The land grab must be stopped

A general strike in the Indian state of West Bengal has disrupted normal life as workers protest against the killing of at least 14 farmers earlier this week.

Mahboob Hossain Chintu, who lives in a village close to Calcutta, describes the plight of farmers affected by the government's industrialisation policies which involve the compulsory purchase of land for special economic zones.

There is a reign of terror in West Bengal. The government's land grabbing policy is a brutal treatment of the poor farmers. I live in a village 20 miles south of Calcutta. My family owns six acres of land.

That is the only thing we have. We live by cultivating that land. I was able to get higher education thanks to the income from agriculture.

Though at present I work for a software company, agriculture is still a major source of income for our family.

Many farmers now live in constant fear that their land could be taken away any time. Nandigram is not the only place where the West Bengal government is trying to acquire land.

The next in the pipeline is a road from Barasat to Raichak that is going to be built by the Salim group. Apparently they are going to build it free of charge but in return the government will give them land to build residential townships.

To make that possible, a large area of land will be taken from farmers. There is a secrecy surrounding all these deals and the ordinary people are left in the dark fearing that they can be the next victims of the government's industrialisation policies.

I have friends in Rajarhat, who had their land taken away in 1995. The government used it to set up a new township and gave them very little compensation. They are people with no education and alternative means to provide for themselves. They are now very poor but nobody cares about their plight.

Spontaneous response

Today there is a strike across the state that has completely paralysed normal life. There is no public transport, shops are closed and everyone stays at home. I too didn't go to work. Everything has come to a standstill.

The people of West Bengal are pained to see the atrocities in Nandigram. This strike is a spontaneous response by everyone towards the government's treatment of poor farmers. We all support the strike, including Communist-minded people.

I think the government's move to acquire land for industrialisation will render pernicious effects on the West Bengal's economy in the long term. They are trying to grab land in the most fertile region of the Ganges delta, while there is so much barren land in other districts. They should set up factories there, instead of displacing thousands of farmers who have no where to go.

BBC