12thBhubaneswar national convention - 1

National Events
12th National Convention - Bhubaneswar (Odisha)
26, 27, 28 December 2014

Bring agriculture and rural food processing in to the ambit of MNREGA: SJM


12th National Meet of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) concluded at KIIT campus in the capital city of Odisha with a call to the government to change the economic system in the country from present socialist model to one based on 'Dharma' and guided by 'Dharmic' codes.

The three day National Convention was held in Bhubaneshwar Odisha, from 25th-28th of December 2014. Inaugural session was addressed by several prominent people including Chief Guest Swami Pragyanand ji of Pragya Mission, Padam Vibhushan Sh. Raghunath Mahapatra, Sh. Anshuman Tewari, Editor India Today (Hindi) and National Convener of SJM Sh. Arun Ojha. Annada Shankar Pannigrahi conducted the stage. Pragya Mission Swami Pragyananda Maharaj inaugurated the meet by lightening the lamp and garlanding portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and Shahid Babu Genu. Speaking on the occasion, Swami Pragyanand Maharaj appealed the people of India to boycott foreign culture and products.

Over 1200 delegates from across the country participated in the National Meet.

SJM leaders expressed their concern over government’s open invitation to foreign companies in different sectors. They said that the globalization has adversely affected the Indian economy. Today debt on the country is nearly 70 percent of GDP, which makes the country one of the most indebted countries of the world, they added. According to the latest report of the government 52 percent of rural households are reeling under debt.

Speakers also pointed out, that foreign companies have already made inroads in agricultural sector in the name of contract farming, due to the policy of promoting foreign investment. The policy of allowing GM field trial is not only endangering our food security and bio diversity, these companies are also trying to take over Indian agriculture.
SJM demanded that agriculture and rural food processing industry must be brought in to the ambit of MNREGA and the funds of MNREGA be channelized to increase productivity which would increase farm productivity and cause employment opportunity for the masses. This would help government to make country self reliant, self dependent, and growth oriented with over all social economic revolution.

Anshuman Tewari in his speech forcefully pleaded free market economy. He tried to justify his argument by citing examples from history including Katho-Upanishad. He stressed that India has always been in favour of free market economy and countries like China that imposed restrictions on market remained backward for long time. Anshuman Tewari in his well researched speech gave several examples to support his viewpoint. His opinion was that temple based economy and progress contributed to the openness of markets in India. He stressed that market strengthened states in India and not the reverse was case. Extending this argument further Mr. Tewari said that politics in India has been controlled by ‘Dharna’ and Dharmic organisations were strengthened by Traders and Trade. Trade was not dependent on state support, he argued. He further added that from the moment trade, Market and entrepreneurship came under ‘state’ control India was pushed to poverty. East India Company was an example, he said. Expressing his views on FDI and FIIs, Anshuman Tewari pointed out the big businesses prefer FIIs to FDI as it is harmless to them. Anshuman Tewari believed that it was because of resistance to FDI in retail sector that e-commerce was captured by MNCs. FDI has flown into e-commerce,he added. This resulted in creation of low level employment like delivery boys only. He opined that challenges for Swadeshi Movement have undergone a sea change in last two decades. He also explained merger, acquisition and politics in auto, telecom and several other sectors of the economy. He stressed the need to encourage small entrepreneurs even if they fail in beginning. Terming threats from inside more serious then those emnating from outside,Anhuman Tewari stressed the need to have an open market with equal opportunity for all in India. He also pleaded integration of free economic thinking with ‘Dharama’ and politics saying the very basis of Indian philosophy was omission of wealth.

Sh. Arun Ojha ji in his address disagreed with the assertion of Anshuman Tewari that wealth was undermined in Indian philosophy. “Sapthasta Sangraha, Sahastrahasta Vikiraha” was the basis of our wealth generation, said Arun ji. He also quoted line of Maithlisharan Gupt’s poem & “Sarva Jana Hetay, Sarvajana Sukhana” to underline the importance of wealth creation. Arun ji opposed the idea of competition based on survival of fitest. This philosophy destroys weaker sections of society he pointed out. Indian idea on the contrary is the principle of co-operation and complimenting each other, he added. This maintains a balance and helps small grow big. Economy based on “Dharma” is universally applicable, Arun ji stressed.

Mr Arun Ojha claimed that the SJM has always stressed on the fiscal policy which will ensure real benefit and welfare of the people. Lamenting that the fiscal policies of India have often been modelled on western countries without taking the local conditions into consideration, he claimed that the initiatives like “Made by India” would ensure that India’s interests are protected. Arun ojha paid rich tributes to justice Krishna Ayer who passed away recently.

Dr. Tushar of Odisha Vyavsayee Sangh proposed a vote of thanks. He pleaded Swadeshi Model of economy for economic planning and mentioned dependence of public sector, private sector, agriculture and MSME. Dr. Tushar spoke in Oriya.

One of the important and noticeable features of the National Conference was meticulously prepared and conceived stage. It was prepared under the able guidance of Director of the department of Art and Sclupture of the University of KIIT, Adwait Gadnayak. He was the person who was the designer of first Swadeshi Mela.

On the backdrop painted with cow dung highlighting traditional trade routes, symbols of boats used in trade, Mangalyan and images of Bhagwan Jagannath along with Subhadra and Balram. It was a great ambiance that gave a impressive environment to discuss swadeshi issues.

Dr. Bhagwati Prakash Sharma, National co-convener, in his speech spoke about Made-by-India. Talking about so called economic reforms initiated by the government of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Bhagwati ji said that these reforms resulted in large scale closure of small scale units. UPA government converted into a field for international players. Our trade deficit continued to rise and continues to be around 150 bn US dollars. Our manufacturing units closed and were subsequently purchased by MNC’s. Shoe polish, refrigerators, cement, cold drinks, auto mobiles and telecom sectors were.

Book Release

Following books were also released in the inaugural session-
1. चीनी घुसपैठ और हमारी सुरक्षा व्यवस्था (Chinese incursions and our security setup) – by Dr. Bhagwati Prakash Sharma

2. Made-by-India, a booklet based on lectures delivered by Dr. Bhagwati Prakash Sharma and published by Kashi Prant of SJM

3. Souvenir of Swadeshi Sangam Jaipur, Rajasthan

4. Swadeshi Diary prepared by Kashi Prant of SJM

Over all seven Business sessions were held in the convention. 1st session was dedicated to important issue of IPR. Dr. DPR Aggarwal conducted the session. He pointed out how countries like US earn around 35% of their GDP from IPRs. This means almost 5.60 trillion dollars a year is earned by USA without doing any activity. He explained 7 kinds of Rights under this category. The resolution proposed was seconded by Sanjeev Maheshwari. She Pradeep ji and Narsimha Naidu reported about Rashtriya Vichar Varga Kumarhatti and working group on Migrants respectively in this session.

In second business session Dr. Tushar Bannerjee spoke about GM foods. He accused that nearly 99% of scientists are on the pay rolls of MNCs. So the research papers produced by these scientists are biased in their favour. Dr. Tushar revealed that 680 genes of Rice have undergone change in this technology genes are made to go dormant the process is not controllable and we don’t know what effects it can have. In USA alone over 58 lakh people were affected by food products related illnesses, he added

Prof. B.M. Kumarswamy ji introduced resolution on cliamate change. The resolution was seconded by Sh. Bholanath ji. Ranjit Kartikya presented report of Vichar Varga of South zone and Ajay Patki ji that of West zone in this session.
In the third session Dr. Ruchika Patel , a scientist who flew from USA to attend this convention spoke about things that India can learn from west. She stressed the need to return to roots.

In 4th session Sh. Krishna Chander Organising secretary of BMS lambasted NDA government. In his scathing attack Krishna Chander ji accused govt. of doing nothing for the poor. Almost every action of govt is anti labour. Vasundara Raje govt of Rajasthan amended factories act to the detriment of labours. This is being extended to whole of India 85% of laws protecting labour will be history soon. Govt claims that they are compelled to care for urban voters. Impact of rural voters is not be considered at all. He declared that if there is no change in govts working BMS will be forced to come on streets.

All India co-convenor Saroj Da defended govt saying that the governance deficit left behind by UPA regime is so huge that it will take some time to normalize the situation. He said that SJM is answerable to people of India, hence our future plan must be action oriented.

Kashmiri lal ji, Rashtriya Sangathak, in an interactive session motivated delegates to speak about the working of SJM and help shape its future working. He stressed the need to have a participatory activism to ensure that every member of SJM is involved in working.

Over all four resolutions were passed in the convention.

Some new responsibilities were assigned to different people. These are as follows.
National
– Sh. R. Sundaram - National co-convenor
– Sh. Deepak Sharma 'Pradeep' - Akhil Bhartiya Prachar Pramukh
– Smt. Sheela Sharma - Akhil Bharatiya Seh-Mahila Pramukh.
States
– Kerala - Sri. Varghese Thodu Perambil — State co-convenor
– Tamil Nadu - Sh. P. Sridharan — State Vichar Mandal Pramukh
– Maharashtra - Sh. Amol Pusadkar — State convenor, Smt. Amita Patki — State Seh-Mahila Pramukh
– Gujarat - Sh. Vipin Bhai Kakkad — Prant Vichar Mandal Pramukh
– M.P. - Sh. Ashok Sharma — Samparak Pramukh, Malwa.
– H.P. - Smt. Kulvindra Chandel — Prant Mahila Pramukh.
– J&K - Prof. Vishal Sharma — State co-convenor
– West U.P. - Sh. Anil Kumar — Prant Sangharash Vahini Pramukh, Sh. Dinesh Sethi — Saharanpur, Noida Zila Prabhari.
– Kashi - Dr. Sarvesh Pandey — Seh Prant Sanyojak, Prof. Vimla Vyas — Prant Mahila Pramukh
– Bihar- Sh. Praveen Kumar Dubey—Vichar Mandel Pramukh, Dr. Chandra Rekha Kumari — Mahila Pramukh.
– Jharkhand - Sh. Gyandev Tudu — Sangharsh Vahini Pramukh, Smt. Manju Thakur — Seh-Mahila Pramukh.
– West Bengal - Sh. Tarak Shah — Vichar Mandal Pramukh, Ms. Bharati Sahna — Mahila Pramukh, Ms. Gaytri Choudhary — Seh-Mahila Pramukh.

Following are new inductions in the National Council -
– Sh. S.C. Patel (Karnataka)
– Sh. Ashutosh Pathak (Mah.)
– Sh. Vipin Bhai Kakkad (Guj.)
– Sh. Luna Ram Sen, Dr. Roshan Lal Pitliya, Dr. Arun Arora, Dr. Santosh Kumar Acharya, Dr. Devindra Srimali, Sh. Dhramprakash (Raj.)
– Sh. Satendra Sarot (Haryana)
– Sh. Lalit Kaushal (H.P.)
– Prof. Vishal Sharma (J&K)
– Sh. Manoj Gupta (Delhi)
– Sh. Anil Kumar, Sh. Dinesh Sethi, Sh. Sanjeev Pratap Singh (West Uttar Pradesh)
– Dr. Sarvesh Pandey, Prof. Vimla Vyas, Sh. Arun Kumar Gupta, Prof. Bechand Jayaswal, Prof. Kaushal K. Mishar (Kashi)
– Dr. Onkar Prasad, Sh. Radheshyam (Avadh)
– Sh. Putkar Hembram, Sh. Raman Jha, Smt. Indu Parasar (Jhar.)
– Sh. Sameer Vishwas, Sh. Jyant Bhattacharya ji (W.B.)
– Smt. Nirmal Sadangi, Sh. Sudhakar Panda, Sh. Keshav Bihari (Odisha)

UP coming event
Some of the Programmes decided for next few months that were decided in the National convention are as follows:
1. Central working Committee Meet — 4-5 April 2015 at Central Office New Delhi.
2. National Council Meeting— 13-14 June 2015 at Vijaywada Andhra Pradesh.
3. Intensive Public Awareness Campaign on issues related to FDI, India Uninc, GM Foods, Land Acquisition Law, e-commerce & challenges from China.
4. Starting Swadeshi Study Circles throughout the country.

In his concluding remarks National convener Arun Ojha said that the year 2014 has been year of unprecedented changes for both our society and country. We, as a nation, earned a lot of respect globally. Successful completion of mission “Mangalyan” has established our credibility in the field of science also. Democratic process has put a new political set up in the leadership role indicating a new beginning. Ancient India, that remained at the receiving and for centuries, suddenly seems to have found a new energy, confidence and a lot pride in its capability. Relations with global powers including our close neighbours are improving fast. Security of the nation looks in safe hands. A new era has begun. Capability of new leadership is being accepted globally. Every nation is eager to enter into an expanded relationship with India. We welcome the new leadership and admire people’s prudence to reposition India as a global leader.

But problems faced by the nation are still waiting to be resolved. India has been engulfed by multi dimensional economic problems. MNC lead economic impearlism is spreading its tentacles in the country. Out territory may not be captured directly but our sources of wealth creation are being overtaken. Will India continue to be indirectly ruled by foreigners after six decades of political freedom, he asked? India has earned an image of a country hungry for FDI. India, we must remember cannot be developed with foreign funds. Government needs to make clear the role of foreign investment