Nandigram:
Let The Truth Be Known
By Prakash Karat
01 April, 2007
Countercurrents.org
The
events in Nandigram, starting from the January 3 incident have been
the subject of a heated controversy. A feature of this political tussle
has been the concerted attempt to attack the CPI(M) on the grounds that
it is taking an anti-peasant stance in favour of big companies. It is
accused of using the police for this purpose.
The March 14 incidents when
the police entered Nandigram and police firing took place have led to
protests in West Bengal and in other parts of the country. At the national
level, the BJP and its allies have focussed on this incident. Parliament
was disrupted for five successive days. The BJP and the Trinamul Congress
have demanded the imposition of Article 356 in West Bengal. Some other
opposition groups have demanded the removal of the Chief Minister.
It is essential to understand
what happened in Nandigram and what are the issues involved. First of
all, it must be clear that the police action in Nandigram was not for
any land acquisition. It is true that the West Bengal government had
considered certain areas within Nandigram for the proposed chemical
hub to be set-up as a Special Economic Zone. This was under the consideration
of the state government. There was no notification for land acquisition
by the authorities at any stage. There was a notice by the Haldia Development
Authority for public information regarding the likely location of the
project. It is this notice which set off protests by people in the Nandigram
Block I.
From 3rd of January to the
14th of March, what happened within Nandigram Block I should be properly
understood. From the time a gram panchayat office was attacked and the
police party called in was also attacked by an armed mob, a chain of
events took place which culminated in the police entry into the area
two and a half months later. All bridges and culverts linking the roads
to the area were destroyed and cut off. CPI(M) offices and the houses
of Party workers and supporters were burnt down or looted. Altogether,
2,500 leaders, supporters and members of the Party were driven out of
the area. A detailed account of the nature of the attacks has been published
separately in this issue.
Most of the media and the
political opponents of the CPI(M) have remained conspicuously silent
about the operation to cleanse Nandigram of the CPI(M).
It is shocking that many
of the intellectuals who claim to be on the Left, have not said a word
of condemnation about these cleansing operations which led to the brutal
murder of Sankar Samanta, a CPI(M) panchayat member and Sunita Mondal,
a school student. The lynching of a police sub inspector Sadhucharan
Chatterjee was also received with no qualms. As recently as March 3,
a woman was gang raped by men led by a local TMC leader. She was targeted
because she belonged to a CPI(M) supporter's family that refused to
join the programme of the Bhumi Rakkha Committee.
The TMC-Jamiat-Naxalite combination
which spearheaded the Bhumi Rakkha Committee was able to keep the people
mobilised with a fear that their land would be taken away. The Chief
Minister had, as early as February 9, categorically stated that no land
for the chemical hub would be taken from Nandigram, if the people do
not want it. But, as the entire CPI(M) leadership including activists
and supporters were absent from the area, the vicious anti-CPI(M) campaign
playing on people's fear about their land could continue without being
challenged.
The Nandigram events came
in the background of the opposition launched by the same forces against
the Singur automobile project. The Central Committee of the CPI(M) had
met in Kolkata between January 2 and 4. It discussed the Singur project
and endorsed the stand of the West Bengal CPI(M) and the Left Front
government in going ahead with the Tata car project. The West Bengal
CPI(M) leadership had also informed that no land acquisition would be
taken up in Nandigram if the people are opposed to it. The Polit Bureau
of the CPI(M) had confirmed this after its meeting on February 17 and
18, when it stated that "There is no question of any land being
acquired for the SEZ projects, as in Nandigram, against the wishes of
the people".
It speaks for the character
of the political combine that is spearheading the Nandigram agitation
who, after knowing that the government is not going to acquire land
in Nandigram, went ahead with instigating or condoning violence against
the CPI(M)'s elected representatives in the panchayats, its local leaders,
members and families. Certain NGOs with international links and the
anti-Communist media have lent full support to this enterprise.
It is these same elements
who refused to attend all-party meetings repeatedly called by the district
administration. The last all-party meeting held on March 10 decided
that the administration should move to restore communications and normalcy
in the area. It is in this connection that the police entered the area
on March 14. In the ensuing confrontation, 14 people have died and many
injured including policemen. The police were met with protests not only
by the local people but from elements armed with bombs and pipe guns.
The deaths of ordinary people
in police firing is deeply regrettable. Such an event is painful and
unfortunate. The CPI(M) would have liked a full-fledged judicial enquiry,
so that all the circumstances which led to the police action and the
firing could be looked into and the facts established. The Kolkata High
Court, however, in an unprecedented step, without even asking the state
government for a report, ordered a CBI enquiry on the March 14 incident.
The police firing resulting
in deaths has incurred the disapproval of different sections of people
in West Bengal , a state which has a high level of democratic consciousness.
The reactions against the police action in the rest of the country also
reflect the same disapproval. Such reactions are understandable. But
to link the police action to a purported drive to take over land from
the peasants in Nandigram is a deliberate attempt to malign the Left
Front government and the CPI(M).
The issue of land acquisition
and industrialisation in West Bengal is being viewed by interested quarters
according to their own political and ideological predilections. While
some of the neo-liberal supporters of the SEZs are worried that the
Nandigram incidents will lead to a setback for the setting up of SEZs
in the country, naxalites of various hues and persons like Medha Patkar
are hoping that industrialisation in West Bengal can be halted after
the violence in Nandigram. Both are on the wrong track.
As far as Special Economic
Zones are concerned, the CPI(M) and the Left Front government of West
Bengal want major changes in the scope and character of the SEZs. In
February itself, the Left Front government decided that new SEZs will
not be set-up in West Bengal till the changes in the all-India SEZ Act
and Rules are made. West Bengal will not adopt the type of SEZs being
set-up in Maharashtra, Haryana and other states where huge tracts of
land are being given to big business houses with ample scope for real
estate speculation. The Left parties have already spelt out the changes
required.
As for those who want the
Left Front government to give up its industrialisation policy, they
will be disappointed. West Bengal will protect and further develop agriculture;
the gains of land reforms will not be undermined but the emphasis on
industrialisation will not be given up. The long years of deindustrialisation
has to be reversed. Balanced economic development requires industrialisation
within the capitalist framework too. If some argue that small and medium
industries are sufficient, the CPI(M) does not agree. Large-scale units,
particularly in manufacturing, are necessary.
The CPI(M) will not be daunted
by the gang up extending from the BJP to the Maoists. The people of
West Bengal know who are the true champions of their interests and who
are in the reactionary combine which is the TMC, BJP and its new-found
allies. Those conversant with political history will also know how the
CPI(M) has emerged as the leading contingent of the Left in West Bengal
by steadfastly fighting back the repeated attempts by the ruling classes
to rally all forces to isolate the Party. They have failed in the past
and will fail again now.
The author is the general
secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Also Read:
Nandigram:
Horror Stories Emerge
Fact finding report of the delegation deputed by
the Calcutta High Court
More
Horror Stories From Nandigram
CPI(ML) Team In Nandigram: Summary Of Findings
Click
here to comment
on this article