The Lament Of Bengal's Luddites

#9 Tvarad
True Industrial revolution was missed by India and may in inform u China is also not indutrialised they are JUST trying
the reault of it will be seen in the future and cannot be counted as yet.
Chinese majority are living in rural areas and still cultivate and are farmers despite the hype about china...
The information technology as touched ever country rich and poor and do not be too happy to be giving all u r hard money to reliance and other capilatists when its use is more abused than necessary...
can cell phone feed you or physically transport you or wash you dishes or cook u r food

#8 Tvard
USA is very resource full and large country with no food shortage atleast capacity to cultivate on its own if it was needed
lthough at the present it imports everything from oil ,coal, to food...

comParing the usa to the poor farmers of benami lands is apple and oranges more like gluttony to stavation .
Not veryy ong ago common perception and real;ity was reflected in rascist remark `bhooka bangali`
there have been famine twice in bengal and not more than 3 decades ago riots for high prices of rice the staple diet there.

The tatas as you said are planning for whole asia and how is it be useful to bengal or india

in the competitive market even G.M is being ousted by Toyota...
Ambassador wihih is made inBengal Uttarpara is amost closed
why another car factory ?

and not revive the ambassador car factory...

Sangeeta:

``Kindly ask the farmers to build roads. For how long is this going to sustain them? Option: Lifelong fixed occupation of being farmers (in lands of their forefathers or even their own small pattas) versus being a temporary brick-laying/cement hauling labourer?``

Going by your argument, the Industrial Revolution was terrible for the world since peasants got kicked off their land and greedy capitalists took over. And yet, the countries that put their faith in it like the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Japan and lately, the Asian Tigers, South Korea et. al. have raised the standard of living of all their people by leaps and bounds compared to their agrarian past.

This is the same tired argument of arm-chair socialists. One which has been disproved by an astonishing scene I saw yesterday. As I fumed at the four-wheel cart hauling cement being pulled by a cow for blocking the road with it`s glacial speed movements, I spied the cement dust covered driver clutching something at his ear: it was a cellphone! And to think, you have to wait a year or more for sarkari phones 15 years ago.

I will put my faith in the Tatas, Mittals, Ambanis and the like to take all of India forward than any of the self-servient intelligentia and political class any day.

#4 by Sangeeta

``The Tata`s present Automobile industry is set up in an area not exceeding 250 acres of land. So why do they need more than 900 acres of land for setting up a small car factory?``

Maybe they are planning for the future with the possibility of adding more capacity or building some other car to take advantage of having everything in one place? You know, planning for the future is one of the few traits that separates us from animals.

Anyway, this is, as everyone knows, has very little to do with the Tatas, or the farmer or the lands involved. It is a fistfight between rival political parties. If Mamata were in power and stood to make as much money as the Commies from the deal she would sell the farmers along with the land to the Tatas.

As an aside, the South Bay of Silicon Valley was one of the most fertile areas in the world with an abundance of fruit orchards (look at some of the old pictures of the area). Today it is covered from one end to the other with buildings. Only in India is farmland on which farmers eke out subsistence living become such a bone of contention.

Kindly ask the farmers to build roads. For how long is this going to sustain them? Option: Lifelong fixed occupation of being farmers (in lands of their forefathers or even their own small pattas) versus being a temporary brick-laying/cement hauling labourer?

Auxilliary jobs are fine on paper. But do they fulfil the criteria of adequate and regular salary in this case? Are peasants willing to give up their vocation and adopt/learn a new one, which, I might add, gives them no sense of dignity, in their late 30s? If they did, they would have gone to urban areas to work as labourers. But those in the areas I have stated above did not and are not interested in doing so in the near future. Given their educational qualification what choice do they have?

There is a lesson in the tepid response to the NREG scheme in states that have already implemented it, which should have a bearing on any compensation package when dealing with SEZ land.

The chemical and automobile industries are high tech and mechanized, where the employment opportunities are limited to well qualified engineers and staff.


Huh? You have no idea how many auxillary jobs will be generated..the ``well qualified`` engineers can`t build the roads or buildings by themselves..

#4
Unfortunately there are only few who can ask these questions....

both FDI and SEZ is being sold without concern of its effect on common people & whether or not it can be feasible given the constraints of adequate infra stucture

Yes, I agree with the sentiment. But now the situation has deteriorated from an economic growth- related debate to a law and order problem, and worse, a poltical turf battle.

On the revized blue-print of SEZ, the government is still chary of raising and answering a few pertinent questions:

1. Are there adequate infrastructures available for setting up these industries?

The most important input is power. Since Bengal is reeling under a minimum shortage of 700-800 mw of power everyday, how can the state government provide power of around 2500 mw for setting up the proposed industries? There will be additional demand of power if some of the closed industries are revived, like, for example, Dunlop Tyres.

The other important requirement is water. This industries are likely to guzzle huge quantities of water. Though they are likely to have their own captive water supply plants, has any ground water supply mapping been done to ascertain whether continuous water will be available, particularly during summer and whether it will impact the water needs of surrounding areas?

2. What actual employment opportunities?

The chemical and automobile industries are high tech and mechanized, where the employment opportunities are limited to well qualified engineers and staff. The local people, who are mostly semi-literate or illiterate, would hardly get jobs in these industries. Even the opportunity of being contract labourers is limited. So the allurement that locals will get good employment opportunity is nothing but a smokescreen.


3. The argument that these SEZs will have a catalytic effect on setting up the ancilliaries or small scale industries cannot be accepted. It has not been clearly spelt out what sort of ancilliaries are likely to be set up for such high tech industries.

4. Who is going to pay for the settlement of the people for the loss of their land?

The resettlement of the dispossessed will involve huge expenditure. Can the cash-strapped, loan-ridden and perpetually in red state government afford this? If it is passed on to the industries, will it be economic for them? Furthermore, where are so many people going to be resettled? Will they go to new places if at all it is available, leaving their means of livelihood. For instance, if a middle-aged fisherman is sent to a place where there is no river or pond, what is he going to do? At this juncture of his life, it is a bit insensitive to ask him to take up another profession.

5. Has anyone tried to find out whether the proposed industries require such huge chunk of land?

The Tata`s present Automobile industry is set up in an area not exceeding 250 acres of land. So why do they need more than 900 acres of land for setting up a small car factory?

Nadigram Killings
OUR BUREAU

Calcutta, May 7: The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government has set in motion an elaborate administrative process to try and restore peace in Nandigram.

The first signals came from a Left Front meeting and a strategy session at Writers’ Buildings during the day, though it may be some more time before police try to enter the battle zone.

By the evening, both the CPM and the Trinamul Congress made appeals that those who have been forced to flee their homes be allowed to return. The CPM has been making this demand for the last few months, but Trinamul’s appeal is being seen as a positive signal for normality to return to the area.

The first objective of the administrative initiative will be to prevent further clashes between CPM and Opposition activists.

Additional reinforcements of the Eastern Frontier Rifles and the Indian Reserve Police will be moved into the fringe areas of Nandigram from tonight. The number of police camps on the border between the areas dominated by the warring groups will also be increased.

Simultaneously, the distribution of food and other relief material to the affected people will begin, aimed at restoring their confidence in the administration. The revival of the public distribution system at Nandigram, including for the people living in relief camps, will be given top priority. Repair of roads and other administrative interventions will follow later.

The package of administrative measures is expected to assume a greater role in Nandigram in the coming days because the political initiative so far has failed to contain violence. Worse, the attempts to deal with the situation at the political level created something of a vacuum.

In line with the chief minister’s stand at yesterday’s meeting of the CPM state committee, Jyoti Basu today hinted that the administration should be given a freer hand.

Basu admitted that CPM workers, too, were still indulging in violence. “I heard that our people are also throwing bombs from the Khejuri side. What are the police doing?” Basu was quoted as saying at the meeting.

Significantly, at Writers’ Buildings, home secretary P.R. Ray, too, said attacks were still being launched from Khejuri, a CPM stronghold. “There is no denying the fact that attacks are being made from camps in Khejuri. We have asked the district administration to ensure that such attacks are stopped,” he said.

The government seems to have decided that the violence on the fringes of Nandigram, particularly from Khejuri, must be stopped before peace could be restored.

All this does not, however, completely negate the political process. The Left Front meeting today struck a different note for the political initiative. “If needed, our partners can open dialogue, individually or jointly, with Opposition leaders to restore peace in Nandigram,” front chairman Biman Bose said.

Bhattacharjee readily accepted a proposal from RSP leader Kshiti Goswami that the allies be made part of the political initiative. Goswami followed it up with a phone call to the Trinamul office.

Mamata Banerjee, however, said she would study the Left’s proposals carefully before responding to it.

The administration, too, has decided to talk to the parties separately.

I dont know why the bongs even bother to improve their economy? Bengal is a basketcase marginally better than Bihar and it will remain that way for centuries to come. Its a lunatic asylum where the inmates run the asylum. The ordinary people are used to living in crushing poverty and begging on the streets. Their elites spout marxist jargon all day and then just leave their state and get jobs elsewhere in India. As long as they can continue to have a India to schmooze off on, why do they need to bother with cleaning up their own house and implementing any economic reforms? Utterly shameful...

``carrying a debt-burden of INR 150,000 crore, would offer a freebie of INR 850 crore (if one adds up the above mentioned benefits) to an industrial group without an equal or beneficial reciprocation on its part``
...............................
The (Masxist )CPM is not true to its people..
still Budha to joyti basu
and so are big shots of party are higher caste...
the cpm neta`ss are now new lallas of bengal amassing wealth and property