The Demand for Industry—Oscillation of the Agrarian Question in Rural West Bengal

ABSTRACT The movement against land acquisition for industrialization in Singur (2006–2008) became emblematic of the defeat of CPI(M) in West Bengal—the longest democratically elected communist regime in the world. A decade later, in 2018, CPI(M) organized a farmers' rally from Singur, demanding industrialization and jobs. This article engages with this narrative of ‘demand for industrialization’ and asks why farmers who had opposed land acquisition for industry a decade ago have started supporting industry now. Amid an ongoing wave of political change, the demand for industry emerges as a hope for the future rising from its own ashes. This article also engages with the classical agrarian question to argue that today, the transition to industrialization occurs not due to agricultural surplus but due to agricultural economic insecurities. This article critically explores the relationship between industrialization and agricultural productivity.