Poor farmers up in arms against eviction, rallying under red flags

After Bhangar in South 24-parganas now at Galsi in Burdwan. Everywhere in rural Bengal farmers, poor and marginal, are up in arms against land grabbers. Emboldened by the victory of the Trinamool Congress-Congress combine in the recently-held Assembly elections landlords had raised an “army of Trinamool gangsters“ to evict peasants from land they have been cultivating as sharecroppers or bargadars and pattadars. It was the Left Front government that had given them the right to cultivation immediately after coming to power in West Bengal 34

years ago.

What the evicted peasants of Bhangar did in the name of resistance against eviction at Bhangar was an eye-opener for the poor farmers across rural Bengal. Led by Basudeb Sardar , Golak Munda an Bharat Munda hundreds of farmers who were evicted by landlord and jotedars put an organized resistance and finally took possession of their captured land. After holding back of their land they took out a procession of which the peasant women carrying red flags were front-liners.According to the CPI(M) leaders and local MLA Abdur Rezzak Mollah, more than 400 bighas of cultivable khas ( government land ) land which was distributed among poor pattadars had been forcibly occupied by Trinamool gangsters. Because of strong resistance movement the entire plot of land was recaptured by poor farmers under the leadership of the CPI (M). In the morning of July 25, Galsi witnessed a similar form of resistance that took place at Bhangar a day before with hundreds of slogan raising peasants carrying red flags to take possession of their land from where they had been forcibly ousted by landlords with help of Trinamool gangsters and police. They were able to recapture about 15 bighas of land under Paraj Jotekolkol mouza at Galsi. After taking possession of the land from where they were evicted the poor farmers undertook necessary work for cultivation. They planted red flags in the field.Before eviction some of the farmers like Seikh Asnar, Seikh Askari, Seikh Aed Nabi, Seikh Denwara , despite repeated warning by elderly peasants like Sheikhlal Mahammed and Sattar Mullick, joined the local Trinamool camp. But soon they realized the mistake they had committed when their land was also forcibly captured by the jotedars. Leaving Trinamool camp they have again come back to rally under the banner of Krishak Sabha and fight against eviction.After taking possession of their land the poor farmers took out a procession covering a wide area in Galsi to send a message of resistance against eviction.