Bengal-a political saga

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”- goes the saying. And living proof of this has been the left front government, or erstwhile government which has been in power in Bengal for 34 years, and was recently ousted, no routed by the Trinamool Congress- Congress alliance, and comprehensively booted out of power after 7 consecutive terms- a record by any means!
There are various stages to this story- for those who are uninitiated, misinformed or plain disinterested (which I suspect will be the majority!)- and to begin we must go back to our freedom struggle. During the later stages of our freedom struggle, when Netaji and some other leaders broke away from the ruling section in Congress (Gandhiji et al) owing to ideological differences, and an anti-capitalist anti-establishment feeling (Bengalis are anyways prone to these feelings!) started to take root in the Bengali intelligentsia, was laid the foundations of a Marxist movement, one which was pro-poor and pro-peasants, and which ideologically veered completely away from the primarily elite Congress leaders of the time.
Many decades passed, but this movement was still restricted to a few groups here and there, and would have remained so, but for the emergency imposed by Smt. Gandhi on the nation in the 70’s. The period ’72-’77 saw an extremely turbulent and violent era in Bengal, where the foundations of the Naxal (present day Maoist) movement was built, and thousands of brilliant and idealistic youth of Calcutta took up arms against the excesses by the then Congress government in Bengal. Hundreds of lives were lost, many more irreversibly destroyed, and from that fire arose the Communist movement- on the premises of equality (which people craved for at that point), justice and power to poor, notable the peasants. Given the times and the background, they got massive public support, and the Congress government was crushed in the ’77 elections, bringing to power a CPI (M) government which was to rule the state for 34 long years!
We are talking here of a time when Calcutta was among the most progressive of the metros, leading the way not only in art and culture (which was natural, given the artistic inclinations of the average Bengali), but also in business and investments, which though were mainly state controlled at that time. But then started the stagnation. There was no slide or decline, really, just that the city remained still in time, a poor caricature of its former glorious self, while the others surged ahead. While ’91 opened the doors of the country to foreign investments and private enterprise, Bengal kept its doors firmly shut, with a mix of botched up economic policies of the left government and some misplaced ideas of social justice.
But where the problem really lay, and which will also be the legacy of this failed government, is the systematic destruction of the Bengali mind. If you don’t like a policy, call a bandh, stall work and force others to come to your terms. The obvious results- businesses started fleeing, and no new businesses entered.
So how did this government survive 7 terms? A very common, and understandable question. Well, the answer is systematic rigging of elections. The magic of the promised land had started to fade by the 90’s, but owing to the entire state machinery being in their hands, and grabbing of the rural votes by a mix of coercion, force, blackmailing, empty promises and doling out money, the left front managed to drag on the government. And in the process, with every passing day, they became more and more arrogant, unconnected with reality and indulged in one failed policy after another.
The setting was ripe for a new movement, a new face and so came the rise of Mamata Banerjee. Probably the most ridiculed leader at the national level (right up there with Lalu), it is interesting to trace her rise. She first came into political prominence in 1984, when as a firebrand youth Congress leader, she defeated political heavyweight Somnath Chatterjee, which was the equivalent of Holland beating Australia in cricket! This created huge ripples in the Indian political scenario, and she was spotted and picked up by Rajiv Gandhi, who was entering the fray at that time after his mother’s assassination in 1984. thus started the rise of Mamata Banerjee in Indian politics. This entire period saw her transform from a raw, theatrical, emotional leader to a true leader of the masses in Bengal. All through this phase, she was involved in several newsworthy events, but the tide really turned for her one fateful day in the early 90’s. She was surrounded by several CPM goons on a Calcutta street, and beaten to within an inch of her life with bamboo sticks in full public view! She survived the incident, and came out as a true rallying leader of the common public, who by now had started losing their faith in the left front government. She rose inside the Congress, broke away and formed the Trinamool Congress in 1998, got into alliances with the NDA at the centre, became the railway minister, came out from the alliance and joined the UPA, became railway minister again. But all through this period, she kept her eyes firmly set on the throne of Bengal and kept plotting the downfall of the left. The chance finally came in the 2009 parliamentary elections, which dealt a decisive blow to the left. The myth of their invincibility was shattered, and 2011 was an event waiting to happen- only the scale of the defeat crossed all expectations! And this was also aided by the Singur and Nandigram incidents. The first where Mamata scored a victory in the eyes of the people by driving out Tatas (whether she was right or not is a matter of further debate, but the fact remains that the fertile land was given away to the Tatas, while there was arid land available at not some great distance away!), the second where the state used violence on its own subjects- a sure-shot sign of nervousness and losing control. What has also mattered in this long battle is the fact that Mamata remains to this day, one of the few politicians in this country who boasts of a clean image!
Now that were done with the elections, and a new government being sworn in, what are the chances of things changing? Well, let me admit, it’s a long road ahead- investments need to be brought in, a better work culture needs to be created in this bandh-prone state, infrastructure needs to improve, the impoverished state coffers need some filling, and the right balance needs to be struck between industry and agriculture. Whether the new government can do all this, and how long all this will take, is anyone’s guess. But at least a beginning has been made, and what is that saying about you never know how good a person/team/group is unless you give them a chance. And that my friends, is something that the people of this state really deserve- a chance at redemption!

A Complete Citizen- Finally!

Yes, you guessed it right- I cast my first vote today, and, though many of you would have exercised this before, its giving me a good feeling- no, this wouldn’t change the wrong things around me, or make this world a better place, but this at least makes me feel like a complete citizen today, and gives me the right to raise my voice when I see something wrong happening, without feeling like I haven’t done my bit!

The last few days for me, at home, have been electorally charged. Happens when you have a politically aware household, and live in the perhaps the most politically charged city (Kolkata) in the whole country.

No kidding, guys! For those of you who have been following the election process for the last month (at least I have, and trust me, it’s a hundred times more interesting than the contrived IPL DLF maximums & Citi moments of success- ugh!!), we have been treated to voter turnout percentages of 40-60% around the country, with supposed politically aware cities like Pune registering an abysmally low (and extremely disappointing) 45%, the Mumbai glitterati in posh South Mumbai finding electoral similarities with the illiterate poor of the dusty interiors of Bihar, from the communally charged Gujarat to the extremely passionate Andhra, it has all mostly been a sorry tale of low voter turnouts. A lot was to blame, with excuses ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous- public apathy towards the continual non-governance by their elected representatives, the mid-summer heat, the IPL circus, people leaving town to take advantage of the 4 day weekend, people staying in town but refusing to leave home from fear of another Tsunami (ok, I made that up!), etc. etc. etc.

But if any of you have kept tab on the voter turnouts in West Bengal, it has been an astonishing 80% (and that is the average figure, at places it has been higher!)!! Yes, with all the attendant problems we talked about, and some more- Maoist threat and violence, non-Maoist threat and violence- I mean that unleashed by the political parties. The elections here have been violent to say the least, the usual complaints of booth jamming, rampant rigging, threatening voters with dire consequences have all been present, but all this have not been able to keep voters inside their homes. And today, when I was standing in the voter’s line for one and a half hours, the atmosphere there itself said a lot. People talking to each other, discussing politics, who will win and who deserves to rot in hell, I realized the satisfaction people derive from casting their vote, for it makes them feel powerful & relevant, even if once in 5 years! And that, my friends is the power of democracy!!

Now comes another interesting part- the post-poll analysis, the exit polls, and finally the D-day- 16th May when the results are going to be announced, and politics and arithmetic will blissfully be married time and again, for that shot at forming the government, or at least being a part of it, or even if that’s not possible, issue-based support from outside which can be withdrawn at a convenient occasion! And we would do well to keep a keen eye on the same, for even in these issueless elections, this probably is the most critical election in a long time, and who occupies the important positions at the helm might have more bearing on our lives than we care to imagine. So, let the credits roll, and the show begin!!

Why we should vote, at least this time!!

So, the once in five years circus is in town again. Yes, I’m referring to our very own dance of democracy- the general elections- the month long tandav that captivates a billion people, on which crores are spent by our mighty political parties, and the sure-shot short term TRP boost for all our news channels! April and May are going to add to the already unbearable heat of the Indian summer, thanks to the high-octane election action.

Now, and this is something I firmly believe, this election is different, or rather, should be treated differently, by both the ruling class as well as us- the ‘Youngistaan’ generation. Traditionally, as far as our generation is concerned, and by this I mean the city-bred middle class youth, we have been least bothered by the outcome of elections, and who comes to power, and the primary reason behind that has been the fact that most of us have not cared to vote at all. And for good reason, I mean, who do we vote for? The thoroughly inept and corrupt politicians almost seem a mirror image of each other, and would it really matter who comes to power this time as well?

It will. And there are reasons for that. First, rarely has the country, or indeed the world (still, I’m restricting myself to the country level for the time being) been faced with such a two-pronged trouble as it is being faced with now- terrorism and recession. The last 4-5 years have seen a march by India inc. towards a stronger economy and a louder voice on the world fora, due primarily to our companies performing creditably on the world stage, and another factor which we often tend to overlook- our being a successful democracy is something a lot of countries around the world look up to. However, all that has been briefly halted by some unfortunate events in the last 5-6 months- the shameful Satyam saga, the Mumbai attacks as well as the global recession the effects of which are being felt in India as well.

Now, what will any one who comes to power do about all this, you might ask. A lot, actually. Lets go one by one on the issues discussed. Terrorism, a critical issue at the quietest of times, is living amongst us, hatching devious schemes, and the fact that we are living in a dangerous neighborhood, as the recent SWAT deal has demonstrated, only adds to the criticality of the issue. Thus, the need becomes paramount of having the right people in power who would be able to look after internal security as well as frame pragmatic realpolitik policies, which is always a fine balancing game. Next, the recession. The past few days have demonstrated to us the importance of governments having to step in to bail out sick private sector behemoths, and having a good bunch of policy-makers and economists at the helm is all too important and can never be over-stressed to see us through this current crisis.
Of course, all said and done, first we don’t know if our politicians would actually be upto scratch to take care of all these issues in an effective manner, and even if some of them are, we are not sure if we know who they are. Of course, the perennial grouse is always there as an excuse- what difference will it make if I vote? Will the right guys come to power? Well, they will certainly not if we don’t vote, and the final argument, similar to all youth who use it against there parents when arguing in favour of love marriages, if I choose my life-partner (read-policy makers), I know I will be responsible for the state of my life (read country), now isn’t that a feeling worth having?

Games we play!

I had thought of writing a blog many times, once I had even started one, but somehow the enthusiasm didn’t last. But today, when after coming back from office, I was seated in front of the television, greeted by visuals of some vandals beating up people owing to regional sentiments, and most of all, people playing dirty politics and using it to foment poison in the minds of followers, I really thought restarting this blog could be the best way to give vent to my anger and frustration at all this.
These are dangerous games being played, no doubts about that, and poisoning the minds of the common man is nothing short of a heinous crime being committed here. The more we advance as a nation towards world dominance and superpower status, the more we are given towards sensationalisation and dramatization of smaller issues on the one hand, and sheer public apathy towards more critical issues on the other. Sample these news items over the past few days: divisive politics at its best (or worst) in Maharashtra, an alleged kidney kingpin who reportedly carried on his business for a long time with the connivance of the police, one of our brightest young tennis stars Sania being forced to think of not playing in her own country because of some hyper-imaginative elements.
Can you see a trend in all this? All this happening not in the rural areas, no, but in the heart of some of our major and supposedly most progressive cities. So what is the issue? Where does the problem lie?
A country is only as good or bad as its people, and the way we react to situations often defines us and our country. We Indians have always been apathetic by nature, it really doesn’t bother us if something wrong is going on around us, the common mentality being, as long as I don’t get affected, its ok. But the problem is, its not ok. It is this very apathy that is so often taken advantage of, and before we realize, we would be the ones getting affected as well. It’s a dangerous mindset to have, this i- me- myself thing, because if everyone starts thinking like that, can we imagine what our society is gonna be like?
Nothing ever changes, nothing ever will, that’s what we always tell ourselves, right? And why do we need anything to change, we all have enough issues of our own- at our workplace, with our girlfriends/ boyfriends, parents and many more- the sweaty polluted drive to work, the irritating colleague, I could go on and on. But in the midst of all this, we just need to ask ourselves once: are we really happy and satisfied at being so apathetic to everything? At shrugging our shoulders to everything? I bet the answer would be in the negative, well, at least I hope it will be!
That day some one of our generation mentioned to me she doesn’t want to vote, because whoever comes to power would be the same. But tell me honestly guys, how will someone good ever come to power if we don’t cast our votes at all?
Anyways, I am not a social reformer, and even I am trying to find answers to many questions life is posing currently, but I did feel very strongly seeing whats happening, and that’s why this long tirade! All I want to say is, there are many things that are good with our country, and there are things that can be better, and it is nobody but us who can make them better. And that I am sure of!