Miss Mayo , Buddhadev and SEZ Drive

Miss Mayo , Buddhadev and SEZ Drive

Indian Holocaust My father`s Life and Time - Nine

Palash Biswas

The dominating Ruling classes in India, the Aryan Brahminical Hindutva is always prepared to use every means to suppress the Untouchables whenever the Untouchables try to upset it even in the slightest degree. The ordinary non-violent Hindu will not hesitate to use the utmost violence against the Untouchables. There is no cruelty, which he will not practice against them to sustain the established order. Not many will readily believe this. But this is a fact. For those who have any doubt on the point, I reproduce below some cases of tyrannies and oppressions practised by the Hindus against the Untouchables as have been reported from time to time in the newspapers.The political changes in the cow belt of North India is not liked by the Elite Brahminical Intelligentsia India. Bengal has been always way ahead in Dalit Movement and Harichand Thakur established Matua Dharma refusing Hinduism in as early as in the first part of 19 th century. He had Muslim followers on large scale. He was the first man who introduced girl`s education and widow marriage in the Indian society other than the Caste Hindus. Untouchables were deprived of equality, human rights and civil rights. Thus Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj and Guruchand Thakur opposed the so called struggle for freedom to ensure Brahminical Raj. The Brahmins succeeded at last and India was partitioned to deny Share of Power to the Muslims, OBC, BC, Tribals and dalits- the 85 percent of enslaved population.Independent India has become a hunting ground for the Caste Hindu ruling classes as the SEZ episode exposes well. Farmers have been always underprivileged and underclasses and they are being victimised enmasse in Nandi Gram, Barnala, Gurgaon, Dhar, Kaling Nagar, Singur, Maharashtra, Karnatak, UP, 36 Gargh, Andhra and every part of India. Like Hitler the Dons of Upper caste Hindu want to rule the world making Rural India Scape Goat.


Buddhadev Bhattachary and Prakash karat, Yechuri, Brinda all belong to Caste Hindus. Dr Manmohan singh is a Sikh but he is dictated by Washington, the Racist Imperialism as par as the Nazi Caste Hindu Base in Indian Polity.All chief Ministers follow suit. And the economists like Dr Amartya Sen and Nobel Laureate Md Yunus sings the song composed by global government. Media is playing as an agent of Market. language is used as prostitution. Mamta Bannerjee and other political dons are well known for their electoral games. The salvation for the underclasses seems to be a very distant destination until and unless nationwide peasants uprising. History has become hostile as it never tells the stories of all those heroes and heroines belonging to dalits and minorities and tribal who fought against Imperialism all over the country. Peasants uprising has always been betrayed by Brahmins as it happened in Telengana with the dual betrayal Of Pdt Jawahar Lal Nehru and comrade PC Joshi and Randive. It happened again again in Dhimri Block, Naxal Bari and Bhojpur.

Within 24 hours of justifying the setting up industries, including special economic zones on agricultural land, Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus backtracked on Monday saying he had landed himself in trouble for speaking without knowing the ground realities in West Bengal. "I think I have landed myself in trouble with my comment on Sunday. I hope opposition parties here will not take me amiss," he said. Yunus told a press conference that he did not have thorough knowledge of the 'ground realities' in West Bengal and his comment on acquisition of farmland for industries was a 'theoretical proposition'.

"Peasants will have to part with their lands for setting up industries which will lead to economic growth," and there was no scope for dispute over SEZs, Yunus said on Sunday.

However, on Monday, Yunus said he had no idea that farmland acquisition was such a controversial issue in the state. "I simply do not have the facts and will not venture any assessment of the current situation in West Bengal."

"From the newspapers on Monday, I came to know that it is a hotly-debated issue," he said. The Bangladeshi economist, however, said "I believe under no circumstances land should be acquired hurting the interests of farmers."

In this scenario we have to read Mother India by Miss Catherine Mayo once again.

The social evils which characterize the Hindu Society, have been well known. The publication of Mother India by Miss Mayo gave these evils the widest publicity. But while Mother India served the purpose of exposing the evils and calling their authors at the bar of the world to answer for their sins, it created the unfortunate impression throughout the world that while the Hindus were grovelling in the mud of these social evils and were conservative, the Muslims in India were free from them, and as compared to the Hindus, were a progressive people. That such an impression should prevail, is surprising to those who know the Muslim Society in India at close quarters.

: : One may well ask if there is any social evil which is found among the Hindus and is not found among the Muslims.

: : Take child-marriage. The Secretary of the Anti-Child-marriage Committee, constituted by the All-India Women's Conference, published a bulletin which gives the extent of the evil of child-marriage in the different communities in the country. The figures, which were taken from the Census Report of 1931, are as follows :—
:
: Finally, you did it. At least your 3 remaining brain cells are functioning. It took some name calling before you could Google properly. I will check it out.
: You should also try to find if Sunni Muslim women are allowed inside Indian mosques.. One more thing to check out..

Mother India, a polemical attack against Indian self-rule written by U.S. historian Katherine Mayo, was met with a storm of controversy when it was published in 1927. The controversy generated still reverberates and thus is still worth revisiting, some fifty years after Indian independence. In responding to Mayo's argument laid out in Mother India, the leaders of the national movement and the independent women's movement in India laid the foundations of an alliance that gave modern Indian nationalism its distinctive character.
It is an expose of the mediaeval habits of body and mind that India is heir to and from which the rather spineless native character has not been able to shake itself free. The most sensational parts of her book are devoted to the horrors of child marriage and to the degraded state of the 'Untouchables'. I am no expert, but I imagine that there is a good deal of special pleading in her examples and in her arguments.

Naturally, being written by an American woman and published in America, it has roused great interest there, as well as in England. The United States is a great propaganda field for discontented and subversive Indians. Mukerji (who wrote 'My Brother's Face' [2]) and others have written books in answer to Miss Mayo; and there have been lectures, pulpit addresses, pamphlets, leading articles and press notices by the score, stimulated by her book.

The 'Manchester Guardian's' dictum about it has been much quoted: 'it is a book for India to remember and for the West to forget.'There have been, of course, many assertions by interested parties to the effect that the book was inspired by His Majesty's Government. This has been categorically denied by the India Office, who disclaim all responsibility for, or knowledge of, it prior to publication. However, it is very good indirect argument against those who say that India has not progressed under British rule at the rate that Indians desire. It shows that the social and religious habits of the Indians themselves are the brake on the wheel.

Few books have raised-and maintained for nine months-such a storm of controversy. It is certainly worth your reading for an hour, as much for the confirmation that it contains indirectly of the
wisdom of our shutting out Indians from Australia.

Soon after the fiery Mamata Bannerjee ended her ‘indefinite fast’ against the land acquisition for Tata’s people’s car project in Singur, the governments in New Delhi and Kolkata announced that the policy to allow a large cluster of special economic zones to dot the country would be reviewed to save ‘agricultural land’. What role the ‘indefinite Bannerjee fast’ played in the rethink is not clear. Nor is it clear whether the government has said goodbye to the concept of SEZ or banned industrialisation that is synonymous with large-scale land acquisition.Undoubtedly, what looks certain is that impending state assembly polls in four states are a more likely reason behind the sudden change in Delhi’s fervour for SEZs. Mamata, recuperating from the debilitating effect of her ‘indefinite fast’, has decided to take her battle beyond Singur as she resumes her onslaught against her old tormentors, the Marxist comrades in West Bengal, who, have, to put it mildly, an ambivalent stand on the issue of SEZs. They are opposed to it everywhere except in West Bengal and Kerala, both ruled by them! For the Marxists it is a sin to ‘forcibly’ acquire farming land anywhere else but the states they rule. Such political hypocrisy is by no means exclusive to the Indian Marxist. Politics oriented towards populism play a key role in deciding many policies in this country, land for development projects including. Critics say acquisition of land for SEZs or any other such purpose takes away the source of livelihood of farmers, Over 70 percent of India still lives in villages.
The rapid march of industrialisation is now said to have become unstoppable. This will inevitably require more and more land to be set aside not just for industries but a host of other activities, including infrastructure and housing. Almost all the land needed will come from villages. Henceforth, the number of villages will shrink faster than ever before, unless the development process itself is to be brought to a halt.

Industrialisation process in Singur is irreversible.
"Transition from agriculture to industry an inevitable course", says Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee .

Khejuri (West Bengal): West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee made it clear that the industrialisation process and the Tatas' car project in Singur, were irreversible, but sought to soften up protests by distributing land to landless farmers in Nandigram."The people need to understand that the industrial process being initiated by the State Government is irreversible and transition from agriculture to industry is an inevitable course," he told a rally organised by CPI(M) here on Sunday.

Mr. Bhattacharjee reaffirmed his Government's resolve to make the Tata Motors small car project in Singur a reality.

`96 p.c. said yes'

He said 96 per cent of the farmers gave consent for land for the factory and took compensation cheques. Only four per cent were yet to give their consent for handing over their land and "the question is whether the project would be scrapped for only four per cent people."

Criticising the Trinamool Congress, which is spearheading the campaign against the acquisition of farmland, he said "those who are trying to set fire to haystacks and uprooting poles of the fence at the Singur project site would not succeed in their designs. The Tata project will come up at Singur."

The Chief Minister distributed rights over land to 5,040 landless farmers in Nandigram and adjoining areas and said the Government would explain to the people the benefits that would accrue from the mega chemical hub and the multi-product SEZ in Nandigram and the returns the farmers would get from it.

`We will have to think'


"If people are not convinced about this logic, we will definitely have to think of shifting the project elsewhere but we will patiently go to the people and try to answer all the questions and whatever misgivings they have," Mr. Bhattacharjee pointed out.

Referring to the troubled situation in Nandigram, he said the unrest fomented by the Opposition must end. The Chief Minister accused the opposition of trying to whip up people's sentiments by making ``false propaganda'' about the state's industrial policy. — PTI

What an Applaud

Stephen S Roach, chief economist at the US-based Morgan Stanley, returning from his fourth trip to India in three years, said the South Asian country has achieved breakthroughs in savings and foreign direct investments that would script one of the world’s most exceptional economic development stories over the next three-five years. “I am returning from India with great enthusiasm. India has made solid progress on two counts — savings and FDI — and infrastructure development seems set to follow. These are breakthroughs that can unshackle India’s greatest strengths — a high-quality stock of human capital and the magic of its entrepreneurial spirit. India’s national saving at 32.4 per cent in the 12 months ending March 2006 is up significantly from the 25 per cent average of the 1990 to 2004 period. At the same time, the aggregate investment ratio has moved up to 33.4 per cent as of March 2006, a major breakout from the 26 per cent average of the preceding 15 years. And foreign direct investment is on target to hit $13 billion in the 12 months ending March 2007, more than double India’s previous best of $5.5 billion hit in the previous year. Roach said the entrepreneurs are making great progress in three of India’s most important areas - rural reforms, retail, and infrastructure.

Indian deng

Buddhadev has turned to be the Indian Deng of China. and just see what happened in china and what is wanted by Buddhadev. This is Kolkata wanted by CPIM:

Kolkata Poised for High Cross-Sector Growth in Office, Retail, Hospitality and Residential: Jones Lang LaSalle “Emerging City Winners Profiles: Kolkata” Report
Kolkata, West Bengal, India -- Jones Lang LaSalle (Business Wire India)
Kolkata’s real estate market is set for a high growth phase fuelled by the IT/ITES sector. This is according to the report, “Emerging City Winners Profiles: Kolkata”, released today by Jones Lang LaSalle, one of the world’s leading real estate services firm. An increasing corporate presence in the city is also triggering growth for Retail, Hospitality and Residential properties.

“Kolkata boasts of a highly literate and well equipped workforce, lower land acquisition costs (when compared to Mumbai and Delhi) and attractive government initiatives which make it a compelling destination for corporates and developers, alike”, said Mr Vincent Lottefier, Country Head, Jones Lang LaSalle India. He further added, “We at Jones Lang LaSalle are excited to be a part of Kolkata’s growth and pleased to offer our entire range services including transaction management services, retail advisory, strategic consulting, capital markets, property management, integrated facility management and project and development services.

The report states that increasing corporate presence is stimulating growth in per capita income and encouraging consumption in Kolkata. Overall, the city provides a positive environment for new corporate entrants, as well as existing corporates eying expansion.

And This is Shanghai

Wood's work at Xintiandi has become a symbol of the changing aspirations China has for Shanghai. In 1992, Deng Xiaoping declared that Shanghai would be "the head of the dragon" pulling the country into the future, and the Chinese have poured tens of billions of dollars into rebuilding the city after a half-century of neglect. The pace has slackened after a a scandal over municipal pension money spent on questionable real estate deals, but the city is still booming.

Problem is, Shanghai has long preferred megaprojects that blindly ape the kind of high-rise developments that scream "modernity" but have little to do with traditional Chinese culture. Until Ben Wood, that is. Xintiandi represents Wood's signature style: Instead of calling in the bulldozers, he imagines a rundown neighborhood as something refreshed. He refurbishes old buildings, saves the facades of others while gutting their interiors, and designs new structures that blend in.

That graceful melding of old and new fits Shanghai's ambitions as it steams toward its third decade of hypergrowth. Like Renaissance Florence, London in the 1800s, or New York early in the 20th century, Shanghai aims to muscle its way into a top spot in the global economic order-a role it played back in the 1920s. Today, Shanghai is the mainland's most populous city, with 18 million residents. It's home to the Asia headquarters of more than 150 global corporations, including General Motors, IBM, and Alcatel-Lucent.

And multinationals are boosting their commitment. GM today employs some 1,800 white-collar workers in the city, 60% more than in 2004, while Citibank now has 2,000 employees there, up from 80 in 1999. "Shanghai has very visible ambitions to be a major financial center in the region and perhaps beyond," says Richard Stanley, CEO of Citigroup China.

Expatriates love Shanghai's nightlife, while skilled young Chinese and migrant laborers have rushed to cash in on the city's surging economy. Shanghai is growing at 12%-even faster than the 10.7% expansion that China as a whole saw in 2006-and the city's gross domestic product was $136 billion last year.

That's less than half of London's, but Shanghai's growth is three times as fast the British capital's. And Shanghai has attracted some $120 billion in foreign direct investment since 1992, including commitments of $14.6 billion last year, or 23% of China's total fdi for 2006. "You are witnessing the greatest transformation of a piece of earth in history. It's mind-boggling," says Greg Yager, vice-president of Baltimore design firm RTKL Associates, which has done planning work in the city.

The opportunities in Shanghai have attracted scores of foreign architects, who have helped craft one of the world's most extraordinary skylines. In the financial district of Pudong, which until two decades ago was little more than rice paddies and small factories, the 88-story Jin Mao Tower (designed by Chicago's Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) is home to GM, Credit Lyonnais, and IBM. Next door, the 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center (from New York's Kohn Pederson Fox Associates)-originally planned as the world's tallest building, but now eclipsed by Taiwan's Taipei 101-is about three-quarters completed.

Across the Huangpu River, the 66-story Plaza 66 (by Atlanta-based John Portman & Associates) houses General Electric, BP, and KPMG. And the once-dilapidated Bund, the erstwhile Wall Street of Asia on the riverfront, has been re-energized with packed nightclubs, tony boutiques, and trendy restaurants.



SEZs needed for growth: Yunus

KOLKATA: Agricultural land should be made available for industry but it should also be ensured that peasants are not hard hit in the process of land acquisition, Dr. Muhammad Yunus said here on Sunday. The Nobel laureate who is in the city on a two-day visit said, "There should be no debate over the requirement of agricultural land for industry without which economic growth will lag behind."

On Special Economic Zones, the Nobel laureate said: "SEZs are needed for growth. They are being set up all across the world and we cannot sit idle."

He emphasised, however, that the interests of the peasants ought to be protected as much as possible in the process of industrialisation.

The Bangladeshi micro-credit pioneer added that he was laying emphasis on the concept of "social business" for the betterment of society. Explaining the concept Dr. Yunus said that while the principal motive of business now was often seen as making profit the main thrust of "social business" was towards building infrastructure for health care, drinking water supplies and housing.

On the Grameen Bank's activities and the relevance of the model adopted by it in countries besides Bangladesh, he said providing micro-level credit was prevalent in one form or another all over India too. West Bengal is no exception, he added.

Mamata raps Buddhadev on land acquisition

February 12, 2007 18:22 IST

On Monday, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya's promise to the people of Nandigram that land would not be acquired till the people were convinced about the need for it, alleging that his statement was false."The chief minister is saying that farmland will not be acquired forcibly at Nandigram. He is making a false statement," Banerjee told a public meeting in Bhangar in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district.
She claimed that the land acquisition notice at Nandigram has not been withdrawn and demanded this be done first.

Warning the government against acquiring land without the consent of farmers, Banerjee said Bhattacharya could not do whatever he liked simply because was in power. He should make a categorical announcement that land would not be acquired forcibly, she said.


World Bank expert clears Baglihar project

February 12, 2007 17:44 IST

A neutral expert appointed by the World Bank on Monday cleared the Baglihar Power Project over the Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir.The expert asked India to reduce the height of the dam by 1.5 metres, one of the objections raised by Pakistan.

Richard Lafitte, in his final report handed over to Indian and Pakistani diplomats in Bern, Switzerland, overruled Pakistan's other technical objections.The dam's height was originally proposed to be 144.5 metres.

Radhika Lokesh, charge de affairs of the Indian embassy in Switzerland received the report on behalf of the government and forwarded it to New Delhi.

Both countries were awaiting the decision keenly.

Pakistan had in 2005 sought intervention of the World Bank, which is the third party to the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, alleging that construction of the project violated the accord.

India has rejected the charge.

According to the provisions of the treaty, the neutral expert's decision on all matters will be final and binding.In electricity-deficit Jammu and Kashmir the 450-MW power project will come as a big relief. The complete project is designed to produce 900 MW of power.

Pakistan has opposed the construction of the project, particularly the design and height of the dam.

Prior to the final meeting with representatives of the two countries on November 7, Lafitte had circulated to India and Pakistan a draft containing his conclusions on the arbitration, which upheld New Delhi's view on the issue.The arbitrator was slated to give his final determination by the end of last year but had put it off till February this year after Pakistan took strong exception to his circulated draft.

Pakistan has said it will abide by the verdict."The neutral expert's verdict is binding," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.

Manusmruti Dahan Din

Dr. K. Jamanadas

Today is Christmas, 25th of December. It is celebrated all over the Christian world as the birth of Jesus Christ. But for the whole world of Dalits, it is an important day as "Manu Smruti Dahan Din", as it was on this day in 1927 that Manusmruti was publicly burned by Dr. Ambedkar, during the "Maha-Sangharsha" of Mahad Satyagraha, and is an important mile stone in Dalit struggle against Brahmanism. Let us all remember this day with pride.

Manuvadis had arranged that Ambedkar does not get a ground for meeting, but a Muslim gentleman, Mr. Fattekhan, gave his private land. They had arranged that no supplies of food, water or anything else could be bought, so everything was brought from outside by our men. The volunteers had to take a vow of five items:

1. I do not believe on Chaturvarna based on birth.

2. I do not believe in caste distinctions.

3. I believe that untouchability is an anathema on Hinduism and I will honestly try my best to completely destroy it.

4. Considering that there is no inequality, I will not follow any restrictions about food and drink among at least all Hindus.

5. I believe that untouchables must have equal rights in temples, water sources, schools and other amenities.

Dr. Ambedkar came from Bombay by boat "Padmavati" via Dasgaon port, instead of Dharamtar, though it is longer distance, because in the event of boycott by bus owners, they could walk down five miles to Mahad.

Some people later tried to say that Dr. Ambedkar decided to burn Manusmruti at the eleventh hour, as he had to withdraw the programme of drinking water from Chavadar Tank under court orders and persuasion by the Collector. That is not true, because right in front of the pendal of the meeting a "vedi" was created beforehand to burn Manusmruti. Six people were labouring for two days to prepare it. A pit six inches deep and one and half foot square was dug in, and filled with sandle wood pieces. On its four corners, poles were erected, bearing banners on three sides. Banners said,
1. "Manusmruti chi dahan bhumi", i.e. Crematorium for Manusmruti.
2. Destroy Untouchability and
3. Bury the Brahmanism.

On 25th December, 1927, at 9 p.m., the book of Manusmruti was kept on this and burned at the hands of Bapusahib Sahastrabuddhe and another five six dalit sadhus.

In the pendal, there as only one photo, and that was of M. Gandhi, so it seems, dalit leaders including Dr. Ambedkar had yet to be disillusioned at Gandhi. At the meeting there was Babasahib's historical speech. The main points of speech:

We have to understand why we are prevented from drinking water from this tank. He explained Chaturvarna, and declared that our struggle is to destroy the fetters of Chaturvarna, this was the starting point of the struggle for equality. He compared that meeting with the meeting of 24th Jan. 1789, when Loui XVI of France had called a meeting of French peoples representatives. This meeting killed king and queen, harassed and massacred the upper classes, remaining were banished, property of the rich was confiscated, and it started a fifteen year long civil war. People have not grasped the importance of this Revolution. This Revolution was the beginning of the prosperity of not only France but whole of Europe and has revolutionized the whole World. He explained French Revolution in detail. He then explained that our aim is not only to remove untouchabilty but to destroy chaturvarna, as the root cause lies there. He explained how Patricians deceived Plebeians in the name of religion. The root of untouchabilty lies in prohibition of inter-caste marriages, that we have to break, he thundered. He appealed to higher varnas to let this "Social Revolution" take place peacefully, discard the sastras, and accept the principle of justice, and he assured them peace from our side. Four resolutions were passed and a Declaration of Equality was pronounced. After this Manusmruti was burned as mentioned above.

There was a strong reaction in Brahmanical press, Babasahib was called "Bheemaasura" by one paper. Dr. Ambedkar justified the burning of Manusmruti in various articles. He ridiculed those people that they have not read the Manusmruti, and declared that we will never accept it. For those who say it is an outdated booklet so why give importance to it, he invited attention to atrocities on dalits and said, these are because Hindus are following this book. And further asked, if it is outdated, how does it matter to you if somebody burns it. For those who enquire, what is achieved by dalits by burning it, he retorted, what M. Gandhi achieved by burning foreign clothes, what was achieved by burning "Dnyana-prakash" which published about marriage of Khan-Malini, what was achieved by those who burned Miss Mayo's book "Mother India" in New York, what was achieved by boycotting Simon Commission formed to frame political reforms? These were the forms of registering the protests, so was ours against Manusmruti.

He further declared, that if unfortunately, this burning of Manusmruti does not result in destruction of "Brahmanya", we will have to either burn the "brahmanya-grast" people (i.e. affected by brahmanism), or renounce Hinduism.

Let all of us pay tribute to this great day.

Revolt against India's industrial changes


By Soutik Biswas
BBC News, Singur, West Bengal

The land for the car factory has been fenced off


Every day, 35-year-old Bhuban Mohan Bagui trudges up to the rusty fence that has been erected around what was his family farm and stares at a parched swathe of land which was producing four crops a year not so long ago.

"This land was a life insurance for my family. It was always there for us to fall back upon in bad times. Now it is gone," he says.

A few months ago the Communist-run government in the eastern state of West Bengal acquired his - and some 11,000 other farmers' - land alongside a six-lane highway, some 50km from the capital, Calcutta.


Their farms have made way for a 1000-acre plot for Tata Motors, one of India's largest car makers, to set up a cheap ($2200) car factory.

The Communists say it is a prestigious project demonstrating their new found love for private capital.

But critics say the ruling party are caught up in a muddled perestroika and wrongly believe that industrialisation has to be sped up in a state which they themselves reduced to an industrial wasteland through reckless trade unionism and an appalling work culture.

'Biggest land grab'

At the heart of it, however, is a bigger issue which is bedevilling village India - governments are acquiring large tracts of land to set up special economic zones (SEZs) to push up employment and earnings.

The federal government reckons that the SEZs would bring in $13.5bn in investment and create 890,000 jobs by 2009 if this ambitious plan is allowed to proceed.



Land was a life insurance for my family

Bhuban Mohan Bagui, farmer
Critics say this is destined to become the biggest land grab in post-colonial India, given the lack of transparency and rampant corruption in government.

No wonder then that in the more politically conscious and predominantly agrarian economies like Bengal , farmers are up in arms against such land acquisition.


After a group of farmers set up a resistance group and refused compensation for their land in Singur, farmers rioted in faraway Nandigram after news washed up that some 12,000 acres of farmland were to be acquired for a chemical hub and a ship building yard to be set up by an Indonesian group.


The government had to backtrack and has now said that it will not force industry on unwilling farmers.

In Bengal, the resistance is also taking on a more complex character than in other parts of feudal India that have seen little or no land reforms.

'Sacred bond'

In the late 1970s when West Bengal Communists began their still-unbroken stint in power - seven straight election wins and 30 consecutive years in government, making Bengal the longest running Communist government in the world outside China - it redistributed over a million acres of land among the peasants.

"The Communists built up their political base by giving land to farmers. Now they are taking away the same land, and that too by force," says Sougata Roy of the opposition Trinamul Congress party.


For their part, the Communists deny using force, though they have taken advantage of 113-year-old colonial law which allows the state to acquire land with minimum public consultation.


Land gives security to the Indian farmer


At the heart of the problem is the primordial relationship between the land and the tiller in India, which even the market friendly federal finance minister P Chidambaram calls a "sacred bond".

"Owning a piece of land makes a farmer socially acceptable," says Debabrata Bandopadhyay, one of India's leading land experts.

At the same time, there is little doubt that without large scale industrialisation, India will never be able to create the millions of jobs for the teeming legions of unemployed.

And setting up factories will obviously need land - and in Bengal, the government claims to be targeting less than 1% of the total arable land in the state for industries.

Not adequate

Some economists say one way out is setting up industries in fallow lands, keeping farmers happy and food security intact. Some 18% of the land in Bengal, for example, by one estimate, is unsuitable for cultivation, so why not take the industries there?