Farmers and laborers have been protesting non-violently to prevent the government from illegally acquiring their fertile land for a car factory. The 1000 acres of land under contention is 6-12 crop producing, highly fertile land that is being sold to TATA motors. 

The government has violated all the procedures under the 1894 Land Acquisition Act, keeping the panchayats and zilla parshads in the dark. The government refused to release information even under the RTI act, with the Chief Minister calling it a ‘trade secret’. The alternative wastelands around Singur were deemed unacceptable by TATA motors. The villagers are being offered compensation in cash for the land, which is half the market price.

On the night of 25-26 September 2006, the police lathi charged peaceful demonstrators protesting the land takeover. Hundreds were severely injured and 72 put behind bars. Even young women holding their children were put behind bars on charges of murder. Rajkumar Bhul, 26, lost his life due to the assault. Singur protestors wish to ask the world is it fair to lose a fertile piece of land, which supports hundreds of farmers to a car factory in the name of development when there is an alternative land available? For more information, click here

AID volunteers do their bit for Singur
With IT support from our volunteer Harsha Belludi and the AID IT team, AID started an online petition in support of the Singur protestors on December 3, 2006, barely a day after the second police crackdown. By the night of the 4th, they had collected over 200 signatures and AID volunteer Priya Ranjan faxed it the same night to the Governor, CM, Minister for Land Reform, etc. Today, the petition has 481 signatures from many countries. This is an example of how AID volunteers use email/internet campaigns to rapidly marshal support against ongoing injustice in India. AID Jeevansaathis Ravi and Aravinda, as well as AID Kolkata volunteer Rahul sent an open letter to the CM about this issue. AID Boston volunteer Somnath Mukherji also wrote an article on Singur in the Statesman.