Jewel of India?
Jyoti Basu is the 'jewel of India' ('Bharat Ratna')!? Why on earth? What are his contributions to the nation? What makes thisman deserving of the award? His only qualification seems to be that he's India's longest-serving chief minister, and that too a communist CM. But what, pray, are his achievements? Whatdid Bengal achieve during his tenure? A dispassionate analysis would show that far from posting anyachievement Bengal, in fact, registered abysmal decline in virtually all sectors--education, healthcare, finance and economics, industries, work culture, social development et al. And Jyoti Basu presided over this decline without making even a feeble attempt to arrest it.
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He was, on the contrary, in the forefront of every attempt to spread anarchy and chaos and impede development in Bengal. Old-timers recall his anti-development postures during the 1980s and early90s, a memorable one being a rally in which he famously declared the move to computerize office functions as an "imperialist conspiracy against Bengal's proletariat". Basu has never provided an inspiring leadership, he can hardly be described as charismatic, no one will ever dub him a statesman or visionary, he has been a failure as an effective CM, his oratorical skills are not worth mentioning and he can be accused of cronyism and nepotism. Does such a person deserve even a 'Bangla Ratna', not to speak of 'Bharat Ratna'?
Sinophilia
We know the CPI(M) suffers from Sinophilia ('Sino': China; 'philia': excessive fondness), And this was in evidence once again at the 22nd state conference of the party here this week. The dyed-in-the-wool Marxists at the conclave discussed, among other things, India's 'alarming' attempts to enter into a strategic partnership with the USA. Why 'alarming'? Because, a document prepared at the conference said, this strategic partnership was designed to "encircle" China. The USA, the venerable Marxists declared, was trying to build a Delhi-Tokyo-Canberra axis to "contain" China and this attempt had to be opposed tooth and nail and defeated. For this purpose, the state conference asked the party's leadership in Delhi to apply pressure on theunion government to jettison plans to enter into any strategic tie-up with the USA.
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What most observers tend to overlook here is that the CPI(M)'s eagerness to get the Manmohan Singh government abandon all attempts to get close to the USA is driven by the Marxists' love for China and not for India. The Marxists aren't really bothered if closer ties, including in the strategic sphere, would be in India's interests or would benefit India strategically and help the nation achieve its rightful place in the community of nations. What's more important for the CPI(M) is that China's rush to challenge the US and emerge as a pre-eminent power not only in Asia, but in the global arena, should not meet with any obstruction. And if their own country (India) is perceived to be posing any hurdle in China's way, it is the bounden duty of the CPI(M) to remove this impediment. Ideology clearly scores over the motherland, doesn't it?
Media Bashing
The CPI(M) went into a tortured debate on embracing capitalists and rolling out the red carpet for them in Bengal. There were some signs of the party, or at least some in the party, shedding the dogmas of yore. But in the end, that was not to be. Among the resolutions that the state unit of the party adopted at the conference was the vitriol-filled one against capitalists, imperialists, class enemies and, significantly, the 'capitalist media' that had to be exterminated for being reactionary and attempting to overturn the glorious people's revolution in Bengal.
The 'capitalist media', according to the CPI(M), includes all print, web and electronic media houses except the party mouthpiecesGanashakti and People's Democracy and some newspapers, websites and TV channels that toe the CPI(M) line. Many may simply brush off such resolutions as internal affairs of the CPI(M) and the hatred towards institutions like the independent media as posturing by the Marxists, but to accept them as such is dangerous for our society and nation. There's no reason why we should tolerate hatred and fascist and totalitarian tendencies displayed by the CPI(M).
If the CPI(M) feels the independent media is to be exterminated, there's no reason why we should tolerateGanashakti and People's Democracy and the party's stooges in the fourth estate. It is time we address an important issue: should a democratic polity like ours accord space to totalitarian ideologies like that of the CPI(M) that openlyprofess to overturn our democracy? Should Marxists be allowed to misuse the liberal space India allows them to further their fascist and dictatorial agenda?
Nano Nano Nano
An interesting discussion was held the other day on the 'social' and other costs that would be imposed on a congested city like Kolkata by thousands of 'Nano' cars clogging the roads. Those opposed to the car had the usualarguments--that since a lot of people would buy the low-priced car, pollution levels would go up, roads would become impossible to navigate, the country's oil import bill would go up, it would be better to encourage mass transit systems and that the masses don't really need personal transport, but cheap and effective transport.
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The Nano's supporters, and there were many, raised some very pertinent points. One, why is it that objections on the proliferation of cars are being raised now? Shouldn't these objections have been raised many years ago when the Maruti 800 was launched? How is it that all, or most of, those raising the objections now own at least one car? Nano's opponents, they alleged, were driven by the desire to keep the ordinary man, the pedestrian, thebus passenger or the owner of a two-wheeler, from owning a car. To prevent 'them' from becoming 'us', in other words.
Interesting observations, and not totally without merit, I may add. But going to the bigger issue, there's no denying the fact that our miserable public transport system needs to be drastically overhauled. We need better buses, a light rail transit system, more Metro rail routes, a much more advanced suburban train service and all that so that more people, even those who own big cars, are comfortable traveling, or at least commuting to and from their workplaces, by public transport (as is the case in the West). We need to discourage use of private transport by imposing much higher parking fee and reserving some routes, especially in the central business district, exclusively for public transport. We also need to tackle vehicular pollution; and the biggest offenders here are the autorickshaws (operating with licences granted by the CITU), taxis, buses and trucks (taxi, bus and truck operators are all affiliated to the CITU).
Relief, At Last
The embattled Bengal government, reeling from a string of setbacks over the past year or more, has got some much-needed relief from the Calcutta High Court which ruled that the acquisition of land for the Tata Motors plant at Singur was legal. Expectedly, the state administration was ecstatic, coming as this Court order did after many adverse rulings. Apart from this reason to cheer, there was also relief that now there'd be no stopping the Nano from rolling out on schedule from Singur. The Court ruling has also taken the wind out of Mamata Banerjee's sails and the stormy petrel will have little moral ground to carry on with her agitation against the Tata Motors plant. Any attempt by her to repeat her vow to prevent, at all costs, the Nano from rolling out of the Singur plant will sound hollower.
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The Court order comes on the heels of the news that 60 young men belonging to the families on whose lands the car plant is coming up have been given regular jobs in Tata Motors after they completed their technical training. Tata Motors has also initiated a slew of social welfare measures for the people ofSingur--mobile medical camps, vocational training courses, entrepreneurship development courses, providing seed money for micro ventures and helping form self-help groups there. The company plans to launch many other such schemes for improving the lives of the local community; and going by the track record of all Tata group companies, it is a given that the lives of the people ofSingur--and not just those on whose lands the plant has come up--will improve immensely in the long run from the presence of a Tata company in their area. Viewed from this perspective, the Court ruling bodes well for Singur and its people. Irrespective, by the way, of what Mamata says or does now.
