Is there any hope for people’s movements these days? Cynics surely would have an upper hand in a debate on this question. There are too many examples of failed protests. So here is a counter-example, from the land of the Mahatma – or of Modi, depending on how you look at it.
Gujarat’s ruling BJP swept local-body elections last month, capturing all major municipalities. What the national media didn’t tell us was that it suffered losses in Mahuva of Bhavnagar district. It was trounced not by the Congress but by a citizens’ panel called Sadbhavna Seva Samiti, put together by Dr Kanubhai Kalsaria.
Kalsaria, a BJP legislator from Mahuva, is now a rebel as he has sided with people protesting the state government’s move to allot land to the Nirma group for a cement factory. The 268-hectare land includes water bodies that have revived farming in this otherwise drought-prone region of Saurashtra.
Affected farmers launched the protests in May 2008, a month after the land allotment. The movement gained momentum in 2009 when Gandhian activists and civil society joined in. They held a mega rally on February 25 in Ahmedabad, which was a grand success despite the Emergency-like detentions of movement leaders.
Still, many of these leaders had little faith in their non-violent methods. The foremost among the Gandhian leaders, Chunibhai Vaidya, had not doubted Gandhi’s way when he led Jayaprakash Narayan-inspired Lok Sangharsh Samiti in Gujarat during the emergency, but this time he did. “is there a point in Gandhi’s bhajans while Nirma, in collusion with the state, destroys thousands of lives,” he asked, when my colleague Brajesh Kumar met him at his home in the historic Sabarmati Ashram complex. (Read the story, “This land is ripe for a lot of trouble”).
Ironically, the 92-year-old Gandhian’s rethink comes during the rule of someone who was part of that Lok Sangharsh Samiti as an RSS representative, who spoke JP’s language and opposed Indira Gandhi’s high-handed rule.
Another irony is that it was Kalsaria, Modi’s own MLA, who maintained his faith in non-violence. “We are up for a long struggle and I am sure the victory will be ours. The factory cannot be built on the land for a water body,” he told Governance Now in May.
And he was right. The Sadbhavna panel of farmers and former BJP activists has won nine of the 27 seats it contested in Mahuva taluka of Bhavnagar district panchayat. Out of the total 31 Mahuva seats, BJP has retained 14 and the Congress has eight. Thus, Sadbhavna now decides who will rule Mahuva and the indications are that it will align with the Congress (which has not supported the agitation and did not have an election tie-up with the panel).
“This is a victory of villagers. This is the win of agitation against Nirma,” Kalsaria was quoted as saying.
Surely, a strong signal for Modi.
Meanwhile, Chunibhai – or Chunikaka, as he has been popularly known in Gujarat’s civil society – was honoured with the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation Award last week. The honour is seen as recognition of his leadership of the Mahuva agitation.
“There have been instances in Gujarat where the government has refused to give land to landless people, saying they do not have land. On the other hand, business groups have been given thousands of acres acquired from farmers,” Chunikaka said after receiving the award from president Pratibha Patil on October 29 in Mumbai.
“I have taken a basic issue and initiated a movement demanding legislation that the ownership of natural resources be with society and not the government. The movement is gaining ground,” he added.
Morale of the story: patience pays – more so when coupled with non-violence.
PS: In case you are wondering, the matter of land allotment is before the Gujarat High Court. Nirma did negotiate with people and was ready to give up part of the land, but farmers have insisted on saving the water body.
