PBKMS and SMS observe 'Betrayal Day' on the call given by farmers

PBKMS and SMS submit deputations and initiate a campaign to highlight the 'betrayal' faced by the farmers of the nation in the hands of the union government   

Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS) and Shramajivee Mahila Samity (SMS) have called for a 'Day of Condemnation' or the 'Betrayal day' as christened by the associations and trade union under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSSC). The union government and the political leadership at the centre have failed to honour its promises to the farmers during the withdrawal of the year-long protests. Post rollback of the three contentious farm legislations by the union government, the protesting farmers demanded concrete steps to address their other concerns as well for which they had braved the ire of the administration and the extreme climate of North India for more than a year.

We welcome the unconditional withdrawal of the three contentious farm legislations which began with the passing of the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 at the Lok Sabha culminating in the presidential assent provided on 1st December, 2021. However, the other demands of the nation wide peaceful struggle were not honoured by the political leadership at the centre and the farming community now nurses a sense of betrayal. Not even one of the promises made to the protesting farmers (apart from the repeal of the three farm legislations) to persuade them to vacate the protest sites has been taken up till date. This apathy dishonours one of the most impactful peasant movements of the recent times. We have not seen any willingness on the part of the central government to honour its commitment on a range of promises made to address concerns of the protetsing farmers. An elected government cannot disregard the demands raised by a mass movement in this manner. We vow to continue with our struggles till each and every demand of our farmers is honoured. 

In West Bengal, especially the small and marginal farmers face difficulty in receiving the right price for their produces. There are also numerous barriers to selling paddy in large quantities, such as relatively distant markets, undefined pricing, the complexity of selling in government mandis, and so on. The present Trinamool Congress government had given moral support to the agitating peasants and now if the other vital demands of the peasants are not met, then some moral responsibility to address them lies with the political leadership of the state as well.

Senior activists of PBKMS addressing a press conference in Uttar Dinajpur

On this day, we are submitting demand charters in the form of deputations to the panchayat, block and district administrations in our field areas which are spread across West Bengal. We are placing the following demands before the State Government:

1. Declaration of minimum support price for all agricultural produces.

2. Providing access to necessary infrastructure for enabling farmers to sell agricultural products in the government mandis.

3. Speedy settlemt of arrears after the sale of paddy in government mandis.

4. In case of crop damage due to natural calamities, adequate compensation should be provided. Universal coverage of crop insurance should be ensured.

5. In order to reduce the monopoly of multinational seed corporations, necessary infrastructure should be provided for the conservation of indigenous seeds at the village level.

The following demands have been placed before the Central Government along with all the mass organizations and farmer's associations across the country:

1. Immediate announcement of the formation of committee with the objective of guaranteeing the minimum support price of all crops.

2. Fixing the minimum wage of agricultural labourers at ₹600 per day in line with the recommendations of the 7th pay commission.

3. Fabricated charges imposed on protesting farmers must be withdrawn immediately.

4. Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, who was responsible for the gruesome murder of farmers in Lakhimpur Khedi, should be arrested and punished through the appropriate judicial process.

We have also been able to organize a few roadshows and public meetings in the face of strict pandemic related restrictions. Our members have made efforts to adhere to the protocol(s) related to public health as laid down by the authorities. Some of the glimpses of our show of strength on the ground: 

A rally in progress at Minakhan, North 24 Parganas

Com. Anuradha Talwar, member of State Committee addressing a gathering in North Dinajpur

Com. Suchitra Halder, member of State Committee leading a rally in Minakhan, North 24 Parganas

PBKMS team visits Deucha Pachami

A team led by senior activists of the union met people who will face the brunt of the proposed open cast coal mine in Deucha Pachami, Birbhum

PBKMS (Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity) visited a few villages located in the proposed project site of the upcoming Deucha Pachami coal mines in the district of Birbhum in West Bengal. A small team led by our senior activist and treasurer, Comrade Kanai Halder visited a few villages in the Mohammadbazar block to interact with the community members who face the threat of eviction. Our visit was facilitated by one of the civil society organizations in the region named PAPA (Project Affected People's Association) which is working amongst the tribal community.   

Com. Kanai Halder interacting with the residents

14 villages will be severely affected post commencement of the coal mining project. We came to know of a protest march, in which the community members displayed brooms, symbolizing their desire of chasing away the 'dikus' (outsiders) who are eyeing the natural resources of the area. The march was held by the residents of the Dewanganj village and the police administration immediately cracked down on them with the temporary detention of a local community mobilizer.     

The population density of the area is less with the number of households in a village seldom crossing twenty-five. This is mainly due to the topography of the area, marked by jungles and hillocks. The implementation of rights-based legislation(s) in the area is poor, to say the least. Villagers do not have access to the public works programme, which guarantees a minimum of 100 days of paid work to each and every rural household in the country. Many households have stopped receiving their entitled food grains through the Public Distribution System. Anganwadi centres are not functioning properly and other schemes like mission Nirmal Bangla, Bangla Awas Yojana, etc are also not being implemented in their true spirits. Without paying a hefty kickback, the central schemes are also not made accessible to the people.      

A certain fear has crept into the minds of the villagers in accessing benefits of state-sponsored schemes for they feel that on the pretext of filling up of forms, the administration will manipulate them to part with their homestead and agricultural land(s). For similar reasons, we have been prevented from taking photographs or even writing field notes in some areas. The suspicion on the administration has grown to such an extent!            

The electricity connection is not too stable and often villages go without electricity for a long period of time. The villages of Gabarbathan and Sagarbandi are yet to receive electricity connections. Some of the villages have electric poles but the households have not been reached with proper connections. Notable amongst them are Harisingh, Talbandh, Khetpahari and Baromesya. 

The residents of the region mainly communicate in Alchiki, Oraon and Santali languages. We have worked in Birbhum briefly from 1994-96 and Com. Akal Mandi from this region was even an active member of our then state committee. In the anchals of Dewanganj and Hinglo, we met people who are not in favour of the coal mine being commissioned but have also come across a section of the community who feel that the mine project will benefit them economically. Though, the people do not trust the committee formed by the administration to do full justice to their legitimate claims. 

A significant number of the residents are not keen to give up their homestead and agricultural lands for the sake of a coal mine. The landless population are in favour of evaluating the full compensation package before taking a final decision. Representatives of mainstream political parties often visit the villages which have been proposed to be included in the coal mine project with the objective of mobilizing people to further the aspirations of the concerned political party. The people have experienced that such interactions do not benefit them in any manner and expose them to harassment meted out by the administration who are always on their toes to snuff out any opposition to their unilateral decisions. People from the anchals of Dewanganj and Sagarbandi are leading the protests against the administration which attempts to complete the land acquisition soon. The cadres of the ruling political party in the state are also not being allowed in these areas. Community mobilizers are planning to hold a meeting with the heads of the fourteen villages to chalk out a joint resistance strategy, involving democratic means of protests.   

PBKMS will also plan the nature of its intervention in association with the affected communities. Birbhum and particularly the villages which are falling under the area of the proposed coal mine happened to be our field area in the mid-90s. We plan to strengthen our organization over there along with active participation in the movement to ensure the ownership of the tribal community over jal, jangal and jamin. The administration has virtually halted all the projects pertaining to the development of social infrastructure with the hope of tiring out the communities in accessing public goods as well as basic necessities.       

All the conversations took place in the Alchiki language and we are thankful to our sathi Com. Somnath Baske, for helping us in having multiple conversations with the native speakers. The report has been prepared after translating the main subjects of the conversations into Bengali and noting them down during our return journey to Kolkata. 

Annual Review Meeting of PBKMS

PBKMS concludes a two-day annual review meeting at Badu training centre

PBKMS (Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity) conducted an annual review meeting with the activists presenting their progress reports and core activities undertaken by the respective district unit. The final membership figures from the block units and the subscription amount collected from each of the district units were collated to arrive at the consolidated membership figure of the union. Reporting systems were reviewed and a common form was proposed to include all the indicators for ease in handling of data. The union also undertook an evaluation of the work of the full-time activists and the district committees. Plans for three consecutive years were laid down and internal fund collection was stressed upon. Crowdfunding initiatives and the collection of food grains from field areas have been discussed. A special membership with higher subscription fees amongst the working middle class will be explored. A one-time special donation from workers of the public works programme will also be taken up to shore up the internal funds. Emphasis has been laid on generating resources to ensure that the union becomes sustainable on internal collection to support a rapid expansion of field areas, which will also entail supporting a larger number of full-time activists. Gradual increase in the subscription amount of members was proposed by the district coordinators with projections of increase in membership figures till 2024. A quarterly progress plan along with targets of the individual districts will be prepared by the secretariat after the respective coordinators conduct a round of consultation with the block and anchal committees.                        

Review meeting in progress at Badu, Kolkata

District plans being presented at the convention centre 

The plan of the union to support rural youths for one year to immerse them in organizing work has also been finalized which will aid us in identifying potential activists in the near future. The youths will be identified by the respective district unit and they will be converging for short stints of classroom training programmes with adequate field exposure and active participation in organizing work. Cultural committee and youth committee meetings have been finalized with the respective coordinators given charge of forming the committees at the district level. The schedule of the annual convention of the union and the nature of the selection of delegates along with other logistical details were conveyed to the participating activists by the organizing committee.