red enterprises


There could have been 12 people who died in some government hospital due to wrong treatment or neglect.There was probably 12 people in some slum who died due to a combination of illness,starvation and living conditions.There might have been 12 beggars who died.The media decided that all of that wasnt worth precious air time.Instead they did a thorough coverage on 12 lives lost in a small place in West Bengal.
Thus,what eilte Mumbaii-kars and Delhi- ites have been referring to as "Mamtas latest" came to be re-christened as "The Nandigram Issue."
And along with the 12 "innocent " lives lost... there must have been more "innocent" lives lost which were un accounted for as they were sheathed in uniforms.

I have to admit that i have been denied the privilage of the exhaustaive reports that regional news channels must have provided... but from this end of the country, based on the coverage that i could get from CNN_IBN and NDTV.. it seems to me that the protest is gradually losing its direction.First it was against the act of wrongful acqisition of land,then the "massacre"and the violence against women... and ultimately the entry of the Calcutta social and cultural la-di-da and the Jamaat–e-Ulema-Hind, proved that all the "protest" is actually just a very strong emotional reaction provokedd by media potrayals of helplessness agianst the backdrop of rural poverty.
And it seems shamefully provincial to give every action and voice an identity.... Bhattacharya being a hardcore Communist,Mamata being an incorrigible maverick,Nandigram being a Maoist place.... seemingly feminist women....... how did it become a humanitarion issue...????
Not that i value human life with a pinch of salt.... nor do i expect anyone to martyr themselves to a cause... nor do i blv that bloodshed is the only way to pronounce a protest as effective..... but i 12 lives lost for a cause IS something to commemorate every year.... not to pronounce it ( and all roads leading to and from it ) as a "humanitarian "issue....

IT would be far sensible now if the agitated personnel would now cool down and promote the cause of estabilishing the Tata Motors manufacturing unit.Of course the problems and obsatcles that will have to be in-evitable need to dealt with in a more efficienct and speedy manner.

Bhattacharya's foresight and decision to develop Bengal and encourage industrialization is commendable.The only flaw was to violate the property rights of farmers.And the un precedented violence that followed.or maybe not un precedented.
Bhattacharya's attempt to foist industries on unwilling people WOULD lead to violence.. not to mention the damage caused to the very cause he is espousing.

Furthermore.... the farmers' attitude is no less shocking.Industrialization need not necessarily spell doom for them.The approach to the of the Tata plant may be harsh and inappropriate.... but then everything in Bengal is stirred to controversy.
If farmers are to be peasants... then of course the loss of land is sacrilege.However, if farmers can rise to being people above the level of medievial serfs... then they might be able to see that "industrialization" could spell rural electrification,better health and education facilities,telecom networks,connectivity, communication and road connectivity... all of which could eventually lead to better living and more exposure to the non-rural world.

The scary aspect to all oif this is the thought of the resisitance that might be offered to every act of progressive economic industrialization in other parts of the country.... and does the Centre or State really have such unimpeded rights to acquire land.... for whichever cause and place....Will every farmer be rendered helpless when a plant with intimidating machinary is set up...?
I hope not.

Most States in th Western part of the country... and especially Gujarat has shown a far more steady growth of industry as their take on industrialization is from a much larger angle.Industires can be promoted or attracted by dismantling red tape,framing industry friendly policies,preventing Government intervention,and reducing hierarchy in government proceedings.
There is also a very definite social structure to industrialization here.The Government starts at the grass roots level...literally at the "grass" and "roots" level.... where even farming is considered to be a business venture of sorts.There onwards... every individual is encouraged and aided to participate in free markets. The common people has learnt to think and look at a world beyond their cicumstancial flaws.They are not called the "Enterprising Gujarati" for nothing.
Gujarat has attracted more investment,indusrty and economic activity than West Bengal,or any other state for that matter... as the Modi Govt. has left the farmers and industrialists to negotiate with each other freely,with the state acting merely as facilitator.
The analysis and the choice to modify neo liberal draconian land laws first... and then proceed to the next point of contoversy.. is definitley not the best modus operandii.

Bhattacharya... who has learnt the need for industrialization, still has to do a lot more home work and thinking to do...and would do well to take a leaf out of the Modi administration.
And Bengal would thank him for it.

happy holi to me,hasta la vista and nightswimming. ive never been a very festive sort of a person.dont much like crowds,too loud laughter.. and flitting thru conversations and people and inert activity.i did play holi once.... long time ago.... baba took us up on the terrace.loaded with plastic artillary and aqua based ammunition.lol.i had fun.i was six. now... the only thing i look forward to this holi weekend is going and picking a good shampoo....and i salivate as i choose from vo5 sunkissed raspberry,honey and milk,passion friut ,cucumber and melons,balckberry and mint... these are all shampoos mind you..... heres a time when all the kids in campus are caught up in a mad frenzy of playing holi.... im trying hard to find the element of fun in being a hippo cum pig cum wilde african buffaloe rolling in mud,sliding in mud,donning a camoflauge to look naturally apish and cro magnon.and im still trying. there IS and element of bonding.of forgetting past differences without having to say anything.... a bucket of 1.5 % coloured solution and a laugh does it. a mature way of handling it im sure. an opprtunity to get "revenge"for something that occured some time between last holi and this one.girlfriend versus boyfriend.this is the last year.we never shall play holi together again. amen to that. these are the last few days.college finishes in a couple of months.academic pressure...ummm.well... whatever.post grad... whatever.work...whatever. where does that leave me...??? blissfully unaware. college.what about it.... people???events...??? ive had a great time here.muy college life has been the best. ive never associated muyself with it.ive had friends elsewhere.ive had classmates from school whove been there everyday for everything.ive had a boyfriend who was around for the best things and the worst. ive shared sunsets and greenery with ppl from home.ive done the craziest things from impromptu train trips to booze,rock and football... with ppl from home. ive grown up,down and sideways... and the crowd here have had nothing to do with it. in between bouts of tearing my hair,raving,ranting and sniffling about the state of affairs here....ive read a lot.thought a lot.become calmer.older.ive had a lot of time and opportunity to be thourough in everything from history and socio to aeronotics(which i dont get too much of..)ive had the privelege of being able to churn things in muy mind,digest it better.learn.formulate.think... it has no begiining and no end.ive survived on threads of nostalgia,the company of canines and bovines... and inevitably the two legged pre historics. iv become a person.. more happy and stronger to be who and what i am. ive become a recluse.very wierd.unsocial.unpresentable..(or so ive been told)... and im happy about it. i never was able to establish a "group"who id hang out with.. go watch movies... have "fun"... etc. yes i have had ppl.... whove got into trouble with me... me being the leader.i have had muy share of going out with friends. i discovered,quite happily,that i hate movies... sitting in the dark for three hours is a waste... rather get a cd and then talk about it and discuss it... not worth it otherwise. i have a few good friends.some of them totally not me.... but so human that i would be downrite shameless not to give them their due. i have loads of memories.... of falling apart,of numerous walks,of conversations....of being lonely. i have loads of baggage to take home....books,scribbles,poetry,unsent letters,sneakers..and muy cycle. i have loads of me that remain un fortified. ive loved muy college life.what it has given me.the space .the liberty.the opportunity. the fact that i can walk away from here without emotional attachments,romantic affiliations,things i will miss and all that. im a loner. im happy about it now. in the past it was simon and garfunkels" i am a rock" that was muy mantra.... it still is.... but this minute.....going back to all of you tht matter.... after going thru college.. i know ive grown.... ive come to terms with it and im happy.. to a certain extent. heres the song... in bits....for all those who and all that is just a memory.... and that helped immensly. i loved college..... Nightswimming deserves a quiet night. The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago, turned around backwards so the windshield shows. Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse. Still, it's so much clearer. I'm not sure all these people understand. It's not like years ago, The fear of getting caught, of recklessness and water. They cannot see me naked. These things, they go away, replaced by everyday. You, I thought I knew you. You I cannot judge. You, I thought you knew me, this one laughing quietly underneath my breath. Nightswimming. The photograph reflects, every streetlight a reminder. Nightswimming deserves a quiet night, deserves a quiet night.