Turning point in history

Akash Bisht Delhi

If farmers in Nandigram feel that the CPI(M) has betrayed them, they can find solace in the fact that farmers from different parts of the country are up in arms against the brutal police action in West Bengal. More than 2,50,000 people from different parts of the country were in Delhi from March 21 to March 23, to protest the new pro-business and pro-multinational economic policies of the UPA and West Bengal governments, the Nandigram massacre.

Adding his voice to the protest, which was organised by the Communist Party of India Marxist-Leninist-Liberation (CPI-ML), was Chhagan Lal, a dalit farmer from the Sitamarhi district of Bihar: “There is a sense of insecurity among the farmers and we feel that if today it’s Nandigram, tomorrow it might be Sitamarhi, Sivan or Saupal. My grandfather fought against the British to save our land and the day doesn’t seem far away when we will be fighting the government and multinationals to save our forefathers land.” 

On March 14, policemen stormed Nandigram  to suppress protests against the state government’s plans to seize 10,000 acres of land. The police shot dead innocent villagers and wounded many. For the farmers and peasants of the state, who have earlier looked to the CPI (M) party for protection against communal and casteist forces, Nandigram came as a shock. 

“Reports indicate that more than 15 people were killed. Numerous cases of missing persons and rapes have also been reported. This was state-sponsored terrorism, with the police and the CPI(M) cadres acting hand-in-glove,” said Manisha Sethi of the Forum for Democratic Initiatives.

Most of the farmers, who gathered in New Delhi to protest against SEZs, accused the Left Front government of betraying the poor to protect the interests of big industries and multinationals in India. “Till Nandigram and Singur happened, the CPI (M) was perceived as a workers’ and peasants’ party. But they have turned their backs on the people who supported them wholeheartedly. Their men are killing innocent farmers, raping women and forcibly taking away fertile land,” said Madan Mohan, a dalit farmer from Mathura. The March 14 incident, which is looked on by many as a ‘massacre’ perpetrated by the CPI (M), has also been forthrightly condemned by activists, artists and intellectuals who have long supported the party.  

Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretary of CPI-ML (Liberation), condemned the incident and said, “Nandigram, like Naxalbari, will be a turning point in the history of West Bengal and India. In the early 1970s, Charu Majumdar, along with several others, was killed by the CPI (M) and Siddharth Shankar Ray of the Congress to suppress the Naxalbari movement. Today the CPI (M) is killing innocent peasants in Nandigram, backed by a corporate government and multinational corporations, for land acquisition.”  He also demanded that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, as chief minister of West Bengal, should take the responsibility and resign. 

After her visit to Nandigram, social activist Medha Patkar roundly criticised the Left government: “State terrorism by the CPI(M) cadre and the police have to be opposed through non-violent struggle. The fight against the SEZs and forcible displacement of the people of West Bengal and others is because of neo-liberal globalisation. The prevailing situation in West Bengal is no different from the one in Gujarat where thousands of Muslims are being displaced and ghettoised by the state government. What happened is not right and the ruling party in the state is at fault. In this case, women were targeted. We never expected that the Left would behave in such a heartless manner. The police is not normalising the situation. Instead they are causing the disturbance in the area.” 

However, the CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat has defended the police action and denied any involvement by his party people in the incident at Nandigram.