Re: [nukkad] Verdict is Yours : 118

["Dr.M.C. Gupta" <>]

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Maloy,

Thanks for a good exposition of the background. It is quite comprehensive
and analytical.

Para 3 certainly makes a very valid point. An article by an expert I read 10
years ago had also attributed the continued victory of the Left in WB to
land reforms.

Para 6 makes sad reading. When an extra-constitutional source of power
develops, be it a political party or a PM's son, it is bad for democracy.

I wish other nukkad members follow your style of making specific para-wise
points. That makes discussion so much more purposeful, without innuendos and
implied implications and reprisals. Venugopal and Kishore have elements of
this style. I applaud all three of you.

MCG

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On 3/20/08, Maloy Manna  wrote:
>
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> [This message contained attachments that have been removed.]
>
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> My 2 cents on why the Left has been successful in Bengal.
>
> 1. Integrity of Left's top leaders - you'll rarely find a turncoat like
> you find in the other parties. The Left has also always maintained that
> communalism is evil #1 (BJP), followed by evil #2 (Congress), and remained
> pro-Cuba/China and anti-US with no change in its position over the years.
> Several top leaders e.g. the current CM Buddhababu live a simple life
> without any flaunting of wealth (vs Mayawati / Amar Singh).
>
> 2. Consistent identity politics - The Left has always identified with the
> poor - agricultural or industrial. They have cocked a snook at the
> nouveau-riche, the stock markets, the liberalization/globalization agenda
> and remained true to their mass support base.
>
> 3. Poverty alleviation and land reforms - Bengal was one of the poorest
> and most malnourished states when the Left came to power. Their land reforms
> was a success, and there is no more crippling poverty and famine like
> conditions. Even with the endemic corruption in India, Bengal has a
> reasonably functional public distribution system.
>
> 4. Failure of other parties- The Left has been successful in portraying
> the Congress as anti-poor. Identifying with the elite Gandhi family never
> worked here for Congress. Bengal has little tolerance for the antics of the
> BJP, not the least due to Ram being considered here to be a mythical figure
> and not a god. Even after the partition of Bengal in the early 20th century,
> there still remains a sizeable population of Muslims in Bengal - in urban
> pockets of Kolkata as well as in the Sultanate districts like Murshidabad.
>
> 5. Prices - If you've been to Kolkata, you'll know that the price levels
> in this metro is way below any other comparable city or town. In most of
> Bengal, the same holds true. Inflation is a very sensitive issue here due to
> the low income levels, which is why the Left as well as Mamta have no
> alternative than protest every price hike.
>
> 6. Organization - Long before the BJP and the Sangh parivar understood the
> importance of a cadre-based party, the Left had perfected the organizational
> framework in Bengal. The 'Party' has become the most important element in
> the lives of people.
> Need to get a job, to get a gas connection, to get a contract, to get
> through the red-tape of bureaucracy, and you better have connections with
> someone in the 'Party'.
> Feud with your tenants - get hold of the local 'Party' boys to teach them
> a lesson.
> The local 'Party' branch is always up-to-date with the voters' list and of
> course the officers in the voting booths have 'Party connections'. Rigging
> through "chappa votes" (votes stamped by cadres who take over the polling
> booth) is not required everywhere - only in places where the opposition is
> strong.
> Visit any college/university and the all powerful student union is almost
> inevitably being run by the SFI.
> Marx might have said that religion is the opium of the masses, but that
> doesn't prohibit the Left to put up stalls at every other Durga puja pandal
> to distribute its propaganda material and communist literature.
> There having been no change of government there in the last 3 decades, the
> police doesn't need to switch allegiances and functions as an important
> element of the 'party'.
>
> 7. Role of intelligentsia - At a time when Bengal was very poor - after
> the WWII and the Bengal famine, the Naxalite movement created a strong
> impression on young minds, several of who grew up to become major poets
> (Subhash Mukhopadhyay, Shakti Chattopadhyay) or film-makers (Ritwik Ghatak,
> Mrinal Sen) and theatre personalities (Sombhu Mitra, IPTA's Utpal Dutt /
> Salil Chowdhury). Due to a conducive climate, the intelligentsia never
> denounced communism, rather generated debates on the implementation and
> course corrections required in the communist regime.
>
> ~Maloy
>
>
>
>
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> 
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-- 
Prof. M C Gupta
MD (Medicine), MPH,  LL.M.,

Advocate & Health and Medico-legal Consultant

mcgupta44@gmail.com
www.writing.com/authors/mcgupta44
http://mcgupta44.blogspot.com/

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