From: glevy@PRATT.EDU
Date: Thu Apr 26 2007 - 08:12:19 EDT
>The Ghosts of Nandigram > >by Satya Sagar > >LIBERATION, MAY 2007 > >There was panic at the CPM headquarters on >Calcutta's Alimuddin Street as rumours spread >like wildfire of a 'special' investigative team >having arrived to do some fact-finding on the >gory events of 14 March 2007 in Nandigram. > >The 'dream' team, spotted by party activists and >corroborated by airport immigration staff, is >said to have comprised of the founding fathers >of the global communist movement - Karl Marx and >Friedrich Engels themselves. As if their >presence was not enough, accompanying them in >tow were a certain Vladimir Illych Lenin and Mao Tse-Tung. > >Eyewitnesses reported seeing two white bearded >men with prophetic looks asking for directions >to get to Nandigram and expressing frustration >at the fact that all official road signs in the >city showed only turns to the right. Ordinary >folk on the other hand were observed turning >left even if this sometimes meant breaking >through brick walls blocking their way. > >One person with a Lenin beard sitting inside the >dark-windowed car was seen taking down notes >under the heading 'What is to be done?' while >the Chinese gentleman, with an enigmatic >countenance, was overheard saying sceptically >"Comrades, getting to Nandigram is not going to be a tea-party". > >This was the grim scenario the CPM top brass had >been worried about for years together- the >return of Marx, Engels, Lenin or Mao to West >Bengal. As long as they dangled like dead >corpses from party banners it was fine but now >Nandigram had brought them back to life among >the people and this was dangerous. > >"Why are you all looking so worried" said >Buddhadeb Bhattacharya looking around at the >glum and sullen faces of top party leaders >urgently gathered to discuss this latest crisis >hitting them. "And who are these four fellows >anyway? Foreign investors looking for land to purchase?" he quipped. > >"Idiot! In all these years how many times have I >told you to memorise their names and remember >what they look like? And yet every time you open >your mouth to say 'Marx' out comes the word >'Market'" barked a voice across the table. > >"The photos, hanging in party offices all over >the country - of Marx, Engels, Lenin - you have >not observed them even once in all your life- >have you Buddha?" the voice continued. "You just >see your own reflection in the glass frame, >adjust your kurta, comb your hair and wear that >silly grin you got from the last corporate orgy you attended". > >It was Buddha's turn now to look glum and sullen >for nothing he did these days seemed to please >Jyoti Basu anymore. And imagine, to be scolded >like this in public when he was only following >in his mentor's footsteps and taking forward his legacy. > >"Yes, the photos. What will we do with them now? >If these blokes, Marx, Engels, whoever…. write a >report critical of our land grab operations in >Nandigram, we will have to throw away all those >expensive portraits? They cost a damn lot of >money to make, and will all go waste now" whined Biman Bose. > >"Give them to the CPI" whispered someone (with a sense of humour) in the room. > >No one laughed of course and instead an ice-cold >Brinda Karat, adjusting her red bindi, said "We >give nothing to the CPI from now on, not even >leftovers. The bloody backstabbers, bad-mouthing us in public!" > >The damp Calcutta air inside the party meeting >room froze. Only someone with such cold-blooded >clarity could induce this sudden drop in >temperature so effortlessly (a clue to tackling >global warming!). The mood among those gathered also changed abruptly now. > >"Ok, enough of lamenting the fact that these >stalwarts of global communism are here to check >out what really happened at Nandigram. The >question is how do we get out of this mess now, >for given their reputation they will surely get >to the truth?" said Prakash Karat, grateful to >Brinda for giving him a chance to break into the conversation. > >"Easy enough. Just discredit them thoroughly and >make sure no one believes them at all," said >Biman Bose. "After all that is what we have been >doing to anyone criticizing us, even if it is >those who have been with our own party all these years". > >"Brilliant! Biman da! You can start with the >simple fact that all four of them - Marx, >Engels, Lenin, Mao - are outsiders in Bengal. >Obviously they are here to incite the peasants, >join hands with Mamata and bring down the Left >Front government" said Sitaram Yechuri, >excitedly jumping from his seat and almost >leaping onto the table like in the good old SFI days at some JNU canteen. > >"Not just that, they are all foreigners anyway >so they must be surely foreign funded too >otherwise how did they get here all the way to >Calcutta? Who bought their plane tickets?" said >Biman, warming up to his old passion for >throwing mud and making it stick- anywhere - even on Marx or Engels. > >"They may have come by the sea-route, all >subversives these days do that" said Brinda. > >"Foreigners causing trouble in Bengal? That >sounds like the Salim group or Dow Chemicals" >said someone at the back of the room in a soft >voice. The time for hearing soft voices had >however long passed and the discussion now was at a frenzied pitch. > >"I like your logic Biman da. Now that I >remember, from all the reading I have done - all >four of them can be shown to be anti-communist >in general and anti-CPM in particular" said >Prakash Karat trying to give a pretty >theoretical cover to the ugly stuff flying around. > >"To begin with, Marx himself said at some point >'I am not a Marxist', which can only mean he was >anti-Marxist and automatically an enemy of ours. >Engels' father owned a textile mill, so he was a >bourgeois masquerading as a revolutionary. On >top of this both of them have long beards like >the Hindu or Muslim communalists. Lenin too came >from an aristocratic background and Mao Tse-Tung >is of course the biggest Naxalite in all of >modern history" continued Prakash, leaning over >to Brinda to see if she was taking notes to send to N Ram of The Hindu. > >"Bravo General Secretary! You have finally >clinched the logic, now it is time for us to >prevent these guys from reaching Nandigram and >stopping West Bengal from becoming a global >capitalist power. Call Laxman urgently to get >the boys ready for action," shouted Biman. > >"Did anybody say action? I know what we should >do - get our women cadre to show their backsides >to this 'special' fact-finding team!" said an >excited Benoy Konar, who despite his age still >had the spring of a street urchin about him. He >was famous for blowing hammer and sickle rings >with his beedi smoke- a cool comrade at 75. > >"I run the women's wing, you get Laxman's goons >to do whatever they want" hissed Brinda, the >bindi now a fiery red. She didn't like this old fogy stepping on her turf. > >"Laxman's men had better watch out around >Chairman Mao comrades! He still wears his spiked >boots from the Long March", piped up someone in the room. > >At this point Buddhadeb woke up with a jolt on >his bed. The mobile phone was ringing loudly. He >was sweating all over. Phew! What a nightmare it >had been! From Marx to Mao in Nandigram indeed! > >Buddha picked up the phone, "Salim, is that you?" > >"What's wrong with you babu moshai? You have >been seeing the ghosts of Nandigram in your >sleep again?' said the voice from Jakarta with a >laugh. "I told you many times, we killed a >million communists in Indonesia long ago and you >are still spooked by a few dozen dead in your little province?" > >"Yes, I saw them again" said Buddha, wiping his >brow. "Here I am looking for German, Russian and >Chinese investors and all I get are Marx, >Engels, Lenin and Mao giving me sleepless >nights. Oh! Why on Earth do we still call >ourselves a communist party and pretend to be Marxists?" > >"Good question, Buddha. Welcome to the Salim and >Suharto neo-liberal fraternity" > >For the first time in an entire month Buddha Smiled. > > *
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