Organized under the banners of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All India Agricultural Workers’ Union (AIAWU) of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) thousands of farmers started marching from Singur towards Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal Tuesday.
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The march will culminate in front of Governor Raj Bhavan’s house Wednesday when a delegation of farmers will meet the governor of West Bengal Keshari Nath Tripathi to present their demands, especially the return of cultivable lands. Farmers from other cities will also join the march.
In 2006, the creation of an auto plant in Singur made the lands uncultivable. The auto plant was later displaced to another state after a huge protest by farmers and civil society.
In that context, current Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee from the Trinamool Congress party promised the return of cultivable land to the farmers, which has not been realized until now.
While a delegation of farmers meets with the Governor, the protesters will gather at Rani Rashmoni Road in Kolkata where speeches and programs will be held.
Farmers are marching while chanting slogans against the state and central governments, condemning them for being anti-worker and anti-peasant.
This march is also building up towards a large national march in Delhi on Nov. 29 and 30 when farmers from all over the country will gather in the capital city Delhi waving red flags and demanding their right.
Indian farmers and workers from the formal and informal sectors are organizing regular rallies in different parts of the country after a protest was organized in March by AIKS in the state of Maharashtra where over 50,000 farmers marched from Nashik to Mumbai, India’s financial capital, demanding the right to a dignified life.