Memory Metamorphosis: In Nandigram바카라�s Election Battleground, A Spectre Continues To Haunt

March 14, 2007바카라�a conversational marker in the town바카라�is the date that witnessed 14 people being killed as Nandigram protested land acquisition for a proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) chemical plant. The then chief minister of the Left Front government, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, had struck a deal with Indonesian business giant Salim Group to mount a project that would require 10,000 acres of land across the proposed area of Nandigram, which drew the ire of the people and led to the killings. Seventeen years later, the hatred still lies firmly lodged in the words of the locals. It doesn바카라�t come aimed at people or the parties anymore, but at how they are forced to stay in the dark, awaiting answers.

Torn Apart

Supriya, a woman in her 50s and a headmistress in a local government school, has seen the politics of the place take shape over the last three decades. 바카라�It has always been a calm and serene place. I바카라�ve been witness to an event that altered the course of politics in Bengal. With time, old questions seem irrelevant, and give way to newer ones, but it바카라�s not as black and white here,바카라� she says.

Supriya drifts back to the days of 2007 and 2008 in a snap. 바카라�I remember the days so vividly. Walking past roadblocks and broken streets, making sure the bayonets of the marching people with guns don바카라�t touch my daughter. It was a reflex to pull my daughter close to me whenever someone passed by. Murders became a staple,바카라� she says. On being asked the usual question of accountability, she quickly says, 바카라�There were violent protests every day. It was difficult to separate the police from the people who were holding arms. I have seen people walking in protests, swiftly going behind huts and changing into police uniforms. In a game of optics, they needed bodies to fall to attract national attention.바카라�

Nandigram is still torn, struggling to make sense of who sponsored the massacre that took numerous lives, including 14 on that very day at the Bhanga Bera Bridge in Nandigram. The members of the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee바카라�an organisation spearheaded by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and supported by groups comprising the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and Naxalite outfits바카라�were attacked with tear gas and bullets as thousands marched in resistance. Nandigram altered Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee바카라�s political trajectory as she would go on to end the 34-year rule of the Left Front in Bengal.

While local people continue to harbour immense distrust and anger towards the CPI (M), who they believe triggered the reign of terror in the town, 17 years later, fingers cannot be strictly pointed at a single party. 바카라�How can the police wear slippers?바카라� asks Supriya. 바카라�There were reports that crores of rupees were exchanged between the police and the protesters in Nandigram. We had heard people being informed that they would be killed in the evening, and their burnt bodies would be found in the haystacks. When the chief minister of a state had categorically instructed that no bullets should be fired, how were people killed? Something happened here that the people are still not privy to.바카라�

When Promises Fade Away

In Sonachura village of Nandigram, about eight km from the heart of the town, the family of Subrata Samanta, one of the 14 killed on March 14, spends their days in despair. The wind rustles the leaves as work is underway for the promised permanent housing in front of a couple of huts by the pond. The two huts are shared by Subrata바카라�s elder brother, Pabitra, his wife, their mother, and Pabitra바카라�s two sons. 바카라�It바카라�s been 17 years. He was just sleeping. I couldn바카라�t return that day because the roads were blocked, and when I did, I returned to see the lifeless body of my brother,바카라� says Pabitra, as his eyes welled up with tears.

Subrata바카라�s mother, Saraswati Samanta, in her 70s now, smiles as she stares into the oblivion. 바카라�He wasn바카라�t into anything. No politics, no fights. He was a beautiful 17-year-old boy and did all things that a boy of 17 would do바카라�laugh, play, help with domestic work,바카라� says Saraswati. Besides the monetary compensation offered by different leaders and the government, Subrata바카라�s wife, who has deserted the family, has been working as a cook in a governmental department. 바카라�We got only Rs 30,000 of the Rs 10 lakh promised. We didn바카라�t have money to sustain this family and our parents바카라� medical requirements. When our father passed away, we couldn바카라�t even afford to give him proper medical attention. We were left with nothing and had to sell off parts of our land to sustain the family,바카라� says Pabitra.

Seventeen years since the fateful day, the family has been seeking a job, but promises fade away as soon as the election season is over. 바카라�Both my sons have completed their higher secondary education, and a single job can save our family. Even that of a sweeper,바카라� says Pabitra바카라�s wife, as she rushes in to show their only framed picture of Subrata. 바카라�Look into his eyes. What wrong had he done? We didn바카라�t even have a full picture of his. The part below his face바카라�his body and clothes바카라�were designed on a computer. No answers have been given. No help has been extended. Media attention comes only during elections,바카라� she adds.

Sukumar Jana, the husband of the deceased Supriya Jana, smiles to himself when asked about March 14. 바카라�Everybody was carrying arms. Everybody was out on the streets. My son and I were searching for Supriya amidst the effect of the tear gas. As we decided to head home, a trolley carrying the body of my wife crossed us. We didn바카라�t know how to react,바카라� remembers a teary-eyed Sukumar. He is currently serving as the president of the Shahid Paribar, an organisation of 42 families who lost family members during the course of the movement. Sukumar says 13 families are yet to receive permanent jobs and houses, which were promised to them by Banerjee. 바카라�My son got a job in the Indian Railways, but the fight doesn바카라�t end there. My struggle will continue till our entire family gets justice.바카라�

Maa, Mati, Manush

Nandigram, a usually silent town, nurses strong political currents and opinions in the grassroots. While a section of the people is immune to the political games the town has seen over the years, a major section of the population feels Nandigram still carries some responsibility as the state prepares for the dance of democracy. Banerjee, or netri, as she is called by a major portion of people in Nandigram, continues to be a beacon of hope for them. 바카라�Nandigram sealed Banerjee바카라�s game in 2007. And whatever happens, Nandigram will always stand with her,바카라� says a villager. Both Pabitra and Sukumar feel Banerjee바카라�s government has been instrumental in pulling Nandigram out of a terrifying past. 바카라�Didi has all the answers. And she will do everything for us, just like we will, but the problem lies somewhere else,바카라� they say.

The local people believe that corruption has taken firm root in Bengal바카라�s political parties. 바카라�The local leaders will steal a new slipper if they hear a family has bought new slippers. Families that are in dire need of a job must beg for decades, while families of these local leaders get as many as 5-6 jobs. From Cyclone Amphan relief funds to local resources, they have stolen everything,바카라� says Pabitra. Sukumar echoes similar sentiments, 바카라�It is only because of our netri that we have hope. The local leaders are inefficient and corrupt. We have not been able to talk to her over the last few years, but if she comes here in the next few days, we will surely talk to her, and she will do the needful.바카라�

While Nandigram gave birth to Banerjee바카라�s iconic words of Maa, Mati, Manush (Mother, Land, and its People), the place is also considered to be a bastion of the Adhikari family. Suvendu Adhikari, turncoat BJP leader and the party바카라�s face in Bengal and his father, Sisir Adhikari, are considered to be the guardians of this soil. The family led the Nandigram movement back in 2007. 바카라�Even when didi wasn바카라�t here, Sisir and Suvendu babu were there to show us the way,바카라� says Sukumar.

But the political winds have changed since the Adhikari family shifted allegiance. 바카라�Once saviours, they are today traitors for a large section of Nandigram바카라�s people. 바카라�Nandigram has never had a place for the BJP. With over 40 per cent Muslim voters, Nandigram will never vote for a party which feeds on alienating Muslims,바카라� says Srimanta Kumar, a villager. The constituency will witness a triangular contest바카라�the BJP바카라�s Abhijit Gangopadhyay, TMC바카라�s Debangshu Bhattacharya and the CPI (M)바카라�s Sayan Banerjee.

Speaking to Outlook, Sisir Adhikari, says: 바카라�People will say a lot of things, but I have seen everything. I used my personal money for the protests to support the people of my soil. And I can say with conviction that Banerjee contributed nothing to our movement. She turned her back on us when we needed her the most. And we are being called traitors? We fought hand-in-hand with the people of Nandigram while she fled at the sight of Communist flags.바카라�

Nandigram had become a hot topic again during the 2021 assembly elections, when Banerjee was upstaged by her one-time protege Suvendu Adhikari by 1,000 votes, a result which remains controversial till date. 바카라�There wasn바카라�t any controversy. The people have spoken, and the people will speak again. The maa is dead, the mati has been sold off and the manush have answered. The Tamluk constituency will give no chance to the TMC. And without the police and her machinery, the entire state will reject her,바카라� adds Sisir Adhikari.

Nandigram keeps embracing an existential doubt, as loyalties continue to shift. In the search of a guardian, the place awaits justice and answers, to fight a spectre.

(This first appeared in the print as 'Memory Metamorphosis')