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Gangster State: The Rise and Fall of the CPI(M) in West Bengal
Gripping' SHASHI THAROOR'First-rate' AAKAR PATEL'Illuminating' RUPAM ISLAMAllured by the unrestricted power of the CPI(M), Presidency College scholar Rajat Lahiri joins its student wing, the Students’ Federation of India, and trains to become one of its foot soldiers. On achieving full-fledged membership, he does not hesitate in getting his hands dirty for a regime inherited by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee from an ailing Jyoti Basu, and marred by corruption and violence.This change in leadership, prompted by the arrival of a strong contender in Mamata Banerjee, sustains the existing nexus of crime and politics and paves the way for fervid protests and their brutal suppression by the state. With the situation spiralling out of control and public support fading, the stage is set for the Singur movement and violence in Nandigram.After witnessing the party’s historic defeat in the 2011 Legislative Assembly election, a disillusioned Rajat leaves Calcutta, only to return as a journalist covering the gradual and thorough decimation of the CPI(M) over the following decade.In this compulsive work of creative non-fiction, political journalist Sourjya Bhowmick explores the burning Will the CPI(M) ever recover from the 2021 Assembly election, or will it be pushed into permanent oblivion by the formidable Trinamool Congress and the relentless BJP?
- GenresPolitics
254 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 23, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 2, 2021
Book: Gangster State: The Rise and Fall of the CPI (M) in West Bengal
Author: Sourjya Bhowmick
Publisher: Macmillan (23 July 2021)
Language: English
Hardcover: 360 pages
Dimensions: 14.1 x 1.9 x 22 cm
Country of Origin: India
Price: 389/-
Pointed and incisive, this book does pack a severe punch. It is the story of absolute power corrupting absolutely.
The book is replete with nuggets of insight.
The 1960s was the decade when the CPI (M) was soaring. They were on the streets of Calcutta, and the feudal-minded Congress government shuddered at the call of protests by the Party. They had a profusion of issues to struggle for. It was a decade of churning for the world’s politics and economy and its collision spread across the developing world.
The race to colonize the Third World led to a Cold War between the United States and Soviet Russia. Both were imperialists, but the communists of India rooted for the Soviets because of their Marxist and Leninist ideology. Consequently, the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis found equivalent reverberation for them as would issues of price rise in India.
The streets burst out in slogans, ‘Tomar naam, amar naam, Vietnam, Vietnam’, and the city came to a halt.
“The then young blood of the CPI (M) neither feared the state machinery nor the brutal lathi charge of the Calcutta Police under its strict Anglo-Indian officers. If one day, the Party workers filled the city air raising slogans against US Defence Secretary Robert McNamara for his role in the Vietnam War, the next day against they would protest against the state Congress boss Atulya Ghosh for all the perceived ills of the then state government’s policies”, the author writes.
The protests became as invariable as life in the city is unvarying.
But, but but …. does socialism mean a just and truly egalitarian society?
And, did the CPI (M) want that?
Much water flowed through the Ganges. It was unqualified power corrupting completely and an enormous enormous divide between the ruler and the ruled…….
The 2008 Panchayat Elections in Bengal was a trailer to what wasd about to become of the CPI(M).
The TMC swept away two districts: East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas. The Party had never taken such a hit in its thirty-four years of governance. While leaders ascribed the East Midnapore defeat to the ripple effect of Nandigram, the South 24 Parganas defeat came as a surprise.
Over one-third of the population of the district was Muslim, and they had obviously drifted away from the Party. Responding to the results, Mamata Banerjee had declared, ‘This is the start of the end of the CPI (M).’
And by late 2009, the disillusionment with the Party had spread across the state…
Reasons were plentiful. Almost all the reasons have been masterfully analyzed by the author.
And where do we stand today?
“The khela seemed to be over for the CPI (M) even before voting began on 27 March 2021. …” – says the author.
Bengal’s Left movement used to have a muscular base in the industrial powerhouse of Calcutta in the 1950s because of a powerful labour movement. In the next stage of the movement, the party had extended its support in the rural hinterland.
However, by 2021, the communists had been downgraded to the dominion of social media, a new, and almost certainly its last, bastion.
On the front lines dominated by religious polarization, issues of development, governance and Bengali pride, the left were nowhere to be seen. They were well and truly left out.
The end of the parliamentary left in Bengal hook, line and sinker.
Great refresher this book.... Grab a copy if you choose.
Author: Sourjya Bhowmick
Publisher: Macmillan (23 July 2021)
Language: English
Hardcover: 360 pages
Dimensions: 14.1 x 1.9 x 22 cm
Country of Origin: India
Price: 389/-
Pointed and incisive, this book does pack a severe punch. It is the story of absolute power corrupting absolutely.
The book is replete with nuggets of insight.
The 1960s was the decade when the CPI (M) was soaring. They were on the streets of Calcutta, and the feudal-minded Congress government shuddered at the call of protests by the Party. They had a profusion of issues to struggle for. It was a decade of churning for the world’s politics and economy and its collision spread across the developing world.
The race to colonize the Third World led to a Cold War between the United States and Soviet Russia. Both were imperialists, but the communists of India rooted for the Soviets because of their Marxist and Leninist ideology. Consequently, the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis found equivalent reverberation for them as would issues of price rise in India.
The streets burst out in slogans, ‘Tomar naam, amar naam, Vietnam, Vietnam’, and the city came to a halt.
“The then young blood of the CPI (M) neither feared the state machinery nor the brutal lathi charge of the Calcutta Police under its strict Anglo-Indian officers. If one day, the Party workers filled the city air raising slogans against US Defence Secretary Robert McNamara for his role in the Vietnam War, the next day against they would protest against the state Congress boss Atulya Ghosh for all the perceived ills of the then state government’s policies”, the author writes.
The protests became as invariable as life in the city is unvarying.
But, but but …. does socialism mean a just and truly egalitarian society?
And, did the CPI (M) want that?
Much water flowed through the Ganges. It was unqualified power corrupting completely and an enormous enormous divide between the ruler and the ruled…….
The 2008 Panchayat Elections in Bengal was a trailer to what wasd about to become of the CPI(M).
The TMC swept away two districts: East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas. The Party had never taken such a hit in its thirty-four years of governance. While leaders ascribed the East Midnapore defeat to the ripple effect of Nandigram, the South 24 Parganas defeat came as a surprise.
Over one-third of the population of the district was Muslim, and they had obviously drifted away from the Party. Responding to the results, Mamata Banerjee had declared, ‘This is the start of the end of the CPI (M).’
And by late 2009, the disillusionment with the Party had spread across the state…
Reasons were plentiful. Almost all the reasons have been masterfully analyzed by the author.
And where do we stand today?
“The khela seemed to be over for the CPI (M) even before voting began on 27 March 2021. …” – says the author.
Bengal’s Left movement used to have a muscular base in the industrial powerhouse of Calcutta in the 1950s because of a powerful labour movement. In the next stage of the movement, the party had extended its support in the rural hinterland.
However, by 2021, the communists had been downgraded to the dominion of social media, a new, and almost certainly its last, bastion.
On the front lines dominated by religious polarization, issues of development, governance and Bengali pride, the left were nowhere to be seen. They were well and truly left out.
The end of the parliamentary left in Bengal hook, line and sinker.
Great refresher this book.... Grab a copy if you choose.
March 3, 2024
It took some time to finish, but this book is an awesome read for political students.
You see in the elections, once a mighty communist party in Bengal crumbled down to even 0 seats, and TMC and BJP soaring up. Ever thought of what had happened? We all know of Nandigram and Singur, but are they the only reason? Why are the once highly intelligent marked society, got split up so much communaly?
Read this and you get the idea of the rise of Marxist party to almost invincible status, how they got drunken with power and forgot the people, and history wipe down them to ashes. Its an excellent read, from the authors personal experience and his hope for the party.
Go for it!
You see in the elections, once a mighty communist party in Bengal crumbled down to even 0 seats, and TMC and BJP soaring up. Ever thought of what had happened? We all know of Nandigram and Singur, but are they the only reason? Why are the once highly intelligent marked society, got split up so much communaly?
Read this and you get the idea of the rise of Marxist party to almost invincible status, how they got drunken with power and forgot the people, and history wipe down them to ashes. Its an excellent read, from the authors personal experience and his hope for the party.
Go for it!
July 15, 2024
2.5/5
It provides a lot of insights regarding the communist rule in Bengal, but still feels incomplete. Many incidents I heard about after the fall of communist rule—instances that filled me with sheer terror back then—aren't even mentioned here. Although it is critical of the CPI(M), it doesn't deliver the severity it deserves. The content actually demanded better writing; despite its short length, it drags considerably.
It provides a lot of insights regarding the communist rule in Bengal, but still feels incomplete. Many incidents I heard about after the fall of communist rule—instances that filled me with sheer terror back then—aren't even mentioned here. Although it is critical of the CPI(M), it doesn't deliver the severity it deserves. The content actually demanded better writing; despite its short length, it drags considerably.
March 1, 2022
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
May 12, 2024
First person view of Fall of Communist regime in Bengal. Clearly shows what clout Islam holds in Indian politics to decide who wins and lose.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews