Comments on: Singur, Mediotics and an NGO Called Indian Express

By: Anant

Anant — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:06:37 +0000

Aarti,
Sabeer Bhatia tried to purchase land bit by bit – as he had to deal with farmers directly. Each acre he purchased, pushed up the price of the subsequent one, making it impossible for him to progress. So he stopped along the way and started looking for people who have experience in buying land. Parsvanath – the real estate company bought a 38 per cent equity into Bhatia’s company a couple of months ago. The plan it appears is to swoop in later in the year.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/11/MN9S120S1G.DTL

By: Aarti

Aarti — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:24:09 +0000

Speaking of which, does anyone know what finally happened with Sabir Bhatia’s nanocity project for which they were acquiring 11,000 acres of land in Haryana?

I know that the prices being offered for agricultural land were quite high, but there was a movement against it and the formation of a farmers front against acquisition. The Haryana government, from what it seems, is not involved in the acquisition in anyway. Its being being done through deals between private developers, this company and farmers.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Sabeer-Bhatias-Nano-City-faces-farmers-firewall/305924/

does anyone know what’s happening?

By: Shubho

Shubho — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:10:10 +0000

Mamata Banerjee’s demagogue attitude remained unchanged throughout the years although many of her well wishers like to view her as a ‘transformed’ politician today, thanks to her recent ‘progressive’ rhetoric. This very nature makes her political actions shrill and audible but at the end achieves nothing but only exposes her familiar opportunistic face.

She very well knows the importance of Tata but lingered the Singur issue too long to gain maximum political mileage. If she had continued dialogues with the government on her demands for the unwilling farmers along with the agitation, she probably would have scored more political points. The responsibility of real leaders is to ensure that the losses of the effected are reduced while keeping in mind the larger benefit of the society as a whole. Instead of that she has chosen the easy populist way to uphold her firebrand image. This goes well with the mass culture she represents, helps her to achieve smaller and temporary gains but ultimately in the long run fails to generate any worthy results.

Today, she is showing a brave face in front of her crowd by proclaiming that Tata’s threat to withdraw is a ploy against her agitation. But deep in her mind she is worried.

The signs of a backlash are already visible. It will intensify in the following days if she remains adamant with her 400 acres demand. This backlash is therefore compelling her to find out an escape route through the Governor of Bengal. How she finally escapes her self created chaos will be interesting to watch.

By: kishorebudha

kishorebudha — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:03:52 +0000

whatever be the politics of Mamata, isn’t it rich of those who want free market and competitiveness go and beg the state for subsidies.

so it is okay for Tata to pay billions of pounds to Ford to acquire ecologically destructive brands but get stuff for free when it is being passed around.

By: Aditya Nigam

Aditya Nigam — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:47:18 +0000

Dear Anushila o Ranjana, Shilpo abashyaee howoya uchit. Ki bhabe ba ki dharaner shilpo hobe, ta niye nischayee alochonar ebong samalochnar jayega aachhe, aasha koree. Mamta o nije shilper birodhi non. Amader baktaby shudhumatro ei jaara pranpone shilpo chaye, taader uchit taader nijeder bhita-bari shilpayan swarthe chashider diye dik. Those who want industrialization at any cost, should hand over their own land and property to the expropriated peasants. THEY WANT industrialization but want the cost to be born by the peasants. Maybe you should take the lead in handing over your property to the expropriated farmers – who do not want industrialization. Kemon? Oder gharer opor boshe unnati korte chaichhen na ki?

By: KB

KB — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:55:00 +0000

There is an interesting interview with Zizek on liberal capitalism and social development in Part 1 of the interview here:

http://zizekstudies.org/video/video_issue.html

it can also be viewed here

By: KB

KB — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:38:29 +0000

this is a wider trend of media imagination. to accept free market as the natural order of things. and in the name of capital with a human face, the media feels it is their responsibility to intervene and actively support this project. The conviction of this project is reflected in the zealousness with which they stigmatises “troublemakers”. It is both comical and alarming at the same time.

Indian media is modelling itself on the US media.

By: Anushila kar (a student)

Anushila kar (a student) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:26:47 +0000

The caos which are taking place about “NANO PLANT” by MAMATA is a useless one. If we listen to her and do not allow the construction then we will be intentionally the destroyer of the progress of west bengal and the future of millions of the students as they have to go on searching for jobs.
Mamata lack education and hence has no sense. If the intelligent parties listen to her blindly then we have to really regret for the consequences.If gentle measures against mamata is useless then “STRICT MEASURES SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED”.”WE ALL WILL SUPPORT THIS”.

By: Ranjana kar

Ranjana kar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:10:26 +0000

amra ekanto bhabe chaichi shilpo hok. “MAMATATAR PAGLAMI BONDO KORUK”.Mamatar paglamir janya amader chele mein der future, (jara din raat jege porashona korche) noshto hoye jabe.Ekdin nijeder “DOLER LOKEDER HATE O SHESH HOBE”.

By: Devika

Devika — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:01:45 +0000

Calling a social movement/human rights organisation/feminist group/ dalit discussion group or anything that does have a name of its own an ‘NGO’ and hanging it is a minor hobby of theinstitutionalised left in Kerala. The highest authorities in CPM initially called the Chengara land struggle something instigated by the ‘NGO’s. And now things have grown to the extent that this isn’t an effective strategy anymore. The question of ‘funding’ is something thrown at our faces all the time. Interestingly, the CPM in Kerala can’t really use it too much now. In the heydays of the factional war within the CPM when a joint attack was mounted on the champions of liberal welfarism by the more conservative sections (joined by some ‘Talibanised Marxist’ extreme left intellectuals), the former were accused of accepting ‘foreign funding’. The language of the Cold War, of spies and infiltrators, looked rather comic; but the fears were probably about the political consequences of opening up but we had no political language to address emergent political contexts. And really comic to see the Indian Express use this!