[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