Communist State: Why the Left left Lalgarh
The Communists came to power in West Bengal as a cadre-based outfit which was capable of seizing and retaining political control through strong-arm methods, and also had an ideological background credible enough to earn the support of local intelligentsia. So for over 32 years, while the motives of the government were to rule by communist principles, the administration was carried out by the cadre.
Enthusiasts, members, sycophants, and generally useful people were also gradually co-opted within the state machinery. Agriculture was given top priority and land ownership was handed over to the poor, but loyal farmer. This does not however mean the communist government was pro-poor, merely that it rewarded those who proclaimed loyalty. The communist government in its three decade long rule has gradually witnessed the decline of essentially industrial towns like Durgapur.
An estimate says that over 11.2% of families in Bengal go hungry every night. The figure for all of India is 2.5%. 14 out of 18 districts in West Bengal figure in the 100 poorest districts in India, an astonishing achievement for a pro-poor government in power for 32 years. An even more astonishing figure, about 1.47% of India’s poor live in the Murshidabad district of West bengal alone. It seems the present government has kept its hold on the state by perpetuating status-quo.
In this context, the issue is whether the so called liberated-area in and around Lalgarh is an illegitimate movement against a constitutionally elected state government, or whether the state itself has become illegitimate for the people it claims to represent. This question begs to be asked not in some way to justify the alleged-Naxal presence in Lalgarh, but because the government’s response has been to declare the area in the control of Naxals and thus to send police, and military forces to combat them.
What this does is totally ignores the concerns of those locals (mostly tribals) who have genuine concerns, who may or may not have resorted to violence, but who now definitely do not have faith in the capability of the state government to deliver on its behalf. They have been at the receiving end of well-reported police brutalities, of strong-arm tactics of CPI(M) cadres to make sure the Jindal SEZ in that area goes through, and also of gross neglect by the government.
Added to this is the problem that most political parties in West Bengal, are not really averse to the idea of using violence to achieve their aims. While the party in power uses both its own cadres and the police to act brutally, the opposition also does the same. In the midst of all this, the genuine desire of the people for better governance and better opportunities has been completely side-stepped. If things unravel in the same pattern as they are now, West Bengal is headed for a very violent future.
