(The following article is from the September 1-15, 2008, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By B. Prasant, PV correspondent in India

Biman Basu (Bimanda), secretary of the Bengal unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) spoke to People's Voice on August 7 on the recent developments at Singur and Nandigram. In both places, elements of the reactionary right and the sectarian left are using murder and mayhem to stop the process of economic development, such as construction of the Singur vehicle plant.

PV: Bimanda, CPI(M) workers are being killed at Nandigram, mayhem is being carried out there, and in the meanwhile, the Singur motor vehicles factory has come under fire from a section of the Bengal opposition who demand that 400 acres of acquired land should be returned to "rightful owners?" How would you react to all this?

Biman Basu: The need of the hour is not strife, not attack and counter-attack, slandering and mayhem, harassment of the people and disruption of development. Without peace and amity, no development work, especially pro-people development work, can take place.

     Allow me to give you a few other instances of larger dimensions but of similar nature. When the Sino-Indian border dispute took place back in 1962 over the identification of the border, the "McMahon Line," the Communist Party spoke strongly in favour of negotiations between China and India, between the Chinese government and the Congress-led Indian government. Although for saying this, the Communist Party leaders were promptly put behind bars. 

     We shall give the example also of the fratricidal, almost religious war in Lebanon where Beirut was rendered into a bombed, ruined city. There, too, negotiations took place and the issue was sought to be, and finally was, settled amicably. Similarly, one could tackle the bleeding Kashmir and its unique problem through peaceful negotiations, as we say, "across the table." What prevents a dialogue taking place on the Singur and the Nandigram issues?

     On the question of return of the land, Nirupam, our industries minister has said how difficult it is to gather together scattered parcels of land and then find the owners, and then organise a fresh compensation. The task is an improbable one, without rhyme or reason. The demand is being made for motivated reasons. 

     An industry is being set up at Singur. A motor vehicles factory is coming up, 85% and more of the work has been completed. The factory will generate a lot of employment. The solution to the violence impasse which has started anew is a dialogue, dialogue with the state government with a free and open mind.

     The opposition, especially the Trinamul Congress has won many seats at Singur at the Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samity (village) level. It devolves on them to ensure that the wheel of development does not slowly stop. The onus is on them, the opportunity is for them to serve the people in a constructive manner. This is not done by making demands that are unreal and impractical.

PV: What would you say about the Nandigram killings? CPI(M) leaders, workers, and supporters have been murdered in a series of recent attacks.

Biman Basu: Well, I would still hold that peace and development go hand-in-hand. I denounce the killings strongly; there no words strong enough to express my condemnation. I despise politics of individual assassination and yet, I appeal to the party and the persons concerned at Nandigram who are responsible for these inhuman acts, to desist from encouraging the poor to kill the poor.     Anti-social elements are brought in under the protection and patronage of the Trinamul Congress and the Maoists, and our men killed, injured, wounded, harassed, driven away. Party offices as well as residences are burnt to cinder. This must not go on. 

     Trinamul Congress controls the Zillah Parishad (district government). The people have voted them in there. Does it not devolve on them the task of carrying forward the amicability of the earlier months during the end of the last year and the beginning of the New Year in the run up to the rural polls? 

     We need peace, we need amicable environment, we need responsible behaviour from the opposition, and we want dialogue at Nandigram and at Singur. Peace should prevail over everything. 

     I hear that the Trinamul Congress leadership have called for a dialogue with the entrepreneurs building the motor vehicles project at Singur. Would it not have been better had they spoken to the state Left Front government first? Our industries minister has already called for such a dialogue.