* [Che Guevara memorabilia has a tendency to surface in rather queer places rendering it as a rather successful example of capitalist brand building process… which I am sure will cause much consternation to dead Che’s soul]
Like others the urge to kill a corrupt minister who has wronged a defense deal is almost instant in me… especially after a ‘movie’ night professing the efficacy of such an action…. Or at least to be part of a candle lit procession of jeans clad protestors…..but Kanu Sanyal humbles … Here is man who was among those who started it all and followed it up with a life time…
Metaphorically speaking and in Kanu’s words the past forty years of Naxalite struggle has made him an ‘old man in the sea’. Negotiating crests and troughs of fulfillment and despair but the perfect social order still eludes. But what has sunk in though is the fact that revolution must begin in the ‘minds’. Empowering every ‘have not’ with the nuances of ‘revolutionary thought’ and educating the ‘haves’ of relinquishing a bit of their goodies for greater good. Make no mistake about the dynamism here; an armed movement reminiscent of the 60’s to siege control of state power is passé for the time being. Period.
A tale of two uncles and Nandigram
------------------------------------
An uncle of mine…. Uncle Mukerjee….. had once joined the revolution and now has a standard response to all accusations by detractors. “But at least I am not on the pay roll CPI-M and railways my dear are under the central government”.
Post Nandigram some real redemption could be in the offing. Uncle has joined the hordes of online petitioners, bloggers and ensures that the topic is raised sizably in living room addas and wherever, whenever. But what eludes us on a strict redemption regimen is the next course. Control of state power? A revolutionary government… what? ….ok… may be the scrapping of the whole SEZ policy for now…total revolution may come later.
Another uncle … uncle Mazumdar lost his job in West Bengal in the height of hallowed land reforms in the state. The worker’s union of the factory he worked for… saw to it that it closed down. Uncle joined the hordes that criticized in numerous gatherings as government failed to implement policies that in turn failed to attract investments that in turn failed to set up new factories in the state and made survival the focal issue for the existing ones.
The polices have been revamped. Bengalis could now go and work in call centers in their own state. Land like always is paramount and is needed. And uncle Mazumdar refuses to believe that erstwhile ‘cool dude’ of Bengal politics Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is an evil incarnate… Industrialization (neo- Liberalization to some) is needed and my uncle is all for it. So what went wrong in Nandigram?
“Not the intention but arrogance probably’ he maintains. In the land of scientific rigging Nandigram and Singur are sure acts of defiance. A prestige issue for the comrades. It was settled by bullets and 14 lives. My uncle empathizes and like most bongs offers an advice for free. He says “the people of Nandigram should not give in to reactionary forces (read BJP, Congress and Mamata Banerjee brigade …. Who look to politicize everything…… then he points to some news reports; “A number of contractors working in the construction of Tata plant in Singur are actually Trinamool Congress workers . I too managed to catch a confession of a similar character on TV. “Political ideology is fine but no harm in making some money and I have a family to feed".
first published:March 31, 2007, 21:34 ISTlast updated:March 31, 2007, 21:34 IST
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Meeting Kanu Sanyal of the erstwhile Naxalbari movement can be a revelation for some. Especially in the times….. When much of the education on revolution is derived from secondary sources and mannerisms are aped sooner than the philosophy itself *.
* [Che Guevara memorabilia has a tendency to surface in rather queer places rendering it as a rather successful example of capitalist brand building process… which I am sure will cause much consternation to dead Che’s soul]
Like others the urge to kill a corrupt minister who has wronged a defense deal is almost instant in me… especially after a ‘movie’ night professing the efficacy of such an action…. Or at least to be part of a candle lit procession of jeans clad protestors…..but Kanu Sanyal humbles … Here is man who was among those who started it all and followed it up with a life time…
Metaphorically speaking and in Kanu’s words the past forty years of Naxalite struggle has made him an ‘old man in the sea’. Negotiating crests and troughs of fulfillment and despair but the perfect social order still eludes. But what has sunk in though is the fact that revolution must begin in the ‘minds’. Empowering every ‘have not’ with the nuances of ‘revolutionary thought’ and educating the ‘haves’ of relinquishing a bit of their goodies for greater good. Make no mistake about the dynamism here; an armed movement reminiscent of the 60’s to siege control of state power is passé for the time being. Period.
A tale of two uncles and Nandigram
------------------------------------
An uncle of mine…. Uncle Mukerjee….. had once joined the revolution and now has a standard response to all accusations by detractors. “But at least I am not on the pay roll CPI-M and railways my dear are under the central government”.
Post Nandigram some real redemption could be in the offing. Uncle has joined the hordes of online petitioners, bloggers and ensures that the topic is raised sizably in living room addas and wherever, whenever. But what eludes us on a strict redemption regimen is the next course. Control of state power? A revolutionary government… what? ….ok… may be the scrapping of the whole SEZ policy for now…total revolution may come later.
Another uncle … uncle Mazumdar lost his job in West Bengal in the height of hallowed land reforms in the state. The worker’s union of the factory he worked for… saw to it that it closed down. Uncle joined the hordes that criticized in numerous gatherings as government failed to implement policies that in turn failed to attract investments that in turn failed to set up new factories in the state and made survival the focal issue for the existing ones.
The polices have been revamped. Bengalis could now go and work in call centers in their own state. Land like always is paramount and is needed. And uncle Mazumdar refuses to believe that erstwhile ‘cool dude’ of Bengal politics Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is an evil incarnate… Industrialization (neo- Liberalization to some) is needed and my uncle is all for it. So what went wrong in Nandigram?
“Not the intention but arrogance probably’ he maintains. In the land of scientific rigging Nandigram and Singur are sure acts of defiance. A prestige issue for the comrades. It was settled by bullets and 14 lives. My uncle empathizes and like most bongs offers an advice for free. He says “the people of Nandigram should not give in to reactionary forces (read BJP, Congress and Mamata Banerjee brigade …. Who look to politicize everything…… then he points to some news reports; “A number of contractors working in the construction of Tata plant in Singur are actually Trinamool Congress workers . I too managed to catch a confession of a similar character on TV. “Political ideology is fine but no harm in making some money and I have a family to feed".
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