Peasant Resistance in West Bengal a Decade before Singur and Nandigram

Author(s): Abhijit Guha

Source: Economic and Political Weekly , Sep. 15 - 21, 2007, Vol. 42, No. 37 (Sep. 15 - 21,
2007), pp. 3706-3711
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40276384

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 Insight

Peasant Resistance in
monocrop land is cultivated people will
benefit if industrialisation occurs there.
Third, despite the spontaneous but weak
protests and resistance by farmers of
West Bengal a Decade before Kharagpur during the mid-1990s, no op-
position party lent any solid support (as

Singur and Nandigram

they have done in Singur) to them govern-
ment. A comparative study between the
cases of land acquisition in Singur and
Land acquisition in the name of building industry in Singur and Kharagpur is thus required. According to
information revealed in the print media,
Nandigram in West Bengal has seen popular opposition from
a total of 997 acres of agricultural land
various political entities and intellectuals. However, such have been acquired for the Tatas' small
opposition was lacking in earlier cases of acquisition of fertile land
car factory at Singur. The process of land
ostensibly for industrial development of the state. Despite the lackacquisition by the bureaucratic machinery
of such support from civil society and the polity, the people affected of the West Bengal government took eight
months. The compensation rate, according
still protested to ensure compensation.
to government sources, turned out to be
a little more than Rs7 lakh per acre (The
Abhijit was
Guha published Statesman, December in 14, 2006).
the me
The Statesman, yet
In 1992, a pig-iron manufacturing plant the
This is howmained forced
silent. The reasons behind displacement
the named Tata Metaliks was set up on bec
cultural-economic equivalent
silence of Kolkata-based intellectuals and monocrop land of six 'mouzas' of underan e
quake that shatters
the opposition production
parties over the land ac- sys
Kharagpur I block of the erstwhile Mid-
and social networks, undermines iden
quisition for the Tatas and Birlas by thenapore district, though non-arable land
and plunges those affected on a down
LFG at Kharagpur in the early 1990s arewas available in the vicinity, having com-
poverty spiral.
more than one. First, anti-Left Front munication and other facilities. A total of
- Michael Cernea (2002).
political parties (the SUCI and CPI-ML)217.23 acres was acquired by the state
peasant and protests
human rights groups (APDR andgovernment in Singur
and the acquisition was com- an
Nandigram, Nagarik Mancha) hitherto
were not interested inplete withinlittle know
a year through the application
places, have been
the land acquisition issue during that able to West
of the more coercive drawBengal Land th
attention of the
period when national
the Left Front-driven indus-(Requisition and and Acquisition) intern
Act, 1948
media, the leading
trialisation was at its nascent stage, economists
withwhich became defunct after March 31, and
lectuals ofpromisesthe country,
of huge industrial investments 1993. The compensation human paid by the
activists and above
by private companies in the state. Theall,district landpoliticians.
acquisition department was
we take a longer
other partners of the LFG, view
viz. GPI, For-Rs 20,686of an acre events
for a landowner, while inv
land ward Bloc and RSP were
acquisition foralso silent onprivate
for a recorded bargadar, it was industr
Rs 1 1 ,2 1 1 .75
will find the acquisition of
that farmland in a districtthings
worse an acre. On June 1, 1992 in hadthe West hap
in Kharagpur during
in which the majority of the population Bengal the assembly, Manas early
Bhunia of the 19
few yearsdepends
before the
on agriculture. Undoubtedly, these Congress declaration
wanted to know about the land
"New Industrial
pressure groups lacked thePolicy"
political fore- acquisition for (NIP)
the establishment by of the th
Front Government
sight to take it up as their major agenda(LFG) pig-iron industry by the in 1994.
Tatas at Kharag-
ata-based scientists and
for agitation. Second, though the farmlands pur. The landintellectual
and land reforms minister,
are now acquired in Kharagpur provided against
protesting foodin his reply informed thethe
assembly aboutacqu
of fertile agricultural
security to a good number of villagers, theland for
amount of land given Tata
to the company
at Singur,thesedid
were monocrop not('jal soem' in pay
the and the rates any
of compensation*. heed
No ques-
dispossession of
departmental classification) thousands
in ofof sm
nature. We tion was asked about the rehabilitation
marginal farmers
still find among those whoand are opposed thebargadars
displaced peasants by any member of(inc
tribals) for
to the the pig-iron
acquisition of multicrop companies
farmlands the assembly (West Bengal Assembly
Tatas and anBirlas
understanding which runsat Kharagpur.
like this: Proceedings, Vol 99; 1992). An unpublished
The opposition
"Well, monocrop land parties,
may be acquired report of the too,
Midnapore landwereacquisition s
No opposition
since we need to haveleader raised
industrialisation in department his
dated March 27, 1 992 revealed o
voice in the
the state, West
but multicrop land Bengal assembly
shouldthat the lack of irrigation facilities and
acquisitionneverofbe allowedfarmland
to be acquired for non- the monocropfor privat
nature of the acquired land
panies at Kharagpur.
agricultural use". This argument 'defies led to The the calculation of report
its market price
adverse consequences
logic, because the assumption is that where at suchof a low rateland[Land Acquisition acqu

3706 Economic and Political Weekly September 15, 2007

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Department 1992]. The department, too, The Statesman: "We are not finding any poor through land reforms which is done
did not explore the possibilities of reha- takers for the land" {The Statesman, Novem- through the distribution of illegally held
bilitation of the affected families in terms ber 18, 1999). This huge chunk of fertile excess ceiling land. In the Indian context
of providing permanent jobs and/or land agricultural land, which provided subsistence the colonial Land Acquisition Law and the
as compensation. The administration to nearly 3,000 families, remained unutil- post-independence Land Reform Act stand
seemed to be concerned only with mone- ised till 2003 after which some portion of in an antithetical relationship. While the
tary compensation at the market price it was given to a private company but the latter empowers the peasantry, the former
prevalent in the area. Three years later, larger area still remains unutilised. Accord- functions in an opposite direction; it disem-
people of the same area were served with ing to the survey conducted by the Kharag- powers the peasants. And quite frustrat-
notices by the district administration for pur I block development office, 73 per cent ingly, land acquisition has taken place at a
the acquisition of their farmland in 10 of families of the gram panchayats from faster pace than land reforms in left ruled
mouzas covering about 525 acres for which land was acquired for Tata Metaliks West Bengal [Guha 2007].
another pig-iron plant named Century and CTIL were living below the poverty Dispossession from one's own means
Textiles and Industrial Limited (CTIL). line in 1997, that is, one to five years of production is one kind of displacement
The local people, being totally disillu- after the acquisition [Block Development in which the dispossessed family not only
sioned and frustrated with the government's Office 1997]. loses its economic security but also social
attitude towards rehabilitation and com- The current industrial policy of the LFG status and empowerment achieved through
pensation in the Tata Metaliks case, began is rationalised by its protagonists by the political movements and land reforms.
to protest against this decision of acquisi- success of its land reform measures, which Michael Cernea's pioneering study on
tion. This time, the land acquisition de- as the argument runs has improved the displacement has shown that impoverish-
partment prepared rates of compensation, conditions of the peasantry so that the ment has several 'dimensions' and the
which ranged between Rs 50,000 and rural areas of this state can now afford primary among them is landlessness. Ac-
Rs 1,00,000 an acre and Rs 7,000 an acre to have medium and large industriescording to Cernea, landlessness is one of
for the bargadars. The farmers objected to [WBIDC 1999]. The land for these in- the most vital components of displacement
these rates and mass deputations to the dustries is acquired by the colonial Landwhich should be given a major importance
district authorities began, and on January Acquisition Act of 1894 which only hasin devising rehabilitation resettlement and
10, 1996, the peasants prevented soil test- provision for monetary compensation at plans. To quote Cernea: "Expropriation
ing by the company and blocked National the prevalent market rate. The net effectof land removes the main foundation upon
Highway 6 for eight hours. The farmers' of this kind of development has not onlywhich people's productive systems, com-
agitation continued for about five months been impoverishment at the social andmercial activities and livelihoods are
and they also boycotted parliamentary economic level but also disempowermentconstructed. This is the principal form of
elections in May 1996. All these events of the peasantry at the political level. The' décapitai isation' and pauperisation for
were reported in The Statesman and some all-powerful, Land Acquisition Act whichmost rural and many urban displaces, who
Bengali dailies. No political party came bypasses the democratically elected locallose this way both natural and manmade
forward to organise this spontaneous move- self-governments has no provision forcapital" [Cernea 1999: 17].
ment of peasants; no social or human rights rehabilitation nor has the LFG shown
Table 1: Distribution of Households
interest to create any kind of safety net in Five Villages Affected by Land
activist came forward to support land los-
ers of a rural area in West Bengal, just for the group of small peasantry which Acquisition for Tata Metaliks
120 km from Kolkata. One former naxalite has benefited from land reforms and in-
Name of the Village Number of Households
peasant leader, with the help of a few lo- cludes sharecroppers and tribals. This is
cal Indian National Trade Union Congress the broader context of the protests and Ajabpur 47 (33.6)*
Amba 21 (14.5)
(1NTUC) members, led a brief but sig- resistance of a group of peasants in a Gokulpur 32 (22.2)
nificant movement against land acquisition. region of West Bengal, who tried to cre- Liluakala 12 (8.3)
The district unit of the APDR published a ate a greater space for compensation for Mahespur 32 (22.2)
Total 144 (100)
leaflet, held a meeting in the locality and the land taken over by the government in
sent a deputation to the district magistrate, the early 1990s. In the following sections Note: Figures in parenth
out of column totalin the table.
but that was all. The land acquisition epi- we would describe in some detail how
sode for CTIL, however, took a horrible the peasants of Paschim Medinipur districtTable 2: Distribution of Households
of Different Castes and Communities
turn within a few years. After taking pos- of West Bengal made attempts to manage
Affected by Land Acquisition for TML
session of 358.25 acres by April 1997 and the risks created by the acquisition of
fencing the land, the company decided not agricultural land for the industries through Name of the Caste/ Number of Per cent
Community Households of Total
to deposit any money for payment of various kinds of legal and extra-legal
compensation [Guha2004]. The company's means. But before we enter into the Baisnab 4 (2.8)
Brahmin 6 (4.2)
managing director, B K Birla, in an inter- detailed description of the peasant ways
Kayastha 13 (9.0)
view with The Statesman, said they would of risk management, let us contextualise
Kshatriya 15 (10.4)
not proceed with the project since "the land acquisition in West Bengal. Muslim 8 (5.6)
national market of pig-iron has become Napit 2 (1.4)
Sadgope 56 (38.9)
very competitive because of the entry of Land Acquisition in West Bengal Scheduled Castes 12 (8.3)
China and Australia in the field". The then Kora (Tribe) 24 (16.7)
state land and land reforms minister, Surya Tantubay 3 (2.1)
In situations of rural poverty one of the
Teli 1 (0.7)
Kanta Mishra, on the other hand told best safety nets is the empowerment of the

Economic and Political Weekly September 15, 2007 3707

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 The second aspect of dispossession of the
farmers from their major means of produc-
tion, is the differential impact of land ac-
quisition on the heterogeneous group of
agriculturists in a region. This is precisely
because of the fact that when any govern-
ment acquires agricultural land it does not
take into consideration the pre-acquisition
landholding pattern of a region.
Thirdly, dispossession also entails a
political dimension. In a rural society where
peasant movements have taken place in
successive waves and the rights of share-
croppers as well as landless labourers
have been ensured by a government just
a few years ago, the acquisition of fertile
agricultural land for capital-intensive heavy
industries by the same government not
only dispossesses the farmers economi-
cally but it also creates political disem-
powerment and despondency.
In this paper, we would briefly describe
the consequences of land acquisition for
the private industries in which all three
aforementioned risks had been observed,
viz, (i) landlessness, (ii) differential impact
of land acquisition on the peasantry, and
(iii) their political disempowerment.
Socio-economic Consequences
The area in question lies on the bank
of the river Kasai which is the largest
river in Paschim Medinipur district. Cul-
tivation of paddy (staple of the district)
in the villages under study depends pri-
marily upon rainfall and no systematic
irrigation facilities have yet been developed
by the government. The villagers residing
on the south-eastern bank of the river
cultivate a variety of vegetables on the
land adjoining their homesteads owing to
a very good supply of groundwater tapped
through traditional dug wells. But just
west of the south-eastern railway track the
groundwater level is not very congenial
for cultivation of vegetables. The main
agricultural activity on this side of the
railway track is rain fed paddy cultivation
for about four to six months of the year.
Land for the big private industries had
been acquired by the government on this
side of the railway track during 1991-96
in the wake of liberalisation in India.
The selection procedure of the households
for this study followed a combination of
purposive and opportunity sampling. The
aim was to locate the households whose
farmlands have been acquired for the
establishment of the Tata Metaliks (TML)
unit. Instead of searching through the
3708 Economic and Political Weekly September 15, 2007
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records of land ownership kept in the land From Table 1 it is found that the vil-
and land records department of the district, lages situated on the eastern side of the
this investigation depended directly upon railway track (Ajabpur, Gokulpur and
fieldwork by following the traditional Liluakala) have been affected more in
anthropological method of intensive in- terms of the number of families who have
terviews of the project affected people. lost their farmlands. The people of these
Apart from knowing the current status of villages are excellent farmers who keep
land ownership, (which are not promptly themselves engaged throughout the year
made up-to-date in the land records office) in agriculture. Besides paddy, they also
micro-ecological variations and local grow almost all kinds of summer and
level political movement centering round winter vegetables like green chili, lady's
land acquisition within the first few weeks finger, mustard, water gourd, pumpkin,
of fieldwork, it became possible to know bitter gourd, brinjal, potato, cabbage,
from the active members of the political cauliflower, radish and others.
movement the names of the villages whose These vegetables are grown in lands
inhabitants have been affected by the adjoining their homesteads which have
acquisition of agricultural lands for the not been acquired by the government. The
industries. Later, at the time of conducting villagers mainly sell these vegetables in
the household survey, snowball sampling the local markets which fetch them some
was taken recourse to, wherein the af- ready cash. On the other hand, the fami-
fected households gave the names of lies who live in the village Paschim Amba,
other such household heads whose land lying on the western side of the railway
have also been acquired. The household track, belong to the kora tribe. Many of
survey had to be completed within athe kora women and men now work as
period of three months owing to time temporary unskilled labourers in the coke
constraints and as a result not all the oven industry.
affected households could be covered. A fable 2 shows that the households
rough estimate about the total number ofbelonging to Sadgops, who are one of the
households affected by the acquisition of most enterprising peasant caste of western
land was made available for us by the Bengal, have been affected most, while
leaders of the peasant movement who the scheduled tribe and scheduled caste
took the help of the Congress Party.* Theyfamilies comprise almost a quarter of the
estimated that about 200 families have total number of affected households. An
been affected by the acquisition. Within estimate of the number of persons who
the stipulated time, a total of 144 house- were dependent directly on agriculture
holds (72 per cent of the estimated total) and related activities in the pre-acquisition
belonging to different landholding catego- phase may now be attempted. Since the
ries, caste and community affiliation as mean household size in this area turned
well as families residing in the two micro- out to be 5.76 the number of persons in
ecological niches on both sides of the our 144 sample households would be
south-eastern railway track have been around 829 and through our field based
covered by the survey. The sample house- interviews and observations we have found
holds included Hindu caste groups, that all these persons were dependent on
Muslims, tribals, owner cultivators, share- agriculture and related economic activities
croppers on both sides of the railway track before the acquisition.
which provide interesting ecological In the pre-acquisition stage, there was
variations in terms of groundwater level no landless family within the sample
and cultivation of non-cereal food crops. households and 75 per cent of these
In the following section, the findings of families belonged to the size category of
enquiry on some consequences of the said
act of acquisition have been described.
The first and foremost consequence Economic and Political Weekly
conforms to the observation of Michael
Available from
Cernea that there are "eight major risks"
involved in involuntary displacement
caused by development projects all over Star News Agency
the world. Industrialisation in the liber- Mahendra Chambers,
alisation decade in Medinipur has led to Magazine Market
dispossession of the small and marginal 146, D N Road
farmers from their principal means of Mumbai - 400 001
production.
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0.5-4.5 acres. According to the latest considered to be domestic consumption, December 1995. A government report
standards set by the government of West then clearly the latter item predominates dated June 21, 1996 vividly recorded the
Bengal, these families should be regarded in the compensation utilisation process. objections and described in detail how
as marginal and small farmers. The pattern In order to have a qualitative "feel" of the latter were overruled. The objections
of landholding among the same families the impact of land acquisition in our field submitted by the 342 peasants who lost
after land acquisition shows that 15 per area we would briefly describe the cases land contained the following points: (i)
cent of the families have become landless of some families from Gokulpur village The acquisition of agricultural land would
and the number of households belonging in which about 22 per cent of the total affect the farmers seriously by throwing
to the lowest landholding category (<0.5 number of families have been affected by them out of employment, (ii) they would
acres) has increased from 19 to 35. On land acquisition for the Tata Metaliks. not get compensation at. the rate they
the other hand, the number of households Here we have used the real names of theexpect, and (iii) the proposed acquisition
within the size category 3.5-7.5 acres, has persons with their consent. is against public interest and is beyond
declined from 22 to only 9. Eandlessness Case 1: Nirod Choudhury, a middle-aged the purview of the Act. It is interesting
has another interesting dimension. The Sadgop peasant inherited 2.5 acres ofto observe how the concerned officials of
post acquisition phase shows that the fertile land. He used to grow paddy in the land acquisition department overruled
project affected families are forced to the land which supplied him food for all the objections raised by the farmers.
support bigger families with a smaller about six to eight months of the year. All Before rejecting the objections, the officials,
amount of agricultural land. the land was acquired and he received however, recognised the severity and
It may be mentioned that even the about Rs 56,000 as compensation in 1992. magnitude of the acquisition. To quote
administrative procedures for monetary He spent all the money in marrying offfrom the report:
compensation to the sharecroppers make his 17-year old daughter. His two sons It is a fact that since large quantum of
them more vulnerable in terms of the have dropped out from school and now land is being acquired and the people
amount as well as the delay towards its work as agricultural day labourers. Nirod- chiefly subsist on agriculture many people
payment. The new industrial policy of thebabu now works as a helper of a mason
Table 3A: Pre-acquisition Agricultural
government of West Bengal did not spelland buys paddy from the market. Landholding Pattern of Sample
Case 2: Ballav Jana, a Tanti peasant owned Households Affected by the Acquisition
out any safety net for the sharecroppers
forTML
[Guha2006]. three acres of agricultural land and one
acre of vegetable growing land. All his Size Category Number of Mean
Utilisation of Compensation paddy land has been acquired and he got of Holdings Household Household
about Rs 66,000 as compensation which (in Acres) Size
While the policymakers of the govern- was spent in getting his daughter married Landless Nil ~
ment think that their task of rehabilitation and on domestic consumption. His one 0.5 19(13.2) 4.7
0.5-1.5 58(40.3) 6.4
ends with the payment of compensation, acre of vegetable growing land which is 1.5-2.5 32(22.2) 8.8
the project affected families begin to next to his home was not acquired and he 2.5-3.5 . 13(9.0) 8.6
manage risk by spending the compensation now sells vegetables in the local market 3.5-4.5 8 (5.6) 8.9
4.5-5.5 6(4.2) 12.6
money. The following table summarises to maintain his family. 5.5-6.5 Nil
this risk management behaviour of the Case 3: Dhiren Choudhury, a Sadgop, 6,5-7.5 8(5.6) 13.3
peasants in the study area. owned one acre of paddy land and all his
Here we have made an attempt to land have been acquired. He received Table 3B: Post*acquisitio
Landholding Pattern o
quantify the pattern of utilisation of the about Rs 22,000 as compensation and Households Affected by
compensation money received by the land purchased seven kathas of agricultural forTML
losers in the study area. It needs to be land. He has not yet taken up any non-
Size Category Number of Mean
mentioned at first that all the 144 house- agricultural job. of Holdings Households Household
holds have received monetary compensa- The above cases represent the impact (in Acres) Size
tion, although many losers of land during of land acquisition at the household Landless 22 (15.3) 6.4
the field investigation reported that they level in Kharagpur which clearly reveal 0.5 35 (24.3) 5.5
were yet to get the full compensation that the main crisis encountered by the 0.5-1.5 51 (35.4) 8.3
1.5-2.5 14 (9.7) 7.6
money. Secondly, all the families have peasant families affected by land acquisi- 2.5-3.5 13 (9.1) 12.1
utilised the compensation money in more tion was food insecurity. The compensa- 3.5-4.5 5 (3.5) 9.2
ways than one. Eight categories of utili- tion money could not solve the problem* 4.5-5.5 3 (2.1) 10.3
5.5-6.5 1 (0.7) 15:0
sation of the compensation money by the Secondly, unless forced, these families 6.5-7.5 Nil
villagers could be identified, which were wanted to continue their traditional eco-
then arranged into 10 compensation cate- nomic pursuit, that is agriculture. Table 4: Land A
gories. The maximum number of affected The protests launched by the landown- among the Shar
households have spent some portion of ing peasants of the Gokulpur- Amba area Affected by Acq
the compensation money on domestic against land acquisition took many forms, Amount of Land in Acres Number of Households
consumption, while the second largest even though these did not last long. A
_ _

number of households has deposited a good number of peasants took the statu- 0.5-1.5 8
tory means to put up their objections 1.5-2.5 Nil
part of the money in banks. But if spend-
2.5-3.5 1
ing on marriage of the family members against land acquisition under section 5A Total 11
and house-building and repair are also of the Land Acquisition Act during

Economic and Political Weekly September 15, 2007 3709

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 will be seriously affected in earning their saying that the proposal had been ap- acres of agricultural land during 1991-92.
livelihood and avocation (Land Acquisition proved both by the screening committee Before the establishment of Tata Metaliks
Department 1996). and by the state after considering all the the leaders and cadres of CPI(M) and CPI
But this was the only sentence in the aspects. Thirdly, the report dealt with the organised meetings and continued indi-
whole report which upheld the interests point "job for land" simply by saying vidual level campaigns on the "bright
of the peasants. The rest of the three-page that the Land Acquisition Act does not possibility" of getting jobs by the land
report was devoted to justifying the provide any relief except compensation, losers in the industry. But when the Tata
acquisition through the elaboration of but that the government may take up theMetaliks started production, the promise
some arguments. The arguments of the matter with the company particularly forof providing jobs turned out to be false
officials centered around the low agri- those farmers who would become land- and the peasants also experienced the
cultural yield of the lands which are less and would be devoid of any source lengthy as well as tedious process of get-
monocrop in nature. Moreover the report of earning a livelihood. Now, after havingting compensation from the district
also talked about the merits of the loca- overruled all the objections, the procedureadministration. All of these caused suffi-
tion of the land and the important infra- for land acquisition made headway. cient disillusionment among the peasants
structure facilities available near by for Apart from recording objections withinwho were once hopeful about the positive
industry. It is leafnt from the report that the legal framework of the Land Acquisi-effects of the establishment of an indus-
during the hearing of the objections the tion Act, the farmers of this area also tooktrial estate in this region.
petitioners could not "specify their indi- recourse to extra-legal means to fight The decision of the state government
vidual difficulty in parting with the land" against the acquisition of their agricul-to acquire agricultural land in the same
although the same report said that "most tural land. The information on this partarea for Century Textiles Company was
of the objectors submitted that they have of the peasant protest has been collected taken against this background. The pes-
no objection if employment is assured from interviews of the leaders and par-simism created among the peasants owing
to them, in the company in favour of ticipants of this movement as well as fromto the establishment of Tata Metaliks
whom acquisition is being done". Three press reports and the various written inspired some of the inhabitants of this
points raised in the report are quite sig- memoranda submitted by the villagers to locality to agitate against the acquisition
nificant and show the bureaucratic way the district and state administration. In of land for another pig-iron industry. The
of dealing with such an action on the the following section the succession ofmovement gained much popularity under
part of the government which was going the important events of the peasant resis-the leadership of Trilochan Rana (a former
to have a severe impact on the subsistencetance has been described. CPI(ML) leader) during 1995-96 who
pattern of a group of rural cultivators in The vast rural area which lies between joined the trade union wing of the Congress
a monocrop region. Firstly, at one place Medinipur and Kharagpur townships is Party and put considerable pressure on
the report mentioned: "It is worthwhiledominated by the two left political parties the district administration.
to point out that objections have been of the state, namely, CPI and CPI(M), The movement reached its peak in the
received only from 342 landowners forwhich are also the major partners of the latter part of 1995 up to April 1996 dur-
the acquisition of 526.71 acres whichLFG. The Congress, which is the opposi-ing which time the farmers even went to
will affect at least 3,000 landowners, iftion party in the state has some followersthe extent of using violence. In the first
not more". It seems the official positionin the area. This party being the majorweek of January 1996 hundreds of farm-
rested on the logic that as the overwhelm- supporter of economic liberalisation diders in the Kalaikunda area stormed into
ing majority of the farmers would not not raise any objection when the news ofthe tent of the engineer who was conduct-
face any difficulty so there was no need industrialisation in this area came to be ing soil testing and land survey on behalf
to record any objection against this ac- known. They only raised doubts about of Century Textiles. A leading national
quisition. Secondly, after citing the whether the industrialists would at all daily reported on January 10, 1996:
locational advantages of the land, the choose West Bengal as a suitable site for
Land Survey and soil testing work in
officials overruled objections regarding industrialisation. In the study area Tata Mathurakismat Mouza in the Kalaikunda
the question of earning a livelihood by Metaliks was established on about 200 gram panchayat area of Kharagpur rural

Table 5: Profile of Utilisation of Compensation Money by the Land Loser Households Affected by the Acquisition for TML

Compensation Category
in Rupees Purchase
Agricultural land Shallow Tubewell and/or Repair Consumption Purpose of Loan Investment
1,000-10,000 6 - 9 31 9 2 18 6
10,000-20,000 5 5 5 12 9 1 16 3
20,000-30,000 - 1 5 5 4 2 6 1
30,000-40,000 - 1 5 5 5 16 2
40,000-50,000 1 - 14 1-4.
50,000-60,000 - - 1 1 1 - 2 -
60,000-70,000 0 0 0 2 10 1-
70,000-80,000 - - ---...
80,000-90,000 1 - -11-1.
90,000-1,00,000 - - 2 1 - - 4 1
Total 13 7 28 62 31 6 58 13

3710 Economic and Political Weekly September 15, 2007

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 police station undertaken by Century dykes ('ail' in the local parlance) raised my sincere thanks to the land acquisition officer
Textiles - a Birla group of Industries - had by the farmers to demarcate the plots of and the staff of the land acquisition department
to be abandoned following stiff resistance of the Paschim Medinipur district who extended
land possessed by different owners all kinds of help and cooperation during 1999-
from villagers last week... The farmers
also blocked Sahachak for nine hours
within the acquired area. Since no cultiva- 2000. I also express my sincere thanks to the
tion could be taken up for three successive librarian and the staffof the West Bengal assembly
yesterday... They also lodged a complaint
seasons in the whole area, which had
with the police against the firm (The library in Kolkata for their help and cooperation.

Statesman, January 10, 1996). turned into a grazing field, the dykes had Last but not the least, I express my deepest
gratitude to the acquisition affected villagers of
On March 22, 1996, the same nationalstarted to break. Two consequences of Kharagpur-I block who helped me by providing
daily reported a mass deputation by this
a situation followed. Firstly, the farmers all kinds of information when I conducted the
group of peasants of the Kharagpur region still had land in the vicinity of the fieldwork during 1995-99. I am grateful to the
who
before the district administration (Theacquired area were facing a lot of difficul- anonymous reader of EPW who helped to improve

Statesman, March 22, 1996). In this ties in protecting their agricultural plots the first version of the paper.]
deputation, the peasants demanded land from the grazing cattle. Earlier there were References
for land or a job for the members of the other farmers who also shared the respon-
land-loser families. They also demanded sibility of driving out the cattle from the Block Development Office (1997): Final Status
compensation of Rs 3 lakh per acre of fields during agricultural season. Driving Report of the Below Poverty Line Survey in
Kharagpur 1 Block, Medinipur District (Un-
agricultural land. After this deputation, out the intruding cattle in the paddy fields
published Report), BDO Office, Kharagpur I,
about 100 farmers came to the Medinipur had always been a collective affair in Medinipur.
collectorate on April 10, 1996 and submit- rural areas. After acquisition, the number Cernea, M M (1999): 'Why Economic Analysis
ted a memorandum to the district magis- of farmers has decreased in this area. Is Essential To Resettlement: A Sociologist's
trate saying that they would boycott the Moreover, cows and buffaloes of the View' in M Cernea (ed), The Economics of
Involuntary Resettlement: Questions and
ensuing parliamentary election to protest milkmen of the urban areas of Kharagpur
Challenges, pp 5-49, The World Bank,
against the acquisition of fertile agricul- town have also ventured to exploit this Washington DC.
tural land for industrial projects. The huge chunk of land. Guha, A (2004): 'Land Acquisition in a West
farmers stated in their letter that this ac- Secondly, after the breakdown of dykes Bengal District', Economic and Political
quisition would disturb the local economy the poorer people of the area who used Weekly, October 16-22.
- (2006): 'Eviction of bargadars Under State
and would destabilise the environmental to collect a good quantity of small fishes
Patronage in Leftist West Bengal: A Policy
balance of the region; this event was also of various types from those agricultural Perspective' in R K Das, A Basu and A (eds),
reported in The Statesman on May 2, plots as a common property resource, Perspectives on Rural Development, Depart-
1996. It is important to note in this con- were not getting any fish in those plots. ment of Anthropology, Vidyasagar Univer-
nection that neither the state or district In the discussion three to four persons sity and Indian Anthropological Society,
Kolkata.
level Congress leadership, nor any MLA including one middle-aged woman and - (2007): Land, Law and the Left: The Saga of
of this party showed any interest in sup- an old man were present. All of them Disempowerment of the Peasantry in the Era
porting this movement of the peasants in were denouncing the government for the ofGlobalisation, (Forthcoming with Foreword ,
Kharagpur region. The local CPI(M) takeover of the fertile agricultural land by Michael Cernea), The Concept Publishing
leadership and the elected panchayat for Century Textiles which had not yet Company, New Delhi.
Land Acquisition Department (1992): Composite
members of this area not only remained been established. When the question arose Revised Rate Report for Land Acquisition
silent about this spontaneous movement that if people of this area had started to Cases of Pig-iron Project, P S Kharagpur
of the peasants but they also made every dislike the ruling party and the govern- (unpublished), Office of the Land Acquisition
attempt to smother this agitation by label- ment, then why did they cast their votes Department, Midnapore.
- (1996): Report on the Hearing of Objections
ling it as a disturbance created by Congress at the panchayat and assembly elections
for Land Acquisition for Century Textiles
to stall the progress of industrialisation to the same party every year? The old (Unpublished Report), Office of the Land
under LFG. Without getting support from man replied: "Look babu, we poor people Acquisition Department, Midnapore.
any opposition party and facing stiff re- always have to ride on some animal almost Lieten, G K (1996): 'Development, Devolution
sistance from the ruling left parties and blindfolded. After the ride for some time and Democracy', Sage, New Delhi.
The Statesman, various issues: 'West Bengal
lacking a coherent organisation, this lo- we start to realise whether it is a tiger or
Assembly Proceedings', Vol 99, 1992.
calised peasant movement against land a bullock. But very often we have to twist
West Bengal Industrial Development corporation
acquisition gradually lost its intensity. its tail in order to keep it in proper direc- (1999): Destination West Bengal, WBIDC,
Those who lost land also tried to organise tion" (translated freely from Bengali). The Calcutta.
themselves by refusing to accept compen- present peasant resistance in Nandigram
sation money for a very brief period clearly revealed the power of the peas-
under the leadership of a few local lead- antry to twist the tail of their political
ers but this effort too did not last long masters. 023
Subscription Numbers
and the movement finally came to a halt Subscribers are requested to
in the Kalaikunda region. Email: abhijitguhavu@yahoo.com
note their Subscription Numbers
At the end of this paper an anecdote [I am greatly indebted to S A Khan and Alan
Mentioned on the wrappers and
from Kantapal village from where the Rew for inviting me to present an earlier and
shorter version of this paper in the conference quote these numbers when
huge chunk of land acquired for Century
"Integrating Planning Against Risk'* held on corresponding with the circulation
Textiles needs to be narrated. A discussion
September 17-18, 2005 in Bangkok. I am also
between this author and the villagers was indebted to Michael Cernea for constantly inspir- department.
going on about the condition of the small ing me to write this paper. I would like to express

Economic and Political Weekly September 15, 2007 3711

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