singur

2009-03-02T16:00:00.000+05:30

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82% farmers against Reliance SEZ land acquisition: Samiti

2008-10-08T17:21:00.000+05:30

Press Trust of India

Alibaug, Oct 6: Most affected farmers and landowners of the proposed Reliance Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in neighbouring Raigad district are against the project, the organisation spearheading the agitation against the SEZ has claimed.Though the government has not yet declared any result on the referendum conducted last month, SEZ Sangharsh Samiti chief Mr ND Patil declared the result on the “basis of information sought by it”.

“About 82 per cent of farmers are not in favour of SEZ,” Mr Patil said in a Press conference here.

“The Samiti has decided to wait till 21 October since all the farmers are busy with rice crop and then decide the further line of action,” he said.

The government has not yet come out with the result of the referendum, an official from the collectorate told PTI.

About 18,000 landowners and farmers from 22 villages voted on the issue on 21 September. Farmers of these villages had opposed the project stating theirs was arable land due to the Hetawane dam located in the area and as such could not be acquired for the SEZ.

But the confusion about the referendum is still not over with chief minister Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh's statement made last week, that the poll conducted in Raigad was not a referendum and no such referendum will be conducted for any SEZ in future.

Source: The Statesman, 7 October 2008

Tata officials visit Andhra sites, face farmers' protests

2008-10-06T18:46:00.000+05:30

HYDERABAD: A team of officials from Tata Motors Sunday conducted inspection of two sites near here for their Nano car project but faced protests from farmers, who refused to part with their land.

The team led by Tata Motors' managing director G. Ravi Kant and accompanied by officials of the state revenue department visited Seetarampuram and Aluru villages in Ranga Reddy district. Both sites are close to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad.

The delegation first visited Seetarampuram village where the state government has offered 1,128 acres of land at concessional rates.

But as soon as the officials of the company and the revenue department reached there, local farmers gathered and tried to stop the inspection.

The farmers made it clear they would not surrender their land at any cost as they had been cultivating these for decades. The police had to intervene and cane the farmers to allow the team to complete its inspection.

The protest by farmers and local people in Singur in West Bengal has forced Tata Motors to pull out from there.

Source: The Economics Times

A tragic road map

2008-10-03T06:43:00.001+05:30

The following article was published in The Statesman on 30 Spetember 2008. Based on the analysis of land reform expert Mr. Debabrata Bandyopadhyay it shows the estimated rate of profit from the Singur Plant. We believe it is worth reading, although the views reflected in the article do not have full agreement with the views of the blog.

Manos Ghosh

The improper resettlement and rehabilitation package for 2,500 agricultural households of Singur owning 164 hectares (400 acres) of rich multicrop land forcibly acquired by the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government for the Nano car project would surely lead to their loss of livelihood, starvation, morbidity, social and economic degradation, not to forget a high incidence of untimely deaths. This is the substance of a fact-sheet prepared by Mr D Bandopadhyay, West Bengal’s former land reforms commissioner and secretary, revenue, government of India, on the gross value of production from 400 hectares of land acquired from over 12,000 owners and co-sharers for the Nano project.

Mr Bandopadhyay says that while the shareholders and the corporate house responsible for manufacturing the Nano will reap a windfall profit from this small car project because of a huge amount of visible and invisible subsidies provided by the state government for the project, Singur’s 2,500 households, whose 162 hectares have been coercively acquired for locating ancillaries, will surely face starvation, family disintegration and untimely deaths if the state government continues to ignore the resettlement and rehabilitation policy guidelines laid down by the Union government for land-losers. “This will mark the beginning of a tragic road map charted out by the CPI-M government for West Bengal’s industrialisation.”

According to the fact-sheet, land-losers of 400 hectares, numbering over 12,000, which includes co-sharers, produce crops worth Rs 10 crore annually will be lost. While the paddy crop of 5,220 metric tonnes from 400 hectares annually fetches an annual earning of Rs. 3.50 crore based on the government’s declared minimum support price, potato also fetches an almost identical sum from the sale of 10,000 metric tonnes from almost the same acreage. Income from inter-cropped vegetables is well over a crore of rupees. Oilseeds and pulses, both of which are cultivated over 200 acres, provide an annual income of Rs 42 lakh and Rs 34 lakh, respectively. While 235 tonnes of oilseeds are produced in the acquired land, the yield of pulses is 200 metric tonnes.

The most positive part of the study is that even a marginal Singur farmer, with a holding of just one acre (three bighas) has an earning that puts him well above the poverty line. Highlighting Singur’s economic prosperity from agriculture, Mr Bandopadhyay says this becomes clear when even the area’s marginal farmers and sharecroppers vociferously claim their income from their holdings is good enough to not only meet both ends but also help them enjoy some of the good things of life.

Mr Bandopadhyay says that according to the Centre’s yardstick, a family of five, with an annual income of Rs 22,000 and below, falls below the poverty line (BPL) category. But in Singur, even a marginal farmer and a sharecropper earns an average annual income of at least Rs 32,000, which places him above poverty line (APL) category without any assistance from any quarter.

In other states, according to Mr Bandopadhyay, marginal farmers with such meagre holdings and poor land quality and crop yield have plummeted below the poverty line. “But not in Singur. If proper incentive and price and other forms of support are provided this income is bound to increase significantly in no time”,Mr Bandopadhyay added. According to him an average annual agricultural income of Rs 10 crore, though distributed asymmetrically among 12,000 affected farmers and share croppers, shows the rich quality and high productivity of Singur land on which the Tatas have been allowed to build their car factory. “If the government and the Tatas don’t do anything to provide alternative sources of income, which must ensure higher returns than the existing ones, then a grave human tragedy is about to befall Singur’s 12,000 “unwilling” farmers. What has been announced as an increase in the compensation package by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is, unfortunately, less than half of the benefits that must be given to land losers under the national resettlement and rehabilitation policy of 2007. The new compensation package is a sham. “It will pauperise the land losers in no time and eventually force them into penury and extreme hardship”, Mr Bandopadhyay rued. Pointing out that the Singur project is a “job loss growth” Mr Bandopadhyay’s fact-sheet says that whereas the Tata car unit will create employment only for 650 employees (almost all of whom will be outsiders)whose annual wage element will be around Rs.12 lakh per employee, agriculture in Singur provides “unwilling” farmers with an income of at least Rs.32,000 for each of the affected 2500 households with 12000 heads. Even if the creation of 650 jobs at the Tata factory is factored into the Singur employment scene there would still be a net job loss of 11,350 heads which will spell doom for the local economy and social scene. While calculating Tata Motors’ income and expenditure on the Nano project which is based on very liberal assumptions, Mr Bandopadhyay’s projection is that Tata Motors would be earning annually a profit of Rs.600 crore from the project (See table).

The above calculation of surplus of Tata Motors has not been factored into the benefits that the company got through substantial material resources transferred to it either without cost or at a substantially reduced price. The real value of such transfer has not been made public as, according to both the chief minister and his industries minister Nirupam Sen “these are trade secrets which can not be divulged in the interest of the project which is for public purpose”. But according to valuers’ estimate the benefits so received through below the market price transfer of resources of land, water, electricity, transport, security, local tax concession and a loan of Rs 200 crore bearing one per cent interest would total around Rs 2000 crore.

Not only this, the annexure one and two of the agreement provides that the state government would make good the loss that the TM will suffer if and when there is an upward revision of excise duty and corporate income tax during the current decade. And alternatively if and when the excise duty and corporate tax goes down the benefit will go entirely to the TM with the state government having no share in it.

Thus the company’s net worth/ assets, according to Mr Bandopadhyay, would be far higher than the visible investment made by it as indicated above. The enhancement of net worth would be reflected in the soaring stock prices resulting in creation of instant millionaires and perhaps billionaires.

But this largesse provided to TM has created such an uneven playing field that it is being resented strongly and silently by other leading investors in West Bengal. They say that by doing this the CPI-M government has encouraged and practised a patently unfair trade practice just to favour the TM. It also, according to Mr Bandopadhyay, violates the letter and spirit of the Competition Act. “By having recourse to this the state government has committed a highly unethical and illegal act”. And yet the irony is that both the government and the Tatas are not willing to spend much on proper resettlement and rehabilitation of Singur’s “unwilling” land losers. Gross inadequacies and shortcomings in the state government’s compensation package, which the chief minister and his party as well as their camp followers have hailed as the “best” in the country, come out loud and clear when it is compared with similar package offered by other state governments to their land losers. Their compensation package contains so many provisions that each one of them addresses almost all the concerns connected with acquisition of private property resulting in involuntary displacement of their owners and depriving them of their land, livelihood, shelter and restricting their access to traditional resource base.

For instance, the compensation package offered to those whose 1300 acres had been acquired for building the new privately owned Kochi international airport and 800 acres for constructing the new cargo terminal at Nagpur airport have taken care of the traumatic psychological and socio-cultural fallout on land losers. The package has protected the rights to land, livelihood, and employment besides providing other benefits including financial compensation which is based on four times the price of prevalent market value of land. The Kochi package had such a human face that all the 800 land losers found it hard to resist the offer. Not only one person from each family had been provided with a permanent job, or various contracts but he had also been given shares of the airport company, bus or taxi permits, six cents of land for building a house and a free return air ticket to go to any of the neighbouring metro cities of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka. In fact the Kochi land losers in the Marxist ruled Kerala have been given more benefits than those prescribed under the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy of the Union government.

Against this backdrop, the package offered to Singur farmers is a pittance. If the barren and gravel land in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur, where the Korean car major Hyundai has built two huge car manufacturing units on a 500 acre plot, can fetch over Rs 2.10 crore an acre, why should the state government pay between Rs 7 lakh and Rs 12 lakh an acre for Singur’s best alluvial land, which in terms of land quality is the country’s best? Although Singur in terms of connectivity and proximity to Kolkata is better placed than Sriperambudur. The result is that Singur’s “unwilling” farmers are convinced that the Marxist government is cheating them through land acquisition.. Their general feeling is that the package is “highly exploitative” in nature.

What has shocked many IAS administrators of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which I had recently visited, is the “dehumanised approach” of their service brethren and their political masters in West Bengal. One such officer asked me in Chennai “Does the government’s responsibility towards involuntary land losers end with the collection of compensation cheque?” The officer was reacting after reading “threatening” statements of CPI-M leaders in the Press that the “unwilling” farmers should at once go and collect their compensation cheques from the collectorate.

(The writer is Editor, Dainik Statesman)

Source: TheStatesman 30 September 2008

Tatas could face Singur in Pantnagar as farmers oppose

2008-09-29T16:23:00.000+05:30

The Tatas reported plan to roll out its cheap passenger car from here faces turbulence as another Singur appears to be in the offing with a group of farmers planning an agitation against giving more land to the company for the Nano car project.
On Tata Motors’ proposed plan to manufacture Nano car here, a member of the “Kisan Kisani Abhiyaan” Hanif Gandhi said farmers will launch a movement on the lines of “Chipko movement” if Uttarakhand government provided any more land to the company.
The Tatas already have a vehicle manufacturing plant here covering 1000 acres.
Gandhi said the government has already given 1000 acres of fertile land to the Tatas for setting up a plant here on a low lease.
He said farmers across the country were not happy with giving fertile land to industrial units.
“If the situation is not dealt with seriously, the country will have to face a shortage of food materials in the near future,” he said. Tatas had asked for additional 100 acres of land in Pantnagar to build residential colonies.
On this demand, State Agriculture Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had earlier said not even one inch of extra land would be given to the company.

Source

997 acres? CM, experts must come clean

2008-09-20T07:29:00.000+05:30

Statesman News Service

KOLKATA, Sept. 18: Does Tata Motors need 997 acres for its "integrated" car manufacturing facility at Singur? At his interaction with the media yesterday, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had insisted the company needs all that land. He went on to say the government's experts had independently corroborated this requirement. But inquiries by The Statesman suggest the experts may not have been right and that comparable car manufacturing facilities around the world do with far less and if this is so, the CM ought to explain how his experts came to their finding.

Mr Bhattacharjee had maintained that at the most 70 acres from the project area could be returned to unwilling farmers. He had said that "the central issue was not 50 or 100 acres but how much land would be required for setting up an integrated factory and how much could be taken out of the project area". Mr Bhattacharjee had added that the land requirement was not "merely a claim by the Tatas, but we have consulted experts before arriving at the quantum of land required for the project".

Tata Motors is said to need some 650 acres or so for the manufacturing plant and about 350 acres for ancillary units, to together make up the 997-acre "integrated" facility that Mr Bhattacharjee spoke of. Reports suggest that the company will make 100,000 cars annually, but that the Singur plant will eventually have capacity to produce 350,000 cars.

Proton, the Malaysian car company, makes 250,000 vehicles a year on a 250-acre factory in Shah Alam. Hyundai Motors India has installed capacity to make 530,000 cars at its 500-acre plant near Chennai. Ford Motors makes 300,000 vehicles annually on a 345-acre plot in Turkey. Toyota Motors makes 500,000 cars plus 500,000 engines in a 7 million square feet factory (about 180 acres) in the United States. Honda Motors makes nearly 200,000 cars on a 231-acre plant in Thailand. On the basis of land used by these facilities, it would seem that about one acre of land would be required to make 1,000 cars annually.

Tata Motors would then need 350 acres ~ and not 650 acres ~ to make 350,000 cars, perhaps even less as the Nano is much smaller than the cars made by the other companies.

Source: The Statesman, 19 Sept, 2008.

Ok, tata: Bengal throwing good money after bad?

2008-09-17T22:35:00.000+05:30

Anindita Chowdhury
KOLKATA, Sept. 15: The Tatas may have finally endorsed the West Bengal government's fresh rehabilitation and compensation package for land-losers to ensure that Tata Motors Limited stays put it Singur and the Nano can roll out in a "congenial atmosphere", but at what cost? Both literal and figurative, not to mention political. For, according to calculations made by The Statesman, the government will not only have to dig deep dig into an already depleted public exchequer once again to keep its enhanced compensation promise, but government investment in Singur will be at least one third of the Tata Motors' Rs 1,500 crore investment. And if the VAT holiday and subsidised electricity given to the Tatas, and the vague promises of jobs to land-losers are factored in, the total public investment in a private firm's project to build a car, even if it's the world's cheapest, could well be close to the amount being spent by the business house itself!The irony is even more pronounced when one keeps in mind that the Singur project is no private-public-partnership enterprise ~ it's rightly, and unashamedly, a commercial venture by one of India's biggest business houses. And whatever Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee may believe in connection with industrialisation in one state, apparently through one project in the vanguard, to mix a couple of socialist metaphors, the question arises: is it worth it?The state government has already paid close Rs 133.10 crore, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, as compensation to land-losers and the fresh package which promises to pay 50 per cent over and above the present compensation paid would mean an additional outflow of Rs 65 crore from the exchequer. Then there is a new commitment to pay accumulated wages of 300 days to landless labourers. According to the government, the number of such registered landless labourers and unrecorded bargadars is 955. The minimum daily wage is Rs 75 a day according to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NGERA), which amounts to Rs 22,500 for 300 days. Multiplied by 955, that's 2.14 crore rupees. And this, only for landless labourers registered with WBIDC; the government has, indeed, gone a step further by stating that those with EPIC and NREGA job cards will also be eligible for this compensation even if they are not registered.The government has also promised to provide "sustainable economic existence" to land-losing families, jobs, in other words, although not spelt out so bluntly, and that's yet another claim on public money. This applies to around 5,000 to 6,000 families (as many land-losing have gone their separate ways over the past two years), a senior official at Writers' Buildings told The Statesman. Whilst some jobs will be provided in the private sector, an overwhelming majority will have to be accommodated in government jobs with all benefits, said the official. The wage bill is likely to be substantial.All of this only adds to government decisions already taken, no doubt in what it perceives as the public interest and geared towards putative job creation, of giving the Tatas land at a throwaway price, a VAT exemption to match that offered by the Uttarakhand state government, and extending a loan of Rs 200 crore to TML (effectively Rs 143.10 crore).Take the effective government, i.e. public, investment in terms of land cost first: At current market value, the price for the 645.67 acres at Singur (that's the deal with the Tatas; the vendors have been given land at a different rate the figures for which, incidentally, have not been provided to the CAG by the state government) is Rs 93.73 crore. Though the Tatas are paying Rs 855.75 crore over a 90-year period, at present value (according to a February 2006 government directive laying down the basis for making such calculations with reference to a 99-year lease) this would be equivalent to paying Rs 18.62 crore. Given the uncertainty over the Tatas commencing work at Singur, forget a 90-year stay, it would be imminently fair and sensible to regard the state's investment as the difference between current market price and what the Tatas are paying in current terms. That amount is Rs 76.11 crore. As for the government, i.e public, investment in terms of VAT concessions, they are substantial, even if it's a fair discount, as the government claims, to attract private investment to Bengal in a competitive environment.The CAG report has stated that the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) incurred a loss of Rs 81.52 crore on account of the Tata Motors plant at Singur. "The company incurred excess expenditure of Rs 2.99 crore towards payment of avoidable interest of Rs 1.44 crore and delayed consent awards of Rs 1.55 crore to landowners beyond statutory provisions. Further, it subsidised TML by 76.11 crore on leasing of 645.67 acres of land for 90 years," the report reads. Government also paid Rs 3.19 crore for direct purchase of land and payment to bargadars, and another Rs 2.96 crore as development expenses and training programme expenses for the land-losers for economic rehabilitation came to Rs 78.52 lakh.The state commerce and industries minister has justified the state governments' munificence towards the Tatas saying that an auto-cluster would lead to an economic boom for both Singur and the state. It may be recalled that the same state government has now asked the investors to finalise their rehabilitation package for land-losers along with their detailed project report.
Source: The Statesman, 16 Sept, 2008

The Ugly Face of TATA

2008-09-11T10:46:00.001+05:30

Introduction

The Tata Group, a family-owned Indian multinational with 2005 revenues of Rs. 76,500 crores ($17.8 billion), has an unjustifiably good reputation. The corporation’s flagship company Tata Steel made its riches through large-scale takeover of tribal lands in Jharkhand and Orissa and opportunistic business deals with the British colonial powers and the East India Company.Until the onset of liberalisation, Tatas remained the undisputed king of the license-raj, covering its trail of human rights, labour and environmental violations with liberal philanthropic give-aways. As the realities of operating in a globalised environment began sinking in within Tatas, more and more people, including its loyal employees, are beginning to understand that talks of nation-building and corporate social responsibility aside, Tata companies have no obligation to anybody but their own shareholders.As the rapsheet below will corroborate, the corporate house’s reputation is a result of Tata’s successful public relations strategy rather than a reflection of reality.

Helping Killer Carbide

In December 1984, when the Government of India arrested Union Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson for his role in causing the Bhopal gas disaster, Mr. J.R.D. Tata was one of the few Indians to condemn the arrest. Decisions made by Anderson to save costs by eliminating safety systems and approving untested technology at the Bhopal factory were directly responsible for the disaster. Incidentally, significant sections of the Bhopal factory’s sewage and utilities were constructed by Tata Consulting Engineers.In November 2006, Ratan Tata offered to bail out Union Carbide, and facilitate investments by Carbide’s new owner Dow Chemical, by leading a charitable effort to clean-up the toxic wastes abandoned by Carbide in Bhopal. At a time when the Government of India has held Dow Chemical liable for the clean-up and requested Rs. 100 crores from the American MNC, Tata’s offer of charity is aimed at frustrating legal efforts to hold the company liable. Also, admittedly, the offer is motivated by a desire to facilitate Dow’s investments in India. The company has restrained itself from major investments in India out of fear that the campaign for justice by Bhopal victims will derail plans and increase risks of any Dow venture in India.

Bypassing Democracy

Dictating Indian Policy: In 2005, prompted by the corporate-friendly overtures of the Manmohan Singh Government and the Bush administration, business houses in the US and India set up the US-India CEO Forum comprising a select coterie of US and Indian CEOs. The forum has “a mandate to develop a road map for increased partnership and cooperation between the two countries at a business level.” Co-chaired by Ratan Tata, the Forum has made several recommendations to craft new laws, change existing laws and establish policy to make India more investor-friendly. The Forum is pushing for weaker labour laws, facilitation of Special Economic Zones, increased focus on post-graduate education, relaxing liability laws and expediting resolution of disputes especially following events such as the Bhopal disaster. The high-level consent that the Forum has from Indian and US Governments makes it a force parallel to the Indian parliament in law-making.

Holding on to Corporatocracy: Tatas own and operate the only private city in India. The steel city of Jamshedpur, which was founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1904, is one of few Indian cities that does not have a municipality or any local elected Government. Tata Steel-owned Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company administers the entire town with population of nearly 600,000. The 74th Amendment to the Constitution of India devolves powers to locally elected urban bodies such as municipalities, and requires that all states enact laws to hold regular elections to such local bodies. Converting the Tata-controlled town to a democratically controlled municipality met with stiff resistance from Tata Steel who seemed to suggest that a benevolent rule, such as Tata Steel, was more desirable than a democratic set-up. Defending corporate rule over democracy, Tata Steel’s managing director B. Muthuraman is reported as saying “While you have one successful model which has been there for a hundred years, would you like to bring in some other model which however lofty may not yet have been tried.”

Business with Military Junta: The Myanmar military government which is shunned by the world for its blatant human rights violations has found a friend in India. At a time when several multinationals like PepsiCo have pulled out of Myanmar in a bid to pressure the military government to give way to democratic forces, Tata Motors is striking deals to supply the oppressive regime with hardware and automobiles. The Myanmar military junta is accused of widespread rape and pillage, and the use of forced labour to construct infrastructure for the exploitation of Myanmar’s rich natural resources. For more than two decades, tribal groups have fought a hard and violent battle against the military junta for autonomy. Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since 1989.

Desecrating Tribal Lands

Parched Earth Tactics: Tatas’ steel town came up in close proximity to thickly forested lands that had the misfortune of carrying some of the richest iron ore deposits. Tribal people then and now seldom have paper titles to their lands. The company initially acquired 3564 acres of land comprising villages at the cost of Rs. 46,332. When the lands were handed over to Tatas for mining in Noamundi and for the Jamshedpur township by the British-controlled Government of India, the tribals were evicted.In 1907, after Tatas had taken over the Noamundi area for mining iron, local adivasis refused to work the mines. In a bid to tame them, Tatas reportedly mowed down the Kusumgaj (Kosam) trees. These trees were the lifeline for the adivasis who collected lac from the lacworms that nest on these trees. In desperation and with no other recourse for a livelihood, more and more adivasis started digging iron ore for Tatas. In 2000, Tata Steel allegedly bulldozed a spring that was the only source of water for the indigenous people of Agaria Tola – a 22-household hamlet on the periphery of Tata’s coal mines. Besides yielding water, the spring was the centre of social interaction for the nearby villagers. Chrome Poisoning: The Down to Earth magazine reports that the Comptroller Auditor General of the Government of India singled out the chromite mines in Sukhinda Valley as a highly polluted area. Tatas are one of the largest mining companies in the valley. The Domsala River and 30 streams that run through this valley are contaminated with dangerous levels of hexavalent chromium leaching from overburden dumps. Hexavalent chromium causes irritation of the respiratory tract, nasal septum ulcers, irritant dermatitis rhinitis, bronchospasm and pneumonia. One study funded by the Norwegian Government under the Orissa Environment Program found that almost 25 percent of people living less than 1 km from the sites suffered pollution-induced diseases.

Luxury Resort in Tiger Country: In the mid-1990s, the Tata-owned Taj Group of Hotels leased a piece of land in the middle of the Nagarahole National Park and Tiger Reserve in Karnataka to build the Gateway Tusker Lodge. Proposed as a jungle camp, the plans for the Lodge resembled those of a 5-star resort complete with tourist facilities, diesel generators, and conference rooms. No clearance was sought from the Ministry of Environment, despite the fact that any activity inside a National Park is very stringently regulated. Massive tribal opposition to the project and a legal challenge eventually forced the Tatas to withdraw from the Tiger’s hunting grounds.

Violence and Massacres

Gua Massacre:

State violence against tribal people is commonplace, particularly in the mining districts of Eastern India. According to an eyewitness, on 7 September, 1980, villagers whose lands were taken over to accommodate a Tata aerodrome in Noamundi went to the aerodrome to confront then Tata Steel chairman Russi Mody and present him a memo. On seeing the crowd, Mody’s aircraft returned to Jamshedpur without landing. All this happened at a time when long-oppressed tribals were asserting their rights, and the struggle for a tribal state was at its peak in the Jharkhand region of Bihar. Tatas and other vested interests are said to have pressed the State Government to take stringent action against tribal activists. The 8 September firing against innocent tribals in the Gua marketsquare, and the subsequent killing of 8 unarmed tribals inside a hospital was the “strict action” that was taken to quell tribal discontent.

Kalinganagar Massacre: On January 2, 2006, a police battalion armed to the teeth opened fire into a crowd of tribal villagers in Kalinganagar, Orissa. The tribal people were protesting the illegal construction of a compound wall by Tata Steel on lands historically owned by them. The local people had made it clear that Tata Steel was not welcome. Just days before the massacre, Tata Steel had three meetings with the chief minister of Orissa. Five corpses returned after post-mortem were mutilated; one dead woman’s breast was ripped off, and a young boy (also killed in the firing) had his genitals mutilated. All had their palms chopped off. Tata has said the incident was unfortunate, and that it will continue with plans to set up a steel plant at the location despite the opposition.

Singur Oppression: In 2006, Tatas obtained a bonanza. More than 900 acres of fertile agricultural lands in Singur, near Kolkata, was handed over to Tata Motors by the West Bengal Government for a project that will churn out Rs. 100,000 ($2000) cars. Farmers, many of whose lands were forcibly acquired, opposed the handover of their lands to Tata. Goaded by Tatas, the West Bengal Government has come down heavily on the Singur farmers and their supporters, converting this once-peaceful village into a war-zone with round-the-clock presence of armed police providing protection to Tata Motors site and workers.

Toxic Dumping

Saline wastes: In September 2003, an effluent spill from Tata Chemicals’ soda ash factory in Mithapur, Gujarat, spread over more than 150 acres of the sea in the Gulf of Kutch Marine National Park. The National Park covers one of the most biodiverse regions – mangroves, corals, mudskippers, whale sharks -- in the coast of India. About 10 km_ of the marine protected area has been considerably degraded due to the settlement of solids associated with the effluent of the industry, according to the National Institute of Oceanography. The salt pans in the Mithapur area are also named as the cause for the rapid salinity ingress into the groundwater. Several villages have lost their farmlands to accommodate open unlined dumps for Tata’s saline effluent.

Hell on Earth: Patancheru, a chemical industrial estate near Hyderabad, is referred to as Hell on Earth owing to the unlivable environmental conditions in that area because of industrial pollution. Rallis India, a Tata subsidiary manufacturing pesticides here, was singled out by the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes which identified the company’s toxic waste dump to be a toxic contamination source of concern. The company’s wastes are stored in massive solar evaporation ponds that stinks up the air with poisonous chemicals, villagers say.

Mountains of Waste, Jugsalai: Thousands of tonnes of boiler ash generated from Tata Steel units are dumped in the open in the middle of Jugsalai town near Jamshedpur. During the dry months, the heavy metal laced dust from the mountain of ash flies in the air causing visibility problems and breathing distress. Groundwater in the area is polluted, as per Tata Steel’s own admission, and contains higher than permissible levels of hardness and dissolved solids.

Joda Mines: Begun in the 1950s, the mining boomtown that houses Tata, Birla and Jindal iron ore mines, has fuelled the riches of several corporates but has gained nothing in the process. Joda town and the road to it, according to one journalist, is one big pothole. The constantly plying ore trucks, and the round-the-clock mining has meant that local residents, workers and commuters have no fresh air to breathe. It is a wonder that these dustiest of dusty mines are located at the edge of the Sidhamatha Reserve Forests, home to the elephant and tiger.

Coal Slurry Dumping: Tata Steel’s collieries in West Bokaro and its coal washeries in Bokaro have been discharging a coal-dust-rich slurry into the Bokaro River, effectively killing the river by smothering the river bed. The process also uses large quantities of freshwater and discharges it along with the coal-dust as effluents.

Hazardous Incidents

Founder’s Day Fire: On March 3, 1989, a fire broke out in the VIP gallery during the Founder’s Day celebrations. Sixty children were killed and 111 injured in the fire that was caused by negligence and poor planning that prevented fire tenders from arriving at the scene of the accident in time. The problem was further exacerbated when Tatas refused to move the injured and dying to a burns speciality hospital in a bid to cover up the event. A Factories Inspectorate report lays the blame squarely on Tata Steel. More than 10 years after the tragic event, Tatas had still not paid compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased or to the injured. Even the Supreme Court alluded to pay-offs by TISCO, asking TISCO how much it was paying the Court-appointed arbitrator.

Anti-Labour Antecedents

In the 1920s and 1930s, when it was still called Tata Iron and Steel Company, TISCO’s largely tribal workers fought pitched battles with the European and Parsi management. Work conditions and the right to organise were important rallying issues, and over the years, the company developed a reputation for union-busting often by violent means.

Worker Suicides: After Ratan Tata took over in 1991, the Tata Group companies have witnessed aggressive streamlining and down-sizing. In 2003, two contract workers who were part of the Tata Hydrocompanies Employees Union doused themselves with kerosene and set themselves on fire outside the Tata headquarters. Along with 68 other workers from the Tata Power Company, the two suicidal workers were protesting the illegal termination of their contract in 1997 by Tata. As land prices skyrocketed in Mumbai in the 1980s, textile mills sitting on prime real estate in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) began starving as mill managements failed to invest in modernisation and upkeep. Mill-owners preferred to run their establishment into the ground in the hopes that lucrative land deals would allow them to shut down the mills and make money in the process. Tatas, which ran Svadeshi Mills -- one of the oldest textile mills in Mumbai – had earlier obtained permission to sell a fourth of its landholding, and hand-over half the land for a recreation ground, a public housing scheme and a public sector factory to employ retrenched labourers from the textile mill. While a fourth of the land was sold, the latter did not happen. Workers allege that whatever was sold was undervalued to allow the company to siphon funds meant for mill revival or rehabilitation of workers to other group businesses. Driven to desperation, at least one Svadeshi mill worker committed suicide after the August 2000 closure of the mill forced 2800 factory-floor workers into destitution.

Sub-contracting: Fostering Insecurity: According to highly placed sources within the Tata company, Tatas have resorted to large-scale deployment of contract labour in a bid to cut costs. In contravention of the Contract Labour and Regulation Act, contract workers are engaged in prohibited activities, including those that can only be performed by trained permanent staff, and works of perennial nature. Workers allege that the company discriminates between its employees and contract workers. At Tata Steel in Jamshedpur, for instance, company employees eat better food in superior ambience than contract workers. Wage differences are also wide although the nature of work performed by contract workers is no different from that of company employees. Contract workers also work longer hours on harder jobs. Lack of skill and work pressure has meant that contract employees meet with more accidents.

Lay-offs: Contrary to Tata’s much-touted credentials of providing employment security, the corporate house’s massive downsizing at its flagship Tata Steel provides a case in point. Tata’s workforce stood at 78,000 in 1994. By 1997, it was down to 65,000. By 2002, another 15,000 jobs were eliminated, and the total workforce in 2006 stands at 38,000, slightly more than half of what it started out with at the onset of liberalisation. Of this, more than 25,000 people received voluntary retirement benefits. However, many allege that the scheme was not all that voluntary. Able-bodied workers were rendered jobless as they succumbed to intense emotional pressure. Reports allege that teachers were asked to sweep roads if they did not take up “voluntary retirement.”

Union busting: In 1989, workers belonging to the trade union Telco Kamgar Sanghatana at Telco’s plant in Pune struck work demanding wage hikes. Tata management attempted to break the strike by offering a wage hike to rival unions and warning every employee of dire consequences if labour unrest continued. In September 1989, about 3000 workers went on an indefinite hunger strike. As the strike progressed with workers fainting and no signs of a rapprochement, the State Government came under intense pressure from Tatas and other capitalists. On September 29, under cover of darkness the State Reserve & Pune City Police launched Operation Crackdown. 80 buses were deployed to round up and take fasting workers to jail. Tata had managed to break the strike with the help of the police.

Killings: In the past, at least two prominent Tata trade unionists – Abdul Bari and V.G. Gopal – were gunned down by rival unionists as they were setting off for negotiations with the management. In both instances, Tata workers and independent observers allege the behind-the-scenes involvement of Tata management.

Tata Bye-Bye

Tata’s unpopularity is evident from the fact that local people in various places around India have successfully thwarted the company’s attempts to set up businesses on their lands. The ongoing struggle in Singur, the stand-off in Kalinganagar are merely the most recent and prominent.About a decade ago, protests by tribal residents in Orissa forced Tatas to pull out of a venture to mine bauxite from the sacred Baphlimali hills in Rayagada district. In 2000, three tribal youth were shot dead by the police during a peaceful demonstration near the proposed mine site. In 2000, Tatas were forced to abandon a proposal to set up a steel plant in Gopalpur-on-Sea, a coastal town in Orissa following massive protests from the more than 20,000 people that were to be evicted to make way for the plant. This project too ended only after blood was shed. In August 1997, the police opened fire at a protest rally in Sindhigaon, where two women were crushed to death in the ensuing pandemonium.In the late 1990s, Tatas shelved a proposal to convert large portions of Lake Chilika – a massive brackish water lake of international prominence – into an aquaculture farm after protests by the 120,000-strong fishing community that depended on the lake for a livelihood.

A Historical Record as Collaborators

Drug Running: Tata archives that talk in glowing terms about Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata fail to record the family’s involvement in shipping opium to China in the mid- to late 1800s. The opium was grown in India and shipped to China by agents such as Tata for the British.

Empress Mills: Tata’s first industrial venture, a textile mill in Central India’s cotton-growing region, was opened on 1 January, 1877 – the day Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India. The event was commemorated by naming the company Empress Mills.

Fueling British Expansionism: Commissioned in 1908, the Tata Iron and Steel Company in Jamshedpur cut its teeth supplying the British empire with steel rails that were crucial in Britain’s war effort in Northern and East Africa during the 1st World War. When the war was over, Viceroy Lord Chelmsford said: “I can hardly imagine what we should have done if the Tata Company had not been able to give us steel rails which have provided not only for Mesopotamia, but for Egypt, Palestine and East Africa.”

Supplying the British Army: The American civil war ended in 1865, re-opening raw cotton supplies from the Southern states of the US for England’s textile mills. That sent India’s cotton suppliers on a tailspin. Many didn’t recover, but the Tata family managed to stay afloat by securing a lucrative contract to supply food and clothing to the British Army’s Magdala campaign in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in 1868.

Source: http://www.bhopal.net/tata_rapsheet.html

We demand return of Singur farmland to the peasants

2008-08-30T14:53:00.000+05:30

The West Bengal government, CPM and a section of media have been engaged in campaign that if Tata has to quit from Singur, then it will be a great loss for West Bengal as already chief ministers of five different states invited Tata to shift the nano project in their states.

It is now important to remember that Tata had to quite from Kalinganag (Orissa) and Dhaka (Bangladesh) because of strong public protest. There is no point to believe that in other states Tata will not face any resistance from the people as the government has to acquire land for the proposed project; none of the chief ministers will donate their paternal property to Tata. These chief ministers and the state machinery are the agents of multinationals and comprador big capitalists. They have engaged themselves in a race to prove their loyalty to their masters.

The CPM says and a section of Bengalee middle class believe that the Singur nano project along with ancillary units will generate a huge job market that could help relieve the problem of unemployment in the state. It is better to remember that having engaged somewhere with a salary not sufficient to meet the ends should be termed as severe exploitation rather than employment. All over the country and in the West Bengal people have to work mostly in contractual basis more than eight hours a day for mere Rs 60 to 80. In Singur project the scenario will not be the different. The project is not to solve the problem of poverty and unemployment, but to maximize the exploitation.

Our critics, at this point will say, if there will be no investment by the multinational or comprador giants, then whatever people can earn now will be stopped. Therefore, for the interest of people we need their investment although the working condition may not be ideal. To improve the condition, we should negotiate with them, but must not oppose.

With due respect to our critics we would like to mention that people simply cannot negotiate with these sharks. They are motivated by maximization of their profit; and it means maximization of exploitation of people. Here negotiation means acceptance of the terms and conditions which favours the interest of the multinationals and comprador capitalists. And we already showed why we should not call the engagement of the people in their projects as employment.

Our intellectual critics sometimes remind us the huge value addition that takes place in a factory. From the same land the annual income must be far less if it is engaged in agriculture. Here we need to mention that we do not consider the issue as a simple matter of industry versus agriculture. In contrast, we see what fraction of the income will be for the people from a given land. In case a factory is built by a corporate giant on a land, the fraction of the income retained with the people is far les than that retained if it were engaged in self-farming. We do not blindly oppose building a factory on a land, but do oppose maximization of the extraction of profit for the interest of corporate sectors.

We have no doubt over the dwindling situation of agriculture. But, it is because of the severe semi-feudal (for example in the form of usury) and imperialist exploitation. Peasants do not have any control over the seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Introduction of the 'hi-fi' technology actually devastated our crop diversity and organic basis of the farming. Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are being used indiscriminately and unscientifically, which is just to promote their sale (and essentially magnifying the profit). There is no way under the circumstances peasantry can survive. The only way out from this situation is to demolish the semi-feudal basis of the Indian socio-economic foundation which is the support of the imperialist plunder.

Looking for an alternative outside the agriculture only helps strengthening the imperialist clutch over the people.

In order to strengthen the unity against multinational corporations, comprador big capitalists, we support the resistance against any attempt for the maximization of their profit. We therefore demand unconditional return of farmland to the peasantry of Singur.

2007-08-15T08:33:00.000+05:30

Dear Comrades,

We failed to keep our promise.

We have very limited access to internet due to unavoidable circumstances. We are trying to improve. We expect to start very soon, at least one update in a week.

Please bear with us.

Struggling greetings.

Editorial Board

2007-06-18T07:45:00.000+05:30

Comrades,

We will come back in July, hopefully by second week.

Editorial Board

A VICTIM OF SINGUR LAND GRAB COMMITS SUICIDE

2007-05-31T08:07:00.000+05:30

Prasanta Das, a 43 year old marginal peasant of Khaser Bheri mouza in Singur, who had declined to give up his land for the Tata Motors small car factory, committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling of a cowshed at his residence. His body was found in the wee hours of 25th May, 2007. Incidentally it was the day of the first anniversary of the land struggle in Singur against forcible land acquisition. The villagers strongly alleged that the suicide was because of the land loss. Prasanta's bereaved relatives and neighbours said that he was very much depressed and "mentally upset" ever since his family's land (around 4 bighas and 4 Cottah) was forcefully acquired by the state government for the Tata Motors project. His mother Geeta Das said, "He was prescribed treatment and counseling by the doctor. He didn't say anything unusual before his death. He was always worried how the family would live without the land." The deceased Prasanta has two minor daughters, only 9 years and 6 years old respectively. His widow, Sandhya Das has no alternative source of earnings.

The farmland was held jointly by Prasanta, his father Mahadeb Das (65) along with his two younger brothers Tapas and Sushanta. The Das family, consisting of three brothers, their wives and children were solely dependent on their agricultural land for their life and livelihood and after the government took over the land for the Tata project, they have been living in penury. But despite their destitution, Prasanta and his family straightaway turned down to receive compensation cheques alleging that their land was forcibly grabbed by the government against their will. "We didn't take money for the land because the family did not want to part with the land," Prasanta's mother said. Besides he was one of the earliest and active members of "Singur Krishi Jami Raksha Committee" (Singur Save Farmlands Committee), a people's organisation against the land acquisition. He was also injured in the police's lathi-charge on September, 2006 in front of BDO office during the peak of Singur land struggle.

A protest rally was taken out in the evening by the members of Krishi Jami Raksha Committee carrying Prasanta's dead body along the newly erected wall of the Tata's project site.

Earlier on 12th March, a similar incident had taken place in Singur when another poor peasant Haradhan Bag of Beraberi Purbapara, whose land had also been acquired without his consent, had committed suicide consuming pesticide.

Singur is now simmering in a terrible anguish and perturbation over the heart-rending suicides of two peasants. A fresh turmoil is brewing here after May 20th, when hundreds of peasants and agricultural workers determined to recover their lands acquired for the project, conflicted with the police who fired teargas shells, rubber bullets and charged with batons resulting 25 villagers including a 13 years old boy severely injured.

Later on, the police filed a large number of false cases (Ref: Singur P.S. Case 113, dated 20.05.07) against 53 protesters including Becharam Manna, Convener of Singur Krishi Jami Raksha Committee and Anuradha Talwar, President of Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity and 400 others under the following sections of IPC.
1. Section 147– Punishment for rioting.
2. Section 148 – Rioting armed with deadly weapon.
3. Section 149 – Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in
prosecution of common object.
4. Section 186 – Obstructing public servant in discharge of public function.
5. Section 332 – Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty.
6. Section 333 – Voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty.
7. Section 325 – Punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
8. Section 326 – Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means.
9. Section 353 – Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty.
10. Section 307 – Attempt to murder. and I.P.C/9 (B) (1) I. E. Act.
Three activists, Kush Kumar Das, Jagannath Roy and Tarun Santra were arrested and detained under jail custody till the next hearing on 4th June 2007.

Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity

Peoples' Tribunal on Nandigram

2007-05-31T07:46:00.000+05:30

PRESS RELEASE

28 May, Kolkata

In its interim report, the independent People's Tribunal on Nandigram has recommended, among other measures, the setting up of special Human Rights Courts to ensure speedy justice in all cases of human rights violations in Nandigram and adjoining areas.

The Tribunal, organized by the All India Citizens Initiative, heard depositions from victims, witnesses, social activists, intellectuals, doctors, human rights groups and other concerned organisations here today. The hearings were held in both Nandigram and Kolkata from 26-28 May and headed by Justice S.N.Bhargava, former Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court.

Tribunal members, which included Pravash Joshi (Editorial Advisor, Jansatta), Lalita Ramdas (Social Activist), John Dayal (Member, National Integration Council) and Jyotirmoy Samajder (Psychiatrist), visited the site of police firing and other places in the Nandigram area relevant to understanding the circumstances and nature of the violence.

Meanwhile Mr Anup Agarwal, the District Magistrate of Midnapur (East) issued a letter to the organizers of the Tribunal asking under what 'law of the land' such a Tribunal was being organized. The All India Citizen's Initiative in its reply said that the Tribunal had been organized under Article 51 of the Constitution, which calls upon every citizen of India " to promote harmony and spirit of brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic, regional and social diversities". It must be mentioned here that all concerned official agencies were informed of the Tribunal and requested to depose before it but none of them turned up.

The Tribunal received over 39 oral and 142 written depositions at the hearings held at primary schools in Gokulnagar and Sonachura and the University Institute Hall in Kolkata. While a final report of its findings is still being prepared the Tribunal has the following observations to make, based on prima facie evidence as well as depositions made before it:

There is no doubt at all that grave violations of human rights have been committed against the villagers of Nandigram;

There seems to be a disturbingly large number of reports of sexual violence against women;

There is an urgent need for a thorough, independent investigation of the events of 14 March 2007, especially with a view to ensuring justice for all those whose rights have been violated;

There are still a significant number of people in the area who need immediate medical attention for various problems related to the violence;

From all accounts no steps have been taken by the state machinery to provide compensation for the dead and injured so far.

The education and normal activities of school going children in both Nandigram and adjoining areas such as Khejuri have been seriously affected due to both past and ongoing disturbances.

Based on these observations the Tribunal would therefore like to make the following preliminary recommendations:

Special Human Rights Courts should be set up in West Bengal at the earliest to deal with all cases of human rights violations that have occurred in Nandigram and adjoining areas;

Stringent punishment needs to be meted out to all public officials and others guilty of violation of human rights or administrative lapses leading to such violations;

There should be adequate compensation and social rehabilitation provided to families of all those killed or injured in the violence of 14 March 2007, as well as in the period before and after this date.

Many of those injured were men and women working as wage labour in agriculture and other sectors. They are no longer able to continue working and must be also be provided alternate employment;

There should be special compensation and social rehabilitation provided to all victims of rape or molestation in Nandigram and adjoining areas;

Steps should be taken immediately to trace all those who are supposed to have gone 'missing' in the aftermath of the violence in Nandigram and adjoining areas;

Free and competent medical treatment should be provided by the state government for all those physically or mentally affected by the violence;

Urgent relief needs to be provided to all those whose livelihoods have been severely affected by the turmoil since January 2007.

Immediate steps should be taken to stop ongoing violence in Nandigram and adjoining areas and every effort made, in a sincere manner, to bring peace among all factions involved. The services of non-governmental and civil society organizations should be utilized in the peace process if necessary;

All necessary precautions need to be taken to prevent the occurrence of such events in future in other parts of West Bengal.

The Tribunal will continue working on a final report of its findings and present them to various concerned agencies for further action.

An All India Citizens' Initiative

45 Beniatola Lane, 3^rd Floor, Kolkata-700009 Ph. & Fax +91 033 2219 2902 Mob. 09433728792

Singur simmers over farmer's suicide

2007-05-26T18:02:00.000+05:30

Kolkata : In the second such suicide since March, a farmer Thursday hanged himself in Singur, triggering fresh tension in the trouble-torn area in West Bengal that is on the boil over land acquisition for a Tata Motors project.

The 40-year-old farmer hanged himself from the ceiling of the cowshed of his house and his body was found in the wee hours of Friday, senior police official Kalyan Mukherjee said.

He was a resident of Khaserveri area in Singur, about 40 km from Kolkata in Hooghly district.

Das was a member of the anti-land acquisition Singur Krishijami Raksha Committee (SKRC) and was one of those injured in the September 2006 police baton charge in the area during the peak of Singur protests.

While the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said the farmer's suicide was not related to land acquisition, Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy admitted that Das probably was one of the farmers who refused cheque (money as compensation for the project).

"We are waiting for the post-mortem report. He probably did not accept money for the land," Roy said.

Das' land was acquired by the government for the Tata Motors small car factory coming up in the area, Becharam Manna, a leader of SKRC, told IANS.

"He was depressed. He had not been able to till his land for one year and was worried about the future of his two daughters. He had refused to accept money as compensation for the Tata project and was an active member of the movement," Manna said.

The dead farmer's father Mahadeb Das said: "He (Prasanta) said 'I will not live' after the land was acquired."

Earlier on March 13, farmer Haradhan Bag had committed suicide in Singur. Anti-Tata project activists had claimed that land loss was behind that death too.

Fresh tension is brewing at the site of the upcoming Tata Motors' small car unit in Singur. On May 20, hundreds of Singur Krishjami Raksha Committee members clashed with police who had to fire teargas shells and charge with batons to disperse the mob that seemed determined to reclaim their lands acquired for the project.

Link

Fresh violence in Singur

2007-05-21T05:42:00.000+05:30

Fresh trouble erupted at Singur today when farmers tried to demolish the boundary wall of the proposed Tata small car factory in a bid to reoccupy their land taken away for the project and police used lathis, burst tear gas shells and fired rubber bullets to quell the mob.
At least 60 villagers, including six women, and five policemen and the sub-divisional police officer were injured in the clash that ensued. Two of the injured villagers were admitted to Singur block hospital. Three persons were arrested.
Trouble began soon after farmers from Bajemelia mouza gathered near a local club to attend a rally organised by Singur Krishi Jomi Raksha Committee (SKJRC). The villagers became agitated when the SKJRC leaders exhorted them to demolish the boundary wall and reoccupy their land which, according to them, the state government had “grabbed at gun-point”.
The farmers marched towards the project site and tried to break the police cordon. They also unsuccessfully tried to break the wall with shovels and pick-axes.
Police appealed to the farmers not to damage the walls, but to no effect. There was a scuffle following which agitating farmers threw stones at the cops and the police responded by using lathis and bursting tear gas shells. Rubber bullets were also fired.
A senior police officer claimed that six policemen, including Chandernagore SDPO, Mr Kalyan Mukherjee, were injured in the clash which continued for about an hour. The farmers retreated about an hour after the trouble had begun.
The SDPO later said: “About 350 villagers, including scores of women, were mobilised outside the boundary wall, whereas the SKJRC positioned its other activists at neighbouring villages.”
However, the CPI-M leaders repeated their old charge that “outsiders” had taken part in the agitation and there were about 100 people who resorted to violence. This contradicted the SDPO’s estimate of the strength of the mob.
“We learnt from local sources that it was the handiwork of about 100 outsiders, while only a few local residents joined them,” said Mr Ranjit Mondal, a CPI-M Singur zonal committee member and also president of the Left Front-controlled Singur Panchayat Samiti.
On the other hand, Mr Becharam Manna, convener, SKJRC, claimed that at least 60 farmers were injured in today’s police action. “Even aged farmers were beaten up mercilessly and police didn’t spare women and children who were unarmed,” Mr Manna alleged.
He claimed 13-year-old Somnath Koley and Haripada Das (72), both residents of Bajemelia Mouza, were rushed to Singur block hospital after being beaten up by police while 21-year-old Amita Bag was taken to a private clinic.

Link: http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=156796

Is Singur A Lost Game? Should We Now Forget About Singur?

2007-05-20T06:21:00.000+05:30

We are often asked these question these days. Our answer is - No, Singur is not a lost game, and we cannot forget it . The many reasons for this are given below.

Though there is now a 10 foot brick and mortar wall around 997 acres of land, the future of the project is still uncertain. The State Government continues to use a heavy police presence along with the special riot police Rapid Action Force to guard the wall that has been forcibly put up around farmers’ lands. It has put up watch towers that are manned round the clock by the police. The Government knows that the wall will only last as long as the police protect it- the project affected people have sworn to break the wall the moment the police is moved out.

The farmers of Singur (owning about 400 acres) have refused to take cheques even now and have refused to part with their land. The wall’s legitimacy, both in legal terms and in ethical terms is therefore questionable.

The Government has lied again and again about the number of farmers who have accepted cheques and given consent, as the table below shows

The farmers of Singur continue to struggle. Camps have been set up in two places near the wall that are constantly occupied by protesting farmers and others who support them. They are also waiting for the Court order. They are ready to build up greater movement in future depending on the Court order.

Every time there is heavy rain and therefore a problem for the police to move around, the people of Singur take advantage of the situation and “attack” the wall. The last attack took place on 8th May 2007. when the people of Bajemelya were in a pitched battle with the police for over an hour and broke the wall.

Agricultural workers, who were not owners of land but got their living from the land have been the first group to face destitution after the building of the wall. PBKMS organised a health check up for them recently along with measurement of Body Mass Index and examination for other signs of nutrition. Many of the workers and their families complained of hunger, fall in wages, greater indebtedness, loss of food sources etc. this year as compared to last year. They have also been visited in the past week by high officials from the district and from the West Bengal Industrial Development Industrial Corporation ( the Government body responsible for facilitating the Tata Motors project). These people have tried to bribe the agricultural workers with promises of free houses, better roads etc. The workers have so far rejected their promises, asking them instead to guarantee them work for 11 months in the year, the amount of work they used to get on the land taken over for the Tata Motors Project.

When workers on the brink of starvation and farmers faced by mounting debts can resist short term inducements like free houses and cheques in order to struggle against the long term effects of the Tata Motors project, should we also not join them in their struggle?

Paschim banga Khet-Majoor Samity

Reliance veg mart attacked in Ranchi

2007-05-13T08:13:00.000+05:30

New Delhi: The new Reliance Fresh outlet at Ranchi has been attacked by local fruit and vegetable vendors.

Protestors say their business is taking a beating as Reliance is selling their products at a much cheaper rate. Farmers allege the new mart is pushing them out of the market.

People have been queuing up to buy vegetables from the three Reliance shops set up in Ranchi the last three months.

Thousands of vegetable sellers, mostly women, are demanding closure of the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Retail stores.

Earlier on Wednesday, wielding pumpkins and broomsticks, vegetable vendors - most of them women - staged protests against the Reliance Fresh shops, accusing the firm of undercutting and pushing them out of the market in one of the first such protests by small traders against organised retailing.

Reliance Industries is making a multibillion rupee foray into the retain business in the country and intends setting up chains of supermarkets, hypermarkets and speciality stores across the country.

Link

Walmart: High Cost of Low Price

2007-05-07T06:08:00.000+05:30

Walmart, a multinational retailer giant is going to open its store in India. The advocates of Walmart welcome it because of its low priced products. Unfortunately it is the one side of the coin. The other side is dark and hidden. The cost of the low price in Walmart is really high. Because of the low priced products it not only destroys small local businesses, but also its low price actually comes from the severe exploitation of the workers, working in Vietnam, China, Bangladesh and India.

Watch the documentary, “Walmart: High cost of low price”

Prol-position News and Gurgaon Workers' News

2007-05-06T19:56:00.000+05:30

Latest issues of Prol-position News, a newsletter on workers struggle worldwide and Gurgaon Workers' News are now available. Please visit at http://www.prol-position.net and http://gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com.

Terror Continues in Ghateha village, Rewa district, MP– Seeking Urgent Support

2007-05-02T08:48:00.000+05:30

According to Shanti, a woman from Ghateha village one got to talk on the phone on 25 April, "…police wala aur zamindar log hamare gaon mein aatank phaila rahe hein. Hum sab ko dara dhamka rahe hein aur kah rahe hein ham sabko mar dalenge… hum apna jaan bachate phir rahe hein" [" …Police & the mafia are spreading terror in the village and threatening us to kill…we are desperately trying to hide ourselves from falling into their hands…"]. There was absolute terror in her voice as she narrated the incident of 19^th and post that.

The village still remains out of bound for many with the armed police deployed in the village. The injured are yet to get the medical assistance and many people are still scattered. Complaints are yet to be lodged by the people as nobody is able to come out. The magnitude of the police action is yet to be ascertained with the kind of terror prevailing in the village.

The immediate steps need to be taken include:

- Ensure the injured get appropriate medical assistance immediately

- Get the complaints of the people registered in the police station

- Start the legal processes for those against whom FIRs have been filed by the police. Ensure protection for them.

- Ensure moral support to the people who have put up a brave fight against all odds all by themselves so far

- Locate all the people who were victims of the shootout and collect them at one place.

- Immediately file complaint petitions in High Court and Supreme Court against the State Government agents like IG, PCCF, dist collector and whoever else is responsible.

- Working up a political atmosphere that will discredit the administration's moral and legal stand.

Fact finding teams are starting to visit the village with one comprising of representatives from Nadi Ghati Morcha, Adivasi Dalit Morcha and Peoples Alliance from Chhattisgarh is visiting the village today i.e., 28 April 2007. Representatives of NFFPFW, NCDHR, Delhi Forum and other solidarity organizations will be going on the fact finding mission on 29-30 April 2007. There is an urgent need to pressurize the government to withdraw the police force from the village and bring the normalcy.

We are overwhelmed with the support and cooperation shown by all of you. And we would urge to keep up this support and solidarity between the struggling forest dwellers and the movements and groups to defend the rights of the forest people as well as to thwart the heinous efforts of the forest department to destroy the growing trust between the elected representatives in our Parliament and the forest people as reflected in the JPC report and the passing of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

The forum has created a pool to receive contributions from friends and groups to address the immediate needs in the village. We urge upon you to pitch in and help us generate a corpus fund. We request you to send your contributions to Manohar Kotekar C/O Mr. B. K Aglave, 74 Kanphade Nagar, Wardha Road, Nagpur- 25. PLEASE MAKE THE CHEQUE / DD IN FAVOR OF 'NFFPFW, NAGPUR ', SYNDICATE BANK. Your contribution is precious.

Looking forward to your continued support in our struggle.

Sincerely,

Conveners

NFFPFW

28 April 2007

How transparent government is?

2007-05-02T08:14:00.000+05:30

WB government claims that it keeps everything transparent and it has made a government of difference. After Singur and Nandigram the image of WB government has become fade. Still a descent section, especially outside WB believe that CPM led WB government is not that bad. For them we like to point out two incidences:

1. In this blog, we discussed how WB government gave false statement that most of the farmers of Singur gave their consent for the land acquisition. In that report, we referred to the status report on Singur, made by WB government. That report was available at www.wbgov.com. We were just checking that site recently for other reports----to find more lies from government on other fields. Interestingly we didn’t even find that status report on Singur. They have removed that report. Don’t you think it is really shady? We are all aware that so many people’s organization also challenged that report. Under that circumstances what could be the reason to remove that status report from the website?

However, we had a saved copy of this report. We would like to keep it available to the people. If you like you can download from here.

Interestingly, recently one report was published in the Bartaman (April 9, 2007), a Bengali daily quoting from a report of the standing committee of WB legislative assembly on commerce and industry. It said that in Haldia petrochem only 670 found their employment. Indirectly it gave job to 1200 contractual labours (since 1990, government has been claiming that this project is to provide 1.5 lakhs of jobs). We tried to verify it from the original report. Unfortunately we didn’t able to find the report at www.wbgov.com. We would like to know what is the beauty of having maintained this official website of WB government if we cannot get all these reports?

Doesn’t it show that the government is really eager to hide information from the people?

Is it transparency?
Do you call it as democracy?

Thousands of workers have been starving in Hoogly

2007-05-01T07:40:00.000+05:30

West Bengal government is planning to acquire more land in the Hoogly district for the sake of industrial “development”. The process has been started with Singur. According to government and CPM claims this is to provide more job opportunities for us. Interestingly, they hide the current industrial scenario of this district. There are 132 big industries in Hoogly out of which 46 have already been closed. It has directly unemployed almost 15 thousand workers; 30 thousand have lost their job indirectly.

Does government know how they and their family survive?

(Based on a report from the Bartaman, May 1, 2007)

“WB government gives the best possible rate in land acquisition”: The truth behind the myth

2007-04-25T06:57:00.000+05:30

There is propaganda that WB government acquires land with a reasonable rate. This becomes the logic to defend the ongoing land acquisition programme in WB. In reality, WB government or other government agencies acquire land and then hand over to different companies. Sometimes they give subsidies, for instance to TATA in Singur and sometimes make huge profit. In Haldia, near Nandigram, East Medinipur, Haldia Development Authority (HDA) acquired land (and it gave the circular for the land acquisition in Nandigram as well). They started land acquisition to ‘develop’ Haldia. Here we will see how HDA made huge profit from the land of poor peasantry.

Couple of days before, Buddha came Haldia to lay the foundation stone of a bio diesel factory of Imamy group. HDA gave 30 acres of land to Imamy with a rate of Rs 7 lakh/acre whereas when it acquired the land from farmers, it spent Rs 75 thousand to 1 lakh/acre. In the same way, HDA gave 25 acres and 3.5 acres to S T V Technologies at Bargashipur for IT park and housing complex respectively. In its 87th board meeting, HDA decided the rate Rs 14 lakh/acre for 25 acres land. The rate for 3.5 acres was Rs 20 lakh/acre. Interestingly when HDA acquired the same land it paid only Rs 1.15 lakh/acre at the most. Similarly, it gave 50 acres of land in Chakdwip and 10 acres more in three other places to R D B Industries for a proposed track terminal. For this land HAD asked the rate of 15 lakh/acre (and additional Rs 1000/acre as annual rent). This land was also acquired with a rate of Rs 1.15 lakh/acre from the farmers.

This is how WB government serves the interest of poor peasants.

On the other hand, in Singur, it continues to subsidize TATA. It decided to spend Rs 18 lakh for the dredging of Julkia canal and overall improvement of the drainage system near the proposed TATA factory in Singur. Interestingly, we have been listening from Buddha and other CPM leaders that TATA will spend money for the infrastructure development in Singur. In reality government is doing that in favour of TATA with our money. Interestingly, people of Singur demanded the dredging so many times in past years; it was turned down because of insufficient funding.

We would like to ask, from where this fund comes now?
Doesn’t it show that the sole job of the government is to lick the boots of big companies?

(Based on two reports in the Bartaman, dated April 24, 2007)

Documentary on Carnage in Nandigram

2007-04-22T18:31:00.000+05:30

You can also view this documentary at google video.

POLICE FIRING CONTINUING ON 4000 ADIVAIS IN GHATEHA VILLAGE, TEOTHAR TEHSIL, REWA DISTRICT, MADHYA PRADESH

2007-04-20T17:04:00.000+05:30

Today, 19 April, 2007 police opened fire on 4000 Adivasis in Ghateha village in Teothar Tehsil in the Rewa District of the State of Madhya Pradesh in India under the supervision of Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), SDOP and Circle Officer.

More than 1500 families have claimed a piece of forest land and are in possession since more than three years in this village. After surrounding the area for more than 5 hours, police fired tear gas shells and started beating the women mercilessly. This was followed by police firing. Till now two people are reported with bullet injuries. All the thatched houses have been burnt and demolished by bulldozers.

Superintendent of police unaware of the DFO's actions.

- It is a complete mayhem out there and NFFPFW calls upon all of you to condemn the action by the police and the administration. Delayed action may cause much more casualties.

- Protest & demand immediate halt to police action to

o the Prime Minister (Fax: 91 11 23019545, 23016857)

o the Minister of Tribal Affairs (Tel No. 91 11 2348 8482, Fax: 23070577, 23381499)

o the Minister of Environment & Forests (Tel No. 91 11 24351727, Fax: 24362222)

o the State and district administration

o Chief Minister (Fax No - 91-755-2540501; +91-755-2551781 )

- send across appeals to various groups and people

- raise your voice against the brutalities meted out to people at various levels

Let us not let another Kalinganagar, Singur and Nandigram happen in Rewa�

Timeline of events to mayhem:

1500 Families comprising 4000 Adivasis with large number of children have been dependent on the forest land in Ghateha village in Teothar Tehsil in Rewa District of Madhya Pradesh. Their living was dependent on the rainfed agriculture from the 1500 bighas land.

15 March, 2007: Around 1500 families dependent on the land in Ghateha village permanently shifted to live on the land which they have been living off since more than three years. The forest department started claiming the land and the harassment started. It is noteworthy here that the land in and around the area was denotified in July 1974.

5 April, 2007: Seventeen people of Ghateha village of Teothar tehsil in Rewa district charge sheeted under Dhara 26,33 & 67 by the Forest Department on their way back from the forest. Nine of them are in jail. Eight of them are missing since then.

17 April, 2007: SDM, SDOP and Forest department official went to Ghateha village and told people that they will be given the Gram Sabha land provided they vacate the land they are in now. Villagers were threatened of dire consequences if not obliged.

18 April, 2007: The District Magistrate Mr. B.C. Ahuja gives assurance to the people to ascertain the status of the land and if it is forest land then people will be given appropriate land.

19 April, 2007: Deployment of police force under the supervision of DFO, SDOP and Circle Officer. Police opens fire after initial tear gas shells. Houses are set on fire. The attack is still on�

Sincerely,

Mata Dayal Ramesh Munni Lal Sanjay Basu Mullick

(on behalf of NFFPFW)

19 April, 2007

Children protest against POSCO

2007-04-20T09:00:00.000+05:30

Sampad Mahapatra

Thursday, April 19, 2007 (Bubaneshwar)

Hundreds of children on Wednesday marched in the streets of Dhinkia, Patna and Govindpur to protest against the $12 billion POSCO steel plant.

People in these areas face eviction if the plant and port projects are built near Paradeep port.

The children aged between 5 to 15 will be part of the Baji Rout Children's Battalion, a new wing of the POSCO-Virodhi Sangram Samiti. Its job is to prevent police from entering the area.

The children who will enjoy the fruits of this movement in future will peacefully and democratically stop the entry of the police forces, says Abhay Sahu, the president of the Samiti.

We want to caution the state government to withdraw the police force or else things will take a different turn and for the catastrophe, the state govt will be held responsible.

The children are stake-holders in a big way and that explains why they are so enthusiastic about their new responsibility.

Each of the children is an earning member of his family and this is an army any government will find very difficult to handle.

We can't survive if the betel vines are taken away from us. We will fight it with the last drop of our blood, says Ashirvad Mohanty, a villager in Dhinkia village.

Mohan Mondal, another resident of the village says, neither the police nor death can scare us. We have chosen to die in this battle against POSCO.

It's been a do-or-die battle for the people who are willing to go for the ultimate sacrifices. That is why chief minister Naveen Patnaik's assurances about a humane and peaceful solution to POSCO's land acquisition problem sounds a little too hollow and imaginary.

Link

PM asks Orissa govt to expedite Posco project

2007-04-20T08:58:00.000+05:30

NEW DELHI, APR 19: Eager to expedite the progress of the Posco project in the state, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday urged Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik to remove the hurdles faced by the South Korean steel major in setting up the 12-million-tonne steel plant.

“The Prime Minister wanted to inquire about the progress of all the projects in Orissa. Posco of course was one of them and the Prime minister asked the government to expedite the process of land acquisition for the project. But no time frame has been set yet,” Naveen Patnaik said.

Orissa has its own rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policy and the state government is likely to abide by it. “We have the our own R&R policy and we would acquire land in a very humane manner,” the chief minister added.

The Orissa government has recommended giving prospecting license of iron-ore to Posco to the central government, soon, Naveen Patnaik informed reporters.

The Posco project is the single-highest foreign direct investment undertaken in India.

Link

Posco Hatao – Desh Bachao…..(Remove POSCO – Protect the Nation & Sovereignty)

2007-04-14T06:20:00.000+05:30

Aamar Gram, Tumar Gram, Shavira Gram: Kalinga Nagar Aur Nandigram
My Village; Your Village; Everybody's Village. Kalinga Nagar Or Nandigram
ACT NOW to prevent a repeat of Kalinga Nagar Or Nandigram in POSCO Projected Area in Orissa.

By the concept of Centralized Development Self Village Autonomy can’t be Sacrificed, Purchased & Pressurized by force; for the sake of the nation to protect the sovereignty

* Around 51,000 crores of rupees of FDI, POSCO to take over 8000 acres of land
* Direct displacement of 30,000 people
* A State Government determined to help the company
* 20 Platoons of Armed paramilitary forces
* Three villages that have barricaded themselves in a bid to protect their land

Ask the State Government to:

1. Immediate removal of paramilitary forces and police from the vicinity of POSCO Project area.
2. Announce that no project will be located against the wishes of the local people

Villagers opposed to POSCO's steel plant in Jagatsinhpur district of Orissa are now at the receiving end of state violence. Fearful of the consequences of allowing Government surveyors access to their lands, villagers of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Garakuchang have barricaded themselves inside their villages, thereby restricting public access to the proposed project areas.

The sentiment, very clearly, is against the setting up of the giant steel smelter and captive port with the Special Economic Zone. However, the State Government egged on by a Prime Minister who has extended his personal blessings to the project is keen to get on with the POSCO project at any cost.

With three days to go before the statutory public hearing – scheduled for 15 April – the Government has deployed twenty platoons of paramilitary armed to the teeth. On 9 April, paramilitary forces staged a flag-march aimed to intimidate local opposition. The State Administration has chosen to hold the Public Hearing, as a mere formality, at Kujang – the stronghold of the ruling BJD party.

The area is crawling with paid henchmen and cadre of the ruling party. With the multinational POSCO, the State Government, the paramilitary and the BJD henchmen lined on one side against farmers, fisherfolk and workers opposed to POSCO on the other, the stage is set for a repeat of Nandigram or Kalinga Nagar.

The people have barricaded themselves are prepared to sacrifice themselves to save their lands. By underestimating the depth of opposition to the POSCO project, the Orissa Government may be committing the same mistake that the CPM did in Nandigram.

As per the reliable information, police may take action from 16th to 25th April at any time. So, we expect your physical presence in the field.

For details contact:

Akshay kumar,
YUVA BHARAT
Plot no. 849/5051
Patia, Bhubaneswar 31
email:yuva.bharat@rediffmail.com, yuvakshaya@rediffmail.com
Cell: 06743206874
09937427611,9338091099, 9937177794, (Akshaya/ Bichitra/ Ashok)

REPORT

After the W.T.O. agreement in 1994 India lost its political sovereignty as well as the economic freedom. All the ruling political parties as well as the opponents worked as the political agents of the multinationals. The direction of the W.T.O., W.B., I.M.F. decided the policies and development of the nation. In the same process of globalization, liberalization and privatization, on 22nd June 2005, the Govt. of Orissa signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pohang Steel Company (POSCO) of South korea. Since it is a symbol of slavery not only for Orissa but also for the Nation, the tough struggle is continuing against POSCO to wipe it out from our motherland. In the past, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the East India Company of England came to the soil of India for the purpose of business. But they ruled over us 190 years with the cutthroat loot of our wealth. Many revolutionary youths became the martyrs to liberate mother India from the bondage of slavery. Our mother India got her political independence by the dedication of Baji Rout , Laxman Nayak , Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Uddam Singh, Chandra sekhar Azad,Netaji , Rani Laxmi bai , Tilak , Gopabandhu and GandhiJi etc. But within more than half century of independence passed, again our independence is in danger. The soil of India is under the attack of foreign conspiracy. Again a multinational company named as POSCO (Pohang steel company) is coming to Indian soil in the name of development and LPG (Liberalization, Privatization, Globalization) under the agreement of WTO as the East India company had ruled in the name of civilization. POSCO is the face of destruction, slavery and exploitation. The negative impact of POSCO as follows:-

1. For the first time after the independence of India, POSCO has been given the permission to construct its private port . As in the seventeenth century East India company was given three private villages (Kothi) by Mughal Emporer Aurangjeb and captured and ruled over all the country: again POSCO is coming into India with all the conspiracy and strategic planning to root out our political independence by bringing the army, arms and ammunitions through its private port in the direction of England and America under the umbrella of WTO. (World Trade Organization)

2. The greatest mining resource of Iron, Buxite , Coal etc. of Asia continent lies in three states , Orissa , Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand of India. So if POSCO sets up its plant at Paradeep with the private port, it will exploit &extract all the mineral resources of all these three states in the coming 20/30 years.

3. If POSCO will setup its private port at Paradeep, the recent Paradeep port will face a cutthroat competition and according to the geographical situation, there is possibility of submerging of the recent port into the Bay of Bengal.

4. By setting of the POSCO plant at Paradeep there will be a displacement of 30,000 people directly from three panchayats i.e. Nuagaon, Dhinkia, Gadakujanga of Erasama block and more than 1 lakh people will be displaced indirectly in the slow process.

5. POSCO will extract near about 12 thousand to 15 thousand crores liters of water from zobra and naraj barrage of river Mohanadi, as a result the farmers irrigating the lands by the canals of Taldanda, Machhagaon, Birupa of Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, and Kendrapada district will suffer a great loss.

6. The company will take 8000 acres of land directly and 20,000 acres of cultivated land will be affected indirectly. Side by side, two iron belt mines of Gandhamardhan and Malangtoli hills of the tribal areas will be given as lease to the company.

7. The people of the displaced area of the plant are living a prosperous life with the cultivation of betel vines, rice, fish, cashewnuts, coconuts and earn more than 5 crore rupees per year. They will loss everything and their society will be wiped out. The Govt. is telling to rehabilitate them. But those people had been displaced in the Hirakud, Nalco, Rourkela projects, they have not been rehabilitated till yet.

8. Since Orissa govt. is not selling the iron ore in international rate, it will be the looser of 1,32,000 crores rupees directly.

9. Since POSCO will be provided the Special Economic Zone, Government of India will lose a lot of revenue by subsidizing the taxes.

10. POSCO will disturb the ecological balance of Paradeep, Kujanga and Erasama area of Jagatsinghpur district. The temperature of that area will increase and that may welcome the cyclone into this area.(as you know a super cyclone of 1999 had devastated this district earlier and more than 10,000 people died directly here at Erasama block at oceanic cyclone)

11. As per a survey done by Navnirman Samiti Research unit that the total national loss will be 2,94,135 crores rupees.

12. POSCO will invite all kind of immoral activities i.e. the drugs, liquors and all criminal elements as these are the side effects of the heavy industrialization.

So POSCO will welcome another slavery of the Indian Soil. But since our govt. has signed the MoU of POSCO that is anti-development and anti-people; so we have started fighting against POSCO by organizing the public opinion to protect our soil and mother India.

PROGRAMMES:

Programmes Taken :

1. Padayatra from POSCO Projected area to Bhubaneswar POSCO Office Fortune Tower since 18th Oct. to 29th Oct. 2005 & demonstration in front of Fortune Tower.

2. The local R.I. Office was locked on 22nd Feb.2006 after the 52 days demonstration & 7 days fasting for resisting the land acquiring process of POSCO through revenue department.

3. 22nd June 2006 was observed as the Endangered Day of Indian Independence.

4. 21 days fasting & demonstration in Bhubaneswar for challenging the Chief Minister for open debate on POSCO & Gherao of the Chief Ministers residence (Navin Niwas) on 15th Oct.2006. Since, it’s a national struggle against the wrong system and a big challenge, we need the following co-operation as follows :

1. You are requested to come to join in this movement to give your moral and physical support.

2. You can do the conference, demonstration in your own area for the withdrawal of POSCO from India.

3. You can send literatures, Books, Documents, Video Cassettes etc. regarding POSCO or any other movement or Govt. documents that will help us to strengthen the movement.

4. You may write the collective Letter/ E-mail/ Fax to C.M. of Orissa or Prime Minister of India by pressurizing them morally to cancel the MoU of POSCO.

5. We need the financial support for this movement. If you are going to send your financial support, please make the draft by the name of “AKSHAYA KUMAR” or “YUVA BHARAT”, payable at Bhubaneswar and send it in the following address (Akshaya Kumar, YUVA BHARAT, Plot No 849/5051, Soumya Bhawan, Talabhisahi, Patia, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar – 751031)

Hope, you might be co-operative in the above ways. Remain here waiting your reply.

Yours sincerely,
AKSHAY KUMAR

Convenor

YUVA BHARAT

Work suspended at HM Hooghly factory

2007-04-13T08:12:00.000+05:30

HOOGHLY (Apr 11,2007): Suspension of work has been declared at the troubled Hindustan Motors factory at Uttarpara in the district.

The management declared the suspension of work at the factory through a notice hung at the gate on Tuesday night.

Workers at the factory affiliated to the Sangrami Shramik Yukta Manch had been holding sitting demonstrations at the factory gate since March 13 in support of various demands including regularisation of salary and resumption of payment of dearness allowance which had remained frozen since 2001.

Link

Posco's Orissa land acquisition evokes local ire

2007-04-13T08:05:00.000+05:30

Almost two years after South Korean steel giant signed an MoU with the Orissa Govt, battle lines to acquire land for the proposed steel plant have been drawn. The steel plant will displace 450 families in eight villages with highly fertile agricultural lands, many of them dependent on betel plantations for a livelihood now fear their loss.

At least 12 platoons of police have been deployed near the Posco's proposed steel plant site worth 51,000 crore in Jagatsinghpur. Police stations have been piled with stocks of arms and ammunition.

"These people are breaking the law, we have made them understand through dialogues - and if they still do not listen we are ready to take strong action against them," states YK Jethwa, SP, Jagatsinghpur.

At Posco's proposed site, villagers are preparing strategies to protest the acquisition of their land. Bamboo fences have been erected at village entry points and farmers are gearing up for a confrontation with the government. Abhaya Sahoo, Chairman, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti says, "We are ready to fight till the last drop of our blood and for any situation like this, the Orissa government will be fully responsible."

The chief minister of Orissa has always maintained that he would deal with the rehabilitation and the resettlement issues in the most humane manner, but the heavy deployment of police forces at Posco's site suggest that he too is running out of patience. It now seems the battle lines have clearly been drawn there.

Link

State prepares for terror in Jagatsinhpur, Orissa

2007-04-11T07:43:00.000+05:30

Sign online petition : http://www.petitiononline.com/Orissa/petition.html

* A multi-billion dollar steel MNC to take over 4500 acres of land
* A State Government determined to help the company
* 15 Platoons of Armed paramilitary forces
* Three villages that have barricaded themselves in a bid to protect their land

Villagers opposed to POSCO’s steel plant in Jagatsinhpur district of Orissa are now at the receiving end of state violence. Fearful of the consequences of allowing Government surveyors access to their lands, villagers of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Garakuchang have barricaded themselves inside their villages, thereby restricting public access to the proposed project areas.

The sentiment, very clearly, is against the setting up of the giant steel smelter and captive port. However, the State Government egged on by a Prime Minister who has extended his personal blessings to the project is keen to get on with the POSCO project at any cost.

With five days to go before the statutory public hearing – scheduled for 15 April – the Government has deployed fifteen platoons of paramilitary armed to the teeth. On 9 April, paramilitary forces staged a flag-march aimed to intimidate local opposition. The State Administration has chosen to hold the Public Hearing, as a mere formality, at Kuchang – the stronghold of the ruling BJD party.

According to local reports, the area is crawling with paid henchmen and cadre of the ruling party. With the multinational POSCO, the State Government, the paramilitary and the BJD henchmen lined on one side against farmers, fisherfolk and workers opposed to POSCO on the other, the stage is set for a repeat of Nandigram.

Local reports confirm that villagers that have barricaded themselves are prepared to sacrifice themselves to save their lands. By underestimating the
depth of opposition to the POSCO project, the Orissa Government may be committing the same mistake that the CPM did in Nandigram.

We ask the State Government to:

1. Create conditions favourable for hearing the villagers’ concerns by removing paramilitary forces and police from the vicinity of project area.
2. Announce that no project will be located against the wishes of the local people

For details contact:

Akshay Kumar
Yuva Bharat
Plot no. 849/5051
Patia, Bhuvaneshwar 31

email: yuva.bharat@rediffmail.com

Cell: 09937177794 (Ashok/Akshay- speak in hindi)

Source: http://sanhati.com/front-page/192/

APDR report on Nandigram Carnage

2007-04-11T07:24:00.000+05:30

Download APDR report on Nandigram in Bengali.

English version was given before.

State Repression and Resistance

2007-04-10T07:10:00.000+05:30

Our friends in sanhati.com uploaded series of video on state repression and people’s resistance. The links are given bellow:

Video of Hindmotors Movement [Google Video, 3 mins]

Invisible City - Documentary - Railway shanty dwellers fight against dislodgement for beautification [Google Video, 48 mins]

Images of development - Documentary - Eviction of slum dwellers in Calcutta [Google Video, 26 mins]

Amlashol - Documentary on starvation deaths in Amlashol, West Bengal [Google Video, 12 mins]

Abadbhumi - Documentary on Singur [Google Video, 57 mins]

Unnoyoner Namey - Documentary on protests in Singur and Nandigram [Google Video, 27 mins]

Bujhechho Upen - Documentary on Nandigram before March 14 [Google Video, 47 mins]

Medical Team Report from Nandigram with names, locations, and injuries - April 5

2007-04-08T08:48:00.000+05:30

After the incident of firing by the police at Nandigram on 14.3.2007, report of large-scale injuries and ailments arising out of and as a consequence of the said incident had reached the media. Some doctors and health workers decided to visit the affected area to render the very urgent medical help to the people affected by the incident.

A team of doctors (Medical Service Centre, Kolkata) visited several affected areas of Nandigram on 17.3.2007 and came out with a report, which was reported in the press.

OUR FIRST VISIT (18.03.2007)

On 18.3.2007, a team comprising of six physicians (including 2 female physicians), three junior doctors, sisters, medical students and health-workers, organised by public-spirited organizations working on health, i.e., SRAMAJIBI SWASTHA UDYOG, PEOPLES’ HEALTH and JANASWASTHA SWADIKAR MANCHA, visited some of the affected areas of Nandigram to render medical help to the affected people.

The Medical Team found that more severely injured patients had mostly been taken to the hospital and persons who were critically injured had been transferred to Tomluk Hospital (District Hospital) and SSKM Hospital / RGKar MCH of Kolkata. But they found that a very large population, predominantly women, were suffering from blunt trauma injuries, very often multiple, and had not received any medical help. The same is true also for a very large number of people, suffering from eye-problems ( headache, watering, photophobia, burning sensation, dimness of vision etc.) even 4 days after the tear-gas exposure on 14.3.2007. People were also suffering from mental trauma, though unfortunately the medical team did not have a psychiatrist or a psychologist who could have professionally assessed the actual extent of the trauma. The medical team treated 129 patients and had the opportunity to talk to about 300 victims, who described the unprovoked and brutal attack on unarmed assembly of villagers, including a large number of women and children, which continued even after people had dispersed and was trying to flee from the scene. The women also described with horrid details of sexual assaults on them. Attackers, they said, included a large number of persons in police uniform but with chappals on.

The Medical Team had also found that many could not return to their home and resume their normal activities. Camps were organized by the local people to provide food for these affected people. These camps were found to be suffering from an acute shortage of provisions required to run the kitchen (the medical team bought a day’s provision to one camp).

2ND VISIT (21.03.2007)

The next visit took place on 21.3.2007. It was a general relief cum medical relief team, consisting of two physicians and four health workers. There was plan for documenting the trauma of the victims, though due to shortage of time, addition burden of general relief work, the number of patients treated and documented was limited to only 30 in three different places. General relief and provisions worth Rs 15, 790 were provided to four different relief camps in the affected areas.

3RD VISIT (24-24 March, 2007)

The third visit was on 24-25th March, 2007. From the experience of two previous visits by the medical team, it was decided that the team should stay overnight in the affected area to render more intensive and extensive medical assistance, and that it would concentrate on medical relief only.
This time the team comprised of eight doctors, including two female doctors and one orthopaedic surgeon, one sister and seven health workers. They organized 4 medical camps, in Southkhali (24.3.2007), Sonachura High School (25.3.2007), Kalicharanpur Primary School ( 25.3.2007) and
Dakshin Jalpai, Bhangabera (25.3.2007). It may be mentioned here that one eye relief camp was organized concurrently in Sonachura High School on 25.3.2007 by ARGUS COMMUNITY EYE SERVICES.

A brief description of various types of patients seen on 24/25.3.2007 is as follows:

Camps: Soudkhali, Kalicharanpur, Dakshin Jalpai, Sonachura

Date: 24.3.2007 and 25.3.2007

Total cases seen: 261
Cases directly related to the incident of 14.3.2007 230
Male 83 (36%)
Female 147 (64%)
Child 9 (4%)
Hindu (mostly SC) 222
Muslim 8

Eye problems 135 (58.6%)
Direct hit by the police 54 (23.4%)
Other musculo-skeletal injury 41 (17.8%)
Multiple Injury 27 (11.7%)
Bullet Injury 4
Ear injury 2 (children)
Fracture 1
Spinal Injury 1
Mental trauma 28 (12.1%)

· 70% to 80% of the patients of all camps had eye problems since 14.3.2007, but in Sonachura camp these patients attended cocurrently running eye camp, hence the average shows a lower figure
· The details of different camps has been shown in Annexure I.
· The doctors in the team (except those at Sonachura camp) had no training in properly assessing post traumatic stress, hence this condition may be found to be under reported particularly in the three other camps.

Eye Camp: Sonachura

Date: 25.3.2007
Organised by: ARGUS COMMUNITY EYE SERVICES

Total cases seen: 155
Cases directly related to the incident of 14.3.2007 114
Male 55 (48.2%)
Female 55 (48.2%)
Child 4
Hindu (mostly SC) ALL
Muslim Nil

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS:

1. It was seen from the TV clips that many persons were shot at the chest, abdomen and even in their heads, though when dispersing a mob, the police is to “use as little force and do as little injury to person and property as may be consistent with dispersing the assembly, arresting and detaining such persons”. ( Section 130, CrPc).

2. The medical team also saw other cases of bullet injuries at face level in the village.

3. The number of victims was found to be very large and included a large number of women and children also.

4. The lathi charge was extensive, it was inflicted even on women who had already fled from the place of assembly and was hiding in nearby houses and bushes in and around the place. This lathi charge was severe, producing multiple blunt injuries with bruises which was evident on medical examination even on 4/7/11/12 days after the event. These injuries included fracture, spine injury, chest injury etc. Injury marks were mostly found on the upper part of the boby upwards. It may be mentioned here that when the medical team had reached the scene, the people with major injuries had already been taken to various hospitals.

5. Many people suffered from the musculo-skeletal injuries including fall etc., as they were trying to escape the scene and police was persistently chasing them.

6. Many persons were injured due to beating by the police while they were trying to rescue the injured persons and the children.

7. Many women complained of sexual assault. They were also found to bear injury marks on their breasts, abdomen and private part. However, lack of privacy and other infrastructure prevented the medical team from proper physical examination and even thorough history taking.

8. A very large number of affected people, predominantly women, were found to be suffering from eye problems (burning sensation, watering, phototophobia, headache, dimness of vision etc), persisting even 11 days after exposure to tear gas. So much so that every camp attended to 70-80 percent of patient suffering from eye problems related to tear gas exposure. It may be noted that the people were aware that there may be tear gas attack, they knew that in case of tear gas attack they were to wash the eyes with copious amount of water, and they followed this instruction. Some persons also had injury in eye and other parts of the body from tear gas shell explosion, burn injury from contact of tear gas shell, history of breathlessness from close exposure to tear gas.

9. Thus it appears to the medical team that the gas used against the people may not be the usual tear gas ordinarily used to disperse the mob, but something unusual having more permanent and serious effects. The medical team urges a serious investigation into this matter.

10. It was found that although most of the severely wounded people were transferred to hospitals, a few seriously wounded persons, including a nine year old boy suffering from supracondylar fracture of arm, a spinal injury patient etc., practically received no medical attention. Also, many people, who attended Nandigram Hospital, did not receive medicines due to shortage of required medicine and many patients could not be examined and investigated properly due to lack of infrastructure there. Patients suffering from eye problems received almost no medical treatment. It may be noted here that Nadigram Hospital (BPHC) may be called a glorified primary health center and is not equipped to deal with so many serious injury and other cases. It was learnt that this Hospital did not receive much additional support even after the incident.

11. Many patients were found to be suffering from mental trauma with symptoms of sleeplessness, anorexia, anxiety and fear. Many women saw people, even children being killed, wounded people snatched. They were in fear of repeat of attack, anxiety for the safety of near and dear ones, and particularly about sexual assault of young daughters. But unfortunately the medical team did have trained human resource to properly assess situation, so the number of patients suffering from mental trauma mentioned here would be an understatement of the actual state of affairs. However, a team of psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health workers has already organized a camp in Sonachura on 31.3.2007. Their reports will be published soon.

12. An interesting observation was that very few patients came to the medical camp for ailments unrelated to the incidence of 14.3.2007 and those who came for injuries etc also mainly reported the injuries only and generally had no other medical complain.

13. The team of doctors also conducted a training camp for local volunteers so that if any untoward incident takes place again, these volunteers would be in a position to render rudimentary patient care (containment of bleeding, removing the patients observing proper protocol, wound dressing and things like that). 22 volunteers from different parts of the area covering almost the entire affected area were trained and 10 emergency kit with a couple of manuals in Bengali language were distributed among them.

14. On the two previous visits the Team attended to 169 patients. Though those two visits were not very well documented, it can be said that the general observation was basically the same.

15. Members of the Team also visited Nandigram Hospital, Tamluk Hospital

(Annexure II) and SSKM Hospital (Annexure III).

Dated 3.4.2007

ANNEXURE –I

Camp: Southkhali

Date: 24.3.2007

Total cases seen: 80
Cases directly related to the incident of 14.3.2007 72
Male 16 (22%)
Female 56 (78%)
Child 1
Hindu (mostly SC) 64
Muslim 8

Eye problems 55 (76.4%)
Direct hit by the police 13 (18%)
Other Musculo-skeletal injury 7
Multiple Injury 10 (13.9%)
Fracture 1
Bleeding P/V since 14.3.2007 1
Injury to private parts (female) 1
Mental Trauma 6 (8.3%)

Camp: Dakshin Jalpai, bhangabera

Date: 25.3.2007

Total cases seen: 54
Cases directly related to the incident of 14.3.2007 46
Male 24 (52.2%)
Female 22 (47.8%)
Child 1
Hindu (mostly SC) ALL
Muslim Nil

Eye problems 33 (71.7%)
Direct hit by the police 8 (17.4%)
Other musculo-skeletal injury 17 (37%)
Multiple Injury 1
Spinal Injury 1
Sexual assault on 14.3.2007 1
Mental Trauma 6 (8.3%)

Camp: Kalicharanpur

Date: 25.3.2007

Total cases seen: 56
Cases directly related to the incident of 14.3.2007 53
Male 8 (15%)
Female 45 (85%)
Hindu (mostly SC) ALL
Muslim Nil

Eye problems 43 (81.7%)
Direct hit by the police 13 (24%)
Other musculo-skeletal injury 7 (13%)
Multiple Injury 4
Bullet Injury 2
Sexual assault on 14.3.2007 3
Mental Trauma 4 (7.5%)

Camp: Sonachura

Date: 25.3.2007

Total cases seen: 82
Cases directly related to the incident of 14.3.2007 59
Male 39 (59.3%)
Female 24 (40.7%)
Child 7 (11.8%)
Hindu (mostly SC) ALL
Muslim Nil

Eye problems 4*
Direct hit by the police 20 (34%)
Other musculo-skeletal injury 10 (17%)
Multiple Injury 12 (20.3%)
Bullet Injury 2
Ear injury 2 (children)
Mental Trauma 12 (20.3%)

· A concurrent eye clinic was running at the same place

ANNEXURE- II

Patients In Tamluk Hospital

Some of the members of the team paid a visit to the Tamluk State Hospital on 1.4.2007, where a large number of injured patients of the said incident
(on 14.3.2007) were admitted. Most of the patients were admitted in this Hospital on or after 16.3.2007; some of them had been referred to by the
Nandigram Hospital, either due to lack of infrastructure, or because of the seriousness of injury. The team talked with the patients, had discussion with the attending physicians. Some of the salient features that the members of the medical team came to know may be summarised as follows:

1. The patients admitted in Tamluk Hospital Hospital had major trauma. They has bullet injury, fracture, multiple fractures, Head Injury, amputation, eye injury, chest injury, breathing problems, history of sexual assault etc. Some are immobilised in POP casing and castings, many had operations, one was on Intravenous drip even 17 days after the incidence.

2. Almost all of those who had been admitted to this Hospital (Tamluk State Hospital) on or after 16.3.2007, complained of various degrees of eye problems ranging from watering, burning sensation, headache, photophobia and dimness of vision. As on 31.3.2007, only about half of the patients have more or less recovered from the problems on treatment with antibiotic and steroid eye drops along with lubricating and analgesic eye drops, but in the other half the problem is still persisting.

3. On 16th March 37 patients were admitted from various parts of the affected area, who had major injuries and injuries inflicted by bullets, tear gas shells, police lathi charge, rubber bullets etc. These patients were initially treated for these grave conditions, but when they recovered a little, they also complained of similar eye problems.

4. 18 patients were transferred from Tamluk Hospital to SSKM Hospital, Kolkata between 17th and 31st March, 2007. 15 of them had bullet injury
and one had Head injury from lathi charge. 7 of bullet injury patient were female and 8 male.

5. Between 16.03.2007 to 1.04 2007 seventy-four patients have been treated for severe injury and conditions in Tamluk Hospital. Of them, 28 were
male and 46 female.

Patients admitted in ‘Nandigram Ward’ of Tamluk Hospital (Female)

1. Satyabala Mondal w/o Anadi Vill.Soudkhali Headache

2. Arati Maity w/o Tapan Vill. Kalicharanpur Headache, Eye complains

3. Kabita Das Adhikari w/o Subal Vill.Gokulnagar # Rt patella, Lt wrist

4. Renuka Kar w/o Shyamapada Vill. Kalicharanpur pain all over due to lathi charge

5. Bidyut Basanta 48/F w/o Mahadev # Lt forearm, Rt finger, eye complaints

6. Radharani Pakhira 45/Fw/o Kishan Vill 7 no Jalpai eye complains

7. Salma Bibi w/o Fakrul Vill.Garchakraberi Bleeding p/v

8. Anima Jana 32/F w/o Prasanta Vill.Soudkhali Eye pain, dimness of vision

9. Sovarani Singh w/o Gorachand Vill.Soudkhali Blunt Injury waist, thigh

10. Paribala dhapar w/o Ranjit Vill.Soudkhali Eye pain, Headache

11. Sandhyarani Sinha 25/Fw/o Ramkrishna Vill.Soudkhali Eye complains, Headache

12. Chhabirani Dhapar w/o Badal Vill.Soudkhali Eye complains, Headache

13. Angurbala Dolui w/o (late) Makhan Vill.Soudkhali Eye complains, dimness of vision

14. Sandhya Dhapar w/o Paresh Vill.Soudkhali Eye complains, Headache

15. Sulekha Das w/o Pravanjan Vill. Kalicharanpur # Lt leg

16. Sailabala Das 48/F w/o Nandalal Vill.Gokulnagar Chest pain, Breathlessness, eye complains

17. Shyamali Mahato45/F w/o (late)Gobinda Vill. Sonachura Head Injury, Bullet injury

18. Radharani Ari 45/F w/o Pratap Vill.Gokulnagar Headache, Eye complains

19. Anubha Khanda 48/F w/o Rasbehari Vill. Sonachura Bullet Injury knee, Eye Complains

20. Kalpana Jana 40/F w/o Nandalal Vill. Kalicharanpur Eye complains

21. Sankari Gol 47/F w/o Manoranjan Vill. Sonachura # tibia, multiple injury head, eye complains

22. Shyamali Mahato w/o (late) Gobinda Vill. Sonachura Bullet injury head

II. Patients admitted in ‘Nandigram Ward’ of Tamluk Hospital (male)

1 Gopal Das s/o Mrityunjoy Vill. Sonachura bullet injury, shoulder

2 Niranjan Das 38/M s/o (late) Radhakrishna Vill. Sonachura Chest Pain

3 Lakshmikanta Gayen s/o Ramhari Vill. Sonachura subconj Hmge, # finger, loss of teeth

4 Subodh Das 45/M s/o Gangadhar vill.Gangra Bullet injury finger

5 Asok Mondal s/o Jagadish Vill. Sonachura Bullet injury, finger amputed,

6 Srimanta Mondal s/o Joydev vill. Gokulnagar Bullet injury, thigh

7 Gopal Majhi s/o Santosh vill. Gokulnagar Bullet injury, arm

8 Sk.Fasi Alam s/o Abdul Vill 7 no Jalpai Bullet injury, finger

9 Abinash Mondal s/o Gorachand vill.Gangra Pain Back, eye problems

10.Madan Mondal s/o Ramhari Vill.Soudkhali Headache, Eye complains

11. Ramkrishna Maiti 33/Ms/o Chintamani Vill 7 no Jalpai Shoulder Dislocation, Head injury

III. Cases transferred to SSKM Hospital,Kolkata (female)

1. Haimabati Halder Vill. Gangra Bullet injury

2. Kanchan Mal w/o Sripati Vill. Gokulnagar Bullet injury

3. Tapasi Das w/o Sambhu Vill. Gokulnagar Bullet injury

4. Banasri Acharya w/o Chandan vill. Badkeshabpur Bullet injury

5. Swarnamoyee Das w/o Gopal Vill. Berachak Bullet injury

6. Bhabani Giri w/o Hitendralal Vill. Kalicharanpur Bullet injury

7. Anjali Das w/o Mrityunjoy Vill. Sonachura Bullet injury

8. Gourirani Das w/o Chittaranjan Vill. Kalicharanpur Bullet injury

9. Purnima Mondal w/o Gobardhan Vill. Gokulnagar blunt Injury

IV. Cases transferred to SSKM Hospital,Kolkata (male)

1. Rasbehari Khanda s/o (late) Kumar Vill. Sonachura Bullet injury

2. Abhijit Samanta Vill. Sonachura Bullet injury

3. Swapan Giri Vill. Sonachura Bullet injury

4. Salil Das Adhikari s/o Bhupati Vill. Gokulnagar Bullet injury

5. Prithwish Das s/o Purnachandra Vill. Gangra Bullet injury

6. Abhijit Giri s/o Pratap Vill. Kalicharanpur Bullet injury

7. Parikshit Maiti s/o Abinash Vill. Kalicharanpur Bullet injury

8. Mani Rana Vill. Gokulnagar Bullet injury

9. Saddam Hossain Vill 7 no Jalpai Bullet injury

Some Highlights

1. Radharani Ari. Found unconscious (and without clothes) in a bush 2 days after the incidence. Complained of pain in whole body and particularly in
private parts after regaining consciousness. According to her, 3 male police took her to a bush and were beating her, when she lost consciousness.

2. Kabita Adhikari. Fracture Rt patella and Lt wrist. According to her, she was in Anadi Mal’s home on 14th March, when male police dragged her out and beaten her severly.

3. Sankari Gol. Severely beaten by male police, admitted with Rt leg fracture and multiple injury with stitches on head.

4. Sovarani Sinha. According to her, a child was snatched away and killed before her eyes.

5..Anubha Khanda. Admitted with bubber bullet in knee, admitted and operated on 14th March. Her husband Rasbehari Khanda has been transferred
to SSKM Hospital, Kolkata in very serious condition, now in intensive care unit.

ANNEXURE III

List of Patients Injured in Nandigram, now Admitted in SSKM Hospital :

Sl no. Name Age/sex Village Injury Remarks
1 Parikshit MaityS/o (Late) Abinash 55/M Kalicharanpur Bullet Injury abdomen

2 Avijit SamsntaS/o Subimal 33/M Sonachura Bullet Injury Chest, Opeation done on 28.03.2007

3 Avijit GiriS/o Pratap Chandra 22/M Kalicharanpur Bullet Injury Rt hand, Charra Injury Abdomen

4 Pritish DasS/o (Late) Purnachandra 29/M Gangra Bullet Injury Head, Back

5 Swapan GiriS/o Gobinda 21/M Sonachura Bullet Injury Rt Hand

6 Mani RanaS/o (Late) Beni 18/M Gokulnagar Bullet Injury Rt Thigh, Operation done on 27.03.2007

7 Salil Das AdhikariS/o (Late) Bhupaticharan 35/M Gokulnagar Bullet Injury between Lt eye and nose

8 Anjali DasW/o Mrityunjoy 50/F Sonachura Injury, beaten by police and CPI(M) cadres

9 Swarnamoyee DasW/o Gopal Das 32/F Gokulnagar Bullet Injury Lt Elbow

10 Kanchan MalW/o Swapan 45/F Gokulnagar 4 Bullet injuries in Breasts and 3 in Lt Hand, Operated twice.Injured while trying to rescue an injured person

11 Purnima MondalW/o Pipu /F Gokulnagar Heavily beaten up by CPI(M) cadres on 24.3.07 at Tekhali. Admitted on 25.3.07 via Tamluk Sadar Hospital

12 Gouri Rani DasW/o Chittaranjan 40/F Kalicharanpur Injury from Tear Gas Shell, Transferred to ICU

13 Bhawani GiriW/o Jiten 40/F Kalicharanpur Bullet Injury Lt Chest

14 Rasbehari KharaS/o(Late) Kumar 45/M Sonachura Bullet Injury Abdomen

15 Saddam HossainS/o Serajul Islam 18/M Barjamtala7 no Jalpai Bullet Injury Rt Eyebrow. A student of class IX. Now almost blind

16 Tapasi DasW/o Sambhu 32/F Gokulnagar Bullet Injury Hip

17 Manju Mal Discharged on 29.3.07

18 Banashree Acharya Discharged on 26.3.07

19 Haimabati Halder

ANNEXURE- IV

Photographic evidences of some of the persons injured in the incidence of 14.3.2007

1. Minhazur s/o Noorjahan Age 8 years, Villege Soudhkhali. Was with his mother in the Namaz ceremony that was held at Bhangabera. When police
resorted to lathicharge, he received 4 blows in left elbow, resulting in a supracondylar fracture. These two photographs show the extent and seriousness of the injury before (1A) the team had rendered medical care and after (1B).

2. Saraswati Das, w/o late Kalipada Das, Villege Gangra F 40. Was in the puja ceremony at Bhangabera. When the tear gas shelling started, she
started running for shelter. A shell exploded close to her. She had a burning sensation. The police chased her out and she received two mighty blows in her right leg. The police had beaten her up when she fell down in the ground. The photograph ( 2) shows the wound because of the blows that she received from the police. It may be mentioned here that even after a week of the said incident, she did not receive any medical attention.

3. Tapasi Das, w/o of Late Ratan Das, who was killed during the firing on 14.3.2007, Villege Gangra, Sonachura, F 24. Widowed with two small kids.
Lost all tranquility, stopped speaking. Accute Stress-induced trauma.

4. Sonali Das, W/o Pabitra Das, F 26, Villege Sonachura. Was near to the puja ceremony site. When firing started she started running and was
engulfed by the tear gas fumes. She lost direction and was beaten up by the police at the left elbow. Did not receive any medical help even after a week.

Previous Report

On 18th March 2007, 4 days after the massacre at Nandigram a medical team comprising of six doctors ( including two female doctors ),three junior doctors ( house staff of Medical College, Kolkata ),3 sisters and two health workers went to the affected areas to provide medical service to the victims of police atrocities. Three voluntary organizations (working in the field of health), namely Shramajibi Swasthya Udyog, Peoples’ Health & Janaswasthya Swadhikar Manch organized the medical camp.

The members first went to Nandigram Hospital (actually a glorified health center, with minimum infrastructural facilities), talked to four women (one of them accompanied by a very young child), who were admitted in the wards. Then the team went to Sonachura and Adhikaripara (Gokulnagar Area) and gave treatment to 129 affected persons. They also talked to above 300 villagers. Locals like Sri Prodyot Maity, Sri Buddhadeb Mondal, Sri Subhendu Karan; Sri Nishikanto Mondal (a leader of the committee for prevention of land acquisition) helped the team much and guided it to the worst affected areas.

From the dialogue with the villagers that included many eye- witnesses of the ghastly incident, a horrifying story of torture, murder, molestation, rape and killing of children gradually unfolded—which in our view is a planned genocide and barbaric large scale sexual crimes committed upon innocent people. The description, appear to us nightmarish and in spite of our long standing association with medical profession ranging from some years to few decades—some of us felt mentally sick.

Ours was not a fact finding team. These are collateral information that we have gathered. But we feel that it is our duty to communicate this monstrous and sinister incidence that stands singular and in isolation (the comment made by Winston Churchill in the British Parliament after Jalianwala Bag massacre) to the world outside Nandigram. Rest is up to the readers to believe or to reject.

We took some photographs also, which are in our custody and may be circulated in future. With the prelude, let us divulge what the locals said on that day to us.

The local people irrespective of their villages, ages and sex told us the incidences as summarized below—

A lot of people (ranging up to few hundreds) are still missing. It is not that all of them are killed. Some have fled away but the number of casualties are many fold of the officially declared number of 14.In Sonachura alone 50-60 people are untraceable.

No comprehensive list of the missing person is available till date. Firstly, because they are still shell socked and dumb in horror and pain. There is no one to take such initiative for door to door survey (like a census) in the vast stretch of area. Secondly, due to absolute lack of faith in administration/ police and to avoid harassment (including arrest), no one has formally lodged a missing diary either.

The locals say that many families have been torn apart as occurred after Tsunami. One house has got only two children with the father battling for life at hospital and in the other missing. Many have lost their parents, children or beloved who are not included in the lists stain and hospitalized persons. The villagers say that some of them, who ran away, may come back after some time and a proper account of the loss can be taken only after that.

Many small children of the K.G. school are missing in Bhangabera (another badly hit village). The villagers say that during the commotion they were released from the school. Many of them had been butchered by the attackers. Their throats were slit or heads chopped off, put in gunny bags, loaded in trucks and transported to unknown destinations. The locals feel that either the bodies had been burnt in brick-kilns, thrown to Haldi River / Bay of Bengal (not very far off) by tying with stones in fishing nets or dumped in marshy land or jungles. It may so happen that the bodies to the ditches and the overlying roads repaired. Some people said that they have either witnessed themselves or heard from other that the legs of a small child were torn apart. A breast-fed baby was reportedly thrown to a pond.

It is the general perception that the trucks carrying the materials for road repair were extensively used to transport dead bodies during 48 hours subsequent to the attack, when neither the media nor the ‘opponents’ from outside the ‘action area’ were allowed to infiltrate.

It may be mentioned here that news was published in the Bengali Daily Statesman on March 19 that a truck loaded with bullet-ridden bodies covered with tarpaulin was taken to the Haldia State General Hospital at Durgachak past midnight. The hospital superintendent was asked to keep the bodies of the victims of a so called road traffic accident in the hospital morgue ‘temporarily’. The superintendent refused to oblige and was threatened with dire consequences. By refusing to oblige he drew the wrath of almighty Sri Laxman Seth, the M.P. of Haldia.

Many persons were chased and hacked or smashed to death by sharp or blunt weapons. Their bodies were carried away to abolish evidence as it occurred in Chhoto Angaria of West Midnapur, where bodies of eleven murdered persons could never be traced. The local wanted to show us a portion of a road at Bhangabera which was still thickly smeared with blood and even with soft brain matter. They said that the CPI (M) goons tried to wash away the blood stains throughout the night by lighting halogen lamps with generators but failed. The site has been visited by the CBI officials.

Stories of rape and molestation are widespread. The locals say in the aftermath of the attack, the hard core criminals hired by the CPI (M) took advantage of the situation in a full swing. The male members of the families ran away. The criminals attacked, molested and even gang raped the hapless farmers’ wives and daughters even in the broad daylight. They did not spare the aged also. One lady in her fifteen bears deep cut marks on chest by sharp weapons and other marks of molestation. Villagers tell that a number of teenage girls or young unmarried women have been abducted without trace. The locals believe that were taken to the house of Naba Samanta ( a CPI(M) party member cum muscleman and brother of the local tyrant Sankar Samanta who was burnt to death after the fired on the mob from his house ),gang raped and slaughtered. Villagers insisted us to visit the place to see blood stained female undergarments, sarees,broken bangles etc.still lying there. But we could not go, partly due to the shortage of time and partly due to the fear. We saw a young girl (14 to 16 years) is moving all along the team with a small packet in her hand. On enquiry, it was known that many young girls are afraid of staying back home alone lest they are attacked and tortured by police or cadres of CPI(M).They were loitering in public places in the village. At night, many women are hiding in the bushes and not staying at the thatched houses which can be attacked any time. Men are also sitting or lying sleeplessly on the paddy field for last 3-4days (since the attack).The apprehension of quick and organized removal of dead bodies is overwhelming. At Sonachur, an eyewitness lady told that after the firing a number of persons (including children) were jolting in pain and screaming for help on the bank of the pond of Naba Samanta .They were wanting water. The pond turned red. The assistance could reach them on the face of attack. The attackers killed some by them by stones or by bamboo sticks. After two hours, when the villagers could approach the spot, no one was left out. This is a big puzzle. The villagers believe that the bodies and half dead are carried away.

Who fired on them?

Men in uniform, but some of them with ‘chappals’ on their feet. It was revealed subsequently that the CPI (M) procured some 250-300 sets of police uniform from the local ‘Sunny Tailors’ a month back. The villagers concluded that the uniform clad goons accompanied the police force on that day.

The injury marks:

There were all sorts of injuries e.g.

1. Bullet injuries—most of the injured either died or were transferred to hospitals.
2. Injuries on heads caused by blunt weapons.
3. Injury on the forehead of a woman in her seventies caused by some sharp weapon.
4. Extensive and barbaric lathi-charge marks on the whole bodies of women and men. Even after 4 days the parts were red, hot, swollen and very painful. Some of them may have fractures but x-rays could not be done. Some of them were still unable to move from beds.

About three-fourth of the victims are children and women. Interestingly the preferred part of the woman body for such attack was below the umbilicus and above the knees. A rod was forcefully driven to the private part of a lady.

When some persons attacked a lady, her husband resisted. The attackers threatened to kill their small child. The husband ran away with the small child and the lady was molested.

We met two victims who requested to remain anonymous lest they were not accepted by the society. One of them came to her father’s house and was molested on the black day. Villagers said that there were more victims who were too shy to depose before us.

5. Many patients (including children) complained of eye problems—blurring of vision, eye pain and burning sensation in eyes following exposure to tear gas. A number of elderly patients complained of loss of vision.

Name of the attackers

Police and CPI (M) henchmen like Naba Samanta, Jaidev Paik, Anup Mondal, Badal Mondal etc. allegedly led the attack.

Current situation

Still there is tension in the locality and enough provocation by the CPI (M) men from the other side of the canal (Khejuri side), they bring out armed processions with slogans like ‘Those who want to destabilize industrialization will not be spared’. We saw such a long procession ourselves.
There are spates of bombing across the canal throughout the night. People spend sleepless nights. The assurance of peace appears hollow to them and they believe that CPI (M) is taking a breathing time only to bounce back with more force after a month or two.

There is no faith in police as the criminals are hiding in the police camps at times. The police camps are the source of constant fear to the villagers and they want removal of the camps. They are not even ready to allow any government medical team to enter the villages. A fear psychosis looms large in the whole area.

Since agriculture and other economic activities are at stake, there is crisis of food in many houses. Moreover the villagers can not go freely to the market places as police and CPI (M) musclemen often abduct persons moving alone or in small groups.

What we felt
The loss of life is huge, the physical injuries widespread, the psychological trauma unthinkable. The women and the children are the worst affected. In the days to come, many of them are likely to suffer from various psychiatric disorders.

But the morale is still high. Still they are not ready to part with even an inch of their ancestral land, which they consider like their mother. They declare that even further blood shed will not be able crush their movement.

Many people spontaneously came out and spoke to us. They said repeatedly that since they were almost living in ghettos, they were unaware of the impact of their movement on the outer society. There are needs of medicines, food and clothes. But most badly needed is the healing touch of the civil society.

Another team visited Nandigram on March 24-25. They have examined 240 vicitms, treated them and documented their injuries. They also trained activists in First Aid. Their report will be sent to you soon.

Source: http://sanhati.com/front-page/180/

Lessons of Nandigram

2007-04-07T06:17:00.000+05:30

After the carnage in Nandigram, a descent fraction of intellectuals have joined in the protest. Middle class is also criticizing. It is important to note the reaction of students and youth. All the signs are really good although we see couple of shortcomings.

Firstly, we have seen the notion that this carnage shouldn’t have taken place.
Secondly, there is a tendency of developing a view that it is primarily a brutality done by CPM, which is dangerous, we believe.

In this context we think we should express our view.

No doubt, we hate the Nandigram carnage. But, we don’t consider it as something totally unexpected in West Bengal or any part of India. This is nothing but an expression of severe oppression of state to protect the interest of MNCs-big comprador capitalist and feudalism at its highest scale. People of India have been observing carnages for the last couple of decades. Therefore, we consider it as the most expected return from the state.

We like to point out that the carnage has its root in the ongoing severe imperialist loot over the Indian people. We should not disintegrate the relation between the SEZ and the carnage. This carnage was not done by a bunch of psychopaths accidentally, but by an organized force to secure the interest of Salim group.

It is pity that most of us who protest against the carnage don’t consider it as a state repression.

There is a belief that CPM goons were the main culprits. There couldn’t be any doubt that CPM goons participated in the carnage. But, if we consider them just as CPM goons, then we will make blunder, we think. Who organized these goons? Did they come by themselves? No. They were organized by the armed forces of state; police officials were involved to invite them. These goons then participated in the carnage along with the armed forces, which are sponsored by the state with our money. Therefore, it will be oversimplification, if we consider the carnage just as an incident by CPM goons.

In this context it is really important to understand the social character of these goons. In West Bengal nowadays the goons are mostly organized under different mainstream parties. But, their party colour cannot hide their social role. Their main job is to control the masses of different area and run oppression. But, for whom they work? They work for contractors, promoters or others who actually run semi-feudal exploitation (in most of the cases) over the people. The local mainstream party leaders actually protect semi-feudal lords (sometimes the leader himself is the lord) with the help of this bunch of goons. In true sense, their party colour doesn’t mean anything---they are nothing but the feudal forces sponsored by semi-feudal lords.

And in Nandigram carnage, we saw how the feudal forces, the CPM goons strengthened the state sponsored armed forces to protect the interest of Salim group. Essentially it shows how semi-feudalism serves as the social support of imperialist plunder over our country.

If we see the carnage as the brutality of CPM alone then it will be a mistake. We will fail to understand its real lessons.

Present status of Singur

2007-04-07T03:49:00.000+05:30

Download a report on present status of Singur.

ACTION 2007 Press Release

2007-04-07T03:35:00.000+05:30

PRESS RELEASE 31^st March 2007

ACTION 2007

SEZs have to go, people's movements tell UPA Government

Delegation Submits Memorandum on SEZs to Pranab Mukherjee

§Repeal the SEZ Act 2005

§Stop all ongoing lad acquisitions

§Stop political double standards, Congress and UPA Allies warned

A people's delegation from ACTION 2007, a collective of people's organisations from across the country, comprising Meher Engineer, Professor Arun kumar, Medha Patkar, Bhupindra Singh Rawat, Uma Shankari, Prasad Bagve, Simpreet Singh, Mohan Rao, Ashish Mondoloi, Ajit Jha, Baijnath Prasad and Rifat Mumtaz met the Chairman of Empowered Group of Ministers on SEZs Shri Pranab Mukherjee at his residence on 31 ^st March to highlight the impacts of the Special Economic Zone policy and Act on the people. At a special dialogue called by the people's movements, the representatives and minister discussed various aspects of SEZs and their impact.

The delegation pointed out that despite repeated demands made by farmers and local people to stop forced acquisition the government instead of having a dialogue with the people the state governments are using force of the state machinery to subvert and violently suppress people's protests which has resulted in merciless killings of poor people in places like Nandigram and Singur. Meher Engineer, academician from the Intellectual's Forum said that the incident in Nandigram has brought to the fore the growing angst against the democratic rights of the people being jeopardised.

Medha Patkar started by speaking about the Nandigram SEZ, specifically focusing on the process of land acquisition and role of the state. She also submitted a report by an independent fact finding team of eminent and concerned citizens on Nandigram and the recent police action there. "What we have seen in both Maharashtra and West Bengal is that no gram sabha consultation took place before initiating land acqusition for SEZ projects" she said.

The delegation appreciated that Sonia Gandhi and the Empowered Group of Ministers is reviewing the SEZ policy and has even put a halt to the approvals. However, stressed that "so far we do not see any of the concerns being raised by us being taken into account."

Professor Arun Kumar from JNU spoke about the growing disparity between the agriculture and industrial growth rates. "The investment in agriculture, on which 60% of the population depends, is a mere 5% and investment in organised sector is 65% on which only 5% of the population depends. This is also adding to the disparity between urban and rural societies" he said.

Some of the concerns placed before the Chairman included the forced acquisition of land by the use of the LAA 1894 leading to large scale displacement destruction of Agro-based economy, loss of local agriculture, fisheries based and other artisans traditional livelihoods and issues of food security with no guarantees of alternative employment

Prasad Bagve, an affected farmer of the proposed Mahindra SEZ in Pune District pointed out that the land that is being sought for the SEZ is multi cropped land as against what is being reported by the local administration and project proponents of it being wasteland. "In Raigad District Reliance is using force and money power with the poorest to capture their lands. If this does not stop there will be a second Nandigram soon".

The delegation expressed dissatisfaction that the government is now issuing a new notification which gives the responsibility of Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation to the SEZ developers. Uma Shankari from Andhra Pradesh pointed out that deals between paupers and millionaires cannot be in favour of the former. Referring to the Kakinada SEZ she said how the promises of compensation remain unfulfilled to date.

The discussion came back to the fact that even after so many years we still do not have a Rehabilitation Policy. And the Draft National Development, Displacement and Rehabilitation Policy proposed by people's groups and approved by NAC in December 2005 is lying unused by the government. "We are perturbed to see a new draft coming up every time, weaker and without any process to build consensus. The need is to bring in an Act (not just a policy) on Development Planning, Minimum Displacement and Just Rehabilitation, abolishing Land Acquisition Act, 1894." said the members of the delegation

Baijnath from Jharkhand gave the example of the upcoming Adityapur SEZ and said that even in 5 ^th schedule areas where adivasi population is large in numbers the 73 ^rd amendment of the Constitution is being blatantly violated.

The delegation said that all these issues have been raised at meetings with the Union Minister of Commerce, the Special Secretary MoC, Minister of State (MoC) from September 2006 onwards by delegations of civil society members but no attention has been paid. "Instead in the time that has lapsed more that 200 projects have received approvals by the Ministry of Commerce and 63 projects have been notified. More and projects are being pushed for notification on the ground that these projects do not have any "land acquisition issues" and that the land is already available with developers. We would like to point out that this is not true as in many of the projects land has only been acquired in parts and even if land has been acquired the conflict between the state and people is not completely resolved." said the memorandum that was submitted to Pranab Mukherjee by the delegation.

The delegation demanded

§ Repeal of the SEZ Act and enactment of a National policy on Development Planning and Just rehabilitation of the displaced

§ that the process of approvals and notification of SEZs be put on hold

§ an immediate dialogue or consultation be initiated with people's groups and communities to seek opinion on whether SEZs will help in strengthening the development of local economies and what could be the options suitable opportunities for them

Coordination Committee

(Contact – 9910345405)

Is the ongoing "Development" for WORKERS?

2007-04-06T06:09:00.000+05:30

We have been listening that central and state governments of India have implemented different policies for our development. Whatever they do, from acquiring land from people to giving tax holidays to the MNCs and big companies are for our betterment only. This is the popular view and most of us do believe in that as obedient citizen.

Whatever happened in the last couple of months gave the whole country a jolt. Some of us start to doubt this view, which is no doubt very good. We think, this is the best time to examine the whole issue under the light of the real life experiences of common people, the workers and the peasantry. We believe in that ‘gold standard’.

Here we present some experiences from GURGAON. Let us see the condition of workers in GURGAON, the developed India.

Source: http://gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com

The following report is translated from Hindi, published in Faridabad Majdoor Samaachaar (FMS). FMS is a monthly independent workers newspaper, about 5,000 copies are distributed in Faridabad and beyond. The newspaper exists since the early 1980s, it is free. Workers are encouraged to contribute with their thoughts and experiences. If you want to get in touch:
Majdoor Library
Autopin Jhuggi, NIT
Faridabad - 121001

Factory and Police Station
(FMS no.225, March 2007)

MG Export Worker
The factory located on plot 108, sector 24 produces steel and aluminium kitchen utensils and decorative pieces for export. The factory employs 67 people who receive ESI and PF (see Glossary), out of which 20 are staff (see Glossary), the rest permanent (manual) workers. Additionally 235 casual workers (see Glossary) work inside the plant, currently their number is low compared to other times. Even after two or two and a half years of constant employment for the company they remain casual workers, they do not have ESI and PF. MG Export runs two 12-hours shift, but after one day of 12-hour shift the next day you have to work during day and night. The shift would start at 8 am in the morning and end at 4:30 pm the next day. This is a 36 and a half hours shift. When it comes to working-times the company makes no difference between permanent and casual workers. You might be a permanent or a casual, the payment for overtime is only at the normal rate (although legally it should be paid double).
On Sundays the factory is made to seem closed, but actually production is on from 7 am to 3:30 pm. On Sundays workers have to keep their bicycles inside the plant. In sector 24 there are three other factories which appear to be closed at night, but MG Export uses them for night-shift. Workers are sent to night-shift from factory on plot 108 to plot 305, plot 329… In order to hide production there are all kind of legal and illegal papers. Finished products ready for export were first sent to Faridabad sector 59, now they are sent to Daadri in Uttar Pradesh.
MG Export pays the helpers 1,900 Rs per month, the operators get 2,300 Rs (see Glossary). On pay day workers and white-collar workers have to sign unofficial documents. Two or three days after having received the wage people have to sign the official register which says that the wage is according to the minimum wage defined by the Haryana government, which would be 2,485 Rs or more, according to wage category. The overtime is not even documented on the unofficial papers.
On the 15th of Febuary 2007 the chairman and managing director of MG Export were on rounds in the factory from 1 pm to 4 pm. During this time the sahib started to kick a power press worker for a minor fault. In front of all workers the sahib slapped-beat-kicked. The people who started working at 8 am on the 15th of February were supposed to work till 4:30 pm on the 16th. The press operators left the factory on the 15th of February at 8 pm. There are twelve power press machines in the factory and they all stood still from 8 pm to 9:30 pm. The management called workers from the second shift at their homes, but in the night of the 15th only three power press were running.
On the 16th of February the power press operators gathered on a nearby square instead of coming to the factory. The head foreman went there and at 9:30 am the workers were brought back in the factory. The press operators started to work. Three hours later the company called the police inside the plant. Two police men took four workers from the press shop to Mujesar police station. Two workers were sent back to the factory and the other two were told to be charged with theft… Those two police men who had come to the factory had taken twelve metal bowls to the station themselves. One of the workers who was held in the station was the worker who had been beaten by the sahib, the other one was his friend. The police threatened and scared these workers until in the evening they made them sign their resignation from the company and the police asked the company to settle the accounts of the workers. From the final payment the police men took 500 Rs each from the workers.

The laws are for exploitation and there is freedom to exploit beyond the law
(FMS no. 225, March 2007)

The law: wages for a month of work have to be paid by the 7th to 10th of the subsequent month; the daily working-time is eight hours, the maximum overtime allowed is 50 hours in three month; overtime has to be paid by double rate; the minimum monthly wage defined by the government of Haryana for an unskilled helper-worker is: 2, 484.28 Rs; this is based on an eight hours day and four days off per month; the extra dearness allowance DA (see Glossary) for January 2007 has not been announced yet, this is at the beginning of March 2007; the labour department declares that they have not received any information yet about the speech of the Chief Minister announcing the introduction of a minimum wage of 3,510 Rs.

- Essar Steel Worker:
The factory on plot 10 is located in the Industrial Area, it runs two shifts of 12 hours each. The overtime is paid at single rate. The helpers get 1,950 Rs and the operators between 3,500 and 4,000 Rs. The employer does not give ESI and PF.

- CMI Worker: The factory on plot 71 is in sector 6. Now, on 17th of Febuary workers might receive the wages for last December. The production is booming, the permanent workers are forced to work 16 hours. The workers hired through contractors are driven to work 36 to 40 hours at a stretch and often fall ill because of that. The overtime payment is at single rate.

- Mahawir Die Casters Worker:
The factory on plot no.153, located in sector 24 runs two 12 hours shifts, 30 days per month. Overtime is paid at single rate. The helpers hired through conractors get 2,000 Rs per month.

- Galaxsy Instruments Worker:
On plot no.2, sector 27 C, the helpers hired through contractors get 2,100 Rs per month. The shift starts at 8 am and finishs at 5:30 pm. Even the permanent workers do not receive overtime payment for the nine and a half hours shift.

- Inotech Engineering Worker:
12/6 Mathura Road, Gurukul. The wage of the casual workers is 2,400 Rs, there is neither ESI and PF. The shift starts at 8 am and finishes at 10:30 pm. Overtime is paid at single rate.

- Dalaal Auto worker:
Plot no.262, sector 25. The factory runs two 12 hours shift, the overtime is paid at single rate.

- JBM Worker:
Plot no.133, sector 24. Less than 10 per cent of the work-force are permanent workers, more than 90 per cent are hired through three different contractors. The 50 to 60 permanent workers work two shifts of 8:30 hours each. In the filing, welding, cleaning, packing department 200 workers work on one shift, from 7:30 am to 9 pm, sometimes till 10 pm or even 1 am. In the press shop 300 people work and in the axle department 150 workers, on two shifts. From 7:30 am to 7 pm or 8 pm to 6 am. There is work on Sundays, too. Overtime is paid at single rate.

JBM supplies Eicher, Maruti, Hero Honda.

- Sangita Industries Worker:
Plot no.55, Industrial Area. The helpers in the factory get 2,150 Rs, but no ESI or PF. Daily working time is 12 hours. Overtime is paid at single rate. Four to five days wages get siphoned off before wages are paid. If you ask them about it they say that the wage office is in the companies factory in sector 24, “so what could we do about it”. Threatening takes place, but whoever keeps on asking again and again will finally receive their money.

- Venus Metal Industries Worker:
Plot 262, sector 24. Out of the 600 workers employed in the factory ten per cent are permanent, ten per cent are casual and eighty per cent are hired through contractors. In the press shop, the paint shop and the tool room they run two shifts. There is only little overtime. In the welding, assembly and packing department there is only one shift, from 8:30 in the morning to 9 in the night. During the twelve and a half hours shift they would not even give you a cup of tea. Overtime is paid at single rate. There is hardly any space in the factory. In the paint shop there is no exhaust fan and there is no space for putting up a fan. The heat of the paint shop enters the press shop, as well. This condition gets worse during summer. There is no canteen and there is no space to make meals. Venus Metal supplies Maruti, Hero Honda and others.

- Shivalik Global Worker:
12/6 Mathura Road. The workers directly employed by the company received their January wage on 21st and 22nd of February. The workers hired through contractors have not received their January wage, and today is the 24th of February.

- High Tech Worker:
20/6 Mathura Road. Out of the 40 workers directly employed by the company about four or five have ESI and PF. The workers hired through six different contractors have no ESI and PF. Whenever an official comes for inspection to the plant they are pushed outside the factory. The helpers get 2,000 Rs per month. Working-time is 12 hours and overtime is paid at single rate. Per month 100 Rs out of 500 Rs wage is siphoned off. When you leave the job they rarely pay your outstanding wages. The contractors push and threaten and tend to delay the wage payment. The January wage has not been given yet, on 19th of February.

- Escorts Worker:
The permanent workers have received the annual statutory bonus (minimum one month wage) in October on Divali, but after half of February has already passed, the casual workers did not receive it. For any little fault casual workers are kicked out the factory. And in order to get hired the casual workers have to give the company officers a bribe of 500 Rs.

- Vaibav Engineering Worker:
Plot no.63, sector 24. There are eight permanents and 120 casual workers in the plant. The wage of the casual helpers is 1,650 Rs, ESI or PF is not covered. There are two shifts, each twelve hours. Overtime is paid at single rate.

- SPL Worker:
Plot no.47-48, sector 6. The workers employed through contractors get 90 to 115 Rs per twelve hours shift. The wages of January have not been paid yet, on 22nd of February.

- Clutch Auto Worker:
12/4 Mathura Road. The 500 casual workers have not received their January wages, on 20th of February 2007.

- Orient Fan Worker:
Plot no.59, sector 6. On 14th of February in the tool room and press shop factory of the company a manager and supervisor together beat up two casual workers.

- Unique Engineering Worker:
20/3 Mathura Road, Northern Complex, plot no. 5/6. The workers have neither ESI nor PF.

Glossary

Wages and Prices
Exchange Rate
Minimum Wage
ESI
PF
DA
VRS
Staff
Contract Workers
Casual Workers
Workers hired through contractors

Wages and Prices:

When we hear that a cleaner in a call centre in Gurgaon, an industrial worker in Faridabad or a Riksha-Driver in Delhi earns 2,000 Rs for a 70 hours week, which is about the average normal workers wage, we have to bear in mind that they often came from West Bengal, Bihar or other remote place in order to get this job. In order to put 2,000 Rs into a daily context here are some prices of (daily) goods and services.
- Monthly rent for a small room in Gurgaon (without kitchen), toilet and bathroom shared by five families: 1,300 Rs
- Monthly rent for a small room in new building in central Gurgaon, single toilet and bathroom: 4,500 Rs
- Half a kilo red lentils on the local market: 25 Rs
- Kilo rice on local market: 14 Rs
- Bus ticket to nearest bigger bus stop in South Delhi: 14 Rs
- One hour internet in a cafe: 20 Rs
- Starbucks Coffee in Shopping Mall: 30 Rs
- Faulty shirt on Faridabad local market: 40 Rs
- Single gas cooker plus new 2 litre gas cylinder: 720 Rs
- Second-hand bicycle: 600 to 1,000 Rs
- Two simple steel pots: 250 Rs
- One litre Diesel: 30 Rs
- Start package pre-paid mobile phone (without the phone) 300 Rs
- Phone call to other mobile phones: 1 Rs
- One month mobile phone flate rate: 1,500 Rs
- Compaq LapTop: 50,000 Rs
- Flight Delhi to London: 28,000 Rs
- Ford Fiesta: 587,000 Rs
- Two-Bedroom Appartment in Gurgaon: 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 Rs
- The minimum dowry poor worker have to pay for the marriage of their daughter: 30,000 Rs

Exchange Rate:
1 US-Dollar = 43 Rs (March 2007)
1 Euro = 57 Rs (March 2007)

Minimum Wage:
Offficial minimum wage in Haryana in March 2007 is about 2,500 Rs per month for an unskilled worker, based on a 8 hours day and 4 days off per month.

ESI (Employee’s State Insurance):
Introduced in 1948, meant to secure employee in case of illness, long-term sickness, industrial accidents and to provide medical facilities (ESI Hospitals) to insured people. Officially the law is applicable to Factories employing 10 or more people. Employers would have to contribute with 4.75 percent of the wage paid to the worker, the employee 1.75 percent of their wage. Officially casual workers or workers hired through contractors who work in the factory (even if it is for construction, maintenance or cleaning work on the premises) are entitled to ESI, as well. Self-employment is often used to undermine ESI payment.

PF (Employee’s Provident Fund):
Introduced in 1952, meant to provide a pension to workers. Officially applicable to all companies employing more than 20 people. Official retirement age is 58 years. Given that most of the casual workers belong to the regular work-force of a factory, they are entitled to the Provident Fund, as well. So are workers employed by contractors. If workers receive neither PF nor ESI they also do not show up in the official documents, meaning that officially they do not exist.

DA (Dearness Allowance):
An inflation compensation. Each three to six months the state government checks the general price development and accordingly pays an allowance on top of wages.
VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme):
Often rather unvoluntary scheme to ged rid off permanent workers. Particularly the VRS at Maruti in Gurgaon made this clear, when 35 years old were sent in early retirement.

Staff
In India staff includes managers, supervisors, security personnell and white-collar workers.

Contract Workers
Workers hired for a specific performance, paid for the performance.

Casual Workers
Workers hired by the company for a limited period of time.

Workers hired through contractors
Similar to temporary workers, meaning that they work (often for long periods) in one company, but are officially employed by a contractor from whom they also receive their wages. Are supposed to be made permanent after 240 days of continous employment in the company, according to the law. A lot of companies only have a licence for employing workers in auxilliary departments, such as canteen or cleaning. Companies usually find ways to get around these legal restrictions, e.g. workers services are terminated on the 239th day to avoid workers reaching eligibility criteria to become permanent.

DC
Deputy Commissioner, Head of the District Administration

SP
Superintendent of Police, Head of the District Police

Cartoons on Land Acquisition

2007-04-01T21:12:00.000+05:30

Support the Struggle of Workers of Hindusthan Motors

2007-04-01T20:37:00.000+05:30

All India Fact-finding Report on Polavaram Dam Project

2007-04-01T20:12:00.000+05:30

Preliminary Report

An all India Fact-finding team comprising Dr. BD Sharma, Former National Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, Dr. Jayashankar, former Vice-chancellor, Kakatiya University, Dr. I. Thirumali, Reader in History, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, G N Saibaba, Lecturer in English, University of Delhi, Shirish Medhi, Social Activist from Mumbai, Dr. Gopinath, Eminent Cardiologist, Andhra Pradesh, Rona Wilson, Research Scholar, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, Ajay Mishra, Reporter, Sunday Post (Hindi), Suresh Kumar, Advocate, Hyderabad, Ch. Prabhakar, Advocate, Hyderabad and Ravichandra, Teacher, AP Government Residential Schools. The team toured across 9 mandals in the districts of Khammam, East and West Godavari districts that are to be affected by the Polavaram Dam Project between 3nd March and 6th March, 2007.

The team spent 4 days in and around the site of the proposed Polavaram Dam touring extensively in all nine Dam-affected mandals. First the members arrived at Hyderabad on the 2 March, 2007. The team proceeded to Bhadrachalam on the following day and from there it divided into batches to conduct surveys on all the mandals. It had extensive discussions with the people of various villages and sarpanches. It also met the various organizations formed to fight against the question of displacement of lives and livelihoods. The team felt the need for further extensive studies in the affected areas at regular intervals taking into consideration the enormity of the situation with the threat of displacement of vast sections of the people.

Our findings:

1. Damning the people; damning the procedures; damning the law

The work of digging of canals by the government of Andhra Pradesh started even before permission is accorded to construction of the Dam. The modus operandi of the government so far without any procedures and norms spending crores for digging the canals have forced one to believe that ultimately it is going to serve the interests of the contractor lobby.

2. No Permission accorded so far from any government agency

The land acquisition has begun even before it could be known whether the projects would get permission or not from the Central Water Commission, the Forest Department, the Environment Department, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and other relevant departments and agencies. No permission has been so far given by the Central Water Commission. In fact the Supreme Court had asked the state of Andhra Pradesh to comply with the directives of the Central Water Commission. Contrary to this the AP government has been filing contradictory statements with different government institutions from which it has to get the necessary and mandatory clearance.

3. Gram Sabhas bypassed: Politics of manipulation and coercion

The Government has not gone to the people in the Scheduled areas which are mostly the project affected area. They have not been consulted nor their due consent been taken before proceeding with the acquisition of land for the construction of the dam. The entire area that will submerge when the dam gets finally constructed comes under provision of the 5th schedule of the constitution. In most of the villages the mandatory Gram Sabha meetings did not take place to discuss and deliberate on the issue of Polavaram. Wherever it has happened it was facilitated under the shadow of heavy police deployment with a battery of government officials threatening the villagers with dire consequences. The Gram Sabhas of these areas are the supreme decision making bodies. Without the consent of these bodies any other notification of any government institution—including the aforementioned bodies—stands null and void.

When in Maredubaka village in Kukunoor Mandal, people passed resolutions against Polavaram dam and the R & R package offered by the government those resolutions were ignored, suppressed and manipulated. Some Mandal Praja Parishads (MPP) also have passed resolutions against the construction of the dam but time and again over the last one year the officials have not accepted or recorded the written resolutions sent by the MPPs as told by Kantepale Raju, Sarpanch of Maredubaka and also by the sarpanch of Amaravaram of Kukkunoor mandal.

The District Collector is not supposed to sit in the Gram Sabha. But in Paidipakka village in Polavaram mandal the district collector Mr. Luv Aggarwal sat in the Gram Sabha along with the RDO, BDO, MRO, PO and others and a huge posse of armed police force at the background. There he told the people that the government can’t pay more than 1.3 lakhs and the villagers had no other option but to leave. This village has a sizeable section of the non-tribals and since they don’t have any legal entitlement they are the main targets of coercion. Once they budge the tribals can follow.

Secretly tribals are called individually to the RDO offices and are threatened to sign the papers. They are told that they have to inevitably move out and that is no way out for them. Those villagers who are refusing to budge have been targeted by striking off their ration cards, cutting of the power supply to the villages and also demolishing their roads.

It is evident that the government of Andhra Pradesh has been keen to hide facts—from the people of the affected areas in particular and the society at large—than the things that they have so far revealed about the various facets of the project. It is intriguing that why the government is operating under complete secrecy when it claims that the project is the answer to all the water and power problems faced by the state.

4. R & R Package: Old tales of Divide and Rule, Secrecy and Mystery

The compensation package offered by the government varied from village to village, tribal to non-tribal and last but not the least, the nature of the land holdings. It has more loopholes than concrete proposals on paper. In many cases it operates by word of mouth than through any documented intervention. It is the good old strategy of divide and rule by manipulating on the vulnerability of the targeted population.

The people of the project affected area, whether tribal or non-tribal are unaware of the rehabilitation package which is touted by the AP government as one of the best packages ever made in the world! Yet no sarpanch of the affected villages could give us a copy of the R&R package spoke volumes of the secrecy and mystery behind the politics of R & R. It should be noted that since 1947 not a single R & R package of any major displacement has been fulfilled by the government.

Some of the absentee landlords in the area who are non-tribals will definitely get a good compensation many times higher than what the government has so far offered to the common tribal masses. One glaring example is that of Mr. Totakura Venkattappaiah who owns 500 acres of fertile land at Amaravaram village in Kukkunoor mandal. He and his family lives in Hyderabad. Most of this land from the 500 acres belongs to the Koya tribals. The so-called compensation will come in the name of the tribals who have been living as agricultural labourers but the money will go to the coffers of the absentee landlord!

The government also has used different tactics to lure the people in favour of rehabilitation by giving them packages which are at best illusory. For instance, in Kondukota village which comprises of 50 percent Koyas and 50 percent Malas (SC) there has been neither official notification nor survey. Yet the officials have approached the people with various packages. They have offered them to hold land at the project affected area (i.e. their present place of stay) as well as the newly promised location of rehabilitation! The local MLA took the Empowering Committee appointed by the Supreme Court to only those places where the people have ostensibly supported the projects.

5. Compensation amounts released in two villages: Administration’s fraud and People’s anguish

In two villages Vinjaram (Kukkunoor mandal) and Rudramakota (Boorgampadu mandal) the first acts of acquisition of land for project took place. The compensation was released to the acquired cultivated and fertile lands. The team came across a big group of people at Rudramakota, Velerupadu mandal, sitting in the local temple and settling the dispute that has surfaced after the cheques were encashed and the actual money was being distributed. The size of the amount was decided by the village elders. Thus Kanthi Reddi Punnamma, a 65 year old woman got 58000 rupees. This was in return of the 2 acres of fertile land that was relinquished permanently for the dam. She and her family lived off this fertile land for many generations. For her 2 acres Punnamma was given 230000 rupees. At the end of the day Punnamma was left with a meager 58000 after dividing the amount with her sons and another major stake holder the local Cooperative Bank which had the lion’s share: a good 50 percent of the total amount! This 50 percent covers the agricultural loans which were actually struck off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last year! The officials (MRO, MDO, Collector) promised the villagers that the amount of the loans would not be deducted from the compensation amount. This was one of the main agreements between the villagers and the government before they agreed for the compensation to part with their land. But once the compensation was awarded, all the banks queued up with their knives to demand their pound of flesh. Only the landlords who had the land under false names had the last laugh. The villagers reported with anguish how the land records were manipulated and outsiders got the benefits.

6. Deceit and domination of the people of Telengana

Yet another act of deceit and domination over the people of Telengana. More than 80 percent of the water of Godavari flows through Telengana. Significantly, the mammoth project has little to offer when it comes to water/power sharing to the already drought prone region that Telengana is. It is natural for the people of Telengana to suspect the unwarranted haste shown by the Andhra Pradesh government to push through the project flouting all norms and procedures before the formation of the Telengana State. They strongly believe that the formation of the Telengana state would be an impediment to the Polavaram project and hence against the interest of the Andhra Pradesh government.

7. Protests prevented through repression and coercion

The people who have protested against the construction have been threatened by the officials belonging to the office of the collector, the RDO, BDO, MRO, PO etc. The people who sat on Dharna from the Chegondipally village in Polavaram mandal have been charged of treason. Mr. Sonam Raju of the same village had to spend three months in the Rajamundry prison and warrant has been issued against five of his fellow villagers for allegedly burning the huts at the construction site of the spill way. Another Mr. Bangu Anil Kumar of Kondu Kota village was also arrested and released after 17 days for opposing the project.

8. Polavaram: Another ‘Modern Temple’ of Colossal Waste

The Polavaram project with its projected costs and benefits is a colossal waste of public money. It would destroy the rich flora and fauna of the forests of the Eastern Ghats on either side of the river Godavari in the catchment areas of the dam. It will uproot the lives and livelihoods of some of the oldest tribal communities—the Koyas and Konda Reddys—who are the inhabitants of these regions. Even according to the official estimates 236000 people living in 276 villages would be displaced by the dam in Andhra Pradesh (including a few of them in Chhattisgarh and Orissa). About 50 percent as per government statistics belong to the scheduled tribes and 15 percent to the scheduled castes.

All the 9 mandals that will submerge come under the scheduled areas. In fact the Polavaram project displaces the largest number of people—more than 2 lakh tribals among them—as well as some of richest of biodiversity in the world. Tribals cannot live in non-forest areas. They will lose their constitutionally guaranteed rights under the scheduled area, if they are rehabilitated. They will lose their traditional strength and culture outside their natural habitat. They are aware of this and they steadfastly refuse to move away from their villages and forests.

The ownership of land and forest produce is not fixed in these areas. Traditional sharing methods are more persistent. No R & R package will do justice to the tribal communities here.

It is amazing and at the same time unfortunate and disappointing to note that the media and the civil society have written very little about this! It is unequivocally the largest displacement and destruction of natural flora and fauna in Post-47 India.

As recommendations what flow out evidently from the initial findings are that:

1. The government of Andhra Pradesh should immediately come out with a White Paper on all issues related to the Polavaram Dam Project. All construction work including that of canals should be stopped forthwith till a proper review is made after a discussion on the White Paper by the people of the affected areas, civil society and experts of peoples’ organizations.

2. The President of India through the Governor of Andhra Pradesh should seek a report on the impact of the project on the tribals in the area as per the 5th Schedule of the Constitution of India. Such a report should be made by experts who have worked on the issues of the tribals including various laws related with the 5th Schedule. Till the Presidential review is done all construction work related to the dam should be suspended.

3. The Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy package announced by the Andhra Pradesh government and the ground realities of the use of force and coercion by the local administration on the people in all the 9 mandals should be enquired into by an independent committee comprising of experts who have knowledge on the various aspects of tribal life and livelihood.

4. The central government should initiate immediately a process to study the alternative plans for utilizing the waters in Godavari as well as other rivers and tributaries in Andhra Pradhesh made by expert committees and peoples’ organizations.

5. A judicious and acceptable plan to redistribute the waters in the river Godavari among the Andhra, Telengana and Rayalaseema regions.

An all India Fact-finding team:
1. Dr. BD Sharma, Former National Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Tribes
2. Dr. Jayashankar, former Vice-chancellor, Kakatiya University, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh
3. Dr. I. Thirumali, Reader in History, University of Delhi
4. G N Saibaba, Lecturer in English, University of Delhi
5. Shirish Medhi, Social Activist from Mumbai
6. Dr. Gopinath, Eminent Cardiologist, Khammam, Andhra Pradesh
7. Rona Wilson, Research Scholar, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi
8. Ajay Mishra, Reporter, Sunday Post (Hindi), New Delhi
9. Suresh Kumar, Advocate, Hyderabad
10. Ch. Prabhakar, Advocate, Hyderabad
11. Ravichandra, Teacher, AP Government Residential School, Hyderabad

8th March 2007.

Preliminary report by the All India independent fact finding team on Nandigram Massacre

2007-04-01T20:04:00.000+05:30

Preliminary report by the All India independent fact finding team on Nandigram Massacre

The ghastly massacre at Nandigram came to be known to us through phone calls from West Bengal on March 14th around noon. The firing was on and we were told that tens had died and hundreds lied wounded. Some of us sent faxes and emails to the Prime Minister of India, Sonia Gandhiji, Pronab Mukherjee, Shivraj Patil and informed some others including the Governor of West Bengal. We also sent a letter to the Hon’ble Chief Justice, Kolkata High Court and same was accepted as a PIL by the High Court. The stories of brutality and continued state sponsored terror in Nandigram kept arriving.

We then gathered from different parts of India in Kolkata, after hearing about this barbaric incident and rushed to the affected area. With knowledge of the background of the struggle and conflict between the State and CPI (M) on one hand and the people – farmers, fish workers, labourers, artisans and others, we proceeded with senior activitists from Bengal and reached out to maximum number of people in the fields and in hospitals. We tried to collect first hand information, whatever available to apprehend exactly what had happened on the 14th of March 2007 and thereafter in Nandigram. The members of the team include:

Medha Patkar(NBA & National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements)

D. Thankappan (New Trade Union Initiative)

Dr. B. D. Sharma ( Bharat Jan Andolan)

Tridib Ghosh (People’s Democratic Front of India, Ranchi, Jharkhand)

G N Saibaba (Preparatory Committee for the Formation of Anti Displacement Front, Ranchi Conference)

Arun Khote (National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights)

Rakesh Rafiq (Juba Bharat)

Ram Dhiraj (Azadi Bachao Andolan)

Sreemant (Kalinga Nagar Movement)

Mehr Engineer (Scientist and Academician)

The team visited various villages in the Nandigram area and PG hospital Kolkata, Nandigram and Tamluk (district) hospitals. The team also met the District Magistrate and Collector of East Midnapur district and talked to various political and people’s organizations. The team has conducted elaborate interviews with the villagers in the affected area and also talked to the victims and their relatives.

Some of the members of the team investigated into the January incidence in Nandigram and so the team is aware of a number of issues involved in the present situation.

When the team visited the various hamlets of Gokulnagar village Pachayat including Adhikaripara; Sonachura including Bhangabera; Maheshpur and Hazarakanta, a number of facts relating to the incident have come out.
1. The people, majority of them women, informed us of the incidence that occurred in Gokulnagar and Sonachura with total unanimity. They said that they were receiving threats of attacks from the CPI (M) leaders and cadres since days. The attack was supposed to be immediately after the school exams but it was preponed.

2. We were also told that Secretary, Home Affairs, Mr. P. R. Roy had categorically stated publicly that the Government would forcibly enter and establish the rule of law in Nandigram. A similar statement came from I.G., law and order. The likelihood of state repression was therefore known to the people all over the state of West Bengal at least 2 days before the incident. There were some protests in Nandigram.

3. The police entered from Khejuri and Tekhali villages, the known bases of CPI (M) into the villages Sonachura and Gokulnagar respectively. The police entered the area from 3 entry points which are Garchakraberia, Bhangabera and 7th ward of Jalpai village. In both the places the people were conducting Pooja (worship) or reading Quran alternatively at that time when the police entered the villages. They were worshipping Mahaprabhu Gourangadev by placing his statue of sage who was a social reformer. Apparently they were protesting the announced entry of the police but also peacefully involved in religious activities believing that they would be protected by God. At both the places the women and children were in the forefront. They expressed that they placed women and children in the front expecting that police would not attack them. The nature of protest shows us clearly that it was peaceful and there was no possibility of any untoward incident happening. There was no need for police firing on the people who had gathered in these two places.

4. The women waved their hands and shouted that they should not be attacked upon and also appealed to the police that they were only conducting Pooja and Police should not interfere or enter the villages.

5. Without giving any time to the people the police started firing the tear gas shells and rubber bullets. As per the report of the people the entire area was covered with smoke. Within 10 minutes, even before the people could realise what was happening, the police started firing bullets mostly above the waistline. The women were specially targeted including those who were trying to flee away. At both the places there was stampede and chaos. At Bhangabera, the police chased the villagers firing from the back for two kilometres into Sonachura village.

6. Apart from the initial firing and killing of the people, the police continued firing in the villages for the next 24 hours by cordoning off the villages to prevent entry of outsiders including the press. There was large scale looting, burning of the village houses and property and raping as reported by the local people. The police and cadres of CPI (M) entered various houses, mercilessly beat and dragged people out and raped and molested the women inside.

7. The local press reports make it very clear that the state Government and East Midnapore district police administration were well prepared for the attack on the villagers which was corroborated by the people’s narration. For example, the East Midnapore police administration requested for 40,000 rounds of ammunition and 40 ambulances from the state administration a few days before the incident. This clearly shows that the whole attack on the villagers was well-planned one whereas the people were totally unprepared for this brutality.

8. According to the oral narrations of the villagers, the police resorted to firing while the CPI (M) cadres were directing them closely. The CPI (M), mostly mobilized from outside these villages were in khaki uniforms but wearing chappals. The women in Adhikaripara in Gokulnagar clearly told us that the uniforms didn’t fit them mostly and they wore Red tags in their wrists. The villagers referred to these khaki clad non-police personnel as cadre Vahini or Harmad Vahini. This Vahini was also named as Laxman Sena indicating that this was a mercenary force specially prepared by the local MP of CPI (M) who led the police and CPI (M) cadres in person on that day. The people in the villages namely Sonachura, Tekhali Bazaar, Gokulnagar Panchayat reported us that this ‘Harmad Vahini’ entered their villages in hundreds from the Khejuri side. These cadres fired indiscriminately from local made and imported weapons and the hospital authorities confirmed injury marks of bullets other than those used by the police have been found on the victims. The people told us that this Harmad Vahini is notorious for its acts of murder and making the dead bodies disappear.

9. The people of Sonachura village reported that about 35 children who were studying in a Ramakrishna Saral Kindergarten Vidyalaya are still missing. Their whereabouts are not known. There are cases of missing children from other villages too. The parents naturally are very worried and apprehend that they were killed and their bodies have been abducted. The villagers reported that these ‘Harmad Vahini’ not only kills but also abducts the dead bodies in a routine manner. They also told us that the school uniforms of 2 children were found in the bushes nearby. Incident of the children being killed and torn apart by pulling aside their 2 legs were also reported.

10. The villagers of the Sonachura repeated time and again with anguish that many dead bodies of the people killed by the firing were buried by the police with the help of CPI (M) cadres in the trenches dug by the villagers earlier to restrict entry of outsiders into the villages. If this report is to be believed, the authorities should immediately arrange for digging of the filled in trenches to verify this claim. The villagers also reported that some dead bodies were carried away in a truck.

11. The other very brutal aspect was while the villagers were trying to nurse the wounded, they were severely beaten by the police and also ambulances were prevented in rescue operation.

12. The still continuing presence of police in the area is a matter of great concern to the villagers because the police was providing protection and support to the CPI (M) goons. The current situation is also preventing the children to go to the schools and the women from going to the market. All the schools in that area are closed as of now. The police continue to invade the village houses from time to time.

13. In Sonachura, it was during our presence that the information of three persons being kidnapped reached the villagers and the youths from the families of the victims became furious screaming and abusing police. They were pacified by the other villagers and our team members.

14. We were reported by women in Gokulnagar that the police were trying to make vulgar gestures on March 16th when the women had to run away to save themselves from any untoward incidence.

15. Women, raped and molested, were interviewed by us in the hospitals who have faced physical injury and mental shock but with no lady doctor or counsellors to take care of. The investigation to establish rape was also not completed.

16. A number of wounded persons, children to the aged and a large number were still lying in the villages unable to reach the hospitals and were being threatened by the CPI (M) attacks from the adjacent areas.

17. The people expressed their helplessness not being able to file FIRs, many being illiterate and outside supporters were not yet been able to reach them, especially due to CPI(M) protests and blockades.

18. Hundreds of families especially labourers, informed us that they were without any income over days while others complained of not being permitted to visit Tekhali Market by CPI M) goons. Many families could not cook and eat two meals over last two days, while they could not have peaceful sleep over weeks.

19. The people invariably, especially the women screaming in pain and anguish were emphatic in their expression and demand that Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya as C.M. and Home Minister should be held responsible and guilty and should be punished for cold-blooded murder of women and children. They even demanded that capital punishment be given to the guilty when a poor person like Dhananjay faced the same for a rape and murder.

20. With many families having faced death and devastation and all the communities in the area shattered, the people are still unanimous with their resolve that they will not allow their land and resources to be taken over. Even with the Left Front’s decision reaching them, the people feel suspicious of the state’s plans and were determined to continue the struggle with unity and no divisions within.

Our demands:

1. A Judicial Enquiry with a sitting Supreme Court Judge into the whole incidence of firing and associated atrocities on the people of the villages of Nandigram. Punish all the culprits who are directly or indirectly responsible for this barbaric act.

2. Immediate investigation into the missing cases of people from each of the affected village of this area, if necessary with a household survey by an independent agency. Digging up of the trenches where people suspect that the dead bodies have been buried near the canal of Bhangabera.

3. Immediate withdrawal of the police force not in phases and restrict the CPI (M) from any kind of protest, repression and attack.

4. A formal and official announcement with written notification of the withdrawal of the proposal of the Nandigram SEZ, Chemical Hub allotted to the developer Salim group of Indonesia.

5. Withdrawal of all the proposals of SEZs across India along with the very SEZ ACT.

6. Constitution of the concerned citizens’ committee with prominent democrats to start a process of establishing normalcy in the affected areas of Nandigram.

7. Adequate compensation package for the victims and proper treatment for the injured after shifting them to Kolkata hospitals so that they get sufficient care and medical facility.

8. The medical case profiles of the victims should be protected and deposited immediately with an independent and neutral agency.

Meeting with Mr Anup Kumar Agarwal, East Midnapore District Magistrate and Collector on 17th March 2007, between 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm.

After visiting various villages and hospitals the All India Fact Finding team members met the District Magistrate at his office and presented some of the concerns expressed by the villagers. The team expressed their shock over the unprecedented and unheard of police atrocities on the villagers of Nandigram including large number of women and children. The reign of terror prevailing in the area was a continuing threat to peace to the area. The team expressed that the villagers were concerned about the large number of children missing from 14th March and continued attacks on women and their homes by the uniformed personnel, harassment of the villagers including the women being prevented from going to market and children to schools and the situation must be addressed by the administration precisely to bring back normalcy.

On the pointed questions relating to the incident of 14th March, the collector refused to talk on the same on the plea that the matter was under investigation by the CBI under High Court’s direction. He expressed to the team that he had no information on missing children, nor any attack on women and told that no such police complain has been reported. The team members pointed out to him that the continued presence of police camps in the area creates constant fear to the villagers from reporting the incidents to the police. The team pointed out to him that the appalling conditions of the injured persons admitted in the Nandigram hospital, inadequate facilities in the hospital need urgent transfer of patients numbering around 20 to Kolkata hospitals. It was reported that due to the inadequacy of ambulance facilities the transfer of the injured to the city hospitals was not being done. When the team members enquired with him why the request of inspecting the dead bodies in the mortuary were being denied to the relatives and even to the elected representatives, he replied quickly that if the question was related to Ms. Mamta Banerjee’s visit to the hospital on 14th midnight, then at that night the mortuary didn’t have any lighting and hence was closed to visitors.

Subsequently the team members enquired further that the manner in which the District Magistrate’s casual replies showed that this was just to avoid the real question. The team members found out from other sources that the excuse given that night was that the key of the mortuary was missing. As a matter of fact both these reasons were simply lame excuses to hide the reality. When the team members appealed to him for the immediate withdrawal of police forces from the Nandigram area, he said that it would be reviewed later. No specific commitment was given on the question of police withdrawal and timeline. The District Magistrate gave an impression that he had no role to play in it. He however said that he would look into the matter of shifting the patients to the city hospitals. The impression of the team members on the responses of the District Magistrate to various issues raised by the team undoubtedly were of a casual nature and not responsive for an official with authority.

POLICE GOES MAD AT JANTAR MANTAR

2007-03-24T08:01:00.000+05:30

We apologies as we didn’t able to publish a single news/article on the people’s resistance from North East till now. We should have published at least on the resistance against Tipaimukh project. The major reason is our lack of knowledge for which we do criticize ourselves. We would request our readers to send us reports on people’s resistance and exploitations from every corner of India. We really like to learn from our readers.

This time we received a report on police atrocity over Kuki students in Delhi.

Another update Police at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi went berserk and Lathi Charged, threw tear gas sheels and beaten black and blue 100s of Kukis who were on protest there. Many injured and situation really tensed. On other front we have been trying to get the bail securities for our arrested comrades, the process is still on as they all languish in Tihar Jail. we will keep you posted on various developments.

More details to follow keep watch on www.action2007.net

Madhuresh

Kuki Students' Organisation
Delhi Branch (Regd.No.2991 of 1978)

APPEAL

The Kuki Students' Oganisation will be staging a protest rally on March 23,2007 from Jantar Mantar to Parliament street, New Delhi at 1:00pm. The rally is to protest against:

1.The capture and forced deportation of 400 Kuki Indian displaced persons by the Manipur valley based militant group, United National Liberation Front (UNLF) in collusion with the Myanmar military junta. The Kuki villagers were displaced due to landmines and inhumane terrorization by the UNLF. On March 13,2007 the displaced Kuki villagers were captured from the refugee camp in TS Laijang village in Chandel district of Manipur and deported them to Lallim/Namunta village in Myanmar where they remain as captives till today. The fate of the 400 Kuki Indian citizens who were forcefully deported to Myanmar is a serious crime and a gross human rights violation.

2.The ongoing human displacement caused by the terror tactics of the UNLF who tortured, torched, killed, uprooted and displaced the Kukis from their homes in the wake of the state sponsored counter-insurgency military operation in Chandel, Manipur. More than 39 villages from Chadel, Manipur have been displaced by the UNLF. The planting of destructive landmines and IEDs by the UNLF in Chandel, Manipur, which has killed 33 innocent Kuki villagers in Chandel district alone. Moreover many innocent villagers have lost their limbs to the deadly mines.
3.The unaccountable and irresponsible attitude of the Government of Manipur who still remain a silent spectator to the deteriorating serious problems of its citizens who are in crisis.

The Kuki Students' Organisation requests your humble presence and appeal for your sincere participation in voicing the serious issues that is still ignored and neglected.

Lamtinthang Haokip
General Secretary
Kuki Students' Oganisation Delhi

**********************************************
CACIM, A-3 Defence Colony, New Delhi 110 024, India
Ph : +91-11-4155 1521, +91-98-1890 5316 (Mobile)
madhuresh@cacim.net / kmadhuresh@gmail.com
www.cacim.net
Check out the OpenSpaceForum @ www.openspaceforum.net

Italian metalworkers advocate for humane development

2007-03-24T07:39:00.000+05:30

The Fiat unions have publicly called on the company, and on Tata, to site the plant elsewhere. This is extremely important - the delay in achieving this was the divisions in the Italian trade union movement, publiching a statement/initiative by one union without getting all three would cause further division.

This should in my view be given maximum publicity in India, brought to the attention of all unions, national centers, and be circulated aggressively in the press.

In solidarity
Peter Rossman

Location of new industrial center in India threatens agricultural community

ITALY/INDIA: Italian affiliates of the International Metalworkers’ Federation are urging FIAT for clarification about the establishment of a new production unit in India.

“According to press reports, the Fiat Group is involved in the setting up of a new Tata Motors plant at Singur in the Indian state of West Bengala for the production of a low cost car,” read a joint statement from the Italian unions.

“International and Indian labour groups have voiced concern that such an industrial establishment would have a devastating impact on the fertile agricultural area, which is home to about 22,000 inhabitants, many of whom would receive no indemnity at all for the expropriation of their land.

“The area involved has in recent months been the site of protest demonstrations and, unfortunately, repressive measures taken against the farmers including the arrests of trade union leaders.

“The Fim, Fiom and Uilm National Secretariats in Italy are requesting that clarification be given on any participation of the Fiat Group in this initiative. They are demanding that FIAT, together with Tata Motors, take initiatives so to ensure that the government of West Bengala sets aside a location other than Singur in order to make the necessary industrial development possible while safeguarding the living conditions of the agricultural community.”

Link

2007-03-23T20:04:00.001+05:30

To All friends,

62 activists along with Medha Patkar, Com. P Chennaiah were illegally detained and arrested at Yojna Bhavan, Delhi.

The women activists were brutally assaulted, manhandled, molested by male police.

62 activists, more than half women, along with Medha Patkar were detained and arrested on 22^nd March 2007. Among the arrested was Com. P Chennaiah, the President of our Alliance and General Secretary of APPVU, Andhra Pradesh.

On World Water Day, a group of representatives of various communities and people's organisations participating in the Sangharsh /Action 2007 held at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi had gone to Yojna Bhavan (Planning Commission) to symbolically protest against the deprivation, water scarcity faced by a majority of people of rural and urban poor of this country.

When the protesters, a majority of whom are women were raising slogans peacefully, the Rapid Action Force along with the police forcibly arrested them. They were beaten up and physically abused, and women activists were manhandled by the male policemen, pulling and tearing their clothes and using filthy abusive language.

In this context, we appeal to you to strongly protest against this assault of women activists by the police and unlawful arrest of the protesters.

You are requested to immediately write, fax or email to the Prime Minister of India and the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission.

Please respond urgently.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, Honourable Prime Minister, Fax: 011-23019545 / 011-23016857 (O)
Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission Fax: 011- 23096699 (O) / 011- 23011296

With warm solidarity,

Swapan Ganguly

(Organising Secretary)

National Alliance of Agricultural Workers' Unions

Debate

2007-03-23T11:02:00.000+05:30

We believe it is important to recognize the enemy to win a struggle. And DEBATE plays very important role there. Therefore, we always encourage debate. We have already expressed our view, but we appreciate others.

We once again raise our voice for the nationwide cancellation of SEZ to make sure that Nandigram is not going to happen again.

INSAAF'S Statement:
"We strongly demand to restrain police brutality in Nandigram"

We strongly demand to restrain police brutality and protect the lives and rights of the villagers TV reports from Calcutta indicate that since early morning today (the 14th of March), thousands of policemen have surrounded Nandigram. There have been a number of deaths and serious injuries, as a result of violent police incursions into the villages. We deplore the Left Front Government's apparent desire to bypass democratic procedures of consultation and negotiation, and its decision to accomplish the pacification of Nandigram through massive intimidation and violence. This runs counter to Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's earlier assurances that 'persuasion' rather than coercion would be used in the area. We are horrified at this turn of events, and strongly demand that immediate measures should be taken to restrain police brutality and protect the lives and rights of the villagers who are presently facing reprisals and intimidation from the state. We also believe that the Left has a duty to intervene, since the West Bengal Government bears direct responsibility for this cycle of violence, and events like these will only add fuel to the right-wing forces that it purports to oppose.

Arundhati Roy
Praful Bidwai
Sumit Sarkar
Krishna Majumdar
Sumit Chakravartty
Tanika Sarkar
Colin Gonzalves
S.Saradamani
Achin Vanaik
Gargi Chakravartty
Chitra Joshi
Prabhu Mahapatra
Neeladri Bhattacharya
Dilip Simeon
Aditya Nigam
Satya Sivaraman
Gautam Mody
Asad Bin Saif
Roasa Basanti
Ninglun
Aditya Sarkar
Uditi Sen
Sanjukta Sundareshan
Anil chaudhary
Wilfred Dcosta
Sree Prakash

A REPLY TO

INSAAF'S "We strongly demand to restrain police brutality in Nandigram"

Dear friends,

At this point it is quite ridiculous to 'demand to restrain police brutality' and at the same time it does not matter whatever strength you put on it. Do you think state machineries ever acted in restrained and gentle manner when faced with active resistance? The fact is that:

Unarmed protestors were mercilessly butchered... Now people are coming out to question the justification of this brutal police action in Nandigram on the bloody Wednesday 14 March 2007 and the legitimacy of the CPIM-dictated West Bengal Government to remain in power any longer. It is evident that party goons were also used to kill the fighting villagers. Remember how Benoy konar the so-called Kisan leader of CPIM openly instigated them to do so. All sensible citizens including many comrades-in-arms, activists and intellectuals who even campaigned in last Assembly Election for CPIM are demanding resignation of this cold-blooded murderer Buddha, the mastermind of this massacre.

More than 2,000 advocates of the West Bengal Bar Association took out a procession to protest against the killing at Nandigram on the same day. Should we not demand the dismissal of the whole Buddha cabinet as none of his associates can deny their responsibilities? Their anti-people governance has already been reflected in all their economic policies, political attitudes and suppression of protesting voices by bullets and batons since long. We may recall the instances from Marichjhapi(1977) to now Nandigram. It is clear now that they have been betraying the people from the very beginning of their rule.

Should we let these murderers go scot-free? Should we not unequivocally condemn this massacre? Shouldn't we demand their trial in an International Court represented by the Citizens of the World? Shouldn't we mobilize masses to tear down this capitalist nexus of Tata-Salim-Buddha-Biman to pieces?

Friends, please open your eyes. Otherwise it would be too late.

Asis Das

Report of Investigation Into Nandigram Mass Killings

2007-03-23T07:48:00.000+05:30

Background
Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) and Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS) put forward a petition to the Kolkata High Court on 15th March 2007 urging immediate intervention of the court to reinstate safety and security of the villagers in Nandigram. The organisations also pleaded for an interim order restraining the state administration from preventing them from reaching Nandigram to provide assistance to injured and deceased villagers.

On 15th March 2007, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Honourable Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Honourable Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh also took suo moto note of the incident. It also passed orders on the petition of APDR and PBKMS and reprimanded the state government stating
” it seems as if the Police Department which is under the control of the Home Department is not even aware of the existence of Article 21 of the Constitution of India…..This Article specifically guarantees that ‘no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law’. Oblivious of the aforesaid guarantee, the police has resorted to gun firing on a large crowd protesting against the proposal to acquire their land.”

Further the order states “we are satisfied that this action of the police department is wholly unconstitutional and can not be justified under any provision of law." The court also stated "Such kind of force can not be justified except in the cases of armed insurgency or warlike situation. Innocent farmers and villagers can hardly be put into the aforesaid bracket."

The court in its order directed the followings:

It restrained the state administration from stopping the petitioner organisations and other NGOs from reaching Nandigram to provide assistance to injured and deceased villagers.

The court directed the CBI to immediately send an investigating team to the strife -torn area and look into the circumstances that led to the police firing which claimed innumerable casualties in Nandigram. The CBI team is directed to immediately visit Nandigram and any other surrounding affected area and collect the entire relevant materials of firing by the police and combat forces to be presented before the court in the form of a report.

It directed the district administration to ensure that the unclaimed dead bodies are handed over to the appropriate authorities and the identified dead bodies are handed over to the lawful claimants after due legal formalities have been concluded, such as post mortem and inquest report, so that the relatives are able to perform the last rites of the deceased.

The state government has also been directed to file an affidavit setting out the reasons for the police action which has been taken against the population of Nandigram by resorting indiscriminate firing by the police. The affidavit should also disclose the material on the basis of which the order for firing was issued.

The court also directed that under no circumstances any evidence should be destroyed by any person and instructed the CBI to collect all evidence including the post-mortem conducted on the victims of the firing.

In view of the absolutely volcanic situation created, the court further directed the state government to ensure the safety and well-being of all the general public in the area. The state is also directed to take adequate measure to provide medical facilities to the injured villagers.

In response to the above, the two petitioner organisations along with some concerned individuals visited Nandigram and Tamluk and the affected villages on 15th and 16th March 2007. The team consisted of Amit Dyuti Kumar, Anurada Talwar, Arjun Das, Bibek Tripathy, Chiroranjan Pal, Jeeban Modak, Panchali Roy, Pramod Gupta, Prasad Roychowdhury, Raghunath Chakraborty, Sandeep Singha, Sadhan Roychowdhury, Dr. (Mrs.) Subrata Sarkar, Sujoy Ganguly and Subrata Roy.

Response of the Administration
At about 8 PM on 15.03.2007 a team went to the office of the District Magistrate, Purba Medinipore where Mr. Anup Agarwal, District Magistrate, Purba Medinipore was present. The team expressed their strong resolve to go to Nandigram and sought the assistance of the District Magistrate to enable the team to proceed for Nandigram immediately.

The District Magistrate, Purba Medinipore, however, flatly refused to entertain any such request for rendering assistance to the team on various counts or grounds saying that the District Magistrate, Purba Medinipore is not a party in the writ petition and that the said District Magistrate, Purba Medinipore has no legal or moral obligation to entertain any of the requests on the subject. Then the District Magistrate, Purba Medinipore advised the members of the team not to go to Nandigram on the ground that seeing the members of the team the people of Nandigram may be charged thereby there will be apprehension of breach of law and order. The apprehension that the team would encourage disorder was also echoed by Kalyan Banerjee, ASP on Special Duty whom we met at Chandipur police station.

The impression we got was that the administration was unhappy about outside intervention in Nandigram even though people were in dire need of aid of all kinds.

Before the 14th
In spite of prior information of amassing of arms and goons and appeals by the Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee before 6th January, no action was taken then by the police to prevent attacks by armed party cadre on the 6th January. From 6th January onwards, there were almost daily attacks from the Khejuri side of the Talpati Canal by the CPM. The Haldia Development Authority, of which Lakshman Seth, CPM MP, is the Chairperson, tried an economic blockade by stopping the ferry, the main means of transport for agricultural goods from Nandigram villages to Haldia. CPM had regular camps on the roads that led to Nandigram and organised harassment of all media, social activists and even common people who tried to enter the area. The police invasion of Nandigram was only ordered when after two and half months the party goons and leaders in surrounding areas failed to suppress the local anti land acquisition movement. There seems to have been no other pressing reason for the attack suddenly at this juncture.
From press reports, it is obvious that the action in Nandigram was planned and executed in advance. On the 12th itself media reports began coming in showing that such action was being planned by the State Government. An all party meeting which was boycotted by the members and parties in the Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee decided on action for the police to enter Nandigram. That high level people in the administration along with ministers and top level decision makers were involved is also clear from the fact that armed police battalions were brought in from Krishnanagar, Jalpaiguri and many other places. News reports also speak of a planning meeting before the operation on the 14th where CPM party leaders and a senior police official sat together in a party office at Kunjapur.
The Government also seemed ready for some unpleasant consequences. The District Magistrate for example justified actions on the 14th by informing us that “such unhappy events would have happened whenever we had gone into the area”.

The team met Nilanjana Dasgupta, SDO, Tamluk Subdivision, on 15th evening at Tamluk hospital. According to Nilanjana Dasgupta, SDO, Tamluk Subdivision, the action on 14th March 2007 in Nandigram was not known in advance by her. No discussion on such an action being taken by the district administration took place beforehand. She was also not sure whether there was any provocation that led to the decision to use police force, as the area was cut off from the rest of the district and they had no idea of what was happening inside. She had heard that a gang rape had taken place there, which may have been a causative factor, but was not able to say whether this was a confirmed report. She also said there was some concern about rising food prices and food shortages in the area.

The fact that things spun out of control of the district administration can be gauged from the fact that SDO Tamluk subdivision was in a development meeting that day when the firing was taking place. All BDOs and Sabhapatis of the blocks in Tamluk subdivision were with her. She was asked at 2.30 PM to stop the meeting and to rush to the district hospital immediately to get the hospital ready to receive the wounded from Nandigram.

The general impression that we got from talking to some people in the administration was that there were in fact attempts by the ASP and other police officials to start confidence building measures in the local area so that the police could start gradually going in. Along with this, there had also been planning for the administration to go in with food relief in order to build up people’s confidence. One section of the administration was therefore totally taken by surprise by the events on the 14th.

Combined Party Police Action

From reports and testimonies that we received it seems that the command of the police force was in the hands of the CPM party leaders. A number of CPM leaders at the local level were also present. The invasion itself was planned by both party and police officials, Police uniforms were used by party cadre and important local leaders who were a part of the invading force.
"....I went to attend the puja there and police started chasing and while running I fell down and the police and other people(dressed in police uniforms but no police boots instead sandals) started beating me up mercilessly...." Konoklata Das W/o Rabin Chandra Das Residence- Soudkhali Chowk

".....They were men dressed in uniforms along with the police but they were wearing sandals and not police boots. Some of them were carrying lathis while there were those who were carrying guns..."Sreekanta Mandal. S/o Ganesh Mandal. Residence- Sonachura

According to the villagers and wounded people, there were many goons and leaders of the CPI (M) party with the police during the police violence. They have also identified some of them. The names of the identified goons and leaders are as follows:
From Khejuri :
1. Bijon Roy
2. Rabiul Khan
3. Himangshu Das
4. Swadhin Pramanik
5. Kebal Das s/o Haripada Das

Nandigram :
1. Ashok Guria , President District Committee AIKS
2. Naba Samanta, Brother of Shankar Samanta, Sonachura
3. Joydeb Paik, (LCS) Sonachura
4. Badal Mondal, Sonachura
5. Anup Mondal, Panchyat Member of Sonachura
6. Bapi Bhuiya, President of Krishak Sabha
7. Sukesh Shanki, Member of Panchayat Samity
8. Lakshman Mondal, Pradhan, 10 No. Sonachura Gram Panchayat
9. Chandan Hajra, Party Member
10. Rabin Bera, ( LCM of Saud khali)
11. Arjun Maity,
12. Iasin Khan, Pradhan, 9 No.Anchal
13. Satadal Das

Anup Mondal, Panchayat member, during the incident on 14th was reported to be using a hand mike to tell people to allow police to do its job.
One of the patients clearly identified the CPM goons present. His testimony is given below.

Subodh Das, S/o Gangadhar Das, Age: 50, Residence: Gangra; Occupation: Van driver
I identified 8 of those who fired bullets; they are CPI (M) goons. They are :-
◊ Lakhman Mondal. Gangra
◊ Badal Mondal, Sonachura
◊ Joydeb Paik, Sonachura
◊ Anup Mondal, Sonachura
◊ Sukesh Sanki, Sonachura (South)
◊ Bapi Bhuiya, Sonachura (South)
◊ Kebol Das, Kunjapur (Khejuri)
◊ Parusaram Mondal, Sonachura

According to the witnesses we met, police officials under whom Wednesday's firing took place were as follows :-

1) IG Western Range Arun Gupta
2) DIG N. Ramesh Babu
3) S.P. East Midnapore Anil G Srininvasan
4) OC Khejuri PS Amit Hati
5) SDPO Swapan Sinha

It was also reported that the CPM had hidden large stocks of arms in the following places :-
1) Party Office in Kunjapur
2) ICDS building in Ranichawk
3) Janani Brickfield in Sherkhanchawk- where a new bathroom has been made, there is a septic tank which is unused.
4) Bijon Roy's house in Khejuri

Download full report with photos

Interim Report of the Citizens’ Committee on Singur and Nandigram

2007-03-23T07:39:00.000+05:30

We, a group of concerned citizens with a Left orientation, visited some disturbed parts of West Bengal, between 26 and 28 January, 2007, as a fact finding team. Our team consisted of Prof. Sumit Sarkar, historian; Colin Gonsalves, Senior Supreme Court Advocate; Sumit Chakravartty, senior journalist; Krishna Majumdar, Delhi University; Tanika Sarkar, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Three members of the team had earlier visited Singur on 31 December 2006 and 10 January 2007. Three members again visited Singur on 28 January 2007. The members visited the following places at Singur in Hooghly: Khaser Bheri, Beraberi Purbapara, Gopalnagar, Bajemelia. At Nandigram (Purba Medinipur) we visited Bhuta Mor, Kalicharanpur, Garchakraberia, Sonachura. We also visited Bhangabera at Khejuri.

At all these places we were met with huge gatherings of people and also had extensive discussions with individual villagers, men and women. At Tamluk, Contai and Nandigram, we met District Committee members of the CPI-M, including Lakshman Seth, MP and Chairperson of the Haldia Development Authority, and Prashanta Pradhan, MP ; Prabodh Panda, MP, CPI; Shishir Adhikari and Shubhendu Adhikari, MLAs, Trinamul Congress; Siddiqulla Choudhury, leader of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind; Debaprasad Sarkar, MLA, SUCI; Santosh Rana, PCC, CPI-ML. We also met a cross section of activists from these parties and leaders of the Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee, Nandigarm and Singur Krishi Jami Raksha Committee. We consulted civil rights groups, police sources and previous fact-finding reports of the CPI-M and other organisations.

We have prepared a brief interim report within a day of our return to be followed by a final report. Our unanimous impressions are as follows:

At Nandigarm, all sections of the village people that we met, women as well as men, vociferously expressed bitter anger about the land acquisition process. They had heard rumours of land acquisition for the last year and a half, and had organised themselves to resist it. They had not been consulted at any stage, nor had any elected body (panchayats or gram sansads ) been called to discuss the issue. On 3 January, people went to the Gram Panchayat office at Kalicharanpur to ask for information about a notice that had been reportedly issued by the Haldia Development Authority. They had heard that about thirtyeight mouzas would be engrossed within the land earmarked for the SEZ under the Selim group. On being told by the Pradhan that no information had come, they demonstrated peacefully and left. They alleged that soon afterwards, the police attacked them with lathis and teargas and then fired upon them. Four people were badly injured.

A large crowd, including many women, carrying household implements like sharp knives, then came out and there was an hour long confrontation, after which the police retreated in some confusion. According to eyewitnesses among villagers at Bhuta Mor, a police jeep drove off course and hit a lamp post while trying to escape. The jeep got completely burnt through the ensuing electric short circuit, a policeman fell out into a pond and another tripped on the road and fell. The villagers rescued them and, after a light beating, sent them back. They had left behind a rifle, which was subsequently sent back to the thana. Immediately, villagers began to erect barricades, bridges were broken and roads dug up to prevent the entry of the police and of CPM cadres into the villages. We saw hundreds of such barricades which are still in place.

A police camp was set up on the border between Nandigram and Khejuri. On 6 January, at around 5 PM, villagers saw the police vacating that camp. That night, a launch drew up on Haldi river at the ferryghat there. According to villagers of Sonachura and adjoining villages, a very large number of strangers, fully armed, disembarked, and occupied the police camp. At around 3 AM, villagers woke to the sound of bombs and gunfire, coming from the house of Sankar Samanta, a CPM activist. As they rushed towards the spot, they found the dead bodies of two village youths, Bharat Mondol and Sheikh Selim. When the body of thirteen year old Biswajit Mondol was found, villagers, in their fury, turned upon the Samanta residence and torched it, killing Sankar Samanta. Since then, they live under daily intimidation from CPM cadres, expecting massive retaliation. We found village women extremely apprehensive, begging us to spend the night with them.

We were told of these incidents by very large groups of villagers in different places. Their accounts tallied. An overwhelming majority of them said that they had always been CPM members or Left Front supporters till these events occurred. The account of events that Probodh Panda, CPI, MP, gave us, tallied with this, though he deplored the continued resistance by villagers, even after the Chief Minister’s assurance that nothing has so far been finalised about the Nandigram SEZ.

We were told by hundreds of Muslim women who surrounded us that they were determined to hold on to their land at all cost: “ Jami amra chharbuni”. “Even if we lose our sons and husbands, we will fight on, how many policemen can they send, there are more of us.” They said that even though poor, they produced most of their food and ran home based crafts like stitching of garments which were sold in Kolkata and Delhi: “What will happen to our shilpa? “They said that they put the CPM on the throne and the Party rewards them with a bamboo. They had ransacked the CPM local committee office at Rajaramchak on the grounds that “it was a house of sin. We had built it and now we ourselves are destroying it”. Further, they would not only lose their land and livelihood, but also villages, schools, homes, their entire community and culture.

They were totally sceptical of industries providing uneducated people like them with jobs. They, moreover, are doubtful that all the land will be used for industries since large tracts of Haldia land had not yet been utilised or been devoted to construction of rich residential buildings. They, moreover, see the Jellingham Project at Nandigram Block 1, where about 400 acres of land had been acquired in 1977 for ship repairs. One hundred and forty two families lost their land. The Project stopped functioning after five years and the site today lies deserted. Neither at Haldia nor at Jellingham, had any rehabilitation been done nor much compensation paid. Very few locals got jobs at either.

According to the CPM District Committee’s account, villagers were organised by the Trinamool and only Trinamool supporters were involved. They stoned the police and burnt the police jeep on 3 January, after which the police opened fire. On 7 January, villagers, again instigated by the Trinamool, had started the attack across the river and killed Sankar Samanta whom they described as “a very harmless man” who possessed a licensed gun, which was snatched by the villagers. There had been no firing from his house, according to Lakshman Seth. About the number of casualties, police sources, the CPM District Committee as well as villagers say that four people have died, one of them being Samanta. There was, then, one CPM casualty, the rest were villagers. However, according to an earlier account given out by the Central Committee of the CPM, six of their Party people have been killed. According to local Trinamool sources, the number of CPM casualties was much higher: seven (apart from Samanta) according to one and thirty one, according to another. Trinamool leaders say that CPM casualty figures are minimised by the Party as they were of outsiders who were allegedly criminals.

CPM leaders said that villagers who resist land acquisition are Trinamool members and only pretend to be Left supporters. When we told them that village women raised the left fist in salute as Communists do, Lakshman Seth said that they had been rehearsed by the Trinamool since they knew the enquiry committee was known to be leftist.

Our impression was that the people of Nandigram are prepared for a very hard struggle. It is being waged with remarkable communal amity and with participation from all political groups, many of whom had been CPM just the other day. “We were all CPM but now we only have our movement”, said a woman: “We do not want to wander around like gypsies, carrying tents on our back.” We found the movement to be a genuine peasant movement, activated by mass fury or “janarosh”, as Probodh Panda said, though he said now the Trinamool is trying to fish in troubled waters. We also feel that the fury was partly due to the total lack of transparency about the basic facts about land acquisition about which no government sources would inform them. They were not part of any discussion about matters that concerned their lives and livelihood.

The sequence of events in Singur is very well known. According to the Status Report issued by the CPM, most of the affected area is monocropped. They, however, seem to have used a land survey of the early seventies after which several deep tubewells have been sunk, and many shallow handpumps set up, increasing soil fertility enormously. According to villagers, most of the land is under four to five crops. There are also village based handicrafts, and a large number of rural ancillaries that employ very large numbers of people. We did find very green fields and relatively prosperous village homes. The people are very humiliated that their land has been described as poor in quality and their labour devalued as a backward form of work. The factory, they feel, will give work to very few of the displaced. Even in the unlikely event of one person per family getting a job in the factory, other members will not. Land is the foundation of their existence and they do not want to move over to factories.

Singur villagers learnt of the land acquisition for the Tata factory from newspapers, there being no Panchayat meeting or Party spokesman who informed them. They claim that holders of 360 acres have refused to accept the compensation. They also claim that compensation is well below the actual land price. In both Singur and Nandigram, unregistered sharecroppers and agricultural labourers – a very large number, of several thousands – are not included within the category of compensation receivers. Property alone has value, not labour.

It is generally acknowledged that Singur villagers have not used violence against persons so far, even though there has been considerable violence by the police against villagers who demonstrated against acquisition with peaceful satyagraha methods, especially on 25 September and 2 December. Despite the peacefulness of protestors, Section 144 was clapped on Singur PS and on all roads leading to Singur. Even where it does not exist, protestors are arrested for congregating, and ordinary vehicles are stopped and searched. Women were beaten up by male policemen, filthy language was used, villagers and student protestors lathi charged, resulting in severe injuries. The charge of possession of dangerous weapons had been clapped on a two and a half year girl who was sent to prison for several days and was deprived of baby food there.

Noted social activists like Medha Patkar have been frequently been picked up and opposition political leaders manhandled. Even in Kolkata where no Section 144 exists, protestors have been kept under lock up and have been arrested during peaceful demonstrations, and have been lathi charged. Particularly strange has been the fate of Tapasi Malik, a young girl, who was found brutally murdered on 18 December. The police seem to have obliterated most of the evidence during preliminary investigations, insisting that she was murdered by a boyfriend whose existence, however, can not be proved. The fact that she had been a political activist in the movement and may have had political enemies is not taken into account in investigations even though her father insists repeatedly that a local CPM cadre could be responsible. Her male relatives are harassed, and her young niece was questioned vulgarly about the state of her underclothes. No policewomen were present at the questioning though that is legally obligatory.

We found a determined peasant movement in Singur, peaceful so far, except for some recent attacks on the fence surrounding the surrounding land. Villagers are determined to fight on, regardless of the costs to themselves. They now say that they will not be beaten up without retaliation, they will fight back in whatever way that is effective.

In conclusion, we found powerful movements, determined to press on. Large segments of erstwhile CPM members and supporters are deeply alienated, against the Party and the Government. Muslims are terribly offended about misinformed aspersions cast at the Jamiat as communal and they are not satisfied by the invitation offered to their leaders by the Party leadership to come and discuss the matter. We concluded that the apprehensions of peasants are fully justified, as industries these days do not produce large numbers of jobs. There are alternative sites that can be acquired for industrialisation without damaging agriculture and village communities. Much peasant land has already been acquired for the New Rajarhat Township near Kolkata, creating environmental damage and dispossession of the poor. But it is earmarked for entirely non-developmental purposes to satisfy the demands of the very rich for their luxurious lifestyle. We also think that the media, on the whole, has been insensitive and irresponsible in their reporting. We urge the ruling Front to reconsider their land acquisition policy, to talk to all segments of the people and to listen seriously to their arguments. They need to think seriously about alternative sites for industrialisation that would not lead to the displacement of peasants. They need to think, in consultation with people, about the alternative forms of development. Otherwise, a rural civil war may ensue.

29 January 2007

Protest continues

2007-03-20T10:39:00.000+05:30

Let us condemn the brutal killings at Nandigram.

A Citizens' Meet organised by Nagarik Mancha on:

DEVELOPMENT -- DISPLACEMENT – ALTERNATIVES

20 March 2007 (Tuesday), 3pm, Jubo Kendra (Moulali)

Blast damages Singur site wall

2007-03-19T10:19:00.000+05:30

Statesman News Service
SINGUR (Hooghly), March 18: A portion of the boundary wall of the Tata Motors’ small car project site at Singur was damaged early today when explosives planted inside hollow iron pipes kept hidden in a drainage outlet went off. Explosives secreted in six other drainage outlets of the boundary wall near a Singur Krishi Jomi Raksha Committee camp at Gopalnagar Bospara were later detected.
The blast was triggered around 3:30 a.m. Officers of the bomb squad of the state police rushed to the spot and unearthed the high-intensity charges which were believed to have been planted to blow up the boundary wall. Police are still not sure of the brain behind the act.
“We are probing the matter. Nothing can be disclosed at this point of time,” Mr Anuj Sharma, DIG (Burdwan range), said. No one has been arrested in this connection.
A senior police officer said that policemen posted at the project site had heard the sound of an explosion coming from the Gopalnagar Bospara-end of the boundary wall early today. They reached the spot to find a portion of the wall damaged. The blast was triggered a few yards off a Singur Krishi Jomi Raksha Committee camp.
Senior officers were later informed of the explosion and a search was eventually mounted. Policemen found six iron pipes packed with explosives in six different drainage outlets of the boundary wall. The objects were later defused.
The incident sparked off tension and rumours of Maoist insurgents planting mines at the project site spread. Officers of the bomb squad said the entire boundary wall would have collapsed had all explosives been detonated at one go. Mr Partha Chattopadhyay, Leader of the Opposition, alleged that CPI-M supporters and policemen had planted the explosives to divert the people’s attention from the “genocide” at Nandigram. “The area has been under a strong security cover for the past couple of months. It is not possible for outsiders to sneak in to wreak havoc,” Mr Chattopadhyay said.

Link

Demand for resignation of Buddha and judicial enquiry

2007-03-19T07:09:00.000+05:30

Protest is going on against the brutal carnage in Nandigram of March 14, 2007 in various forms. We have some reservation on certain forms of protest, but we think it is our duty to reflect what is going on.

We have received two documents, one online petition asking resignation of Buddha and a sample petition calling for judicial enquiry in Nandigram violence of March 14, 2007, which is requested to either fax or mail.

First, we are giving these two documents, then we will express our view upon them.

Demand Resignation of Buddhadev Bhattacharjee

To: The Governor, West Bengal

Sir,

We are writing to express our strongest condemnation of the brutal and planned murder of peasants in Nandigram by the police on 14th March, 2007. From all available reports it is clear that an advance decision had been taken to shoot to kill, which alone can explain why so many people were shot well above the regulation below-the-knee height. From your press note and subsequent statements, from the statements of several non-CPI(M) member parties of the Left Front, as well as from news reports it is evident that the responsibility for this murderous action belongs primarily to Sri Buddhadev Bhattacharjee,. In this situation, we believe that the minimum that has to be done now is to compel Sri Bhattacharjee to resign. We therefore demand his resignation. There can be no democratic dialogue or any peaceful resolution of the current situation as long as he is at the helm of affairs.

Sincerely,

Click here to sign petition

Sample petition calling for judicial enquiry

To
The Chairman
The National Human Rights Commission,
New Delhi
ionhrc@nic.in
covdnhrc@nic.in
Tel.: +91 22 23384012
Fax: +91 22 23384863

CC:
I.
National Commission for Women
New Delhi
ncw@nic.in
Fax: +91-11-23236154
Complaints Cell: +91-11-23219750

II.
National Commission for Minorities
New Delhi
ncm-mma@nic.in
Tel.: +91 22 24618349
Fax: +91 22 24693302/24642645/24698410

III.
National Commission for Scheduled Castes
New Delhi
chairman-ncsc@nic.in
Fax: +91 22 24601213
jointsecretary-ncsc@nic.in
Fax: +91 22 24625378/24634743/24615014

Sub: Violence and repression in Nandigram in West
Bengal causing large-scale loss of lives and
displacement

Sir,

You must be aware of the fact that on the March 14 last a large posse of police force under the command of the West Bengal government had entered the Nandigram area in the East Midnapore district of West Bengal ostensibly to establish the "rule of law".

You may also recall that since early January the area is in turmoil. To be more precise, on January 2nd, the Haldia Development Authority (HAD) had issued a preliminary notice indicating a plan to acquire about 14,500 acres of land of 27 moujas of Nandigram-1 block and 2 moujas of Khejuri-2 block. It had also been announced that the land of Nandigram block would be acquired shortly since the Salim Group would build a mega Chemical Hub (10,000 acres) and another industrialist group of Pawan Ruia would set up a Shipbuilding and repairing unit (2500 acres) there. The rest of the land (2000 acres) would be used for disposal of alluvium dredged from the river bed of Haldia Port. The list of earmarked moujas was sent to the concerned Gram Panchayats. The notice mentioned the names of total 29 moujas at the Nandigram-1 and Khejuri-2 blocks that had primarily been shortlisted for the Salim-promoted chemical hub which included 5 Gram Panchayats in Nandigram -1 block namely 10 No. Sonachura, 9 No. Kalicharanpur, 3 No. Kendemari, 2 No. Muhammadpur and 1 No. Vekutia and Khejuri GP in Khejuri-2 Block.

This notice, to use a rather cliched ex-pression, set a cat among the pigeons. There was large scale disquiet amongst the local people. It set off a series of violent clashes since January 3 between the villagers and the State administration and also between sections of villagers. This culminated in bloody and murderous violence on January 7 between villagers determined not to part with their lands and the followers of the CPIM supporting the threatened move of the State government. While there are conflicting reports about the violence, the fact that human lives were lost is irrefutable. The active and personal involvement of Shri Lakshman Seth, the CPIM MP from Haldia, who is also the Chairman of the HDA, was also widely alleged. Be that as it may, as a consequence the State government issued a clarification subsequently that the said notice had been wrongly issued without proper authority and land acquisition for the chemical hub would be put on hold for the time being. But, as it appears the State government and its leaders enjoyed little credibility amongst the villagers. It'd be pertinent to recall that in the wake of the January 7 violence allegedly between the armed supporters of the CPIM coming from either outside or from the temporary camps, where they had shifted to and taken shelter since January 3 consequent upon earlier clashes, surrounding the area; a senior Polit Bureau member of the CPIM and also a Rajya Sabha MP from west Bengal categorically denied the very existence of the HAD notification and branded such report as mischievous rumour mongering. It is, however, quite another matter that the Chief Minster, belonging to his party, had to admit otherwise. Consequently the villagers cut all the roads connecting to the outside world off keeping provisions for only temporary and removable bridges in anticipation of large scale invasions from outside. All attempts by the State administration to convince the villagers of its pious intentions failed to cut any ice with them. It would also be pertinent to mention here that Nandigram is just not an isolated stand-alone case. A running battle between the State and the CPIM on the one hand and (at least some) villagers in Singur in neighbouring Hooghly district where land to the tune of a thousand acres has been acquired by the State, with active collaboration of the party apparatus, on behalf of the Tata Motors is very much on. There are also similar other proposals in the pipeline. All these taken together perhaps explain the complete lack of faith of the villagers in any assurance of the State government.

On march 14, a police campaign of huge proportions was carried out to occupy and re-take Nandigram. The official figure of casualties hovers around 15. Other sources estimate over hundred. Given the demographic pattern, most of the victims are understandably either Dalits or Muslims.

There are also widespread allegations that the police in collaboration have dumped a large number of dead bodies in water bodies with the CPIM cadres. There are also allegations of gang rapes and beastly sexual assaults. TV footages reportedly exist showing bodies being fished out of water apart from some police actions though entry of the journalists had reportedly been by and large blocked during the campaign and also thereafter till the Honourable High Court intervened. That such an operation is going to be carried out had already been predicted by a section of the media. It has also been reported that an intelligence report apprehending broad-based vigorous resistance and consequent large-scale bloodshed was deliberately ignored. There also reports that maximum violence has been resorted to in preference over other routine alternatives.

Under the circumstances, even the Honourable Calcutta High Court had to adversely comment on the ferocious operations carried out by the State against its own people and has ordered a CBI probe. While the CBI probe has played and would play a useful role in crying an immediate halt to any large-scale ongoing violence against the local people, it is simply inadequate given the seriousness of the situation.

We would therefore earnestly request you to immediately send a team of your own to make an on-the-spot survey and also take up the issue with appropriate quarters, not excluding the Supreme Court of India, to immediately institute a judicial enquiry conducted by a serving judge or judges, nominated either by the Chief Justice of the India or the High Court of Kolkata. Any enquiry by a retired judge nominated by the State government, if at all, would largely defeat the purpose for very obvious reasons. You are also urged to ensure that the culprits – the perpetrators of violence, are brought to book in the shortest possible time, and the affected people are provided immediate relief and also reparation. Not only those directly engaged, the planners and conspirators must be identified and be made pay for their sins.
This is the most minimum that has got to be done so that the common people keep faith in the system and are not encouraged to take law in their own hands in their own desperate, and maybe mindless, ways.

Sincerely yours

Sukla Sen
EKTA (Committee for Communal Amity)
Mumbai

The view of this blog over these forms of protest

First of all, we would like to point out that we do respect the concern of people reflected in different forms of protest, although we might have some differences on some aspects.

We feel that the responsibility of the brutality against the people of Nandigram on march 14, 2007 should go to the state machinery whose sole orientation is to serve the interest of imperialism-comprador capitalism and semi-feudalism. To secure the maximum profit of MNCs and big companies, different governments, as political representatives of them have been implementing the policy of SEZ and land acquisition.

If we like to fight against land acquisition, which we believe, people all over the India do, we should try our level best to point out the enemy. Failure in identification of enemy will mislead the direction of the struggle and essentially helps the enemy.

No doubt, Buddha, as a trusted dog of these companies played a major role in this carnage. But, resignation of Buddha won’t help us if they don’t cancel the policy of SEZ. We should not forget that Buddha has his successors---Nirupam, Binoy etc. Therefore, resignation of Buddha won’t hurt his masters if the policy continues. And, after the killings in Nandigram, the central commerce minister, Kamal Nath said that SEZ policy would not be canceled.

Under the circumstances, we do believe, to make sure that Nandigram will not happen again, we have to demand first, the nation-wide cancellation of SEZ and then the resignation issue should come.

And, this blog doubts whether it would be possible to expose the truth by any government sponsored agency. But, we should demand the enquiry and at the same time bring the reports of independent enquiries just to show how reluctant state machineries are to find out the truth (in reality how dedicated they are to hide the truth).

'Nandigram was more shocking than Jallianwala Bagh'

2007-03-17T18:19:00.000+05:30

KOLKATA: Returning the highest literary awards bestowed on them by the West Bengal government, eminent Left historian couple Sumit Sarkar and Tanika Sarkar on Saturday said Nandigram was more shocking than the Jallianwala Bagh massacre because it happened in a Left-ruled state.

"Jallianwala massacre happened in colonial India but what happened in Nandigram is shocking since it happened in a Left-ruled government in independent India," said Sumit and Tanika Sarkar in an interview.

"Jallianwala Bagh was the outcome of one single man's action (General Dyer ordered the firing on hundreds of people on April 13, 1919) but here the entire CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) machinery and the government were involved in the killings," they said.

"What happened in Gujarat in 2002 did not amaze us as much because it was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government but in a Left-ruled state this is astounding," Tanika Sarkar said.

The couple returned their Rabindra Puraskars - the highest honorary literary award given in West Bengal - to register their protest over the killings of 14 people in police firing at Nandigram and decided to donate the award money to the Nandigram Relief Fund.

"I received Rs.50,000 in 2004 and Sumit received Rs.25,000 in 1998. We are giving away the money to Nandigram Relief Fund," she said.

"We are shattered. All this has happened and there is not a word of shame or apology from the CPI-M central committee or state committee," she said.

Sumit Sarkar, former professor of history at Delhi University, is a prominent Indian social historian who in his "Writing Social History" sought to combine an empirical study of themes in late-colonial Indian history with an intervention in current debates about the extent and nature of Western colonial domination. Tanika Sarkar's work focuses on the intersections of religion, gender, and politics in both colonial and postcolonial South Asia, in particular on women and the Hindu Right.

"What happened inside Nandigram that day (March 14) no one knows," said the Sarkar couple who were distressed since the controversy in Singur over takeover of farmland for industry broke out.

"As a lifelong Leftist, I was deeply shocked by recent events in the countryside of West Bengal. On Dec 31, a group of us went to Singur, spent the whole day there, visited four out of five most affected villages and three things became very clear, because of which the West Bengal government's version cannot be accepted," said Sumit Sarkar.

"One, the land, far from being infertile or mono-cropped, as has been stated repeatedly, is extremely fertile and multi-cropped. Two, there is no doubt that the vast bulk of the villagers we met are opposed to the take-over of land and most are refusing compensation. Three, we found much evidence of force being employed, particularly on the nights of Sep 25 and Dec 2 last year," he said.

"The West Bengal government seems determined to follow a particular path of development involving major concessions both to big capitalists like the Tatas and multinationals operating in SEZs (special economic zones). Yet the strange thing is that these, particularly the latter, are things which Left parties and groups as well as many others have been repeatedly and vehemently opposing," he said.

"Is this SEZ model that implies massive displacement and distress really the only way? If the West Bengal government thinks so, then it also has to accept that the inevitable consequences are going to be a repetition of Nandigram across the state," Sarkar said.

Link

Protest continues

2007-03-17T08:18:00.000+05:30

March 18, 3 p.m. - Anandamela, Gariahat, Kolkata.
Protest Procession organised by Natya Kormi of Kolkata to protest massacre in Nandigram

That night in Nandigram

2007-03-17T07:10:00.000+05:30

Soumitra Basu, Editor, Anyaswar

Last night (March 14, 2007) CPM called a local 12 hours Bandh in Nandigram. For the first time a bandh is called in the evening hours in such a remote place where as it is people do keep indoors. Why is that called then?

  After the first bout of Police action in the daylight when the news came that around 60 were killed, the second phase and the most horrendous phase that was planned in Writers' building with our beloved Chief Minister, Health Minister, Chief Secretary and the Home Secretary, needed to be executed.

  Meanwhile the number game gave rise to enough confusion. Dainik Statesman - the Bengali Statesman puts the number to 31. The TV channels [private] put it to 18, The sole BBC correspondent Amit Bhattashali openly put the number as 32 and then openly declared that as per the instruction from the government to BBC they are bound to quote only the government version and therefore he is putting the number as 11. The TARATV correspondent Gourango, who was apprehended by the police, handed over to CPM goons and then on live TV thrashed and foul-mouthed by CPM, puts it off-the record as 100+ and on-the-record "could not count". The TARATV correspondent Subrata who is accompanying Mamata in her tour, puts it as "uncounted" as he explains no one can say and know the exact figure. The great state government and Mr. VORA - the spokesperson goes back to the number of 6 and then says that is what he is informed and he will inform the press some time later!

  Subrata and Gourango of TARATV are in the field. This is the horrendous story that they have to say. Before that let us listen to his version of self-imposed censorship that he follows... "I have stopped telling the media the story that I saw and ought to have told them, there is no chance people and our viewers would believe. There is a limit to human belief. They will take me as a mad babbler! I myself am not convinced of what I saw, heard and went through.. it was like a nightmare and how I wish all that I saw and heard was simply a delirium" As a matter of fact they threw up several times in the hotel they stayed, not because of the threats by the CPM goons but because what they saw and heard and the language of threats by the CPM goons who besieged them in CPM party office in Nandigram.

  "Bands of CPM goons aided by platoons of Eastern Frontier Rifles and Commando forces are entering every village and paras [mohollas]. They bring out the men folk, they take no prisoners, no witnesses, they shoot them, bayonet them, rip apart their stomachs and then lay them down the canal to the sea and confluence. They then bring out the young girls, gather them in open spaces, open gang rape them multiple times till the girls collapse, they then literally TEAR their limbs, in some cases cut them to pieces and let them down the Haldi river and/or Talpati canal.

No witnesses and they know that this incident cannot leak out because the young girls in traditional Medinipur will never come out to say what really happened and who will believe? on top of it who will corroborate and those who will come out will be killed and tortured again. CPM and police then wrapped the entire village with their Red Banners (sic!) showing that the area is secured and simply their writ will run. Those who fled the villages were mostly apprehended on the outskirts or on the boundaries and no one knows what happened to those poor souls.

We could hear this stories only from those who could crawl the whole way out through fields and forests. Even that is difficult now as the fields are all dried up and the crops are already reaped. Anyone can see people coming out. Rapes are innumerable, officially the rape figure could be obtained as 6 because these are the ones who survived to tell their tales and they are around middle aged, so they somehow could not be butchered and minced to pieces.

Village after village this process is going on and to our utter astonishment the process is continuing even this morning. All the correspondents are removed. Sukumar Mitra the most coveted journalist from Dainik Statesman ran his way out amidst flurries of bullets. He was specifically hunted and somehow could manage to sneak out. The ferocity of this attack is so grizzly that the residents of that area simply do not believe that anyone will open their mouth. Fear is made a weapon and the highest fear is made the weapon for a social-censorship.

Haripur is a nearby subdivision. That area is earmarked for nuclear power plant. People of that region have also come up in protest. Most of them are fishermen. They have stopped going to the confluence and the sea because of two reasons. One they feel that human bodies are everywhere in the confluence and the worst is that the crocs and gharials and sharks are now rushing towards that spot from far away Sunderbans. These animals rush for fresh blood, the fishes will be eaten away by these reptiles and there is a high possibility of these getting netted instead of fishes. Haripur will be out of livelihood for at least a week or so, and this was premeditated by the CPM administration to teach Haripur a lesson.

Haripur is the place that shooed out even Central teams and even bigger police forces. This was a lesson to teach both Nandigram and Haripur together. No sign of any dead bodies will ever be found, no proof of rape would be there. They are not making the mistake of killing openly, like the Tapasi Malik murder in Singur. They have this model now. The real death figure can only be revealed at least 3 months after, and that too if there is one, peace comes into stay, and if the residents could come back and then count the missing. But After CPM has "secured" and "liberated" those areas those who were evicted will not be allowed to come back and these properties will be given to the CPM goons from Keshpur and Garbeta and neighbouring places. The permanency of mopping up strategy is how CPM will ensure that Nandigram and Haripur will be secured for electoral battles in the future."'

  This is more horrendous than partition story. Journalists all know this but they cannot come out with these stories. CPM will ensure that these journalists are hunted down and wiped out of existence. They have already started to threaten all journalists and intellectuals who have gone against them.

  Let us not draw parallels from the history! I do not know who will believe how much, but I have mentioned the sources and you all are welcome to verify them through the references I have provided.

Link

Download Bengali version.

Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer on Nandigram

2007-03-17T06:19:00.000+05:30

URGENT

March 15, 2007

My dear Prakash Karat,

I adore you as the top leader of the Marxist Party even as I hold Com. Jyoti Basu as a creative wonder of the Communist Marxist Party. As you know, I remained in power with the Communist Government in 1956 in Kerala under the charismatic Chiefministership of EMS, the great Leftist thinker. But alas!, in West Bengal things are murky, capitalism is happy, poor peasantry is in privation and deprivation, if newspaper reports throw light on events objectively. We, in 1957, came to power by the ballot and rarely, if ever, used the bullet, with the result the police violence was hardly an instrument against the peasantry.

Look at the contrast. The brutality and bloodshed, at the instance of the police force is now bulleting of humble humanity. I had and have great hopes that the Marxists if in power, will rule with compassionate ideology and win votes and people’s co-operation beyond party barriers. But to my horror, the terror practiced yesterday at Nandigram fills me with dread and disappointment. The illusion of exploitative power has led the ministry to govern by the gun. The consequent bloodshed demands your urgent attention and commands the party’s authority to arrest the frequency of bloodshed policy and police barbarity. Sri. Sumit Chakravartty telephoned me last night about the police misuse of firepower. If true, I protest and entreat you and the party to take immediate action and restore the basic proposition that Communist Government is not power with violent weapons. And action at party level must be taken if governance over humanity is for the benefit of the peasantry. I am sure, thousands like me will be shocked by the Nandigram incident. Please, please have some regard for those who feel that socialism is not terrorism, but humanism; and misrule by gun will not be the rule of the Left in State authority. Do forgive me for expressing my strong feelings with the expectation that the Left Administration believe and practice as a fundamental for the humble people, not for the proprietariat with the brute force of the bullet.

With high regards,
Yours sincerely,

(V.R. KRISHNA IYER)

We respect the concern of Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer over the brutal repression in Nandigram, although don't completely agree with him. Let’s clarify our view:

Justice Iyer wrote, “I had and have great hopes that the Marxists if in power, will rule with compassionate ideology and win votes and people’s co-operation beyond party barriers.”
We are sorry to say that it is nothing but a day-dream. Marxist are not god; so there is no point to think that if they are in the power something different could happen independent of the rule of that society.
What is the rule of a society? The rule of a society is determined by the mode of production of that particular society.
Whoever be in the power, he has to secure that mode. In our society everything has been running to serve the interest of imperialism-comprador capitalism-semi feudalism. In this existing mode of production, whoever is in the power, has to secure the maximum profit of imperialism-comprador capitalism. There cannot be any exception. And, Buddha with the heritage of Jyoti Basu has been doing the same.

So bringing anybody or any party in power won’t make any difference. Any primary student of Marxism knows it. A change in society can only come by bringing a change in the mode of production.

Had CPM and its rank and file ever thought in this way?

No.
That is why they cannot help but convert themselves into fascists, just like other parties enjoying the power as trusted dogs of imperialism-comprador capitalism-semi feudalism.

We believe it is too late to mourn.

Kolkata High Court orders CBI probe into Nandigram carnage

2007-03-17T06:07:00.000+05:30

Association for Protection of Democratic Rights along with Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity, National Alliance of People's Movement and others put forward a petition to the Kolkata High Court urging immediate intervention of the court to reinstate safety and security of the villagers in Nandigram. The organisations also pleaded for an interim order restraining the state administration preventing them from reaching Nandigram to provide assistance to injured and deceased villagers.

In response to the above appeal on 15th March 2007, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Honourable Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Honourable Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh passed an order and reprimanded the state government stating "we are satisfied that this action of the police department is wholly unconstitutional and can not be justified under any provision of law." The court also stated "Such kind of force can not be justified except in the cases of armed insurgency or warlike situation. Innocent farmers and villagers can hardly be put into the aforesaid bracket."

The court in its order directed the followings:

The court directed the district administration to ensure that the unclaimed dead bodies are handed over to the appropriate authorities and the identified dead bodies are handed over to the lawful claimants after due legal formalities have been concluded, such as post mortem and inquest report, so that the relatives are able to perform the last rites of the deceased.

The court directed the CBI to immediately send an investigating team to the strife -torn area and look into the circumstances that led to the police firing which claimed innumerable casualties in Nandigram. The CBI team is directed to immediately visit Nandigram and any other surrounding affected area and collect the entire relevant materials of firing by the police and combat forces to be presented before the court in the form of a report.

The state government has also been directed to file an affidavit setting out the reasons for the police action which has been taken against the population of Nandigram by resorting indiscriminate firing by the police. The affidavit should also disclose the material on the basis of which the order for firing was issued.

The court also directed that under no circumstances any evidence should be destroyed by any person and instructed the CBI to collect all evidence including the post-mortem conducted on the victims of the firing.

In view of the absolutely volcanic situation created, the court further directed the state government to ensure the safety and well-being of all the general public in the area. The state is also directed to take adequate measure to provide medical facilities to the injured villagers.

This blog doubts whether CBI probe could really expose the level of fascist brutality. Even if it does, will it be brought under the notice of the people?

Protest continues

2007-03-16T09:33:00.000+05:30

Demonstration of MASUM, NHRC, and other HR groups
March 16, 11 a.m. - Janatar Mantar, Delhi.

March 17, 3 p.m. - Dharmatola Crossing
Protest gathering with Kabir Suman, Joy Goswami,
Nabarun Bhattacharya

Buddha dares to speak

2007-03-16T09:21:00.000+05:30

After staining his hands with the blood of the people of Nandigram, the fascist chief minister, Buddha doesn’t even feel sorry. To him it is just an unfortunate event and police was forced to fire in self-defense. He also dared to say, “No government could accept absence of rule of law in any part of a state.”

We would like to ask these trusted agents of big companies what does rule of law mean to them? They killed at least 25 people (it could be even 50 or more) when their brutal armed forces entered Nandigram. If it is what they call as law and order, then we have to say that it would have been far better of not having law and order in all part of the country.

Buddha also said that for two and half months, the administration couldn’t function at Nandigram. We strongly feel that such an administration whose sole orientation is to repress and kill people to serve the interest of MNCs and comprador capitalists, better not to function. Why people should tolerate this repression? They must have every right to rebel against repression and displacement.

Buddha has been saying that there will be no SEZ in Nandigram if people don’t want. What does it mean? In the last two and half months didn’t the people of Nandigram make it very clear that they prefer to live on their own land rather than being displaced for SEZ? Then why didn’t they postpone the plan of SEZ? If they postponed, then there would not have been any bloodbath in Nandigram.

Essentially, this bunch of fascists is determined to acquire the land for the Salim group. They don’t care what people prefer and this is what they call as democracy. As people resist, they have sent their brutal armed forces to terrorize people, to kill people and to rape our mothers, sisters and daughters. And, this is the establishment of law and orders.

We are fully aware that, in West Bengal, the companies didn’t pay Rs 400 crores in employees provident fund. It includes the contribution from the workers as well. It simply means that they have taken the money form the workers but didn’t deposit to the provident fund. It is a severe violation of the existing labour law. These running dogs of imperialism and comprador capitalists, who are talking about the establishment of law and orders, what step have taken against this violation of labour law? How many companies of armed forces they sent to arrest these capitalists?

Not a single one.

All these incidences prove once again the correctness of the Marxist conception of STATE, which is nothing but machinery in the hand of a particular class to oppress others. This state machinery has three major components, (i) armed forces, (ii) laws and (iii) administration. Its sole orientation is to serve the class interests. Now we see how Buddha-government uses these three components as the trusted agent of imperialism-comprador capitalism-semi feudalism. In the name of the establishment of law and order, it uses administration and sends armed forces to unleash repression on the people to acquire land for the Salim and displace people. Whereas, when workers are being exploited, when people are under the brutal semi feudal exploitation, it doesn’t feel as a problem of law and order.

This is what we can only expect from this system.
No question of justice.
No democracy.
Only brutal repression.

How long will we let it to continue?

Protest against mass killing in Nandigram

2007-03-15T09:14:00.000+05:30

Michhil of Sanhati Udyoug, March 15, 2 p.m.: College Square, Calcutta

Meeting Called by women groups like Nari Nirjaton Pratirodh Mancha, Ahalya and others, March 15, 4 p.m.: Front of Metro Cinema, Calcutta

Mass killing in Nandigram

2007-03-15T08:46:00.000+05:30

We condemn the mass killing by the armed forces of the fascist West Bengal government in Nandigram.

The fascist chief minister, the left front chairman and all high profile CPM leaders justified the murder as Nandigram had been out of reach to the armed forces. We would like to ask these pets of big companies why it became necessary for the armed forces to reach Nandigram? Why the people of Nandigram shouldn’t have the right to determine what will be the best for them? Who gave the authority to these running dogs of imperialism to decide what will be the best for the people of Nandigram? These shameless fascists always claim that whatever they are doing is for the betterment of the people. Now, what sort of betterment they are aiming for? What sort of development they are achieving by the murder of at least 25 people?

Their hands are stained with the blood of people.

They have been dedicated themselves to serve the interest of the imperialism-comprador capitalists; it has been proved by their activities for the last couple of decades. So, we cannot expect anything else than killing of people, detention of democratic-progressive-revolutionary people in this fascist regime.

We just hate this brutality.
We don’t find appropriate words to express our hatred.

We believe that this mass killing will determine us to extend our support in every possible way to the people’s resistance of Nandigram and all other parts of India.

Red salute to the martyrs of Nandigram.

Red salute to the mothers of Nandigram who gave birth of these heroes of people’s resistance.

Singur land lease agreement

2007-03-11T22:25:00.000+05:30

West Bengal government signed the land agreement with TATA for the proposed Singur plant. It’s a good deal for TATA, no doubt.

Government gives the land to TATA with a lease for 90 years.

The bonanza could be summarized as follows:

We must appreciate the potential of West Bengal government for discovering tricks to make us fool. Apparently, TATA will pay more than Rs 800 crore. But, look at the payments it needs to pay in the first 30 years. Only Rs 56.25 crore. In the next 30 years it will pay Rs ~200 crore. But, if we consider the rate of inflation (currently more than 6%) then this figure will not be that big. The same is true for its payment for last 30 years.

Essentially, TATA doesn’t need to pay anything right now for the land. Although West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) has borrowed Rs 150 crore with 10% annual interest to acquire this land. WBIDC has to pay Rs 15 crore per year as interest; for 90 years it has to pay Rs 1350 crore for interest only, whereas for 90 years TATA will pay only Rs 800 core.

It means West Bengal government signed an agreement to subsidize TATA for Rs 700 crore over the period of 90 years. Again consider the figures. For the next 90 years, TATA will pay Rs 800 crores and enjoy Rs 700 crore as subsidy. In reality the actual subsidy is far bigger than what is being reflected in those figures. WBIDC has already borrowed Rs 150 crore. Considering the rate of inflation, after 90 years, this amount will be really huge. And it has to pay Rs 15 crore each year as interest. On the other hand right now TATA needs to pay only Rs 1 crore in a year. And it will pay its most of the payment at its last 30 year period of lease.

Who will actually pay the subsidy?
Buddha?
CPM?
Or other running dogs of imperialism-comprador capitalism?

No. This subsidy will be paid from our hard earn money. With our hard earn money these running dogs of imperialism and comprador capitalists subsidize crores to Multinational and big companies while letting our people dieing of starvation.

This is what they call as DEVELOPMENT.
We call as LOOT.

Don’t you think it is our duty to make an end of it?

(The detail of the lease agreement is taken from the bartamanpatrika.com, March 11, 2007)

Update

Nirupam Sen, the commerce minister of West Bengal government confirmed the above mentioned lease agreement in assembly on March 15, 2007 (source: ganashakti, March 16,2007). He pointed out that TATA will enjoy other facilities like Tax holidays for Singur plant.

Workers dieing of starvation

2007-03-11T08:27:00.000+05:30

While Buddha is busy and crazy with industrialization of West Bengal, so many tea gardens have been closed in North Bengal.

The workers have been starving.

For an instance, Kathalguri tea garden has been closed on July 2002. There were 1479 workers. 500 workers already died after the closure. The survivors have been under the extensive semi-feudal exploitation. They have to borrow money from moneylenders with an interest rate of monthly 20%. For Rs 500/- they have to pay Rs 100 per month as an interest (Anandabazar Patrika, March 10, 2007).

D ownload a report on closed and reopened tea gardens of North Bengal.

2007-03-08T09:50:00.000+05:30

I am busy with my work. For the next couple of months, this blog is going to be very irregular. However, I will try my best to post all the materials received by email.

I hope, by August, it will be regular.

Red salute to people's resistance against imperialism, comprador capitalism and semi-feudalism.

Singur: Medha supporters face police brunt

2007-02-27T06:39:00.000+05:30

SINGUR: Police on Monday resorted to lathicharge to disperse social activist Medha Patkar-led protesters after they tried to approach the fenced area for the Tata Motors small car project at Singur in West Bengal.

Hooghly Superintendent of Police Supratim Sarkar said two persons were arrested. Patkar said two of her associates, Amita Bag and Dhananjay Das, were injured in the lathicharge.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Hooghly, Asit Pal said police removed the demonstrators. Patkar with her associates then began a sit-in demonstration a few metres away from the fence.

Earlier addressing farmers from Goplanagar and Bajemelia villages who had set up camps in the area since Sunday, Patkar came down heavily on the state government for going ahead with the Tata Motors project at Singur and the Salim project in Nandigram in East Midnapur.

She said the government was using the police in favour of the enterprise and added that it should stop the project as the farmers were unwilling to hand over their land.

Slogan-shouting farmers from Beraberi Purbapara marched upto the fenced area of the Tata Motors small car project where they had an altercation with the police who stood guard. Police then resorted to lathicharge to disperse them.

This is Patkar's first visit here after prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC were lifted following the Calcutta High Court's stricture on February 23 against the government's process for acquiring 997 acres for the project.

She had on earlier occasions been prevented from entering Singur.

Link

One suicide every 8 hours

2007-02-25T08:28:00.000+05:30

(http://agrariancrisis.wordpress.com)

Jaideep Hardikar

Vidarbha remains a grim statistic. One suicide in every eight hours. More than half of those who committed suicide were between 20 and 45, their most productive years. The Maharashtra government says as many as 1920 farmers committed suicide between January 1, 2001 and August 19, 2006. Nearly 2.8 million of the 3.2 million cotton farmers are defaulters, reports Jaideep Hardikar

Suicide count

There are no authentic figures on the exact number of farm suicides in Vidarbha, but the Maharashtra government accepts a figure of 1920 from January 1, 2001 to August 19, 2006. The Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a farmers’ movement, puts the toll at 782 from June 1, 2005 to August 26, 2006. And, in the last three months, there has been a suicide every eight hours.

Cost of cultivation

Across the country, the average cost of cultivation in cotton is a little more than Rs 16,000 per ha. With an average productivity of 460 kg per ha, it costs between Rs 35 to Rs 48 per kg to grow cotton. In Vidarbha, the cost of cultivation could go well beyond Rs 20,000 perha and if marketing cost is added, it crosses Rs 22,000. But the productivity is only 146 kg per ha. In other words, the cost per kg is almost double — well over Rs 70 per kg. In Maharashtra, the cost of growing cotton increased from Rs 17,234/ha in 2001-02 to Rs 20,859 in 2002-03.

Right age, wrong step

Among the farmers who committed suicide in the past year, more than 50% were between 20 and 45 years of age (their most productive years), according to a study by the Sakal Newspapers Limited of the two districts, Amravati and Yavatmal.

Cotton area

The hybrid cotton covers about 73% of the cotton area in Vidarbha, whereas desi varieties cover about 27%. Most of these produce medium to medium-long fibre.

Area under Bt cotton has risen from a mere 0.4% in 2002-03 to 15% in 2005-06 in Vidarbha, according to the agriculture department statistics. Only 3% cotton land falls under assured irrigation. Cotton area has declined from 16.12 lakh ha in 2001 to 12.18 lakh ha in 2005-6. Only 3% of it is under irrigation. The shift is towards soybean.

Defaulters

The Planning Commission’s fact-finding mission members found out that nearly 2.8 million of the 3.2 million cotton farmers in Vidarbha are defaulters. Of every Rs 100 borrowed, approximately Rs 80 goes back in to servicing of old loans.

PM’s promise

The Prime Minister in his Rs 3750-crore package jacked up an additional credit flow of Rs 1200 crore taking it to Rs 2000 crore for 2006-07. But the ground situation shows a credit disbursal of less than a thousand crore.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

Revive traditional crops. Pump money back into the rural economy, say experts

“In Vidharbha, it is too risky to adopt expensive technologies. Small farmers who take loans for cultivation have no capacity to meet the calamity of crop failure. Traditional crops like jowar should again be revived. The funds allotted under the Prime Minister’s package for seed replacement should be used to promote jowar, pulses and legumes. Also, organic farming and crop-livestock integration should be promoted on both ecological and economic grounds. Vidharbha can be declared as the Organic Farming Zone of Maharashtra, so that its oranges, jowar, cotton and other crops become known as organic products and thereby gain in market value.” — MS Swaminathan Chairman, National Commission on Farmers

“It’s not true that suicides are taking place only in Vidarbha. They began in Andhra and spread to other parts of the country. But why did farmer suicides begin after 1994? The answer is we liberalised the economy and devalued our rupee. As a result, the cost of energy went up, the cost of agriculture rose and living costs soared. The 5th Pay Commission was a vindication of this. But the farmers remained in a low-cost economy. The promise that exports in a free market would bring profits to farmers was never kept. We imported 110 lakh bales from 1998 to 2004.” — Vijay Jawandhia Wardha farmers’ leader, social commentator

“The point is we need to understand that green revolution has collapsed. Continuing suicides by farmers is a reflection of that. Suicides are more alarming in those areas where green revolution was pushed with force. But that doesn’t mean there is no agrarian crisis in other areas; it’s all over the country now. A few areas like Vidarbha are peculiar with socio-economic, agro-climatic and other factors. We borrowed a technology that did not fit into our socio-economic milieu. Tractor is today a symbol of suicides. Fertilizers and pesticides have destroyed our natural base. Farmers in Vidarbha and elsewhere are the victims of policies that have siphoned money from the rural economy.” — Devinder Sharma Former journalist, agriculture expert

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