December 2007 Edition
Jaya Mitra
Kolkata
NANDIGRAM has become India’s new word for state- sponsored terrorism. A rural area some 200 km from Kolkata, Nandigram comprises five panchayats divided into two blocks. Land is fertile and yields a good crop, including vegetables. Located near the coastline, Nandigram, Haripur and Kontai get a constant supply of brackish water fish, an important food product that is exported and earns foreign exchange. This area is one of the mostprosperous in West Bengal. According to a state government agency report of 2005,Nandigram is one of three blocks in West Bengal that have the highest calorie intakeper capita. The literacy rate, even among girls, is high.
There are branches of several banks within the villages. Out of the 130,000 people in Nandigram, the majority were CPI (M)supporters. Since the last two years, the state government has become enthusiastic about ‘globalised development’. After the row over Singur, where 997 acres of fertileagricultural land were handed over to the Tatas despite strong opposition, the government announced that 2,500 acres would be acquired in Nandigram. Ten acres would be handed over to Dow Chemicals to set up a chemical hub.
The rest would go to the Indonesian builders, the Salim Group, which would construct bridges and highways, the infrastructure needed for the chemical hub. Two thousand and five hundred acres means more than half the area of Nandigram. Entire villages would be displaced. A population of 125,000 would lose their homes and livelihood. A rich natural resource would be replaced by polluting and dangerous industries in the name of development. The majority of people in Nandigram rose up in a big way against this decision. They felt betrayed by the CPI (M). Confrontation began.No government initiative to open dialogue with the people concerned was visible. Instead there were constant skirmishes with the CPI (M)’s hired goons. To stop these attacks the Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), a local committee of villagers, dug up roads at all the entry points. The exchange of fire and the death toll spiralled. The chief minister then announced that the land acquisition notice had been put forward by mistake and that no chemical hub would be set up in Nandigram, if the villagers did not want ‘development’. But the people of Nandigram had lost faith in the government. Moreover, they saw that the government had given false statements in court about the voluntary disposal of land in Singur.
The opposition parties, mainly the Trinamool, joined hands with the BUPC. Tension and violence increased every day but there were no sincere peace efforts from the government. On the contrary, party leaders like Biman Basu and Binoy Konar gave public statements openly supporting the CPI (M) cadres. The chief minister while describing the tense situation in Nandigram used terms like ‘our boys’ and ‘the others’. And then violence began to erupt. For quite some time the BUPC kept saying that many known anti-social elements and goons could be seen roaming openly in the area. On November 8, CPI (M) leader Biman Basu declared before the media: “Our boys will teach them (Nandigram) the right ways. We will encircle them from all sides.” CPI (M) cadres had encircled the small village of Satangabari, burnt houses, killed cattle and put poison in the fish ponds.
On November 9, thousands of villagers entered the burnt down villages in an unarmed peace procession with women and children marching in the front. Nobody thought that a peace march would be brutally attacked. But it was. The number of dead will perhaps never be known because bodies were buried in mass graves. Some were dumped in the river and even burnt in a nearby brick kiln furnace. Innumerable villagers wereinjured and women gang- raped. Children were killed. Thousands were surrounded and taken to other places. They were beaten, tortured and some were killed. The police was just standing around, inactive. There was no trace of any government administration for three days. The entry points of all roads to Nandigram were blocked by foul- mouthed ruffians carrying red flags. No media, no relief or medical teams were allowed.
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