THE STRONGMAN WHO RULED SANDESHKHALI
Sheikh Shahjahan, now under arrest, monopolized prawn trade in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas. Here’s his story
Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act 2005. The changed Act sought to bring areas within two kilometres of high tide line under aquaculture or farming.
Even though the amendment was made, Sandeshkhali’s land records continue to show acres and acres of farmland, even though visibly it’s something else. This was largely because raiyat lands were once distributed among the tribals of Sandeshkhali by the government. Raiyat land refers to agricultural land meant to be used only for farming. Converting them is tough work (more of this later).
Sandeshkhali is at the mouth of Sunderbans delta, which comprises a cluster of nine islands. Entrapped on all sides by heavily meandering rivers, with deltas enclosing it, the land is both fertile and prone to facing the backlash of the saline sea water. Shrimp farming, therefore, came naturally to the inhabitants as one of the ways to augment their income. According to the state fisheries department, profit from brackish water farming is almost double the production cost. If the production cost of shrimp farming is ₹1 lakh a bigha, the fish farmer can potentially earn ₹2-3 lakh.
In 2022-23, India achieved an all-time high exports of seafood both in terms of volume and value by shipping 1,735,286 metric tonnes of seafood worth ₹63,969 crore ($8.09 billion), the Indian government had stated. Frozen shrimp, which earned ₹43,135.58 crore ($5,481.6 million), was the most significant item in the country’s basket of seafood exports. Going by the boom in Sandeshkhali, seafood traders estimate the blue economy in the area to total around ₹3,500-5,000 crore.
“This area is known for farming 16-17 species of rare prawn. Nandigram in East Midnapore accounts for a good amount of export and so does Sandeshkhali. Having the largest pool of brackish water in the country, West Bengal continues to be the second highest producer of shrimps and ranks first for culture and production of tiger prawns. Japan is a key importer of tiger prawn from Bengal,” said an official from Bengal’s fisheries department who didn’t want to be named.
The ambitious Sheikh Shahjahan sniffed an opportunity here. Quick, liquid money and the key to becoming the most powerful man of the area. the polls: cast their votes for Shahjahan’s candidates or better still, stay away from the polling exercise, villagers said.
When we asked for a clarification from his lawyer, Raja Bhowmik, on Shahjahan’s role during elections, he said: “Why are you asking me? The police are there to ensure law and order and free and fair polls.”
According to the villagers, Shahjahan’s power and authority peaked post 2011, when TMC trounced the Left and ended 34 years of their rule in West Bengal. Shahjahan held posts such as deputy pradhan (a decision-maker at the village-level constitutional body) and was a zilla parishad member. These posts may not appear very high-flying but it gave him power and greater control over the local economy.
MODUS OPERANDI
Converting farmlands and raiyat lands into water bodies, particularly those belonging to tribal communities, isn’t easy. Such conversion can happen only if West Bengal’s land and land reforms department agrees to issue a no objection certificate and the fisheries department records the change by issuing a licence to fish.
But, Shahjahan and his brigade took the easy way out.
They convinced farmers and landowners that life would be bountiful if they leased out their land for prawn and shrimp farming. That would ensure steady yearly income, instead of having to depend on the vagaries of nature, which determines production when it comes to crop farming, villagers said. Landowners who agreed to lease out their land for shrimp farming, were promised a payout of ₹10,000 for a
every year for three years. However, most of them never got to see the promised amount, villagers alleged.
After the first instalment, it was difficult to wring out money from Shahjahan. “Who would dare to pester him? Don’t we know the consequences?” said Dilip Sardar, a local fisherman. In fact, a year after the farmland became a full-fledged pond, it was difficult to claim the remaining money since, in the majority of cases, there were no lease agreements drafted. Also, the demarcation and boundaries, easily identifiable on land surface, became non-existent as ponds sprung up back-to-back.
“Shahjahan’s diktat was the last word. If anybody tried to disobey, the Kobra gang had multiple ways to settle scores,” said 70-year-old Ajit Sardar of Dhuchnekhali village, in Sandeshkhali subdivision. “They would infuse saline water into the farmlands via lock gates set up for controlling the flow of water from the delta. Once the salt water entered the land, it was no good for any crop,” he added.
After taking over such farmland, Shahjahan would allocate it to people loyal to him, for a yearly rent of ₹30,000-50,000 a bigha.
But he didn’t stop here. He also controlled the end-market—the shrimp export. Shahjahan would pressurize fish farmers to sell their produce at wholesale markets he controlled, and at a price fixed by him, villagers said. The rate was usually lower than the prevalent market rate. He controlled over a dozen wholesale markets in North and South 24 Parganas. He even fixed the rates for the fishing and export companies.
But some villagers said that he preferred prawn traders in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and did not deal with exporters directly because of legal hassles it could create. Since most of the farming in Basirhat is on illegally converted water bodies, it’s a win-win for both the seller and the buyer. There are no taxes and the payment is always in cash, local fishermen said. Traders, in turn, received the produce at a discount. How much did Shahjahan make through this blue economy trade? We may know the answer once ED concludes its investigations but for now, the market price can give us an indication. Prawn and shrimp can fetch anywhere between ₹1,200 and ₹1,500 a kg in retail.
While running errands for politicians gave him the muscle power to intimidate— Shahjahan’s men attacked an ED team that went to Sandeshkhali on 5 January, the media had widely reported—the blue economy gave him control over people’s lives and livelihood.
Going by the boom in Sandeshkhali, seafood traders estimate the blue economy in the area to total around ₹3,500-5,000 crore.