[DEBATE] : Fwd: PEOPLE'S WATCH ANDHRA PRADESH Nandigram: A Report from Ground ZeroFrom: Medha Patkar

[Jai Sen]

An update...

Begin forwarded message:

> From: msgiri_bebl <ms.giri.bebl at gmail.com>
> Date:  November 24 2007 12:43:22 PM GMT+05:30
> To: PWAP at yahoogroups.com
> Subject: PEOPLE'S WATCH  ANDHRA  PRADESH Nandigram: A Report from  
> Ground ZeroFrom: Medha Patkar
> Reply-To: PWAP-owner at yahoogroups.com
>
> PEOPLE'S WATCH
>
> ANDHRA PRADESH
>
>
>
> Nandigram: A Report from Ground Zero
>
>
>
> From: Medha Patkar medha at narmada.org
>
>
>
> Report on Nandigram Events (Based on visit by social activists and  
> intellectuals to the relief camp and villages under attack and  
> further investigation)
>
>
> November 12, 2007
>
>
> On November 12th 2007, a team consisting of about 25 social  
> activists and intellectuals decided to visit Nandigram. This was  
> the first team of civil society organisations that was to go into  
> Nandigram after the events in early November, when a heavily armed  
> force of CPI (M) supporters began its onslaught for occupation of  
> Nandigram territory. The team took with it a truck full of relief,  
> again the first relief from outside to reach the camp. In spite of  
> the attack on some of the members of this team and others including  
> Tarun Sanyal, Sunando Sanyal, Debprasad Sarkar, Meher Engineer and  
> Medha Patkar, we felt the urgent need for some senior sensitive,  
> peace loving persons to reach out to the people in serious crisis.  
> We were receiving frantic calls and knew that many people were  
> wounded, hospitalised and destitutionalised.
>
>
>
> While the DIG, Kolkata was informed in writing the previous day, it  
> was at 12 noon when we were about to start, that the police  
> officials objected to our visiting Nandigram. And after much  
> argument it was agreed to have a meeting with the Chief Secretary,  
> Home secretary and the IG at the Writers Building. During the one  
> hour long dialogue, we brought to their notice the High Court order  
> directing the state government to permit social organizations to go  
> to Nandigram with relief material and render services (order dated  
> 15th March 2007 in AST 205 of 2007). The senior officials were  
> requesting us to postpone the visit to the 13th but we refused, due  
> to urgency. We also claimed our right to reach Nandigram, where the  
> people are not protected by the state against armed attacks by the  
> ruling party cadres.
>
>
> On starting at around 2.00 p.m., we reached Howrah district and  
> faced the first human blockade by 35 CPI-M supporters, who moved  
> away after an hour. But the truck could proceed only to face  
> another at a distance. On crossing the same, it was at another  
> point that we found hundreds of men on the street expressing  
> support and assuring protection to our Yatra.
>
>
>
> They belong to Trinamool Congress, Congress-I and nearby  
> communities. Surprisingly the Police and Revenue Officials  
> themselves stopped the vehicle at this point, without any reason.  
> Objecting to this illegal detention, we protested against Police  
> behaving rudely with our supporters and after an hour could compel  
> them to let us go. All these, we realised were delaying tactics, to  
> the least.
>
>
> Late evening, we were however stopped at Kolaghat by a blockade of  
> a thousand plus CPI-M agitators and the police officials and force  
> in 4 to 5 vehicles traveling with us, expressed their inability to  
> remove the same. We were threatened with attacks in the darkness  
> and with the abusing and challenging groups of agitators  
> surrounding the truck, we decided to return back to Kolkata. The  
> first ever set of relief material could not reach the Nandigram  
> refugees.
>
>
> November 13, 2007
>
>
> We, a group of about 25 representatives of peoples movements and  
> defenders of human rights, civil liberties, equitable development  
> having made two defeated unsuccessful attempts to reach Nandigram,  
> when we were stopped and not just heckled but attacked by the CPI-M  
> cadres with red flags and raised voice with abuses, this time we  
> were determined to reach the area under encroachment facing state  
> violence and left with no defense, as the information from the  
> field indicated. However, we were compelled to return the previous  
> night from Kolaghat where party members and supporters had a road  
> blockade. The next day there was a change, either because Mr. L.K.  
> Advani was to visit the region or to counter the defamation gained  
> over months. That very day, Nov 12th, we could pass without any  
> political blockade and reached the relief camp housing about 2500  
> persons in Nandigram. The team consisted of Medha Patkar, Atmaram  
> Saraogi, Debjit Dutt, Chhabi Roy, Chandan Pal, Amita Bag, Gautam  
> Bandopadhaya, Pushparaj, Biswajit, Anuradha Talwar, Swapna  
> Tripathi, Bijoya Chanda, Kalyan Sengupta and others. From amongst  
> those who were in the team, a few have contributed towards the  
> writing of this report. Sushma Swaraj and other NDA leaders team  
> had already taken a round of Nandigram and few villages and  
> returned back.
>
>
> On reaching the only relief camp housing and feeding children,  
> women and men ousted from their homes and habitats, we could not  
> believe the silence, tears and terror in the air. It was for the  
> first time during last many months that we were not received with  
> the slogan Dichchi na, Debo na the same women, who had struggled  
> like soldiers, were speechless and could only embrace us with  
> heartfelt depression but slowly came to gather strength to narrate  
> the stories in their choked voice. Some merely held our hands  
> conveying the desperately needed support till we were taken to the  
> dais.
>
>
> We addressed a public meeting where all the speakers including the  
> leaders of the BUPC expressed their strong objections to the events  
> indicating violence from the ruling party CPM cadres and demanded  
> that the armed cadres and their threats should be withdrawn  
> immediately. An angry Doctor upset with his medical service team  
> not being allowed to the villages where it was needed the most,  
> spoke with anguish but asserted his professional ethic. Young  
> Sarvodaya volunteers from Orissa, Gautam Bandopadhyay and other  
> senior activists from APDR, PBKMS, NAPM, HSS, Gana Mukti Parishad,  
> Sarva Seva Sangh, Gandhi Peace Foundation, Sangharsh 2007 and other  
> organisations conveyed their support and solidarity.
>
> We then spent hours with families women and men - who were stuffed  
> in small classrooms of the old school building, who vividly  
> described what they themselves and their community had gone  
> through. The stories were of horrifying armed attacks, burning and  
> demolishing houses, of molestation and rape. We were told that  
> hundreds were still missing and many of them were likely to be in  
> Khejuri under the custody of CPI-M cadres and leaders.
>
>
>
> November 14, 2007
>
>
> Next day early morning, when we proceeded to the villages in block  
> II, we knew, the destinations could not be disclosed even to the  
> pilot car and the stuffed police and IB jeeps. We requested BUPC  
> leaders to give us 2 to 4 of their members only to accompany us to  
> show the path and the places of conflict. A caravan of 6 jeeps no  
> doubt could not be hidden and was not to, since we intended not  
> just have a flying round but also to have a short dialogue with the  
> people living in. We could see CRPF jawans placed but only up to a  
> few kilometers near Nandigram town and not beyond.
>
>
> We visited Kamalpur, Takapura and Satangabari. Some of us also went  
> to Gokulnagar Daspara and Adhikaripara. We met the leadership of  
> the BUPC namely Sk. Sufiyan, Abu Taher, Bhabani Das, Abdus Sammad  
> and many others. Some of us also met the Superintendent of Police  
> and other police officials and Shri Alok Raj, DIG CRPF, and we  
> talked to the District Magistrate over the phone. The following  
> report is based mainly on our observations during our visit.
>
>
> Reaching Kamalpur and Takapura we sensed the tension within no  
> time. About 20-30 persons, women and men came to the jeep in each  
> place with 2 to 4 persons, CPM local leaders and spokespersons  
> arguing against our visit, claiming that peace is established now  
> but was totally absent before. They meant BUPC had tortured people  
> and disturbed peace by compelling people, especially women, to join  
> processions in the darkness too, and forming BUPCs in villages even  
> where SEZ was not to be come up. This indicated their plan to evict  
> CPM, they said.
>
>
> We could find out that the vocal persons were employees of state  
> government, especially local teachers or employees returning home  
> from Kolkata. Some women screaming against BUPC were to be taken  
> cognizance of but with caution, since they were guided by the  
> outsider-insider CPM leadership, no doubt. Our journey was to be  
> blocked and time taken but we wanted to listen to them. They could  
> not show us any house attacked or burnt by BUPC, while houses of  
> BUPC supporters were, according to them, burnt by house owners  
> themselves. This they claimed in the case of Abdus Samad, leader of  
> BUPC. We could still speak to the women and men lingering behind,  
> watching and listening to these outspoken representatives whose  
> expressions were of disgust and fear both. Some of our group  
> members approaching them could know that we were being bluffed.
>
>
>
> We proceeded and during the journey could meet many old and sick  
> women, shocked and scared men, silenced youth only when we stopped  
> the jeeps suddenly and went a few houses inside. Their relatives  
> and large number of other families had fled from the village, to  
> take shelter in the Nandigram camp or at relatives houses far  
> off... or just had disappeared not knowing where. Those were either  
> burnt to ashes or partially demolished, made inhabitable. Some of  
> them were desperate to get medical treatment but all were wanting  
> our support against threats of evictions and pressures from the  
> party cadres to behave. The worst of the fear was that their  
> standing paddy crop would be harvested, as openly claimed, by CPM  
> cadres, leaving them with nothing. They knew of this operation  
> having begun in the village Satangabari. They were curious to know  
> about their brethren in the camp and expressed their anguish over  
> the sealed fate with no belongings left to feed and clothe  
> themselves and no house to shelter them.
>
>
> We visited Satangabari, the village which was attacked by the  
> Harmad Vahini2, known to be the armed hired force of CPI-M party,  
> in April-May 2007. It was then that some of us had visited the  
> village Satangabari and actually heard the details of the incidence  
> when Harmad Vahini cadres entered the village on motorbikes and  
> with other vehicles, demolished, looted houses. People who were  
> expecting the attack, called other villagers and in the resistance,  
> Harmads were also attacked with whatever weapons other villagers  
> had probably leading to some wounded, if not killed. Press reports  
> are also available.
>
>
> This time, we found it this village, only tens of people,  
> supporters of CPI-M including some leading them. The latter had  
> come with motor bikes with red flags. We saw the label of Indonesia  
> on the cover of the motorbike number WB-30-A-5293.
>
>
> We were stopped and our jeeps were gheroed by the people present  
> who questioned our visit. One of they said, "you (Medha Patkar) had  
> paid 10 lakhs to BUPC". We strongly countered. They said, some  
> screaming, that their houses were attacked and they were made to  
> stay away for months. We decided to visit those houses and walked  
> with the turbulent crowd, amidst shouts, questioning, and yet a  
> dialogue.
>
>
>
> Some of the houses such as of Mr. Anwar Ali, Abdul Kayyam,  
> Mannanbabu and Samiran Bibi. They informed us that a few hundred  
> houses were attacked by BUPC supporters in 3 villages Kiyakhali,  
> Ranichowk and Satangabari. Those who told us were SK Abudul Bari,  
> Tapan Bhuia, and Akshar Ali. They told us they are for SEZ-Chemical  
> hub as it will bring jobs to them. They were especially against  
> BUPCs being formed in village after village.
>
>
> When some of us enquired separately with persons standing quietly  
> near the crowd, they could not confirm everything. We found out  
> that about 400 persons were out in the Khejuri camps, managed by  
> CPI-M leaders for months. All the Satangabari villagers supporting  
> BUPC have left the village and are dispersed. Some are in  
> hospitals, some in the Nandigram relief camp.
>
>
> The police with more plainclothes men were surrounding us to listen  
> to the conversation and intimidate those belonging to opposition.  
> There were no other flags but the red ones right from Nandigram  
> into the villages. This was remarkably contrary to the fact that a  
> large majority of villagers had joined the struggle against SEZ,  
> with BUPC seeking support of the opposition parties as is the case  
> with every struggle of the displaced, across the country, may it be  
> in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra or Orissa.
>
>
> With CPM and other left front partners in opposition, in these  
> other states, they are invited to mass rallies, protests and also  
> committees formed, invariably. Most of the times, they have  
> responded, as in Pondicherry, against Harmad. It is a word that is  
> used in Bengal to refer to the pirates of Spanish origin who used  
> to attack and loot villages. They were famous for their cruelty and  
> inhuman behavior. The people of Nandigram have adopted this word to  
> refer to the armed goons of the CPI (M) who have been attacking  
> them since January. Vahini means army. privatization of port, in  
> Raigad, Maharashtra where Ambanis SEZ, the SEZ Act and Congress  
> Government nexus is questioned, in Orissa where anti POSCO struggle  
> has CPI leadership alongside the Gandhian youth. In Andhra Pradesh,  
> the CPM fighters as the party openly claimed, laid their lives and  
> sought compensation within 3 days, continuing to grope in many  
> peoples organizations and seeking support of civil society on land  
> rights and rehabilitation rights. This is forgotten by CPM in West  
> Bengal where the party in power is known since years to have  
> established monopoly or at least a terror against not only  
> opposition by other parties but also other peoples organizations or  
> human rights defenders. Those who cannot be branded to be  
> capitalists or communal, are categorised and condemned to be the  
> Maoists, giving a boost and space to the radical left as the only  
> ones posing an impactful challenge to the CPM its intolerance,  
> widespread arrogance and non-responsiveness.
>
>
>
> Operation Nandigram, as per investigation reports.
>
>
>
> Reports from newspapers as well as accounts that we heard from  
> people in the villages in Nandigram as well as in the relief camp  
> show that the re-capture of Nandigram was carefully planned and  
> executed by the CPI (M) party. Amassing of arms seems to have taken  
> place for quite a few days before the attacks were launched. We  
> ourselves got first hand reports in the third week of October from  
> villages as far away as Nalgora in the Sunderbans and Mandir bazar  
> block in South 24 Parganas of groups of 13-14 mercenaries who were  
> used during elections by the CPI(M) being mobilised for the  
> Nandigram operation. Planning with the police was also done. Police  
> camps began to be withdrawn from the third week of October. The OC  
> of Nandigram Police Station was reported to have said that he had  
> been asked by his superior officers to not send his force in, no  
> matter what the circumstances. TV coverage showed police standing  
> by or lying down on the ground while bullets whizzed past. Their  
> orders seem to have been clear hands off and let the harmad take over.
>
>
> The timing of the operation was also well chosen- Poojas are a time  
> for holidays in West Bengal with political activity at its lowest  
> ebb. The long weekend from the 9th to the 11th with Kali Pooja and  
> Bhai Phota saw the operation at its peak, courts closed and very  
> little option for any counter action.
>
>
> Villagers everywhere reported to us that there was a shower of  
> bullets and bombs and then the harmad came in with faces covered  
> with black cloth- a frightening sight in itself. Looting of houses,  
> burning, beating people, even molestation of many women and rape  
> seems to have followed. The houses and families of those active in  
> the BUPC were especially targeted, so one could see a para or  
> hamlet with some houses intact but others chosen ones demolished,  
> burnt and looted. This generally led to the fleeing of almost all  
> able bodied men and many women with children from these families.  
> Some stayed back, generally the old, the infirm and some women and  
> children. The number of those who got dispersed... taking shelter  
> at their relatives far away is unknown. The relief camp in  
> Nandigram High School thus saw a daily inflow of people whose  
> villages have been attacked one after the other.
>
>
> A few of the incidences and attacks as narrated by the affected are  
> as follows:
>
>
> On last Monday (5th November) an old woman died in our village. The  
> three families that support the CPI (M) in our village who had left  
> and the Harmad used this as an excuse to enter the village in order  
> to discuss the last rites of this woman. They came at 7 AM in the  
> morning. While chasing them away, Gangaram Das of Kalicharanpur  
> received a bullet injury. There was a shower of bullets and bombs.  
> The women and children fled from the houses. 40-45 houses were  
> looted, broken and burnt. 4 of us are in the relief camp, while my  
> wife and daughter are at a relative place. They come here everyday  
> for food. (Gautam Mondal, Simulkundu)
>
>
> On Wednesday (7th November), there was tremendous firing in my  
> village from 10 AM onwards. The harmad were coming. I ran away with  
> my two children- 6 years old boy and a 7 years old girl and came to  
> the camp. My wife Sailabal Das, who was in hospital for two weeks  
> with a chest injury after March 14th, could not come with us as she  
> had a knee injury. She was not capable of running away. I heard she  
> is now in Kalicharanpur at her relatives house. I do not know if  
> she is alright. (Nanda Das, Gokulnagar)
>
> When the attack started, I ran away with my children. I fell in the  
> hands of the Harmad. (showing her 6 year old son whom she is  
> carrying and who is absolutely naked). I was not able to get even  
> clothes for my children. (Rahima Bivi, 7 No, Jalpai)
>
>
> On Thursday (8th November), I moved my family out of the village to  
> my relatives house. I came away myself to the relief camp. On  
> Friday (9th November), we heard that they (CPI(M) goons) had begun  
> to loot and burn our houses. (Sk. Hafizul of Daudpur)
>
> There are 11 people in my family- my two mothers, my wife and 7  
> children. My house has been looted. Even my childrens books- one is  
> now in Class X, another in Class 12 and the younger one in Class V  
> have been torn to small pieces. My family has phoned me and told me  
> that it is not safe to return home. I feel insecure here also at  
> the relief camp. (Sk. Sajiman, Osmanchak).
>
>
> Women and children were not spared in the violence that occurred.  
> In fact, as is usual in all cases where violence is perpetrated,  
> the impact on women and children is always the worst.
>
>
>
> We give examples below:-
>
>
> The harmad caught me because I participated in the peace procession  
> on the 10th of November. They beat me up and my nose is broken. I  
> am now in hospital. (Chhabirani Mondal, Gokulnagar)
>
>
> In Satangabari, village, 7 women and girls were reported to have  
> been raped on 7th of November 2007. While one of them, a 40 year  
> old woman named Akhreja Bivi had been admitted to Tamluk hospital  
> after gang rape, her two daughters who had also been raped , 18  
> years old Anwara and Ansura 16 years old were missing. 4 other  
> women had not been allowed to come out of their villages and could  
> therefore not report the matter (Abdus Sammad, BUPC leader).
>
>
> On last Tuesday i.e. 6th November, at 6 AM about 20-30 person came  
> crawling through the paddy fields. Their faces were covered with  
> black cloth. They were firing bullets. They went from house to  
> house. They looted the houses, took away the tiles, broke the walls  
> with a machine that they had. They surrounded me and asked for my  
> husband. I had already sent him away. I could recognise about 10 of  
> them from their voices, as they were from my village. The rest were  
> strangers. They hit me on my face many time. They snatched away my  
> 4 months old baby and threw him on the floor. He hurt his head  
> (showing us a large bump on the back of the infants head) When he  
> started screaming, one of them said leave her alone. Give back the  
> baby to her. (Muktaran Bivi, Satangabari).
>
>
> I am seven months pregnant. On Tuesday, (6th November) I fled my  
> village like everyone else. The next day I decided to go back.  
> There was nothing left of my house. I was in my mother in laws  
> house. The harmad surrounded me and said why you have come back and  
> they beat me up. I tried to take cover under my mother in laws bed,  
> but they dragged me out. My ear started bleeding. They hit me on  
> the head. My head is still paining. They did not let me stay inside  
> the house. My baby was not moving after the beating. My lower  
> abdomen is also paining. (Manjura Bivi, Satangabari)
>
> The harmad kept asking me where my elder brother in laws house was  
> (he was active in the BUPC). My husband is deaf and dumb, so they  
> did not bother with him. They wanted my 15 years old son who works  
> in Kolkata. They said if you don't produce your son we will abduct  
> all of you. Then they began beating me. After they left 7 of us  
> fled to the camp. (Rahina Bivi, Satangabari) While the harmad  
> attacked the peace procession, my husband and I fled away with our  
> two children. But they have not allowed my aged mother in law to  
> come. CPI (M) cadre are putting pressure to make me come back They  
> will kill me if I go back as I was very active in the BUPC.
>
>
> The Procession and its Aftermath We had heard while we were in  
> Kolkata about the last ditch attempt by the BUPC to fight the  
> onslaught of the armed squads of the CPI (M) nonviolently. They  
> decided to take out two huge processions of unarmed people one from  
> Sonachura towards Bhangabera and the other from Nandigram itself  
> towards Maheshpur in the hope that the armed mercenaries would not  
> at least attack them. The OC was informed about this in writing, as  
> was the Prime Minister, the President and the Chairperson of the  
> UPA was informed by some of us, through phone calls conveying  
> urgency, through personal secretaries. We also contacted some  
> ministers at the Centre and some MPs requesting them to take urgent  
> action to prevent a massacre. At 9 a.m. on the 10th, people started  
> gathering outside the police station, demanding protection from the  
> armed onslaught in the villages. When there was no reaction from  
> the police station, after a few hours, they began walking towards  
> Maheshpur What followed were attacks by armed groups of CPI (M)  
> goons on an unarmed procession, capturing of prisoners of war,  
> torture of the unfortunate captives for information, and using them  
> as human shields to enter other villages. By the end of this  
> operation, Operation Nandigram was complete.
>
>
> I was in the procession from Sonachura. In Gokulnagar, where the  
> Pancham Dol programme takes place every year, 70-80 persons came  
> out suddenly from the paddy fields. They had guns and lathis. They  
> told all of us to put up our hands and told us to go towards a red  
> flag that was planted some distance away. They checked our pockets  
> and took away our money, mobiles and whatever else we had in our  
> pockets. They surrounded us and made about 500 of us walk. We  
> walked for almost 2-3 hours from 12.30 pm to 3 pm to Sherkhachak in  
> Khejuri. Two of us had bullet injuries but were made to walk in  
> spite of that. By then there were about 100 harmad.
>
>
>
> They made us go to Amratola Primary School first in Khejuri, where  
> they gave us muri to eat and water to drink. Then they took those  
> whom they identified as being important to one side. They took each  
> one of us aside one by one and asked questions- why did you go in  
> the BUPC procession? Where are the land mines planted? How many  
> Maoists are there? Who killed Shankar Samanta? How many arms are  
> there with you? Who gives the arms? 3 people would ask the  
> questions and two people would beat us up. If one said one did not  
> know or if one did not answer the questions they would start  
> beating one up. After giving me this treatment they brought me back  
> to the others. Fifteen persons were given the same beating as me.  
> Then Naba Samanta, the CPI (M) leader said This entire state is  
> ours. Why are you being foolish and joining the procession of others?
>
> 
> By this time I was in great pain. They had broken my arm. So I  
> pleaded to be taken to a hospital. 7 of us were brought to the  
> hospital at 8 PM at night. We reached the Kamardah hospital at 11  
> PM. Later Asit Das a DMS doctor from Kalicharanpur was brought. He  
> was so badly beaten that he had to be immediately transferred. Asit  
> Das was taken in the ambulance with a drip. I do not know where he  
> went The next day the doctor came and said the OC has come to take  
> you... The rest of us came to Nandigram hospital.
>
>
>
> We had amongst us Khagen Kar. He has a book shop in Tekhali bazaar.  
> He had a head injury and his eye had burst and was hanging out. He  
> was to be sent straight to Tamluk. He was not in our procession. He  
> was picked up by the harmad in Tekhali bazaar. There were 15 of us  
> who were beaten up. 6 came with me. I dont know where the other 8  
> people are. (Asit Pradhan, Sonachura)
>
>
> On the day of the peace procession, bullets hit me in 4 parts of my  
> body. So I am now in hospital. (Prakash Giri Sonachura) I am in  
> Class IX. On the day of the procession, the Harmads attacked me.  
> They pushed me down on the ground full of stone chips... 5 of them  
> beat me with fists, blows and kicks. They sat on me. My nose got  
> fractures (showing a shirt full of blood stains). This is what I  
> wore that day. I was a prisoner in Parulbari camp for two days. Now  
> I am in Nandigram Hospital.
>
>
> I was in the procession from Sonachura. They hit me on the head. I  
> had to get three stitches. I am now in hospital at Nandigram. My  
> son Sukhendu was abducted from the procession and taken to Sherkha  
> Chak in Khejuri. On the next day (11th November) my son and others  
> were used as human shields by the harmad. They kept them in front  
> and the harmad used bombs and bullets from behind them. In this way  
> they got those who had left their homes (ghar chhara) to return to  
> their homes. (Sukumar Mondal, Sonachura)
>
>
> On Saturday (10th November), our procession began from Nandigram  
> towards Maheshpur at 12.30 p.m. When we reached Samsabad, about 3  
> kilometres from Maheshpur, bullets began to be fired over our heads  
> We ducked and continued to walk towards Aamgacchia. We crossed the  
> bridge there and went up to the State Bank building there. Then Sk.  
> Rejaul died of bullet wounds. We managed to get his body back. Then  
> two more persons were shot and had to be sent to Tamluk hospital.  
> After that I do not know how many died. We asked the police to come  
> with us so that we could recover the injured and the dead. They did  
> nothing. (Sk. Hafizul of Daudpur)
>
>
> According to all the reports, the five hundred people who were  
> taken on gun point were kept in three places Amratala Primary  
> School, Kalgacchia and Kunjipur. Some were used as human shields,  
> but some were rumoured missing. A police officer whispered to us on  
> the 14th that at least 350 of these people were still in Khejuri.  
> Subduing the Population
>
>
> The people in the relief camp were very keen to go home, but for  
> the fear of attacks. Their first request to us was to arrange for  
> their safe return. They were afraid that if they did not return  
> their paddy crop which was near harvest time would be looted by the  
> CPI (M) supporters. However, they were also frightened of  
> returning. They were told on the 11th and 12th November by some CPI  
> (M) supporters to go back to their houses as all was peaceful.  
> However the experiences of returning only meant a recurrence of  
> torture. The CPI (M) had decided that once the territory had been  
> recaptured it was now time to subdue the rebellious population  
> into submission.
>
>
> On 7th, Wednesday, seven of us tried to go back home. As soon as we  
> reached, one of them began shouting â€" those who ran away have  
> come back. They pointed pistols and knives at us and began beating  
> us. They threw me on the ground. They asked me to produce my  
> husband. When they were about to cut my throat open, I said I will  
> stay in the village. I will not go anywhere. Then they tied me up.  
> I asked for water. They would not even give me water. I pleaded  
> with them to leave and promised to come back at night with my  
> husband. They left me and since then I have not dared to go back.  
> (Rahina Bivi, Satangabari)
>
>
> Two brothers from our village, Enamul Kazi and Ajanur Kazi, went  
> home from the camp on Sunday (11th November). Ajanur Kazi is the  
> CPI (M) Panchayat member from our village. He became active in the  
> BUPC after the SEZ issue came up. They were told that everything  
> was alright at home, but when they went there they were beaten up.  
> (Sk. Hafizul Daudpur)
>
>
> Those who are in the village are being forced to go in processions  
> at gun point by the CPI (M). They have been forced to go on night  
> guard by the CPI (M). Our paddy has been harvested and taken away  
> by the party member. Fines are being imposed on all of us. Many  
> houses have been burnt. (Prakash Giri Sonachura)
>
>
> My uncle, Netaipada Karan (96 years old) a freedom fighter of  
> Jambari died on the 13th morning. He was a freedom fighter and was  
> beaten up a few days ago when the village was occupied. We asked  
> for a police force to go with us to the village so that as his sons  
> and nephews we could do his last rites. As LK Advani was to be  
> here, the OC said he could only provide us an escort, once LK  
> Advani left. In the evening, we were told to go to Tekhali. 10 of  
> us went to the Tekhali Outpost with 3-4 policemen. The rest of the  
> escort was to be given by the Tekhali Outpost. The Tekhali Camp in  
> Charge rang up the CPI (M) Local Committee Secretary (LCS) to ask  
> for his permission before sending us there. He was told by Pratap  
> Shaw, the LCS that only one of us could go to the village the  
> others need not come as the LCS himself would arrange for the  
> cremation of the old man!. The party thus took charge of even the  
> last rites of my uncle. We have complained to the OC in writing and  
> have said that the body can rot there as far as we are concerned  
> and it is his responsibility that my uncles last rites were not  
> performed. (Netaipada Karans nephew, Jambari).
>
>
> The harmad did not break down my house. That is because my brother  
> in law is in the CPI (M) and he stopped them from doing this. I was  
> myself from the CPI (M). They are very angry that I joined the  
> BUPC, so they have said when I go home they will kill me. I work as  
> the peon of the cooperative bank. I am in hospital right now and  
> afraid of going home. My 15 year old daughter is in Class VIII. I  
> have hidden her at a relatives place as I am afraid she may be  
> molested or raped. Her studies have stopped. (Sukumar Mondal,  
> Sonachura)
>
>
>
> Till we were there on 14th November, atrocities to subdue the  
> villagers were continuing. In Nandigram Hospital, we met Musharraf  
> of Garchakraberia. He told us that his father Adbur Adut Khan, his  
> brother, Mujtara Khan and Obaidullah had been surrounded by the CPM  
> harmad on the morning of the 14th November at 7 am at  
> Garchakraberia. Those surrounding them were Malek Meer, Basir Meer,  
> Taimuch Mallik Lalu and another 12 people. They beat up these three  
> people. They demanded hat Musharraf should leave the relief camp in  
> Nandigram and the BUPC and must come back to the village. According  
> to Musharraf, they also threatened to shoot his father and his two  
> relatives. But he got the news at Nandigram and told the police.  
> The police however took no action. Instead he had to approach some  
> of his relatives who were close to the CPI (M) and they interceded  
> on his behalf. So their lives were saved. His brother and father  
> have been admitted to Nandigram hospital while Obaidullah, who is  
> more severely injured, has been sent to Tamluk, to the district  
> hospital.
>
> The Divide In the Villages The experiences we heard in the relief  
> camp were of looting and burning by the harmad and of very few CPI  
> (M) supporters being rendered homeless in the past 11 months.  
> However when we went into the villages, we were surrounded by  
> vociferous groups of CPI(M) supporters who insisted that huge  
> numbers of them had been ghar chhara or homeless refugees for the  
> past many months.
>
>
> We give examples of the versions that we heard in the camps below:-
>
>
>
> Our village has 70 families. Of these, 10 are CPI (M) supporters.  
> Amongst these 10, 7 had joined the BUPC while the other three ran  
> away and did not come back though we asked them again and again. We  
> even disproved their claims that we had looted their houses by  
> showing their houses to the police as proof. They wanted greater  
> benefits from the CPI (M) party that is why they did not come back.  
> The ones that CPI (M) claims are ghar chhara (chased out of their  
> homes) had come home for sowing their paddy crop. So we told them-  
> you say you have been chased out of your houses yet you have sowed  
> your crops. This will do, you have to come and stay at your own  
> houses. We did not want 40-45 people who were the perpetrators, to  
> come home. The rest were welcome. Many who had gone hoping to get  
> greater benefits wanted to come back, but the CPM would not allow  
> them to. They forced them to stay in the relief camp. (Gautam  
> Mondal, Simulkundu)
>
>
> There were people who fled to Khejuri in our village 15 families in  
> all. We asked them to come back 5 times. They buried their things  
> under the ground and hid them under the water of the pods and then  
> said we had looted their houses. (Rahima Bivi, 7 No. Jalpai)
>
> People were very willing to talk about atrocities that had occurred  
> on them while in the relief camp at Nandigram. In the villages on  
> the other hand there was clearly an atmosphere of fear. Versions of  
> events were sharply differing.
>
>
> In Kamalpur, the first village that we visited, we found ourselves  
> surrounded by a noisy crowd of about 70-80 men and women. The most  
> vociferous were Ajanur Sau, Akraman Sau and Subhash Jana.
>
>
> There are 65 Muslim houses in our village and others are 50 houses  
> in our village. 30-40 of us had left. We were driven away about a  
> month ago. Now we have come back. 45 families have now gone away.  
> (Ajanur Sau, Kamalpur)
>
>
> 7-8 houses have been looted or burnt in Kamlapur. The house of  
> Abdus Sammad, a BUPC leader was a burnt shell with all its contents  
> looted. The village people insisted that Sammad had fired his house  
> himself. Some insisted that the fire had started because of a fire  
> in the kitchen.
>
>
> When asked about how Abdus Sammads house was burnt, Ajanur Sau said  
> Abdus Sammads supporters have burnt his house. They did the same to  
> another 5-7 houses. We found bombs, explosives and Maoist  
> literature in their houses. They used to take money from us Rs. 
> 1000-1500 from each family.
>
> 
> Two women were standing silent behind the gathering. When asked  
> about the peaceful situation in the village they whispered to us so  
> that the others could not hear them speaking.
>
>
> The house of Abdus Sammad was burnt by the Harmads. The Cadres were  
> firing at that time so we did not dare to come out of our houses.  
> If you move forward you will se a number of burnt and broken houses  
> at the left side of the road. Since Monday at least 100 people have  
> left their houses. No men folk in our family dared to stay in the  
> village. They are constantly threatening us and forcefully making  
> us join the CPM rally. (Sabirun Bibi and Rameshan Bibi, Kamalpur)
>
>
> A little later, two women Khusanu Bibi and Harisan Bibi rushed  
> there and asked the two women in a loud and threatening voice why  
> were they stating the names of who burnt the houses when they did  
> not actually know and two women become very frightened and stopped  
> talking.
>
>
> When we moved forward a little we found the house of SK. Kohibur in  
> broken and abandoned condition. After that there was the telephone  
> booth and house of Mahmud SK. at the left hand side of the road  
> also broken and abandoned. Opposite to the said booth an aged woman  
> was standing alone who stated.
>
>
> "We have a small shop of potato, onion etc. On the day when the  
> house of Sammad was burnt the Harmads also broke and looted our  
> shop. My husband Rabin Shasmal and son Vivekananda Shasmal left the  
> village. I can't move quickly so I have remained at home.  
> (Tuntunibala Shasmal, Kamalput)
>
>
> When we moved a little away from the crowd, a woman came and began  
> complaining loudly, in spite of angry interruptions by other women  
> who surrounded us. They broken and looted my house and our shop.  
> Our shop was a telephone booth, so they looted our receivers,  
> batteries and other equipment. They have taken away even our  
> bedding, and 4 trunks of clothes. I have nothing left to cover  
> ourselves with. (Irani Bivi (w/o Motelef Sau, Kamalpur)
>
>
> Chhabirani Bera of Kamlapur, when Irani Bivi complained of her  
> house and shop being looted, said “we found 7 cycles, 8-10  
> uniforms, 2 packets of bullets and packets of explosives in her  
> house.” Irani Bivi claimed that the packets were of paint  
> powder. The villagers were not able to produce any of the Maoist  
> literature, arms and uniforms that they had found in other peoples  
> houses. They were also not able to give a seizure list of handing  
> the same over to the police. We met Rekha Mondal wife of Kalipada  
> Mondal, wife of Amulya Mondal and wife of Nirapada Mondal and they  
> showed the burnt houses of Kalipada Mondal, Debu Mondal, Pashupati  
> Mondal and Jadupati Mondal, the burnt cow shed of Nirapada Mondal  
> and complained that two cows of Pashupati Mondal were burnt to  
> death by the harmad. The men folks of these families except one who  
> cannot move fled away. Only the women are living there and they are  
> so frightened of the harmad that most of them preferred to remain  
> anonymous. While they were talking to us some CPI (M) supporters  
> led by Debashish Khatua and Rabin Samanta come there and started  
> reporting to us about the misbehavior of BUPC. Later our local  
> guides pointed to a person standing beside the crowd as the LCM of  
> CPI (M) Alokesh Manna. We saw the ransacked and broken three  
> storied building of the Ex- Panchayat Pradhan Tarapada Khatua also.
>
>
> In the second village, Takapura, we were told that there had never  
> been any problem of looting or of people leaving the village. Both  
> CPI (M) and TMC supporters said this to us. Of the 250 houses in  
> the village, 200 owed allegiance to the BUPC and 50 to the CPI (M).  
> All of them were living peacefully together. Tensions seemed to  
> have started recently. CPI (M) supporters spoke of women getting  
> together and trying to break down their doors. When the attack by  
> the CPI (M) started, 6 houses were burnt in Takapura. though the  
> there were no people who were ghar chhara or refugees here, and  
> who had to be returned to their homes. Operation Nandigram  
> therefore was not just a matter of helping those who had been  
> rendered homeless to their homes. It was also a matter of capturing  
> all the political and physical space in the area.
>
>
> We met Paresh Karan and people in his para who spoke to us in  
> whispers and said that their houses had been looted. Most of them  
> were old people or women, the men having all left. Many of them  
> were petrified and crying.
>
>
> They came and looted our house. I and my wife hid in my brothers  
> house nearby. They broke open our door and took away everything. I  
> have only one son. He was with the BUPC. We have sent him away.  
> There were no people who had to leave their homes in our village.  
> The CPI (M) and the TMC people used to live together peacefully.  
> Now there are 5-7 young men from the CPI (M) who frighten us. They  
> say they will kill my son. They say they will not allow us to  
> harvest our paddy. (Paresh Karan, Takapura)
>
>
> The third village we went to was Satangabari Paschim Palli. We  
> found that just before we entered the village some policemen  
> standing on the right side on a small path that led to another  
> hamlet. When we went to see what they were doing, we found that  
> they claimed to have found a land mine. The villagers complained  
> vociferously about the BUPC people planting landmines in the area.  
> The whole affair seemed somewhat stage managed. Our suspicion about  
> stage managing were heightened later on when we talked to the DIG  
> Range and the SP, Shri Panda in the late evening at about 6 PM. The  
> SP could not really remember whether a land mine had been found in  
> the morning. After a lot of reminding, he said yes, yes a mine was  
> found. It had 1.5 kgs of explosives in it. The CID team found it.  
> It has been detonated. The DIG Range knew nothing about the mine.  
> Was it then such an unimportant occurrence? Or was the mine itself  
> a myth?
>
>
> The villagers numbering almost 200 in Satangabari insisted we go  
> with them to their village. They showed us another looted and burnt  
> house, belonging to a BUPC supporter. They claimed that the land  
> mine would have been detonated from this house that was at least  
> 7-800 metres away. They also said they had been in camps in Khejuri  
> since April and had come back home just a few days back. They said  
> they had been chased out by TMC supporters. When asked how they had  
> come home again, they informed us that the CPI (M) had told them  
> that it was safe to come back. When asked how the CPI (M) had got  
> them home, a 15 year old girl said Juddha Kore (they made war).  
> When we wanted to know details of this war, the girl was shushed by  
> the others. A man remarked these women do not know anything- it is  
> no point talking to them.
>
>  
> After 14th March the BUPC people knifed me near my eye (showing us  
> a wound near her eye). I was in Tamluk hospital for 16 days. They  
> demolished 10-15 Muslim houses. Our fault was that we were with the  
> CPI (M). There will no red flag in this village, they said. The  
> party (CPM) has brought us back after waging war with the help of  
> the police. (Haren Bivi, Satangabari Paschim Palli)
>
>
> A number of men and women came and told us of how they had been  
> homeless for 11 months and had come home to see their houses, as  
> well as houses of TMC supporters burnt, broken and looted.52 houses  
> of CPI (M) supporters had been broken and looted in Satangabari  
> Barman Para, and 22 in the Meer Para. They claimed that this had  
> been done by the TMC supporters on the 7th November 2007 when they  
> had fled the village. Only three TMC supporters had fled from their  
> houses according to the villagers. One of them, Meer Mannan said  
> There is no disturbance in the village now, but we will not allow  
> Aajahar, Rosan, and Aurobindo Pramanick to live here. They created  
> all these problems. We will murder them if we see them.
>
> Our vehicles at this spot were almost smashed by the villagers.  
> They were very angry to see with the three BUPC supporters who had  
> accompanied us to guide us through the villages. The jeep keys were  
> snatched away and in spite of a police force being there, a mob of  
> about three hundred CPI (M) supporters surrounded us and wanted us  
> to give the three young men to them. The police tried its best to  
> guard the young men in the vehicle. With great difficulty we  
> managed to placate the crowd and get out of there.
>
>
> On the way to Gokulnagar Das Para. we came across a temporary  
> shelter set up with a black tarpaulin in Gokulnagar Malpara. On  
> asking a young man Ranjit Kumar Mal about it, we were told that  
> this was for the night guard. When we remarked that now that â 
> €œpeace had returned” to the villages and no attacks were  
> expected from Khejuri, why was there the need for night guards? Was  
> this not a practice when the BUPC was there? What was the need now?  
> He replied we are all with the Red Flag now, but people from the  
> CPI (M) come from outside and attack the people in our village.  
> Looting may happen anytime. A state of anarchy and great insecurity  
> seems to exist.
>
>
> The villages that we visited thus seem to be divided between groups  
> of people who owe allegiance to the CPI (M) or to the BUPC. There  
> seems to be intense hatred between people who were once neighbours  
> and perhaps even friends. The CPI (M) supporters are now engaged in  
> a well organised attempt to see that their version of the truth  
> prevails in the villages.
>
>
> Before Gokulnagar Adhikaripara is a village that we had visited on  
> 17th September 2007 before the trouble started. The contrast with  
> our last visit could not have been more. On that visit, we had sat  
> in the grounds of the primary school and talked to a number of  
> women. An uneasy truce existed at that time between the two warring  
> sides. People were slowly going back to normalcy. Many of the men,  
> who worked in Kolkata and elsewhere as migrant workers were staying  
> at home to guard their fields and home. Work was a problem. We had  
> talked about resuming normal life, applying for work under NREGA,  
> preparing for the harvest etc. We had discussions with Swadesh Das  
> Adhikari and other leaders about the availability of food schemes  
> and other normal activities. We were informed that many of the  
> primary school teachers owing affiliation to the CPI (M) had  
> stopped attending school, but were still drawing salaries at  
> Khejuri. The BUPC had protested about this and said they must  
> attend school. The teachers had been transferred overnight and many  
> of the schools had suddenly become single teacher schools. The BUPC  
> leaders were saying was that their next struggle was to get  
> teachers posted here so that schools could function normally. The  
> leaders also told us about their attempts to start development  
> work. They informed us that they had been in regular touch with the  
> BDO and SDO. Though Panchayat Pradhans and members from the CPI (M)  
> who had fled, were refusing to come back even after assurances of  
> protection, they were insisting that development work must still  
> continue. They had made rather imaginative use of the Panchayat  
> Act, insisting that Gram Sansad meetings be held and a Gram Unnayan  
> Samiti be re-elected that could then continue with the development  
> work. We were told that after these Gram Unnayan Samitis had been  
> formed, NREGA job cards were now being issued to all villagers and  
> they hoped to start works under the NREGA soon.
>
> The impression we got was of a group of people who were responsibly  
> trying to get on with their lives and would have been known as good  
> community organisers under any other circumstances. This was just  
> the kind of peoples initiative that was eulogised by the Panchayat  
> Department in our state ad elsewhere.
>
> And After On the 14th November 2007, when we went to the village,  
> Gokulnagar Adhikaripara felt like a grave yard. It was quiet and  
> one did not hear the sound of human voices. No sounds of children  
> playing were there.
>
>
> The first houses that we entered and the people we met were loud in  
> their criticism of the BUPC. The first one was Jharna Ari. She  
> recognised us as she was also there in the womens meeting on 17th  
> September 2007.
>
>
> I have two houses one here and one in Tekhali Bazar. I had a  
> nursery in Tekhali that was looted by the BUPC. People from 3  
> villages looted it. My son was beaten up by Minakshi Das Adhikari I  
> fought with him for that. My son is now working in the Andamans. We  
> were not allowed to speak when you came to our village earlier. The  
> BUPC people used to spy on us. On 14th March, I went for the Pooja.  
> When the police started firing, I came running back. I was hurt I  
> had to spent my own money for my treatment. I went to save my land  
> also. We were CPM they forced us to join the BUPC. There are 10-15  
> houses here that were in terror. Now our sons and nephews have come  
> back from Khejuri and all is well. (Jharna Ari, Gokulnagar  
> Adhikaripara)
>
>
> I was away from home for 11 months. The reason- BUPC people used  
> threats and patrolled with guns and used to force us to go in their  
> procession. They had trainings in the primary school with outsiders  
> coming here. They said we will not allow the red flag in the  
> village. 34 families were kicked out of the village. We were in  
> camps in Tekhali and Khejuri. They burnt the Tekhali camp when we  
> went to complain to the Governor. On 12th November, the party waged  
> war and brought us back to our houses. The Naxals and Maoists have  
> heard that the CRPF is coming so they have fled the villages, so we  
> have been able to come home. (Ashwini Das, Adhikaripara)
>
>
>
> They demolished my tea shop and looted my house all because I was  
> with the CPI (M). 200 of us had fled the village. Now only 3-4  
> leaders of the BUPC have left home. (Swarnagayen Das, tea shop owner)
>
>
> A walk into the village helped us to meet Anil Das. He showed us  
> his house which was in a state of ruin as it had been deserted for  
> 11 months. He also complained of looting while he was away. He said  
> they had lost 35 bags of paddy and that they had no food to eat  
> now. The house he showed us was dilapidated due to neglect in the  
> past 7-9 months.
>
>
> We passed Swadesh Dass house which was locked and deserted. He was  
> one of the prominent leaders of the BUPC. We tried to talk to a  
> woman who recognised us from our previous visits. We asked her how  
> she was. She whispered not goodand immediately walked away.
>
>
> We then went further into the village. We met Arati Das and her  
> sister in law. Both of them are living in the village alone without  
> their men folk. While one is a widow, the others husband is a  
> migratory worker. They are very fearful and insecure because their  
> men are not there. They say they felt more secure when the BUPC was  
> in control. Right now they are afraid that they might be attacked.  
> we were not forced to go in processions by the BUPC nor are we  
> being forced now as we have never taken part in any political  
> activity and our men are also not here.
>
>
> Pramila Das Adhikari talked to us in whispers very conscious of  
> those who could be listening. Her son Sunil Das Adhikari had  
> received a bullet injury on his nose on 14thMarch. He was in  
> hospital for 6-7 months at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata. He was now in  
> Orissa as she was too scared to allow him to come home. She told us  
> I am at peace why have you come We have now joined the CPI (M).  
> They will bring us peace, the BUPC used to force us to go in their  
> processions.
>
>
> A man was standing nearby and listening. The police chased him  
> away, Pramila began to talk more openly She told us that what she  
> had said earlier was lies. She would be beaten up if she said  
> anything about CPI (M) atrocities. She was being forced now to go  
> in CPI (M) processions all the time now. She was living in great  
> fear with her daughter in law. Suddenly a 9-10 years old boy came  
> and stood near us. Pramilas tone and what she was saying changed  
> again. She said BUPC used to beat us and force us to go in  
> processions. They used to rape women.
>
>
> Further inside the village we reached Adhikaripara. We found the  
> women in a group, still very afraid to talk to us. One of them  
> however with signals and whispers arranged for a small boy to take  
> us to where houses had been burnt.
>
>
> We saw the houses that had become burnt shells. We saw the houses  
> of the following that were burnt or Deserted - Ajit Das Adhikari,  
> Shrikanat Das Adhikari, Srinibas Adhikari, Nabadwip Das Adhikari,  
> Swadesh Das Adhikari, In a nearby house we met Manotosh Das  
> Adhikari who told us that he could not talk to us as it was  
> dangerous. He left hurriedly. The old man and woman who lived there  
> told us that it started with a shower of bombs and bullets. They  
> hid inside their house and when they came out after an hour or so  
> they found the house next door burning. In Nabadwip Das Adhikaris  
> house we found a mat and kantha (bed sheet) on the bed outside in  
> the verandah. We saw shoes lying on the floor. It was as if people  
> had fled with no time to even put away their things.
>
>
> We then moved further into the village to another burnt ruin. The  
> house was totally looted and broken down. We met Rashmoni Das  
> Adhikari (86 years old), wife of late Bhuban Das Adhikari, whose  
> house and all her possessions have been burnt down and looted. She  
> has only one dhoti that she is wearing. She is living with a  
> relative (another widow) in the neighbourhood and has no food to  
> eat. She has to depend on whatever is provided by the neighbours  
> charity.
>
>
> All the people we met in the interior part of the village  
> complained to us of the very ferocious attack the CPI (M) had  
> organised with their harmad to enter the village. They also  
> expressed fear of the CPI (M) and said they were being forced to  
> join them everyday in processions and marches. If they did not they  
> would be beaten up.
>
>
> We also met people from the CPI (M) who had just returned home. A  
> group of women with bags in their hands informed us that they would  
> be given 5 kgs of rice per head by the party for all those who had  
> returned because they had no food in their home. A number of them  
> in Gokulnagar Adhikaripara said that some of their houses are e  
> also on the verge of collapse.
>
>
> Rabindra Das, the CPI (M) Branch Committee Secretary, informed us  
> that 205 families lived in this Booth. 38 had fled earlier ..They  
> have all now come back. He did not know however how many had now  
> gone away. He had received 1.5 quintals of rice from his party for  
> distribution amongst those who had just come home. He informed us  
> that at the Khejuri camp they were given rice, pulses, oil, clothes  
> etc. from the government, from other organizations and the party.
>
>
> By the time it was 4 o clock we found people assembling at the  
> school and at a camp near a tea shop. A big banner put up in the  
> CPI (M) camp Leave us alone. Outsiders do not interfere. The people  
> want to live together and in peaceWe were told that everyone was  
> getting ready for their compulsory evening ritual of marching for  
> the party with red flags.
>
>
> The Role of the Administration: Relief On November 13th, we spent  
> the entire night at a relief camp at a high school in Nandigram  
> town. The team members conducted a quick survey to understand how  
> many people were in the relief camp ad to assess their needs.
>
>
> The camp is in 24 rooms and in each room there are about 60-70  
> people, including children and women. The camp therefore consists  
> of about 1500 people. There are a number of very small children  
> there we estimate that the number would be about 150, and these  
> children are in need of special nutrition in the form of baby food  
> or milk. About 500-700 people are living in houses of friends and  
> relatives nearby and come to the camp for food everyday. Thus the  
> camp on the 13th was catering to about 2000-2200 people.
>
>
> The cashier of the BUPC central committee who is in charge of the  
> kitchen at the camp informed us that the camp have even more people  
> a few days ago almost 4000 people. The Government is providing very  
> few facilities to the camp. 15 quintals of rice were given on 9th  
> November and another 10 quintals on 13th November on demand by  
> social activists and Anuradha Talwar as advisor to the Supreme  
> Court appointed Commissioner in the right to food case. These 25  
> quintals of rice have been enough to provide only 3-4 meals for the  
> huge numbers of people who are at the camp. The camp has to depend  
> on whatever little collection they can do otherwise. On the day we  
> were at the camp, rice was being provided only once a day, while  
> the refugees were having muri or chiraat other times. People kept  
> complaining of a shortage of food.
>
>
> No sanitation facilities have been provided at the camp. The entire  
> population of 2500 people is dependent on a few public toilets that  
> are available at a toilet complex nearby. Many of the camp dwellers  
> ran away from their homes with only the clothes on their back,  
> hence bedding and clothes are a very big problem. We found families  
> sleeping on the bare floor with only a thin sheet on the ground and  
> barely anything to cover themselves with in the winter season too.  
> Infants and children, the aged and sick faced enormous difficulties.
>
>
> A number of camp dwellers are also suffering from trauma. We found  
> a woman crying and screaming loudly at midnight. When questioned  
> repeatedly, she could only say that her brother had been taken away  
> and was being beaten up. She had had a nightmare. The lack of  
> facilities in the camp and the non response of the District  
> Magistrate to letters asking for relief citing Supreme Court orders  
> on the Right to Food show that the Government is still taking a  
> partisan approach. The severity of the violence inflicted again and  
> again on the people of Nandigram and the criticism of the  
> Governments actions by a wide range of people seems to have left  
> them unmoved.
>
>
> The Role of the Administration: Security While we were at Nandigram  
> on the 13th and 14th, we saw the CRPF being deployed in the town,  
> There was huge presence of the State Armed Police also. Yet people  
> in the camps were feeling insecure. The women staying at the camp  
> reported that a few days ago, CPI (M) supporters had entered the  
> camp and had threatened them and asked them to go home, emptying  
> the camp. There were reports of young men who were BUPC supporters  
> being picked up in front of the police and the CRPF by groups of  
> 6-7 men on motorcycles and of their being taken to the CPI (M)  
> party office. In front of us, the BUPC leadership went to the  
> police station to complain about the abduction of one of their  
> members, Mustafa, on 14th morning. The police phoned up the party  
> office and Mustafa was released after that.
>
>
> On 14th morning we were told that CPI (M) supporters on motor  
> cycles had gone through the town, tearing down BJP flags that were  
> put up on the previous day for LK Advanis visit. They declared that  
> only the CPI (M) flag could be put up. On the same night, at about  
> 7 PM we heard slogan shouting outside the camp. Many of the women  
> were shivering with fear. We were told that a CPI (M) procession  
> was passing the relief camp and would do so a couple of times. We  
> were told that this was happening everyday. The previous day about  
> 50-100 motorcycle riders with bands on their heads had raced  
> through the town, shouting slogans.
>
>
> We also found on 14th night, that no police was posted at the gate  
> of the relief camp. The matter was reported to the DIG CRPF when we  
> met him later at night. He assured us that he would visit the  
> relief camp the next day and ensure a guard.
>
>
> Those living at relatives places also complained of intimidation.  
> People living in room number 19 in the relief camp from  
> Shyamsundari Chak, Simulkundu and Sonachura told us Those who have  
> taken shelter at relatives places are also not safe. The party  
> people are coming and asking which village they are from, what  
> their names are what party they belong to. They are pressurising  
> the relatives to send the refugees back to their own homes. And  
> when one goes home, one gets beaten there.
>
>
> The BUPC put in a request asking for 12 CRPF camps inside the  
> villages. (list in Annexure 2) .The CRPF had only started two camps  
> in the villages. A third one was at Khudambari (to protest CPI (M)  
> leaders, said the BUPC leadership sarcastically) and a fourth in  
> Nandigram town itself. The DIG CRPF felt he did not have enough  
> person power to set up so many camps.
>
>
> The news from Nandigram received yesterday, Nov 18 is that CRPF  
> camps are to be removed from the Relief camps in the Nandigram  
> school and villages and shifted to the borders near Khejuri. This  
> has made the BUPC supporters, refugees in the camp and in the  
> villages very, very insecure.
>
>
> The Commander, CRPF Alok Raj has publicly complained of non - 
> cooperation by the West Bengal government.
>
>
>
> Conclusions
>
> Operation Nandigram, the capture and subjugation of rebellious  
> villages in Nandigram area, is not an aberration or a mistake. It  
> is a planned action with full coordination between the state  
> administration and the party. The proof for this is overwhelming-  
> arms, criminals and party goons were assembled in a planned manner;  
> police camps were removed to allow the harmad to function freely;  
> in spite of appeals and complaints by the victims to the police,  
> the police took little or no action to stop the violence; capture  
> of villages was planned like a war campaign, with village after  
> village being invaded and the strong holds left for the last; human  
> shields were used to subdue the most rebellious areas; media,  
> opposition leaders and civil society was shut out to ensure that  
> the capture was without hindrance; after capture, looting, beating  
> and intimidation has followed along with indoctrination and forced  
> marches in processions to subdue any rebellion that may remain;  
> relief camps are being seen as centres where the BUPC can regroup,  
> so the attempt is to force people out of the camp and other  
> shelters and to send them home again; rumors of finding Maoist arms  
> and literature are being spread to justify the invasion; and,  
> finally the CPI(M) leadership continues to make provocative,  
> irresponsible statements to justify its action and to rally its  
> supporters.
>
>
> The Maoist bogey has been invoked to justify many of the actions.  
> What evidence did we find of this? A land mine that appeared stage  
> managed? Accusations by a crowd of villagers of finding Maoist  
> literature and arms, with no physical evidence to back their  
> accusations? Perhaps we had gone to a very small area. Perhaps the  
> bombs are in Sonachura, you may say. However, we talked to at least  
> 150-200 people both from the CPI (M) and BUPC. Not one of them  
> mentioned armed resistance by the BUPC. On the other hand, many of  
> the CPI (M) supporters admitted that war was waged to get them  
> home. The CPI (M) has also not been able to show the most  
> irrefutable evidence of Maoist or BUPC armed resistance - injured  
> or dead CPI (M) supporters. All the wounded we met were BUPC  
> supporters victims of the harmad attack.
>
>
> It has always been clear, as it was during this visit also, that no  
> matter how much our town bred intellectuals and media may shout to  
> the contrary; this is not a TMC versus CPI (M) fight. The BUPC is  
> not a TMC outfit. Nor is it a Maoist outfit. So this is also not a  
> Left versus ultra Left issue. The BUPC consists of angry villagers  
> from the Nandigram villages who have rebelled against the CPI (M)s  
> oppressive ways and its bullying tactics to take away their land.  
> These villagers are from the TMC, the SUCI, the Jamaite Ulema Hind,  
> CPI (ML), and Congress and also most importantly even from the CPI  
> (M) itself.
>
>
> The sad truth is that there are now villages in Nandigram that are  
> sharply divided and neighbours are at war with each other. It is  
> true that some people were in refuge camps in Khejuri- for11 months  
> or for less. There may be a dispute about numbers, but it cannot be  
> disputed that these people are bitter and are backed by a powerful  
> party and the state administration. They want to get their own back  
> on the BUPC members. They also must have the Panchayat elections on  
> their minds - if they lose these elections they may get beaten up  
> again, with village politics in rural Bengal always taking this  
> kind of an ugly turn. Mediation between these warring groups is  
> necessary. A fair and unbiased administration can do this, but will  
> that be possible?
>
>
>
> The line that should firmly exist between the party and the  
> administration has been wiped away. Can it be re-established?  
> People from both sides of the political divide need food and other  
> daily necessities; they need help to rebuild their houses. Many  
> have lost all their possessions. Many have been without work for  
> many months and this must have meant a serious erosion of resources  
> for those who are already on the brink of poverty. Intimidation by  
> the CPI (M) of the BUPC members is continuing. The reverse may also  
> happen in a few pockets on a much more minor scale. The  
> administration must show the maturity to deal with all groups in an  
> even handed manner. It must punish the guilty, provide food and  
> homes to the needy and protect the weak. But will that happen?
>
>
> Civil society groups and peoples organisations with sensitive,  
> peace-supporting ctivists must reach and interact with the people  
> in camps and communities. Before all this, CPM and the West Bengal  
> government must be compelled to take a political and official  
> decision to withdraw all armed forces and publicly announce  
> protection to the families, resident of villages since decades.  
> NHRC must bring out an interim report with clear directives for the  
> state and central governments and ensure that those are implemented.
>
> Medha Patkar, Anuradha Talwar, Debjit Dutt, Swapna Tripathi, Bijoya  
> Chanda, on behalf of the team of activists who visited Nandigram  
> which included Amita Bagh, Atmaram Saraogi, Meher Engineer, Gautam  
> Bandopadhyay, Subranshu, Dr Tarun Mondal, Shyam Bihari Singh,  
> Biswajit, Chandan Pal and many others.
>
>
> Annexure 1:
>
>
> Background: Events That Preceded Our Visit
>
>
> We give below a chronology of the events since mid October that  
> preceded our visit. This has been done from news reports. For  
> events before October, please see Annexure 1
>
>
> October 19th - 26th 2007:- Reports filter in that police camps are  
> being withdrawn from various points in Nandigram and that known  
> criminal gangs and harmad are being amassed in Khejuri.
>
>
>
> October 27th 2007 :- In an attack by the harmad, one dead and four  
> injured including two school going boys.
>
>
>
> October 28, 2007:- Bomb exploded in Sherkhan chawk near Khejuri. 5  
> CPI (M) harmad dead and four injured. BUPC members houses were  
> attacked and ransacked by the harmad Mamata Bannerjee, leader of  
> the opposition party, Congress fired at Tekhali Bridge in Nandigram.
>
>
> October 29, 2007, the harmad enter Takapura, Kamalpur and  
> Ranichowk. 16 houses belonging to BUPC supporters were set ablaze  
> at Takapura. Media access to Nandigram is restricted.
>
>
>
> October 30, 2007, harmad from Khejuri fire on a peaceful rally of  
> thousands of BUPC supporters who were on their way from Nandigram  
> to Tekhali. Bombing and firing from Khejuri on the houses of BUPC  
> members at Satangabari, Ranichowk, Takapura, Kamalpur, Giribazar  
> and few other villages. Armed miscreants, allegedly hired by the CPI 
> (M), attacked Ranichowk village and set fire to two houses of BUPC  
> supporters and looted yet a few. There was one death and 10  
> injured. Three scribes belonging to three separate media houses  
> were beaten up and TMC leader Mr. Partha Chattopadhyay alleged that  
> he was not allowed to visit the areas under attack.
>
>
> October 31, 2007 Harmad bombs Bhangabera.
>
>
> November 01, 2007 at the 4th conference of the CPI (M) Nandakumar  
> zonal committee, in Srikishnapur High School, Mr. Laxman Seth, CPI  
> (M) MP, exhorted his party men. "We have been pushed to the wall.  
> The only option now is to kill or get killed. We have to fight till  
> the last drop of blood in our bodies,
>
>
>
> November 02, 2007 Harmad from Khejuri started firing while  
> policemen deployed in the area turned a blind eye. All entry points  
> into Nandigram have been sealed off by the cadres and there were  
> attempts to take control over villages. Huge arms were amassed at  
> Bhangabera, Tulaghata, Tekhali Bazaar, Takapura, Kamalpur, and  
> Reyapara. In Hanschora near Nandigram, CPI (M) supporters stopped a  
> bus and searched every person on board. Women faced sexual  
> humiliation.
>
>
> November 03, 2007 Satangabari reduced to a virtual graveyard by  
> harmad and the firing continued unabated. More than 200 thatched  
> houses were burned to ashes after they were looted and ransacked,  
> rendering approximately 1,000 people homeless. The homeless took  
> shelter in makeshift camps or under the open sky.
>
>
> November 04, 2007 the CPI (M) Politburo member Brinda Karat  
> prescribed " Dum Dum Dawai" (severe bashing â€" a slogan of the  
> sixties advocating public thrashing for the corrupt) as a solution  
> for Nandigram in the presence of Chief Minister Buddhadeb  
> Bhattacharjee.
>
>
> November 05, 2007 Harmad rained bombs and fired shots from Khejuri  
> side.In the wee hours of the morning, nearly 500 armed offenders  
> tried to cross the Talpatti canal and enter Nandigram. BUPC  
> members, guarding the bridge, blew conch shells. Over 3,000  
> villagers formed a human wall to block the advancement of the  
> invaders. The attackers retreated, but another attack was launched  
> around 10.30 a.m. Police remained silent spectators.
>
>
> November 6, 2007, nine villages were torched by the harmad. Three  
> declared dead officially, actual number suspected to be larger.  
> Armed cadres initially entered Satangabari, Ranichawk, Bhangabera  
> and Sonachura. Later in the day, they entered Simulkunda,  
> Kanungochak, Satangabari, Uttarpurbapally, Girirbazar,  
> Brindabanchak and Akandabari and set houses on fire. At least  
> 15,000 people were hounded out of their homes and many of them had  
> to be given shelter at relief camps set up at Nandigram .The state  
> home secretary Mr. Prasad Ranjan Roy admitted that firing started  
> from Khejuri, a clear admission that CPI-M cadres unleashed the  
> violence. Mr. Ray admitted there had been virtually no police  
> presence in the areas like Gokulnagar, Ranichawk, Bhangabera and  
> Satangabari which turned into a "war zone" witnessing "widespread  
> violence".
>
>
> November 7, 2007 police picket on the strategic Tekhali Bridge in  
> Nandigram removed. Armed harmad crossed the Talpatti canal  
> andstormed several villages. Hundreds of armed men entered  
> Maheshpur in Nandigram, nearly 4 kilometers beyond Tekhali Bridge.  
> Two injured on November 5, 2007, passed away, taking the official  
> death toll to five. Harmad took control of several villages,  
> including Satangabari, Keyakhali, Brindabanchak and Ranichawk.  
> Several houses in Roynagar and Jhatiboni were torched. At least  
> 3,000 more villagers were rendered homeless, total homeless being  
> 25000The CPI (M) formed camps at Reyapara, Mograjpur, Sashigunge  
> Bazaar, and several other places on both sides of the Chandipur- 
> Nandigram Road to seal off Nandigram from the rest of the world.
>
>
>
> November 8, 2007 Our team of 25-30 activists, intellectuals and  
> academicians was ambushed in Kapaseria village and refused  
> admission into Nandigram, in spite of a police escort. The glass  
> window panes of our vehicles were smashed, driver, some press  
> activists, including Medha Patkar were beaten by male cadres of CPI- 
> M and others manhandled. Trinamool MP Mukul Roy, MLA Subhendu  
> Adhikari and Congress Legislative Party Chief Whip, Manas Bhuiyan  
> were also assaulted at another place and time as was reported in  
> the media and were not allowed to enter the affected area and even  
> relief material was prevented from entering. The Bar Association  
> was also barred from entering the villages. The police stood by and  
> watched. Homeless people staged a dharna in front of Nandigram  
> police station in the afternoon alleging police inaction but were  
> later chased away by policemen with tear gas shells and firing.
>
>
> November 09, 2007 in a strong criticism of the Nandigram carnage,  
> Honorable Governor Mr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi termed the manner in  
> which the villages in Nandigram were recaptured as "unlawful and  
> unacceptable" and described the area, "as the Home Secretary aptly  
> put it, as a virtual war zone".
>
>
> November 10, 2007 harmad fired on unarmed peace processions of  
> BUPC. With road blocks and entry of media barred and total non  
> cooperation by the police in rescue operation, unconfirmed reports  
> put the toll as high as 100 with bodies being fished out of a  
> canal. Police would confirm only three deaths, including a woman,  
> and at least 13 others injured. BUPC alleged that 600 villagers,  
> many of whom had received bullet injuries, had been abducted by the  
> harmad. Two women alleged gang rape. Those captured, were taken to  
> the Amratala Khejuri Primary School and tortured by harmad. 11 of  
> them rescued by the police. An ambulance driven by CPI (M) cadres  
> carrying fourteen dead bodies on its way to Belda on West Mednipur  
> was stopped by TMC workers at Egra. The Janani brick kiln was used  
> by the cadres for disposing bodies in its chimneys. 8 CPI (M)  
> cadres were caught smuggling out injured persons from amongst BUPC  
> members in a Panchayat car (belonging to Khejuri I Panchayat  
> Samiti) at Egra. BUPC supporters gheraoed Nandigram police station,  
> alleging inaction. Policemen allegedly resorted to lathi charge.  
> All entry points to Nandigram remained blocked 2 days hunger strike  
> by civil society started in Kolkata
>
>
> November 11, 2007 saw an intensification of protests by the civil  
> society in Kolkata and elsewhere. 8 persons from Sonachura,  
> Nandigram managed to escape and reach the venue of the protest in  
> Esplanade. CRPF contingent making its way to Nandigram was attacked  
> and chased back by CPI (M) cadres in Reyapara and Chandipur.  
> Shyamal Chakraborty, CPI (M) State Secretary said with pride We  
> have taken over Nandigram, and made it terror free.
>
>
> November 12th 2007 Terror continues in Nandigram. Trucks of relief  
> material, with civil society activists and intellectuals, blocked  
> by CPI (M) cadres in various places, in spite of court orders  
> allowing free passage. NHRC decided to send investigation team to  
> Nandigram. CRPF also starts entering Nandigram
>
>
> November 13th 2007 NDA team reaches Nandigram. Civil society  
> activists reach Nandigram with relief materials. High Court passes  
> order asking for free passage to be assured.
>
>
> Annexure 2:
>
> Chronology of Events in Nandigram
>
>
> 31st July 2006:- West Bengal government signed MoU with the Salim  
> Group of Indonesia for establishment of a chemical hub
>
>
> August 2006 to December 2006:- Two independent people's  
> organisations named "Gana Unnayan and Jana Adhikar Sangram  
> Samiti" (Association for The Struggle for Peoples Development and  
> Rights) and "Krishi Jami O Janaswartha Raksha Committee" (Committee  
> for protection of agricultural lands and public interest) are  
> formed and began movement against chemical hub.
>
>
> 29th December 2006:- In a public meeting, Lakshman Seth, Chairman  
> of Haldia Development Authority (HDA) and CPI (M) MP, announces  
> their firm determination to have chemical hub in Nandigram.
>
>
> 2nd January 2007:- Notice from HDA on 29 mouzas to be acquired  
> reaches Nandigram.
>
>
> 3rd January 2007:- People go to Garchakraberia GP to ask about  
> notice. Unprovoked police action on them, when they are returning.  
> 5 injured in police firing. Police jeep meets accident. Policemen  
> captured by mob but returned unharmed. Roads begin to be cut and  
> barricades are put up to prevent entry of police.
>
>
> 5th January 2007:- Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee formed by  
> merger of two committees and all other political groups in the  
> Nandigram area. Many CPM rank and files join the BUPC.
>
>
> 6th January 2007:- Police camp at Bhangabera Bridge packed up.  
> People see armed CPI (M) goons (locally known as harmad) coming  
> into the village by boats at night.
>
>
> 7th January 2007:- 4 persons die due to gun fire by harmad from the  
> house of Shankar Samanta, a CPI (M) leader. An enraged mob attacks  
> the house and chases out the harmad. Shankar Samanta is lynched by  
> the mob.
>
>
> January to March 2007:- Nandigram villages do not allow police to  
> enter. Some CPI (M) leaders flee. Schools, pulse polio, ICDS  
> centres etc. continue. 3 Panchayats stop functioning as CPM leaders  
> are also Panchayat Pradhans and members. People live in constant  
> fear that their land will be taken away and that the harmad will  
> invade. Skirmishes along the Talpatti canal between the BUPC masses  
> and the harmads arms are reported. Government states that the HAD  
> notice was a mistake, but does not give anything in writing. People  
> get mixed signals- an economic blockade is tried on Nandigram by  
> the CPM, CPM camps on the road to Nandigram search vehicles,  
> intellectuals and activists travelling into Nandigram are harassed,  
> CPM leaders make provocative statements.
>
>
>
> 1th -13th March 2007:- BUPC leaders including TMC MLAs sent faxes  
> and appeals to the Government saying they fear an attack on  
> Nandigram. Police is amassed on the Khejuri side. An all party  
> meeting with BUPC absent decides that the police must go in.
>
>
> 14th March 2007:- BUPC organises a Pooja and Namaaz reading to  
> resist the police invasion. In a combined harmadâ€"police action,  
> 14 die, at least 85 people are hospitalised, over 200-300 people  
> are injured; many more have eye injuries due to tear gas. Reports  
> of missing people pour in, the harmad and police go in for a  
> looting and burning spree. Reports of gang rape and molestation of  
> women in huge numbers pour in. Reports of children being killed,  
> bodies being disposed off abound.
>
>
>
> 15th March 2007:- The mayhem continues. High Court gives order for  
> a CBI enquiry, with a report to be submitted within a week.
>
>
> 16th March 2007:- CBI team reaches Nandigram, with a stop to  
> atrocities.
>
>
> March 2007 to October 2007:- Nandigram situation continues as a  
> stalemate. In April, Government officially withdraws plans for SEZ.  
> However it refuses to consider compensation for those killed,  
> injured and raped on March 14th 2007.Nor is any process of  
> identifying and punishing the guilty started. Peace talks between  
> political parties are tried in a half hearted manner and fail.
>
>
> The BUPC is never called for peace talks at the state level. CPM  
> claims that about 3500 of its members and supporters have been  
> forced to flee. Attempts to meet them by many civil rights groups  
> do not meet with much success. Skirmishes along the Talpatti canal  
> continue. It gradually takes on the feel of a civil war with a  
> border in between Khejuri and Nandigram. Police camps are  
> established inside Nandigram, but police stands by idly whenever  
> there are skirmishes. People in Nandigram villages start gradually  
> to put their lives together again. Paddy is sown, economic and  
> other activities are again becoming normal.
>
>
> Annexure 3: Demand for emergency CRPF camp
>
>
> The BUPC had demanded CRPF camps for the following positions.
>
>
>
> 1.            Sonachura
> 2.            Gar Chakkraberia
>
> 3.             Hazrakata
>
> 4.             Basuli Chawk- Lock Gate
>
> 5.             Tekhali Bazar
>
> 6.             Maheshpur
>
> 7.             Rani Chawk
>
> 8.             Satangabari
>
> 9.             Girir Bazar
>
> 10.             Takapura Basic School
>
> 11.             Kamalpur
>
> 12.             Akandobari
>
> 13.             Dawoodpur
>
> 14.             Jambari
>
>
>
> Annexure 4 (Available on request)
>
>
> Nandigram B.M. Pal B.P.H.C.
>
>
> Document of injured persons attended Nandigram B.M. Pal B.P.H.C. on  
> 10/11/07 & other dates
>
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> __,_._,___

______________________________

Jai Sen
jai.sen at cacim.net
CACIM, A-3 Defence Colony, New Delhi 110 024, India
www.cacim.net
Ph : +91-11-4155 1521, 2433 2451

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