced to give up farming and migrate to cities.

Today about 60% of India’s population is still directly or indirectly dependent on farming, yet the manufacturing and service sectors take much higher priority in the government’s financial planning. The emphasis of agricultural policy is on increasing yield, yet today India produces enough food to feed our whole population. What is required is more equitable distribution. There is a dire need for the government to realize the importance of adopting sustainable agricultural practices which allow farmers to be self-reliant. Farming needs to be recognized as a profession of national importance, and farmers need to be given their due by providing them material and financial support such as fair Minimum Support Prices and minimum wages for farm labour, training in sustainable agricultural practices, and promoting sustainable and equitable food production.

We believe that all political decisions regarding Kashmir should be made democratically, according to the will of the Kashmiri people. We oppose the abrogation of Article 370 by the Indian government which was declared in August 2019. In the military lockdown and internet blackout which followed and continues to this day, the voices of the Kashmiris have been suppressed and the economy of the region devastated. We call for the immediate lifting of all restrictions imposed on the Kashmiri people and the restoration of their fundamental rights. Article 370 must be restored and measures taken to foster healing, trust and peace in the region.

Once the conditions are conducive, a free and fair plebiscite must be conducted to decide the political status of the state. India had given its word before the United Nations on the conduct of a UN-supervised plebiscite in the region in the year 1947. Not only have we failed to honour this promise but have resorted to deception, force and violence in an effort to bend the Kashmiri people to our will. If our integrity as a nation is to be restored, the plebiscite must be carried out.

Dr Ram Manohar Lohia had proposed the formation of an India-Pakistan federation of which Kashmir, either as an autonomous state within either of the two nations or an independent country, should be a part. He believed that such a federation would be a recognition of the strong social, cultural and historical ties which bind the people of South Asia together. It would send out the message that in spite of being different countries, we are all still one people with a shared past, present and future. SP(I) believes that the formation of such a federation should be an important long-term goal of the governments of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The Socialist Party of (India) believes in legalizing Medical and recreational Marijuana. We wish to decriminalize (not legalize) more dangerous substances to help people with addiction and mental illnesses. We intend to improve their communities and guarantee free mental healthcare. We believe in funding research into drugs and medicine, prioritizing public health over public perception.

While tobacco kills about more than 8 million people every year, alcohol kills 3 million people, there has never been a single verifiable death caused by Marijuana usage. Marijuana’s potential medicinal functions are in relieving PTSD, nausea, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, ADHD, epilepsy, etc. It helps in treatment of HIV, cancer, etc. Its recreational functions actually reduce violent tendencies, like those caused by alcohol. Above the age of 25, it is virtually harmless. There is also no reliable evidence that it is a gateway drug.

The Socialist Party of India sees the recent noises made by the Union Government regarding a Uniform Civil Code as a diversionary tactic in view of the prevailing grim inter-communal situation in the country for which the divisive politics of the current dispensation at the Centre and the ruling party and its allied organisation are themselves primarily responsible.

The question of a Uniform Civil Code can be raised only by a dispensation that enjoys confidence across India’s diverse communities and classes and which may have displayed fairness in implementing and applying even-handedly the laws of the land, whether Constitutional law, criminal law or other. A dispensation that has been found wanting in good faith even in its commitment to a uniform criminal jurisprudence and its fair application in the country cannot be heard even to speak about a possible Uniform Civil Code which, as our Constitution makers fully understood, has to be based on the evolution of opinion across diverse communities in India.

The Socialist Party would like to caution the people of India against rushing into just any debate that majoritarian and fundamentalist ruling forces might invite without first establishing the bona fides of such invitations. Calls for various debates on this or that subject have been a well known rhetorical device utilised by majoritarian forces in the past to divert attention from governance failures.

The Socialist Party considers that the intentions of the BJP and the right-wing political forces in the country in initiating talk of the Uniform Civil Code at this juncture are lacking in bona fides. The matter is brought before the people of India as a weapon to threaten the minorities and the disadvantaged groups and particularly as a diversionary tactic in the wake of recent events in Manipur, being invoked now also as an election strategy to divert the people from a long list of governmental failures. It is intended to polarize the people on religious lines.

Socialists believe in and affirm the plurality of society and uphold the principle of ‘unity in diversity’. They believe also in the need for application of constitutional laws – civil, criminal, on the basic foundation of equality. We express our deep concern towards gender equality and stand for social justice for all citizens in all walks of social life. We deprecate the use of religious freedom to discriminate against women, castes and other disadvantaged groups. Of late, in the backdrop of the rising majoritarian fundamentalism, casteist forces have been on the rise and it was only a short while ago that some of these as, for example, khap panchayats, were seeking to impose restrictions, not provided for by law, on marriages between consenting adults.

We deprecate and oppose unilateral thrusts by sections of majoritarian forces to impose their laws or their prejudices upon minorities and disadvantaged groups. We consider such attempts preposterous, capricious and counterproductive. In contradistinction the Socialist Party of India affirms a commitment to any Uniform Civil Code that has been consultatively arrived at after due application of mind and which has been voluntarily welcomed by a diversity of opinion. The Socialist Party reiterates that it rejects in this context the bona fides of the current dispensation which has not produced even an elementary draft for open and transparent discussion by a diversity of opinion in the nine years that it has been in power.

Socialists have been consistent in demanding the implementation of various Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in our Constitution, including the striving, obviously voluntary, towards a Uniform Civil Code. We have been struggling for decades against fundamentalism, religious bigotry and any discrimination prevalent in the name of the religious freedom. We would like to remind the current dispensation of the fact that the Directive Principles Chapter in our Constitution includes the striving to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people, to promote policies that would secure to the people the right to an adequate means of livelihood, the principle that the operation of the economic system does not promote concentration of wealth, the objectives that children and youth are protected against exploitation, that there is equal justice, that the right to work and to education are provided for, that there is participation by workers in management of industries, that there is protection of economic interests of the people, including especially those of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, that efforts are made to raise levels of nutrition, standards of living and improve public health, that the environment and national heritage is protected and that there is separation of the judiciary from the executive. On all these fronts the present dispensation has not only failed, but has also been in active violation of and disruptive of the Directive Principles of State Policy. Socialists therefore reject outright the claim on behalf of the current dispensation that its noises on the Uniform Civil Code emanate from any respect for the Directive Principles enshrined in our Constitution.

1. All motorised private vehicles will be progressively phased out. Public transport and bicycles should be the common means of conveyance. Among government departments only health and police, which includes the fire dept., should have necessary vehicles. For old, sick, disabled or in case of emergency taxi service, including autorichshaws, should be available.
2. Reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in a time bound manner, with the objective of achieving organic farming across the country.
3. No sewage or industrial waste, untreated or treated, should flow into any river or water body. Sewage or industrial waste after treatment should be used for irrigation, in bathrooms, toilets, etc.
4. Potable water should be readily available for free. Bottled water and packaged drinks should be banned.
5. Cement should be replaced with environment friendly construction material. Building should be so constructed as to use natural light and air so that artifical light is not needed during day time and air-conditioners are not required at all.
6. Railways should be the main means of long distance travel with only one class of non-AC coaches. Air travel should not be allowed for distances less then 1000 km.
7. No more big dams should be built.
8. No more thermal power plants should be built. Exisitng ones should be phased out. Similarly, no new nuclear power plants should be built. Existing ones should be stopped immediately.
9. Wasteful use of electricity, for example to light bill boards, cricket stadiums, etc. should be stopped.
10. All mining in rivers should be stopped.
11. Right of Mother Earth Act should be considered for enactment by the Parliament (similar to one done in Bolivia in 2010).
12. Affordable cooking material that is non polluting should be promoted.
13. Mandatory segregation of garbage should take place.
14. Use of plastics should be reduced.
15. Saving trees at source should be the priority.
16. Return the forests to the adivasis for sustainable management. The forest department will be dissolved and will be replaced by a new institutional system to be decided by adivasis.
17. It will be mandatory for manufacturers to take back the wastes resulting from their marketed products.
18. Safe disposal of e-waste should be ensured.
19. All organic waste should go to composting plants.
20. Ban taking foreign loans.