A call by Nandigram Mancha.

Marudyane Nandigram

Marudyane Nandigram, a book written by Kabir Suman is going to be inaugurated. It is going to be published by Bijolpo.

Kabir Suman. We all recognize him as a singer-song-writer. We know his only religion is Music. The deserted Bengali song has been rejuvenated by his words-tune-songs and magical voice. The groundbreaking performances and creations of new Bengali songs have given Bengal and the world a new genre of music following the tradition and improvising the individuality. Besides, we know that music is not his only religion. He has raised his voice against any kind of inhuman practice of ruling class, power structure. He mesmerized the people with his arms, towards the sky to protest. But he is not a political figure. The hypocrisy of Bengal politics, establishing falsehood —these are not in the character of Kabir Suman. He is a complete artist. An ideal artist. His radiance of persona, his reactions over any kind of inhuman practice, his tears, his depression—all have poured an impression upon us tremendously.

Due to him, we are not afraid; we do not feel us alone. To protest against the incidents happened at Nandigrm-Singur, he has not encapsulated himself in his protest in the language of music, but he devoted himself making involved in direct protest, like a concerned citizen, like a journalist.

Throughout the year, he has written a lot articles in dailies and magazines. Now it is our duty to accumulate these and publish for all in the form of a book. Thus the book is a result of our desire and necessity for all citizens whom we believe the charioteers of the next generation democratic persons.

Bijolpo is proud of publishing this book.

Price: Rs.20/- only

Again a massacre. At Dinhata, Coochbehar, West Bengal, some people of Forward Block, one of the parties of the Left Front, were protesting against the SEZ and imperialist economy. They were preceding their procession towards the District magistrate. Police fired and 5 died instantly, many injured. What should we say these?

Till date no one has seen even a partially comprehensive list of peasants who have declined to part with their lands in Singur or details of their occupational dispositions or some thing on the real support base of the CPI(M)in this area.Why hasn’t a single big daily newspaper published so far anything on this crucial aspect of the problem?Discenibly impressionistic and rather inadequately panoramic tracts have been generated from various sources,which cater more to the ideologically/emotionally charged observers/activists,but will that be enough to sustain a long-term foray of practical concerns?What about those who suffered at Nandigram and on what basis are we to advance into the exercise on payment of compensation,the demand for which will now be generated from within the areas and all kinds of dilly-dallying and sidetracking of concern and obligation will be witnessed on that score?Given the culture of organized politics and civil society work in West Bengal,we need to go a little beyond the spirited and/or informed rhetorics of both the mainstream politicians and politics-mongering academics.

Quite intentionally,I didn’t relate my observations/assessments to what I consider to be the main crux of the arguments/counterarguments Prof.Chomsky and his intellectual compatriots and detractors were trying to spell out———–the need for maintaining left unity or creating a new left combine,basing on the lessons that struggles at Nandigram are in the process of concretizing.But my contention would be whether or not the left remains united,we’ll need to grapple with the built-in shortcomings that I’ve tried to write about rather independently,irrespective of the colour or creed of the party/parties that would go on to meddle there in collaboration with other civil society groups/forces,all of which have become conditioned to functioning under the spell of these structural incombencies/shortcomings.In fact,I would even go up to the extent of saying that political parties and/or civil society groups/forces will find it very difficult to come out of such patent styles of functioning that I have written about.

(1)Lack of specific political ambition(in the sense of managing to enter active politics here and now–while willingness to participate in specially organized rallies,etc.is readily available,plans or programmes for a longer term involvement would be subject to numerous ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’conditioned by very differenly structured existential compulsions/dilemmas) on the part of both academics and civil society functionaries/activists(who could also be salaried or self-employed/engaged development professionals these days when activities of most big and medium-sized NGOs/CSOs/CBOs are becoming more and more centred around all kinds of pecuniary gain/benefit).As a result, we’ll have representatives of both sections functioning more or less as outstation campaign-trotters.I’m not trying to suggest that all of them have to be Nandigram-based as that would be rediculous,but serious problems of continuity/sustainability of practical attachment to ground realities would remain,especially given the fact that their contact persons/mediators may indeed be quite discernibly devoid of effective means of communication/linkages with the prime victims.

Artful grasshopping of political feat of some sort may take the form of activism that we’ll then be goarded into accepting for want of any other alternative.In fact,that has already become the order of the day wherever we’ve tried to enlist the support of these professionals who would,at the end of the day,maintain a certain distance from politics that “seems so very muddy and lumpenized”.Just consider the “attitude” of most of them,whether of leftist/rightist/centrist dispositions,towards Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamul Congress.

(2)Civil society activities remain publicity-oriented(wherever you have the media chasing you in whatever earnest,you get hooked up and start reaping harvests for your next projects)and research and documenattion are almost a taboo for reasons of both competence and lack of perspective.I wonder whats going to happen to Nandigram once the electronic media finally decide to dump/give it up in favour of something else with greater potentials of sensationalization like what some of them have already done to Singur.The ‘dull’ and ‘uneventful’ everyday of Singur and Nandigram may then face another kind of violence of silence and abandonment.

There is tremendous ill-advised and ill-structured replication/duplication of civil society work in West Bengal due to lack of trust and understanding among agencies/individuals and Nandigram and Singur have already had their share of all this in abundance.Putting up a stage-managed brave front for a short while may not see us through at all against such heavy odds.We’ll need to introspect quite a bit to spade through years of muddled thinking about state-civil society interfaces,especially in a situation where state machineries are sharpening instruments of cooption with renewed vigour.

Hindol Bhattacharjee

Swadhinota laver por theke edesher baro shashontantra manusher upor probhutyo kore eseche. Aage 10-20 ta grame thakto ak akta jomidar, tader jomidari kere nie protiti grame du-panch jon ebong baro hole 20-30 jon amon loker abirbhab holo jara sujog paoa matroi protibeshider haye chipke jay ebong tader kichu na kichu nie tobe chare. Grame, sahore, paray paray, office-e, adalote, dokane bajare, manusher jiboner sarbokhetre efder abadh rajotyo. Rabindranath bolechilen baro loker baro jaale baro fans thake, tate baro mach dhora pore kintu chunopunti benche jay. Kintu eder choto jale thake choto fanse. Tate chunopuntio mara pore. Jomidarer bodole je sashok poschimbanger gram theke sahore jal fele barachche, tader jaler fans khubi choto. Tai chunopuntirao rehai payna. Aage ei sashokder , arthat baro jaler sashokder satangsho chilo 2-3%. Akhon seta 20-30%. Eder astityer karone baki 70-80% manusho bhalo bhabe banchte parchena. Sadasatorko abosthay din katate hochche. Ei bujhi keu mangso khuble nilo. Fole paschimbanger manusher jibon aj durbisaho. Je satorko noy, se protidin kichu na kichu khoachche.
Congress party’r hat dhore, juktofront hoe ei ajker cpmer sashonkele eder sashon aro bereche. Cpm na hoe anyokono dol thakleo ei poristhiti akirokom thakto. Manusher dhormo—er proti-i astha kome gache manusher. Charidike sudhui sandeho. Er upore royche rashtrer khyomotar proti biswaser prashna. Biswaajudhya, soviet er pratistha, fascibader protistha, samajtontrider khyomotadakholetyadi ghotona rashtrer swavab bodle day. Je rashtrio santras thakto simante, ta dhuke pore desher bhitor. Sara paschimbanglar akhon ei poristhiti. Birodh optimum level atikrom kore gache. Jekhane je dol khyomotay roeche era tader khyomotar arale khyomotasineder pichone darie tar samner manusher kolata mulota rakto-mangso theke ijjot porjonto khuble khachche. Ar je ba jara nichche, khyomotar chaya chole gele tar vba tader upor theke nirapottar chadoro sore jabe.

Santrasto thakle manush nijer bikasher kotha, unnayoner kotha ar bhabtei parena. Jara ekhane santras korche tarai ekhane unnayoner kotha bolche!Biswayon o biswaito santraser ei juge panyo, byaktimalikana, punji, hingsha, samyobader name fascibad, rashtrio santras, judhyo—manob savyotake kore tuleche santrasto. Fole ak dhoroner gor bhabnakhyomotar janmo hoeche. Kayemi khyomotar tinti dik—1. sanskritik store-brambhonnyotantra. 2. rajnaitik store—bohubol ar 3. arthanaitik store—munafa. Muloto bhable dakha jabe ei tinti apekhyik o parosporik samporker upori cpm tatha bohujatik samrajyobad darie.

Aj Bolan gangopadhyaer ak article e porlam Nandigram e choto choto chelemey’ra parospor rape rape khelche.

Ami shiure utchi bhobishyoter kotha bhebe. Bhobishyote rape ak choto theke moner modhye genthe jaoa swavabikota hoe jabena to agami kale?

Er janyo ki bartaman arthanaitik samrajyobad ar sashokder ( ekhane CPM o Gujarate BJP o anyanyo jaygay sob sashokdol, sthan hisebe) bhumikai dayi na?
Ke er uttar deben? Chomsky? Bharot ke jini cheneni na?

Hindol Bhattacharjee

Mr Budhyadeb Bhattacharjee has commented under pressure that the massacre what has happened was not wanted and it was really a brute event. About the protest and the great procession held a Kolkata, he also commented that it is a natural thing to react after the massacre held at Nandigram. How juxtapose any man can be! It seemed that general people would forgive him but the civil society and commonplace people now can easily understand that these are only the reflections of the political shrewdness of a mass party which is claiming to be a communist party still. We are not against peace. But we are completely against the false manufacturing of reality. We are against the inhuman task driven by the cadres of CPM, and if after a massacre, and after several fascist attacks, the fascist leader made statement to forgive him and remarked his pain over the affected persons, then should the civilian like us forgive him?

It is obvious that CPM and the parliamentarian parties want to be representatives of multinational markets and multinational economy. The global economy needs a calm and quite market. Budhyadeb was instructed by the central committee of CPM to not to make a hazardous situation in such a way that people think that they are living in a democratic atmosphere.

It is our pain that many a people of our city has already forgiven the CM and media is going to make an atmosphere where people go on to believe that the power structure would not make such a dungeon anywhere. But the fact is that still the fascism is being practised but in a subversive mode. To keep CDs of the massacre of Nandigram, people are being arrested, are killed, and people at nandigram are being threatened all the times.

The role of the communist intellectuals is also very much confusing. Prabhat Pattanayk and their friends are manufacturing the consents that the civil society movement is reactionary. It is necessary now to be united against CPM and to make an alternative left politics as well as alternative left front to combat against CPM and other forces.

It is an appeal. Pl. utilise this opportunity to form a new left front including CPim(Liberation), Maoists, and other parties of left front

Hindol
09830751535

@Hindol:”This letter refers to an earlier one, but the only earlier one I have seen, to which I responded a few moments ago, did not contain any questions.” What does this exactly mean?

And wouldn’t it have better if you had referred to the dates of correspondence?

And can you use ‘single’ or “double” quotation-marks so as to separate your words from Chomsky’s? This is beginning to read more like your poetry than a proper transcript!

Eta jeno jhuli theke ek-ekta kore durmulyo biralchhana ber korar moto byapar hoye dariyechhe! :roll:
(this resembles priceless kittens arriving out of the conjurer’s sack,one after the other, to translate the above exclamation in Bangla for other readers).

I entirely agree with you that the CPI(M) government has been moving towards integration into the global economy dominated by multinationals, moves that I’ve criticized when speaking in Calcutta some years ago, and again more recently. I’m not familiar with the religious fascism that you refer to.
Noam Chomsky to me

Below. I will have to skip (A) all questions having to do with tactics that should be adopted by the Civil Society movement or the prospects for the movement. These topics can only be discussed on the basis of intimate knowledge of circumstances. I’ll also have to skip (B) questions based on presuppositions that go beyond any evidence available to me.

Sir, In connection with the recent massacre being happened in nandigram and the Left Front Government of West Bengal is behaving like a fascist administrator; a Civil Society movement has been developed in Kolkata. I would like to request you to send some of my queries. I have read your books, and especially I have been influenced by Manufacturing Consent. I hope you will send me reply.

Q1. Do you think that Civil Society Movement without any political banner can be able to fight against the power structure?

Skipped, (A)

Q2. What do you think about the cause of fascism practised by Communist Party of India (Marxist) in west Bengal?

Skipped, (B)

Q3. After the massacre in Nandigram, what is your opinion about the reason of this?

I do not have close enough knowledge to respond.

Q4. What do you think about the global struggle against SEZ and Chemical Hubs, specially against the imperialist economy?

It’s extremely important, in India as elsewhere.

Q5. I am eager to know about some basics. What is the position of individual freedom in this power structure? Can it be possible for us to get in any movement?

Skipped, (A)

Q6. What do you think about the language of a movement we should have?

Skipped, (A)

Q7. We came to know that there is an international pressure to you to support he Left Front of West Bengal. This is being supported by CPM. Is it right? I need to know clearly

This is an example of the very strange gossip that has been circulating among Indian left intellectuals, based on zero evidence. There hasn’t been the slightest pressure on me to support the Left Front, hence what you “came to know” is a complete fabrication. There has indeed been manipulation, but by the opposition. I’ve explained that in a letter responding to charges issued by a group of left Indian intellectuals, based on serious misunderstanding and misrepresentation. Since I never received a response, I can’t comment on that further. Can send the relevant parts to you as well, if you are interested.

Q8. All the artists, painters, poets ( i am also a young poet of nineties of Bengal) are participating in the Civil Society movement. What is your message?

Nothing beyond the obvious. It takes courage, dedication, and integrity to struggle against injustice, repression, and social and economic programs that are likely to be very harmful the large majority of the population and to society at large.

Q9. To change the public opinion what should be our mode of movement?

Skipped, (A)

Q10. Do you think that fascism is changing its meaning? Is it not very much tagged with the power structure, the state terrorism?

The term “fascism” has come to be used very freely to refer to whatever one doesn’t like. That does not seem to me a useful procedure. The term had a fairly definite meaning, not precise of course – terms of political discourse and theory never are – but neverthless fairly clear. In the interests of constructive discourse, it seems to me worthwhile to keep to the actual meaning instead of using it as a general term of abuse.

Q11. Will you please come to Kolkata to participate in the civil society movement which has no such bar of nationalism?

I’d be very happy to return, and have had many invitations. But I am afraid that for complicated personal reasons, I cannot be away from home for more than a few hours, and have had to cancel all planned trips, for an indefinite period.

Yours sincerely

Hindol Bhattacharjee

Kolkata

9830751535

That is not an appeal to a fascist party, and I don’t agree that Prabhat Patnaik, V.K. Ramachandran, Jayati Ghosh and others are fascists.

http://sanhati.com/news/526/

Was it intended as the veiled reference to Vijay Prashad? Other than him I didn’t recognise anyone who can be called a sympathiser for CPIM.