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.