Dr. Sudha Kamath elected State President of AIMSS

Mysore:- Dr. Sudha Kamath was elected as the new President of the Karnataka State Committee of All India Mahila Samskruthika Sanghatane (AIMSS) at the concluding Delegate Session of AIMSS held at Maharaja's College Centenary Hall here on Sunday.

The other State Committee members are Dr. Mary John, Sheela S. Rao, Nagammal, Pratibha Kumari and M.N. Manjula M.N (Vice-Presidents); B.R. Aparna (Secretary). A four-member Secretariat, 16 members of the executive committee and a 20-member State Council have been elected to lead the women's movement in Karnataka.

B.R. Aparna, the newly elected Secretary announced that this year on March 8 Women's Day will be observed by oraganising programmes at all levels centering round the charter of demands adopted in the Conference.

Dr. H.G. Jayalakshmi, All India General Secretary, AIMSS, who addressed the gathering, called upom the delegates to release their individual initiative and take up more responsibilities to be able to build up grass-roots level organisations and bring about a qualitative change in the history of women's struggles in Karnataka.

On the second day of the 4th State-level women's conference, there were discussions on the resolutions regarding crimes against women and the various Court verdicts found to be contrary to the interests of women.

Krishna Chakraborti, Member, Central Committee, SUCI, who addressed the delegates during the concluding session, congratulated the organisers of AIMSS for the impressive gathering of thousands of women in the Open Session on Jan. 4. He dealt at length on the problems faced by women and said that the problems cannot be fundamentally resolved through individual movements which can at best provide temporary solutions under Capitalism which is the root cause of all these problems. They can be eradicated only through a fundamental change in society, he said.

Narrating the history of domination of women in society, he pointed out that it started with the birth of private property and class division. He showed how the emancipation of women is linked with the total emancipation of all the oppressed and that this would be possible only in a classless society.

He empha-sised the need to build up movements to fight against all problems of women. These movements will have to be conducive to the struggle for emancipation of all sections of toiling masses � the struggle for an anti-capitalist Socialist Revolution which alone can bring true freedom for women.

He explained how the ruling class fears this revolution and is making various attempts to thwart it by denying education to women. Further the rulers are making an all-out attack on the cultural backbone of the people. They are also whipping up divisive tendencies of casteism, communalism etc., to break the unity of the people.

He called upon the women to organise themselves and prepare for the ultimate struggle for the overthrow of the system along the model of their Vietnamese and Chinese sisters who had played a glorious role in the revolutions in their countries. He also hailed the spirit of struggle of the brave women of Nandigram who are a glorious living example of such a spirit.