Tens of thousands across India mobilize to oppose US attacks on Venezuela

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Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.


Protests by the Democratic Youth Federation of India – Central Executive Committee in Kerala condemning the US assault on Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. Photo: CPI(M)

The Indian government’s failure to condemn the US aggression against Venezuela’s sovereignty, despite it being in violation of the country’s long-standing position and its expressed commitments to the UN charter, has invited strong domestic criticism.

Tens of thousands of people across India continued to mobilize on Wednesday, January 7, the fourth consecutive day, in opposition to the US aggression in Venezuela and the abduction of its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores.

Workers, in response to the call made by one of India’s largest trade union federations, the Center for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), organized large-scale protests near their workplaces across the country on Wednesday.

In various places they burned the effigies of US President Donald Trump, calling him the killer of democracy.

Workers across the country employed in various sectors, from hydel power plants to modern manufacturing industries, organised protest demonstrations at the call of @cituhq against US aggression on #Venezuela and the kidnapping of President #NicolasMaduro and his wife Cilia… pic.twitter.com/92OJqSG1k0

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) January 7, 2026

Large scale protests were organized in different parts of the country by the student, youth and women’s groups as well. The protesters expressed solidarity with the people of Venezuela and denounced Washington’s acts of aggression against the sovereign nation.

US forces attacked various places inside Venezuela, including the capital, Caracas, on Saturday and abducted President Maduro and his wife. At least 80 people, including 32 Cuban guards defending the president, were killed in US aggression.

Protests in every corner of India

In the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, Yousuf Tarigami, leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), led a protest of workers and students on Tuesday. Addressing the protest, he called the attack on Venezuela an act of naked imperialism.

Tarigami questioned Trump’s attempts to dictate terms to other countries. He called the US acts illegal and asserted that the sovereignty of all countries must be respected.

In the southernmost state of Tamil Nadu, CPI(M) and various women, youth, and student groups have carried out marches and protests for the last four days. The protesters shouted slogans against the imperialist aggression and demanded the release of President Maduro and his wife Cilia.

joint protest of all left parties was also organized in the north-eastern state of Assam on Tuesday against US imperialist attacks on Venezuela. The protest was joined by all the major parties, such as CPI (M), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, and the Communist Party of India (CPI), among others.

Student and youth organizations held large protests all across Kerala, one of the southern states in defense of Venezuela’s sovereignty and against imperialist aggression. The protesters held torchlight marches in some places shouting slogans such as “Death to Imperialism” and “Hands off Venezuela!”

The @dyficec held protests across Kerala condemning the imperialist US assault on #Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores pic.twitter.com/4U7KEHMz4C

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) January 6, 2026

Similar protests were held in states such as TelanganaMaharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal as well. The left parties have called for further anti-imperialist protests in the coming days.

India must condemn US aggression

Left parties in India have also demanded that the Indian government issue a condemnation of the unilateral US military action and to exercise diplomatic measures to assure the release of Maduro and his wife immediately.

The ultra-right-wing government in the country, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has come under attack from the left and progressive forces for its refusal to condemn the US aggression.

India has merely expressed “deep concern” over the developments in Venezuela, in an official statement issued hours after the outbreak of the news of the US aggression and Maduro’s kidnapping.

The left parties have called India’s official position “shameful” and “unworthy” of the country’s long-held position of independence and sovereignty of nations.

CPI (M) called India’s silence on the issue a “pro-US stance” claiming it was “in line with the Modi government’s right-wing ideology and strategic ties with the Trump administration.” It further stated that by taking such a position, India has “abdicated any claim to represent the interests of the Global South.”

Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

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Continue ReadingTens of thousands across India mobilize to oppose US attacks on Venezuela

Left-ruled Kerala becomes the first Indian state to eradicate extreme poverty

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Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Kerala’s LDF government celebrates the eradication of extreme poverty in the state. Photo: Pinarayi Vijayan

The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Alliance (LDF) government achieves a unique feat in India which, according to the World Bank, has the world’s largest number of extremely poor.

On Saturday, November 1, India’s southern state of Kerala officially declared itself free of extreme poverty. This makes the left-ruled state the first and only state in the country to achieve such a milestone.

Announcing the achievement during a session of the state’s legislative assembly, left leader and Chief Minister of the state Pinarayi Vijayan called it a “historic and proud moment” for the state and its people and hoped that “our experiments will become a model that states in the country can benefit from.”

India has the world’s largest population living in extreme poverty, as per the data released by the World Bank last year.

“Kerala has etched a new chapter in history—erasing extreme poverty to become the first place in India and the second in the world to achieve this milestone,”John Brittas, member of India’s parliament from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said on X.

In February 2021, China became the first country in the world to announce the end of extreme poverty, a decade ahead of the UN schedule under its sustainable goals.

On Saturday, Chinese ambassador to India Xu Feihong also congratulated Kerala’s government for its achievement, saying “to eliminate poverty is the common mission of humanity.”

From long-term policies to micro planning

After being elected to power for the second time in a row in 2021, the Pinarayi-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government proclaimed that it would eradicate extreme poverty in the state by the end of its term.

In May 2021, the LDF government launched the Extreme Poverty Eradication Project (EPEP). The project had initially identified over 100,000 households as extremely poor. However, after the final analysis on the basis of access to food, income, shelter, and healthcare the number of households in extreme poverty came down to 64,006.

In the last four years extensive targeted attempts were made to provide sustained access to whichever element a particular family was lacking among these 64,006 families. This involved different government agencies and local self government bodies across the state.

In April of this year, after declaring Dharmadam (his own constituency) the first to be free from extreme poverty in the state, Vijayan had announced that by the state formation day on November 1 the state will finally achieve its goal set four years ago.

Socialist policies deliver

Kerala, which has mostly hilly terrain and a very high population density was once one of the poorest states in India with close to 60% of its population living in poverty.

Due to long-term welfare and development policies based on socialist distribution, such as land reforms, decentralization, high social expenditure on health and education, a robust public distribution system, among others adopted by the successive left governments in the state, the percentage of poor decreased drastically to just over 11% in 2011-12, when the last pan-India census was held.

The figure has been substantially lowered even further in the 15 years since then.

According to the central government’s multidimensional poverty index released in 2021, Kerala had the least multidimensional poverty among the Indian states, with less than 1% of its population (0.7%) identified as poor.

Kerala’s achievement is a result of the sustained efforts of successive left governments and their policies, claimed Thomas Issac, former finance minister and a leader of the CPI(M).

“From 60% poverty in 1973, Kerala declares itself free from extreme poverty. This is the real Kerala story of land reforms, increase in wages, universal education, healthcare and social security. Finally, 4 years of micro planning to lift 64,006 from extreme poverty” Issac said in a post on X. 

Vijayan also acknowledged the role of long-term policies in achieving zero extreme poverty in the state.

“The process of eradicating extreme poverty is a continuation of the steps taken earlier for universal public distribution system and for the eradication of landlessness and homelessness. Kerala has made remarkable progress in the sustainable development index envisioned by the UN by eradicating extreme poverty,” he said on Saturday.

Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingLeft-ruled Kerala becomes the first Indian state to eradicate extreme poverty