People's Democracy

‘Peasants’ Movement Will Be

Stepped Up in West Bengal’

From Our Special

Correspondent in Kolkata

LEFT peasants’ organisations in West Bengal will launch a statewide movement to defend the rights and livelihood of the peasants. They will build up the movement with the support of the trade unions, students, youth and women organisations.

West Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha (Harekrishna Konar Memorial Bhavan), Agragami Kisan Sabha, Sanjukta Kisan Sabha and West Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha( BB Ganguly Street) have decided to launch a powerful joint movement. Two conventions will be held on September 11 and 14 respectively in Kolkata and Siliguri to highlight the plight of the peasants in the state.

Briefing about the outline of the movement, Madan Ghosh, president of West Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha (Harekrishna Konar Memorial Bhavan), said the peasants were very seriously affected by neo-liberal policies of centre. The cost of agricultural inputs have increased manifold. The decontrol policy pursued by the centre has resulted in increased price of fertilizer, seeds, pesticides. The diesel, needed for irrigation, has become too costly. In such a situation the peasants are not getting remunerative prices for their produces. For example, the jute producers are not getting enough price to meet their costs. There is a threat of decreasing price for paddy too.

The condition of peasants in West Bengal has turned worse with Trinamool- Congress alliance coming to power in the state. One of the major crisis that has developed is the decreasing number of workdays for agricultural workers. The rural employment programmes, including MNREGA, have been halted in large areas.

Madan Ghosh also described the attacks on legal rights of the peasants, unleashed in the last three months. The gains of the land reforms are now being snatched away. Thirty activists of the Left parties have been murdered, most of them peasants. More than 14,000 rural people have been forced to leave their villages. In a horrible operation of collecting so-called ‘fines’ (which actually is extortion), thousands of villagers are being forced to pay huge sums to Trinamool gangs. An amount of more than Rs 2 crore has been collected till date and many such incidents are as yet unreported. More than one thousand acres of tenancy land has been forcefully grabbed and 4700 title holders have been evicted from 2700 acres of land. More than 14,000 peasants have been evicted from legal operational control of 3490 acres of land and 3710 share croppers have been driven out from 1587 acres.

Another new feature of the political attack is destabilising the elected panchayat system in the state. Kishan Sabha leaders alleged that elected panchayat members were not being allowed to function in many places. In some districts, almost entire panchayat functioning has been either stopped or forcefully usurped by unelected Trinamool leaders. They were forcing the local administration to follow their dictates. This is a full-fledged attack on decentralisation of power in West Bengal, so fondly nurtured by the rural people.

The peasants will not tolerate such attacks on their rights and livelihood silently, asserted  Kisan Sabha leaders. The movement will be stepped up phase by phase.