A father, teacher, personal counsellor, sometime journalist and reader, I keep reflecting on the world's pageantry, magic, comicality and pain...
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Strange, indeed, that hardly anybody wanted to comment here on an issue which has literally sent a tornado through Bengal over the last couple of weeks.
Anyway. In this connection, here is an analysis of the Left Front's electoral debacle written by no less a stalwart communist than Ashok Mitra, economist and ex-finance minister of the state: http://bit.ly/lQ0lzS
I hope all who still have some honest faith in leftist ideology, whether they are in their 20s or their 70s, will take a few tips from it.
Sir , Surely , this is the time that the people of Bengal can feel that some genuine 'development' can happen in coming days under the guidance of the iron lady , mamata banerjee ! But what concerns me most is that we have seen such hugely decisive mandates in the elections in our country in the past,but on more than one occasion we have seen that those mandates have given rise to governments worse than the outgoing ones(e.g the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's death and the election of Rajiv Gandhi as PM). We hope that such a mishap does not occur here ! (sorry for being late - my pc was down for some days)
Absolutely right, Debotosh. That is just one of the many legitimate fears aroused by this huge popular mandate in the light of past experience. One hopes that this new government will take at least some lessons from recent history.
There are many other things to fear. To mention just two: the new government could quickly turn out to be as arrogant and high-handed as the one it has replaced, and it might collapse in the face of problems that prove to be insurmountable: to wit, putting the state finances in the black again, and trying to make Bengal work-friendly!
I have been an ardent follower of this blog , but this is my first comment . I am Suchandra Mukherjee , ICSE 2004 batch , Carmel Convent . The 2 photographs are really wonderful , needless , to say that its a wonderful read too . In my 21 years' stay , I had never been on this road . I would definitely go on a ride , the next time I visit Durgapur . Is this the road to Malandighi ? Thank you for making me know Durgapur . However , it would be helpful if you could tell a little more about this road . I completely agree with that last statement of yours , he is much better off the way he is living than work in one of those numerous sponge iron factories .
Yes, you have got it right: it is indeed the same road. I'd rather not give it too much publicity, for a very selfish reason - I don't want it to turn into just another crowded thoroughfare!
You might notice that you sent your comment to the wrong blogpost, by the way.
Mamata Banerjee's government has been in power for just three months, and already its weaknesses are becoming alarmingly apparent, exactly as I had feared. Yesterday's edition of Bartaman, which has been one of the most passionate supporters of the new powers-that-be all along, issued what I suppose is its first criticism in the form of an article signed by Amal Sarkar and titled (in translation) 'Mamata's decision concerning the budget is unprincipled and undemocratic' (p. 9). It has also bluntly accused the government of cosying up too close to the opposition. Is this the beginning of the end? Already...?
Sir , What we all feared is ultimately happening , slowly but steadily . The Mamata Banerjee government has started doing things that it should not be doing ! And , it seems as if we had a 'false dawn' last year , when we all hailed the advent of 'CHANGE' in Bengal . It really has been some change for Bengal , in less than a year !
Dear Sir, I was browsing through your old posts, and this one made me ponder how quickly times change. As the proverb goes 'How the mighty have fallen...' Regards, Subhasis Chakraborty
Thanks for writing, Subhasis. Well, for one thing, I did write warnings for the present government years ago, so to me at least the current situation is not unexpected. Secondly, Mamata Banerjee has been in the saddle for eight years already, and might last out her entire second term, so saying she has 'fallen' may be a little premature at this stage, especially since the lady has made a reputation for repeatedly bouncing back to significance from almost total oblivion. Shall we just say 'Let us wait and see'?
10 comments:
You said it, Sir! I like the brevity of your post- let's all keep our fingers crossed for now.
Thanks,
Joydeep
Strange, indeed, that hardly anybody wanted to comment here on an issue which has literally sent a tornado through Bengal over the last couple of weeks.
Anyway. In this connection, here is an analysis of the Left Front's electoral debacle written by no less a stalwart communist than Ashok Mitra, economist and ex-finance minister of the state:
http://bit.ly/lQ0lzS
I hope all who still have some honest faith in leftist ideology, whether they are in their 20s or their 70s, will take a few tips from it.
Sir ,
Surely , this is the time that the people of Bengal can feel that some genuine 'development' can happen in coming days under the guidance of the iron lady , mamata banerjee ! But what concerns me most is that we have seen such hugely decisive mandates in the elections in our country in the past,but on more than one occasion we have seen that those mandates have given rise to governments worse than the outgoing ones(e.g the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's death and the election of Rajiv Gandhi as PM). We hope that such a mishap does not occur here !
(sorry for being late - my pc was down for some days)
Absolutely right, Debotosh. That is just one of the many legitimate fears aroused by this huge popular mandate in the light of past experience. One hopes that this new government will take at least some lessons from recent history.
There are many other things to fear. To mention just two: the new government could quickly turn out to be as arrogant and high-handed as the one it has replaced, and it might collapse in the face of problems that prove to be insurmountable: to wit, putting the state finances in the black again, and trying to make Bengal work-friendly!
Dear Sir
I have been an ardent follower of this blog , but this is my first comment . I am Suchandra Mukherjee , ICSE 2004 batch , Carmel Convent . The 2 photographs are really wonderful , needless , to say that its a wonderful read too . In my 21 years' stay , I had never been on this road . I would definitely go on a ride , the next time I visit Durgapur . Is this the road to Malandighi ?
Thank you for making me know Durgapur . However , it would be helpful if you could tell a little more about this road . I completely agree with that last statement of yours , he is much better off the way he is living than work in one of those numerous sponge iron factories .
Regards
Suchandra
Dear Suchandra,
Yes, you have got it right: it is indeed the same road. I'd rather not give it too much publicity, for a very selfish reason - I don't want it to turn into just another crowded thoroughfare!
You might notice that you sent your comment to the wrong blogpost, by the way.
Mamata Banerjee's government has been in power for just three months, and already its weaknesses are becoming alarmingly apparent, exactly as I had feared. Yesterday's edition of Bartaman, which has been one of the most passionate supporters of the new powers-that-be all along, issued what I suppose is its first criticism in the form of an article signed by Amal Sarkar and titled (in translation) 'Mamata's decision concerning the budget is unprincipled and undemocratic' (p. 9). It has also bluntly accused the government of cosying up too close to the opposition. Is this the beginning of the end? Already...?
Sir ,
What we all feared is ultimately happening , slowly but steadily . The Mamata Banerjee government has started doing things that it should not be doing ! And , it seems as if we had a 'false dawn' last year , when we all hailed the advent of 'CHANGE' in Bengal . It really has been some change for Bengal , in less than a year !
Dear Sir,
I was browsing through your old posts, and this one made me ponder how quickly times change. As the proverb goes 'How the mighty have fallen...'
Regards,
Subhasis Chakraborty
Thanks for writing, Subhasis. Well, for one thing, I did write warnings for the present government years ago, so to me at least the current situation is not unexpected. Secondly, Mamata Banerjee has been in the saddle for eight years already, and might last out her entire second term, so saying she has 'fallen' may be a little premature at this stage, especially since the lady has made a reputation for repeatedly bouncing back to significance from almost total oblivion. Shall we just say 'Let us wait and see'?
Sir
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