An assessment of the last three years’ performance of the West Bengal State Unit of All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS) in a nutshell depicts multifarious peasant movements under AIKMS leadership in the state.

There have been struggles and movements on issues like occupation of vest land, increase of wages, establishment of barga right, demand for ration cards, corruption in panchayats etc. Rallies and strikes have been organized at places demanding appropriate procurement prices of crops. There have been struggles against CPM’s corruption in the state, and also on the demand for civic amenities like roads and drinking water, compensation for the victims of flood and of other calamities. AIKMS also organized relief works on different occasions. These movements and struggles have taken place in various districts of the state.

(A) There have been struggles for occupation of lands at several places – 12 acres of land in Kamardanga village (Sonamukhi) in Bankura district, 6 acres of vest land in Bamangola in Malda district. The peasants have kept the entire produce from these lands for themselves this year, despite pressures from CPM, administration and the police, and even physical attacks from PWG.

(B) A movement for rise of wages of labourers in the Kangsabati Canal Project in Sarenga-Goaltora areas bordering Bankura and Midnapur districts has been the most significant AIKMS-led movement in the state over these years. The workers of the project were paid at a rate much less than that set by the government. The local units of AIKMS started a publicity campaign, demanding wages at the governmental rate. The campaign gained massive support from the workers. It then organized a strike after sensing support from the general masses. The strike lasted for 19 days. More than five thousand people participated in the strike and it spread over fifty villages. Ultimately the contractors of the project were forced to sign an agreement with AIKMS, which raised the wage from Rs. 40 per day to Rs. 55 per day. This successful struggle, which started just after the formation of AIKMS, worked as a massive driving force for the organization.

But subsequent development in the area worked as a hindrance to the utilization of the fruits of a successful movement. Just a day after the conclusion of the strike, PWG killed the president of the Sarenga Panchyat Samiti. CPM used the incident to launch an anti-Naxalite campaign in the area and police repression followed. This caused a break-up in the link with those fifty villages that participated in the movement.

(C) Another movement for wage enhancement deserves special mention. It was built up in the Raipur Block just after the conclusion of the last assembly election.

CPM’s success in village areas during the last assembly election was largely due to support from landless labourers. After the election, AIKMS initiated the movement for wages in Raipur. The landless labourers strongly responded to this movement in large numbers. In fact, these labourers, who supported CPM during the elections, joined the movement and added new life to it. The owners of lands, irrespective of their party affiliations, stood in opposition to the movement. During the movement, agricultural labourers, irrespective of their party positions, stood united on the basis of their class position and in opposition to the interests of the landowners.

The movement gradually spread over different villages. There was a significant rise in the wage of the labourers from Rs. 25 per day to Rs. 36 per day. The intensity of the movement can be gauged from the fact that it spread to even those areas where our organization is yet to emerge. The local labourers organized the movement in their areas on their own initiative.

Such a picture emerged in Oltora village of Barajora tehsil too. The villagers were distinctly divided into two camps – AIKMS and the landless labourers from other parties on one side, and the landlords from CPM, TMC and BJP.

(D) A protracted struggle is going on regarding railway lands for a long time in Rampur village of Sonamukhi block in Bankura district. In order to suppress this movement the police unleashed massive repression on the cadres, attacked their houses, and imposed cases on them; while the local leadership of CPM stood by the side of the owners of the lands. Despite the attacks, the movement is on and is fast approaching a conclusive stage. The landless labourers have occupied 24 bighas of railway land through this struggle, cultivated the lands and reaped the produce.

(E) Another successful movement was conducted in Suata village in Burdwan village on the issue of financial misappropriation of local CPM leadership regarding electricity connections. As a result of the movement the CPM local leadership was forced to return the money and the administration, who earlier sided with CPM, had to accept the charges of corruption.

The movement caused a lot of embarrassment to CPM. They openly threatened Com. Badre Alam with his life and pressurized those who alleged their corruption to withdraw their charges. This movement exposed CPM’s corruption on one side and expanded the mass base of AIKMS. It spread the message of the movement in wide areas and commanded support from wider sections of the masses.