Asian Age (Nov. 24).
Conspiracy of Violence
Seema Mustafa
West Bengal is under attack. Taking advantage of the arrogance and what appears to be total incompetence of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, various forces are clearly at work to destroy the CPI(M) citadel and wipe out the opposition that has been taking a steadfast stand against US imperialism, globalisation and communalism. Theoretically, and even ideologically, there are the purists amongst us who will find many a fault with the CPI(M) position on these issues. Practically, the Left remains the only force in India that has shown the courage and the tenacity of raising issues that are of concern to the poor and the minorities and the marginalised sections of society, even though it does not always have the strength or even the intention to carry the rhetoric through into direct action.
Nandigram is one issue that has been written about at great length. It is a mix of bad administration, callousness and incompetence. Tinged with an arrogance that appears to have contributed greatly to the losing image of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The rest was goons versus goons, of all political hues. Nothing more and nothing less. So while it was terrible and had to be condemned, the others in the fray could not be absolved of blame. The Congress, the BJP, the Trinamul Congress, the Maoists, there was a mix of interests of those opposed to the Left Front government who contributed to the violence as well. So while it is clear that the fault rests specifically with the CPI(M) and the chief minister, it is equally clear that others claiming to be the victims have also held the role of aggressors at different points in the crisis. The political overtones are heavy in Nandigram that has demonstrated the militarisation of West Bengal politics that does not speak well for the ruling government or of the Opposition in the state.
But what is particularly amazing is, not this violence or the politics of Nandigram. As a journalist covering India through the Eighties, one has seen far far worse. In the districts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh where entire Dalit hamlets have been wiped out and Muslims been killed at point blank range by police bullets. Governments have sat back and done nothing, except make some empty promises and appoint a few commissions. Given this background and the reality of India, the response of intellectuals has been worrisome as it has gone to the levels of the absurd. The equations being drawn between Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Narendra Modi seem to come out of some RSS seedy drama, where the intention is to give Modi a clean chit for the pogrom in Gujarat. If Bhattacharjee equals Modi, then frankly, Modi doesn¹t amount to anything. The death, rape and brutalisation of over 2,000 persons in Gujarat means little, as the Left leaning intellectuals themselves have now trivialised the carnage, by equating it to Nandigram where the context and the results were both dramatically different. This coming on the eve of the elections in Gujarat where the traumatised victims of the violence are still shedding tears, and where the activists who have been relentlessly working for justice are hoping to make a dent in Modi¹s bastion, is one of the worst chits of virtually good conduct given to Modi since the pogrom. The comparison, to put it mildly, stinks and places a distinct question mark over the intellect and perhaps even the motivation of those seeing little difference between Nandigram and Gujarat.
The argument might be that no one expected a Left Front government to act like others, and that the chief minister¹s attitude and response were particularly offensive to begin with. True, but that is not sufficient to put him in the same cage as Modi. That is very offensive, and disheartening for those fighting the worst kind of communalism in Gujarat and seeking justice for the thousands who have still not been rehabilitated or even if they have, live as second class citizens without jobs and education. In one sense, the violence in Kolkata is more damaging and needs careful analysis. One, a mofussil group of Muslim fundamentalists came out to protest against the state government¹s support for Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen. This group has done so before and definitely does not have the support that it suddenly found on the streets, with mobs bringing the state capital to virtually a halt through hours of organised violence. CPI(M) MPs mentioned the role of the US in the House and wanted to know why US diplomats were meeting Opposition leaders in the state. Of course, one would also like to know why Mr Bhattacharjee met former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger just when the Left needed all the reinforcements it could get to oppose the civilian nuclear energy agreement. But it is a well known secret that the CIA has the largest base in West Bengal, ostensibly to keep a monitoring control on the Northeast.
Two, and this is certainly condemnable, the state government decided to "deport" Taslima Nasreen to BJP ruled Jaipur. Why? Why did it succumb to the fundamentalists? This will not help in the long run, for if they torched ten government vehicles to get their way this time, they will torch 20 to get other demands conceded the next time.
This was perhaps the worst possible response to the violence, as concessions are only exploited by the fundamentalists. In fact, the chief minister should stop trying to be the representative of the "New Left" and go back to the traditional roots of functioning that kept the Marxists in power in the state for 30 long years.
The Left has to be strengthened and not weakened in India. The issues of poverty, exploitation, discrimination, communalism all remain to ensure a strong base for the Marxists should they care to spread the organisation into areas outside West Bengal and Kerala.
Nandigram and the hysterical intellectual outcry have weakened the Left Front government to a point where it might find it difficult to fight the strong political establishment at the Centre on the civilian nuclear energy agreement with the United States. It cannot be anyone¹s case that Nandigram is more important than the fight against US imperialism, of which the nuclear deal is an important symbol. More so, as the Left has recognised the problem in Nandigram and is addressing it, unlike Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who remains adamant about pushing India under US strategic control. This is the major issue today, a virtually last ditch fight that will determine the future of not just a block or two in a state, but of India itself. CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat was absolutely correct when he said that national policy could not be affected by what happens in a few blocks. And one can only hope that Nandigram has not chipped away at the confidence of the West Bengal government to a point where it cannot take a stand against the US efforts to tie Indian strategic interests in a straitjacket where our nuclear programme, our foreign policy, our military and our future will be overrun by Washington.
So while no one denies the right of people to protest and oppose, it does need to be pointed out that Bhattacharjee is at worst a bad administrator and even arrogant leader, while Narendra Modi is at best a communal man, the Ugly Indian who has justified the pogrom and remains totally unapologetic. Where is the comparison? There is an important fight on in India, a virtual battle in which the Left has become a party. This explains Kolkata and much of the hysteria around Nandigram. India is being pushed by forces within and without into the US bloc with the resistance now being spearheaded by the Left. (The NDA has taken a position against the nuclear deal but not against strategic ties with the US). There has been support from the regional parties and from the poor struggling masses who do not have any great knowledge about the nuclear deal but empathise with arguments denouncing the Americans for economic policies and for the invasion of Iraq. The resistance is ranged against the powerful corporate class, the political establishment, the influential media, and the government. It is an unequal fight, with the Left being targeted for the leadership it has provided the resistance at this crucial moment, and those seeing Modi in Bhattacharjee are joining those seeking to turn the political and strategic direction of India.
The tragedy will be if the West Bengal leadership loses the courage to continue the fight, for then it will be truly over. For the Left and for India. Or, should one modify this to say, for the Left and the Indian poor, as the rich have never had it so good?
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