No subject

2007 has been a momentous year for the peoples of the
sub-continent. It marked 150 years of our struggles
against imperialism. In marking the 150th anniversary
of the events of 1857, at meetings and conferences
here in Britain attended by members of your party, we
recognised the similarities of the battles that the
peoples of the sub-continent faced in 1857 to the ones
we face today. The sub-continent then faced the East
India Company, appropriately described as the first
multinational corporation. Today the peoples of India
and indeed others in the sub-continent face similar
threats from multinationals. In India we salute the
struggles of the people in Nandigram and other areas
of India affected by the Special Economic Zones and
the role played by your party in supporting and
strengthening this resistance. Here in Britain we have
been actively involved in the campaign to publicise
and build support for these struggles, and have set up
the anti-SEZs group in Birmingham. 

Globalisation and indeed the “War on Terror” are also
having a devastating impact on the peoples of the
sub-continent. In India itself it has obvious
repercussions as erosion of civil liberties from their
already limited position. In other countries in the
sub-continent, especially in Pakistan, it has led to a
situation where the army is acting as a front-line
force in the war, causing daily casualties in some
regions of the country. 

The circumstances expressed above in the sub-continent
and unbridled imperialism in the form of globalisation
will be of major significance to the peoples of the
sub-continent in the coming years and we are sure that
the 8th Congress would address the growing dangers to
the peoples of the sub-continent and continue to
develop strategies for resisting them. 
With fraternal greetings, 
Naeem Malik 
On behalf of the 1857 Committee in Britain