Singur saga: How Tata's Nano car plant exit reshaped Bengal's political, industrial landscape

Kolkata: On the eve of Durga Puja in October 2008, industrialist Ratan Tata announced that Tata Motors would withdraw from the nearly completed Nano car plant in Singur, attributing the decision to Mamata Banerjee's anti-land acquisition movement, which he claimed had derailed what was meant to be a "groundbreaking project" -- the world's cheapest car.

The withdrawal marked the culmination of a bitter political conflict that significantly reshaped West Bengal's industrial and political landscape, and even 16 years later, the legacy of Singur is viewed as more than just a tale of missed opportunities.

Ratan Naval Tata breathed his last in Mumbai on Wednesday night. He was 86.

In 2006, Tata Motors announced the Nano project, a revolutionary car priced at just Rs 1 lakh, to make vehicle ownership affordable for millions of Indian families.

Singur, a rural area near Kolkata known for its multi-crop fertile agricultural land, was chosen as the manufacturing site by the Left Front government and Tata Motors.

The then chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who had called for rapid industrialisation to boost the state's economy, enthusiastically backed the project, hoping it would turn West Bengal into an industrial hub and end the flight of capital from the state.

However, the decision to establish the plant at Singur in Hooghly district faced fierce opposition from a group of farmers who refused to give up their land, sparking a bitter conflict that would ultimately derail the project.

The process of acquisition of around 1,000 acres of land for the plant triggered widespread unrest in Singur. While many farmers accepted compensation, many refused to part with their land, fearing the loss of their livelihoods.

Mamata Banerjee, then the opposition leader eager to revive her political fortunes after a setback in the 2006 assembly polls, quickly rallied behind the farmers, demanding the return of 400 acres of land from those who had not willingly sold it. She led fierce protests against what she called the "forcible acquisition" of land.

In June 2008, the TMC's unprecedented victory in the panchayat elections in Purba Medinipur, South 24 Parganas, and Singur area gave her movement fresh momentum, and by August, she launched an indefinite sit-in outside the factory gates, drawing thousands of supporters and further intensifying the standoff.

Despite attempts by the then governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who played the role of the mediator between the Left Front government and Banerjee, to resolve the impasse, the deadlock persisted, ultimately leading to the Tatas exiting Singur.

Ratan Tata, who dubbed the decision to withdraw from Singur as "painful," had blamed Banerjee for it and at a press conference famously said, "I think Ms Banerjee has pulled the trigger," referring to her relentless opposition.

In an open letter published in local newspapers in 2008, he urged the people of West Bengal to choose between the "modern infrastructure and industrial growth" under Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's government or see the "state consumed by a destructive political environment of confrontation, agitation, violence, and lawlessness.".

Banerjee and the TMC, however, accused Tata of political bias and reiterated that their opposition was not to industrialisation but to the forcible acquisition of fertile farmland.

Shortly after the withdrawal from Singur, Tata Motors announced that it would relocate the Nano plant to Sanand, Gujarat.

The then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi rolled out the red carpet, resulting in the swift setup of the nano plant and the commencement of production.

The Singur movement profoundly influenced West Bengal's politics by elevating Mamata Banerjee to prominence, as her fierce opposition to land acquisition resonated with rural voters and led her party, the TMC, to secure 19 seats in the 2009 general elections, up from just one in 2004.

It ultimately enabled her to end over three decades of Left Front rule in 2011 and solidify her reputation as a champion for West Bengal's marginalised and rural communities.

Soon after coming to power in 2011, Mamata Banerjee's government ordered the return of land taken from farmers for the Nano plant, prompting police to take possession overnight and leading to a court battle when Tata Motors contested the decision; ultimately, in 2016, the Supreme Court ordered the return of the land to its original owners, resulting in the demolition of the abandoned factory.

Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty blamed the TMC for pursuing destructive politics to serve its vested political purpose.

"The TMC sacrificed the interests of West Bengal for its vested interests. Despite so many business summits, the state has failed to attract any major investments in the manufacturing or heavy industry sector in the last 14 years," he said.

The TMC, however, has defended its stance, with leaders emphasising that they were never against industrialisation but against the forcible acquisition of farmland.

"We have made several efforts over the past decade to bring industry into the state, and we've succeeded," said TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.

Political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said the loss of Tata's Nano project had repercussions for West Bengal, "creating uncertainty among industrialists hesitant to invest in the state due to fears of similar political obstacles."