The wheel of Karma

What is going on in Singur, West Bengal is so convoluted that my fragile mind has absolutely refused to make any sense of it.

Suddenly there are many parties involved, and over the past few weeks, Mamata Bannerjee has been breathing more fire than ever before. Ratan Tata says that he will move, while his workers are roughed up and his under-construction plant is under siege.

I racked my brains and the internet to think of the reasons why would the Tata's decide to set up the Nano factory in West Bengal in the first place. The one most important reason I could come up with was the absolute support guaranteed by the Communist party of the state. Of course, political risk is a very important factor for any company, and perhaps one could say that West Bengal is a 'shining' example of political stability, with the commies having in power for almost three decades. I don't want to go into how they have stayed in power for so long, but lets just say that Ratan Tata probably didn't have to think twice about political stability, and the communists' near dictatorial powers in the state ensure that the Tatas can get done whatever they desire.

Thats the good part, with everybody agreeing, except when the Communists started applying their near-dictatorial powers to gather land for the project. And thats where Mamata Bannerjee comes in. I hear that more than half of the affected farmers had accepted the package offered by the government for their land, which the state government claims in one of the best in the country, and had duly registered themselves in the employment list created by the Tatas. These people would be employed by the Tata's in the new factory. Yet there is a lingering 400 acres (of the total 1000 acres) that the state government gave to the Tata's, against the wishes of the farmers who did not want to part with them. Now Mamata Bannerjee has risen as their Joan of Arc.

I've written so much already without actually coming to explain the title of my post. For anybody who has been living in India or has been following India news in any part of the world for the past few years will have read about the blackmails and browbeating by the Communists during their support of the UPA Government. They stalled reform packages, stopped companies from setting up projects, constantly threatened to withdraw support, and thanks to their reign of terror, the pusillanimous government was reduced to an ineffective, passive entity that stopped short on important reforms and refused to take action on important issues of the economy and national security. Such is the Communists' love for the farmer and the common man.

The sweet irony is that Mamata Bannerjee is showing the same love for the farmer, and the Communists, for a very welcome change, are on the receiving end. Again, the hallmark of the Communists' gameplan has been to stall the progress of a 100 people to benefit 10. Thats what seems to be happening at Singur, and no end seems to be sight, with the now de facto leader, Mamata, refusing to talk. Of course, not that the Communists are innocent here. As their Somnath Chatterjee episode will reflect, I think the commies sometimes forget that they live in a free world, where the people rule. It is just not acceptable for any government to forcibly take over a citizen's land when they don't want to part with it, without due process.

Meanwhile, the repercussions are being felt all across the industry. Mukesh Ambani, meanwhile, has come in favor of the Singur Project, because it is a great step forward for industry. Already, a few states have stepped up the efforts to get the Tata's to relocate to their state. There is talk that the Tata's will activate plan B, that of producing the Nano from their plant in Uttarakhand.

What I am unable to understand is why the Tata's are refusing to part with the 400 acres, or are there any other alternatives to giving cash to the farmers who do not want to give up their land? Can they be provided alternate, equally cultivable land? The Tatas have a lot to lose too, no doubt, but what happens to the Commie push to bring industry into their state? I say let it suffer like they have made India suffer. I know its like shooting myself in the foot because it is still my nation and my people, but I sure would like to see the Commies be debilitated so their future transgresses can be checked.