March 14, 2015
Trinamool pays homage to martyrs of Nandigram Movement on Nandigram Divas
On the eighth anniversary of the Nandigram genocide that happened on 14 March 2007 Trinamool Congress paid homage to the martyrs of Nandigram Movement on Nandigram Divas.
Trinamool Secretary General Partha Chatterjee, MPs, Sisir Adhikari and Suvendu Adhikari, Firhad Hakim and other leaders paid tribute to the martyrs with floral wreaths on the Shahid Bedi at Bhangabera in Nandigram.
In 2007, on this very day, 14 innocent people, farmers and their families were killed and more than one hundred innocent villagers were injured by police firing while protesting against forced acquisition of multi-crop farm land by the then Left front Government.
The barbaric attitude of brutal massacre of innocent and helpless villagers, shown by the Left Government, can only be comparable with the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre.
The Nandigram Movement
The People’s Tribunal on Nandigram has called the violence of 14 March 2007 a ‘pre-planned, state-sponsored massacre’ carried out ‘to teach a lesson’ to people opposing the SEZ project on their land.
On January 2, 2007 farmers of Nandigram protested after getting a letter on land acquisition by the then West Bengal Government. Six people died in the clash and the farmers blocked the area earmarked for the SEZ. The movement gained momentum in the next two months that culminated in the killing of 14 poor farmers on March 14 in police firing.
Trinamool Chairperson Ms Mamata Banerjee rushed to the spot to meet the victims. She was assaulted and had to be hospitalized after being hit by a stone while on her way to areas affected by violence.
The brutal killings helped in mobilising the intellectual class of well-known writers, artists, poets and activists including, Mahasweta Devi, Aparna Sen and Medha Patkar against the forceful land acquisition.
The Left Government was forced to withdraw its plan to set up the chemical hub in Nandigram.
Present
After the Trinamool Government was established in Bengal, Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee, announced a raft of development proposals, including an industrial cluster. An industrial cluster will be set up at Nayachar on 4500 acre to provide direct employment to 10,000 people and a tourism cluster of international standard on 268 acre which will boost the economy of the area, she announced.
The West Bengal Government has also declared 14 March as Krishak Divas to uphold the rights of farmers.
