Social movements in West Bengal & Little Magazines

Premanshu Dasgupta

‘It is the best of times. It is the worst of times'. I beg apology for taking the liberty of changing the verbs of the two famous lines of Dickens from past to present. In the present context of West Bengal quoting these sentences is too great a temptation to ignore. Strange! The lines though written centuries ago have not yet lost their poignant relevance. In west Bengal the first decade of 21st century possibly could well be either the best of times or the worst of times. History repeats, they say. But repetition happens not in the events but in the autocratic behavior of the rulers and the consequent resistance of the people who are ruled. Did not Karl Marx tell us that history was all about class struggle alone?

2006 election to the Assembly of West Bengal has become a turning point to the history of the state and possibly of India as a whole. We see in this a possibility of emergence of a state either with a pro people ideology and idealism in a new form or with a diehard reactionary rules and rulers. Why do we mark 2006 so special of all the 31 years for which the left front or CPI (M), in particular, has been ruling the state? Because the reactionary traits of the party or the front never lay so strongly and violently open as they did after the 2006 election. This has exposed CPI (M)'s true face and politics to such an extent that it is becoming extremely difficult for the party to hold on its leftist mask. This was of utmost importance for the people of the state to look for an alternative. 2006 has set the ball rolling for search of an alternative. If this search becomes successful the future may be better if not the best or in other words if this search is not successful the future may be worse if not the worst. The formation of 'Little Magazine Samonnoy Mnacha' in West Bengal has taken place in this critical juncture of the state's history. This can be explained as a part of the search which we are discussing about.It is not only the little magazines those have come together to form an organisation to voice their protest against what is being forced on the people of the state in the name of development and industrialisation. The situation in the state is so highly charged with emotions and debates on many political and economic issues that many such organisations from various cross sections of the mass have formed since 2006 May. All these organisations have one common objective. That is, to send the message to the rulers, 'In the name of development and industrialization stop violation of democracy' Yes, the democracy has become the focal point of all the issues those are creating waves of movement in the state. After the election of 2006 the ruling front secured 235 seats in assembly.

In terms of seats it is an overwhelming majority. But if we go deeper into the analysis of polled
vote we shall see that the eft front enjoys support of only 35% of the population of the state and to be more precise, only 25 to 27% of population has lent their 'support' to CPI (M). Also there are questions about the capturing of votes by a dubious manner which is defined as 'scientific rigging' by the opposition. But the parliamentary democracy in India has its own flaw. Even after enjoying the support of a very minority section of the population a party can claim, they are the true representative of the entire population of state or county. They would never lend their ears to what the rest of the population has to say. West Bengal and CPI (M) was no exception.

The West Bengal Government started loosing its direction from around late eighties in the last century. Suddenly they realized that the development and industrialization are synonymous. The governance of the state has been too poor to build its own fund to finance industries. Therefore in search of fund and industries they opened the doors to the industrial houses and laid red carpets for them. Immediately before the 2006 election the slogan of development and industrialization reached its peak. And when after the election the front found that their share of seats in assembly was more than 75% they denied all other aspects of the results of the election, like they enjoy support of only 35% of the population, and trumpeted their victory as the victory of their industrial policies. The policies were to donate land to the big industries at the cost of exchequer, the public money, to evict people from their farm land and livelihood, allowing the industries to use the nature to their own will and whim, not to take consent of the people who would suffer most from these actions, leave alone to discuss with them, to use colonial rules to implement the land grabbing program, to allow to set up Special Economic Zone, a colonial design, inside West Bengal and lastly to follow a diehard capitalist path and that too in the name of communistic ideology and theory. The CPI (M) has its own interpretation of the role of he communist party in an underdeveloped country. According to them it is theoretically correct for a communist party to throw their full weight in support of the development of capitalism in a capitalist way.

So it was inevitable that all kind of hells would break loose in West Bengal after the election. Singur, considered to be one of the most fertile lands of the country, was handed over to Tata without taking consent of the people, not even the consent of the local Panchayet. People of Singur rose in protest. The unique feature of the protest was that it was not sponsored or led by any political party. Genuinely people, particularly, women's voice was first heard in the state. Possibly the seeds of true democracy was thus sowed in the context of Singur movement. Nandigram followed. Again the people from grass root rose in protest`with arms in arms. No political party can claim that Nandigram movement is the result of their sustained work or propaganda or campaign. People took the initiative; they decided the nature of resistance; they decided the course that the movement would follow. Political parties joined the fray but not before the movement gained momentum. With the conviction of a fascist that they understood what was right and needed for the people and that the majority of the people were with them, the CPI (M) party brought out all their fangs and let the steam roller of oppression loose on the protesting masses. The result was well known because it happened elsewhere so many times before. It culminated into death, murder, arson, looting, massacre, injuries and rape. History repeated itself.

West Bengal government in its 31years rule has tried to spread its wings of influence to almost all parts of human lives. They organize many cultural festivals where the control of the government is very strong. No such festivals or functions can be successfully held without the government's interference. All such functions are bureaucratically organized by few henchmen of the party. People's initiative here is totally absent. The reason is simple. In this way they can project themselves as the champions of cultural activities and at the same time by sponsoring these events and introducing award giving system in almost all sphere of culture they can keep the criticizing mouth shut. This was the reason why West Bengal in spite of seeing so many cruel incidents where the party or the Government had hands either in killing people or in perpetrating atrocities has not heard the protesting voices of the otherwise political urban middleclass. There was protest but it was never loud enough to be heard because the number of protesting people was not very significant. Little Magazines were a part of this small group. We can't say that all the Little Magazines had an anti establishment stand but there were a good number of magazines that continuously tried to write against the ill sides of the CPI (M) regime. They paid the price. They were threatened, intimidated, harassed, and vilified.

The government organizes a Little Magazine fair every year inside Nandan and Rabindra Sadan premise. The land of Singur was forcefully acquired on 2nd December of 2006 and the fare was scheduled to commence on 11th January, 2007. There was thought among the activists of few little magazine of boycotting the fair. The editors of the magazines considered that non cooperation with the Government would be the best way to register their protest against the Singur incident. Meanwhile the number of people participating in protest was swelling. Initiatives from different corners were being taken to organize united protest against what was happening in Singur. The day was 18th December, 2006. Editors and workers of 18 little Magazines assembled that day in the evening to discuss the stand to be taken regarding the ensuing Little Magazine fair.
The discussion was inconclusive but it was decided that they would sit again soon with more number of workers of Little magazines. Incidentally 18th December, 2006 struck with a tumultuous tragedy. In Singur the charred body of Tapasi Malik, a 17 year old girl from a land less peasant family was discovered inside the car manufacturing project site which was forcefully occupied by the state few days before. Tapasi was an activist and was leading the Singur movement from the front. It was clear from the beginning that Tapasi was a victim of the terror that CPI (M) wanted to unleash to demoralize the movement. Later the CBI enquiry into her death is also hinting at the same theory. She was raped and burnt alive. Kolkata was fuming with anger and protest. In the evening of 18th December the students brought out a procession in College Street area to condemn the heinous crime. The Little Magazine workers and editors after the meeting joined the procession to express their anguish over the murder of Tapasi Malik. Little Magazines in an organized way came out in the street to become a part of the ongoing agitation against the autocratic rulers.

Later more and more Little Magazine workers and editors joined the discussion to decide the stand with respect to the fair. Finally there was a convention of the Little Magazine on17th January, 2007 at Tripura Hitosadhoni Sabha Ghar. In the first week of January of 2007 few workers of Little Magazine were arrested from inside Nandan area when they were sticking posters on the walls. The posters were about the call of a meeting of protest against the Singur incident. If anyone has seen the walls we are talking about one would know that all kinds of posters in the world are glowing there. But no! Posters of protest won't be allowed. Democracy is at the mercy of the rulers of West Bengal. The same test of treatment we received again in January when we were demonstrating during the fair in Nandan area. The convention of the Little Magazines decided on 17th January that it would be better for the same minded Magazines to participate in the fair and campaign and collect signatures in favour of the Mancha. In the evening
of 29th January few young workers of various Magazines were wearing posters which condemned the undemocratic policies of the Government. Police interfered and tried to chase the demonstrators away from the area. The young boys would not budge. The police now threatened to arrest them. Immediately a great numbers of Little Magazine workers came to the aid of the demonstrators. All of them strongly protested against the police behavior. We were able to wrest the initiative out of the police hand and within few minutes we organized a procession inside the area with the same posters hanging in our chest. Our decision of participating in the fair proved to be right. We got tremendous support from the participants of the fair. The number of signatories rose from 30 to 150.

14th March., 2007. One of the bloodiest days in the history of India. A blatant GENOCIDE made the atmosphere too heavy to bear. Entire West Bengal burst out into protest. Procession, demonstration, hartal became the order of the day in the state. The Little Magazine Mancha and its supporters took active parts in all these agitations. Our Mancha met and submitted a memorandum to the Governor of the state. Our demand was to restore piece in Nandigram and elsewhere and punish the culprits who were responsible for the killing. Our organization gradually got the recognition of an active agitator. Flood gate of publication opened for the Little Magazines. Little Magazines, may not be all, have always played the role of iconoclasts. Now the time was ripe for them to bring out issues which questioned the policies of the Government. Many articles and issues of innumerable Little Magazines brought the land acquisition program and the consequent eviction of peasantry from their land and livelihood before clinical incision. The decision of the Government of setting up Special Economic Zones which allows an independent state within the state was vehemently opposed in many writings and publications. In the little Magazines information flowed, statistics flourished, arguments became sharp, left trait of CPI (M) was seriously challenged.

Writing of Marx, Lenin, Gramsci were being discussed to the depth in the context of the present scenario. The idea of development and industrialization that CPI (M) was projecting was put to surgery. A new paradigm of idea on development and industrialization was being sought. The role of civil society was being examined. In all, a tremendous surge of original essays enriched the issues of little Magazines. The Little Magazine became one of the tools in the hands of the agitators. The time for the little Magazines was critical but their effort matched with the demand of the time. Many little Magazines bring issues on poetry and stories. They also did not lag behind. Poetry of protest was in abundance. The effort of the Little Magazines was commendable in this respect. Stories and plays which portrayed the time were published with equal enthusiasm. Even the well known writers like Amit Bhaduri, Asoke Mitra and many others contributed to the Little Magazines during this period. Possibly this was the most exiting time in the history of Little Magazine. The sales and circulation of the Little Magazines reached an encouraging figure. They felt rewarded.

14th April was the first day of Bengali New Year. We called a meeting of the editors and workers of all the Little Magazines who supported our signature campaign. The meeting was a great success with nearly 100 participants. The number of conveners was increased to make room for more representation. We wanted ourselves to exercise democracy for which we have joined the movement. The 9th May of 2007 was important to the people of Bengal for two reasons. It was the birth day of Tagore and 9th May is observed internationally as an antifascism day every year. Little magazine decided to see this day to discover Tagore as a poet of protest. Tagore was equally relevant to the antifascist movement. At the present fascist backdrop of the state Tagore bears a different meaning for the Little Magazines. There was, like us, one recently formed forum popularly known as Forum for Artists Cultural Activists and Intellectuals. We joined hands with them to observe 9th May to put emphasis on 'Other Tagore'. Tagore is generally worshipped by the Indians for his songs and poetries without keeping in mind about the other sides of his activities which encompass protest, iconoclasm. We wanted to perform those plays of Tagore which underline his other self. We decided to recite those poetries and to sing those songs those speaks about his other sides. A fair of Little Magazines was also organized on this occasion and the entire program was a grand success.

The death of Rizwanur Rahman highlighted another case of gross violation of democratic rights in West Bengal. The police, at the behest of a rich man interfered in the marriage of a Muslim boy to a girl of a rich Marwari family. Mystery shrouded the conditions in which Rizwanur Rahman was found dead. There are reasons to believe that it was a case of murder. Again the police, the CPI (M) party and the rich man, the father of the girl spoke in the same voice. The nexus was obvious. The CPI (M) party was further exposed. Almost entire West Bengal was moved and again there was barrage of protest and agitation. It was imminent that under the popular pressure the administration was trying to divert the attention of the people.

Immediately a press conference was arranged jointly by our Mancha and Association for Protection of Democratic Rights, a human right organization. Later few other organizations joined us. All of us strongly demanded an impartial enquiry into the death. We stressed that the police, party and rich man nexus should be broken. The conference received wide publicity and it was telecast live by almost all the local TV channels. Gradually our Mancha became an integral part of the social movement that was sweeping the state.
The annual Book fair of West Bengal is a very major event in the life of middleclass educated community of the state. Again debates among the Little Magazine workers and editors regarding the participation in the fair came to the fore. There was decision on the part of Mancha participation of Magazines in the fair is optional. There is no directive either for participation or for non participation. It would be the Magazines own discretion. Democratically looking, this could be the best decision under the circumstances. But we grabbed the opportunity to campaign for the Mancha and another good number of magazines joined us during the fair. We organized procession in support of the social movements in the fair ground on two consecutive days. For those who are interested in chronology we inform that it happened in February, 2008. Like elsewhere the movements in West Bengal are also having low and high tides. When we found time for little respite we concentrated on

stabilizing our organization. We convened one meeting of the members in September, 2007 to discuss the direction the Mancha to follow. The discussion, though inconclusive, was very lively with the participation of great number of representatives of various Magazines. There we took one very important decision that we would hold our own Little Magazine fair. When CPI (M) in early November, 2007 launched vicious armed campaign to gain control over Nandigram there was a permanent Mancha at Metro Channel, Kolkata what was named NANDIGRAM MANCHA by Mahasweta Devi. Relayed hunger strike by different organizations followed for about 30 days. Our Mancha members participated in the movement and 4 members observed fast on 4th December, 2007. We also had organized cultural program on the day which was attended by a large number of people.

Then came the red letter day for our Mancha. Between 4th and 6th January, 2008 we had our own Little Magazine fair in Presidency college maidan. We all waited for this. We said earlier that all the fairs in West Bengal are bureaucratically managed under the guidance of few persons who are in the good book of the party. These affairs never become the product of joint initiatives of all quarters. The editors of Little Magazines also felt the pinch of the autocratic management of the annual Little Magazine fair. Now Mancha has become the centre of initiatives of the magazine workers. We tried our best to listen to all suggestions so that democratic values get honour. About 135 Little Magazines participated in the fair. With discussions, cultural functions and good presence of crowd every day the fair assumed the highest order of spontaneity. We have reasons to feel the satisfaction of traveling a considerable distance in the context of the people movement which is seeking for alternatives.

We are aware that many more miles we shall have to travel to make a meaningful contribution to the people's upsurge that is sweeping the state. Our Mancha has come to existence in a particular objective condition. As long as we shall be able to satisfy the conditions, our presence would be strong and relevant. We are conscious about the demand of the time and people. We shall not shrug off our responsibility. We were iconoclast, we shall remain iconoclast. Probably that is the primary condition of our existence.

-Writer is the conveynor of Little Magazine Samannoy (Prastuti) Mancha