Calcutta Corner

March for freedom

It was a matter of time before Calcutta's Jadavpur University, which like its Delhi counterpart, JNU, prides itself on being one of the few campuses in the country which encourages political debates, critical discussions and all manner of what is known as "free thinking", came out in support of the JNU student union leader who was arrested on charges of sedition. Sure enough, a large group of JU students took out a march protesting the Modi government's crackdown. But much like the JNU protest, here too confusion developed over the real agenda of the student march with many — who were seen and heard shouting for "azadi" of various kinds including what they termed "government oppression" — later claiming that they were not showing support to Afzal Guru, Yakub Memom or any other anti-national force but merely expressing the right to free speech. Another group of students took out a counter march carrying placards that read "We are from JU and we don't support anti-nationals." The argument is that asking India's "barbadi" (destruction) is not freedom of speech but sedition.

In the horns of a dilemma

Mamata Banerjee has been conspicuous by refusing to comment on the JNU-Jadavpur controversy. Not surprising considering the stakes. First of all, with elections approaching, she hardly wants to alienate the student vote-bank by cracking down on campus dissent. At the same time she doesn't want to rub BJP the wrong way by criticising the Central Government especially since a TMC-BJP tie-up has not yet been ruled out. And considering that the Bengal CPIM and the Bengal Congress are cozying up to each other, the possibility of that happening looms large.

Reluctant Ties

But getting cosy or not, with each passing day it is becoming less and less clear whether the CPI-M will eventually unite or not with the Congress to fight the TMC in the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal. Earlier it appeared that it simply hinged on a nod from Sonia Gandhi, Congress President but now it is revealed that the real obstacle is emanating from within the party itself. Truth is the different groups within the Communist Party of India (Marxists) are often at loggerheads on major issues, like when the Bengal CPI-M wanted former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu to become Prime Minister but the Kerala CPI-M didn't. This time too, the Kerala group, led by S.R. Pillai, who is considered to be close to Prakash Karat, is objecting to an alliance arguing that the Congress' economic policies and class description is inimical to its ideological standards. The Bengal faction, led by Opposition leader Surya Kanta Mishra and Mohammad Selim, Member of Parliament, desperate to free the state of TMC-rule, counter-argued that the Congress, which has not been in power in the state for 40 years, has come a long way since the time of Siddhartha Shankar Ray and is more moderate now. Two days have already been wasted in discussions — first a Politburo meeting in Delhi and then a Central Committee meeting — but no decision has yet emerged.

Kabbadi Kombat

In other news- and a different kind of combat — the Pro Kabbadi teams, Bengal Warriors and Jaipur Pink Panthers, clashed this week in Calcutta with the home team snatching victory — and their fifth consecutive win this season — from the tight grip of the enemy. Actor Abhishek Bachhan, son of actor Amitabh Bengal's considered one of Bengal's most famous sons-in-law was not here to watch his team's humiliating defeat (34-20) but he is rumoured to have claimed that since his mother Jaya Bhaduri Bacchan is a Bong, he is not harboring hard feelings.

Seasonal Sips

Marco Saxer, general manager of luxury hotel chain, Swissotel apparently loves his wine. Recently at the launch of a wine bar at the Calcutta hotel, he was not only in high spirits, but observers claim that he let on a few tips about how to serve the brew. He claimed that "the right temperature" is all important. So important, in fact that the wine bar— called the Butterfly Wine Library— will only be a seasonal— read winter— affair.