Party & ideology over nation
Most will remember the visceral and unflinching manner in which Prakash Karat and his fellow comrades opposed the nuclear deal between India and the United States. During the official visit of George Bush to India, they even forgot courtesy while abusing and heckling him (one wonders how many people would have been killed in police firing if demonstrators had abused and heckled Chinse Supremo Hu Jintao during a hypothetical state visit to Kolkata?) But not many will remember that Marxists like Basu always blamed India more than China for the 1962 debacle. Just consider this: The CPI, mentored by the Soviet Union, supported the Emergency because Indira’s India was a Soviet ally; the CPI(M) opposed it vehemently because China was not very fond of Indira’s India. Of course, both supported the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and kept quiet on the Chinese invasion of fellow Marxist state Vietnam in 1979. Under Jyoti Basu, West Bengal always gave more importance to ideology over public interest. Anything that the United States did was wrong, sinful, imperialistic and evil. Anything that the former Soviet Union and China did was far above criticism. This was all right till the ‘ideology over national and public interest’ line was largely symbolic. But, it had terrible consequences for the state when dogma invaded realpolitik and started affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of citizens. Mercifully for India, voters now seem far less swayed by ideology and identity politics than they were in the recent past; that perhaps was the biggest message sent out by voters during the 2009 general elections when both the CPI(M) and the BJP were humiliated and humbled.
Intolerance & authoritarianism
Strange as it may sound, this is a trait that Marxists seem to share with Fascists. And like the Fascists, the Marxists have an uncanny way to ruthlessly weed out dissent and free speech even within their own ranks. Many of you know how Prakash Karat and comrades expelled fellow Marxist Somnath Chatterjee for behaving like the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and refusing to vote against the Manmohan Singh government. But much before Somnath Chatterjee became a victim of such classic Marxist intolerance, comrades like Jyoti Basu had set wonderful precedents.
Senior Marxist leader Benoy Choudhury was ruthlessly sidelined during the hey days of Basu when he criticised the government for encouraging traders and businessmen at the expense of the poor. He died a forgotten man. Another Marxist leader and former MP Manoranjan Hazra had to leave the party after accusing fellow comrades of promoting “promoter Raj”. His daughter - despite several High Court orders - simply failed to get even a school teacher’s job in Basu’s Bengal. Some of you might have heard of Nripen Chakraborty, a Marxist who became the chief minister of Tripura. He was perpetually sidelined after publicly criticising Basu’s policies.
If Basu and his acolytes could treat ‘family members’ so ruthlessly, imagine the fate of citizens and activists who were not Marxists. Police firings, custody deaths and ‘raids’ organised by party workers were actually the order of the day in Basu’s Bengal. One of the worst is the Marichjhapi massacre where more than 3,000 Dalit protestors were killed. It is only during the Singur and the Nandigram agitations that the sheer ruthlessness of the Marxists and their police machinery came to light and became the staple for media. But it was perfected during Basu’s regime when any villager daring to vote against the Marxists automatically became a target for the Marxist goons. That kind of authoritarianism is now coming back to haunt the successors of Basu. And ask yourself honestly: with so many grievances, injustices and inequity, will India survive if the State displays such authoritarianism?
Murder of Entrepreneurship
Till the late 1960s, Bengal was one of the most industrialised states of India. Many prominent Marwari business families who found their early fortunes during the British Raj had made Calcutta their home. One of the most respected of the lot is B.K. Birla, almost 90-years-old, and a man who personally witnessed interactions between his father G.D. Birla and Mahatma Gandhi. Of course, he has also witnessed the destruction of West Bengal as an industrial hub. He says, half in sorrow and half in mockery, “What can businessmen expect but unions, strikes, threats and God knows what else. Tell me, which businessman will invest there. You know, when they are out of Bengal, the people are the most hard working, industrious and enterprising. But inside the state…you can see what happened to Bengal over the last 40 years. I don’t need to elaborate. Of course, I have always considered Calcutta my home and always will. But frankly, I don’t see a bright future for the state.”
Read more.....
Most will remember the visceral and unflinching manner in which Prakash Karat and his fellow comrades opposed the nuclear deal between India and the United States. During the official visit of George Bush to India, they even forgot courtesy while abusing and heckling him (one wonders how many people would have been killed in police firing if demonstrators had abused and heckled Chinse Supremo Hu Jintao during a hypothetical state visit to Kolkata?) But not many will remember that Marxists like Basu always blamed India more than China for the 1962 debacle. Just consider this: The CPI, mentored by the Soviet Union, supported the Emergency because Indira’s India was a Soviet ally; the CPI(M) opposed it vehemently because China was not very fond of Indira’s India. Of course, both supported the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and kept quiet on the Chinese invasion of fellow Marxist state Vietnam in 1979. Under Jyoti Basu, West Bengal always gave more importance to ideology over public interest. Anything that the United States did was wrong, sinful, imperialistic and evil. Anything that the former Soviet Union and China did was far above criticism. This was all right till the ‘ideology over national and public interest’ line was largely symbolic. But, it had terrible consequences for the state when dogma invaded realpolitik and started affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of citizens. Mercifully for India, voters now seem far less swayed by ideology and identity politics than they were in the recent past; that perhaps was the biggest message sent out by voters during the 2009 general elections when both the CPI(M) and the BJP were humiliated and humbled.
Intolerance & authoritarianism
Strange as it may sound, this is a trait that Marxists seem to share with Fascists. And like the Fascists, the Marxists have an uncanny way to ruthlessly weed out dissent and free speech even within their own ranks. Many of you know how Prakash Karat and comrades expelled fellow Marxist Somnath Chatterjee for behaving like the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and refusing to vote against the Manmohan Singh government. But much before Somnath Chatterjee became a victim of such classic Marxist intolerance, comrades like Jyoti Basu had set wonderful precedents.
Senior Marxist leader Benoy Choudhury was ruthlessly sidelined during the hey days of Basu when he criticised the government for encouraging traders and businessmen at the expense of the poor. He died a forgotten man. Another Marxist leader and former MP Manoranjan Hazra had to leave the party after accusing fellow comrades of promoting “promoter Raj”. His daughter - despite several High Court orders - simply failed to get even a school teacher’s job in Basu’s Bengal. Some of you might have heard of Nripen Chakraborty, a Marxist who became the chief minister of Tripura. He was perpetually sidelined after publicly criticising Basu’s policies.
If Basu and his acolytes could treat ‘family members’ so ruthlessly, imagine the fate of citizens and activists who were not Marxists. Police firings, custody deaths and ‘raids’ organised by party workers were actually the order of the day in Basu’s Bengal. One of the worst is the Marichjhapi massacre where more than 3,000 Dalit protestors were killed. It is only during the Singur and the Nandigram agitations that the sheer ruthlessness of the Marxists and their police machinery came to light and became the staple for media. But it was perfected during Basu’s regime when any villager daring to vote against the Marxists automatically became a target for the Marxist goons. That kind of authoritarianism is now coming back to haunt the successors of Basu. And ask yourself honestly: with so many grievances, injustices and inequity, will India survive if the State displays such authoritarianism?
Murder of Entrepreneurship
Till the late 1960s, Bengal was one of the most industrialised states of India. Many prominent Marwari business families who found their early fortunes during the British Raj had made Calcutta their home. One of the most respected of the lot is B.K. Birla, almost 90-years-old, and a man who personally witnessed interactions between his father G.D. Birla and Mahatma Gandhi. Of course, he has also witnessed the destruction of West Bengal as an industrial hub. He says, half in sorrow and half in mockery, “What can businessmen expect but unions, strikes, threats and God knows what else. Tell me, which businessman will invest there. You know, when they are out of Bengal, the people are the most hard working, industrious and enterprising. But inside the state…you can see what happened to Bengal over the last 40 years. I don’t need to elaborate. Of course, I have always considered Calcutta my home and always will. But frankly, I don’t see a bright future for the state.”
Read more.....
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM B-School Detail
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM B-School Detail
