Opinion A Tragedy Foretold

Now things will just get worse till she has her way and wins the Assembly elections. The CPM repented too late in its thirty-years- plus rule and began to think of bringing some economic growth to West Bengal. Jyoti Basu may be iconic in his role as the super dada of CPM but he was responsible for the ruin of West Bengal in an even more spectacular fashion than Lalu Yadav wrecked Bihar. It was populism with a red banner but it did not warm any hearths.

West Bengal continued its long decline during the twentieth century. What was India’s leading economic and cultural province and its leader in politics sunk lower and lower from 1905 onwards. Come the twenty-first century there could have been a turn for the better but Buddhadeb was too little too late. Mamata Banerji showed that two can play at destructive populism. It does not require a positive agenda which guarantees improvement in people’s lives if you want to win. You incite their fears and their hatreds. CPM did it one way,Mamata will do in another.

As she is bound to win in 2011 after the latest results,the question is how long will she rule and continue to ruin West Bengal? It is unlikely that she will industrialise or invite investment. Why would any sensible industrialist trust her after what she did to Ratan Tata? Why would anyone venture their capital even if she invited them knowing that given her mercurial nature all bets could be off if something annoyed her. So we will have some sentimental festivals; back to Rabindranath Tagore and his 150th anniversary which means all thoughts of the present can be buried under the glorification of Gurudev… The future can wait.

Of course Congress does bear a lot of responsibility for the rise and rise of Mamata Banerji. In classic Imperial fashion it believes in Divide and Rule. Indira Gandhi paid tragically for this when she tried the technique in Punjab to embarrass Akali Dal. Yet the same was done again when Congress was getting tired of the Left. Mamata,erstwhile Cabinet Minister in NDA,was warmly welcomed in the Congress coalition and feted. But as in the Bhindranwale case,the stooge proved to have a mind of her own. For Congress getting rid of the Left was a priority when the US deal was on but now surely there can be nothing but regret at the genie they have let loose from the bottle. Mamata has treated Congress with undisguised contempt. It has to meekly fill the humble role of an also-ran.

Perhaps sense may yet prevail. Perhaps the good of the nation may get just a tiny bit more attention than family fortunes. Maybe Congress may worry that it stands to lose both the Left’s support and West Bengal. And a declining West Bengal will give ample shelter to the Naxalites. After all,that is where they began forty-plus years back.