Many Voices & Politics

Many voices & Politics                Nidhu Bhusan Das                       JNU is now the hotspot of political haggling with otherwise rival political parties having come together to share dias and express solidarity on  freedom of speech and expression and,perhaps ,more so for enlisting support for electoral gains.In a country where Naxal Movement once  propagated the message that power comes from the barrel of the gun, Emergency stifled dissent and three decades of Left rule left a heap of human skeleton in West Bengal,how far the political parties believe in what Voltaire once said - "I do not agree with a word you say but, I defend to death your right to say it" is not beyond doubt.    

   CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yachuri,CPI leader D Raja and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi are there to participate in the choric song against the arrest of the General Secretary of the students union of the university.Freedom of speech must be defended for a vibrant and meaningful democracy,but would the defenders of it today swear that they would defend it if they come to power tomorrow.Would they,really, respect tomorrow what they would pledge today?The question arises because,once in power,our politicians fail to remember what they have said before assuming power.                              
     No believer in democracy denies the importance of the language of conscience but when there is conflict between the conscience of individual citizens  and that of  the state,which one is to be given priority  and defended is the moot question for everyone who can think above electoral equations,and in national interest.

Savage vs Civilized

Savage vs Civilized           
     Nidhu Bhusan Das        
The Bangalis of West Bengal who claim to be proud of the first non-European Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore who,they
tend to tell the world,is their cultural icon,is ,sadly,reluctant to remember the wise sayings of the sage-poet.They failed to remember on 10 February 2016 that Tagore says,"Wild life is beautiful only in the wild" when they teased and hurt an elephant that strayed into the open just crossing the edge of the depleted Baikunthapur forest which has been made to shrink to make room for the expansion of  the sprawling Siliguri town.                               
Media report suggests the herbivore was on its way back to the forest when a few overzealous locals began to tease the pachy                                              
derm.Face to face with the civilized animals,the noble savage got to be taken aback and made its uncharted journey into the civilized territory to be disturbed by the insane mob that encircled and hurt it.The denizen of the wild might have been sad to see the cruel and crazy behaviour of the "rational animals".The mobocracy of the civilized animals puzzled the noble savage,and the personnel of the wild life squad had a tough time to rescue the innocent creature from the siege of the cruel and insane mob,that too to the peril of helpless noble beast.They had to administer sleeping pills from a long distance blindly to tame it for rescue.It is reported the pachyderm collapsed after it had been transported and released in the Mahananda Sanctuary.

DOUBLE TALK

DOUBLE TALK                    Nidhu Bhusan Das                                                                "What is double talk?" asked my young neighbour the other day.I said,"A redoubtable Marxist Mr. Biman Basu remarked Congress is not a patriotic party."
,"What!"the young man wondered.                        "Why are you so stunned?"I asked and said this happens in West Bengal politics which is dominated by wise persons like Mr.Basu.They are deft in intellectual exercise,and have the rarest of the rare quality and ability to bend their thought pragmatically.You may mistake their pragmatism as double talk.But I would urge you not to misunderstand these wise and honourable persons of politics.The latest news is that they are waiting eagerly for an electoral alliance with the same Congress party to wrest power from Trinamool Congress in the ensuing Assembly Polls.                                                        "Will they not be strange bed fellows in that case?" asked the naive youngster.                             I could not but laugh at his ignorance of the ways of the ace politicians and their power game.                                                                              "You are really so innocent,my boy.Don't know politics is the art of possibilities."                             "But they are Marxist!" he exclaimed.                   I could not blame him for the ignorance.He is young and tend to live in a make-believe world.He does not understand that Marxism and Gandhism are stock words and gets only lip service for winning support when felt necessary considering the naivete of the mass."Will Congress accept them as partners?"he asked in all his innocence.                       "Congress leaders are too eager to make
 their hitherto  bete  noire  friend because they are leaders who have lost touch with the mass.They cannot win elections without  winning pity of other parties.You will see a galaxy of leaders draped in Gandhi attire but few workers at the grassroot level.So, let us talk  angling," I tried to divert to diversion.He showed enthusiasm.We caught two mid sized  Hilsa from the   Fulbari Barrage. Don't you believe?Ask any honourable politician,and he will confirm.You know politics is a kind of angling.