Singur was a defining agitation that changed the course of Bengal’s history and marked the beginning of the end of the Left Front government. It was a public protest by local farmers that received the political backing of Trinamool Congress and Mamata Banerjee, turning it into a movement.
Cut to 2024, many wonder if the local women of Sandeshkhali — wielding brooms and sticks in their hands after getting BJP’s political backing — can be the harbingers of TMC’s Singur moment.
However, the Bengal of 2024 is not the Bengal of 2006. Hence, despite BJP’s consistent and multi-pronged efforts, Sandeshkhali is not TMC’s Singur — not yet.
Suvendu is not the Mamata of 2006
Suvendu Adhikari, who has learnt the tricks of the trade from his mentor Mamata Banerjee during his tenure in TMC, is pulling it all on her as Sandeshkhali unravels. He reached Sandeshkhali amid loud cheers and emotional optics of locals holding him, sat down wherever he was stopped by the police earlier and gave powerful bytes to TV crews, making direct attacks at the chief minister.
However, Adhikari — Bengal BJP’s biggest leader — needs to up his game to match the levels of the Mamata Banerjee of 2006 and the years after. When stopped from entering Sandeshkhali, Adhikari turned to Calcutta High Court and was given reprieve. But when he still wasn’t allowed to enter, it was the division bench of the court that facilitated his entry. Banerjee, as an opposition leader, would rarely turn to courts but get into a face-off with the police.
In fact, as a youth Congress leader, she was brutally attacked by police on July 21, 1993, when an alleged police firing killed 13 youth Congress workers marching to Writers Building — the Secretariat — during Left rule.
When Singur was peaking, Banerjee launched an indefinite hunger strike at Esplanade in Kolkata which continued for 25 days. Finally, on December 28, 2006, Banerjee withdrew her strike after letters from then President APJ Abdul Kalam and then prime minister Manmohan Singh.
These are a few examples of the fiery opposition leader Banerjee was. Can Adhikari launch a 25-day hunger strike in the heart of Kolkata demanding justice for Sandeshkhali today? The answer determines the difference.
Mamata is not the Buddhadeb of 2006
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, for the first time in decades, ventured into uncharted territory and sought industrialisation of the state, resulting in his downfall. As Tata Nano was ready to be manufactured from Singur, the land agitation led by Banerjee turned a soft-spoken chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya almost apologetic.
Not only did he lose grip over administration, the police force too wasn’t allowed to crack down and the agitation grew with each day. In fact, Bhattacharya, who was known more for his artistic qualities, would publicly scold top cops for lathi-charge or use of force to bring peace. This brought disorientation among the force and vigour within the agitation.
Compare it with Sandeshkhali where Banerjee has sent her DGP Rajiv Kumar to the island that requires a ferry and then a ‘tuk tuk’ to reach and asked him to spend a night there to send out a message. Immediate confidence-building measures followed such as giving new footballs and jerseys to local kids and bringing them to a playground where they were prohibited to step foot so far. Singur, in the past, was allowed to be left out, only to be exploited by the Opposition.
Kumar held meetings with ADG South Bengal Supratim Sarkar, Basirhat Police District SP Hasan Mehedi Rehman and other police officers. He also visited the adjoining islands of Situlia, Sardarpara, and Manipur on Wednesday evening to get a sense of the situation on ground.
The anger in Sandeshkhali is fuelled by alleged land grabbing, forced labour and even sexual assault of women. Their primary anger is targeted at TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan who continues to be on the run and his associates — Uttam Sardar and Shibu Hajra — both of whom have been arrested.
“If there is any incident regarding land grabbing or anything else, we will take strict action against those found guilty. If people are found involved in torturing, we will take appropriate action against them,” Kumar assured.
Though Sandeshkhali continues to be angry and on the edge, it is far from what Singur was — a virtual war zone with agitators having access to firearms and crude bombs. After police intervention in Singur, Bhattacharya would ask police to be ‘restrained” while Banerjee showed confidence in her men in uniform. The two approaches are very different.
The BJP, meanwhile, refuses to let the momentum die, with an all-women delegation visiting Sandeshkhali on Friday. The BJP released a documentary on Sandeshkhali Thursday morning mimicking a Prashant Kishor-run campaign for TMC ’Didike Bolo’ (Tell Didi). Late on Thursday night, the BJP Bengal president held a dharma demanding the arrest of Sheikh Shahjahan.
But is Sandeshkhali TMC’s Singur? Not yet.
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