Dear Anivar Aravind, Can Iget more details about Sigroor including rehabilitation package ? Thanks, C.L.Thomas. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Anivar Aravind" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 6:00 PM Subject: {greenyouth} Fwd: [foil] Bloodletting in Nandigram: The Logic ofSingur
> > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Sukla Sen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Jan 8, 2007 10:50 PM > Subject: [foil] Bloodletting in Nandigram: The Logic of Singur > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], > [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > It's a cruel irony that when the CPIM, the leading > Left force in the country, is crying hoarse against > the Central policy on SEZ, never mind that their chief > ministers representing as many as three state > governments are singing a very different tune, > including in their central organ, People's Democracy, > vigilante groups operating under the red banner of the > Party has unleashed terror to crush the "enemies of > the people" in Nandigram protesting against a proposed > SEZ there apprehending loss of their lands and > livelihoods. Guns have been fired and blood has flown. > This comes as a grim reminder of the spinechilling > Stalinist nightmare, which has though faded in memory > with the passage of time but has not been erased off > altogether. > > Nandigram is, however, only a logical corollary of > Singur. > > The fight of the real flesh and blood people for their > land and livelihood remains entirely legitimate by > virtue of its very essence notwithstanding the > colour(s) of the banner(s) under which it is being > fought. > > We do strongly protest and condemn the brutal terror > tactics adopted by the West Bengal government and its > minions. > We do also demand immediate institution of a judicial > enquiry. > We also appeal to the NHRC to commence at once and > carry out its own independent investigation without > waiting for the next move by the concerned state > government. > > We append five letters from Kolkata below, which are > self-explanatory. > > Sukla Sen > EKTA (Committee for Communal Amity) > > > Letter from Kolkata 5 > ------------------------------ > January 8, 2007 > > A brave reporter from Kolkata TV (a Bengali channel) > managed to get into Nandigram and provide a report of > the clash. > This is what happened. > Nandigram is separated from the rest of Midnapore and > Bengal by a canal. There is a single bridge across the > canal. After > the communist cadre had fled their homes, they > gathered in camps on the other side of the canal. That > side received many > reinforcements courtesy Lakshman Seth, the local > CPI(M) leader and an infamous goon. A senior party > leader had > earlier warned that no opposition would be brooked to > the party's plans of land acquisition. "We will make > life hell for them," > he said, meaning the farmers. > > On the night of January 6th, the two villages on the > east side of the canal, Sonachura and Tekhali, were > attacked by CPI(M) supporters from the west side with > bombs and guns. The villagers had anticipated such an > attack. Whether they had any bombs and guns their own > is not clear. The Kolkata TV reporter said > unequivocally that they only had farming implements > and kitchen knives (yes, women were also among the > defenders). Almost all the dead are believed to be > farmers from Sonachura, including a 14-year-old boy. > > According to a piece by Mahasweta Devi in this > morning's Dainik Statesman, the attackers cut off two > heads and carried > them away as trophies. > > This morning the contortions of the pro-state > newspaper, The Telegraph, are amusing to read. On the > front > page is an allegation that both sides had bombs and > guns, which seems to be fiction. On the day after, the > homes of one or more CPI(M) supporters were torched, > and the paper has a picture of a hapless couple > outside the burned home. No pictures of those killed, > who belong inconveniently to the other side. The paper > is complaining that the state had not > sent in policemen to protect the CPI(M) camp and avert > a clash! No one else believes that the police are > impartial. > > I just heard from Kumudini Dakua, who served time in > British jails because of her role during the Quit > India movement. She > lives near Mohisadal, but knows the entire area > intimately. She says 11 have been killed in Nandigram. > The police are now in the area, are firing, and are > not allowing in reporters. > > The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb > Bhattacharya, has alleged that an Islamic group is > behind the attacks. It > is true that one of the farmers' groups opposing the > land acquisition has an Islamic name. But Hindus and > Muslims > in Nandigram are united against land acquisition. The > CM is trying to turn a completely noncommunal fight > over land into a communal one. > > Unfortunately the CPI(M) is so used to ruling the > state as if it were a party fiefdom that it is not > willing to brook any > opposition at all. There will be more bloodshed for > sure. > > > Letter from Kolkata 4 > ------------------------------ > January 7, 2007 > > > Seven people have died in the clashes in Nandigram. > > Today I realized that these issues are getting really > close to home. For my Bengal famine book, I had > searched > for years to find famine victims who had clear > memories of what happened. I finally found them, in a > picturesque village > called Kalikakundu in the Mohisadal subdivision of > Midnapore. I became close to a remarkable old man, > Chitto Samanta, > who lives in a mud hut surrounded by rice fields, with > his wife, sons, daughters in law and grandchildren. I > felt they had a life of peace, far from the strife > that daily rents my urbanized family. > > It turns out that the Salim group's acquisition plans > includes Kalikakundu. I can't reach Chittobabu. He was > a > freedom fighter, in acknowledgement of which he had > gotten a small pension and a phone line. The line is > cut off. > > I know he will be in the forefront of any new fight, > even though he is 80. > I'm desperate for news. > > Madhusree > > > Letter from Kolkata 3 > > January 7th, 2006 > -------------------------- > > Thousands of activists are battling thousands of > communist cadre in Nandigram, a remote area of > Midnapore. News from > the area is coming out only in spurts, for neither > side is allowing in reporters. All approach roads have > been dug up, > just as during the Quit India movement. The issue is > land acquisition again. Several villages have been > earmarked for a chemical plant and other projects of > the Salim group from Indonesia. Some 100,000 people > are supposed to be displaced, and they are determined > not to go. > > Someone should tell the State Government that they are > not going to win this one. The people of Midnapore are > by > nature rebellious. During British times, prolonged > rebellions rent the area, beginning with the > Sanyasi-Fakir rebellion > (1770 to around 1800), the Chuar rebellion (early > 1800s, until I believe 1830), the Sepoy Mutiny or > First War of Independence, as you prefer (1857) and > the Quit India movement (1942-44). I believe somewhere > in there was also a Santhal rebellion. The region is a > border area, between plains and hills and between > Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. > > During the Quit India movement, which tragically > merged in this area with the Bengal famine, the > region's leaders ran a parallel government quite > independently of the British government. Its courts > were very popular with the people. > The parallel government was disbanded at Gandhi's > orders, after he was let out of jail, and it is said > that many cried in disappointment. > > One of the leaders during the Quit India movement, > Sushil Dhara, is now 95, an invalid, and spends much > of his > time in a coma resulting from some illness. This > morning's newspaper says he has expressed a wish to go > to > Nandigram and see the new freedom movement for > himself. In the areas of Midnapore where the police > are not being > permitted to enter, the people are describing the > region as Muktanchal, or "Free Zone." > > The State Government has been describing all > opposition to its "industrialization" plans as being > politically motivated. > An unknown number of people have been arrested in > Midnapore. One is a student from Jadavpur University > in Kolkata, and another is a student of Jawaharlal > Nehru University in Delhi. They are being held without > bail as Naxals, or Maoists. > Are they being held for what they did, or for what > they believe in? Its not clear. > > One hears nothing about Singur any more. Is that a > fait accompli? We shall see. > > > Letter from Kolkata 2 > --------------------------------- > Jan 5, 2007 > > Somehow all the items in this morning's newspaper are > swirling around in my head and settling into a > pattern. The killings of children at Noida, the return > of IITans to India, the fights of the people of > Midnapore with the police over land acquisition for > SEZs, the low ranking of West Bengal in education > (32nd out of 35).... they seem to me to be bizarrely > connected. They're even related to something else that > has been on my mind lately, the cosiness of India with > the murderous Burmese junta. > > Let's start with the poor level of education of West > Bengal's rural population. What, in practice, does > that mean? It means that when mega industries come to > the state, the locals will get employment only as > sweepers and laborers. Once the construction phase is > over, the original inhabitants of the land will be > left with the dregs of employment. All the top jobs > will go to the better educated, not just the IITans > with blue swimmingpools glinting in their eyes, but > the slightly educated from the middle class and > perhaps even the lower middle class. > > The ones who will be swept off their land will sweep > hither and thither, till they pile up against the > edges of the shiny new cities as so many heaps of > unsightly trash. And that is where the children of > Noida come in. A hundred of them went missing, but the > police wouldn't even register a case. In the cities, > these people are defenseless, at the mercy of every > bully in the neighborhood. Were the children cut up > for their organs? Who knows. It wouldn't surprise > anyone. > > No wonder that the people of Midnapore are fighting > for their land. They know, perhaps better than all the > planners, the reality behind the plans. > > And do the SEZs really make economic sense, even on > paper? Jagdish Bhagwati, I recall, came out against > them, as did the Economist magazine, which is > generally pro-business. Both said they would cost the > government large chunks of tax revenue. But perhaps > the SEZs are intended not for shoring up the economy, > but for shoring up the respective state governments' > finances and futures. > > In Kolkata, they say, prostitution is a booming > industry. It isn't just that social mores are > changing. It seems to me that prostitution booms > whenever extreme poverty collides with excess wealth. > That happened during the famine of 43. > > Where do the Burmese generals come in? They have oil, > and the SUV that is the Indian economy needs it in > shiploads. The Tatas, after all, want to build a > People's Car. And so India is sidling up beside the > Burmese generals, giving them money in return for > their oil. And what will the generals buy with all > that money? Guns, no doubt, with which to shoot up > their own people. It's getting hard these days to > tell the difference between democracies and > dictatorships. > > > > Letter from Kolkata 1 > ------------------------------ > January 1, 2007 > > I have been in Kolkata for only two weeks, but what I > see around me is sobering. I believe that West Bengal > is about to explode into a new era of overt violence. > > The reason is the stunning pace, scale, and modality > of land acquisition. You may have heard about Singur, > but that is only around 1000 acres. If the papers are > to be believed, the state government has plans to > acquire 125,000 acres all over the state, ostensibly > for industry and development. (There has been no > response to RTI requests on Singur, so no one knows > the terms on which Tatas will get its 99-year lease, > or any details about the plant.) The colonial-era Land > Acquisition Act is being used, which allows no legal > challenges, along with a repressive law, Section 144 > of which allows no gatherings beyond 5 people, etc., > within the acquired areas. I don't know how many > people will be displaced overall. > > The significant point is that the political opposition > is in disarray. It does not know how to make a > coherent protest. The democratic process has broken > down. The English-language newspapers are almost all > pro-development, which in this case means pro-state, > and the Bengali-language papers are pro-farmer, which > means anti-acquisition. I have never before seen press > and public opinion so cleaved. A significant section > of the Bengali bhadralok is, surprisingly enough, > pro-farmer, and resentful of the dislocations being > brought about by the influx of mega money and its > culture. > > Mahasweta Devi, now in her 80s, has been waging a > lonely battle with her pen. Her writing can be read in > Dainik Statesman--which, by the way, can get no > advertising revenue from the government. > > The result of the political process breaking down is > that people are taking the law into their own hands. > Singur has been infiltrated by Naxals, who may be > behind a recent murder of a couple who had willingly > sold their plot to the state. (Days earlier, a young > activist who protested the land acquisition was raped > and murdered, apparently by men guarding the > barbed-wire border that has been built around the > Singur area. Armed police guard the border by day, and > communist cadre by night.) > > In Contai, where land has been earmarked for a nuclear > power plant, village women have built a thick barrier > of prickly hedge and are not allowing in any > outsiders. They herald the advent of police with conch > shells, so that everyone drops what they are doing and > gathers to face the outsiders--a trick widely used in > this area during the Quit India movement. Spontaneous > resistance is breaking out everywhere. I can't help > feeling that this is the advent of a new freedom > movement. > > It is a freedom movement in the same sense as the old > one, against a government that is colonial (forcibly > claiming new land and resources) and oppressive. Those > outside Bengal have little idea of the level of > violence with which the Left Front has maintained its > success at the polls. Displays of violence with the > intent of intimidating voters are routine in the > villages around election time. The Left Front > maintains hundreds of thousands of cadre on the state > payroll, and needs a constant influx of money. That, > many Kolkatans believe, is the real reason behind its > recent camaraderie with industrialists. Villagers are > even more cynical, have no confidence at all that the > state will look out for them. > > Where will it end? I don't know. This is only the > beginning. > Madhusree > > > Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com > > _______________________________________________ > Foil-l mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://insaf.net/mailman/listinfo/foil-l_insaf.net > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ greenyouth mailinglist is the activist support mailinglist for kerala run by Global Alternate Information Applications (GAIA) To post to this group, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
