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Mr. Budhadeb
Bhattacharjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal ‘Left’ Front Govt., has
repeatedly stated that his govt. is very much concerned about the condition of
the poor people of the state. This govt. does not allow anyone in the state to
die of starvation, he says. It has also been assured again and again that the
‘Left’ front govt. led by the CPI (M) is ready to face any such eventualities.
The stark reality has already exposed the hollowness of all this tall talk and
assurances. It has once again been vindicated that there is no real difference
between the ‘Left’ front govt. and other state govts.
In fact starvation
stalks various parts of the state. It has already spread its dreadful arms to
West Midnapore, Murshidabad, the Tea gardens of North Bengal, Bankura, Purulia
and even to Kumarpukur village, which is only 17 km away from the Writers’
Building, the HQ of the West Bengal govt. The media have been flashing one after
another harrowing tales of starvation deaths. It was reported in the last year
that five persons of the Sabar tribe starved to death in Amlasole of West
Midnapore district. This report embarrass-ed the state govt. and its
administration. Mr. Budha’s "pro-poor" district administra-tion first tried to
conceal the fact and alleged that the report was cooked up by the media. But the
administration could not sustain its allegation as Kailash Muda, a local
committee member of the CPI (M) and Pardhan of Amlasole gram panchayat had also
reported the death of five Sabar tribal people due to starvation. This report
prompted a lot of debate, discussion and investigation to find out the actual
cause of death. The district and State level leaders of the CPI (M) and other
parliamentary parties rushed to the village, expressed their ‘great’ concern and
promised to do their best for the development of the area. While CPI (M) leaders
on the one hand tried to delude the people of the Sabar tribe providing some
relief and promising developmental programmes, on the other they also criticized
and threatened Kailash Muda for his open statement. All the constituent parties
of NDA and UPA tried their best to win over the people for their narrow
political interests. Then, within a few months the game of mainstream politics
came to an end. The flood of sympathy died down. And the plight of the people of
Amlasole remains same as it was.
Just after this
heart-rending incident media persons put forward some question to Mr. Budha;
with stunning smartness the mindless chief minister retorted – why do you
refer to only one Amlasole? There are so many Amlasoles. You have no knowledge
that so many Amlasoles are developing in the slums of Kolkata. The media
person didn’t ask him, as to why such an appalling plight of the people still
persists even after three decades of their uninterrupted rule. No doubt, Mr.
Budha, the efficient representative of the CPI (M), has correctly indicated that
there are so many Amlasoles not only in rural Bengal but also in the city slums
of Kolkata. Even then neither Mr. Budha and his party nor the ‘Left’ front govt.
and its administration recognize that there have been incidents of starvation
deaths in different parts of the state. They rather doggedly argue like other
state govts. ruled by the constituent parties of either NDA or UPA, that those
incidents have taken place due to malnutrition, disease or old age. It takes
months together to accept the fact that the reason for the death has been
starvation. Even on that occasion they argue that the number of starvation
deaths is very low in this state as compared to other states.
These barefaced
leaders do not even hesitate to ignore their tall claims and promises. Mr. Budha
in an interview with ‘Star Anand’ TV Channel unabashedly explained that one
or two incidents of starvation death might have been there, but those were
exceptions. The rural society of Bengal has a different culture. Here neighbors
are very helpful and cooperative to each other. They do not allow anybody to die
in starvation! It is really a great realization! Where people of the entire
area are in wretched conditions how do they show their hospitality to others? In
fact belying Mr. Budha’s in-depth knowledge about the socio-cultural tradition
of rural Bengal, Lula Sabar died due to starvation in that very Amlasole
village, just after a year! What an irony! Hunger haunts every family and family
relations become meaningless. Few days before his death Lula Sabar’s wife went
to her daughter’s house to meet her hunger. While her daughter left her husband
and was staying with another person to get rid of hunger. This is the ground
reality. The CPI (M) leaders like Mr. Budha do not realize this and balloons
socio-cultural tradition of rural Bengal to cover this inhuman condition of
rural people.
Amlasole is not an
exception. The people of Barikul in Bankura district and those of Bandwan in
Purulia district are also facing abject poverty. Cultivation in this area is
still completely dependent on the monsoon. There is no provision for irrigation.
Joblessness is a persistent phenomenon along with crop failure. Even after three
decades of ‘Left’ front rule the people of these areas do not have health
centres, electricity and any provision for drinking water. The vast majority of
the people are suffering from malnutrition and gradually heading towards
premature death. Though the deaths due to starvation are common, one cannot find
such deaths in the official record.
Mr. Budha
Bhatacharjee knows that the people of Narayangarh block of West Midnapur
district are also in abysmal proverty. The much trumpeted development programme
of his govt. does not reach there. Here a good number of people are living in
ghupris (Small huts built in woods and leave). It is even difficult for them to
manage two square meals every day. There are no irrigation facilities. So even
those who have a small plot of land (mostly patta land) cannot cultivate it for
want of water. Of course the pro-poor govt. has provided mini tube wells for
irrigation. But the people are so poor that they cannot purchase diesel to run
those tube wells. Their source of income is either to work as day-labourers or
collect shal leaves from the forest. As they can engage themselves as day
labourers only for few days, the principal source of their income is shal leaves
for which they get only Rs.10/- for 1000 leaves. In this condition can they
avoid starvation? How do they cooperate with each other to get rid of
starvation?
Thanks to the Chief
Minister of the ‘left’ front govt.! He has correctly stated that there are many
Amlasols. One can find some Amlasols in Galaugi of Murshidabad district, where
people are dying due to starvation. In the village of Dayarampur and other
adjacent villages, including Udaya-nagar, Suryanagar colony and Paraspur
"every day some one or the other dies of hunger." According to Dr. Ashish
Kumar Ghosh, the Medical Officer attached with the Rural Health Centre, "the
entire area is under threat of insufficient nutritious food." The indication
is very clear, what more can a doctor, who is attached with RHC, tell publicly?
Since 25th February to 16th March, 2005 about 7 peoples died due to starvation.
Most of those people are agri-labourers.
Labourers of closed
Tea gardens of North Bengal are also facing the same deplorable conditions.
Their plight has become so miserable and unbearable that female members of the
families have to adopt flesh-trading!
Even then the ‘left’
front govt. claims that they are very much concerned about the condition of the
rural poor. The CPI(M), the leading party of the ‘left’ front govt. continues to
claim that they have achieved great success in implementation of the land-reform
programme. ‘Operation bargha’ is an example, as it is stated by them, of their
pro-poor political attitude. And the ‘left’ front govt. have changed the profile
of rural Bengal, of course without affecting the basic structure of the economy.
What is the result?
The Human Development
Report of West Bengal published in Sept.’05 gives a different picture, a dismal
picture! It has been stated in the report that small peasants, who got land
through land reforms and those bargadars became permanent bargadars (tenant
peasants) registering their name in the official record are giving up their
lands as they cannot cultivate for want of money. Half the rural families have
no land in 1999-2000. It has also given a picture of rural proverty on the basis
of govt. statistics. In 1999-2000, about 50% of agri-labourers, 31% of other
labourers, 20% of self-employed in agriculture and 27% of self-employed in
outside agriculture, were living below the proverty level. This report was
published by the govt. of West Bengal and it was prepared under the guidance of
Ms. Jayati Ghosh, an economist having sympathy to the ‘left’ front govt. and its
policies. So it is not possible for the CPI(M) party, ‘left’ front govt. and its
Chief Mr. Bhattacharjee to term it as a concocted one. This report clearly shows
that changes that have taken place, went against the rural poor. And the rural
poor of West Bengal have become more and more impoverished. Due to this
impoverishment a good number of children have been suffering from
under-nutrition. Though the percentage of children suffering from
under-nutrition is equal to that of Gujrat and Orissa, the infant mortality
ratio (IMR) of West Bengal is far lower than those states. How can it be
possible? This question becomes more pertinent when it has been commented in the
report that in West Bengal women and children are deprived of particular
nutritious food. The rate of under-nutritious/mal-nutritious children and their
mothers of the state is lower than that of the all India average rate. So far
"chronic energy deficiency" is concerned, it ranks 8th out of 9 states. And as
per "body mass index" it ranks 24th of 25 states. It should be kept in mind that
this report has been prepared on the basis of the state govt. statistics.
Generally, statistical profiles are very dry and cannot give realistic accounts
of real life and more so when it is based on govt. statistics, which are
definitely class-biased. Nevertheless, this report does not correspond with the
claims of the ‘left’ front govt. Rather this report, with all its limitation,
gave a picture of under-nutrition/mal-nutrition, landlessness and growing
impoverishment, which is no less disheartening. Though the reality is far more
heart-rending.
When joblessness,
landlessness and hunger pervade rural Bengal, Mr. Budha Bhattacharjee and his
"pro-poor" govt. are in hectic haste to change the ‘ceiling act.’ This is
necessary, as they argue, for the purpose of removing proverty, joblessness and
for economic development of West Bengal. But facts tell another story, they want
to satisfy the demand of capitalists – both foreign and indigenous ones. They
demand land – more and more land for urbanization, and other economic projects
entailing more eviction from agri-land, more joblessness and a few provisions
for emplo-yment. The CPI(M) leaders have already expressed that agri-land must
have to be acquired for urbanization. The ‘left’ front govt. led by them made
amendments to the land reform act in 2000 for this purpose. According to this
amendment, agri-land even with Bargadar (tenant peasant with recorded rights)
can be acquired for rapid industrialization. It means the eviction of bargadars
would be made legal.
The foreign and
indigenous capitalists demand land – more and more land. The CPI(M) and the
‘left’ front govt. have been destroying the livelihood of thousands of people to
meet their demand. How many people have already lost their land and homes? A
complete picture is not available yet to this date. According to one source, it
is not less than 49 thousands – 26 thousands for developing Rajarhat township of
24 perganas district, 8 thousand for building a leather complex in Bantala and
for the purpose of a Link Road between Barasat and Kulpi, and another 15
thousands families will have to face the same consequence to provide land to the
Salim group, a notorious Indonesian company. According to another source, the
figure will be far more than the above one.
The Chief Minister is
considerate enough! He does not forget to assure work for those, who have to
lose their lands. What sort of jobs will be provided for them? That has also
been mentioned. Those are jobs of – watchman, barber, servant, guard,
vegetable-peddlers etc. Thus evicted peasants will enjoy the fruits of economic
development being transformed into barbers, peddlers, servants etc. and further
increase the number of homeless, jobless and helpless people. Hunger will
continue to haunt them. Female members of these families have to resort to
prostitution in search of food, while some of these people have to face death
due to starvation. And he shameless Chief Minister with a smiling face,
continues to preach about the socio-cultural tradition of rural Bengal.
Everyone should admit
that Mr. Budha Bhattacharjee has well been trained in ruling class culture. It
is this ruling class culture that helps him term West Bengal an Oasis, when
thousands of people have been suffering from joblessness, hunger, and
starvation. It is this very culture that prompts him deploy his armed party
cadres along with state armed forces to suppress the voice of deprived people.
But Mr. Chief Minister should know that the people of Bengal also have a
socio-political-cultural tradition – a tradition of revolting against
deprivation and injustice. This people’s tradition has been rearing its heads
more and more assertively inspiring the wretched of West Bengal.
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