New Delhi: Singur and Nandigram, two nondescript rural areas of Bengal has made it to the headlines of nearly every major national and international news outlet. It has been subjects of PhD theses and policy white papers on land acquisition and growth of SEZs. Back where it all began, the beginning of the end of the world’s longest-serving elected Communist government, the mood is one of obvious triumph, jubilation and relief.
Rabindranath Bhattacharya of the Trinamool Congress has whipped Dr Asit Das by a margin of 34,811 votes in Singur where former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had dreamt of setting up the Tata Nano car plant. It has proven to be his and his government’s undoing.
In Nandigram, CPI(M) strongman Lakshman Seth had started the trouble when he announced acquisition of the entire block for setting up of a SEZ to be developed by the Indonesia-based Salim Group. Villagers resisted. Roads were dug up, barricades erected overnight. The police and armed CPI(M) cadres swung into action to re-establish political control. Many were killed, some women were allegedly violated, scores were injured, a few are still missing.
Trinamool Congress candidate Phiroza Bibi’s electoral triumph by a galactic margin of 43,640 votes comes not just as solace but revenge for the people of Nandigram. The highest leader of the Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), the anti-land grab committee, Bhabani Prasad Das, is ecstatic. “What has sweetened the victory here is that the entire state has voted in solidarity with our struggle,” he says. “People here have suffered a lot. At last there is something to smile about,” he adds.
Singur villager Manoranjan Malik’s daughter Tapasi Malik was a teenager. She was allegedly raped and then killed. Her body was burnt to get rid of evidences. The incident had galvanised public opinion all over the state. Scores of Leftwing intellectuals condemned the incident. It led to total polarisation of sentiments in the state. No victory is enough for Manoranjan. This victory has given him hope that justice will be meted out to his daughter’s killers.
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