Farewell to a Leader

Death of an ailing 96 year old would not be expected to push regular headlines into the obscurity of the middle pages yet the demise of Jyoti Basu has evoked memories from both admirers and detractors which dominate national dailies this Monday. Though thoughtful in nature these obituaries only serve the purpose of bolstering the belief that 'the man' would not be forgotten in a hurry - a welcome reassurance considering the quality of public memory being ruefully 'short' in our country.

While regrets resound on "what could have been" had "the best Prime Minister India never had" had actually led the United Front government the spectrum of mass opinion never deny his rightful place as one of the most respected leaders the nation ever had. Much admired for his administrative prowess and ability to expedite consensus inside a party bound by Spartan principles his critics found his open Anglophilism and general insouciance for political opposition unacceptable. As children we grew up in Calcutta in times when the police were only heard of when they were bloodying their batons breaking up some opposition rally or the other. Mamata Banerjee, Basu's bete noire turned admirer, bore the brunt of such political arrogance on many occasions in that period. The image of Jyoti Basu which dominates most minds from our generation, growing up in the nineties, to be that of an old patriarch, reclusive in nature, reluctant in ushering revolution - the very plank that defined him in his prime. Still he strangely maintained that iron grip over proceedings in the Secretariat and the heart of the people who renewed his mandate in spite of vicious hand-wringing at many of his decisions. This generation still believe Bengal's unenviable skill at strangling industry is his legacy for us to bear. They willingly overlook the "land reforms movement" which installed Communists in the first place and line up arguments which make the "Comrades" look too power-drunk to have seen their own downfall coming. And not surprisingly Basu became the face of that unchallenged government over the years.

But amidst all the frustrations one must be reminded that it was Basu who invited Telecom and IT industries to the state later taken up with gusto by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the present incumbent. His intentions were reformist in nature but with time his actions increasingly bore the seal of circumspection seen in aging patriarchs. A permanent status quo seemed to be the writ from the Writers'. Considering the hurdles Bhattacharya finds himself grappling with presently Basu's stand comes off as one of wise inertia in hindsight. May be his understanding of the very people he ruled prompted his decisions and made him the longest serving Chief Minister of any state ever. With the death of able organisers like Anil Biswas, Harkishen Singh Surjeet and now Jyoti Basu the present party leadership has some very big shoes to fill and going by their recent show at the hustings things can only spiral down from here. On the same note it seems poetic justice for someone like Prakash Karat who blocked Basu's way to the PM's post and now finds himself explaining every drubbing that his policies have ensued. Given the loaded possibility of the Communists falling in a heap in the coming 2011 Assembly Elections one cannot ignore the curious coincidence of the sun setting on the Hammer & Sickle Flag within a year of the last sunset in Jyoti Babu's long and illustrious life.

photo: googleimages

Shoe -Shoo !!

While IT major Infosys predicts a drop in profits for the coming year the shoe-barons were last heard to be laughing their way to the banks.

Reason : People are flocking to their outlets, seeking the latest in "deep-impact" sneakers and aerodynamically designed chappals to greet their netas with, first thing in the morning. Brands like 'Sree-leaders' and 'Hurl-puppies' are turning out to be the biggest gainers in this segment while activists under the banner of "Nanga-Payr Susth Prashashan Manch" get more vocal with popular backing burgeoning.

Effect : More and more small-time netas are being accused of clandestinely distributing cheap sandals to their supporters before the start of rallies where they are being instructed to hit the podium from various angles and at equal intervals between their "hate speeches"- readily transforming them to "hit speeches" - getting day-long TV coverage and political mileage for free. The add-on includes being catapulted to the status of figures like George Bush, Ahmadinejad, Wen Jiabao and now L.K Advani with a single sling of footwear. Speculations are rife within political circles that the leader with the most number "hits" at the end of the campaigning might stake his/her claim to the PM's post on the basis of popularity. Amar Singh has stoked fears with his,"Negative publicity is also publicity" remark in the mould of the redoubtable Rakhi Sawant and the ever "resourceful" Mallika Sherawat. The Congress is agitated now that the BJP seems determined to field Narendra Modi from at least 10 Muslim-dominated Lok Sabha constituencies following recent developments. Their possible ploy of fielding both Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler from Punjab is being hailed as a masterful counter-move by supporters and detractors alike. On the other hand the CPI(M) politburo has expressed concern that several of the Trinamool MLAs were spotted in queues outside prominent shoe-stores at Lindsay Street in Kolkata. The Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly has promptly issued a directive to all members of the House - "to be divested of all footwear and other associated instruments of protest before entering the Assembly Hall" to which Mamata Banerjee has responded with her characteristic ferocity. The TMC plans to launch its "Khali Paaye Khali Gaaye Andolon" (Naked Feet Naked Torso Agitation) for an indefinite period of time before the directive is revoked and fair chance is given to all MLAs in taking aim at their opposite numbers inside the Assembly. A petition bearing the signature of 60 MLAs has already been forwarded to the Governor in this regard.

Side-effects : The Election Commission is contemplating a blanket-ban on shoes during elections.
Anbumani Ramadoss has promised to ban shoes if he is returned to the Lok Sabha.

Nike and Adidas has cut-down prices drastically to come "within reach" of the common man.

The family members of Partha Pratim Ray Burman are having sleepless nights now that their stocks have started to go through the roof and the Dubai-bhais have all started calling again.

Witness to a Death

By now people must have read it in the newspapers. I doubt if it figured in the bold significance of the headlines or just occupied a nondescript corner of the 'news snippets' or did it just miss everyone's eye.

The death of a poor bus-driver.

I along with three of my friends were busy fending off the rain from under the shade of a tea-shop yesterday when I saw this huge Krishnachura tree fall over the roof of a passing bus. It fell with a great thud and to my horror I saw the bus ripped into two from the middle.
The impact was so great that the bus stopped within 10 yards of the spot of the accident. We ran towards it. It was a horrible sight to see an otherwise menacing bus in shambles. The front half of the bus had not much left of it. The few people that were inside the bus were making their way out through the back door. I asked one of them if more people were trapped inside. He seemed to be in a daze and replied he didn't notice. There could be many more inside the wreckage. The sight of the mangled remains told us if the ladies' seat at the left and behind the driver's seat were occupied there was slim chance of them having survived. I was surprised to notice a middle-aged woman come down from the wreck and board the next passing bus with unnerving nonchalance. As if nothing had happened.


The rain was pelting down with more ferocity and before long we were headed back to our shelter in the vague assurance that not much harm had been done. The bus was not carrying too many people. Then a person came running along and said the driver had died on the spot. His lifeless limbs were hanging from his seat. That news was jarring. We all were left in a state of shock at having witnessed a death. A death of a fellow human being who knew nothing about his grim fate till a few moments back. How much of a compensation will his family get? Will the Unions look after their needs? Will the bus-owner be generous? No one knows.

Life is just so fragile. And one was snuffed out just yesterday in front of my very own eyes.

Paying Back in Costly Coins

“All quiet on the western front” seems to be the apt epithet for Nandigram going by the silence in its air which was resonating with gunfire till a few days back. As the apparent tragedy of us all living under a “just” Government settles into our conscience let me digress a bit to vent my then-exasperated-now-consolidated sense of shock and hurt at what happened in Nandigram.

We all know that the brutal retaliation by CPI (M) cadres was prompted by their state of homelessness for the past eleven months. Desperate in their bid to return to home and hearth they organized a clinical purge of the ‘occupying forces’ (read BUPC). Coupled with the complete breakdown of civil administration and the rule of law “something” had to be done from the Govt’s side to restore normalcy in the region. So, going by the ‘stated’ explanation issued from Writer’s Building, owing to the culmination of such serious factors it became imperative for initiation of a calculated and ruthless crackdown. ‘Installation of peace’ was the primary objective. The casualties were all collateral damage.

Point taken. And Rejected.

Any average informed person on the street would pose questions that ‘Alimuddin Street’ might grapple to answer on this issue. The structure of the argument would roughly be in the following format:

• Even after repeated assurances from the Chief Minister that the chemical hub would be shifted to some other place (Nayachar) the Haldia Development Authority did not withdraw the letter proclaiming land acquisition. Going by the Singur fiasco, no wonder that the farmers had scant trust in mere words. Repealing that letter of intent to acquire lands would have precluded all allegations by the Opposition and vacated the need for putting up resistance to police intervention in Nandigram and adjoining areas.

• Why is the Govt. hell-bent on industrializing farmlands at all? Food security cannot be relegated while prioritizing industry. Land-reforms being the single largest poll-plank over the years for the Communists it is imperative for them not to embrace industrialization at the cost of agriculture. Such blatant digression from their manifesto equally concerns their partners and detractors. Industry has to come up, plants need to be installed. But, not by being indifferent to the farmers and their livelihood. There are large tracts of unfertile land where plants might emerge and run smoothly. Why isn’t the Govt. putting its foot down on reallocating land to more conducive places in front of the demanding Corporate giants? Commerce cannot take precedence over basic human needs one must acknowledge. And its high time ‘Brand Buddha’ does.

• The present Chief Minister, a favorite with the city based intelligentsia (not so long ago), was lauded when he headed for ‘Industry Road’ disregarding firm opposition from certain quarters in his own party. In a way ‘Brand Buddha’ enjoyed unanimous support on his progressive policies. But somehow the forward-looking man in him succumbed to misjudgment, insisting on giving away large tracts of fertile land to the obstinacy of TATAs in Singur. Nandigram was even worse. Blood on police’s hands did not simplify matters and pressed with political compulsions in the form of upcoming Panchayat elections he had no choice. The only choice he was left with was a spate of bloody turf-wars to regain lost ground. That’s what he would have us believe. But no Sir. One always has a choice. Especially when one has to decide if to hand over restive parts to the CRPF to call in order or to ascent to a calculated carnage where party cadres rape, loot and ransack at will, only to stamp their authority as the ruling party. The man’s image has been sullied. And though public memory is short, the bloody scarlet of the Red flag might not always evoke images of the Great Revolution from now on. It might just be gory images from Khejuri and Garchakraberia that the 'Hammer and Sickle' would stand for.

• As news of the orchestrated pogrom filtered out from within the guarded corners of Nandigram the media aired it with an impassioned plea; unprecedented coming from quarters where Left-propensities are far too apparent. Intellectuals organized a historic march in condemnation of Govt. complicity and Kolkata saw the first congregation of its kind where thousands gathered by mere word of mouth; people came to condemn an atrocity, to vent outrage and all rallied under a strictly apolitical banner of ‘Humanity’. As an incredible counter-measure intellectuals sympathetic to the Govt. staged a rally to convey their solidarity and support. Even the Rain Gods couldn’t help but mar their march to shame that day. The CPI (M) in the name of a Peace-Rally organized a show of strength out of hired mobs the next day and' seasoned Marxists' breathed fire on non-conformists. Even the Governor’s non-partisan credentials were questioned. Was that not an act of abject desperation? Was that not prompted by a now permanent sense of power becoming synonymous with tyranny that a party state-secretary had the audacity to publicly question the political orientation of the Governor of the State? And that too because he condemned an act of terror as ‘unlawful and unacceptable’?

Show me a thriving democracy and I will show you a place where power doesn’t rot in the security of permanence.

Photos: Courtesy: rediff.com, tehelka.com