The state goes berserk (or does it???). The media definitely does. I am astonished to see how an icon is created. Perhaps the next generation is going to celebrate a state holiday on Jyoti Basu's birthday. Should I give a name to that day?? Something catchy...similar to Children's Day for Jawaharlal Nehru? (I have never been able to fathom what special connection our first prime minister had with children).
Sorry Readers this blog is meant to hurt those who are followers/disciples of great sons of India/West Bengal with whom I could never associate any greatness.
In my lifetime I have seen only two CMs in West Bengal. The period in which Jyoti Basu was the chief minister I had not even crossed the hurdle of school. However I could sense the difference in the development in my state and the far neighbors. I used the term far because Bengalis as a community has got the tendency to compare Bengal with only two states Bihar & Orissa, benchmarking at its best I should say!!!! And today whenever my friends make a mockery of the state of West Bengal & the capital Kolkata, frankly I am left with no other option but to laugh at it or at best use the old weapon of our deep rooted culture.
So the media which is making every move to immortalize this "Great Son of the Soil"..Let me counter you:
1) Leader of the state :: So we need to idolize a person who led the state to a path of irreparable doom. So much to his leadership.
2) Leader of the mass the bourgeoisie :: The leader of the social people, social movement would live in a house with all the modern facilities. Would travel under the umbrella of highest category of security, would frequently travel international to get his medical check up. (Secret of his 95 year long life).
Now let me provide some data that lets me visualize the state before I was born and the plight of the state after Jyoti Basu left his throne.
1)Poverty level got worsened in terms of national ranking (overall poverty did decrease but that is a general growth trend)
2)Infrastructure Index: Form being among the top to one of the lowest ranked state.
3)Share of industrial output declined from 10% to 5%
This is also the period when such a strong cadre system of politics was developed in the state where in, the interiors of rural west bengal would see his party winning sits without opposition. The fate of those who dared is anybody's guess.
Sorry friends I cannot worship the person as an immortal whom I have hated since I started thinking logically. The person who has eroded the people called Bengalis. And when I see the same person being compared to such greats as Rabindranath Tagore & Satyajit Ray I feel ashamed. Wake up my fellow state mates, wake up media!!! Just think did you give the same amount of reverence to Mother Teresa, the nun who was born on the same year as Jyoti Basu who could not live long enough to treat the masses. And for the records "our great son of soil", "the leader of the mass" did not even attend the funeral of the Saint.
What are you talking?? What are you mourning??
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7 comments:
Soumya writing for (against actually) Jyoti!! Its inspiring indeed :)
He was a great leader no doubt, with all the aspects necessary to be termed as a great leader - things like a shrewd brain, criminal attitude and a very very thick skin. He lead WB through the most turbulent times, and with great success. He was the visionary who understood that education (and knowledge as a result of that) was the reason behind all social problems like people demanding their rights. Most importantly, education brought about the huge potential problem of rural people saying no to blindly following the "Raja r party". Having realized that, this visionary took legendary steps to ensure that a whole generation or two were made to go through a rotten educational curriculum that ensured their eternal struggle in life. They were not employable at national level, so the only option left for them was jobs (or whatever) created by the CPIM. We at B Schools, we must understand how great this strategy was, he created the pull factor by ensuring lack of emplyable
skills and supplied the push factor by actively recruiting for the famed party network - the famed Cadre Raj. It's a lesson, a great lesson in strategy/marketing/operational excellence. And yes, he created the financial backbone too - by making each and every industry pay for their well-being. Anyone who wanted to do business in WB, had to finance the great cadre network. Look here gentlemen, we are probably looking at the best possible system that was put in place to ensure long standing undisputed rule by a single party. When we reflect back at what Bengal is today, we must pay homage to this great visionary. It is a sad day today, specially as we come to terms with the fact that he could not get the best treatment possible. Look at what he had got, treated at AMRI hospital. That, after being treated throughout his life in the UK and other advanced countries (please ignore that these were the very countries he used to despise in his public speeches). It is extremely sad that he could not be taken to the best hospitals in the UK in his final years and we will probably never be able to forgive ourselves.
Too many emotions overflow my mind today, words are not enough to express them.
Just a final word -
Would have liked him to survive for a year or two more. He deserved to see the culmination of the downfall of CPIM - the demon he created as mean of looting the state. That would have been his ultimate prize. Sadly, he (just like his great follower - Mr. Chakrabarty) did not get the opportunity. I am sad today, sad from the core of my heart - for Mr. Basu and for the citizens of WB who also would have liked him to stay on till 2011.
@ Anirban ... Awesome comments...Good enough to graduate as a blog post. I am doing the same with your comment.
Well it seems you are not alone. Read this from Time of India
1. http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/entry/thank-you-jyotida
&
2. http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIPU/2010/01/20&PageLabel=14&EntityId=Ar01400&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T
@Gunjan ...Thanks for the links...I seriously want someone to contradict me...!!! So that I can vent out my frustrations more
he he ..then you must watch the archived telecasts of Hindi news channel. They were going ga ga on Jyoti "Da"
i find the post a pretty nice read as an opinion that need to be brought forward to the Bengali community.
Would have liked to see a few more right metrics to benchmark Basu's performance over the two decades and
role of Bengalis in the year ahead to progress from status quo.
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