Return farmland, Thunder of spring, Muslims and dalit Voice

Return farmland, Thunder of spring, Muslims and dalit Voice

Indian Holocaust My fatehr`s Life and Time- Eighty EIGHT

Palash Biswas



Indian Ruling Classes never protested either Muslim Rule in Idia for over seven hunder years or the Brtish empire including the East India Company rule for almost two hundred years. they always adjusted themselves in different scenerio with single agenda to enslave the eighty five percent majority Indian population. they had non violent weapons of all kinds of so called sacred scripts including Manusmriti. Naxal movement was mobilised by dalits and tribals and the were not only crushed as they had been crushed during Muslim and brtish period, but eventually they have been depriveved of minimum human rights. dalit movement deviated , thus. Dalits and Tribals and Women Naxalite cadres were liquidiated at will. Once again, bengal resistance seems to be anorher memory of another day, the Thunder of spring in India. This time the ruling classes are well represented by sp called communists who organized themselves after Russian and Chinese revolutions not to follow suit but with a definite agenda not to allow Revolution in India. Zamindars and Brahmins took over the communist movement as they captured the centrist congress and rightist Nazi Sangh Parivar. All these antinational forces have become the agents of corporate, Nazi, capitalist and brahminical Imperialism.

The world that the 70s generation confronted, especially in terms of the status of the Dalits and women, was obscene.The young today confront a more complex world. A constant indoctrination from only one source that has numbed us all. But human beings react to being bullied, to being kicked around. And if one looks around, one can see this reaction beginning to take shape.
The Tata Group on Friday said it was determined to roll out small cars from its Singur plant in West Bengal in 2008 despite several hiccups. "We are determined to roll out our Rs 1 lakh car in 2008 as planned," Tata Sons director R K Krishna Kumar said. Praising the supportive efforts of the West Bengal Government, Kumar said the issue had assumed a political overtone and "we are caught in the crossfire". In New delhi, Auto major Tata Motors said on Thursday it was open to selling its much touted `people's car' in Latin America under the Fiat badge, which could be priced at $2200 (about Rs. 99,000). Speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of the India-Italy CEO Forum, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata said Fiat had expressed interest in the `people's car' and the company was open to selling it under the Fiat brand in regions such as Latin America, where the Italian carmaker has a strong brand equity. Mr. Tata, however, said the company's priority would be the Indian market, as it was developed for the masses of the country.
Around 7,500 farmers who sold their land for the Tata Motors project at Singur were allotted the VIP enclosure at Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s rally here on Thursday. This was CPI(M)’s first public show to counter the opposition’s claim that farmers had been forced to give up their land. It was also a first rally by the Chief MInister in the area since the opposition, led by Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, launched a virulent agitation against the farmland acquisition. Perhaps in response to their handling of the issue at the local level, the district leaders of the CPI(M) were sent to a corner.

Accusing the West Bengal Government of creating a conflict between agriculture and industry, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asked authorities to return farmland "forcibly" acquired in Singur for the Tata Motors car project. "It is my challenge to return to farmers their land forcibly acquired by the Government for the Tata Motors' small car project in Singur," Ms. Banerjee told a rally in this North 24 Parganas district town. On the other hand on Thursday, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya took his battle for industry to where it all began--to the outskirts of Singur, the site for the Tata Motors factory. At a public rally there, his first since Singur turned into a political battlefield, the Chief Minister said industry was the way ahead for West Bengal and everyone would benefit from it.

Meanwhile,the Calcutta High Court has ordered the West Bengal government to submit details of land acquisition at Singur for the Tata Motors project.The order comes in response to a PIL claiming that the acquisition procedure was faulty.

Singur controversy reaches the US

Anirudh Bhattacharyya reports for CNN-IBN from newyork
Posted Friday , February 16, 2007 at 08:48
DEBATING SEZ: The audience in US was interested in the message Singur was sending to potential foreign investors in India.

New York: India is grabbing global attention, not just for its growing economy but also for issues like Special Economic Zones (SEZs). That's why when a group of Indian MPs visited New York, they debated land for the Tata small car project in Singur. The six MPs were in New York as part of a delegation of the India-US Forum of Parliamentarians. They were invited by the prestigious Asia Society to discuss SEZs. The focus was on the Tatas' controversial Singur project, and the panel spent its time debating and disagreeing over a possible solution.


One of the MPs, IUFP Chairman and Rajya Sabha MP, Biju Janata Dal, B J Panda, stated at the forum, "You need a good success story where everybody's a winner. Where the farmers are winners, where the companies that come and make an investment are winners, where the state is a winner. We have not yet come to that stage."

"I'm hoping that in Orissa and elsewhere, we'll see the first such example and then perhaps the lessons can be applied, not just in Singur, but to other places where we have SEZ policies coming up and where we have land acquisition issues," he said.

Lok Sabha MP, Shiv Sena, Suresh Prabhu, added, "Here it seems that some section of society like farmers are losing first and maybe some other sections will lose later. So this will not really work. So how to balance and how to have the trade-off, that's the challenge before us."

The audience at the Asia Society was equally interested in what message the Singur controversy was sending to potential foreign investors in India. But the representative of the party - Rajya Sabha MP, Trinamool Congress, Dinesh Trivedi - who is leading the charge against the project, brushed off those fears."These kind of controversies strengthen their faith in Indian democracy and Indian rule of law. And, if at all, more and more people will come. If we have made a mistake, there is something called a course correction and I think this will lead to more investment in India," he said.


Those eyeing India as an investment destination will hope those words ring true.


Reports from New delhi say that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) plans to deliberate on the steps it thinks are needed to address the issues concerning the Muslim community in the wake of the recommendations of the Justice Rajinder Sachar panel report. Thsi is a clear fallout of nandigram episode which has become the epicentre of Hindu Muslim United Peasants movement in Bengal after full decades past fading out the Thunder of Spring.

"The Naxalite Movement is one of the important components in the political spectrum of India. At one stage, the "spring thunder" caused tremors in practically all the states of the union and posed a serious challenge even to the democratic structure. The idealists saw in it the beginning of a new world, a new socio-economic order. But soon sordid politics took over. The movement, however, continues to have a large support base because of the intellectual appeal of its ideology. It has survived more than a quarter century of onslaught by the security forces -- without any external support, unlike the Punjab terrorism and the Kashmir militancy. The movement has developed an inherent strength.

One thing is true. Those who grew up in India in the 60s and the 70s were definitely affected by the idea that they were not living in the best of all possible worlds. They also believed that it was possible to change the state of affairs. It is equally true that they copped out too soon. They gave up just when the cracks were opening up. Instead of continuing to fight the big enemy they turned against each other and ultimately themselves. The more extreme Left oriented among them also failed to understand that the country is too complicated to be encapsulated in one ideology.

They rightly understood, that the young were all dissatisfied with the country they had inherited from their parents. What they didn’t understand was that they had different notions of what they wanted India to be.

Many of the extreme Left in those days came from relatively affluent backgrounds. Their sacrifice, if one can call it that, was enormous. But they were not prepared for the caste and sub caste and sub-sub caste ridden world where the oppression of a couple of thousand years had created a world far too complicated to be able to unite as one. And if they did unite, who would they follow? Was there a workable structure ever defined except talk of a revolution borrowed from various other apparently successful ones.

"The Polit Bureau would finalise its approach on the needs of the Muslim community based on the Sachar Committee report including education and employment," party general secretary Prakash Karat told The Hindu . The Polit Bureau meets here this weekend.

He said the party would finalise a document that could then be put up for discussion among people especially those belonging to the community before coming up with specific suggestions.

The party's Minority Affairs Committee that went into the entire issue has prepared a draft document suggesting steps like the possibility of inclusion of some categories of Muslims under Article 341 of the Constitution. Article 341 provides that the President may with respect to any State or Union Territory, and where it is a State after consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification, specify the castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes which shall for the purposes of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Castes in relation to that State or Union Territory, as the case may be.

The party was of the view that in many cases Muslims belonging to Other Backward Classes have not been included for the purposes of benefit. The opinion was that the matter varies from State to State. To cite an example, the party members said for instance, Muslim OBCs in U.P. constitute more than Yadavs who were around 9 per cent. Yet over 50 per cent of the jobs go to Yadavs while the Muslims get between 2 per cent and 3 per cent.

Earlier, the party had mooted the idea of a separate sub-plan earmarking 15 per cent of the funds for Muslims on the lines of special allocation for tribal people. In addition the document to be discussed talks of education and employment.

Dalits must quit Manuwadi maoist parties & set up their own units
COMRADE AYYANKAALI
Even if a vaidik Brahmin touches gold it is certain to turn into stinking shit — whether it is maoisim, feminism or anything else. Similarly, Nepal’s Brahminical Manuwadi maoists are determined to turn maoism into the opium of the working class and destroy it, even before they capture power. The latest manuwadi maoist stunt is to persecute Nepal’s homosexual (gay) and lesbian community already being persecuted by its King Gyanendra. Nepal’s maoists are of course calling it a “society clean up drive” revealing their real crude manuwadi fangs. The real reason of course is that these maoist shitworms are terrified of anti-patriarchal and anti-endogamous elements like homosexuals and lesbians who will never fit into the slot of the Hindu divided family system and endogmany — the very pillars of the Brahminism which they never intended to destroy. Lesbians were cruelly punished by the Vaishnavas by chopping off their fingers.

MIM condemns Prachanda: The Moist Internationalist Movement (MIM) has explicitly condemned such crude, primitive agri-rural, patriarchial and barbaric homophotic ideas of the CIA-controlled crypto-Trotsky fake maoist front called the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM) which was also incidentally upheld by Hitler’s SS troops in nazi-occupied areas. Incidentally, the very RIM actively supports Brahmin Manuwadi fake maoist Prachanda who sports a sacred tilak and also regularly visits Hindu temples.

Instead of hastening and encouraging the abolition of the bourgeoise Brahminical Hindu undivided family system, fighting BSO patriarchy and trying to abolish endogamy, Nepal’s fake maoists are out to purify and preserve these institutions. With such fake maoist moral policing, Nepal’s Dalits and janjatis hardly need Hindutva heroes and monarchies to oppress them. Our local Brahminical Reddy-controlled fake maoist party also supports such Hitlerite and crude, barbaric and agri-rural ideas. No wonder India’s Brahminical maoist literary mafia front, called Virasam run by a Brahmin, Vara Vara Rao, never encourages homosexual or lesbian writers or supports their rights.

Women cadres complaint: No wonder that the number of incidents of rapes and sexual exploitation of women guerrilla cadres is only going up even though 60% of the maoist guerrilla army are women — even when such VHP-style Durga Vahinis are led by women. Ramakrishna, the great Brahmin maoist, had no answers when feminists asked him why there was no akkas or women in the central committee or politburo of maoist party. Conveniently using the akkas as cannon-fodder as well as sexual playthings are one thing and ensuring that there are women in the politburo is something else. The real hidden agenda of these Manuwadi fake maoists is to preserve the Hindu undivided family. How can they be expected to destroy endogamy and usher in a casteless and classless world?

Burden of virginity: Periyar E.V. R had said that virginity and chastity is a burden for women. These manuwadi fake maoists of both India and Nepal are crude, barbaric, agri-rural male-chauvinist patriarchial chauvinists who wish to preserve and perpetuate the Hindu undivided family and endogamy which protects the caste system on which Brahminical Social Order is built. Both these Brahminical fake maoist parties have refused to support Iran against US imperialist attack.

All Dalit Bahujans and Adivasis should desert these maoists leadership and set up their own genuine revolutionary maoist party with a Dalit-Bahujan-Adivasi leadership. Such a party alone will have any stake in destroying the BSO. Until a Dalit-Bahujan Adivasi led revolutionary maoist party is set up things will remain the same. Under Brahmin control the more things change, the more they will remain the same.

See dalit Voice articles

DV Dec.16, 2006 p.9: “Naxalism will zoom if Brahmin Prachanda becomes president of Nepal”, p. 10: “Upper caste rulers want naxal problem to continue”.

DV Oct.16, 2006 p.5: “Naxalism gets complicated with RSS & big business infiltration” & “Terrorism creates big business for upper caste rulers” & p. 7: “Maoist International tributes to DV”.

DV Aug.16, 2006 p.16: “Caste war within naxal leadership” & “Naxalism enslaves Dalits better than Hindu nazism”.

DV Edit May 16, 2006: “Red star over India: Danger of manuwadi marxists further enslaving starving Dalits”.

DV June 16, 2005 p.6: “Manuwadis in naxalite garb: Vaidik Varavara Rao’s treachery against Dalit hero Gaddar” & “DV proves right on Naxalite natak companies”.

DV Edit Aug.16, 2004: “Converting PWG into political party is fine but under Dalits, keeping Brahminical leaders out”.

DV May 1, 2000 p.7: “If PWG is menace why upper caste rulers are soft on it?”


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VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN wrote in his article in Frontline,Volume 22 - Issue 21, Oct. 08 - 21, 2005 cover story `The road from Naxalbari’:

The naxalite movement, which began as a violent peasant response to oppression by landlords, has undergone severe conflicts and innumerable splits over ideological and political positions before the regrouping attempt.

In Naxalbari, in May 1967.

"A peal of spring thunder has crashed over the land of India."

- Editorial, People's Daily,
July 5, 1967.

THE organ of the Communist Party of China (CPC) seemed to be consumed by a sense of euphoria as it used these words to describe the Naxalbari uprising in West Bengal in May 1967. It went on to add that the "revolutionary group of the Indian Communist Party has done the absolutely correct thing" by adopting the revolutionary line advanced by Chinese leader Mao Zedong, which involved "relying on the peasants, establishing base area in the countryside, persisting in protracted armed struggle and using the countryside to encircle and finally capture the cities".

The editorial concluded that "a single spark can start a prairie fire" and that "a great storm of revolutionary armed struggle will eventually sweep across the length and breadth of India". This optimism, was obviously motivated by similar hopes expressed by the leadership of the Naxalbari uprising - Charu Mazumdar, Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal. Charu Mazumdar, the principal ideologue of the "first authentic Maoist phenomenon" in India, held that "there was an excellent revolutionary situation in the country with all the classical symptoms" and that organisations such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist), to which Mazumdar originally belonged, had "betrayed the cause of Indian revolution by choosing the path of parliamentarism and class collaboration".

The merits and relevance of this political line may still be debatable but its organisational advancement was marked by anything but cohesion. Right from its early stages, the movement was characterised by severe internal differences and conflicts over ideological issues, tactical positions and, above all, personal egotism of the leaders. Such was the intensity of these internal squabbles that the movement split repeatedly, particularly during the first two decades of its existence. There was a time when as many as two dozen naxalite outfits were operating in the country, all claiming to be the real inheritors of the legacy of Naxalbari, and even indulging in annihilation of members of other groups branding them "class enemies". To paraphrase the figurative expression that was used to describe the movement in its initial days, the "peal of spring thunder" had, in reality, turned out to be a babel of voices.

This streak was visible from the very first initiatives to give a concrete organisational shape to the Maoist political line. The movement, which began as a violent peasant resistance to landlords at Naxalbari village in May 1967 on the basis of the land-to-the-tiller slogan, had acquired a larger appeal in about two months on account of the open support it evinced from sections of the State units of the CPI(M) in West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. These units had a formal meeting in November 1967, though the uprising itself had been crushed by August.

This meeting led to the formation of the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR) in May 1968. One of the first decisions of the body was to adhere steadfastly to armed struggle and not participate in elections. But differences cropped up over how armed struggle should be advanced and this led to the exclusion of a section of activists from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, led respectively by T. Nagi Reddy and Kanhai Chatterjee.





Kondapalli Seetharamaiah.

Kanhai Chatterjee argued that armed struggle and annihilation of the class enemy should be carried out only after building up mass agitations, while predominant sections of the AICCCR rejected this. The AICCCR went ahead with the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) in May 1969 and Chatterjee followed suit in October with the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC). The CPI(M-L) held its first congress in 1970 in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Charu Mazumdar was formally elected its general secretary.

Both the CPI(M-L) and the MCC continued with their respective forms of armed struggle for the next two years. In the process, Mazumdar acquired a kind of cult status among naxalites. The negative aspect of the development of this personality cult revealed itself shortly when Mazumdar was arrested in Calcutta on July16, 1972. His death, less than a fortnight later, in the lock-up virtually led to the collapse of central authority in the CPI(M-L).

The history of the movement after Mazumdar's death was marked by a number of splits brought about by personalised and narrow perceptions about the Maoist revolutionary line and attempts at course correction by some of the major groups. Even Kanu Sanyal, one of the founders of the movement, was not free from this trend. He gave up the path of "dedicated armed struggle" by 1977 and accepted parliamentary practice as one form of revolutionary activity.

One of the major initiatives at course correction was launched in 1974 by a group of CPI(M-L) activists who concentrated mainly in the then undivided State of Bihar. It included Jauhar (Subrata Dutt), Nagbhushan Patnaik and Vinod Mishra. This group renamed itself as CPI(M-L) Liberation in 1974, and in 1976, during the Emergency, it adopted a new line that called for the continuation of armed guerilla struggles along with efforts to form a broad anti-Congress democratic front, consisting even of non-communist parties. The group also suggested that pure military armed struggle should be limited and that there should be greater emphasis on mass peasant struggles to Indianise the philosophy of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Thought.

During the next three years, this new line caused further splits with leaders, such as Kondapalli Seetharamaiah (Andhra Pradesh) and N. Prasad (Bihar) dissociating themselves from the activities of the party. Prasad formed the CPI(M-L) (Unity Organisation) and Seetharamaiah started the People's War Group (PWG) in 1980. Seetharamaiah's line also sought to restrict "annihilation of class enemies" but the PWG's emphasis was on building up mass organisations, not on developing a broad democratic front.





Kanu Sanyal.

Since then, the principal polarisation in the naxalite movement has been between the two perceptions, advanced by Liberation and the PWG. Liberation branded PWG a group of "left adventurists" who invite state repression on hapless people, while the PWG castigated the Liberation group as one of the "revisionists" imitating the CPI(M). In theoretical terms, Liberation had "corrected the mistake of completely rejecting parliamentary politics" in 1982. The party still upholds the primacy of revolutionary peasant struggles. Even as this correction process continued, and the CPI(M-L) Liberation recorded its first electoral victory from Bihar in 1989, more naxalite factions such as the CPI(M-L) New Democracy, the CPI (ML) S.R. Bhaijee Group and the CPI(M-L) Unity Initiative were formed in that State.

In the meantime, the PWG continued with its dual line of armed struggle and building up mass organisations, focussing mainly on Andhra Pradesh, and building up a base in Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. It has gained momentum steadily since the early 1990s, and after 1999 it launched such major strikes as killing Madhya Pradesh Transport Minister Likhiram Kavre in 1999, blasting the house of Telugu Desam Party leader G. Sudhakar Reddy in Andhra Pradesh in 2000, and attacking TDP leader N. Chandrababu Naidu in 2001. It has also been virtually dictating the election process in several constituencies in many States.

The PWG's merger with the Bihar- and Jharkhand-based MCC last October, leading to the formation of the CPI(Maoist), has given it new teeth, impelling the Central and State governments to address the problem of growing Left extremism with greater attention. According to a former naxalite, the period after the late 1990s could well be considered the most cohesive phase of the "armed struggle" in spite of the persistence of disparate groups such as the CPI(M-L) Janashakti, the CPI(M-L) New Democracy and the CPI(M-L) Provisional Committee.


A deccan herald report

Naxalism enriched my life and provided the ammunition to fight for women’s rights’

Naxalism has infused certain value systems in the society. The experience that I gained during the time was very enriching and stood me in good stead when I joined the feminist movement.

She was the seventh accused in the Pulpally police station storming case in Wayanad by armed Naxalites in 1968 and, like Philip M Prasad, was in jail till 1977. However, ever since the splinter group she represented got disbanded, K Ajitha has channelised her energy to the cause of women who were victims of sex and violence.

She was one of the founding members of Sthreevedi, a Kerala women’s network fighting gender injustice and harassment of women. Since 1993, she has been leading Anweshi, an NGO for women, undertaking legal aid and literacy and rehabilitation. Ajitha has been a constant newsmaker for the past few years as she is almost singlehandedly fighting the icecream parlour sex racket case to which some powerful politicians have been linked. However, despite her resoluteness, most of the witnesses in the case turned hostile in court leading to the acquittal of the 13 accused recently.

“A powerful mafia comprising politicians, policemen and government officials has sabotaged the case,” she says. Married to a Muslim businessman and mother of two children, Ajitha spoke to Sunday Herald over telephone from Kozhikode.


“The kind of war that we waged then was part of the revolutionary movement in the country at that time. Some people have said that the movement was a failure. It depends on how you view it. For me, it had a positive outcome. Naxalism has infused certain value systems in the society. The experience that I gained during the time was very enriching and stood me in good stead when I joined the feminist movement. It helped me to be fearless and also provided great insights into issues and the people who were behind them.”

About facing pressures in the sex racket cases, she says, “I had been approached twice by people close to this powerful leader to freeze the proceedings in the case. I was even offered the chairperson’s post in the Social Welfare Board. I said I will take defeat but will not compromise.

“There has been blatant misuse of government machinery by the UDF government. It has been difficult taking on such an onslaught. But then I was flooded by phone calls from people expressing solidarity with me the day the acquittal came. A large section of people support my work. We do not have funds for fighting the case. It comes mainly through donations.”

About being labeled a ‘feminist-Marxist’, she says, “There was a time when I had to take on the CPM. But Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan has been very supportive in this sex racket case.

“In fact, there were even threats to my life during this case. Without his support I could not have gone ahead. He is petitioning the SC against the acquittal, and so am I. I am also building up a national campaign on the issue and several women’s leaders like Brinda Karat and Teista Setalvad have promised help.”

R G (in Thiruvananthapuram)


Another deccan Herald Story
Keeping embers of the revolution alive

The Naxal movement saw the creation of a plethora of poems, songs and street-plays from a very talented pool of youth
The embers of a movement that was as fierce as a devastating forest fire, lie hidden in his near frail appearence as he greets a visitor at his home close to the banks of the Ganga. Remind him of the bloody movement, he spews venom against the Left establishment in West Bengal and the fire is ready to bare its fangs. Accusing the Left of “double standards,” he lashes out at the ruling clique for compromising at various levels with the Congress.

At 52, Amar Bhattacharya who loathes himself to be called an ex-Naxalite - the ideal is still so dear to him - has made himself busy with ‘sundry’ jobs having one connection or other with the failed movement of the 70s.

The memories of bitter days of struggle, tales of alleged facist tortures and sacrifice of young comrades for a cause they espoused, still prod him to “do something.” Bhattacharya has not run short of ideas. He began penning his thoughts in newspapers, even editing a bi-monthly publication, ‘Naya Isthahar’ (New Manifesto).


Through his articles, Bhattacharya mobilised a signature campaign for Black US journalist Munia Abu Zamal who represents the ‘Voice of the Voiceless’ in America and despatched it to the States. Last year, while he busied himself in preparing a documentary, ‘Memories of Springthunder,’ to painstakingly chronicle the years of the famous uprising at Naxalbari, a village in North Bengal, he has now entered the crucial phase of editing the film.

“I have more than 80 hours of footage from which I have to produce barely one or little over an hour’s stuff. I find everything is so important for future generation to preserve,” Bhattacharya says while breathing an asthma inhaler. Three years in jail (1988-December 1990) as a prime suspect for waging war against the state had “gifted” him this disease, he claims. According to him, he will need some critical assistance from filmmaker Goutam Ghosh and some more inputs from Magsaysay award winner Mahashweta Devi, a known sympathiser for the Naxal movement. “The Naxal movement then triggered a spontaneous emotional reaction amongst us; it saw creation of a plethora of poems, songs and street-plays from a very talented pool of youth. Contrast this with the present movement and the difference is so stark and glaring,” observes Bhattacharya.

Prasanta Paul (in Kolkata)



Lashing out at the Centre for remaining "silent" on the acquisition in Singur, she said, "I fail to understand why the UPA is indifferent to the situation. It may be because it takes outside support of the CPI (M) to cling to power at the Centre."

On the violence in Nandigram, she alleged that "the CPI-M is assuring people there that their land will not be taken away while it is arming its cadres.''

Ms. Banerjee, who welcomed the Calcutta High Court order quashing prohibitory orders in Singur, said ``if the Chief Minister has minimum respect for democracy, he should have stepped down by now." "After remaining inactive on industrialisation for the last 30 years, the Left Front has started grabbing the land of poor peasants in the name of industry at Singur, Nandigram and Khejuri," she alleged. She urged the peasantry to form "save farmland committees" wherever agricultural land was sought to be taken away for industry.

Ms. Banerjee alleged that the administration had deployed a large contingent of police in Singur to "guard Tata's land" and "break up democratic movements." She claimed that the State Government had "grabbed" six lakh acres of farmland.

At a rally at Nalikul near Singur on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had said that no civilised government can tolerate the violence being unleashed by the opposition forces there to stop the work.

Haripal West Bengal • In his first political rally near ground zero at Singur, a combative West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya yesterday pledged that the controversial Tata Motors car project would come up at the chosen site "come what may".

"Say with me that you want the industry in Singur," the chief minister exhorted from the dais at Haripal, near Singur, in Hooghly district and got a resounding "yes" from a huge gathering of workers belonging to this Communist Party of India (Marxist).

A day after the Calcutta High Court reprimanded his government for orders prohibiting assembly of large gatherings at Singur, Bhattacharya told about 100,000 people attending the rally that West Bengal would be a frontrunner in industry and every district would have industrial units.

"Factory, factory and factory. We want factory. We want industry for all the school, college and university pass-outs. But we will move ahead taking the poor along. There are people who are in fear but we promise to protect them," he thundered.