Nimitz Plus Indian Comradors, Always Ready To Destroy!
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashchandrabiswas@gmail.com">palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
Nimitz shows US converting India into military ally: CPI(M)
New Delhi, July. 2 (PTI): As nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz docked near Chennai, the CPI(M) today said the visit signified that the UPA government was "step by step" converting India into a military ally of the United States.
"The significance of the visit of the USS Nimitz is that the UPA government is step by step implementing the defence framework agreement with the United States which will convert India into a military ally of the US", the party Polit Bureau said in a statement here.
It said while the Defence Ministry and the US Embassy had earlier stated that there were no nuclear weapons on board, the Chief Officer if the naval group comprising Nimitz has now refused to confirm or deny the presence of such weapons.
"These are statements which misinform the Indian people", the party said.
Nimitz Plus Indian Comradors, Always Ready To Destroy!
Bengali caste Hindu Ruling Comradors have been always way ahead in killing the enslaved masses.
Thus, Dr Bidhan Roy remains the Ivory Icon for his significant role to oust dalit refugees out of Bengal. Jyoti Basu made the returning refugees the food for SundarVana Tigers! And now enters the Capitalist Marxist Brand Buddha! The result Refugees returns once again. This influx is not from any foreign land, it is from within, from the special Exploitation Zones! These are the reminiscent of those horrifying partition days when Life after partition in the East was not easy at all – the displaced realised that with ownexperiences like no one else. Their histories have not always been lettered, but theirnarratives remain testimony to the nature of struggle they went through to reconstructtheir lives. Life definitely was not easy for the displaced in the West. But, at least therewere state initiatives to resettle and rehabilitate them in India. Government assistancecould not be a substitute for their loss and agony. But, starting their lives afresh was notthat difficult for many in the West.
A US astronaut of Indian heritage made history early Saturday when she set a new record for the longest uninterrupted space flight by a woman. Another woman Pratibha Patil is set to enter as the First lady in the Rashtrapati Bhavan in India. It is good times for Indian ladies. And another woman, a dalit girl is raped and murdered in Singur! Nandigram Women were raped by Buddha`s Gestapo to retalitae Resistance. We see the Indian Brahminical State Power to kill and crush the innocent citizens countrywide, specilly those who are involved in Nationality movement. Entire North East and Kashmir suffer.After three decades of power, a spectre is haunting the CPI(M): the spectre of Nandigram. Faced with widespread outrage, the Left Front is resorting to corporate-style media propaganda
Is Nimitz not lagging behind ? Agricultural land has come into the news in several ways and for several reasons in the last months—be it in the context of the agitation at Singur or Nandigram or Amitabh Bachchan posing as a farmer, first in UP and then in Maharashtra or in the manner in which agricultural land is routinely acquired in the name of infrastructure projects. Typically agitations have been launched when this has happened but this has largely focused on the perceived injustice to the farmers in terms of the compensation paid for the land or the rehabilitation package promised to the displaced farmers but not delivered. Medha Patkar has been among the people who have agitated along these lines.
Left opposes Nimitz visit but does everything to open Indian doors for the Global Order, US Imperialism! They have turned entire Ruling India a horrible Killing Field with an extra ordinary striking power. Resistance of people is answered with genocide, murders and gangrapes. We have seen it in Singur and Nandigram. British Colonial legacy continue to run as it is the best defence system for the ruling Brahminical classes and the global order does the most wantable things for them- Implementation of Post modern Mnusmriti! At the face of it it's celebration time for the CPI(M) in West Bengal. On June 21 this year, the CPI(M)-led Left Front government completed 30 years in power. A rally was organised at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium where Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya and former chief minister Jyoti Basu exhorted followers to support the party and the front. The state government has also started a publicity campaign in the print and electronic media, and the party has planned a series of programmes. Yet, one can detect a note of anxiety hidden in the high-pitched rhetoric.The government's industrialisation policy has created a furore; it has led to bloodshed in Singur, widespread outrage against the police-cadre organised Nandigram massacre all over Bengal and India (the daily violence continues in Nandigram with new evidence of brutality, including against women and children), and fierce debate on the nature and process of industrialisation. Not only has it suddenly woken up from its rather arrogant slumber, fissures have also started appearing within the front and party itself.
Is Nimitz more dangerous than SEZ, SAZ, PCPIR drive? US corporates have to get the market but they wont be allowed to carry the stike power defending US interests! Is it possible at all? We are duped, friends in this nonsense so called Democracy devoid of freedom and sovereignity!AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa has said the Congress was “untouchable” but it was “certainly possible” for the Third Front and the Left to come together in the future. There might be no other alternative to the Third Front, christened the United National Progressive Alliance, other than abstaining from the Presidential poll, she said.
How may we forget, in a quiet corner of India, a minority group claims it is the victim of the same kind of prejudice and upheaval endured by Hindus and Muslims during the horrors of partition more than 60 years ago? The people who say they are the latest victims of religious hatred are large numbers of Muslims of Bengali origin who say that they have been driven away from some districts in India's north-eastern state of Assam during the last two months. As Assamese regional groups renew their drive against those they believe are "illegal infiltrators" from neighbouring Bangladesh, these Muslims, whose ancestors settled in Assam several decades ago, are becoming easy targets.
They speak for reservation and quota and they are way ahead to deny. They speak for land reforms and rural development and they simply kill the Villages. They advocate Urbanisation and Industrialisation snatching life and livlihood and sponsoring unabaited promoter raj, MNC Raj!
Here You are!
West Bengal police resorted to lathi charge on SUCI protesters. The woman protesters are demanding arrest of all the accused in the Tapashi Malik murder case. Fresh protests have taken place over Tapashi Malik murder case in West Bengal today (July 2).In Kolkata, a radical political party, the Socialistic Unit centre also known as SUCI demanded the arrest of all the accused in the Tapashi murder case. As many as 40-50 women activists protested outside the State Assembly in Kolkata. When the protests continued, the police resorted to lathi charge. The police have now reportedly arrested the protestors.
Hundreds of villagers blocked roads to the port town Paradip in Orrissa Monday demanding the arrest of those involved in the "violent" agitation against the Posco steel project and accusing them of forcing families out of the area. Around 700 trucks and 60 passenger buses were stranded on the national highway as villagers said to be supporters of the project of the South Korean steel major launched a road blockade.
Three gram panchayat areas at Sujapur in Malda district today put up a road blockade on NH-34 demanding supply of arsenic-free drinking water.
The blockade which began at 11.30 am had disrupted movement of vehicles between the North East and West Bengal.
Meanwhile, a mob today damaged the existing arsenic-free water treatment plant at Sujapur protesting against the non-supply of purified water to the villages, police said. The villagers were demanding supply of arsenic-free water from the water treatment plant at Dariyapur.
And see the striking contrast!
Despite the Left threatening protests, the US warship Nimitz has docked in India, the Government is going ahead with its much-publicised Indo-US cooperation and even appears to be going into overdrive to bat for it. On the July 5, after the symbolic friendly visit to Indian seas the Nimitz heads back to its mission in the Persian Gulf, perhaps not before leaving a political storm in its wake.Despite a call by the state leadership of the CPI-M, to observe the birth anniversary of Dr BC Roy as “peace day” today for restoration of peace in Nandigram, local CPI-M leaders at Singur today kept up the offensive, holding a number of rallies, to protest against the arrest of Mr Suhrid Dutta in connection with the murder of Tapasi Malik. CPM supporters and members were, however, in no mood to pay homage to the former chief minister as they organised a string of processions and meetings through the day.CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat has been widely quoted saying that the only issue that could rock the UPA-Left alliance is the issue of national security. And the arrival of the US nuclear warship USS Nimitz into Indian waters much to the Left's displeasure was being seen as last nail in the coffin. But the question arises, whether the Left's opposition is just a symbolic act or not. After all if they felt that strongly over the issue, why would the agitation be restricted to the Chennai port - a localised protest. In fact, the party hasn't even decided when it will take out this symbolic march, considering the Nimitz is docking nowhere close to the Chennai port.
Violent resistance by an unlawful assembly had compelled the police to open fire at Nandigram on March 14, the West Bengal government told the Calcutta High Court today. There was no alternative but to resort to firing to restore normalcy, though the state was not prepared to use force, state Advocate General Balai Roy submitted before Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Justice P C Ghose. On March 12, two days before the fateful day, a decision was taken to send 600 policemen with the sole objective to repair roads and bridges and to establish police camps where necessary, Roy said. Violent resistance by an unlawful assembly, however, compelled the police to fire on March 14 when 14 people died, he said.
Roy submitted that between January three and March 14 this year, an area of 65 sq km inhabited by over 60,000 people was declared almost a liberated zone. The main roads were cut and bridges and culverts damaged making the area totally inaccessible from outside. The consequence was that there was no civil administration, no policing and 41 cases recorded in several police stations could not be investigated. He stated that the duty of the state was to maintain law and order, but for this period the state could not perform any of the duties that the Constitution obliges the state to perform.
The AG submitted that eight peace meetings were held and resolutions were taken at all these meetings that everybody would co-operate in repairing roads and bridges. The High Court is hearing a number of petitions questioning the March 14 police action in Nandigram.
Instead of demanding restoration of peace in the land-war zones — as had been planned earlier — they protested against the CBI’s “political conspiracy” to “malign” the party by arresting Singur zonal committee secretary Suhrid Dutta for the murder of Tapasi Malik. After Nandigram and Purushottampur, land-acquisition fury has spread to a Nadia village.About 60 farmers from Gede, close to the Bangladesh border and about 150km from Calcutta, are opposing the takeover of 11 acres for the expansion of a railway station. The project is for the proposed Calcutta-Dhaka rail link. The railway has staked claim to the land, citing records dating back to 1871. But at least 11 villagers said they had documents to prove the land belonged to them.Three days ago — after the railway issued eviction notices — the farmers armed with sickles prevented a team of the Central Public Works Department from erecting a fence around the land. The villagers, who are demanding compensation, threatened violent protests, forcing the CPWD officials to leave.The CPWD informed Nadia district magistrate Onkar Singh Meena, who ordered a probe.
A farmer of Singur in West Bengal Monday died of alleged starvation caused by the loss of livelihood following acquisition of farmland for the upcoming Tata Motors small car project.
Sankar Das, a resident of Dobadi village near Singur, died early morning. According to Sankar's neighbours and the Singur Krishijami Raksha Committee (Save Farmland Committee), the deceased was living in penury and was going without food after losing work in a field taken over for the Tata Motors project.Police, however, said it was a natural death and Sankar died of cardio-respiratory problem.
Earlier in May, 32-year-old farmer Prasanta Das committed suicide in Khaserbheri village of Singur after he failed to sustain his family, having lost his land to the Tata Motors project.
In March, farmer Haradhan Bag had also ended his life in Singur. Anti-Tata project activists had claimed that land loss was behind his death too.
Under pressure from some allies and in-house sceptics, the CPM later changed tack and dubbed Roy an “enemy of the mass movement”.But Bhattacharjee paid Roy rich tributes today. “I heard about his good governance from Jyoti Basu and came to know that he had great plans for the progress of the state, many of which he saw through in his lifetime.”The chief minister was speaking at a programme organised by the Indian Medical Association, which marked the occasion — it is also Roy’s death anniversary — as “Doctors’ Day”. Not just on Roy but in the Tapasi case, too, the CPM is trying to reconcile perceived differences between the stand adopted by the party and Bhattacharjee.After CPM supporter Debu Malik was arrested in the case, Bhattacharjee had said he told the CBI to arrest the culprits without bothering about their “political colour”.
On Bidhan Roy’s birthday, Pranab Mukherjee gave the CPM a sermon on industrialisation.
While Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee walks up to Bidhan Roy’s statue at Writers’ where he laid a wreath. Peace was on Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s lips on a day his party struck to a rewritten script and cried conspiracy.The chief minister hailed Bidhan Chandra Roy’s ability to build a “political consensus for the state’s development”, saying what the CPM wanted to say on the Congress icon’s 125th birth anniversary but would not because it balked at criticism from allies.
“It’s good that the Left has belatedly realised the importance of the late Bidhan Chandra Roy. But had it followed his path earlier, the present turmoil could have been avoided,” the Congress leader said, alluding to the Marxists’ decision to observe Peace Day today.According to Mukherjee, Roy did not face any problem in his industrialisation drive because of his meticulous and systematic planning.
“But the present government’s initiative has been hasty,” he said.
“The government here is going ahead with industrialisation without caring about agriculture. This is not expected,” the external affairs minister added.
US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, the world's largest nuclear powered aircraft carrier, has docked two miles off the Chennai port at 6:00 am (IST) on Monday.The Nimitz has been at the centre of storm in India, particularly with the Left expressing concern about radiation since the Nimitz is nuclear powered and can carry nuclear weapons.However, the fact that the Nimitz uses nuclear power means that the ship can store almost twice as much aviation fuel as the largest conventional carrier.And also, it can keep 50 per cent more ammunition including nuclear weapons if ordered to by the US administration making it quite literally the strongest arm of US foreign policy.In fact, the ship's commanders pride themselves on being combat ready and lethal always.When the Nimitz left California on the April 2 and headed for the Persian Gulf at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the West, many called it 'gunboat diplomacy' in the 21st century.However, the two governments say the fears are ill founded and come at a time of growing nuclear and military ties between India and the US.
The ship docked amidst opposition by political parties, including the Left, and environmentalists who have expressed their concerns over radiation from the ship powered by two nuclear plants.The nuclear-powered Nimitz's visit this week has been termed a landmark step in India-U.S. ties and a sign of a closer diplomatic and military relationship between the two powerful democracies.Under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government, Washington and New Delhi have seen a blossoming of military, economic and diplomatic ties, triggering unease among the powerful communists who help shore up the federal coalition.Defence Ministry sources have told TIMES NOW that the USS Nimitz had visited India two years back, and that there are two more nuclear-class warships – there are only ten of these in the world - and a nuclear submarine scheduled to visit India during September and October, in what would probably be one of the biggest ever war games in the region.
Sources also say the Government is not taking the Left’s protests seriously and believes they will come to nothing.
Wait may be over for new SEZ plans
AMITI SEN
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, JULY 02, 2007 03:38:35 AM]
NEW DELHI: The wait is over for developers of special economic zones (SEZ) who submitted their proposals to the government after April 6. After the temporary freeze on approvals was lifted, April 6 was the informal cut-off date for taking up pending proposals for consideration. Since there was a huge backlog of pending projects, the government was focusing on them rather than taking up new ones.
More than a 100 proposals have been approved after the freeze was lifted and the board of approvals (BoA) is ready to take up proposals submitted after the cut-off date.
Speaking to ET, commerce ministry officials said the backlog of pending proposals that have state government approvals have almost all been taken care of. Nothing was preventing the government from taking up new proposals, provided they was accompanied by state government certification. “There was never a ban on new applications. It was just felt that the older proposals should be dealt with first,” an official said.
The government had frozen approval and notification of SEZs on January 22 this year following widespread protests all over the country, especially in Nandigram (West Bengal), over acquisition of land by states. The freeze was lifted on April 6 by the EGoM which decided to ban coercive acquisition by states. The BoA meet, held on June 22, ruled that if even one farmer objected to acquisition of land, the state could not acquire the land for building SEZs.
The BoA reiterated that double crop land in excess of 10% of the total area cannot be acquired for building SEZs, and state governments should not give their consent to such proposals.
Interestingly, there are as many as 170 proposals that are awaiting the state government’s nod. Earlier, such proposals would be taken up by the BoA subject to the condition that states gave their nod within six months of the approval.However, two months ago, the BoA decided to take up proposals for consideration only if they were backed by state approvals.
Nearby, protesters shouted "Down with U.S. imperialism" and burnt effigies of the huge ship -- which can carry 90 aircraft, including the F-18 "Super Hornet" -- as well as the U.S. flag.Dozens of policemen, many carrying bamboo canes, monitored the protest but made no arrests. Hundreds of communists, shouting "Go back", held a noisy demonstration on Monday in Chennai to protest the port call of USS Nimitz, the first U.S. aircraft carrier to visit India.But the country's vocal communists say the visit is a move by Washington to bring New Delhi under its strategic umbrella.
"By allowing the ship, the Manmohan Singh government has compromised on India's independent foreign policy and shown itself to be a spineless government," David Pandian, a senior communist leader, told reporters outside the Chennai port.
PMO sources say this is a “routine visit” and that “there are no nuclear weapons on board the USS Nimitz and no problems are expected.” Though America has not confirmed the absence of nuclear weapons on the ship, PMO sources say fears of radiation are unfounded as the ship has docked 2 nautical miles from Chennai harbour, and there have been no reports of the several thousand sailors who have been on board the ship for months, being affected.
The Government also is unmoved by the Left’s objections to India and the US getting closer – The Malabar exercise can be seen as a corner stone of this relationship.
Meanwhile, the United States has chosen to downplay Left's objections, citing the fact that the USS Nimitz was visiting India on India's invitation. US Ambassador to India David Mulford has said,
"Well, let's remember that Nimitz is visiting with an invitation from the government of India to make the visit. It is not coming into your territorial waters, it's coming in with your consent. It's invited."
But despite all the noise made by the Left over the US warship's entry into India, the Left is confused over the scale of protests. Senior CPI(M) leader and minister Rezzak Molla put the crisis in perspective: he stressed that the Left Front's key to success lay in land reforms (distribution of vested land to the landless) and Operation Barga (recording names of sharecroppers to protect them from eviction by landowners). Over the years the Left has been enjoying steady mass support in rural Bengal, a factor that gives them a clear edge over the opposition. If this support base is destabilised, it might backfire. And Buddhadev Bhattacharya's government has done precisely that. To attract investments for big business corporates and multinationals, his government started offering fertile agricultural land to them without initiating any consensual dialogue with the farmers, at Singur, Nandigram and elsewhere, often using coercive tactics, police repression and muscle-flexing by the CPI(M) cadre.
After the people of Nandigram resisted the forcible eviction from their land for a massive chemical hub owned by the notorious Indonesian multinational Salem, the government was forced to step back; but the damage was done. Rural Bengal realised that the Left Front regime, which had been so friendly to them in the past, won't hesitate to grab land from them to benefit the big corporates. The government's explanation that the land required for industrialisation will be just about.01 per cent of the total agricultural land in Bengal has failed — the debate just refuses to die out.
Recently, Industry Minister Nirupam Sen announced an enhanced compensation package for the people of Singur whose land has been acquired for the Tata Motors project. The opposition, led by Mamata Banerjee, debunked it but could not offer any alternative solution. That came from unexpected quarters, when Amartya Sen, while giving a lecture in London on the occasion of 150 years of the 1857 mutiny, referred to the issue. A newspaper report stated that while answering a question from the audience, Sen said a compensation package should be based on market price and on what the likely price of that land would be when converted into industrial land. The West Bengal government often swears by Sen, yet, despite Sen's views being reported in a widely circulated Bengali daily, no government or opposition leader chose to go public.
The USS Nimitz, the pride of the US Navy is on a six-month deployment in the Arabian Sea, relieving the USS Eisenhower. The warship being the first US Super carrier docking off the Indian coast, the Indian Navy is sparing no effort to ensure its stint in India is a success. With all the government's attention focussed on getting this Public Relations exercise right, the Left perhaps also realised that its voice is drowning in the entire ruckus.
Some port workers in Chennai, off which the Nimitz is anchored, have also expressed environmental fears about the nuclear-powered ship.New Delhi has stationed a naval vessel to monitor radiation levels in the air and water around USS Nimitz.The U.S embassy has said the safety record of American nuclear-powered warships was "outstanding".But the crew, pilots, sailors and officers on board are relatively untouched by the storm the warship's arrival has kicked up. For almost all of them this is a first visit to India.
''The US naval culture is one where we are expected to be always ready to destroy,'' said Admiral John Terence Blake, Commander, Nimitz Strike Group 11.
So it is hardly a surprise that the Nimitz's arrivals in Indian waters brings with it some strong opposition particularly from the Left who say allowing a nuclear weapons capable US ship to make a historic port of call visit is another sign of India's weakness.
''These are different times now. The US is very proud of its partnership with India in this region. I think we share common interests here and the visit of an aircraft carrier to Chennai shows how far we have come in our relationship. That's very positive for me,'' said Captain Michael Manazir, Commander, USS Nimitz.
On the other hand, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roys’ birth anniversary , which sparked a controversy after the CPI-M’s decision to observe the day as peace day, inspired three different strands of thought in the chief minister, the external affairs minister and the Trinamul Congress.
Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said during Dr Roy’s tenure, the ruling party and the Opposition could sit together and try to sort out differences on any issue. Mr Pranab Mukherjee, external affairs minister, felt former chief minister Dr Roy’s stewardship had been such that there was no conflict between agriculture and industry as the two were now pitted against each other. This was because, he explained, Dr Roy worked for the growth of the two in equal measure.
Mr Sougata Roy, Trinamul MLA, said it didn’t behove the chief minister to “sermonise on peaceful negotiation” as the Communists had organised “the most violent movements during Dr Roy’s tenure and after”. “At least we don’t set fire to trams and buses the way the Communists did during Dr Roy’s regime,” he said. Speaking at the “doctors day” programme organised by the Indian Medical Association, the CM underscored the need for a consensus between the ruling party and the Opposition. He said the Opposition in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharastra never thwarts measures for the good of the people.
“The Opposition may agree or disagree with us but it should be open for discussion. I have heard from Mr Jyoti Basu that he and Dr Roy would discuss whenever there was any disagreement,” he said. The Speaker of the state Assembly, Mr HA Halim, recalled during Dr Roy’s tenure political disagreement never marred the relationship between the ruling party and with the Opposition. The chief minister also criticised the media which, he said, only write about the “few loopholes” in the system but keep mum on the good work. “We should keep our cool and tolerate them,” he said.The CPI-M held street corners in different parts of the city to campaign for restoration of peace at trouble-torn Nandigram and acceleration of the industrialisation process initiated by the Left Front government.
The tribute to Dr Roy surprised all as the CPI-M had all along been critical of the former chief minister and drew ridicule from the Opposition. This forced Mr Benoy Konar, who is looking after the CPI-M state unit in the absence of Mr Bose who is abroad, to clarify that the day’s programme and Dr Roy’s birth anniversary were “a mere coincidence” and that the question of the CPI-M showing respect or disrespect to Dr Roy doesn’t arise.
“I remember the late Roy all the more for negotiating with all political parties to arrive at a consensus for the state’s development. Roy perceived the need to put petty political differences aside so that the government and the Opposition could work together,” the chief minister said. Bhattacharjee termed Roy a “visionary” — a description more in line with the comments of state CPM secretary Biman Bose who had said the CPM would observe the anniversary as Peace Day to narrow the divisions over land acquisition.
This desperation is not without reason. Earlier, the CPI(M)'s party organisation could reach people at the grassroots very effectively. In the last 30 years, party membership has grown more than 10 times, from 22,000 to 290,000. Its various front organisations have nearly three crore members. Yet, the number of 'wholetimers' (full-time activists) are relatively stagnating: from 2,100 in 1977 to 3,200 in 2007. In its bid to broaden its support base, the CPI(M) has been co-opting various sections, including the business community, within its fold. Over a period of time, large sections of the 'non-Bengali' business community came to support the party with funds or otherwise, metamorphosing the CPI(M) into a mass party like the Congress.
And now read the Refugee Experience!
Anadi Mondal, a PL member of the Chamta Camp of Nadia, said in the interview
with the author on 15 March 2002, that he, like other camp dwellers opposed to go to
Dandakaranya and as a result, the government stopped their doles temporarily. So they
did not have any other option but to go to Dandakaranya. In his own words:
“Jokhon Dandakaranyer haoa ailo, sarkar thika amago jor koira oi rukha
sukha jagae pathaite chailo. Amra jol desher manush, kyamne oi pathura
jagae thakum? Tai jaite raji hoilam na. Sarkar thika amago sahajyo
bondho koira dilo. Jetuku khaite paitam tao gelo go! Pore oboshyo amra
onek todbir korbar phole abar sahajyo paisilam, kintu tao bosor panch
bade. Er modhye oboshyo amago family re Coopers thika Chamta camp
e boshaisilo tenara.” (When the wave of Dandakaranya came, the
government tried to persuade us to go to that dry area. We are people
from an area with water. How could we live in that rocky area? So, we
did not agree to go there. The government stopped all assistance to us.
Whatever assistance we used to get, that also was gone! We, however,
managed to receive assistance once again after a lot of request, but that
was after about five years. Meanwhile, our family was shifted from the
Coopers to the Chamta camp.)
Gradually, the resentment of the camp-dwellers in West Bengal against the Central
Government’s decision to send them outside the state encouraged them to raise their
voice. The camp-dwellers of Bettiah in Bihar launched a peaceful satyagraha movement
in May 1958 for the fulfilment of their demands of improved living and economic
conditions in the camp to rehabilitate them. This showed a way out to the refugees living
in the camps of West Bengal. So, when the Government tried to force them to go to
Dandakaranya, these refugees revolted. They launched massive civil disobedience
movement in the Gandhian way and more than 30,000 camp refugees were arrested.52
Though this movement did not last long, it left a major impact on the psyche of the
refugees. It helped them to come out of their shell.
Initially, the refugees living in the camps expected that the organisations of the
squatters’ colonies would join this movement, and would give it a stronger shape. Reality
was not so. The squatters’ colonies stood apart with their own problems. They did not
intend to take part in this movement probably because of two reasons: first, they had
already acquired lands through jabar dakhal to start their lives afresh, and second, most
of them belonged to the middle class. Moreover, when the government took the decision
to recognise 133 squatters’ colonies in the beginning of 1958, the camp-dwellers got
frustrated and felt somewhat alienated.
The role of the UCRC was very vital at this stage, whose
