Next month, sales of the much heralded Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, are due to begin. With a price tag at 100,000 rupees (£1,250), the car is aimed at bringing motoring to India’s masses. There has been some concern over the Nano’s environmental credentials, but opposition is now coming from an unexpected source – the farmers of West Bengal. In the past few weeks Bengali farmers have mounted protests, refusing to accept money offered by Tata which has used their land for its £180m manufacturing plant. Tata is looking at the possibility of shifting production to another Indian state as its workers have been threatened by angry protesters. The whole issue is wrapped up in the politics of land reform in the Indian state. In the past, space had been created for industrial expansion by offering farmers more land, but now there’s no more land to give out. Production may not be delayed however as the state government is doing all it can to come up with a short term fix and find the farmers alternative land.
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