November 16 - 30, December 1-15, 2006

In Singur in West Bengal, peasants are being allowed to harvest their paddy under strict police watch, but not allowed to plant the potato seeds which the farmers had already stocked in their homes. Starting in December, Singur's project area - the "chosen" site for Tata's small car project - would be sealed with barbed wire. On December 2, violent clashes took place between the state police and angry peasants resisting forcible acquisition of their land. The police used tear gas and fired rubber bullets and brutally lathi-charged the resisting peasants, injuring several peasants in the process. Some newspapers have carried reports of peasants alleging that the police forcibly broke into their homes, beat up their family members and set fire to their granaries.

Since 7 th November, battalion after armed police battalion and the Rapid Action Force are pouring in from the districts and setting up camp in and around the area. Police persons, rifles in hand, are posted in the village squares and the markets to keep watch on the villagers’ movements. Village life has been completely disrupted.

In spite of the armed police, people have sworn to remain united and keep up the fight, and have set up camps to keep vigil. Rallies and meetings are being held, almost every day, and the peasants have vowed not to allow this violation of their right to their land and livelihood.

Women are in the forefront of this resistance. On 11 th November, village women in Bajemelia and Khaser Bheri gathered to foil the setting up of police posts in their backyards. They marched to the district headquarters, and submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate demanding immediate withdrawal of police from the villages.

Land acquisition in the interests of the biggest capitalists

The state government invited Tata Motors to establish its project in Singer, and is in the process of handing over 1000 acres of predominantly agricultural land for this purpose, which it acquired on behalf of the company. Between May 2006, when TATA officials first came to inspect the project site, and October, the West Bengal Government has continued its land acquisition process. Almost 75 per cent of the land has already been bought for the project. However, from the start, the acquisition of farmers' lands has not been smooth; people have been out on the streets in a massive show of unity against their land being acquired, as can be seen from the calendar of protests (see Box).

The government in West Bengal, like other states who are establishing "Special Economic Zones" for the big bourgeoisie, is applying the Compulsory Land Acquisition Act passed by the British colonial regime in 1894. It is forcibly acquiring land from peasants for handing over to the biggest capitalists. Where the protests of the peasants have actually blocked the process of land acquisition, the police have been brought in to disperse the protestors.

Lies about voluntary sale of land

The West Bengal government has been claiming that the peasants are willingly parting with their land.. "Of the total 900 farmers, 700 have expressed their readiness to hand over their land. We will ensure that the land owners are compensated adequately," declared the West Bengal Commerce and Industry Minister, Nirupam Sen. The peasants’ struggle to save their land from being taken over has exposed this lying propaganda.

On 27 th October, a ‘People’s Hearing’ was organised jointly by a Committee of several mass organisations formed to extend support to the Singur movement. Hundreds of affected families testified before the panel on the misery befalling on them on account of the acquisition of their multi-crop farmland, and the horror of police atrocities.

On 31 st October, a People’s Survey was launched in the Singur villages to determine the estimated number of landholders and acreage that have been acquired by the government for the Tata project. The survey exposed the falsity of the Chief Minister and his government’s repeated claims that 80-90 percent of the land had been voluntarily given up in lieu of compensatory cheques. In fact, only a handful of rich peasants, some of whom are absentee landowners, have come forward to part with their land in lieu of cash.

The locals have very little faith that they will be absorbed in the factories, as promised by the Tatas and the state government. "Once they take our land for a pittance, they will never give us work. We will be reduced to beggary. Everyday, the police threatens us, not even sparing our women. They don’t allow us to protest. We don’t believe in official promises.”

Peoples Voice unreservedly condemns the fascist onslaught of the Left Front government of West Bengal on the livelihood and rights of the peasants of Singur in the name of promoting "imdustrialisation". The West Bengal government prides itself for having implemented land reforms to secure peasants’ rights, better than any other state government in the country. However, it is clear from the struggle raging in Singur that this government considers the claims of peasants to be subordinate to the claims of the big capitalist investors. It is no different in this respect from other state governments. It is the task of Communists in West Bengal and the rest of India to expose the two timing of the CPI (M) led government and defend the rights of peasants from the onslaught of the bourgeoisie.