The Supreme Court verdict setting aside land acquisition for the Tata Nano project in Singur and ordering return of the illegally-acquired land to the peasants of Singur is a historic victory for the peasants’ movement.
The verdict vindicates the position argued by the Singur peasants and a range of democratic supporters throughout – that the land acquisition was illegal and immoral and robbed the peasants of their land, livelihood and rights in order to appease the corporate Tata.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front Government that had all along defended the Singur land grab was punished with electoral debacles. The Supreme Court verdict should be an occasion for the introspection and apology that the CPI(M) has resisted till date.
The Singur verdict should serve as a warning to the Modi Government and every other Government in the country that is trying to usher in land grab laws and snatch land from peasants and adivasis to hand over to corporates. It will serve as a boost in the arm for the ongoing struggles to scrap land grab laws and instead enact laws to protect agricultural, fertile, coastal and forest land from grab.
