Shahid Divas

On 18 December 2007 the first shahid divas (martyrs’ day) was held at a large field in Bajemelia. On this date a year earlier, the charred remains of the SKJRC activist Tapasi Malik, who had been raped and killed for her activism, had been found just inside the factory area, and today's shahid divas is held in honour of her memory, and of the memory of several other local movement activists who had lost their lives since the summer of 2006.

At 3 p.m. the turnout is still modest as only a few hundred people lounge on the field or stand around and gossip, drinking tea or nipping muri. In contrast, the large dais erected for the day is already crowded as a number of VIPs have arrived early. Among them are important leaders and a Rajya Sabha MP from the TMC; several well- known Bengali intellectuals and artists; Tapasi Malik's parents; and representatives from several smaller political parties. Becharam Manna, the SKJRC convener, who is sporting a black bandana, acts as a kind of organizer, making sure that the VIPs are comfortably seated, sending for tea and bottled water, or clearing space in front of the dais for the many reporters and cameramen. Tapasi Malik's photo adorns the dais and the shahid bedi, or martyrs’ pulpit, next to it. Dola Sen, a former Naxalite known for her closeness to Mamata Banerjee, is performing a couple of songs from the stage, but nobody appears to pay much attention.

Some 20 minutes later a big rally appears on the dirt road connecting this part of Bajemelia to the Expressway. The participants carry TMC flags and a large banner reading ‘Youth Trinamool Congress, Hooghly District’. They hail from different parts of the district and have been bussed to Gopalnagar, courtesy of their party. From there they have marched to Bajemelia. They smilingly call themselves ‘the foot soldiers of the TMC’, adding that they have come to Singur to support the unwilling farmers and because their party leader Mamata Banerjee will be speaking. As during so many other SKJRC rallies, Mamata Banerjee will be the main speaker and star attraction again today.

Many of the preceding chapters have indirectly dealt with the role of formal and informal leadership in the context of the movement to save the farmland.