Readers of Shakespeare can compare Buddhadeb to the tragic heroes depicted in the literature. What a tragedy this has become. A man who two weeks back began his tenth year as the chief minister of West Bengal suddenly finds himself consigned to redundancy. The man who could have become the Deng Xiaoping of Indian Left, who could transform communism into a new mantra of progress and positive thinking finds himself ditched by his own party.
In 2006 the Left coalition had thundered to power with a two-thirds majority, riding on the urban and middle-class vote who saw the vision of a resurgent Bengal. Unfortunately the gigantic mandate has become a distant memory. The current memory is dominated by the almost shocking triumph of the Trinamool-Congress combine in the general elections post the Nandigram-Singur debacle and more recently the maoist siege of the rural areas.
This is perhaps not surprising to many, as Buddha has become a victim of the same Frankenstein the party had created in its 32 year rule. In its three decade rule it has created a society where institutions are brazenly politicized, where violence has been legitimized, and the bengali ethos has been corrupted to such a level that he has become a constantly sneering contemptuous and narrow visioned individual(with notable exceptions). The leftists disdained merit and instead of generating talent, it encouraged envy of talent. This resulted in bengalis thronging to mumbai, bangalore, delhi, etc where his talent and intelligence was not looked as being against left ideology.
With all his advantages, “Brand Buddha” sadly failed to build the political support needed for reform, relying completely on the comrades and cadres (who have by now become used to imposing their writ by force) who had become jealous of his popularity and cult. The failure of the left leaders to rally behind him and unite the party to the cause of reform led to factionalism within the left, not used to dealing with personal charisma. His own colleagues in the government destroyed the bridges he was trying to build between the party and people. The systematic destruction of Bengals intellectual capital, the culture of negativism, the development unfriendly government machinery shredded the new industrial policy and the radical changes it visioned. More sad was that, Buddha himself did not stand up and lacked the political skill to sell his policies to his own comrades. Only if he had delivered Singur, which was promised as the harbinger of a resurgent state and showed the same zeal and enthusiasm as he showed when he got Sector V at Salt Lake going, things would not have come to such a pass.
The expected regime change in 2011 will only go as so far in replacing one set of comrades with another set of party faithfuls. Bengal is being streaked with violence and blood once again as one set of violent party workers try to replace another set of violent party workers. Didi might replace dada at the red citadel and colour it white (or green) but it will take more than a change in political leadership to awaken Bengalis from the slumber it has got into and turn around the process of decay.
To Buddhas credit, he started the process and tried, now it will be upto his successor to give the final push. Will it be the deep ravine or the paradise on the other side of the steep mountain?
