Mamata Banerjee’s administration faces an agitation against land acquisition that has disturbing parallels with the Nandigram and Singur agitations which turned around her plummeting political fortunes 10 years ago.
THE spectre of violent agitation against land acquisition, of the kind that was instrumental in removing the Left Front from power in 2011, has now come to haunt Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district turned into a battle zone when angry villagers clashed with the police as an agitation against the establishment of a power substation spiralled out of control. Two villagers were killed, allegedly in police firing, 30 policemen were injured, and more than 40 police vehicles were destroyed by a mob.
The simmering discontent over the setting up of the substation by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) erupted onto the surface on January 17 as thousands of village residents took to the streets following the arrest of some of the leaders of the protest movement and alleged harassment by the police in several villages the previous night. Armed with sticks and bricks, they took on a large deployment of police and forced it to beat a retreat. Bringing back memories of the violent and prolonged land agitations of Nandigram and Singur that Mamata Banerjee herself spearheaded in 2007 against the then Left Front government’s land acquisition drive for industries, the people of Bhangar set up roadblocks using uprooted trees to keep the police and the administration out. Despite the State government giving its assurance that work on the power grid would be stalled with immediate effect, the situation was tense for over a week. This was the Trinamool government’s first taste of a mass protest in rural Bengal after assuming power in 2011.
Denne historien er fra February 17, 2017-utgaven av FRONTLINE.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 17, 2017-utgaven av FRONTLINE.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
