Veteran Naxalite backs Buddha, guns for Singur opponents

KOLKATA: Naxalite groups in West Bengal, who are siding with the Trinamool Congress in opposing land acquisition for industrial use in West Bengal, suffered a blow when one of their own came out in support of the industrialisation drive.

Azizul Haque, firebrand Naxalite veteran from the 1960s, blasted those agitating against the Tata Motors project at Singur, echoing Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s comment that a farmer’s son should not stick to being a farmer.

In his 1000-word article published in a leading vernacular daily in Kolkata, Haque said if generations of farmers continue to depend on agriculture, they will lose out in the long run.

“Farmers will continue producing the raw materials for alcoholic spirits while the urban elite will continue enjoying the final product,” he wrote.

Haque, who spent several years in jail at the peak of the Naxalite movement, spoke of his interactions with people from rural Bengal, who migrate to Kolkata for work. “All of them are landowners, but the earnings from that quarter are not enough,” he said.

Haque had a piece of advice for the CPI(M), asking it to be patient in dealing with the crisis.

Haque also criticised the party for failing to make farmers aware of the changes in the world. “Had they educated farmers in advance, this could have been avoided,” he said.