Stories of police brutality, rape and murder were consistently reported by survivors at Nandigram Block Hospital, Tamluk Hospital, and the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata. One 35 year old woman said she was pinned between two sticks and gang-raped. Her husband was forced to watch as the cadres threatened to bash their six-month old baby to the ground and stamp it underfoot. A physician reported treating a woman whose uterus had been ruptured after a metal rod had been thrust into her vagina. CPM cadres barged into hospitals and ordered doctors not to falsify medical reports (eliminating reference to gunshot wounds) and to discharge those who urgently needed medical care.
In the 48 hours following the events of March 14, the people of Nandigram regrouped and fought back. On March 16, more than 20,000 villagers, armed with sticks and iron rods, chased the CPM cadres and goons out of the area. The police and paramilitary forces were restrained because of the public outcry that the March 14 carnage caused. A state-wide bandh (strike) was called by opposition groups. Intellectuals, teachers, youth and students, Muslim groups, artists, singers and many others demonstrated and demanded the resignation of “Butcher Buddha.” Several noted intellectuals returned their Rabindra prizes (West Bengal’s highest literary award) and donated the Rs. 75,000 cash award to the Nandigram relief fund.
Faced with defeat on the ground, the state government announced that the SEZ at Nandigram would be cancelled, though they are actively considering another site in the district.
From March 16 through early November 2007, Nandigram was back in the hands of the people. Fact finding delegations from all over India arrived to investigate. Relief supplies were brought in by caravan. Beginning in April, hundreds of college students organized “go-to-the-village” campaigns to Nandigram in order to get a first hand experience of village life and to understand what impelled the peasants to wage such a powerful struggle to defend their land.
Nandigram Women Organize
A new phase in the struggle began in July when women and girls, including many who had been molested and raped, came forward and organized the Matangini Mahila Samiti (MMS). This women’s organization drew its name from that of Matangini Hazra, who led a procession during the 1942 Quit India Movement and was shot dead. The MMS raised its voice against the SEZ, the CPM and patriarchal customs.
According to Professor Amit Bhattacharyya from Jadavpur University, who interviewed some of its members, the MMS organized large processions of women who stopped the CPM from firing from Khejuri on many occasions. It also organized people’s courts to deal with cases of theft or the beatings of wives by their husbands. The MMS successfully supported women against husbands, including some in the BUPC, who didn’t want their wives to move about freely. Another success of the women’s organization was the destruction of the liquor shops which they correctly identified as a destructive influence on the men.
Throughout the summer, the CPM cadres continuously attacked the villages. Tens of thousands of villagers spent sleepless nights resisting these attacks. The CPM also tried to isolate Nandigram by cutting off food, consumer goods, power and water supplies. Ferry services to nearby Haldia which 10,000 people from Nandigram ride daily were suspended. With local elections coming up in the spring of 2008, and worried that the people of Nandigram could become an example for the rest of rural Bengal, the CPM decided that it had to recapture Nandigram and crush the people’s struggle.
The Second Assault on Nandigram
In the fall of 2007, the CPM gathered a force of 2,000-3,000 CPM cadres from all over West Bengal, backed up by hundreds of hired mercenaries from Bihar and Jharkhand states. This force was armed and trained with AK-47s and Insas rifles. According to The Statesman, on November 1, CPM member of parliament Lakshman Seth told his troops, “The only option now is to kill or get killed. We have to fight till the last drop of blood in our bodies.”
