An All India Anti-Nuclear Convention was held in New Delhi on 10th August from 10:30 am to 4: 30 pm, at the Speaker’s Hall in the Constitution Club. Activists from various states of India including from Maharashtra, MP, Karnataka, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi attended. The convention focussed attention on three slogans:

1. Stop construction of all new nuclear power plants;
2. Shut down all existing nuclear power plants; and
3. Implement universal nuclear disarmament.

A fourth slogan “Immediately stop all uranium mining” was also added consequent upon the discussions in the convention.

The convention was attended by persons from Maharashtra, MP, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, etc. Most of the people attending were those actually involved in struggles against nuclear plants.

The convention, presided over by Com. Sanjay Singhvi, Gen. Secretary, TUCI was inaugurated by Com. K. N. Ramachandran, General Secretary, CPI(ML). In his inaugural speech he pointed out that nuclear power was being foisted upon the neo-colonial countries by imperialism only to assuage its own crisis. Coms. Pravin Gavankar and Mansoor Solkar of the Janhit Sewa Samiti and the Machhimar Kriti Samiti told of their experiences in the struggle in Jaitapur. Com. Rajkumar and Com. Dube of the Chutka Parmanu Sangharsh Samiti addressed the convention on the struggles against the proposed nuclear power plant in Chutka. They raised very pertinent points about the inflated projected per capita consumption of energy by the Government. A discussion also ensued on the meaning of development. Coms. Adwait Pednekar and Achin Vanaik provided expert inputs on various issues and Coms. Arun Velaskar, Madhu Mohite and Ramesh Gautam, also stated their views.

The convention ended with a resolution being passed resolving to build up an All India Democratic Anti-nuclear Movement. However, to enable other organisations also to come together, only an Organising Committee was formed and charged with contacting other organisations all over India which accept the four basic slogans. A copy of the resolution passed is attached below:

Resolution

The seriousness of the meltdown at Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan following the earth quake and tsunami, however hard the corporate media and the nuclear establishment is trying to play it down, is becoming common knowledge day by day. After Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, it has exposed the catastrophic nature of nuclear power plants at the present level of nuclear technology and problems related to nuclear waste disposal. In spite of this, the government is going ahead with the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant, even when the people of the whole region, especially the farmers who are displaced and the fisher people are waging relentless struggles against it. Besides, new nuclear plants are proposed in AP, MP, W.Bengal, UP, Haryana and Rajasthan besides expanding existing plants. New mines are planned in AP and Karnataka. Wherever new plants are proposed the peasantry and people are in revolt against them, opposing their displacement. While it is a serious problem, apart from displacement, the danger posed by the proposed nuclear power plants and the existing nuclear plants is a matter of great importance which should be taken up at national level in the context of the international campaign developing against the threat of nuclear catastrophe.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster on 26th April an International Anti-Nuclear Day was observed with the following three slogans: 1. Stop construction of all new nuclear power plants;2. Shut down all existing nuclear power plants; 3. Implement universal nuclear disarmament. As a part of the last slogan we must particularly try and see that we can appeal to the people of the Indian sub-continent to make sure that this part of the world is liberated from the onerous burden of nuclear arms. In countries like Germany a number of existing plants are being closed down and the remaining are also in the process of being closed down. Internationally the campaign is gaining strength with none of the so-called developed countries taking up construction of any new nuclear plants. At the same time they are trying to export their outdated nuclear power plants to countries like India.

Uranium mining is also starting up in a secretive and unsafe manner in various parts of India. It is therefore necessary to also add the slogan to the above three, namely, “Immediately stop all mining of uranium”.

In this situation, it is a matter of paramount importance for all the progressive forces concerned with the future of humanity to get together and to wage a relentless campaign to be followed by a countrywide struggle to force the government to implement the above three slogans, developing the present struggles going on at all places where new nuclear plants are proposed to resist the displacement from their agricultural land to a comprehensive struggle against the very concept of going for nuclear energy at the present level of development of the nuclear technology. Such a campaign should take up the question of the security of the existing nuclear power plants and the question of universal nuclear disarmament also.

Many initiatives have already been taken for co-ordinating the movements against the various nuclear plants coming up all over India. NAAM and the Anti-Nuclear Struggle’s Solidarity Forum and others can be cited as examples of such initiatives. However, in the context of the recent international movement against nuclear power per se and in the context of the growing consciousness in our country also, there is a need to renew our efforts on the basis of the above three slogans.

This convention therefore resolves to take up the task to build up an anti-nuclear movement in the country based broadly upon the above mentioned slogans. We recognize that we are only at the stage of building up this initiative and will take up the task contacting other like-minded groups and organizations with whom we will endeavour to work in co-operation and harmony. To this end we are forming an Organising Committee for this movement which will take up this task of bringing together various groups all over India to build up an anti-nuclear movement based upon the above slogans.