Sorry, if cross posted
AGAINST ATROCITIES ON THE PEOPLE OF NANDIGRAM AND AGAINST SEZ
ALL INDIA CITIZENS' CONVENTION
19TH JUNE 2007 HINDI BHAVAN, ITO, NEW DELHI
Fellow citizens
The economic, political and cultural scenario in the country has become a
matter of grave concern for everyone today. Poverty and starvation are on the
rise in this period of globalisation and economic liberalisation, so much so,
that economic ruin is compelling thousands of peasants and workers to take
their own lives. At a time when the livelihoods of peasants and workers are
already in deep crisis, the Government has embarked on a programme of grabbing
their lands for Special Economic Zones (SEZ), which has accentuated this crisis
to fearsome proportions. About 250 out of over 600 proposals for SEZ have been
already sanctioned.
Defending SEZs as a necessity for industrialisation, the Central and State
Governments are justifying the grabbing of cultivable lands on which vast
number of rural population are making their livings. We too want
industrialisation and want it on such a scale that can provide employment to
all workers and youths. But sadly enough, we do rarely see the establishment of
new industries. The Government's own statistics testify to the fact that
existing industries are being shut down everywhere and in recent years lakhs of
workers have lost their jobs. But if still space is at all required for new
industries, it is very much available in the existing industrial estates where
lakhs of units have already been shut down. So there is no justification,
whatsoever, for acquiring lands which are used for cultivation and animal
husbandry.
Acquisition of cultivable land will not only make lakhs of farmers and
agricultural labourers lose their livelihoods but will also will have adverse
effect on production of food grains and other farm products, while revenue
losses due to tax concessions and the subsidised provision of electricity and
water to SEZs will definitely lead to the burden of additional taxes on the
common people, who are already over-burdened by taxes. Again, when there will
be no labour laws in SEZs and no social security, the plight of workers in SEZs
will be no better than that of slaves. Deliberately turning a blind eye to all
these problems and painting a one-sided picture of the so-called gains from
SEZs is definitely against the interest of lakhs of peasants, workers and
common people of the country.
More serious concern of all right thinking people is that when peasants and
workers are protesting against land acquisition in order to protect their
livelihoods, the state governments are dealing most brutally with them throwing
all democratic norms to the winds. The government of West Bengal has gone far
ahead of all other states in its repressive actions, unleashing an
unprecedented brutality by its armed criminal gang and police forces against
the protesting farmers and people of Singur and Nandigram. These bloody attacks
have taken the lives of scores of unarmed men and women, and even of innocent
children. Scores of women have been subjected to rape, gang-rape and painful
torture, too blood-curdling even to describe. The fascist methods adopted by
the West Bengal Government to throttle voice of protests would seldom be found
in the history of repression during British rule. We are shocked to see the
authoritarian and fascistic methods that the West Bengal Government
adopted to trample underfoot all democratic norms and values. There is no word
strong enough to condemn these acts.
We highly appreciate and hail the manner in which the peasants and workers of
Nandigram have taken their resistance movement forward, and the courage and
sacrifice that they have displayed, braving all odds and the repressive
measures. We believe that their valiant and vibrant movement will inspire all
movements against injustice and oppression in the country. The courageous
movement of over 15000 peasants in Maharashtra immediately after Nandigram is a
case in point. Such struggles are very much needed all over the country today.
Therefore, we appeal to the people all over the country to unitedly raise their
voice of protest against the oppressive measures of the Central and State
Governments against the people's movement and to abandon land acquisition and
the SEZ programme altogether.
In order to take this democratic movement forward, a Citizens' Convention is
being organised in Delhi on 19th June 2007. Jurists, educationists,
litterateurs, artists, cultural activists and scores of eminent personalities
from all walks of life will participate in the Convention. We appeal to you to
co-operate and assist in every possible way to make the Citizens' Convention a
grand success.
V.R. Krishna Iyer (former Judge, Supreme Court), Moloy Sengupta (former Chief
Justice, Sikkim High Court), Medha Patkar (Social Activist), Prabhash Joshi
(former editor, Jansatta), Debabrata Bandopadhyay (IAS, Executive Chairperson,
Council for Social Development, New Delhi), Prof. Ram Sharan Sharma (renowned
historian), Asghar Ali Engineer (renowned historian & sociologist) , Dr. A.A.
Abbas (former VC, Devi Ahilya University, Indore), Dr. N.A. Karim (former Pro
VC, Kerala University), Prakash Bhai Shah (former editor, Jansatta Gujarati),
Dr. R.K. Dasgupta (former VC, author & educationist) , Prof. Tarun Sanyal
(poet, litterateur, educationist) , Partha Sarathi Sengupta (Sr. Advocate,
Calcutta High Court), Prof. Soumitra Banerjee (IIT, Kharagpur), Aparna Sen
(film director & actress), Girish Kasaravalli (renowned film director),
R.Nagesh (Former chairman, Karnataka Natak Academy), Sumit Chakravarty (Editor,
Mainstream), Prof. Sucha Singh Gill (Punjabi University,
Patiala), Gursharan Singh (eminent playwright, director & actor), Suhas Borker
(independent documentary film maker), H.S. Doreswami (veteran freedom fighter,
Karnataka), Prof. K.R. Chowdry (retd. Prof. ANGR Agricultural University,
Hyderabad & President, Indian Rural Development Congress), Prof. K. Chakradar
Rao (retd. Prof. of Economics, Osmania University & President, Indian Academy
of Social Sciences, AP Chapter), Prof. Arun Kumar (Centre for Economic Studies
& Planning, JNU), Anil Nauriya (Sr. Advocate Supreme Court), Dr. Amit Pathak
(Meerut), Prof. Narender Sharma (Delhi University), Dr. Razi Ahmad (Secretary,
Gandhi Sangrahalaya, Patna), Prof. O.P. Jaiswal (former Chairman, Bihar
Secondary Board of Education), Dr. Ramji Singh (ex-VC & ex-President, Indian
Society of Gandhian Studies & President, Bihar Sarvodaya Mandal), Prof.
Janardan Kunwar (ex-VC, LN Mithila University, Darbhanga, Bihar), Prof. M. N.
Karna (former Director, AN Sinha Instt. of Social Studies &
Research & Prof. of Sociology, North East Hill University, Shillong), Dr.
S.L. Mandal (former President, Indian Medical Association, Bihar Chapter),
Sukumari Bhattacharyya (educationist & author), Tapan Sinha (film director),
Bibhas Chakraborty (playwright, director & actor), Tilak Hazarika (senior
journalist), Mina Agarwala (social activist), Prof. Bijit Bhattacharyya
(editor, Sahitya & renowned poet), Meenakshi Bhuyan (social activist),
Taraprasad Saikia (senior lawyer), Ashoke Das (trade union activist), Meenakshi
Deka (radio artist), Dr. D. Surendranath (prominent social activist &
President, Waynad Dist. Karshaka Prathirodha Samithi)
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