What are Marxists Afraid of?

While not many buy the KLO’s promise of a separate state of Kamtapur, the violence is less easy to ignore. The gun culture that has invaded the once-peaceful Dooars — the KLO is believed to be getting training and support from the ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland in camps in Bhutan, on the Assam-Bengal border — has alienated a large section of Rajbanshi intellectuals and academics from the movement.

According to sources, the KLO has several hit squads of six people or less. They move through corridors in the dense forests and clusters, which are used for cover, shelter and food during operations. Apart from hit squads, there are wings for fund-collection and intelligence-gathering. A large number of young girls are believed to act as couriers for the KLO.

Even as fears of bloodshed follow the KLO attack on the Dhupguri party office of the CPI(M) earlier this month, in which five people were killed, parallels are being inevitably drawn between the Kamtapur agitation and the Gorkhaland movement a decade ago. The geo-physical proximity is one reason for this, but sociologists, politicians and senior government officials find more dissimilarities than similarities between the two.

Most glaringly, of course, the Rajbanshis have no Subhash Ghising among them. Nor is there any dispute about the Rajbanshis being the original inhabitants of the area. Also, unlike the Gorkhas, the Rajbanshis are scattered all over the region, heavily interspersed by Bangladeshi refugees, Nepalis and tribals working in the tea plantations.

As may be expected, it is the settlers — the largest numbers of whom are Bangladeshi refugees — who are the bone of contention. Says Ananda Gopal Bose, a reader in History at the North Bengal University, ‘‘This region has seen several waves of Bangladeshi refugees before and after Independence and during the 1964 and 1971 wars. Each agitation in Assam triggered another wave of migration into Bengal. The latest and largest influx has been that of Nepalis ousted from Bhutan. The region has absorbed the successive tides but no special package has ever been offered here.’’

Moreover, the Rajbanshis, whose traditional livelihood was agriculture, rarely ever ventured into other economic activity. The abolition of the zamindari, therefore, hit them hard. Many impoverished Rajbanshis have consequently sold off their land to Bangladeshi settlers, widely regarded as both industrious and enterprising.

The latest onslaught on traditional landholding patterns comes again from the lure of easy money. A section of the Rajbanshis who held on to their land has turned to tea-cultivation, selling their produce to larger gardens with in-house factories. The agricultural front of the CPI(M), perceiving the land as unsuitable for traditional cultivation, actually facilitated the transfer.

However, locals feel the switch will eventually spell doom for the 200-odd tea-cultivating Rajbanshis, who are completely dependent on the larger gardens at a time when the tea business itself is in a downslide.

CPI(M) district secretary Manick Sanyal, one of the most powerful leaders in the belt, however, denies the party’s culpability. ‘‘The Rajbanshis who lost land in the government’s land reforms programme were zotedars,’’ he said. ‘‘As for those who sold their land for short-term gains… well, the the fault lies with them, not those who have purchased it. Land is not an expandable item. Its nature is such that once it gets divided, it gets split.’’

Alleging that the Rajbanshis were merely trying to use history to generate ethnic passions, Sanyal also denies that the region has fallen behind in the development stakes, vis-a-vis industry, infrastructure and employment generation.

‘‘Once upon a time, all the rickshaw-pullers in Jalpaiguri town were from neighbouring Bihar. Now the Rajbanshis have taken over. There are hundreds of Rajbanshi graduates and even post-graduates. Scores of them cycle 15-20 km everyday from Sahudangi to Siliguri town to work as labourers,’’ says Sanyal.

The veteran Marxist’s yardsticks of development will undoubtedly surprise many — particularly after 25 years of Left Front rule — and raise many hackles. ‘‘These are the words of someone in authority,’’ says a leader of the constituent Left Front party on condition of anonymity.

‘‘But the Dhupguri incident should be an eye-opener. The Rajbanshis may not be able to match either the organisational strength or the leadership might of the Marxists, but the disgruntled elements will continue to create disturbances. The region may not turn into another Gorkhaland but it could well be another Tripura.’’