The bell tolls for industry in Bengal

For some time now, the following note has been circulating on the Net. Heartfelt and true, I just had to post it here, I don't know who the author is, otherwise I would have mentioned his or her name. The closure of Tata's Singur venture is the death knell of large industry in West Bengal for some decades now.

"A PUBLIC APPEAL TO THE PEOPLE OF BENGAL"

What has happened to the people of Bengal? Have we actually become mindless intellectuals that the people of the world claim we are? Why are we allowing one mad woman to take up a crazy stand with her useless senseless attitude against a set of people whom we all genuinely respect? When I was young I remember watching a TV commercial elaborating picturesquely all that a company has been doing for its locality – water plants, sanitation, urbanization etc and finally reminding us humbly, that "We also make Steel". With nerves of steel the Tatas came to Bengal albeit for their own investment but also to help us become a slightly more developed state. All through our childhood we have learnt to take the name of the Tatas with reverence not because they are mighty successful industrialists but simply because they are humane, they plough a large share of their profits into the growth process of the people they employ and their accompanying industries.

The Tatas are, to a great extent, single-handedly responsible for changing the face of West Bengal in general and Kolkata in particular. They gave us the magnificent Tata Centre, which they even lit up in the Tricolour during the half century celebration of the country's independence (remember?). They decided to beautify our beloved Victoria Memorial and lit it up so that the city could see it in the dark nights. Kolkata, once called the Dying City by our erstwhile Prime Minister, was given a total new look by the Tatas.

And today when the Tatas need reassurance, when they need our support in the face of all the madness raised by one mad woman, are we, the people of Bengal going to keep quiet?? Are we going to let our legendary hospitality slip out of the Bengal through Mamata's craziness?

Just take a drive down the highway, (now of course it is out of the question), and you cannot but let out a sigh of despair at the sight of innumerable factories shut down. They have taken the form of horrifying carcasses stinking of shattered dreams of some brave entrepreneur and his family. Years of toil, a lifetime of investment… all gone down the drain because of someone's craziness. Then it was red madness, now it is craziness at the grass root level.

People of Bengal, I ask you, touch your heart and ask yourself, do we really not want this age of insane tyranny to end? 31 years we have been under the red regime, which has finally, probably, (hopefully) learnt its mistake and is trying to steer the state towards a fresh spate of industrialism. We are just beginning to see a faint ray of progress in that red sky. Are we going to allow ourselves to go back to grass root level, only to be trampled under public laughter.

Because that is what will happen to us if the Tatas bid good bye to Bengal.

We will become laughing stock for the world. R. N. Tata will lose nothing if he decides to pull out Tata Motors from Singur. We will lose. We will lose everything, our self-respect, our pride in Bengal, our self-esteem and most importantly livelihood of several hundreds of people of our villages.

My work often leads me to the interiors of rural Bengal. Our little group of three or four people attract hordes of villagers and apart from my professional role I often venture to ask them personal questions about their lifestyle. It has now ceased to surprise me that almost all those people want industrialization. Not that they want to stop agriculture. But they want industrialization of agriculture as well. They want hi tech information, hi tech machinery which will yield better crops and provide them a better lifestyle which in turn will ensure a better `industrial' lifestyle for their children.

Ironical, right? I do not represent either the reds or the grassroots, or the Tatas or anyone for that matter. I am a fiercely patriotic Indian who simply refuses to allow my country to be ruined by a crazy selfish woman. I have been indulging in conversation with several rural people quite near the affected areas of Singur and Nandigram and most of them would rather that the Tata Motors factory begins at the earliest and they embark on a better lifestyle. They sincerely believe that not only will they get a job, they have been paid for their land, a sizable amount which they have invested for their children's future, they are of the firm conviction that working for the Tatas will yield for their families a far better lifestyle which their wee acres of land, divided and subdivided would never be able to.

After all it is the legacy of the Tata Business House to take care of all its people. They are one industry house who do not talk about Corporate Social Responsibility. They live it out and not only we `literate' people, but, `illiterate' village people blindly believe it. Their conviction is written all over their faces.

It is wonderful to dream of a green West Bengal. But what about the nitty gritties for the people who are responsible for the bringing about the greenness of Bengal? Is Mamata thinking about them? Is she thinking about what they want?

She is like those insecure people who refuse to do any kind of introspection and busy themselves blaming everyone. The Chief Minister should resign if the dog next door sneezes more than a couple of times. The Chief Minister should resign if the cat in Mamata's community decides to elope with a tom cat of a different community. The Chief Minister should resign if he dreams a modern industrialized Bengal. The Chief Minister should resign if… now she has begun to lose track of the number of reasons.

She behaved hysterically every time Bengal has shown the slightest signs of moving forward. I am not saying that the Chief Mister is a saint and she is a devil. (Even the devil would be ashamed). All I'm saying is how long? How long are we going to put up with her antics?

Frankly, I fail to understand why we are putting up with her at all? Why don't we physically throw her out? If she misuses democracy, then why don't we use the power that we have? Our own power. The power of our voice, the power of our pen. The most trusted name in the Indian industrial scenario has uttered the word `unwanted' in our state three consecutive times. Is this what Bengal is? After what the Tatas have done for us?

They bring us light after a long darkness of almost 35 odd years and we turn them out. Who is Mamata to voice the feelings of Bengal? We are the children of Netaji, the descendants of Vivekananda and several other freedom fighters. Is this what we have become now? A senseless horde of mindless faceless inhuman specimens?

Rise people rise, from your apathy and show the Tata Group of Industries that Bengal cares. Please don't leave Bengal, we beseech them. We share you anxiety but we care for our people. We want progress. Together let us show Mamata that we are not going to be swayed by her cranky madness any more. Enough of bandhs, you mad woman, enough of your crazy heartlessness.

Mamata Banerjee your days are now over. Pack your bags and go elsewhere. We shall bid Tata to you.

People of Bengal, I do not need to tell you that if the Tatas go away then the door through which they leave will be the door of Industrialism, a door which will shut open our faces forever and ever. And then the whole of Bengal will slowly become like that desolate corridor leading up to Chandannagore, with large skeletons of dead factories on either side, only the Singur factory will be looming large in the dead state.