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STABLE,
YES, COMRADES,
BUT ARE YOU ALSO ABLE?
West Bengal
must ponder why it has allowed the Left 30 years
CHANDAN
MITRA
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CHANDAN
MITRA |
The Left in India,
specifically the domineering Big Brother CPM, is currently busy congratulating
itself for completing 30 years of uninterrupted rule in West Bengal.
It would be churlish to deny them credit for a feat no political party
has been able to achieve in India. In the erstwhile Soviet Union, the
Communist Party ruled for just over 70 years; in China it has been in
power for less than 60. By comparison, our own comrades have not done
badly at all, considering this is the only place they have remained
in power through free, multi-party elections. The CPM’s stranglehold
over West Bengal cannot be explained away by rigged elections alone,
especially after the closely supervised 2006 Assembly poll. That it
has also shrewdly kept the Opposition divided, ensuring popular support
for non-Left parties does not translate into seats, is yet another feather
in the CPM’s cap. Many would be startled to learn that there was
only a 0.8 percent difference in the votes polled between the Left Front
and non-Left groups in the 2006 election, although the ruling alliance
bagged nearly three-fourths of the seats in the Assembly.
But do we sense
a growing discomfort within the Left Front in its 30th year in power?
In fact, celebrations for the landmark anniversary are patently subdued.
For the first time in three decades, the CPM has lost the moral and
intellectual high ground following the violent uprisings first in Singur
and then in Nandigram. Scores of Leftist intellectuals, academics, filmmakers,
cultural personalities and writers are now at pains to distance themselves
from the unacceptable face of a party that still worships Josef Stalin.
As it transpires, it is not just a captive police and a cowering administration
that is to blame for the simmering violence in Nandigram; the CPM has
deployed its armed cadre in full strength to act as the vanguard of
the forces of repression. Everybody in Bengal knows how dangerous it
is to cross the CPM’s path. But, if one surrenders to the all-powerful
“local committee”, not only is protection assured but even
personal or business scores can be effortlessly settled. Despite all
this, nearly 50 percent of Bengal’s voters have not been cowed
into submission.
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In any assessment
of the CPM’s 30 years in Bengal, it would be unfair to disregard
the positives. The party carried out extensive land reforms empowering
sharecroppers, while West Bengal’s agricultural productivity increased
significantly, although that may have nothing to do with the party in
power. At any rate, some growth is bound to happen in the normal course.
However, in terms of industry, West Bengal has been turned into a wasteland,
first on account of mindless, militant trade unionism, then the prolonged
power shortage between 1977 and the early 90s, and finally the state
government’s callous disregard towards creating a favourable investment
climate. This has a historical background. In 1969, a rag-tag, CPM-led
United Front canvassed for votes on the slogan “Jukto Front jitley
porey, Tata-Birla paliye jabey” (Tatas and Birlas will flee if
United Front wins). No wonder, West Bengal today holds the 9th slot
in the country’s industrialisation table, down from the No. 1
position it held in 1947. Not just capital, but intellectual talent
too has fled the state systematically during the CPM decades.
Even if we accept
that the party is trying to make amends for past follies, it still does
not explain the “socialist” government’s appalling
performance on human development indices, such as education, health,
unpolluted drinking water and other facets of the human resources infrastructure.
Not bourgeois propagandists, but the Sachar Committee’s report
says the economic condition of Muslims in the state and their access
to education is among the lowest in India. Indeed, the CPM’s record
in governance, leave alone good governance, is abysmal even if their
electoral performance remains highly creditable.
But why is the
CPM’s record in office so poor, despite Bengal’s watertight
political stability? This should lead us to question whether political
stability should ever be an end in itself. The party has a far better
record in government in Kerala. Is it because it keeps getting voted
out every five years? Kerala leads India in most human development indices,
including health and education. Could it be that competitive politics
has something to do with Kerala’s progress? May be it is West
Bengal’s misfortune, or the sheer stupidity of its voters, that
one party has ruled for 30 straight years, bringing the state steadily
down from the pinnacle it occupied at the time of Independence.
Mitra
is Editor, The Pioneer and MP (Rajya Sabha)
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