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From: "chro chro chro" <chro@rediffmail.com> Date: Thu Jul 15, 2004 10:06am Subject: Controversy Over Nayanar's Last Rites Fails To Die Down New Indian Express, July 14, 2004, Wednesday Controversy over Nayanar's last rites fails to die down KANNUR: The controversy linked with the funeral rites that followed the death of the revered communist leader E.K. Nayanar continues to haunt the CPM, even as loyal party workers raise disturbing questions about the stand of the party on the issue. The Opposition leader in the State Assembly and CPM heavyweight V.S. Achuthanandan had to perform a delicate balancing act as he replied to a question posed by a party worker regarding the issue in the recent edition of Chintha weekly, his party's ideological mouthpiece. The question which sought clarification on the CPM stand as regards the blatantly superstitious and religious ritual of immersing the ashes of the departed communist leader E.K. Nayanar, who led a perfectly non-religious and secular life, in Kanyakumari. The controversy was sparked by a poem titled Moodal written by K.C. Umesh Babu, the district secretary of the Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangham, which virtually functions as a literary outfit of the CPM in Kerala. The author of the question, Velikkakath Kunhiraman of Korom in Kannur district, wanted to know whether the immersion of Nayanar's ashes in Kanyakumari following the age-old customs and traditions wasn't an ungrateful act to the late communist leader. Ironically, the answer to this simple question given by Achuthanandan was in effect both "Yes" and "No" at the same time. Cautioning his partymen against viewing the issue on emotional level, Achuthanandan says that the party's duty to a departed comrade ends with the burial or cremation of his body and an immediate condolence meeting. But the relatives of a departed leader might insist on following traditional religious rites after the death and their rights should be respected by the party, argues Achuthanandan. At the same time, the party should go ahead with its ideological campaign to educate the followers of superstitious customs to abandon the age-old rituals, said Achuthanandhan in his reply. Incidentally, what has unnerved the CPM leadership is the realisation that a good many of the party cadres in its own home turf here have also started asking the same questions. Further, the cadres seem to be unconvinced by Achuthanandan's reply couched in a lot of ambiguity. Some ome of them had the experience of being persuaded by the local party leaders to abandon the traditional funeral rites after the death of their next of kin. In another development that followed the publication of the poem Moodal - "weeping over the falling soil on communism" - written by Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangham district secretary Umesh Babu against the backdrop of Nayanar's funeral rites, another staunch leftist litterateur and leader of Pukasa, Karivellur Murali, has come out in support of Umesh Babu. In a statement made available to this website's newspaper, Murali had made a vehement attack on all those who are inclined to justify the religious rites that followed the cremation of Nayanar's physical remains at Payyambalam, Kannur. The statement issued by Karivellur Murali, who is also the son of the late illustrious communist leader A.V. Kunhambu of Karivellur, was also targeted on a leading Malayalam daily which published an editorial after a news item relating to the poem written by the Pukasa leader appeared in the same paper. The editorial that headlined "Intolerable intolerance" was a virtual tirade against questioning the right of a dead man's relatives to follow their own faith. Questioning the entire import of the editorial, the Pukasa leader Murali had gone to the extent of seeing the designs of religious fundamentalists in it, going by the statement issued by him. --------------------------------------------------- Contributed by Nityanand Jayaraman, July 13, 2004, Tuesday BIRLA-TANFAC FACTORY WORKER KILLED; WIDOW DESTITUTE TAKE ACTION: Write to the District Collector, Cuddalore (TN), urging payment of interim compensation THE ISSUE: On 30 April, R. Radhakrishnan, a contract worker from Birla-owned TANFAC unit in Cuddalore, India, succumbed to injuries sustained after he was exposed to concentrated sulphuric acid fumes on 10 April while cleaning an acid tank. The company manufactures deadly fluorinated chemicals including anhydrous hydrofluoric acid. Like other chemical units in India, TANFAC routinely uses contract labour at Rs. 50/day ($1 per day) for the most hazardous activities. TANFAC had not reported the accident and the death to the police or the Factories Inspectorate. Neither had the company provided job training to Radhakrishnan before deploying him on this hazardous task. He was not given any safety equipment to protect him from routine or accidental exposure on the job. The company's safety systems and practices were not adequate to prevent concentrated acid from flowing through the pipes during maintenance. No first aid was given to the injured worker. As a contract worker, Radhakrishnan comes from the poorest of poor families. His widow, Anjalai, and two young children are now without support. TANFAC has refused to help Radhakrishnan's family and has shifted the blame to the labour contractor. The authorities are obliging the company and are keen to pursue the labour contractor rather than take on the Birlas. The district collector has ignored pleas by the widow to release Rs. 25,000 that he has the power to release in the form of interim compensation for survivors of such incidents. ACTION REQUIRED: Please write to the District Collector, Cuddalore, stating the facts of the case and urging him to release interim compensation to R. Anjalai, wife of R. Radhakrishnan of Periyapillaiyarmedu, Cuddalore, and urging him to investigate TANFAC for negligence. Even 30-50 letters will make a big difference in ensuring some measure of justice. A model letter with copies to the Birlas is included below: To: Mr. Gagan Singh Bedi District Collector Cuddalore 607 001 Tamilnadu Tel: +(91) 4142 230666 (91 is country code. Prefix 04142 for calls within india) Fax: +(91) 4142 230555 (Ask for fax tone). Cc: kkmaheshwari@a..., mhu@t... Dear Mr. Bedi: On April 30, 2004, R. Radhakrishnan, a contract worker from Periyapillayarmedu, Cuddalore, succumbed to internal injuries suffered as a result of his exposure to concentrated sulphuric acid fumes while cleaning an acid tank at the Aditya Birla-owned TANFAC Industries Ltd. Radhakrishnan is survived by his widow R. Anjalai, and two young children. Like other contract labourers, Radhakrishnan comes from a very poor family. The company has exploited his poverty by deploying him on a hazardous job with no training and no safety equipment. Even worse, after the accident, he was offered no first aid. After his death, his family has been offered no compensation. I request your urgent intervention in two matters: 1. Release of interim compensation for R. Anjalai, wife of the deceased. 2. Thorough investigation of TANFAC's negligence in causing the accident and death. Investigation and punitive action are the only things that will deter companies from disregarding human lives. Sincerely, Name: Full Address : Telephone and Fax number: ------------------------------------------------- Confederation of Human Rights Organizations (CHRO) 3, Rams' Cottage Ambalathumukku, Pettah Thiruvananthapuram-695 024 (Ph.: 0471-2476262) Web: www.humanrightsindia.com www.humanrightskerala.com ===================================================== |
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