Leader article: In The Grip Of Comrades by Mukulika Banerjee 3 Dec 07 (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/LEADER_ARTICLE_In_The_Grip_Of_Comrades/articleshow/2590393.cms)
The Bengali word shontrash — a strong word meaning not just fear or apprehension, but terror — was used to describe a relatively peaceful time, such as the weeks before the 2001 assembly elections. But since it appeared in the language press and described the mood in villages rather than Kolkata, it was not really taken up for discussion. On the basis of my experiences in two Muslim villages in Birbhum, let me unpack what a term like shontrash might mean in everyday rural life in West Bengal.
A 'comrade' controls all life in an average village. He usually carries with him the support of the sharecroppers and daily wage labourers, to whom he collectively assigns the term 'gorib'. The main reason for this support is that it is only under Left Front rule that the gorib have gained a modicum of self-respect, a luxury no one in their families had ever experienced before. It is now possible to ride a bicycle or wear trousers without being ridiculed by members of wealthier castes; wages are paid when the bargadar steps on the field rather than after a nerve-wracking and humiliating wait at the end of the day; instead, it is the landowner who now has to wait on tenterhooks at harvest time for the labour to bring in the harvest as he is entirely dependant on the goodwill of the lower classes and no one in the village goes hungry anymore. These changes have been effected in the past 20 years or so and largely as a result of land redistribution programmes and an increase in the daily wage.
The first signs of social equality have been further bolstered by the political equality which elections afford when there is an opportunity to exercise the fundamental right to vote.
But these achievements have come at a cost. While reform programmes and policy changes were masterminded by the intellectuals and leaders of the CPM, the execution of these changes was left largely to the entrepreneurship of local comrades, a dense web of men who cover the state. Members of the panchayat institutions are considered valuable but perceived as ultimately subordinate to the real power of the comrades. In his sphere of influence, the local comrade reigns, his word is law. Successful comrades are those who are able to ingratiate themselves into every single village matter.
Earlier, traditional distinctions would exist between kin-related matters and those which concerned the village. This distinction has now been largely eroded. Thus no marriage transaction for a young girl can be made without the comrade's consent, brothers cannot settle inheritance issues without the comrade's support and no one can even dream of starting a new business without the comrade and his sons trying it out first. As a result, mothers fear for their daughters' safety, brothers remain estranged and an atmosphere of apprehension hangs over any initiative.
The comrade's lust, desire for control and greed rules the lives of nearly a thousand people. Any challenge to this power is met with disproportionate punishment. Access to the village lane can be cut off to the offending member's household, a mysterious stampede of cows can ruin a standing harvest, a girl can be raped as she walks home in the dark or a young man is beaten up in front of his prospective in-laws.
Ironically, ministers, senior leaders in Kolkata and district capitals seem unaware of these happenings. They express surprise, but electoral victory comes above everything else.
The Left Front did win at every election. After 30 years, it is no longer because people are forced to vote for them. As the Election Commission demonstrated in 2006, elections held in a genuinely free and fair environment only led to an improvement of the LF's performance. The reason for these repeated victories was the result of a complex calculus of consent among the voters, systematically and painstakingly created by a hard-working party organisation.
The gorib vote for it because they genuinely think that their fragile self-respect could be taken away under a Congress regime, returning the village to the horrible old days of their fathers' humiliation. The middle peasantry and upper castes vote for the LF in the hope that this will restrain the local comrade from raising the minimum wage. Families vote for the LF hoping that the comrade will allow them to resume negotiations for their daughter's wedding. The calculus of consent is made complex by other factors, which are less instru-mental and more an appreciation of responsive measures taken by the government after a scrutiny of the electorate undertaken by party workers during elections.
What is happening in Nandigram today is the logical conclusion of the above story. For anyone who has lived in a village in West Bengal, the shontrash of its comrades is an everyday phenomenon. The roar of motorcycles, the constant violence and threats, the decimation of any nascent opposition party activities, the growing arrogance of party cadres even in the face of party leadership are all thoroughly familiar. Electoral victory has been a remarkable success for the Left Front in West Bengal. But it has come at a cost, which is there to stay.
The writer is a reader in social anthropology, University College, London.
__._,_.___
*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm
*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf
*****************************************
MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm
*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/
*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm
*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm
*****************************************
Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm
****************************************************
VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/
****************************************************
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___