"To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple."
Arudhuti Roy
With the Rizwanur issue put on the back burner, the chatterati of Kolkata were starved of issues, when lo and behold, the very dependable Mamata Banerjee has lobbed one right in their court – Singur! They were dying to put their signature, with permanent ink markers, in support of a ‘cause’, stand up for something, be an activist and amply demonstrate, 'We think not, therefore we are!'
Sweet somethings in tank-tops and low-rise jeans on a signing spree at tech-town Sector V of Salt Lake, Kolkata , where every second address is a hangout joint, cheering for industry, pleading infact, ‘Plz didi, don’t stop development of West Bengal’!.
With the Rizwanur issue put on the back burner, the chatterati of Kolkata were starved of issues, when lo and behold, the very dependable Mamata Banerjee has lobbed one right in their court – Singur! They were dying to put their signature, with permanent ink markers, in support of a ‘cause’, stand up for something, be an activist and amply demonstrate, 'We think not, therefore we are!'
Sweet somethings in tank-tops and low-rise jeans on a signing spree at tech-town Sector V of Salt Lake, Kolkata , where every second address is a hangout joint, cheering for industry, pleading infact, ‘Plz didi, don’t stop development of West Bengal’!.
My my, so touching! You could have knocked me down with a feather! Are they for real? Translated, all it really means is Plz didi lay off, so that papa can buy me that ooooooh so cute canary yellow Nano real quick!
Mamata Banerjee’s modus operandi may be wrong and it is also true that her heart doesn’t exactly bleed for the peasants (it certainly bleeds more than the techies from Sector V though). But there is substance in her stance. Agricultural land, especially in a small and densely populated state like West Bengal should not be taken over by industry. It does not happen even in advanced industrial nations. Good agricultural land is always left alone because once lost, it cannot be recovered. Hoogly is not Chotanagpur. What was Jamshedpur before the Tatas? A god-forsaken place of laterite soil with no vegetation, leave alone agriculture. They could have picked such a place in W.Bengal - in West Midnapur, Purulia, Bankura or Birbhum. Why Hoogly? The district with perhaps the richest soil in the state? The answer is simple enough- the Tatas are planning to build a cheap car and it is only natural that they’ll pick a site with existing infrastructure, such as, proximity to highways, airports, railheads and ports, to keep the overheads low. Singur has all these. Reason enough to set up shop there.
Mr. Ratan Tata was complaining that the factory was water-logged for many months last year, derailing work. What did he expect? If paddy fields are walled in where does the water go? If water-logging bugs him he should have picked a dry and arid place. Unless the ground level inside the factory complex is raised this problem will come back repeatedly to haunt them. The Tatas want everything on a platter. Did they get everything on a platter when they went to build Jamshedpur?
Mamata Banerjee’s modus operandi may be wrong and it is also true that her heart doesn’t exactly bleed for the peasants (it certainly bleeds more than the techies from Sector V though). But there is substance in her stance. Agricultural land, especially in a small and densely populated state like West Bengal should not be taken over by industry. It does not happen even in advanced industrial nations. Good agricultural land is always left alone because once lost, it cannot be recovered. Hoogly is not Chotanagpur. What was Jamshedpur before the Tatas? A god-forsaken place of laterite soil with no vegetation, leave alone agriculture. They could have picked such a place in W.Bengal - in West Midnapur, Purulia, Bankura or Birbhum. Why Hoogly? The district with perhaps the richest soil in the state? The answer is simple enough- the Tatas are planning to build a cheap car and it is only natural that they’ll pick a site with existing infrastructure, such as, proximity to highways, airports, railheads and ports, to keep the overheads low. Singur has all these. Reason enough to set up shop there.
Mr. Ratan Tata was complaining that the factory was water-logged for many months last year, derailing work. What did he expect? If paddy fields are walled in where does the water go? If water-logging bugs him he should have picked a dry and arid place. Unless the ground level inside the factory complex is raised this problem will come back repeatedly to haunt them. The Tatas want everything on a platter. Did they get everything on a platter when they went to build Jamshedpur?
PS: I have nothing against industry but please read Arundhuti Roy's qoute once more.
uday
1 comment:
Hi Uday,
Great read! Am totally in agreement with you that Mamata is a lousy "cheerleader" for an argument that otherwise has tremendous weight. Giving away, or rather, taking away, prime, fertile, well-irrigated, three crop land is literally criminal. There is another aspect too - most people, which includes the media, fail to realise that agriculture is not just a livelihood, but a *way* of life for people who know no other lifestyle. Who is to decide whether a menial or manual industrial job is better than a livelihood from agriculture. This reminds one of the attempts at "modernising" and "improving" the lives of tribals, made by NGOs and governments who know no better. Anyway, that is a larger issue..... keep writing.
Best,
Vikas.
unrelated postscript: Visit to AA is put off!
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