Appeal of Singur West Bengal India

Singur one of the most fertile lands in West Bengal, with a very high rate of agricultural productivity of reaping crops 10 months in an year is being converted into an industrial site by the Government of West Bengal. In order to suit the industrial interests of a particular section the interests of the larger section of farmers and other rural workers are being blatantly disregarded by the government authorities. The whole process of acquiring land from the farmers and of declaring their land as an industrial site has been autocratic in nature giving no space to those being affected to voice their opinions and raise their objections. Any form of protest by the villagers is being met in a repressive manner which is against any kind of democratic rule.

State repression and organized violence against the villagers of Singur, West Bengal (India) has intensified since the police assault which led to the death of a protester on September 25. Despite a massive police presence, the cutting off of seed supply and the denial of irrigation water by police and cadre of the ruling Left Front government, villagers continue to resist the state government's plan to hand over to Tata Motors 420 hectares of farmland supporting 30,000 people.

On November 30, emergency measures including a ban on all assembly were imposed on Singur and movement on all the roads leading to the area was obstructed. On December 2, heavily armed police units entered the villages, and responded to peaceful protest actions with rubber bullets, tear gas and beatings. The steel fencing around the farmland was erected in the presence of the police. Scores of villagers, including the elderly and the very young, were arrested and charged with attempted murder. Homes were forcibly entered into by the police and their residents beaten; workers and peasants were attacked in the fields and on the way to work. Villagers report that the massive police presence is being used to prevent the standing crops from being harvested.

On 19th of December 2006 a girl of 16 years old was raped and murdered by some criminals in the area. Tapasi Malik the girl and her parents were very active in the movement. Her father is an agricultural worker in Singur. The citizens from all across protested against this brutal murder and after that Chief Minister of the state had ordered CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) enquiry. But the police force controlled by the government are regularly intimidating and threatening the family members of Tapasi Malik in the name of investigation.


Despite the escalation of repression, the workers and poor peasants of Singur continue to resist the forcible seizure of land. Please support the movement condemning the land seizure and the escalation of police violence.