Nandigram, Bengal
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
History
1942
Political history
1969-2019
Zeeshan Jawed, April 1, 2021: The Times of India
This village, the epicentre of the anti-land-acquisition movement 14 years ago, was called “mini-Pakistan” by BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari, who himself had led the protesters in 2007.
But the tag seemed demeaning to the long tradition of equal participation by Hindus and Muslims in any movement from Nandigram, including the freedom struggle. After Congress passed the Quit India resolution on August 8, 1942, 10,000 people marched to Nandigram police station on September 30, 1942 to hoist the Tricolour there. British troops fired at them, killing eight. The “Dictionary of Martyrs, India’s Freedom Struggle Vol 4”, published by the ministry of culture and the Indian Council of Historical Research, mentions the eight martyrs, including Sheikh Alauddin (40) who was “actively participating” in the Quit India movement. Ajim Baksh and Sheikh Abdul, who were arrested and sentenced to imprisonment, died in Midnapore jail. “Tamluk, along with adjoining areas, were the only pockets in the entire country to gain independence from the British twice — once after the Quit India movement and again on August 15, 1947,” said Raj Sekhar Basu, professor at Calcutta University.
Undivided Midnapore, then a Congress stronghold, witnessed mass mobilisation during the civil disobedience movement in the early 1930s and Union Board Boycott Movement in the early 1920s.
Now, parties are attempting to divide the people of Nandigram on religious lines to gain votes, experts said. Nandigram has always been a hub of cultivation of rice and vegetables, which explains the high population of Muslims there. Some Muslims are also weavers. “Nandigram is also a centre of Baishnabs. When the police entered Nandigram in March 2007, there were special azaans from the mosques and prayers by Baishnabs. The farmers, irrespective of religion, have always been united in Nandigram. It is sad to see that people are trying to vitiate the atmosphere for petty gains,” said Jharna Panda, a professor hailing from Nandigram.
2021
Kunal Varma, April 1, 2021: The Times of India
From: Kunal Varma, April 1, 2021: The Times of India
From: Kunal Varma, April 1, 2021: The Times of India
Will Mamata vs Suvendu contest polarise voters of Nandigram?
NEW DELHI: In politics, there have been several instances of friends turning foes, of aides turning rivals to their mentors. Nandigram in West Bengal is all set for a similar high-octane political battle between two politicians who were once together but today are on the opposite sides of the political divide.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her once-trusted aide Suvendu Adhikari both owe a lot to Nandigram for their political identity in the state. The movement against Tata’s Nano project in Singur and Nandigram was greatly instrumental in catapulting Mamata to power in 2011 and also in making Suvendu a powerful leader in the region.
Ten years down the line, the people of the region still seem to be debating if opposition to industry was the right thing to do. Some who got their lands back and successfully returned to farming are a happy lot. But several others who could not gain substantially from farming have been left wondering if industry would have been a better option.
And while the “farming versus industry” division of the population is one aspect of the region’s politics, there is another divide that is being talked about in Nandigram in the run up to the 2021 assembly elections - the 70:30 division.
Suvendu Adhikari, the BJP candidate for Nandigram, in one of his election rallies in January claimed that Mamata’s political strategist Prashant Kishor had said that Trinamool Congress will get complete support of 30 per cent of the population, a reference to the minorities in the state of West Bengal.
Adhikari then went on to appeal to the remaining 70 per cent of the population to stay united and defeat the ruling Trinamool in the state. With the BJP aggressively targeting Mamata over appeasement politics, the Trinamool chief has been forced to do course correction with temple visits and doles to Hindu priests in the run up to the election.
So, will the voters of Nandigram get influenced by the “farming versus industries” debate or are they likely to get polarised on religious lines?
Nandigram over the years has seen some close contests suggesting that religious polarisation may not have been the dominant factor during voting. In 1996, the Congress won this seat by only 138 votes (.11 per cent). In fact, the victory margin has been less than 10 per cent in Nandigram in several other assembly elections between 1977 and 2011.
However, in the 2016 assembly elections, Suvendu Adhikari won the seat on a TMC ticket by over 80,000 votes which translated into a victory margin of 40.30 per cent. In 2011 also, the TMC’s victory margin was 43,640 votes, which translated into 25.42%.
Here is a look at the victory margin for winners in Nandigram over the years.
But the political dynamics of Nandigram has changed dramatically between 2016 and 2021.
While the TMC has been way ahead in the last two assembly elections riding on the Nano agitation, this time around the party has lost its winning horse- the Adhikaris who wield immense clout in the region.
The BJP on the other hand has reasons to be hopeful. The people of Nandigram assembly segment voted in large numbers for the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. And with Adhikaris on its side, the BJP is confident of defeating Mamata
Nandigram is a part of Tamluk Lok Sabha seat, which was won by Suvendu Adhikari's brother Dibyendu of the Trinamool Congress in 2019.
Dibyendu Adhikari polled 7,24,433 votes while BJP’s Sidharthashankar Naskar was second with 5,34,268 votes in Tamluk Lok Sabha seat.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Tamluk Lok Sabha seat was won by TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari, who polled 7,16,928 votes. However, CPM’s Sekh Ibrahim Ali with 4,70,447 votes was at the second position while BJP candidate Badsha Alam could manage only 86,265 votes and was in the third position.
A comparison of the votes polled by the BJP in Nandigram shows that the party’s vote count increased from 10,798 votes in 2014 to 62,268 votes in 2019.
Significantly, the CPM, which got 4,1735 votes in Nandigram in 2014, saw its count reduced to 9,353 in 2019.
Clearly, there was a shift away from the CPM in 2019 and the beneficiary of that shift was the BJP.
The BJP would hope to build on its success of 2019 and defeat Mamata in Adhikari's bastion.
Shrimp exports
As in 2021
Tamaghna Banerjee, Suman Mondal, March 22, 2021: The Times of India
Ground zero of Nandigram farm protest now a shrimp export hub
NANDIGRAM: A large number of farmers in Nandigram — who had once fought for the protection of their farmlands, a cause championed by Mamata Banerjee that helped her topple the 34 years of Left Front regime 10 years ago — have now turned into prawn cultivators and converted their fertile farmlands into artificial water bodies.
The farmers, who now culture white legged shrimps and tiger prawns, have also switched from their farm-focused poll demands a decade ago to stress on exports and food processing units in the area this election. As a result, Bengal’s most high profile constituency this year is in focus not only for the heavyweight candidatures but also for the paradigm shift in demands and aspirations of its villagers.
“It has been eight years since I have quit farming and took 20 bighas of land on lease. Earlier, I used to earn Rs 7,000 by growing eight quintals paddy. Now, I earn Rs 50,000 from prawn cultivation in the same one bigha land. I cultivate bagda (tiger prawn) as well as bhenami prawn and export almost my entire produce to abroad. Almost all other farmers in this area has also converted into prawn cultivators over the years that guarantees higher income,” said Sukdeb Manna, a resident of Mohammadpur in Nandigram I. Manna owns a two-storied house in the village and his children study in Kolkata colleges. “Life has certainly changed for the better due to the shift,” he says.
Nandigram, located some 132 kms from Kolkata, was the epicentre of farmers’ agitation against land acquisition in 2007. Fourteen villagers were killed in police firing while protesting against the then Left Front government’s proposed land acquisition for a chemical hub of Indonesia’s Salim Group.
But over a decade later, farmers from villages like Kendamari, Mohammadpur, Garchakraberia, Gangra, Haripur, Bhekutia, Daudpur, Khejuri and Sonachura — all of whom were actively involved as part of Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee to protest against the land acquisition — have now changed their profession. The location of the proposed chemical hub was later shifted to Nayachar and the proposal was finally scrapped.
Alamgir Hossein, a senior leader of the shrimp cultivators in the area, who was also part of the farmland movement, said that with time the demands of villagers also changed. “Earlier, we used to fight for the rights of the farmers. But now our focus is on prawn and shrimp cultivation and we plead before the political parties to facilitate smoother exports to foreign countries like the US, China and Japan,” said Hossein.
The shift from farming to pisciculture had first begun at Moyna block in East Midnapore. The trend was soon observed at other coastal areas, including Nandigram. Now, East Midnapore’s net district domestic product derives one fifth of its earnings from fisheries, the highest amongst all the districts of Bengal.
“The change has been evident in the last one decade. While prawn and shrimp cultivation is seasonal, we help them grow saltwater fishes like American pomfret and milkfish during other times of the year,” said Suman Saha, district fisheries extension officer.
Nandigram assembly constituency is set to witness a high-octane battle as CM Mamata Banerjee is up against her former protégé and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. The CPIM has also fielded a young and dynamic Minakshi Mukherjee, the youth wing state president of the party, for the seat that has been in possession of Trinamool since 2011.
“We had fought for the protection of the land. Around 30% farmers have now shifted to pisciculture, but that is also a kind of farming that they are growing on their own land. That had been the motto of our movement and we still stand firmly beside them in their new ventures,” said Abu Taher Khan, a senior TMC leader.
Senior BJP leader in the area, Proloy Pal, said: “Change is good. But a majority of villagers is still into farming. We acknowledge the needs and demands of both the groups and would strive to offer the best facilities to villagers of all occupations.”
