Nandigram

Nandigram is a census town in the Nandigram I Community Development Block of the Haldia subdivision in the Purba Medinipur district of the Indian state of West Bengal.[1]

This article is about the census town in West Bengal, India. For its namesake community development blocks, see Nandigram I and Nandigram II. For its namesake assembly constituency, see Nandigram (Vidhan Sabha constituency). For the Bangladeshi upazila, see Nandigram Upazila.

Nandigram
Census town
Nandigram
Location in West Bengal, India
Nandigram
Nandigram (India)
Coordinates: 22.01°N 87.99°E / 22.01; 87.99
Country India
StateWest Bengal
DistrictPurba Medinipur
Area
 • Total2.5577 km2 (0.9875 sq mi)
Elevation
6 m (20 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total5,803
 • Density2,300/km2 (5,900/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialBengali, English
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationWB
Lok Sabha constituencyTamluk
Vidhan Sabha constituencyNandigram
Websitepurbamedinipur.gov.in

In 2007, the West Bengal government allowed the Salim Group to set up a chemical hub at Nandigram under the special economic zone policy.[2] This led to resistance by the villagers resulting in clashes with the police that left 14 villagers dead, and resulted in accusations of police brutality.

Geography
Cities and towns in Haldia subdivision of Purba Medinipur district
M: municipal city/town, CT: census town, R: rural/urban centre, S: port
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

Police station

Nandigram's police station has jurisdiction over the Nandigram I and Nandigram II community development blocks. Nandigram's police station covers an area of 251.25 km2 with a population of 279,285.[3][4]

Urbanisation

79.19% of the Haldia subdivision's population lives in rural areas. Only 20.81% of the population lives in urban areas, and that is the highest proportion of urban population amongst the four subdivisions in the Purba Medinipur district.[5]

Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Nandigram had a total population of 5,803 of which 2,947 (51%) were males and 2,856 (49%) were females. There were 725 people below the age of 6. The total number of literate people in Nandigram was 4,512 (88.85% of the population over 6 years old).[6]

Infrastructure

According to the District Census Handbook 2011, Nandigram covered an area of 2.5577 km2. The town had 25 streetlights, 490 domestic electric connections, 4 medicine shops, 5 primary schools, 2 middle schools, 2 secondary schools, a senior secondary school and a college.[7]

People of Nandigram

Although this part of Bengal has not been actively highlighted in Indian history during the British period, the area had been a part of active politics from the British era. With the help of the people of Nandigram, "Tamluk" was freed from the British by Ajoy Mukherjee, Sushil Kumar Dhara, Satish Chandra Samanta and their friends for a few days (which is the only part of modern India to be freed twice), before India gained independence in 1947.

In post-Independent India, Nandigram had been a centre of learning and played a major part in the development of Haldia, a satellite town of Calcutta (Kolkata). Fresh vegetables, rice and fish are supplied to Haldia from Nandigram. The Ganga (Bhagirathi) and Haldi (downstream of Kanshabati) cover the edges of Nandigram, and the land is fertilized by both the rivers.

Conflict over proposed chemical hub
Ramsey Clark, the former Attorney General of United States visited Nandigram in November 2007 and expressed his solidarity to the poor peasants of the area who were tortured by the CPI(M),[8][9]

The controversy over the state government plan to build a chemical hub in Nandigram led opposition parties to organise against the acquisition of land. The Trinamool Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Socialist Unity Center of India (SUCI),Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Indian National Congress cooperated to establish the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee (BUPC, 'Committee against Land Evictions'). A large number of supporters of the ruling CPI(M) party also joined them. The aim of the BUPC was to protect the farmers' lands. However, the top leadership of the ruling party described the agitation as being against industrialization. The propaganda carried by pro-government media talked of jobs for a large number of unemployed youths of the state of West Bengal and made claims of a boost to development in the area. According to the version propagated by the party, the region would have become industrial and would have attracted further investments and jobs to the state. The main opposition party, the TMC, maintains that they are opposed to "poorly planned projects carried out with inhuman methods".

The situation came to a head when the MP from nearby Haldia took a proactive role in the project. The Haldia Development Authority issued a notice for land acquisition. Several supporters of both the CPI(M) and the BUPC were attacked by opponents. Both sides amassed large quantities of arms and several clashes resulted in incidents of arson, murder, and rape. When the ruling party sought to reestablish its previous domination, it mobilised the administration to remove blockades and restore "normalcy". On the night of 14 March 2007, the party's cadre allegedly bolstered by hired criminals from the state and outside, conducted a joint operation with the state police. They killed at least 14 people (the officially admitted number, very likely a gross underestimate), maiming many more and allegedly committing numerous infanticides and rapes. There were allegations of removal of evidence in the form of dead bodies and injured persons.

Several writers, artists, poets, and academicians took a strong position against the police firing which in turn brought significant international attention.

However, there has been some division in Bengal. While Mahasweta Devi, Aparna Sen, Saonli Mitra, Suvaprasanna, Joy Goswami, Kabir Suman, and Bratya Basu along with the environmental activist Medha Patkar condemned the government; Soumitra Chatterjee, Nirendranath Chakraborty, Tarun Majumdar defended the Chief Minister on the development issue. Just after the 14 of March, pro-government intellectuals spoke in favour of the Chief Minister which includes the novelists Buddhadeb Guha and Debesh Roy, the writer Amitava Chaudhuri, the poet Mallika Sengupta, the actors Dilip Roy, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, and Usha Ganguly, the singers Amar Pal, Shuvendu Maiti, Utpalendu Chaudhuri, and Indranil Sen, the sarod exponent Buddhadev Dasgupta, the historian Aniruddha Roy, the football player P K Banerjee, the architect Sailapati Guha, the scientist Saroj Ghosh, and the poet Nirendranath Chakravarty who presided over a gathering at Science City auditorium, Kolkata.[10] According to media reports on the gathering, Debesh Roy stated that "no private investment was made in West Bengal between 1947 and 2005". Mr. Roy also claimed that "No country in this world has offered so much compensation to farmers as the left front government. I will make a public apology if I am proved wrong."[11] Mr. Roy's statements were challenged and refuted with data in a letter to the editor by a researcher for the same newspaper in which he was quoted.[12] However, intellectuals such as Sumit & Tanika Sarkar, Praful Bidwai & Sankha Ghosh remained critical of the government. One interesting side of the widespread protest against land expropriation in Nandigram by the then left front government was the silence of the opposition parties and the intellectuals just about a decade ago when large scale land acquisition accompanied with protests by the farmers took place in the rural areas of the erstwhile Midnapore(now Paschim Medinipur) district of West Bengal [13]

In the aftermath of the West Bengal government's Special Economic Zone policy, in the elections of May 2008, CPI(M) and its allies were defeated in Nandigram and adjoining areas by the Trinamool Congress-SUCI alliance.[14] The Trinamool Congress-SUCI alliance and the Congress wrested the Zilla Parishads from the CPI-M in three districts of the 16 districts of West Bengal out of the hands of CPI(M) after about 30 years.

See also: Nandigram violence

Health

In March 2001, Nandigram II Block of Medinipur District claimed to have achieved full toilet coverage in the entire block.[15]

Transport

There is no rail connection directly to Nandigram, and roadways are moderately developed. Buses, jitney trekkers and van rickshaws are the primary public vehicles inside the villages.

The nearest railway station is Mograjpur, connecting from Digha - Tamluk. The nearest busy bus stop is in Math Chandipur. 5-7 direct buses are available from the Howrah station and 2 from Esplanade while other direct buses come from Digha, Haldia, Geonkhali, and Mecheda. Tekkers come every 30 minutes at (Math) Chandipur.

Nandigram is connected to Haldia by a ferry. This ferry service is an important mode of transport for farmers and small traders from Nandigram, who use this service to reach Haldia's market to sell their commodities. Haldia Municipality runs this ferry service.[16]

Within the village, houses are not very close to each other so people have to walk long distances, as van rickshaws are incapable of traveling on the small mud roads.

Education

The area has a college - Sitananda College, also known as Nandigram College, affiliated to Vidyasagar University. There are several other schools in Nandigram, including Asadtala Binode Vidyapith, Debipur Milan Vidyapith, Nandigram BMT Siksha Niketan, Nandigram Girls' High School, Banamali Sikshaniketan, Ryapara Girls' High School, Khodam Bari Higher Secondary School, Nandigram Sitananda College, Samsadad Dhanyakhola Vidyapith,Rajaram Chak siksha Niketan, Mahammadpur Sibnarayan Sikshayatan, Manuchak Milan Vidyapith, Durgapur High School, Kultolia Balika Vidyapith, Narayan Chak High School, Akandabari High School, Daudpur Siksha Sadan (high school), Amdabad High School, and Nibedita Girls High School.

Healthcare

Nandigram Rural Hospital (with 30 beds) is the main medical facility in Nandigram. There are two primary health centres in Nandigram, and they are Mohammadpur PO Nilpur (with 10 beds) and Mahespur PO Parulbari (with 6 beds).[17]

See also

References
  1. "Haldia Development Authority". Archived from the original on 31 October 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2007.
  2. The Telegraph - Calcutta : Frontpage Story on Nandigram
  3. "District Statistical Handbook 2014 Purba Medinipur". Tables 2.1, 2.2. Department of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  4. "Nandigram PS". Purba Medinipur District Police. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  5. "District Statistical Handbook 2014 Purba Medinipur". Table 2.2. Department of Planning and Statistics, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  6. "C.D. Block Wise Primary Census Abstract Data(PCA)". 2011 census: West Bengal – District-wise CD Blocks. Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  7. "District Census Handbook Purba Medinipur, Census of India 2011, Series 20, Part XII A" (PDF). Section II Town Directory, Statement I: Growth History, Pages 1207-1209; Statement II: Physical Aspects and Location of Towns, Page 1210; Statement III: Civic and other Amenities, Pages 1211-1212; Statement IV: Medical Facilities 2009, Pages 1212-1213; Section: Educational, Recreational and Cultural Facilities, Pages 1213-1215. Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  8. "Nandigram says 'No!' to Dow's chemical hub"
  9. Nandigram people's struggle "heroic" : Clark Archived 2012-02-17 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 July 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. The Statesman, 22 April 2007
  12. Guha,A.'The real picture',A letter to the editor,The Statesman, 10 May 2007
  13. Guha, A.'Peasant Resistance in West Bengal a Decade before Singur and Nandigram' Economic and Political Weekly 15 September 2007, pp.3706-3711
  14. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=1&id=231689&usrsess=1 Archived 5 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine Cracks in Red Citadel
  15. "The Hindu 11 May 2003". Archived from the original on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
  16. Subhendu Ray, Kanchan Chakraborty and Kartik Panda (7 May 2007). "Without the ferry, Nandigram remains cut off". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 July 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  17. "Health & Family Welfare Department". Health Statistics. Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
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