The Communist Brigade

(Disclaimer – I am not a supporter of a particular party; I am supporter of a thought, an idea, a person who works for the upliftment of the society and the development of this nation; irrespective of he or she being in politics)

The recently concluded Vibrant Gujarat 2009; the relocation of the TATA Nano plant to Sanand (Near Ahmedabad) has boosted the confidence of the investors in the state of Gujarat. It opens new opportunities of growth and promise of employment to a lot of people. Having Spent almost two third of my life in this state makes me really proud of the developments. It would be great to be a part of this prospering state.

However, all said and done, I still have a grudge. For a state like Gujarat which has been plagued by natural calamities (the earthquake of 2001, floods in 2005) and has bore the brunt of religious jingoism (riots in 2002), the recent economic developments has been phenomenal. When compared this to the state of my origin, West Bengal, things are a complete opposite. It has had a rule of communist part for almost thirty years now, which should have been a sufficient time to grow the state. However, the ideology of the party has been myopic in nature which has shunned the growth of the state.

It is a known fact that the communist party, ruling the state of West Bengal is a complete supporter of China and tries to emulate it in all aspect. However, with the fast paced globalization griping the world, China has ceased to remain a pure communist and has molded itself into a capitalist communist state. This has seen them grow big enough to give a tough competition to the US. However this hasn’t been emulated by the communist party in West Bengal and thus the state has seen minimal industrial growth.

In the 1970’s & 80’s, communist party has been in the forefront of developing unions and calling for strikes all across the country. With the change of guard in the chief ministership from the extremist Jyoti Basu to the moderate Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the image of West Bengal developed within the industrial circle. However, the efforts of Mr. Bhattacharya to manufacture Tata Nano in Singur met with the similar kind of resistance that it used to do all across the country. Its own history came to haunt it and finally resulted in the shifting of the plant to Gujarat. This has not only dented the image of the state but has also raised serious concerns within the industrialist about the seriousness of the state government to protect their interest.

It is really disheartening to see that the state which was the pride of the British Empire during their rule over India and was a source of literary talents and intellectual brains, has met with a shunned growth due to the myopic political interests. The current state is that the roots of the ruling party has penetrated so deep in the system, that it would require a miracle to have a change in governance that could bring about the required change.