Debate

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

Demand for resignation of Buddha and judicial enquiry

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).

Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer on Nandigram

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.

Debate

In response to a post dated Jan 8, 2007, in naxalrevolution.blogspot.com, readers posted comments until Jan 14, which eventually took a shape of debate. This debate brought some important points, which in our view are quite relevant to the whole issue of ‘development’ and ‘industrialization’ in present Indian context. Therefore, after little editing, we are publishing 2 most relevant comments. We would like to request you to go through the original post and the article in Frontline, which is referred in one of the comments.

Comment 3

Please read this article published in Frontline magazine about the Tata SEZ in Singur and tell me how a common man supposed to believe that there is something wrong happening in Singur?

http://frontline.in/fl2325/stories/20061229002003300.htm

Comment 4
I have just read the article. Let me discuss major points. Before, I would like to point out that, TATA’s project in Singur would not be a SEZ.

• "State government has declared the expansion of employment opportunities to be its prime objective for reform and industrialisation."

We have been listening for last couple of decades.

• "The proposed plant is expected to generate employment for 2,000 people directly and 10,000 people indirectly."

Who confirmed the figure? Did anybody from TATA? These are all imaginary number. If anybody likes to guess the number of employment this proposed plat could generate, he has to look over the employment status of industries developed in last couple of years. You can consider TATA Metalics as an example. It acquired 200 acres of land. And now tell me how many people are working there? As far as I know, 18 permanent and approximately 190 contractual labours. The wages of contractual workers are used to be very low in West Bengal and all over the India. All sponge iron factory developed (in WB) in last couple of years are mostly running with contractual labours. The wages are approximately Rs 60 per day. And they have to work more than 8 hours a day.

Under the circumstance, it is difficult to believe that TATA will give 2000 people employment. It cannot be magic. It has to sale car at Rs 1 lakh and has to secure maximum profit. It is very easy to understand what would be the condition of workers there to ensure TATA’s maximum profit. They must be under tremendous exploitation. I simply don’t understand, how the supporters of TATA’s project in Singur can simply ignore this possibility and believe that it will result development.
What does ‘development’ mean? A car at 1 lakh?

• "910.61 acres is mono-cropped and only 39.08 acres is under more than one crop. The rest of the land is non-agricultural."

These records were based on surveys dating back to 1990. During the last 15 years, in the proposed Tata Motors site, the peasants have got installed 35 shallow pumps, 28 of which with their own money. In addition, there are three deep-tube wells. The two rivulets, the Zulkia and the Kunti – flowing along the either sides provide a substantial irrigational facility. In the dry season these rivulets and the DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation’s dams) release irrigate the fields. How can such land be called single-cropped, barren or non-irrigated? (http://www.countercurrents.org/ind-kumar301206.htm)

• "The compensation package for farmers is another bone of contention. The State government says that keeping in view similar compensation awarded under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, it is generous……..

"In an article in the Bengali daily Ganashakti (December 6), he (Binoy Konar) furnished facts and figures to show that the compensation amount, if kept in fixed deposits in commercial banks, would earn for land-losers 10-15 times the earnings from their cultivation. Furthermore, he calculated that even if the entire project area was taken to be double-cropped, it could generate about 1.50 lakh of man-days of employment, that is, whole-time employment for 300 days in a year for 500 persons only. By contrast, the Tata Motors' unit, when completed, will provide jobs, directly or indirectly, to more than 10,000 people."

Fallacy of Biony Konar’s argument lies in his calculation. He simply ignored the rate of inflation. Where the annual rate of inflation is more than 5%, the annual interest (from bank) of 8% in reality means (8-5)% = 3% annual rate of interest. So Binoy Konar joked.

Consider the situation of aged people who run their livelihood with bank interest. It becomes more and more difficult for them. So they have to squeeze their need. The same will happen to those, who believed Binoy Konar.

Another important point is income from agriculture. Government implemented the instructions of WTO and opened the market to foreign producers. So the worst condition of agriculture is due to them. (We would like to include semi-feudal exploitation as well.--singur) When they signed GATT, they argued that it would make our life better. It didn’t happen. So now, they have started to sale the idea that agriculture is not profitable.

• "Community development work in the region has also started in earnest. Programmes undertaken include increasing drinking water facilities, repairing school buildings, improving roads, re-excavating the Jhulka canal to improve irrigation potential in the adjoining areas and digging tubewells to improve the cropping intensity in the surrounding region. All this work is being executed with local labour comprising land-losers and landless workers. More than 2,000 man-days have been generated as of the first week of December. The task of fencing the area was also given to the local people, which generated more than 5,500 man-days."

It is ridiculous. Whatever ‘development’ is going on in Singur, is run by the government till now. What is the connection of TATA’s plant with this ‘developmen’t? Government can run this sort of ‘development’ anywhere in West Bengal or India. But, they don’t usually. Interestingly they do where TATA or other big companies will invest. It simply means that with the hard earn money of common Indian people, government will build infrastructure for TATA’s profit. At the end of the day, using this infrastructure, TATA will unleash tremendous exploitation over the workers, as happens in TATA Metalics or sponge iron factories.

• "Another argument that is often heard is the so-called availability of land of closed mills and factories. Nirupam Sen clarified (see interview) why it was near-impossibile to use these lands - on account of the legal tangles arising from the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985, the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953, and so on. Not only are these vacant lands scattered as relatively small plots, but quite often they are subject to proceedings of the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), which may take up to 15 years for completion. Even otherwise, commercial banks have a lien on these lands."

Why government doesn’t bother to change these Acts? Government is going to change the land-selling act for Salim Group and big companies. Then what prohibits them to change these acts?

We should forget about changing the Acts. Within the existing Acts there is provision to arrest so called ‘industrialists’ who are defaulters in employees’ provident fund. In West Bengal Rs 400 crore is pending in employees’ provident fund. Did anybody hear that government took any serious step against the defaulters?

Now tell me whose interest government serves?