Nandigram Violence refers to the violence in
Nandigram,
West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
, India, in 2007 due to the land acquisition for a project taken up by the
Left Front-led
Government of West Bengal
The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...
to create a
chemical hub, a type of
special economic zone
A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
(SEZ).
The policy led to an emergency in the region, and 14 people died in a police shooting.
According to
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) reports, the Nandigram violence saw a
Maoist insurgency in the area during the protests. However the Home Secretary of West Bengal stated that the presence of Maoists could not be confirmed in Nandigram.
The
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic crime investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and gover ...
(CBI) later exonerated the
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government of responsibility for the shootings. However, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had said earlier "They (the opposition) have been paid back in the same coin," supporting the violence in Nandigram by his own party workers.
Background
The SEZ controversy began when the government of West Bengal decided that a chemical hub would be established in a Nandigram SEZ by the
Salim Group
The Salim Group is Indonesia's biggest conglomerate and refers to companies where the Salim family holds majority ownership. Its assets include Indofood Sukses Makmur, the world's largest instant noodle producer; Indomobil Group, one of Indon ...
of Indonesia. SEZ policy required the expropriation of 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of land owned by farmers in the region. The farmers gathered under the Bhoomi Raksha Committee, which was backed by
Maoists
Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People's Re ...
. While the governor was airborne and unavailable, police entered the Nandigram area. Violence between demonstrators and police left at least 14 villagers killed and 70 injured.
Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 2 ...
and her
All India Trinamool Congress
The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a breakaway faction f ...
party noted the issue, and the slogan ''
Ma Mati Manush'' (Mother, Motherland and People) was used in their election campaigns.
The
Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee
Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee ('Committee against Land Evictions') was an organisation in West Bengal, India, formed to oppose the set-up of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the rural area of Nandigram.
History
It formed an important role in r ...
(BUPC) blocked roads leading into the region from January to March 2007. Several
FIRs were registered at the Nandigram and Khejuri police stations alleging arson and looting. The complaints could not be investigated by local police, who could not enter the villages during the standoff. Thousands of leftist supporters, attacked and driven from their homes, were housed in camps.
After the villagers' protests against the acquisition of land in Nandigram for the proposed chemical hub, the state government yielded to the BUPC demands and announced the project's cancellation in early March 2007. A police team was sent to prevent protesters from digging up roads; one police officer was killed while trying to repair a road, and 12 others were seriously injured.
Protests and violence
Events of 14 March 2007
The administration was directed to break up BUPC control of Nandigram, and an operation with over 3,000 police officers was launched on 14 March 2007. News of the impending action leaked to the BUPC, who amassed about 5,000 villagers at the entrances to Nandigram. Official figures claimed that 14 farmers died in the firing, but over 100 were declared "missing".
The deaths in Nandigram sparked controversy about
left-wing politics
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
in India.
Federal police said that they had recovered many bullets of a type not used by police, but in widespread criminal use. Few journalists could enter the area, their access being restricted by Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M),
security checkpoint
Civilian checkpoints or security checkpoints are distinguishable from border or frontier checkpoints in that they are erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary control. Civilian checkpoints have been employed w ...
s. Two people from a news channel were briefly abducted.
After the 14 March killings, volunteer doctors visited the Nandigram health centre, the district hospital at
Tamluk
Tamluk (), is a town and a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world and the headquarter ...
and the
SSKM Hospital and compiled a report. In a press release, West Bengal governor
Gopal Krishna Gandhi criticized his government's handling of the Nandigram incident.
The scale of the action stunned the state, and the
All India Trinamool Congress
The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a breakaway faction f ...
estimated the death toll at 50.
West Bengal Minister of Public Works Kshiti Goswami of the
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) said that 50 people were taken to hospital, but it was impossible to determine how many were dead. CPI(M) members and supporters, and their families, were driven out of the area and their houses reportedly burnt by the BUPC. A week after the 14 March clashes, ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' estimated that about 3,500 persons had been displaced into relief camps as a result of BUPC threats.
The CPI(M) adopted the position that land would not be acquired without the consent of the people of Nandigram. They accused the Jami Raksha Committee, a coalition of activists who opposed land acquisition, of armed attacks on relief camps which led to three deaths, a series of murders and a
gang rape
In scholarly literature and criminology, gang rape, also called serial gang rape, party rape, group rape, or multiple perpetrator rape,Ullman, S. E. (2013). 11 Multiple perpetrator rape victimization. Handbook on the Study of Multiple Perpetrato ...
.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
expressed concern that the West Bengal government had not taken the steps necessary to ensure that all persons under its jurisdiction were protected from forced eviction and displacement and those who were forcibly displaced were ensured the minimum essential levels of food, shelter, water and sanitation, health care and education, with the right to voluntary return or resettlement and reintegration.
The proposed SEZ was shelved after the 14 March police action. On 3 September, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee expressed the government's preference for the sparsely-populated island of
Nayachar
Nayachar is an island in the Hooghly River, off Haldia in Purba Medinipur in the Indian state of West Bengal. The island inhabited by few fishermen, has shot into the larger public view as the proposed site of the major chemical hub initiated ...
, from
Haldia
Haldia () is an industrial port city in Purba Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It has a major river port and industrial belt located approximately southwest of Kolkata near the mouth of the Hooghly River, one of the d ...
, to set up the chemical hub.
CPI(M) cadres allegedly molested and raped 300 women and girls during the Nandigram violence.
November 2007 violence
A new round of violence occurred in November 2007 as the villagers who were displaced by the CPI(M) cadres returned home. The return of the villagers was marred by violence between the ruling party cadres the locals in Nandigram. The CPI(M) defended the violence, with its state chairman calling it "a new dawn" and the chief minister describing it as "paying (the BUPC, Trinamool and the maoists) back in their own coin".
[
On 12 November 2007, the ]National Human Rights Commission
A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.
The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
directed the West Bengal chief secretary to submit a report on conditions in Nandigram within 10 days. Film directors Aparna Sen
Aparna Sen (; ) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards East ...
and Rituporno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh (; 31 August 1963 – 30 May 2013) was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist. After pursuing a degree in economics, he started his career as a creative artist at an advertising agency. He received recognition for h ...
announced that they would boycott the Kolkata International Film Festival
The Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) is an annual film festival held in Kolkata, India. Founded in 1995, it is the third oldest international film festival in India. The festival is organized by the West Bengal Film Centre under the W ...
in protest of the renewed violence. Sen said, "Nandigram has become a slaughter house with blood being shed every day. CPI(M) might be at the helm of affairs but the state still belongs to us".
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
held an urgent discussion of Nandigram on 21 November 2007, suspending the regular question-hour sessions after two days of complete suspension of proceedings due to heated debates between CPI(M) and opposition-party members in both houses. CPI(M) was alienated in the issue by all the other ruling United Progressive Alliance
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA; Hindi: Saṁyukta Pragatiśīl Gaṭhabandhan) was a Political group, political alliance in India led by the Indian National Congress. It was formed after the 2004 Indian general election, 2004 general ele ...
allies considering the fierce nationwide sentiments against the massacre.
2008 violence
In May 2008, fresh violence broke out between BUPC and CPI(M) supporters. Both sides exchanged fire and hurled bombs at each other. On 5 May, CPI(M) supporters stripped three female BUPC activists after the women refused to join a CPI(M) rally.[Women activists blame CPM of beating in Nandigram](_blank)
. The Economic Times
''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. Owned by The Times Group, ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961 and it is sold in all major cities in India. As of 2012, it is the world's secon ...
. 7 May 2008. The government ordered a CID West Bengal
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the premier investigation agency of the State of West Bengal, India. In Bengal, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) came into existence on 1 April 1906 under Mr. C. W. C. Plowden. The first head ...
investigation of the incident. CPI(M) leaders denied the allegation, saying that it was part of a defamation campaign by political rivals. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi demanded that the panchayat polls, scheduled for 11 May, be postponed due to the unrest. Aparna Sen, along with a number of intellectuals from Kolkata, advocated the transfer of the officer in charge at Nandigram because of reported partisan behaviour.
Response
Long-time West Bengal finance minister and CPI(M) leader Ashok Mitra criticized the government and his party, accusing the party's leadership of hubris
Hubris (; ), or less frequently hybris (), is extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency, often in combination with (or synonymous with) arrogance.
Hubris, arrogance, and pretension are related to the need for vi ...
and calling the CPI(M) "a wide-open field of flatterers and court jesters" dominated by "anti-socials". According to an ''Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language India, Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the Indian Express Limited, ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnat ...
'' editorial, the party machinery had become the "sword arm of an industrialization
Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...
policy that involves settling complicated property rights issues." Some of the men who fired at the villagers but were not police officers were later caught by security forces were claimed (by TMC) to be working for the CPI(M)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electoral seats, and one of the six national parties of India. ...
.
Novelist Sunil Gangopadhyay
Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (September 7, 1934 – October 23, 2012) was an Indian poet, novelist, short story writer, and critic. He played a key role in modernizing Bengali poetry and co-founded the 1953 Avant-garde, avant-gra ...
, friend of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (1 March 1944 – 8 August 2024) was an Indian Communism, communist politician and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who served as the 7th List of Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Chief M ...
, felt that industry was necessary but the state's violence was barbarous. Social activist Medha Patkar
Medha Patkar (born 1 December 1954) is an Indian Social activist working on social issues for tribals, dalits, farmers, labourers and women facing injustice in India. She is an alumna of TISS, a premier institute of social science research in ...
visited Nandigram on 7 December 2006 to protest the land acquisition
Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surface ...
.
Electoral response
The electorate of Nandigram reacted against the government's policy of industrialization through farmland acquisition. For the first time since the Left Front government came to power, the opposition gained control of the East Midnapore
East Medinipur (Alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The ...
zilla parishad by winning 35 out of 53 seats on 11 May 2008. The results were:
* All India Trinamool Congress
The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a breakaway faction f ...
: 35
* Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)
The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) or SUCI(C) is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party in India. The party was founded by Shibdas Ghosh, Nihar Mukherjee and others in 1948.
Ideology
SUCI(C) is a communist party in ...
(SUCI): 1
* Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...
(CPI(M)): 14
* Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...
(CPI): 2
* Democratic Socialist Party (Prabodh Chandra)
Democratic Socialist Party is a Democratic Socialist political party in India. The party was formed in 1981 when H.N Bahuguna came out of the then Janata Party and took the lead in forming it.The party is almost completely limited to West Beng ...
(DSP): 1
Trinamool candidates won all four seats of the Nandigram I and II blocks. Sheikh Sufian (a BUPC leader backed by the Trinamool) defeated the rival CPI(M) candidate Ashok Jana by over 13,000 votes, and Pijush Bhunia (another Trinamool leader) defeated CPI(M) zonal-committee secretary Ashok Bera by over 2,100 votes.
In the 2011 legislative-assembly election, then incumbent chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee lost his seat and the Left Front lost power after 34 years. Mamata Banerjee and the All Indian Trinamool Congress used the Singur
Singur is a census town in Singur CD block in Chandannagore subdivision of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
Location
Singur is located at . It has an average elevation of 14 metres (45 ft), and i ...
and Nandigram issues and their slogan, '' Ma Mati Manush'', in their campaigns. Firoza Bibi of the All India Trinamool Congress (whose son was killed amidst the violence) won the Nandigram assembly by-election with a margin of 39,551 votes, defeating Left Front candidate Paramananda Bharati.
See also
* Maoist involvement during Nandigram protests
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Most comprehensive database on "Nandigram" at Sanhati
"Nandigram" photos, links to videos, reports – a comprehensive archive at Counterviews
''Nandigram'' links, photos, videos and regular updates from Sacred Media Cow
Nandigram Information – facts, details, accounts – updated regularly
Lessons from Nandigram : What Next
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717200802/http://www.workersdaily.org/podcast/audio/sf7Dec2007.mp3 Sara Flounders member of the Workers World Party secretariat speaks of her experience after visiting Nandigram]
* commons:Image:Nandigram Timeline (22 August 2005 – 17 June 2008).pdf#filelinks/, Nandigram Movement Timeline
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