Over 600 Dalits and Muslims have been killed in Nandigram, most of them in the last week, claimed Dalit activist Dr Udit Raj, quoting a report from the West Bengal unit of the Indian Justice Party and the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations. Dr Raj is president of the IJP and chairman of the confederation.
In a press release, Dr Udit Raj claimed this was the reason why the media and social activists were kept out of the area.
Most residents of Nandigram are Muslims and Dalits, and that is the reason why this particular area was chosen to establish a Special Economic Zone, claimed Dr Udit Raj, also a member of the National Integration Council.
According to the release, the West Bengal unit of the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations staged a dharna to protest the brutalities committed against the locals in Nandigram.
The release further states that the Justice Sachhar Committee, set up to improve the life of Muslims, revealed that under the Left Front government, the Muslim population in Bengal is continuously overlooked, resulting in low literacy rates and low levels of employment.
The release added that social activist like Medha Patekar, CPI-ML leader Dipankar Bhattacharya and others should view the Nandigram violence from the perspective of class and communal divisions.