There is somewhat of a mystery surrounding “the ashes of Vedic village”—what remains of the upscale five star tourist resort near Kolkata, West Bengal, after it was set ablaze on August 23.
Most reports say an “irate mob” set the fire after a local soccer match between employees of Vedic village and another resort. The two teams apparently started fighting each other after the winner was declared.
The fight literally turned into a war, with both teams shooting guns and throwing “crude bombs” at each another.
Apparently, the Vedic Village team sought refuge in the resort. Then, the mob set fire to it. “The entire 5,000 sqft club-house, including the reception, the gaming room, library and two conference halls… some farmhouses,” and dozens of surrounding cottages were burned.
There is, however, another side of this story that is getting almost no coverage by the press.
It begins with a group of farmers being terrorized and forced into giving up their land to a realty agency, Vedic Realty.
After they were dispossessed, some 30 years ago, the land was “taken back” by the government. Apparently, Vedic did not have legal “authorization” to hold the land.
At this point, the government should have redistributed to land to the farmers. However, Vedic Realty took a bold step forward. They took the matter to West Bengal’s high court. And then they won.
The government quickly turned around and approached Vedic for an out-of-court settlement, offering to sell them the land. They should have challenged the ruling. Vedic was more than happy to accept the offer, after all, it meant they would have the land legally from then on.
Over the years, Vedic Village made quite a name for itself. News agencies proudly inform us of its luxurious marvels, how it was “carefully designed for five-star ambience, without compromising the village ideal;” how it provides tourists and movie stars alike with all the wonders of modernity: “a bar, restaurant, a lotus-shaped pool”. It even has games to entertain the kids while you play a nice round of golf. “It doesn’t get any better than this.”
However, beneath the surface of Vedic Village, stood a seething monster. It was “a den of criminal activities ranging from prostitution to bomb-making,” says Partho Sarathi Ray from the activist group, Sanhati.
The last five years has been especially difficult for the villagers, because they were now forced to bear witness to constant, disruptive forces. All the while through, holding on to the memory of how their land was ripped away from them, “stories of what the rich and famous did in their leisure time filtered into the village, provoking wonder and then, disgust,” adds the Times of India.
Acknowledging this legacy of suffering—that ranged from violence and dispossession to segregation, aural abuse and the constant disruption of their everyday lives—it is certainly possible that Vedic village was burnt to the ground because the lawful owners of the land were finally compelled to take matters into their own hands. What other choice did they have?
If it is not the case well, then at least this story is finally out in the open. And maybe the villagers will finally be able to live and sleep like they would before there land was taken. Peacefully.