[Reader-list] After Nandigram

[Tapas Ray]

It is difficult to imagine that the CPI(M), with a large following in 
West Bengal, does not have members and supporters who possess a greater 
ability for critical thinking and are less prone to substituting press 
releases and the party line for rational discourse, than what has been 
seen on this list so far. Leaving aside such events as Bantala (almost 
forgotten), scams like treasury and waqf (again, almost forgotten), and 
the general atmosphere of "Party control" over everything, the recent 
events of Nandigram and Singur provide an opportunity for these sections 
to consider the need for evolving a genuinely progressive democratic 
politics. Only such an alternative can help the people survive the 
present phase of development, marked by increasing insecurity due to 
neoliberalism, the failure of the Left to present a credible challenge 
to this, and its tendency to resort to fascistic methods in response to 
this crisis. The alternative is an inevitable rise of communal and 
extremist forces, as the state is experiencing today.

Tapas