[Reader-list] The Tragedy of Nandigram

[Tapas Ray]

Those who have some familiarity with West Bengal will probably agree 
with Shuddhabrata's deeply anguished description of the state of affairs 
prevailing there today. The Nandigram tragedy is - or should be - yet 
another occasion for some introspection on the part of the Left Front in 
general and the CPI-M in particular.

But it is more than that. It should be an occasion for thinking about 
the broader context within which this culture has come into being, 
namely the ideology of "development".

Although they have some very revolutionary-sounding things to say about 
the political economy of the Indian state (while playing obediently by 
its rules) the Left parties and the Left Front government do not seem to 
have engaged in any serious assessment of the technical development 
paradigm adopted by the country. In fact, they have swallowed it hook, 
line and sinker. If West Bengal was what it is today when the "Green 
Revolution" arrived in India, in all probability it would have been 
chosen rather than Punjab as the site of that experiment.

All that matters today in West Bengal as much as in other states, one 
supposes, is investment. Anyone who is against any investment or any 
aspect of any investment, whatever the reason, is seen as an enemy of 
the state. One should say "enemy of the people".

Tapas



Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote:
> Dear Friends,
> 
> The incident of the brutal armed police attack in order to 're-take' 
> Nandigram in West Bengal yesterday is yet another milestone in the