[Announcement: Anyone in the DC/VA/MD area up for a weekend meet-up at Union Station?]
One of the many instruments used by politician extraordinaire Jyoti Basu to cement his total hold over Bengal was the cultivation of the so-called Bengali intellectual. A brain cadre for the party was incubated in every educational institution of the state, from junior school right up to the universities, where every appointment was vetted by the party and one got in only if one’s CV was typed on red paper supplied by Alimuddin Street (the party HQ). Anyone who did not toe the party line was deemed not academically sound and shoved out. The “private” intellectuals i.e the ones who were not on government payroll—-painters, poets, novelists, theatre-workers, singers, film people– were mollycoddled through the organization of party and government soirees (Sports Minister the late Subhash Chakraborty was the point-man for this), handing out of committee chairmanships and in general through devices that made them feel important and wanted.
In exchange, they acted as the mouthpieces of the Left Front supporting the government volubly through each disaster, be it the raising of admission age for students in schools or the abolishing of English at the primary level. When their silence was asked for, like during atrocities like Bantala and Birati, they would develop a debilitating attack of collective laryngitis. Considering the average Bengali’s awe of erudition, the fetishistic worship of the state’s so-called glorious cultural traditions and their steadfast refusal to acknowledge the alarming atrophy in the quality of public intellectuals, this was one of the most powerful PR weapons that Basu had.
Buddhadev Bhattcharya, in his hyperactive initial days of wooing aggressive foreign investment, forgot to nourish these brain bacteria. Mamata Banerjee, whom I have always maintained is Jyoti Basu version deux, however did. With their rather strong crimson roots (after all that’s what got them their bully pulpit), the brain mafia of Bengal were not favorably inclined to Buddha’s cavorting with the enemy of the classes (i.e. industry). Mamata on the other hand with her disruptive brand of populism was a person after their heart. Of course intellectual empathy was not the only thing that connected them to Trinamool. Parliamentary tickets, like the one given to tuneless singer Kabir Suman, and well-paying “cerebral” assignments on the taxpayer tab handed out to Trinamool-loyal artists (after all the power to dole out these incentives is one of the main reasons Didi wants the Rail ministry for herself) have cemented the association.
So it was not surprising that the rent-a-brains would, even after the responsibility of the Jnaneswari Express blast was accepted by the PCAPA (People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities), would call it a CPM conspiracy in essence toeing Mamata Banerjee’s line. After all bills do have to be paid even if it be at the cost of blood. This again is not new since the Illuminati of Kolkata have, over the past few years, become mouthpieces of Trinamool, often for their own corporeal gains, and are willing to use their easy media accessibility to peddle untruths and half-truths.
One of the biggest lies that these intellectuals have spread with the help of sympathetic media is that the PCAPA , under the leadership of Chhatradhar Mahato, is an independent organization that is distinct from Maoists.
” It’s important to make a distinction between the two (Maoists and PCAPA). The PCAPA is a democratic protest movement” Aparna Sen, famous director who shot into the headlines for her march into the jungles to meet Chhatradhar Mahato (head of PCPA), said in an interview to Outlook.
This line, adopted by the intellectuals of Kolkata as their white shield, has acted as their consistent justification for raising money, giving sympathetic press or extolling terrorists like Chhatradhar Mahato in song, as Babar Suman , Trinamool Member of Parliament (now disgruntled with Trinamool) , did with his execrable ditty “Chhatradhar-r Gaan” (The Song of Chhatradhar)
Technically, the PCAPA and the Maoists are organizationally separate. The PCAPA came into being after the West Bengal police and the CPM goons, known to work in coordination with each other, came down with a heavy brutish hand on the local population after the failed attempt on the life of Buddhadeb Bhattacharya at Salboni in 2008 by the Maoists. So while the Maoists have always been a presence in the area but largely as an army of outsiders, the PCAPA was a new home-grown grassroots movement, spun my media and the intellectuals as “an army of politically independent tribals, distinct from Maoists, who have genuine grievances against the State”.
There are a few falsehoods buried in this spin. The first is the “political independence” part. Chattradhar Mahato, the head of PCAPA, was once an active member of the Chhatra Parishad, the Congress’s student wing, till he became Trinamool Congress, when it eclipsed the Congress in political importance. In a way he is as independent as the “independent citizen’s committees” that have sprouted up in Kolkata over the past two years , like mold on a stale bread, baying for industry-friendly Buddhadev’s blood, committees manned by disgruntled Naxalites of the 70s and assorted crumb-grubbers with a college degree.
In terms of the goals that drive them, Chhatradhar is however slightly different from the traditional Maoists. While the latter want the establishment of a Cambodia-like regime in the classical tradition of the Maoist ideal, Mahato merely wants power in the traditional scheme of things. That is why he is ready to talk to the government from time to time and obscenely eager to come out and talk to press and hog headlines, a trait that proved to be his undoing when West Bengal police, masquerading as journalists from abroad, got him to come overground at which point of time he was arrested.
Chhatradhar’s primary political activities have centered on killing all prominent CPM supporters in the region and in consistently demanding the removal of police posts in the area, so that he can emerge as the king with the power of life and death. Indian Express (May 30) reports on the activities of the PCAPA in the area which includes extorting fees from school teachers, truck drivers, poor villagers and local industries who are in addition asked to throw out all CPM workers and hire PCAPA workers at double wages or else. Not quite the heroic champion of the oppressed and upholders of democracy that those who write ballads in his name would like you to believe.
The other falsehood is that the PCAPA and the Maoists are different beasts. While their goals may be slightly different, they share personnel, weapons and training and work in close liaison with each other. With this massive terrorist attack and their open targeting of non-state actors, there is really no justification to treat them differently and collaborators of PCAPA should no longer be able to allowed to get away with the “These are not Maoists but a democratic protest movement” excuse.
The PCAPA have realized that their cover is blown which is why they have called the Jnaneswari Express incident as a “silly mistake” of the galti se mistake ho gya type. It is one thing to hold a policeman Atindranath Dutta hostage and rob a SBI branch of 9 lacs because their so-called cause (releasing tribal women arrested by the police) can be depicted as heroic. But when you murder in cold blood one hundred forty one ordinary non-state individuals in an attack that cannot be justified by any immediate provocation (industrialization and other assorted capitalistic evils), it becomes difficult for some intellectuals, who still care about appearances, to bring out their pompoms.
During the original Naxal unrest of the 70s, when Kolkata reverberated with the sound of gunfire at night, Naxalites were seen by the public as heroes—-brilliant college students brimming over with idealism. One of the things that tarnished the image of the golden boys was the brutal slaying of the benign vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University Gopal Sen inside the university campus. Once similar incidents of wanton violence had exhausted the goodwill they once had, it became easier for the police to go after the Naxalites.
In the same way, incidents like Jnaneswari Express have the potential to turn the tide of public opinion against the PCAPA and reveal them and their backers for what they are—–thugs and terrorists of the lowest order.
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
1st!!!!
People often mistake Maoists and Naxals as same kind of people. But they just don’t understand that the Naxalite movement of the 70s was driven by strong belief. As you said “brilliant students” came out to fight against the government with real reason. They did not target innocent civilians. And being a student of Jadavpur University, I know what student movement is. It really hurts today I see people confusing between Naxal movement and the Maoists
NAXAL can be used for any story. These Maoists first started as Naxal movement in Naxalbari, in 1967. Naxal movement of Naxalbari has no good effect on the society. It has not caused any benefit to the people. Only few police officers got benefit of Naxal movement. They suppressed the movement and got promotion. Land reform movement conducted by LF govt has caused benefit to the people. LF ruled Bengal was topper in rice production. During Prafulla Sen time, Bengal suffered from food shortage. At the end of Jyoti Basu time, Bengal population was three times more than that of Prafulla Sen’s time. Still there was no food crisis. Credit goes to land reform of state govt, which is well within the constitution and a part of original congress promises. Yes, land reform was pre-independence congress promise, which left front had fulfilled and congress had betr@yed. The same old usele$s and harmful Naxal movement has started again with changed name “Maoist”. Trinamool is their patron as well as k-i-l-l-e-r. Which h-e-ll, Kisenji had gone after his favorite CM got the chair?
Second.
Hav to agree with the portrayal done of these intellectuals/illuminati/buddhijivis/ or whoever they are. A major concern is that even they are growing at the same carcenogenic speed as these maoists/naxalites/terrorists
Are we doomed to forever have public intellectuals whose positions are dictated by fashions?
Very biased view. Sorry to say that.
I dont get it. Bratya basu , I thought , was against supreme power. Why is he hobnobbing with the Trinamul then?
What a complicated mess!!
Amen!
d
You misnamed the Trinamul MP who sang “Chhatrodhorer Gaan”. His actual name is Kabir Suman (formerly Suman Chattopadhayay) and not Chakraborty.
Absolutely second that..thugs and terrorists
GB edits: Darling Apolitical, take your libel elsewhere. And do better than to post Chandril’s (yet another TMC stooge) rubbish here (where nothing concrete is said) as “proof”.
@apolitical
Kudos….Lage raho munnabhai …. sob so called “great” der mukhosh khule dao….
Mimi madam,
If you are so keen to take off my “great” mask and have the same contempt for me as you have the truly greatest songs of Bengal, why have you been obsessively commenting on my blog? I am sure a learned person like you can take your knowledge elsewhere. Like to your own blog for instance. Just curious. Because there was once a commenter here called Akash Sen (old timers would recognize him) who was similarly obsessed with uncovering me in different ways while trolling just like you. By the way, this “mukhosh khule dao” is good rhetoric to use standing on an inverted bucket at the Maidan.
By the way much enjoy your tactic of making inflammatory comments and attracting blog traffic. The only thing it has been done before and it’s not particularly novel.
@greatbong : I failed to understand why did you have to delete my entire post. And when you call Chandril Bhattacharya as a stooge of TMC (for his brilliant write-up – http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1071115/15edit4.htm and by who your own words did not develop a debilitating attack of laryngitis after the Nandigram attack ) that is even more pathetic.
Are you fond of this regime so much that when given proof of a few Budhajibis and their Alimuddin St connections, you think even worse skeletons could tumble out of the cupboard?
@Apolitical,
If you read this post and its comments on Jyoti Basu and sentences like “West Bengal police and the CPM goons, known to work in coordination with each other” [not to mention my post on Jyoti Basu’s passing and my posts on Nandigram and Singur] you would know I hold no candle for the CPM nor am getting appointments from them. But then “apolitical”s like you, Aparna Sen, Babur Suman etc etc are known for their selective powers of comprehension.
Your comment was removed because it has allegations against specific people not backed by any MSM link. Thats why. And Chandril is a stooge. I dont see where Nandigram came in here.
I dont understand why the people of a state or even city which prides itself on ‘intellectualism’ cant see its own downfall? Even Bihar is on develpmnt path now and crimes etc r gettin lower but not Bengal.. may be coz an avarage bengali is too busy nursing false intellectual pride rather than think abt his state? That explains the blatant rise of pseudo-intellectuals and ofcourse, development non-friendly parties.
I’m used to such uncharitable remarks. je jaa khusi bolte pare. ekhane comment korchhi besh korechii. dorkar hole muche din.jemon dilen apolitical er ta. OK?
People of bengal are getting what they deserve. When, after 25-30 years of inactivity, for the first time CPM was doing something good for the state (Tata plant); people went against it and booted them out. I have no problems with Mamta as she is a political person. However, the most disturbing thing is that people support her for the same reason as that of CPM in pre-Budhdha days :industrial decay, lack of development, declining rank in every socio-economic metric.
Ever since Singur, the people of Bengal have lost the right to crib that our state is backwards because of political apathy. They now have earned their economic deprivation
History of Bengal after independence is divided into two periods; period of famine (1947 – 1977) and period of delayed success (1977 – till date). There were peak-famine years in 1959, 1966, and 1974. Famines were mainly due to non-cultivation of land under jotedar ownership. Agriculture is not much profitable for them. After 1977, due to land reform, food production is up and famine problem is solved. There was one potential famine in 1978 (due to big flood), but panchayat and co-ordination committee avoided a famine like situation. So, new period of delayed success started. Haldia is delayed by 12 yrs; Bakreswar by 8 yrs. Singur may come one day after delay like Haldia. Delayed success is better than famine. However now, famine period may come back due to wrong choice of people in MAY-2011 election. Irrationalism practiced by media and many people is to be paid by famine.
Maybe going to the heart of the matter & grasping the issue of justice (or lack of it) will clear the disapora’s mind of prejudices/ fragile middle-class values. I suggest one listens to this editorial attemp from Shoma Chaudhury of tehelka. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqjcQnFveew&feature=player_embedded
@mimi and @a-political
its indeed baseless to call GB biased, as anyone who has read his past posts, which talks abt the bandhs, student politcs in JU and numerous other things would realise.
If you are talking about bias, then listen to what the so called independant intellectuals talk about. Those who start seeing CPM conspiracy after this train attack, just to save their leader (and employer’s image) before an election
I had stumbled on your blog a long while back. Your comments on cricket and *Prabhuji*’s movies gave a lot of laughing moments to my wife and me, but these days I read your blog for serious stuff more than anything else. I remember your post when Jyoti Basu had passed away and to me your posts do have an *apolitical* view.
It is really shameful how Mamta di has tried to divert the attention. This is really the worst kind of politics being played and really seems to have come out of some silly ‘C’ grade bollywood movie.
As a student of IIT Kharagpur, I have been a resident of Kharagpur for four years, and have been travelling to Jamshedpur for all these years too. First of all to armchair intellectuals around the globe, I am not a CPM, nor a Trinamool supporter, if “none of these” would be an EVM option, I would be the first to press that button. Secondly, that attack could ONLY be done by Maoists. As an experiment get down on any station in the Jhargram-Chakulia stretch and just walk around for a bit, you will understand, Nothing moves there without the Maoists knowing, and nothing happens there without the approval of the Maoists. Are those regions backward? Hell yes. Bijli, sadak, pani are all conspicuous by their absence. This was a region waiting to be exploited for somebody else’s political gains. Maoists started moving in here almost 10 years back. And soon established a parallel structure, where extortion is their source of funds, and they had the amazingly PR-friendly excuse of protesting against lack of development. But forgive me, I am not so intelligent, so I have always failed to understand, how guns, bombs and mines bring in development. How protesting against lack of development is always better than bringing in development. How killing school teachers, blowing up roads and electric poles ensures development. Maybe those intellectuals, and people like Mimi Sen understand these ponits, and are hence intellectuals, which I am not. But to my small brain, the Maoists always remind of Mario Puzo’s Godfather’s mafia, the worst criminals in those area now have bikes, mobiles, girls, and guns, the poor people had nothing before, and nothing now, and all this shrill cries about lack of development is the front for running yet another criminal enterprise. The Godfather was as much as an olive oil trader as much as the Maoists are protesters of government inaction.
Both maoists and PCPA are enemies of state. Strong military action accompanied by development activity in those troubled areas can solve this problem. The so called intellectuals need a shock to realize the effect of their fasciantion for poverty, jibonmukhi gaan and destructive activities .
VOTE FOR MIMI SEN!!
GB just curious re the following assertion:
“While their goals may be slightly different, they share personnel, weapons and training and work in close liaison with each other”.
Good read as always. Thanks.
Arnab, a very good post. In fact, all your posts on Bengal, CPM, TMC clearly denote a “tear-hair-out” kind of frustration on the apathy faced by the state, and I can totally identify with that. As Surya points out, Bengal has lost the right to crib about their economic deprivation and have actually earned it!! What I find disturbing is that you have started replying/ justifying your views to attention mongers like Madam “In-Sen”. Desist, chill, not required boss!! This only encourages them more I guess. Let them bark, your dignified silence will speak thousand decibels louder.
i have observed two trends in the opinions expressed by various people in context of maoists et al –
1.declaration of political neutrality which sounds like a morally vindicative stance.
2.expression of obscure romanticism towards those naxals from golden ages and their distinction from the current crop of maoists.
amazing!
If the Indian Express interview (the link provided in your blog) with Bapi Mahato is correct (I have no reason to believe otherwise as the same has been reported by other newspapers also), it gives an interesting insight into the mind of the so-called fighter for poor tribals’ rights.
Mahato, a school dropout trying to pass his school exam for the third time, apparently wanted to become a CRPF jawan – the hated enemy of the people! Since he did not succeed (for want of money), as the next best option, he becomes a champion of tribal peoples’ rights against the atrocities committed by police and CRPF! Is it because, in either case, he would be exercising power and possibly derive some material benefits (which the activists of his type constantly allege that state forces like police and CRPF do by exploiting the poor and clearly the Maoists do by extortion)?
Obviously, this half-educated man is not intelligent enough to realize (until his more brainy leaders made him understand his grave folly later) what a damage his initial confession to the derailment of the train would cause to the PCPA/Maoist movement and the credibility of the so-called intellectuals openly pointing “the needle of suspicion” in the press conference to the CPM for the sabotage on the ground that the Maoists have denied that they had done it and the CPM is the main beneficiary from the huge civilian deaths.
The interview also speaks volumes for the “idealism” of people like Mahato (though, of course, there may be exceptions).
I have had a chance to stay in Kolkata for about six months and that was the time around when Jyoti Basu passed away. And even I was surprised that the state which produced intellectuals like RabindraNath and a whole lot of others could have people who have deteriorated so much in the mental stature. And similar to what US experienced with Talibans, India esp eastern India is experiencing the same at the hands of maoists/naxals courtesy CPI(M).
And anyone who has read your posts, ever, would know that they arent written with any political biase… with sarcastic intent but no bias.
If you want, read my views on naxals at http://aashishsood.blogspot.com/2010/05/naxal-attack.html and http://aashishsood.blogspot.com/2010/04/naxalite-attacks.html
Dear G.B,
I think it is completely distasteful to call Kabir Suman tuneless simply because you don’t agree with his political motif. May be next time you will call Nabarun Bhattacharya a worthless writer or Bratya Basu a worthless Dramatist.
The army needs to go in … I mean, how is it any different from J&K and Manipur/NE . As for Arnab_da, brilliantly assembled a “shaped-charge” of people’s pent up anger … cheers !!!
@GB:[OFF TOPIC] (but important), The real-time preview underneath the text box is *not* showing up with Safari/Chrome . I do not know if any body else is facing the same problem.
There’s a certain romanticism associated with the Naxalite movement among Bengalis because (and I’ll pick the following points from a previous post)
1. They were brilliant students
2. They fought against the system/ (government)
3. They had a real reason (!!)
4. They did not target innocent civilians
Therefore, what is the big deal in burning trams, hurling bombs and killing the VC of JU. Just like what happened in Dantewada is okay because, you know, they are deprived people. And I’ve no idea what the hell the Naxal movement achieved, so that even today I see people romanticize about the same.
I’m a JU student, and I don’t know what student movement is, if it’s about blocking 8B crossing by a group of students 95% of whom seated themselves on the road just for the heck of it (and other such futile and bewildering activities generally directed towards thwarting day-to-day business). Maybe some intellectual can explain.
As Dev Mukherjee mentioned in his post, it’s hard not to think about Don Corleone and his gang when you hear about Maoists today. But I’m not sure whether the Don had a bunch of dedicated intellectuals brazenly supporting or composing songs for him.
Mamata Banerjee has unleashed a dangerous beast by using the Maoists to help her turf out the CPM from Bengal.
I am filled with dread at the cost which the country will have to pay for her “Get the CPM out at any cost” & “My enemy’s enemy is my friend” opportunism.
I can merely hope that once Mamata gets into power she will tempt the Maoist leaders to enter mainstream politics by sharing the crumbs of power with them.
Mamta Banerjee is actually making me want the Left Front come back to power in Bengal again. I never imagined i would actually be rooting for the Left. This woman is dangerous, she keeps oscillating, changing her stand at every given moment, has no compunctions tying up with any one and every one, just for power.
What she is playing now is a deadly political game.
Indira Gandhi propped up Bhindranwale to get even with Akalis in Punjab,and she unleashed a monster, that devoured her up, and turned Punjab into a living hell for a decade.
The Left propped up the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants for their vote bank, and now Mamta is using the Maoists for her own self.
Illegal immigrant+Maoists is going to be one potent mixture, and if any of the Jihadi outfits from Bangladesh join in the fun, its going to be even worse.
A tiny nation like Bhutan, has shown much more political will, when it’s Army rooted out the ULFA terrorists hiding there ruthlessly, not sparing any one.
From Wiki
“During the early 90s, the Indian Separatist groups, United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), and Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) had begun to clandestinely set up camps in Bhutan’s dense southern jungles. These camps were used to train cadres, store equipment, and launch attacks on targets in India. The Bhutanese government became aware of their presence in 1996 and from 1997, the issue was regularly discussed in the National Assembly. The Government of India began exerting diplomatic pressure on the Royal Government to remove the militant presence and offered conducting joint military operations against the militants. The Royal Government preferring a peaceful solution, declined the offer and instead initiated dialogue with the militant groups in 1998. By December 2003, negotiations failed to produce any agreement and the Royal Government unable to tolerate their presence any longer issued a 48-hour ultimatum on 13 December. On 15 December the RBA commenced military operations against the militant groups.”
Damn we can pressurize a small nation into acting against the terror groups, but we can do jack about the Naxals setting up camp here. The Bhutanese must be surely smirking.
Amazing disparity.
Sorry Arnab-da to post other links here but i’m not sure what to make of this. It seems the Wiki page on History of Bengal was written by a communist (the frequent usage of the word ‘We’ a dead give away). While the discussion page has a seemingly neutral (well anti-comm) view.
Main link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_West_Bengal
Discussion Page:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:History_of_West_Bengal
Bengal has way too many unemployed-educated-people and way too lazy people in the cities.
wag the dog…
The Maoists are saying that there may be rogue elements inside who could have carried out the attack. In that case, why are they not taking full responsibility for it? Even Gandhiji took blame for the Chauri Chaura incident even though he was advocating non-violence throughout the movement and by today’s standards would ( and should) have not been held accountable for those deaths.
One final thought, why do we criticize Pakistan for not taking on the Islamists in its own country ( an unpopular move) , while here too the politicians and the people (/ intellegencia) are showing the same attitude towards the Maoists?
GB,
Great post, but the sense of humour for which I liked the posts is drying up. As a Bengali, I sense and identify with your frustrations. But then what can we do about it? Outside the state, we are known to be peaceful and docile people. Inside the state, fire of violence keeps burning. Sometimes the fire is in spotlight when it is done on state machinery. What does not get reported is the violence on commoners on a day-to-day basis. It is not just poor people or tribal, middle class suffers too. I agree with Ratnakar, Bhattacharjee looks like a better option now-a-days. With Mamta, everybody is predicting that things are going to get worse. Is it even possible for the situation to get any worse than this? But then, it is also impossible to hope that things will get better under madam’s reign.
I just spent 3 boring days at Hampton Inn and wasted myself at Arundel and then another 3 boring days at Courtyard; wondering why Union Station while breaking my bread everyday at the french bakery before I came back to chaotic benguluru. If you had made this announcement 4 days earlier; I could have pretended to participate in the ‘meet-up’:-)
i honestly feel that the ruling party needs to get a jolt as they had been too arrogant. but that does not mean i think mamata banerjee will be a better option- she will be just as bad or even worse option!! just the thought that cpm is going to lose the election has made the party more soft, more sober. this is so evident because they did not make any derogatory comments about tmc after the train accident. even whoever represent cpm on diff televisions have restrained attitude, restrained body language. tmc coming to power will make things even worse as i can see all the hooligans of the para who were once cpm supporters have all turned tmc supporter en mass. in any political environment these hooligans are constant factors but at least at the helm under cpm there are some ppl who at least pretend to be bhodrolok whereas our mamatadi prides herself to be ruthless, aggressive for the sake of ma, mati, manush – so there we go – we dont have a choice or at best have a devi’s choice.
Which weekend are you thinking of ? 11th June ?
Let’s carefully look at the May 31t report of Indian express, where (and only where, the other report are just referring to this Express report ) Bapi Mahato’s claim was originally mentioned.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/were-sorry…-target-was-goods-train/627088/
“Hours before he was named as the prime suspect in the Jnaneswari train disaster, Bapi Mahato told The Indian Express that he was “sorry” for what had happened, and that the targeting of the passenger train was a “mistake”.
Bapi Mahato was named as the suspect on 29 th or 30th. And, Express never carried any such new then !
Let’s again look at the report of Indian Express.
“However, when the Express contacted him again after he had been named the “mastermind” of Thursday night’s carnage by Bengal DGP Bhupinder Singh and a manhunt launched for him, Mahato denied all role in the attack. ”
It’s really surprising, why Indian Express didn’t publish this statement of Bapi Mahato, when they got it ! What made them hide this important piece of information if they had already got it !
And now, only after Bapi Mahatoo was framed by police and denying any link, they are publishing the news of his statement of acceptance !!
Aren’t we missing something ?
And, can’t help posting this article after going thr’ GB’s blog.
http://kafila.org/2010/05/30/who-claims-responsibility-for-the-headline/
well, well…it seems , GB’s Suman ‘chakrabory’ has something to say 🙂
Just got it by mail. 9 new songs from the album named, ‘Lalmohoner lash’ ( btw, have you heard of the encounter killing oF Lalmohon Tudu ? May be you can go thr’ this report : http://www.tehelka.com/story_main44.asp?filename=Ne130310attack_on.asp …well…did I read any post from GB then ? ) and with the songs, he has sent a message.
Nothing else can be a more befitting reply, probably, to this blogpot of GB.
“friends, comrades,
all the nine songs for you.
please share them only with those who really care for my music.
oppose the illegal displacement of the tribals.
oppose the ‘operation green hunt.’
oppose the UAPA Act under which anyone can be arrested and kept in police custody for an indefinite period without any trial.
since 1992 the CPIM has been after me. they did whatever they could do finish me off. in that enterprise they were supported and aided by most of the newspapers and magazines and electronic media.
then it was BJP and RSS – their bong chapters.
then it was CPIM again, with renewed vigor when I stood for the election.
now it’s the ‘intelligentsia’ that supports the TMC. many of them are maligning me and my work in some dailies.
since the railway sabotage I am receiving hate mail from people who are convinced that I support the Maoists and that it must have been the Maoists who did that nefarious job.
the media is hell bent on proving that the Maoists are at the root of all evil while keeping silent about what the State has been doing to our tribals. Like most sane people I detest violence. but I find it ridiculous that most of the Indian media refuse to report on the rape of the tribals by the CRPF, SPO (who are being trained by the Israeli Mossad – as far as some reports say) and the Salwa Judum, a killer outfit that has been created and is being funded by a big corporate house. what the CPIM killers are doing at Lalgarh with the help of the Joint Security Forces, how many tribal women have been and are being raped and how many tribal men and women have been and are being killed – well, the media is silent.
Love and Solidarity,
kabir suman ”
btw, this is what he had said after the train mishap.
http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1100601/1raj3.htm
No human being can probably support this train incident, but that doesn’t mean they can’t talk about other numerous murders happening silently each day, and many of them are sponored by the state. Let’s accept that too and try to do something to stop an imminent civil war.
Firstly, I think Dev Mukherjee’s comments make a lot of sense.
Secondly, things in W. Bengal & Kolkata have been brought to an unprecedented all-time low after over three decades of misrule and planned, deliberate infiltration and subversion of organizations & institutions and if the state and its people are not to be doomed forever, change of any kind is urgently called for.
Under such circumstances, change which may be ushered in can hardly be the ideal alternative. I hold no brief for Mamata ‘ Didi’ Banerjee. However in a state where other political alternatives have sadly disintegrated or not come up at all – I refer to the Congress and the BJP respectively – she offers the only hope for change of some kind.
In a scenario where the Left front, particularly the CPM, has a virtual stranglehold on all state machinery, various institutions, the police, the judiciary (the myth about impartial, honest judges needs to be debunked)and panchayats, thinking that someone can wage a ‘fair’ fight and oust the CPM from the seats of power that they have warmed for over 3 decades now is an utopian, idealistic thought hardly rooted in reality. One has to fight fire with fire and wage a battle where the end justifies most means. And that is what she precisely has been doing, though she has suffered unexpected setbacks in the past owing to her political immaturity and impulsiveness. Hopefully she would have learnt from her many mistakes.
As for Kabir Suman (Suman Chattopadhyay), I can expound at some length on the person, knowing, as I do, certain facts and details people in general may not be privy to. However, suffice it to say that a scoundrel and a charlatan will always remain a scoundrel and charlatan irrespective of whatever political postures he may strike at any point of time or whatever flags he may drape himself in conveniently. Inducting him into the party and getting him elected as an MP is an example of Mamata Banerjee’s political immaturity and impulsiveness that I have alluded to earier. However when none of the major political parties are capable of properly vetting candidates and weeding out the venal and the unsuitables, I guess she can’t be wholly blamed for having her share of ‘black sheeps’ in her party and among her MPs in Parliament. She should thank her lucky stars that Kabir Suman has unmasked himself and shown his true colours sooner rather than later.
Over 2 years back, while on a visit to Kolkata, I was exposed to the Rizwanur Rahman episode and the surge of public anger that spontaneously erupted, helped to a great extent by the media. I had put down my feelings about the state of affairs and about the extended CPM rule – a party which first came to power riding on the back of widespread disruptions and chaos, when I was a student- in a somewhat impassioned blog entry which still remains quite relevant. The link is given below
http://rogerfacts.blogspot.com/2007/11/dereliction-of-duty-initial-pointers.html#links
There’s plenty of stuff you’re claiming in this post without any proof. And your typical response to criticism is to berate the criticizer not respond to the criticism, usually.
These are not very encouraging attributes.
I don’t think there’s any doubt that the police in various parts of India have f*ed around; I don’t believe violence is a way out either.
An eye for an eye, we’re all going blind as far as I can tell.
“CRPF and SPOs being trained by the Israeli Mossad”????
Hahahaha.
That takes the cake.
Is the Mossad that jobless?
So now the ultra left (Maoist/Naxal and their misguided cabal) has handed over their propanganda management to the Jihadis?
Oh i forgot, Suman Chatterjee converted to Islam to get married. What a travesty of “free thinking”.
@GB: Didi has virtually swept the civic polls. The days ahead are going to be very very disturbing! I think TMC will come to power next year unless the left can pull a rabbit out of its hat! I always wanted the left government to fall when I was in my teens but now when I am faced with an actual situation, I would rather have the left come back! bcos TMC and Mamata are an unknown evil and the signs I have seen over the last couple of years, i think I would settle for a more known evil left!
Am with Joyjit, hated the Left all my life, but Mamta Banerjee, is making them look saner, and that is a big achievement. This women, is going to wreck Bengal, with her whimsical ways.
Predictably the Gush Fest in the media has started, with Sagarika “Gush Gush” Ghose, putting Didi on the same pedestal as Joan or Arc, Mother Teresa. And unfortunately my counterparts in the Right are no better, for them any 1 against the Left is fine. I guess the Indian media is really obsessed with it’s Anti Left feeling, that they don’t really care to evaluate the choices. Just reminds me of the Cold War days, when the US propped up sundry tin pot dictators, religious crackpots just to counter the “threat of communism”.
Greatbong edited the post and changed the name! And it is still frigging wrong. Get the name correct first. He’s not “Babar Suman”. I’ve already mentioned his correct name in my previous post.
ABout the announce ment – we meeting there because its called the “UNION” station ? 🙂
@Arthoheen: “babur Suman” is GB’s name for Kabir Suman for a long long time now…
I fully agree with Ratnakar…and the Mossad training the SPOs is pure literature.If the Mossad/ Shit Bet/ Shayeret Matkaal were involved, instead of 76 CRPF jawans, the Koteshwar Raos and Bikashes of the world would be found strung up from random trees a la Sippenhaft.
No society can run if its lead and enlightened by half-baked pseudo- antels ready to lap up the crumbs thrown by the ruling party( of any color).
Time we stopped blaming and tried to overhaul the Police,Teaching and Healthcare system of Bengal . Unions of all colors to be banned from these 3 professions forever. The State Coordination Comms to be disbanded. Thats the main virus ruining the system.
We may try to bring political party with IITians (BPD – bpd.org.in)or something similar as “ideal alternative” to existing mafia parties. And use facebook, twitter, mass SMS as cheap and effective promotion tool.
GB you are spot on on your assessment of Miss Mimi. She is trying to bask in reflected glory and trying to attract blog traffic to her blog. In reality my assessment is [GB edits: Abhijeet let us not get personal at Mimi Sen or at anyone here. By the way, this getting personal is exactly what she wants so that then she can put on the martyr air. Very typical of trolls. So dont fall into the trap.]
@ Joyjit
Earlier it was written wrongly, he took the pain of correcting it at one place. Read my earlier post.
Sorry for posting links of IITian political party BPD here …these guys are fighting and maligning each other like anything..and they have came out from LPP ..http://www.lok-paritran.org/ whose website is full of shit..and allegations ..abt BPD members!
Looks like the your Didis apolitical 😉 brothers and sisters are trolling your blog now. That does not change the fact that ‘Whatever Suman’ or ‘Suman Whatever’ is and was always dodgy. and the fact that Here comes Government of the Dodgy, by the Dodgy, for the Dodgy.
@mimi
I had to cut short my reading of all the comments and come straight to mentioning somehting to you.
this attitude of your – “xyz korechii,..besh korechhi” sounds like mamata banerjee. I have been following GB for years now and have the highest of regards for his unbiased writings.
Mimi, I would seriously suggest that you grow up. Juvenile writings and such attitude is what has destroyed the state and will make it an even more wretched place post 2011 when the inevtiable parivartan takes place. you sound like quite an obnoxious character and somehow remind me of Mamata banerjee because of the sheer stupidity and arrogance of your statements.
hi Greatbong !
sorry to be late. I was a journalist. I know he song and the “tuneless”singer u speak about.
You know what was the real pain the people around Emperor Nero had?
Nah ! u dont. They were not pained to see Rome burning(as dat was what Nero was a mastro!) but they were in knees and tears when Nero tried his hand in music and poems..
Greatbong go on with IPl ….and any shallow suff u want to blab ! we all njoy….but not about a legend(Kabir Suman)and his fight for the tribals…not about a fight for life in lalgarh (do u know wats all the fuss about ?!!)…
A piece of advice , leave this serious and sensitive soci-political issues…
Hey ! u can write a blog about Cheer-gals of IPL…or hav u already?!
Dear Friends,
this post was written by GB about 6 months back. How the 6 months have changed the face of politics in WB is open for everyone too see. The Maoists who were hand in glove with the TMC are now hunting down TMC members, Mahashweta devi, Mamata’s loyalist has today called the TMC run govt a facist govt. a number of so called intellectuals have moved away from the TMC, kabir suman is (internally) at loggerheads with the rest of the party, a number of film actors decided to stay away during the recent film festival…etc.
This is the true picture and true nature of intellectuals & maoists – they want to be seen as neutral (in case of intellectuals) or anti-establishment (in case of the maoists). what their true ideology is…no one has a clue!
6 months of poriborton and we are already talking about “paribrtener paribartan”.
the state is doomed. period.
History of Bengal after independence is divided into two periods; period of famine (1947 – 1977) and the period of delayed success (1977 – till date). There was famine in 1959, 1966, and 1974. Famines were mainly due to non-cultivation of land under jotedar ownership. Agriculture is not much profitable for them. After 1977, due to land reform, food production is up and famine problem is solved. There was one potential famine in 1978 (due to big flood), but panchayat and co-ordination committee avoided a famine like situation. So the new period of delayed success started. Haldia is delayed by 12 yrs; Bakreswar by 8 yrs. Singur may come one day after some delay like Haldia. Delayed success is better than famine. However now, famine period may come back due to wrong choice of people in the last election. Irrationalism practiced by media and many people is to be paid by famine.
Asit Guin babu,
If there is any famine in Bengal now, it is the famine of common sense and intellect. A famine of historical perspective and a “big picture understanding”. And I dont blame you for that. The famines you talk about are the famines of defeat and sufferings that Bengali Hindus were singularly handed, by the follwoers of Islam.
We started losing it since the 1950s. Two whole generation of Bengalis grew up, progressively de-Hinduized under the Leftist influence.
Traumatized by the continuous Islamic onslaughts between 1946 TO 1971 (first during Partition and then a torrent of fleeing humanity from East Pakistan), the Bengali psyche easily found refuge in the idealist romanticism of the Left.
The Left ideology appealed to the Bengali vicissitude, because it ensured that what the Bengali Hindu suffered at the hands of Islam ( ie, loss of resources to an ever- expanding Muslim Lebensraum in Bangladesh and West Bengal) was compensated for, through a internalized class struggle, for re-distribution of leftover and ever-shrinking resources.
Ergo, today’s Bengali, people like you, are pusillanimous individuals, who identify the word “Hindu” with the banality of “cow-belt” India, and strives to find socio-political meaning in a mixture of Western rationalism and Bengali cultural superciliousness.
In the investigation of the Nandigram police firing, CBI found involvement of TMC. No evidence has been found that CPI (M) had infiltrated police & fired at innocents. Neither have they found any evidence of trawler filled dead bodies smuggled out of Nandigram. CBI failed to find any remains of slaughtered children. The story that emerges out of the two charge-sheets filed by the CBI in the Haldia Court on the events of 18th March, 2007 is completely different from what the Congress, Trinamul party, a section of the intellectuals & the press had campaigned. It was this vicious campaign that galvanized the public opinion against the 34 year LF govt. There were two incidents of shooting that day, Bhangabera Bridge & Gokulnagar. CBI has submitted two separate charge-sheets. What emerges is that there were armed miscreants hiding behind the assembled people, mainly women & children. They had fired on the police. The incident at the Bhangabera Bridge has 129 accused, four of them deceased. The first name on the list is one Ashok Mondol, a resident of Sonachura & Trinamul worker. His elder brother, Ajay Mondol was a Trinamul candidate in the Panchayat elections & has become a Panchayat Samiti member. There is Subodh Patra, TMC candidate for the 2003 Panchayat polls from Sonachura. Accused no. 116 is Sonachura resident Rabin Mondol, a local TMC leader. He had played a big role in the year long terror & anarchy in that region. The key protagonist of this campaign, Krishnapada Mondol, is a TMC worker & relative of TMC leader, Nishikanta Mondol. Other accused, Rashbehari Khara, Prasenjit Karon, Gobinda Paik, Shankar Dalapati, Raghunath Dolui, Satyaranjan Manna, Lakhikanta Gayen, Robi Das are all known Trinamul workers & leaders. The list in the other charge-sheet on the Gokulnagar shooting too has TMC workers & leaders, a total of 37. Salil Das Adhikari & Sushil Das Adhikari are known TMC workers & related to TMC Panchayat Samiti member, Swadesh Das Adhikari. The other accused, Moni Rana, Prankrishna Das, Joydev Mondol, Srimanta Mondol are known local workers of the TMC. It is now clear that statements made by Left Front were correct. CBI came to two conclusions fairly early in its investigation, 1) State government had not sent the police to Nandigram secretly. There were numerous forewarnings after that area was cut off & the administration stopped from entering the area. It was clearly declared that the police will go in to restore the rule of law in the area & to carry out repairs to the roads infrastructure destroyed in the area; 2) there was an illegal assembly by the BUCP to stop the police from carrying out its job. Is it sheer coincidence that TMC Govt did not provide the permission to the CBI for interrogating the top police officials?
Commercial media and sushil samaj never bothered to compare performance of railway minister and performance of Buddhadeb as CM, before MAY-2011 election. They wrongly portrayed her as opposition leader of Bengal, which she was not. She was always union minister. During LF rule, Union ministers caused law and order problem in singur, nandigram etc. How state govt can control union ministers? Union ministers as well as Governor of Bengal were very much against state govt during the days of Singur movement. Railway is put to ICU by her. Now they will put Bengal into ICU. People have to pay for their wrong choice. Becharam manna, anubrata mandal, Arabul etc are actors in the drama. Chit fund managers are UNIQUE group of actors. Education system of Bengal is her victim. ALEEK KUNATYA RONGE; MOJE LOK RAREH BONGE; NIROKHIA PULOKE HRIDOY;
তোলা তুলতে বোমা মজুত; ২৫শে আগস্ট , ২০১৮; নারায়ণগড়;;, মাত্র দুটি কারখানা। সেখান থেকেই প্রতি মাসে শ্রমিকদের থেকে তৃণমূলের তোলা আদায়ের পরিমাণ ৩২লক্ষ ৮৫হাজার টাকা! এই বিপুল পরিমাণ তোলার দখলদারি কোন গোষ্ঠীর হাতে থাকবে, তার জেরেই দলীয় অফিসে বোমা মজুত আর সেই মজুত বোমায় ভয়াবহ বিস্ফোরণ।
৬০ নম্বর জাতীয় সড়ক লাগোয়া দুটি কারখানা। একটি সুপ্রিম কোম্পানি। প্ল্যা স্টিকের আসবাবপত্র তৈরির কারখানা। অন্যটি বেঙ্গল এনার্জি। দুটি কারখানার অস্থায়ী ও ঠিকা শ্রমিকের সংখ্যা প্রায় এগারোশো। ১১০০ শ্রমিকের মজুরি থেকে তোলা আদায়ের ভাগ-বাঁটোয়ারা নিয়েই এই মারাত্মক ঘটনা ।