Our Paramita

Our Paramita Nidhu Bhusan Das If you ask me what her Achilles’ heel is, I will readily say ‘She’ll break but not bend.’ Yes, she is determined, forward looking, and has the emotion and dream to do something for the people she leads. Our Paramita is now on the pinnacle. She has scaled the height after a long struggle which was made difficult by dictatorship-of-the-proletariat-ideology, behind the scene manipulation of her parent organization and fatal attack on her person. Her birth in a little known family came in the way of her going ahead down a path strewn with roses – rather it was thorns all the way. In the male dominated state- politics she carved her niche facing odds. She earned the love and affection of her people demonstrating her uncompromising stance in respect their interest. Even she recorded a hunger strike of 26 days to press for the cause of the affected peasants of her state. Yet one cannot be sure how far she will succeed because the serpents are around spiting venom. People may misunderstand her vis-à-vis the concerted campaigns of her detractors within and outside her coalition. Besides, a horde of sycophants are all around to mislead her. Perhaps, she needs a fool, as we find in a Shakespearean tragedy like ‘King Lear’. Her Dreamland was in the immediate past the fiefdom of the red rulers who earned the reputation of turning it into a graveyard – literally and metaphorically. After a resounding victory in the polls, she has formed a government to the relief of the people. Unwilling to lick the dust for long, the red are up and doing to resurrect with the help of former allies who are in the coalition government of Paramita as a junior partner. She understands it but is, most likely, unaware of the foul play of a section of her colleagues in the government and the party. One of her senior colleagues in the cabinet has been registered as a PhD student under a red activist in Proscenium University with the understanding that another red activist allegedly involved in corruptions of huge proportions will be given the tactical space to go scot-free. Another cabinet colleague helped him in striking the deal. Many of her party colleagues at the grass root level are in the same role as the red were during their long rule. In fact, many from the red party were welcomed into the party by her junior colleagues to utilize their experienced hands for perpetuation of corruptions to their personal benefits, and, thus, to the detriment of the party and government. The duo have brought Dudu Chakladar, the editor- by- inheritance of the daily newspaper ‘ The Gatekeeper’ within their fold offering him a large tract of land for his pet project of a tourist resort. If she fails to understand this and remains unaware of the diabolic activities within her house, innocence will be the victim, and a dream will end in nullity. Rituja, one of her party men says, ‘Didi (sister) is overworked … the state is in shambles, no money, no infrastructure, a politicized bureaucracy … it’s difficult.’ People may give her more time to bring the state back to track. ‘But how long?’ wondered Motilal, a resident of Nandigram which turned out to be the Waterloo of the red. This is a moot question, but could be a decider if her party colleagues continue to replicate the anti-people activities in the rural belt and the government fails to begin delivering the goods. ‘Paramita’, tells her wise octogenarian mother, ‘don’t go by what the sycophants say, give importance to the critics who point out mistakes and faults, throw suggestions. Remember, to err is human. Don’t be in the illusion that you cannot make mistakes.’ We don’t know if she will follow the advice of the mother.