Nandigram violence

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Nandigram violenceFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Nandigram violence was an incident in Nandigram, West Bengal where, on the

orders of the Left Front government, more than 4,000 heavily armed police stormed the

Nandigram area with the aim of stamping out protests against the West Bengal

governments plans to expropriate 10,000 acres (40 km2) of land for a Special Economic

Zone (SEZ) to be developed by the Indonesian-based Salim Group. The police shot

dead at least 14 villagers and wounded 70 more.

The SEZ controversy started when the government of West Bengal decided that

the Salim Group of Indonesia[1][2][3] would set up a chemical hub under the SEZ policy

at Nandigram, a rural area in the district ofPurba Medinipur. The villagers took over the

administration of the area and all the roads to the villages were cut off. A front-pagestory in the Kolkata newspaper, The Telegraph, on 4 January 2007 was headlined,

"False alarm sparks clash". According to the newspaper that village council meeting at

which the alleged land seizure was to be announced was actually a meeting to declare

Nandigram a "clean village", that is, a village in which all the households had access to

toilet facilities. However, later events indicate that the government had in fact decided to

set up the chemical hub and the villagers' concerns were genuine. The administration

was directed to break the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee's (BUPC) resistance at

Nandigram and a massive operation with at least 3,000 policemen along with armed

cadre of the Marxist ruling party was launched on 14 March 2007. However, prior

information of the impending action had leaked out to the BUPC who amassed a crowd

of roughly 2,000 villagers at the entry points into Nandigram with women and children

forming the front ranks. In the resulting mayhem, at least 14 people were killed.

Contents

[hide]

1 Background

2 The events of14 March 2007

3 Reactions

4 Location shift

5 November2007 violence

62008 violence


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The scale of the action left the state stunned.All India Trinamool Congress estimates

put the toll at 50. The PWD Minister of the Government of West Bengal, Mr. Kshiti

Goswami of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (India) (RSP), a Left Front constituent,

said 50 bodies were taken to hospital, but it was impossible to ascertain how many were

actually dead.[23] In response to this, people singled out as CPI(M) members and

supporters and their families were driven out of the area and the houses burnt. A week

after the 14 March clashes, The Hindu estimated that around 3500 persons had been

displaced into relief camps as a result of threats from BUPC.[24]. Accusations by

Trinamool Congress that hundreds of people have been killed in the event were not

confirmed by facts. Two of the supposed victims, as claimed by Trinamool Congress,

were later found in a completely safe place elsewhere in West Bengal.

The CPI(M) has accused the Jami Raksha Committee - a coalition of activists from

various parties who oppose land acquisition - of armed attacks on relief camps whichled to three deaths as well as a series of murders and a gangrape. [25]

Fresh violence erupted in Nandigram on 29 April caused the West Bengal Human

Rights Commission to step in.[26]. A team of intellectuals and theatre personalities

from Calcutta was attacked by CPM cadre on their return trip after disbursing relief

material collected from the people in various parts of the state. [27]. Those activists later

publicly supported opposition party Trinamool Congress in 2009 Parliament Election.

The deaths in Nandigram have led to a great deal of controversy on the left in

India.[28] The federal police say they have recovered many bullets of a type not used by

police but in widespread use in the underworld.[29]

[edit]Reactions

Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the former governor ofWest Bengal and grandson ofMahatma

Gandhi, criticised the state government over its handling of the Nandigram incident,

speaking of his "cold horror" in a press statement. His statement was taken suo moto

cognisance of by the Kolkata High Court following which an enquiry by the Central

Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been ordered.

[30]

However, there have even beenaccusations of the CBI's failure to ensure a thorough investigation. [31]


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committees in Central Ministry. CPI(M) has alleged that they were paid back by Mamata

Banerjee for their support to her.

The CPI(M) has currently adopted the public position that land acquisition will not be

made without the consent of the people of Nandigram. The proposed SEZ has

ostensibly been shelved following the 14 March police action.[39] The local, district and

State administration have however maintained that the Chemical Hub will take place at

Nandigram itself. The PWD Minister of the Government of West Bengal, Mr. Kshiti

Goswami has also come out against the CPI (M) stating that the CPI (M) is determined

to set up the chemical hub at Nandigram, despite all the protests[40].

The latest drubbing that the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government's 14 March action

received was from the High Court at Calcutta, when, on 16.11.2007, a Division Bench

consisting of The Honble Chief Justice S. S. Nijjar, and the Honble Justice Pinaki

Chandra Ghose, declared that "The action of the police department to open fire at

Nandigram on 14.03.2007 was wholly unconstitutional and cannot be justified under any

provision of the law" and further that "The action of the police cannot be protected or

justified on the ground of sovereign immunity." and also that "The action of the police

cannot be justified even under the provisions of Criminal Procedure Code; The Police

Act, 1861 for The Police Regulations, 1943". The Hon'ble judges also ordered that "we

direct the State of West Bengal to pay to the victims of the deceased as a result of the

undiscriminating police firing on 14th of March, 2007 immediate compensation in the

sum of Rs.5 (five) lakhs each" and further that "We further direct the State Governmentto pay immediate compensation to the persons who were injured and whose particulars

have been given the pleadings sum of Rs. not less than 1 (one) lakh each" and also

"We further direct the State Government to pay compensation to the victims of rape who

have been duly identified in the pleadings a sum of Rs.2 (two) lakhs each".

Amnesty International expressed serious concern that the Government of West Bengal

has not taken the necessary concrete steps to ensure that all persons under its

jurisdiction are protected from forced eviction and displacement, and that all those

forcibly displaced during the violence are ensured at the very least minimum essentiallevels of food, shelter, water and sanitation, health care and education, as well as their

right to voluntary return or resettlement, and reintegration [41].

[edit]Location shift


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After the bloodshed at Nandigram, and the stiff resistance from opposition parties such

asAll India Trinamool Congress and Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) (SUCI)

and Left Front partners such as Revolutionary Socialist Party andAll India Forward

Bloc over land acquisition, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on 3 September

expressed the government's preference for the sparsely populated island ofNayachar,

30 kilometres from Haldia, to set up the much talked-about chemical hub. [42],[43]

[edit]November 2007 violence

A fresh round of violence came up in November 2007, as the villagers who were thrown

out of Nandigram by the BUPC returned back home. The return of the villagers was

marred by violence unleashed by the ruling party cadres over the resisting BUPC cadre

in Nandigram. The media termed this return as a "recapture" by the CPI(M)[44]. Evidence

points to the operation being conducted entirely by the party keeping the stateadministration inactive. The party eulogized the operation with its state chairman

describing it as `a new dawn' and the chief minister as `paying them back in their own

coin'[45]. The last comment was directed presumably primarily at the Maoist activists who,

the CPI(M) claims, were active at Nandigram. The government has however officially

contradicted the claim[46]. The situation was described as one of "Red Terror".[47] Social

activist Medha Patkarin a message to National Human Rights Commission of India said

that war like situation prevailed in Nandigram due to presence of thousands of CPM

cadres. Police officers were present in the area, but supported their programme to

attack Nandigram.[48]

Nationwide protests have resulted from the new offensive [49]. On 12 November 2007,

the National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the West Bengal

Government directing it to submit a factual report on the conditions prevailing in

Nandigram.[50] Film directorAparna Sen and Rituporno Ghosh decided to boycott the

film festival in Kolkata in protest.[51] Aparna Sen said, "Nandigram has become a

slaughter house with blood being shed every day. CPM might be at the helm of affairs

but the state still belongs to us."[51]

The Parliament of India decided to discuss Nandigram with urgency, suspending the

regular question hour sessions, on 21st November 2007 after two days of complete

suspension of the proceedings owing to the heated debates between CPI(M) and

opposition party members in both the houses. CPI(M) was alienated in the issue by all

the other ruling United Progressive Alliance allies considering the fierce nation wide

sentiments against the massacre [52]


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[edit]2008 violence

In May 2008, fresh violence broke out in Nandigram between supporters of the Bhumi

Uchhed Pratirodh Committee, and the CPM activists. Both sides exchanged fire and

hurled bombs at each other, with CPM getting the worst of it.[53]

It finally led to the re-capture of the lost base by BUPC aided by the District Trinamool Congress led by

Subhendu Adhikary. A status quo has been reserved since then and Nandigram

remains a Trinamool stronghold, albeit by force of arms.

On 5 May, CPI(M) mob striped three woman activists ofBhumi Uchhed Pratirodh

Committee when they refused to join a rally organized by CPI(M).[54],[55]. Owing to wide

political and civil protests on the incident the Government of West Bengal ordered a CID

probe into the incident.[56],[57]. CPM leaders denied the allegations, claiming that it was

part of a malicious campaign.

[55]

.Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi and a section of

intellectuals includingAparna Sen from Kolkata, in separate press statements,

demanded that panchayat polls, due on 11th May, in the areas falling within the

jurisdiction of the Nandigram thana be deferred, for, elections might not be peaceful

and democratic.[58]

[edit]2008 Elections

[edit]Panchayat

The electorate of Nandigram reacted strongly against the Left Front government's policy

of industrialisation through farmland acquisition and its continuous terror tactics. In a

major setback for the ruling CPI(M) for the first time in the history of Left regime in the

West Bengal the opposition wrested control of the East MidnaporeZilla Parishad by

bagging 35 seats out of 53 Zilla Parishad seats in the elections that were held on 11

May 2008. In the previous panchayat polls in 2003, the Trinamul Congress had only two

seats out of 51 Zilla Parishad seats. The results of the election are:

All India Trinamool Congress-35,

Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) (SUCI)-1,

Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M))-14,

Communist Party of India (CPI)-2 and

Democratic Socialist Party (Prabodh Chandra) (DSP)-1.


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Any transgression by the Haldia Development Authority on this score must merit a

proper examination by the state government.

Having said this, it needs to be once again underlined that the CPI(M) both at the all

India level and in West Bengal has been insisting that any acquisition of land forindustrialisation needs to be undertaken both in a transparent manner and in

consultations with those who would be affected. We had articulated these views in

these columns on recent occasions while highlighting the fact that the compensation

package offered by the West Bengal government in Singur has been the most

comprehensive, exemplary and the best compared to anywhere else in the country.

Notwithstanding this, an important feature of the recent developments in Nandigram

points towards an attempt to chillingly recreate the violence and mayhem spearheaded

by the Trinamool Congress in Keshpur and Garbeta some years ago. By terrorisingvillagers through the spread of murderous clashes, an attempt was sought to be made

to gain public acceptance through terror. Similar attempts were made in Singur and,

now, in Nandigram. Having been routed in the recent assembly elections, if these are

the methods that the opponents of the Left Front in Bengal are going to adopt to stage a

political comeback, then this constitutes a political onslaught against the Left Front

government. As in the past, such a political onslaught would be met politically in order

to advance the cause of the welfare of the people of Bengal.

A second feature is the fact that the ground level mobilisation at Nandigram hasattracted, indeed, the strangest of political bedfellows. From the BJP to the Jamaat, the

Congress led by the Trinamool and a motley crowd of ultra-Left groups of all varieties

have all converged alongwith many an NGO. The only issue that can bind such a

combination is a political anti-CPI(M), anti-Left predisposition.

Thirdly, many of these political parties who are now expressing their so-called concern

for the farmers are the very same ones who champion and adopt policies of economic

liberalisation that apart from everything else is responsible for acute agrarian distress

that our country is facing. The Trinamool Congress served in the NDA government ledby the BJP which presided over the implementation of such anti-people policies. The

Congress today heads the UPA coalition which is reluctant to implement its own

promises in the Common Minimum Programme related to improving the lot of

agriculture and two-thirds of India that lived off it. It is this very UPA government

which is yet to accept the changes suggested by the CPI(M) to protect the farmers and

agricultural land from being indiscriminately acquired under the new SEZ law. Yet, in


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Bengal, they all unite! Further, these were the very parties that vehemently opposed the

land reforms and Operation Barga launched by the CPI(M)-led Left Front government.

Yet, today, they claim to be espousing the interests of the farmers. Clearly, this anti-

CPI(M) unity emerges not on any principles or policies. It is political expediency at its

worst.

The bedrock of the Left Front governments success in West Bengal has been the

implementation of land reforms and the legal recording of the sharecroppers. While this

has produced the desired results of increased productivity and agricultural output, the

future improvement in the living standards of the people in Bengal is critically

dependent on an accelerated pace of industrialisation and consequent generation of

employment. Surely, the CPI(M) given its commitment and performance cannot allow

this process of industrialisation to take place in such a way as to erode the gains made

by land reforms. On the contrary, Bengals future economic development can only bebased on the foundations of its past successes. A right balance needs to be struck and

this is what the CPI(M) and the Left Front is seeking to do in consultations with the

grassroot level institutions like the panchayats and the affected people in a transparent

manner.

As noted earlier, with regard to the Singur developments, the number of people who

were given compensation was around 12,000 for a land area of less than 1000 acres.

Even if we were to separate the landowners from the sharecroppers and other non-land

owners who received compensation then there were at least, on an average, 10 ownersin one acre of land. Clearly, in reality, some of these would club their land to be tilled

and harvested by a few while others would be seeking to augment their incomes for

survival outside of agriculture. Under these circumstances, a handsome compensation

package alongwith free training and imparting of skills for a guaranteed future

employment and livelihood would give them a better quality of life. It is precisely this

that the CPI(M) led Left Front government in Bengal is seeking to do. And, it is for this

precise reason that it is not in favour of allowing the industrialists to directly negotiate

with the farmers for acquiring land. Experience has shown that under such

circumstances, the farmers are least protected and vulnerable to the pressures of theunscrupulous middlemen and the mafia that are often employed to alienate the farmer

from his land. Further, under such circumstances, there is no scope for a guaranteed

alternative livelihood. A pro-people government like the Left Front government in

Bengal needs to intervene to ensure that the welfare of the people dependent on such

lands is not undermined.


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Such being the case, the CPI(M)-led Left Front governments efforts to enhance the

prosperity of the people in Bengal will necessarily have to be based on a transparent

manner of land acquisition for industrialisation in consultation with those affected. If

there is a need for fine tuning on this score, that needs to be undertaken, while the

political onslaught launched by the anti-Communist and anti-Left forces must besquarely met. There are many political signboards in Bengal who thrive by propagating

that no industrialisation is possible under the Left Front rule. The Congress, the

Trinamool, the BJP have all used this as an important plank for their political

survival. If, however, industrialisation is proceeding apace under the Left Front, the

shops of many of these parties may well loose their business!

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