Nandigram continues to remain where it was 12 years ago when a police firing in March 2007 claimed the lives of 14 who were protesting against illegal land acquisition by the then Left Front Government.
“There is hardly any development except the newly built roads and street lights. Otherwise the political situation continues to remain the same,” said Isfaq Alam a local farmer who was involved in the movement being a member of anti-land grab committee.
“In those days our rights were trampled upon. Today they are in our place,” says he. Asked who were referred to as “they” he says “‘they mean the CPI(M) cadres who carried out maximum oppression on us.”
Today the Marxists are hardly allowed to speak let alone follow their political activities. “‘They are given to taste the same medicinetoday. They have no right to vote, they cannot perform any political activities, their guests are thoroughly scrutinized and they still have to pay ‘taxes’ for the offence they committed.”
Asked to comment on why they are subjected to similar torture and what is the difference between the people in power then and those in power now, he says “this is done by ‘order’ from above.” Asked to name on whose ‘order’ things are done he falls silent.
At Sonachura village Suina Banerjee a job aspirant says “I paid Rs 3 lakh for a school teacher’s job but nothing has happened. A court case has done us in. The CPI(M) people were haughty, arrogant but not thieves.”
At Garchakrabaeria village a farmer says he has no problem with the present dispensation as “Didi has ensured that our land remains with us. No one can take our land till she is the Chief Minister.”
His neighbour however says ensuring that your publication is from Delhi and that the story will be published far away from Bengal, “at time it seems that industry was a better option because we grow only crop of Masuri rice here in a year. That does not take care of our family well. We need an industry but the people are confused. No one dares to talk about an industry here.”
On who does the wind favour the TMC, BJP or the Left, the locals speak in whisper. “The Left has no chance as most of them have gone to the BJP. The TMC will win because they will remain in Government here for another two years. So who will want to earn enmity with them.”
