PURI DECLARATION, JUNE 2013 of the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP)

PURI DECLARATION, JUNE 2013

Passed unanimously by the Founding Conference of the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP),

3-5th June, Town Hall, Puri, Odisha, India

People from the forest community belonging to 20 different states of India who came together at Puri, Odisha from June 3-5, 2013 for the founding conference of the All India Union of Forest Working People and jointly declare the following -

·         Odisha is a land which has seen many struggles with not just tribal but many other communities building strong resistances against different forms of state repression, against undemocratic functioning of the government and against anti-people policies. The strong nexus between the government and corporate is increasing and is being condemned and challenged since it has been one of the key forces that are working towards suppressing movements. Selecting Odisha as the venue for this conference is an affirmative gesture in order to stand in solidarity with the many struggles here.

·         We take these steps ahead with a vision that unites different colours of the various struggles we stand in solidarity with and we consider red, blue and green as our common symbols.

·         We consider Birsa Munda, Karl Marx, Aiyyankali, Bhagat Singh, Savitribai Phule and Babasaheb Ambedkar as our icons.

·         The transition from a forum to a union is a historical step forward for the forest rights movement and has taken the struggle of the 150 million people of the forest based community to a new direction. This is a step forward that will intensify our demands for ownership rights on our land and natural resources which is our common heritage.

·         We are against the privatization of natural resources that belong to the larger society. To fight against this and for the rights of the forest working community we will unite with movements across  South Asia and the rest of the world in order to widen the sphere of our struggles and strengthen the spirit behind the concept – working people of the world unite.

·         This union will keep women in leadership as its focus and will ensure their participation in all aspects of the struggle and centrally on that of ownership rights of natural resources.

·         The basic principle on which this union has been established is that of non-violence. It will follow the constitutional framework and will propagate a democratic way of functioning.

·         This union will strive towards ensuring livelihood, social and political security for forest working people.

·         We stand in solidarity with various struggles in our country like those against land acquisition, against exploitation of Dalits and tribal, the anti- displacement struggles, against exploitation of women, struggles for land rights, struggles demanding social security and other constitutional rights.

·         We will bring to the forefront issues of the forest community like forest based livelihood, community rights on forest land, community forest governance etc.

·         Our struggle is not just for ourselves but for environmental justice all over the world and for collective rights over natural resources which we will continue to strive towards.

·         We strongly oppose capitalism, Brahmanism, patriarchy and envision a just society with equal rights which we will work towards.

·         Today, the government is attacking and maligning people's struggles and movements by labelling them as terrorists. They are also debasing the image of Mao Tse Tung, an icon of people's revolution in China. We strongly condemn this false labelling and demand a constructive dialogue under the constitutional framework of this country.

·         We oppose political games that are being played at an international level which promote commodification of natural resources and engage with things like the carbon credit which does not give the community any benefits for what they are growing.

·         Through our struggles we are demanding the withdrawal of national and international companies from acquiring our land, forests and water. Along with this we are also working towards the gram Sabha (Village Council) getting control over natural resources.

We believe in the concept of Mother Earth which is holistic and includes both natural and human resources. Nature does not belong to us, but we are immersed in nature, we belong to it and exist because of it.

We call on all progressive and democratic forces to be united in struggles to create another world – a world which would belong to the working people and not to the ruling classes.