Indian Muslims protest communist move on farm land
Source: Reuters
By Bappa Majumdar KOLKATA, India, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Indian Muslims marched in the city of Kolkata on Thursday, some holding placards reading "Shed your blood, don't give up your land", to protest the acquisition of farm land for industry. They were angry at efforts by the communist government of West Bengal state to secure land for setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and large-scale manufacturing projects. Earlier this month, at least five people were killed and dozens injured when communist supporters clashed with opposition and Muslim activists opposed to the plan for setting up an 14,500 acre (5,800 hectares) economic zone in the west of the state. "We are not against industry and we want progress but please, spare our agriculture fields," said Siddiqullah Choudhury, general secretary of Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind, one of the biggest bodies for India's 140-million Muslims. Nearby, some protesters, wearing white tunics and colourful skull caps, shouted slogans against the government while holding up placards which read: "No industry on farm land." Many farmers who stand to lose their lands are Muslims. The community makes up around 27 percent of the eastern state's population of 80 million. The question of the compulsory purchase of farm land for industrial development is becoming one of the most controversial issues facing Indian economic policy makers. An economically booming India has approved proposals for at least 180 Special Economic Zones but has been hit by protests in several states because many of the approved sites are on prime agricultural land, officials and analysts say. That has prompted the federal government to consider a review of its SEZ policy and how it impacts farmers. The resistance in West Bengal has been particularly intense as its long-serving communist rulers have redistributed land to millions of poor peasants, part of India's most successful land reform program. "Reversing the mindset of the farmers is proving to be difficult as their attachment to land, especially in West Bengal, is more," Abhirup Sarkar, a Kolkata-based economist, said. But in the past few years, the communists have been wooing foreign and domestic investors and want the special zones for new factories. It needs thousands of acres of agricultural fields because there is very little rural land that has not been used for farming, partly thanks to the effectiveness of land reforms. "In most future SEZ projects, Muslim farmers will bear most of the brunt, which cannot be tolerated," Choudhury said. Muslim protesters, many of them farmers, were joined by opposition party activists in central Kolkata.
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