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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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