.... if builders offer him more money? If the answer is no then we must agree that even the poor farmers of Singur have every right to refuse to sell their land.
Heres the whole story IMO:
Ratan tata wanted land and WB govt CPM wanted pretigious industrial projects comming into WB. Why not! even big brother China has changed their economic polcies to capitilist ones, so why not indeed! Who follows marx these day anyways huh?
So Wb govt thoguth this would be great PR for their communist driven state, they would give farmers compansation and in turn the factory would provide jobs and all would be hunky dory happy as hell!
Then came in mamta banerjee playing the firebrand heroine or vamp, depending on whose side you are. Its anyways election year and she thoguht it a good opportunity to tame the ruling party. After their fiasco at nandigram and disastrous municipal level polls the chastised CPM are now going mellow on their usually stubborn strong rigid way of getting things done.
You will ask isnt this about Ratan Tata and the Singur farmers? Well well welcome to indian politics... neither the CPM nor mamta care a flying fig about the farmers rights and wants and nor do they care a rats arse about industry and the economy progressing. All that is stake for them here is their own hides and who will survive the coming election.
As far as the farmers are concerned - well they are in the right, its their land. and its their right to refuse to sell it. They have every right to say no. Like Ratan tata they too are equal citizens of india. Or at least thats the way it was suppossed to be when old ambedkar wrote out his constituition.
As far as Ratan tata is concerned he is also right. He needs a large tract of land at a stretch. how else can he put up a plant of this size? He is willing to provide jobs, livelihood, healthcare and other facilities.
But heres the stalemate - Mamta's followers have charged up the farmers and ratan Tata being a nice humane man not a strong arm tactitian like his peers (read ambani brothers etc) doesnt want a hostile situation. remember he didnt even want a hostile takeover of Corus.
Solution - as at this stage there is no solution. What Mr. Tata should have done was not to involve the govt in the first place and directly dealt with the farmers himself.
My point of view here - I agree completely with capitalism and the encouragement of business and enterprise but its cannot be at the cost of human rights. Never. profitability can never be at the cost of destryoing human rights.You cannot build your castle on other peoples graves!!
A man has every right to his property and that right has to be upheld. I have great respect for Mr. Tata yet would ask him if he would like to relinquish his ancestral property in a posh Mumbai area? Im sure many a builder would pay him the moon to demolish the old house where JRD tata lived and build some sky scraper there. Would he sell? :)
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