tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70559961550660663662024-03-13T00:30:58.456-07:00Look East | East India | North East | Kolkata | West BengalThe vibrant Eastern part and the North Eastern part of the country is unknown to many. Kolkata the erstwhile capital of British India is going through a renaissance where the old is giving way to the newSubhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-34009294958233187902010-01-04T04:18:00.001-08:002010-01-04T04:18:51.143-08:00Bihar's growth should inspire Bengal<div style="text-align: justify;">Once termed as the king of <span style="font-weight: bold;">'cow belt'</span> and the <span style="font-weight: bold;">'bimru state'</span> of India, Bihar after decades of being in the news for wrong reasons has something to cheer about. What seems more out of a Bollywood script than reality, the state once regarded as the most backward in the country has grown at an average of 11.03% in the five-year period between 2004-05 and 2008-09 against a national average of 8.49%. It is second only to one of India's most developed states Gujarat, which recorded a growth-rate of 11.05%. Now that's what is called resurgence.<br /><br /> RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav might not agree but Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who assumed power in 2005 finally has figures to prove his success. Nitish has successfully countered the <span style="font-weight: bold;">'Jungle Raj' </span>which was going on during his predecessor's era. Not only the crime rate in the state has come down during his rule but the state has started taking <span style="font-weight: bold;">giant steps</span> towards economic development. What's more remarkable is that the 11.03% growth comes after a negative 5.15 % growth in 2003-04 during the Lalu-Rabri era.<br /><br /> Bihar's story has the potential to inspire other states in its proximity. One such is its eastern neighbour West Bengal. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Once the glittering jewel of Indian industrialisation, West Bengal has also had the same sad story to tell which Bihar was telling five years ago. </span>A wind of political change is blowing across Bengal similar to the one in Bihar five years ago. Three decades of the Left Rule has hampered the image of the state in terms of industrialisation. The once flourishing state has been pushed to the dark ages by a bunch of politicians whose policies were too narrow in thought and did not take into account the fast changing global environment.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Although the Left Front government might have done wonderful deeds with their Land Reforms moment in the earlier part of their rule but on most other indicators they have miserably failed. </span>It is quite a shame for the West Bengal government who calls itself pro-poor pro-farmer to have fared miserably when it came to NREGA. Their trade unionism meant that <span style="font-weight: bold;">West Bengal did not figure in the investment map of India. </span>Post the LPG (Liberalisation Privatisation Globalisation) era when the country too giant steps in economic reforms, Bengal Government seemed to have only snored.<br /><br /> Even though West Bengal's law and order situation hasn't been as bad as Lalu's Bihar but it is no better either. In the last three decades Left had made sure that in rural Bengal, police and administration was replaced by its party cadres. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nandigram and Singur showed us the ugly face of the Left hooliganism. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee might have tried his best to revive the image of the state but Bengal's grave was dug long back by the Left Front.</span><br /><br /> The people of the State have to leave the pessimism behind and look forward to growth and development. If Bihar can do it under the leadership of Nitish Kumar why cannot Bengal do the same when change finally comes in 2011? Left has been in the power for too long to be trusted any more. Mamata Banerjee and Pranab Mukherjee might just do the turn around story in Bengal. After all if Nitish had to counter <span style="font-weight: bold;">'Jungle Raj' </span>Mamata and Pranab will have to encounter<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 'Andhera Raj'</span> that's what the current regime can be defined as.</div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-72093242568078055762009-08-03T04:46:00.000-07:002009-08-03T04:48:28.883-07:00Mamata plays a political master stroke<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhllnlpzZaniIBlIgtxjg_W4SjJeaPkyCt6GPdLs1PXyxt4biQi72pF3PlofebG8oXWZ5FUjBYour7SyK8FcTB2r-3QlLLg5OJaa37Lue3l_Os5WlTV7_8Q5bd-8wHrWWZO2rSFrbt3_yTq/s1600-h/Mamata-Banerjee201.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 189px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhllnlpzZaniIBlIgtxjg_W4SjJeaPkyCt6GPdLs1PXyxt4biQi72pF3PlofebG8oXWZ5FUjBYour7SyK8FcTB2r-3QlLLg5OJaa37Lue3l_Os5WlTV7_8Q5bd-8wHrWWZO2rSFrbt3_yTq/s320/Mamata-Banerjee201.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365703057449882642" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">When Mamata Banerjee chased the Tata Nano project out of Singur she was being seen as a monster standing in the path of <span style="font-weight: bold;">West Bengal's re-industrialization. </span>A lot of water has flown down the Hoogly since then and the fearsome lady who single handedly caused one of the biggest political upsets for Left in the Lok Sabha. Now she is planning to deliver the final death blows to India's longest running state government.<br /><br />Mamata played a political master stroke on Sunday when she approached the Centre with a proposal to set up a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Railway project of national interest</span> on the 600 acres of land that was acquired for the Tata Motors Nano project. The Union Railway Minister also announced that disputed 400 acres of land will be returned to the farmers who were not willing to part with. The agitation regarding this 400 acre plot had led to the closure of the Tata Nano project.<br /><br />The West Bengal government had so far failed to attract any major investor to the vacant plot of land since the Tatas closed down shop in last October. Mamata has been on a roll scoring one after another political victory over the Left Front. She said that the railway project would guarantee jobs, development and prosperity like the Tata project so people of Singur will not be deprived of anything due to the closure of the Tata Nano plant.<br /><br />Mamata's surprise move has put the West Bengal Government into a <span style="font-weight: bold;">catch 22 situatio</span>n. Left's opposition to the project would mean that the party which had cleansed its image under the leadership of Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will again be tagged as being Anti-Industrialist. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Giving a green signal to the project would mean offering the keys of the Writers to Mamata. This would literally mean committing a political suicide ahead of the 2011 polls. </span><br /><br />Her <span style="font-weight: bold;">'Maa Mati Manush'</span> campaign was strong enough to create a public wave against the Left Front and win her majority of the Lok Sabha seats from the state. Mamata has since then rewarded West Bengal under her capacity as the Railway Minister. Now Mamata wants to project herself as the future Chief Minister of the and not be seen a farmer leader standing up against industrialization. Seems like more headache for the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government.</div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-47988315972578938712009-07-17T02:04:00.000-07:002009-07-17T02:06:42.224-07:00Bengal likely to see violence till 2011<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPl7bDe_BpYPUdLKFOyi2kBWQmJAaI4S2y0qnYWV7oMP9yVANU6Hwd3785dsn4YWNJJJBl67YxwNQutDaVP3kZjDqJ50uXhJCgMjS-NOzCFz1bSEsGHbKPXohO6-Y9tT5cnCvx6G4gU57I/s1600-h/_46072707_congprotestsap226.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPl7bDe_BpYPUdLKFOyi2kBWQmJAaI4S2y0qnYWV7oMP9yVANU6Hwd3785dsn4YWNJJJBl67YxwNQutDaVP3kZjDqJ50uXhJCgMjS-NOzCFz1bSEsGHbKPXohO6-Y9tT5cnCvx6G4gU57I/s320/_46072707_congprotestsap226.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359352888096846770" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The recent spate of violence in West Bengal by the Congress workers protesting against the assault on eight Congress MLAs by alleged CPI(M) cadres may be just the trailer of a long movie. The political entropy in the state is so high these incidents of violence will continue to play till the 2011 Assembly elections are over. A huge political uncertainly looms over the state and this uncertainly is fuelling fights among political parties.<br /><br />Six months back nobody could have predicted the lack lustre performance of the Left Front in the Lok Sabha polls. But with successive losses in the Gram Panchyat, Lok Sabha and Municipal elections have left the Left Fort seems shaken in West Bengal. Having drawn first blood in the Lok Sabha poll the Congress and TMC combine is in no mood to let them go. Left Front is at its weakest in decades and people of the state seem to have had enough of the Red Party.<br /><br />Left Front is at its lowest since it assumed power in 1977 but it will not go down without giving a serious fight. A three decade old regime won't let the power go off that easily. The ground level cadres that the Left Front has patronised for years are resorting to hooliganism time and again. The opposition parties are no better and answering them in the same language. People who hoped for a wind of change to blow across the state are realising the harsh realities of the politics in their state.<br /><br />The main problem lies with the kind of political culture that has evolved in the state over the years. All the parties are responsible for making politics an act of street violence rather than being played out at the assembly. The Left Front has to take major share of the blame having been in power for so long. Torching of a few buses and pelting of stones is no longer considered unusual in West Bengal. The administration sees this as a normal law and order problem which happens everyday in some or the other part of the state.<br /><br />The victims as usual are the citizens of the state who have to face the heat of political battles as well live with underdevelopment due to absence of investment. The people of the state for long have faced the apathy of a political front which never accepted that world around them was changing. Now they have to face a new challenge in their everyday lives when the rival political factions resort to hooliganism in the order to gain supremacy.<br /></div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-4539230257526318282009-07-02T01:23:00.001-07:002009-07-02T01:24:26.609-07:00Red is fading in Bengal<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.outlookindia.com/images/photoessays/cpim_celebrations_bengal_PE_20070115.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 273px; height: 183px;" src="http://www.outlookindia.com/images/photoessays/cpim_celebrations_bengal_PE_20070115.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The elections is West Bengal continue to throw surprises. Six months back nobody other than a certain Mamata Banerjee believed that the Red bastion could be shattered in West Bengal. Proving that the Lok Sabha polls were no fluke TMC and Congress won 13 out of 16 municipalities in the state. This comes as a severe blow to the Left leader who have been engaged in a blame game within the party since the humiliating loss in the Lok Sabha Polls.<br /><br />If some analysts thought the Lok Sabha results were an isolated case they better open their eyes. Bengal not only voted with the country in the parliamentary polls it also voted against its egoistic leaders. The people voted against leaders who could not bring in development form the centre and only raised the decibel levels in the Parliament. People voted out those leaders who always blamed the centre to hide their inefficiency.<br /><br />Left Front may not have yet seen its worst days, the Assembly Elections in 2011 might see State Government without a <span style="font-weight: bold;">'Left Hand Drive'</span>. In the last three decades of its rule or rather misrule in the state the only thing that the party did was strengthen its network and develop its own structure. The development of the state took a back seat as Left leaders did not foresee a day when they would have to pay the price of their misdeeds.<br /><br />People around the country never understood why a government which never improved the living standard of the people was being voted in time and again. The truth is many people in Bengal could never imagine what a non-Left government would be. Left got an extended life span post the liberalisation era due to this confusion. What Bengal needed was a trigger and Nandigram exposed the ugly face of left where criminals were sent of rampage on innocent villagers.<br /><br />It's not certain if a non-Left government would bring in change in the state which is starving for development but one thing is certain people have had enough of Left. The leaders who had taken people and their emotions for granted are finally facing the music. As former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson has rightly said <span style="font-weight: bold;">“He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery”</span><br /></div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-86159358830838415582009-05-23T22:44:00.001-07:002009-05-23T22:44:25.160-07:00Pranab da should bring goodies to Bengal<div style="text-align: justify;">For the better part of the last three decades politicians from West Bengal have occupied the opposition benches in the Lok Sabha. The Left Front MPs time and again failed to grab developmental projects by the Centre. What that meant was Bengal remained aloof from the national race to become a global superpower from a third world nation. When the Karunanidhis, Modis, Naidus and the Krishnas were grabbing huge pies from the Centre politicians from Bengal lived up to tag of being OPPOSITION in every sense.<br /><br />As the country went ahead post liberalisation era Bengal was living in the dark shadows of poverty and underdevelopment. This resulted in huge brain drain out of the state which cost dearly so much so that once the most flourishing province in the days of the British Raj is today counted among the most backward states in the country. Although most of the Bengali ‘bhadralok’ like us would not like to accept this in open but deep down in our heart we cannot even counter it.<br /><br />The results of the 15th Lok Sabha polls brought in a lot of surprise to the state. The writing on the wall was clear and the people of the state decided Bengal’s car at the Centre won’t have a Left Hand Drive for the next five years. Manmohan’s new Cabinet team will have a record number of representations from the state with Congress’ all weather man Pranab Mukherjee will hold the key portfolio of Finance and Left’s thorn in the flesh Mamata sitting in the engine of the Indian Railways.<br /><br />The people of the Bengal and surrounding areas in the East and North East will hope to get some special attention from Pranab da. Let us be honest Central Ministers have always showered goodies on their own states holding key portfolios be it the Lalus and Nitish Kumars making Bihar and unofficial hub of Indian Railways or the Naidus and Marans driving lion’s share of the Telecom and Information Technology revolution down south.<br /><br />The entire Eastern part of the country including the North East has remained backward due to poor representation at the corridors of power. But with Pranab’s command over the Finance the people of Bengal finally have something to rejoice. They hope the UPA government to shower some goodies to the state keeping in mind the assembly elections of 2011. If West Bengal flourishes the tremors of development will reach other neighbouring states as well.<br /><br />The only worry is the whether the Left will play the role of a responsible opposition at the Centre and speed up development being in the driver’s seat in West Bengal. They have to do a lot of rethinking more so with their ideology. They have to shed their Anti-Americanism and become pro-development in their approach. The problem with them is they oppose the increase in the price of American soft drinks but keep mum when Russia blackmails us to pay them $2 billion dollars after the agreement was signed for $500 million dollars for the Aircraft Carried Admiral Ghroshkov.<br /><br />It is now over to Pranab Mukherjee and Mamata’s Trinamool to assure the people of Bengal that they really voted for a change. All of us can hope some winds of change will finally blows in West Bengal.<br /><br /></div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-39229523390820508752009-05-18T05:24:00.000-07:002009-05-18T05:40:05.397-07:00Has Bengal had enough of Left?<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.outlookindia.com/images/photoessays/cpim_celebrations_bengal_PE_20070115.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 147px;" src="http://www.outlookindia.com/images/photoessays/cpim_celebrations_bengal_PE_20070115.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">The results of the 15th Lok Sabha polls hasn't been too surprising but in the context of West Bengal <span style="font-weight: bold;">'shocking'</span> is the word. The Left was expected to perform badly but nobody thought they would crumble in the manner they did. Not even the worst of the political critics of the Left Front could have predicted this just about two years ago. Mamata's <span style="font-weight: bold;">'Maa Maati Manush' </span>appealed to the people and they did the unimaginable.</span> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">The Left parties are finding it tough to understand what went wrong for them. How could a fortified structure they had created in three decades fall like a pack of cards in three years since the violence in Nandigram? From the urban middle class to the Muslims everybody voted against them. They even lost credibility among the rural masses once their stronghold thanks to the mishandling of the Singur and Nandigram crisis.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family:georgia;">What was surprising was to see the Trinamool Congress win in most of the urban constituencies and doing a clean sweep of Kolkata. Many would have believed this to be impossible after the dissent that the urban Kolkata had with Mamata Banerjee after she chased away the prestigious Tata Nano project from the state. Many people believed West Bengal did not even have a choice to throw the Left out after the Nano mess.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">The thing that went against Left was the consolidation of votes. The urban voter especially the youth always felt let down by the Left rule voted against it. Combined with the Muslim and the rural electorates it formed a lethal combination against the Left. As for the Red Front it was left with votes from their supporters who believed in their ideology and its a known fact that this group is shrinking.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Although the Left leaders may be pointing fingers at Prakash Karat for this humiliation the actual reason for their defeat was within Bengal. The truth is a person in rural Bengal doesn't even know who Prakash Karat is and doesn't care what is his stand on the nuclear deal or about his ego issue with Manmohan Singh. The fact is this person only cares about his basics which was being threatened by the Left as was evident in Singur and Nandigram.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">The violence in Nandigram exposed the ugly face of Left. People in the rural belt who always considered the Left Front as a saviour suddenly felt threatened with there sentinels. The cadre based strong local units that the Left had created over decades and which won them election after election lost the trust of the common man and led to its debacle. </span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Ironically with 35 seats in 2004 Left had delivered its best performance in the state. In a matter of just five years tide seems to have blown in the opposite direction in West Bengal. The 2011 Assembly elections will give a better picture whether a obituary for the Left can be written or this election was an one off incident. But one thing has surely changed, the myth that </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >'Left cannot be defeated in West Bengal'</span><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-82128892168878398512009-05-12T07:44:00.000-07:002009-05-12T08:04:08.370-07:00Kolkata Knight Riders hit by racism row<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://api.ning.com/files/OfSN7x*QS*GS6DXD6uJvhk*SBi6xwCff10Y31zf4yW14Pp7vDzM1GPU3QwzY5z9HmuHkQogOVPRLQq*NIPDQ8XUeivNRy-qC/8749.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://api.ning.com/files/OfSN7x*QS*GS6DXD6uJvhk*SBi6xwCff10Y31zf4yW14Pp7vDzM1GPU3QwzY5z9HmuHkQogOVPRLQq*NIPDQ8XUeivNRy-qC/8749.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-size:100%;">Kolkata Knight Riders cannot win. This seems to be the statement which is the talk of the town in the cultural capital of India. If the multiple captain theory, more than needed media promotion and the fake IPL player blog wasn’t enough now we have the worst thing imaginable in sports <b style="">RACIAL ABUSE.<span style=""> </span></b>All this is taking a toll on the performance of the team and the loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore just about an hour ago has proved that this team has lost the self belief of that they can win a match.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As far as the racial abuse case is concerned it is nothing new to the sport. Any sub-continent player of the yesteryears will tell you what they faced it on the ground regularly. Let us not talk about the apartheid as it is a completely different issue. In the recent years racism has considerable reduced due to ICC’s strict code of conduct. Also because of the fact that the focus of the game shifted to sub-continent from its colonial master’s country. The players from the sub-continent started giving it back in the last two decades or so.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The revelations by former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja about Indian players being racially abused have shocked many. It is not that people weren’t aware of black-white divide in the team but racism was too much for the people of Indian let alone Kolkata to digest. When an Indian player of international repute (most likely Ajit Agarkar) is being racially abused by the coach and the supporting staff what will be the state of the uncapped Bengal players in the team.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The thing most hurting is that this is happening in what is called as the <b style="">INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE. </b>Just because the league has moved out of India have the white man got their chance to racially abuse us? How can some coach or support staff who is employed by an Indian racially abuse an Indian or a person from any other origin for the matter? May be the dropping of Kolkata as the prefix gave the coach and the support staff the feeling the Knight Riders is something out of a white man’s book.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is surprising that there has been no strong reaction from the BCCI as well as the IPL governing body on the issue. Have they forgotten that this tournament’s main aim should be to improve the quality of Indian cricket. Are they so involved in money making and branding that they will let such issues slip under the carpet? Should Indian cricketers silently take the racial abuse just because it comes from a white man?
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In this entire episode where is Mr. Shahrukh Khan? He was busy selling everything about KKR before the league but when his team started loosing he completely abandoned them. Is this what an owner should have done when his team needed him the most? The KKR camp is just waiting for the tournament (read nightmare) to get over so that they could get back home. It will need a huge overhaul and some tough calls to make sure that the team does not humiliate itself in next year’s tournament too. The Knights seem to have even forgotten how to play for pride at the moment.</span></p> Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-59206305994605512532009-05-08T01:12:00.001-07:002009-05-08T01:14:00.852-07:00Has the Left Fort been shaken in West Bengal?<div style="text-align: justify;"><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE1eF7_N_-Vvz32sirDeIsq4nej0Nio9L9zeDlm7bjZG7nViOZ1blztiSA3FQkUQDMHD_enzDKO9RAvlcbvoaQsoQMp6Kzg4urdsrrPrhdbLUVwv1cTkATDB_kjOX7UaWBPNMoy3Yo98kT/s1600-h/200px-SUCI_flag.svg.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 130px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE1eF7_N_-Vvz32sirDeIsq4nej0Nio9L9zeDlm7bjZG7nViOZ1blztiSA3FQkUQDMHD_enzDKO9RAvlcbvoaQsoQMp6Kzg4urdsrrPrhdbLUVwv1cTkATDB_kjOX7UaWBPNMoy3Yo98kT/s320/200px-SUCI_flag.svg.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333363151867472210" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">West Bengal was one state in India which was always painted red. Many people would have learnt to live with the idea that Left Front couple not be defeated in the Bengali heartland. But for the first time since the polls post Indira Gandhi's death in 1984 Left seems to be on shaky ground in its own bastion. Analyst believe the Trinamool Congress and Congress alliance might cause a dent in the Left stronghold.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><br />The politics in West Bengal has mostly been isolated from the rest of the country. The Babri Masjid demolition or the politics or 'Mandal and Kamandal' hardly made any impact of the poll results here. West Bengal seemed to have been insulated from liberalization, saffron wave of the 90s, the castist politics or recent India Shining campaign. It was all about a political ideology preached by the Left which worked in what was once India's most prosperous state.<br /><br />The question in West Bengal was never who but it was by how much? People knew who was on road to Delhi, the unknown factor was number of votes. Most political parties over the years actually fought for the second place in West Bengal. But for the first time political pundits seem to be interested in the outcome of the polls here as it is unpredictable. For the first time a non-Left coalition seems to be sniffing victory in a substantial number of seats.<br /><br />In the last assembly election out of the 294 seats the Left Front won 227 while the Congress and TMC managed 51 seats. In the last Lok Sabha elections LF bagged 35 out of the 42 seats. But a lot of water has flown down the Hoogly since then and a lot has changed. The urban rural divide became more evident during the Tata Nano crisis. The Left Front which had championed the cause of the poor farmers suddenly turned Land Grabbers from Land Reformers.<br /><br />The high percentage of voter turn out and violence may signal a change wave going on around in West Bengal. The rural voters who were once the die hard supporters of the Left Front suddenly seems to have lost trust in the party which had done a lot for them in the grassroot level. The negligible suicide rate among farmers in West Bengal is a result of such reforms in the state. But the farmers now see the LF turning a back on them after Singur and Nandigram.<br /><br />It will be amateurish for anybody to write off the Left Front in West Bengal but the Left leaders surely are having sleepless nights this time around. The May 16 results will show if truly the 'Didi Factor' worked in the Red State. For the Left Front it remains to be seen if Singur and Nandigram becomes their Waterloo.</div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-20929386426281806142009-03-23T02:42:00.000-07:002009-04-04T20:32:42.165-07:00Nano finally ignites its engines<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihW_sf8KHwR19IuMeuyTqiWEbGA3hb7gPkhKJZGKz3DyID8aVQ1PWEE2lw53za-Rn6Fkv4QVjfj8vAFVB24N_ipI_oRh2EUeayKj32KswXGE5TOZwCwmQ73XpFESBesue15w0kzo0J763Z/s320/10tata2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihW_sf8KHwR19IuMeuyTqiWEbGA3hb7gPkhKJZGKz3DyID8aVQ1PWEE2lw53za-Rn6Fkv4QVjfj8vAFVB24N_ipI_oRh2EUeayKj32KswXGE5TOZwCwmQ73XpFESBesue15w0kzo0J763Z/s320/10tata2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">After lots of hurdles and roadblocks both corporate and political the Tata Nano finally has pushed the fuel into the ignition cylinder. The world's cheapest car and one of modern India's engineering marvel will finally be seen on the roads. Had it not been for some insane politics the car popularly rechristened as the 'Lakhtakia' would have been five months old now. But as they say “better late than never”.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><br />Tata Nano was the talk of the town during the 79th Geneva Motor Show. It attracted more people than the Bentleys, the Audis, the Rolls Royaces could. The giants had to bow in front of the cheapest car from a so called 'Third World Country.' Many automobile enthusiasts have compared it to Henry Ford's legendary Model T which had revolutionised America.<br /><br />Tata Nano has to be hailed as the greatest engineering marvel to have come out of India since its independence. Coming from the most respected corporate house in India it is a perfect example of 'extreme engineering.' It may not surprise many that Tata Motors has filed in as many as 17 patents for the different components which had to be custom made for the Nano.<br /><br />The concept was thought to be impossible by most automotive giants around the world. Many had raised doubts on the feasibility of the project. Corporates rivals even went on to ridicule the project saying the Tatas will add an extra wheel to an auto-rickshaw and call it a car. Tatas have silenced all of them and the same people who had ridiculed Ratan Tata and his men are working on their own version of the 'People's Car'. Bajaj Auto has even displayed its prototype in the Delhi Auto Expo.<br /><br />If corporate rivalry was not enough there was some insane politics played out against the project under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. Her prolonged agitation made sure Tata Nano had to exit Singur in West Bengal and find a new home in Sanand, Gujarat. The meant launch date had to be postponed by five months and Tata group incurred loses upto Rs. 1500 Crores.<br /><br />In spite of the loses the Tatas stuck to their price of one lakh and once again proved why do Indians still swear by the name of Tata. In the end Ratan Tata and his men have stood against time and delivered what they had promised. March 23, 2009 will go down as a historic date not only in India's automotive history but in the automotive history of the world.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Also Read.....</span><br /><a href="http://lookeastindia.blogspot.com/2009/02/sleeping-race.html">The Sleeping Race</a><br /><br /><a href="http://lookeastindia.blogspot.com/2009/02/barack-obamas-bengal-adventure.html">Barack Obama's Bengal Adventure</a><br /><br /><a href="http://lookeastindia.blogspot.com/2009/02/should-dada-do-political-dadagiri.html">Should Dada do political Dadagiri?</a><br /><br /><br /></div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-86302572464529123202009-02-19T01:46:00.000-08:002009-02-19T01:57:00.530-08:00Kolkata gets country's first elevated rail transit system<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.calcuttaglobalchat.net/photogallery/albums/userpics/normal_mURI_temp_e18db08e.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 136px;" src="http://www.calcuttaglobalchat.net/photogallery/albums/userpics/normal_mURI_temp_e18db08e.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Now reading this headline many people might jump of this seat in disbelief. Kolkata is it? The capital of West Bengal? Isn't it the same state which chased away the Tatas? A Rs 60 billion project in Kolkata is the Government nuts? How is it that a dying city like Kolkata which already has the country's oldest metro can get an elevated rail transit system?<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The reason is simple Kolkata needs a mass public transport system and secondly Kolkata can sustain a elevated light rail transit system. It may surprise many people across the country but Kolkata had got its Metro in the days of what we call as the 'Licence Raj' and the first trains began running in the year 1984 much before the today's IT, BT and MBA kids had learned to speak.<br /><br />The hurdle for a such a project in any other state in India will lie outside it but in West Bengal it is within. There is a huge amount of insensitivity among a certain sect of politicians who want to make political gains at the cost of the State's development. Opportunistic politics is currently ruling over developmental politics the policies and program of such parties<br /><br />The Singur fiasco was a shameful example how politics prevented a respected corporate like Tata rolling out its People's car from the state. What a day it would have been for the state which is starved of industrialisation. But for one party and its leadership the state lost a golden opportunity to re-establish its place among the developed states and regain its past glory.<br /><br />As I type my blog an insane opposition in West Bengal may be already planning its next course of agitation to halt this project for the sake of fame and media coverage. The may already have the roadmap of the places where tyres will be burnt and buses will be torched. Hopefully this time around some sense prevails among such leaders. The state which has a visionary Chief Minister just needs people to stand behind him.<br /><br /></div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-36964347860705046362009-02-18T03:15:00.000-08:002009-02-18T03:16:50.770-08:00Should Dada do political Dadagiri?<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOUxgBnl4LMQSCmB6z782jVJVJmLiyr3iJW9La1uzE71bHUs_y4v9UDYfDrZe_zcgXXZIZCcZMVZZJ7wfc1Lot2ZR0xwETDUM7M0EQtFt51GyqW6fD1S0JcHPVjy7IKW0dcoGQWFZ3bx5/s320/Sourav+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOUxgBnl4LMQSCmB6z782jVJVJmLiyr3iJW9La1uzE71bHUs_y4v9UDYfDrZe_zcgXXZIZCcZMVZZJ7wfc1Lot2ZR0xwETDUM7M0EQtFt51GyqW6fD1S0JcHPVjy7IKW0dcoGQWFZ3bx5/s320/Sourav+2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Sourav Ganguly might have bidden adieu to international cricket but people outside the game still seem to admire his leadership skills. West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has always tried to create a poster boy out of Sourav Ganguly and now the Samajwadi Party leaders want him to contest elections form Uttar Pradesh.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Sourav for now has made it clear that he is still busy with his cricketing commitments and not joining any party. Known to be straight talker throughout his life, he said that he doesn't need to go to any other state to fight an election. If ever he steps into politics it will be in West Bengal itself. So the question arises should Dada join politics?<br /><br /><br />Well the answer has to be affirmative. If he has any interests in politics he should give it a go in the near future. He has a huge experience having travelled all over the world which could come in handy in bringing about a change in a state starving for development. He is the biggest brand ambassador that Bengal still has and this may be useful in bringing in investments to the state.<br /><br /><br />Now the big question arises which side should Sourav go to in case he wishes to join politics. Lets see where he cannot go first. On top of the list is Trinamool Congress, after the Singur drama a person like Sourav who has seen the world cannot be in company of such insane people. Congress and BJP do not exist in Bengal so joining them would serve no purpose. So what is Sourav's political option in the event he wishes to join politics.<br /><br /><br />The only existing political option for him is the Left Front often blamed for the underdevelopment of West Bengal. The reason I say this despite being an Non-Leftist is only because they have a visionary and forward looking Chief Minister in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Or else Sourav can form his own party considering the appeal he has. But history has always shown us such parties hardly make an impact to the political scene as they slowly get crushed under the larger political force.<br /><br /><br />Critics might argue that being a leader on the cricket ground doesn't make sure one will be a good political leader. True, but it doesn't even guarantee that he cannot be a good political leader. Sourav has mass appeal over the people of West Bengal and can shape public opinion to bring in much needed development. After all no body can raise a finger on his leadership skills.<br /></div><br /></div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-50783858706374688642009-02-10T00:22:00.000-08:002009-02-10T00:24:24.288-08:00The Sleeping Race<div style="text-align: justify;">Talking about race doesn't necessarily mean I am a racist and when I am self critical about of my own race I shouldn't sound racist at all. Well the title of the blog might have given you a hint on whom am I talking about. Yes, I am talking about the 'Bengalis' or the 'Bongs' as the Y generation would like to call it. Its a race which has been on a long and uncertain sleep.<br /><br /><br />An analogy can been drawn between Bengalis and the West Indian cricket team. Like the Windies team of the 80s when we were at our peak nobody in India could take us on, but when we started falling apart we did not know how to come up again. There have always been the genius of Brian Laras and Courtney Walshs but somehow they haven't been enough to push the brand Bengal to the glorious position it once held.<br /><br /><br />Famous freedom fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhle had once said “What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow.” As someone rightly put it in today's context reversing the order of the sentence would make more sense. To be honest the state and the city of Calcutta in particular has been let down but its self inflicted catastrophe, sense of denial and obsession with its glorious past.<br /><br /><br />Politics and a single party rule has been often been blamed for the state's misfortune. This thought has made sure that we kept on ignoring all other factors. Had the communists not taken over would Bengal been among the top five states in India? I say NO, the reason is Bengalis have been very good when it has come to art, literature, science and every possible profession other than BUSINESS. The gap between Bengal and other states actually widened in the post liberalisation era when the 'B' word became the way to move forward.<br /><br /><br />The complete ignorance of the Bengalis who have left the state has also hurt Bengal. From Huston to Manchester and from Bangalore to Delhi these people have always taken pride in having the hilsas and rosogollas but never cared to look back at Bengal. True, opportunities are less and obstacles many but ignoring the present state of affairs and blowing the trumpet of the glorious past no solution to Bengal's woes. We should be proud of Bose, Tagore and Satyajit Ray but we need more of this people right now.<br /><br /><br />Calcutta is often referred as the 'sinking ship' and which literally means the end of the story for many. This attitude of hopelessness has cost the city and the state. Let us rather refer to it as a ship in rough waters which can be steered back to a calmer dock. For that to happen a race has to wake up, it has to be self critical of its acts, it has to come out of the state of denial and most importantly separate emotions from politics. It may sound cliché but honestly change comes when there is hope and belief and we got to hope and we got to believe.<br /><br /></div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-40352739995007741922009-02-03T00:07:00.000-08:002009-02-03T00:22:52.938-08:00Barack Obama's Bengal adventure<meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 2.2 (Win32)"><meta name="CREATED" content="20090102;11205400"><meta name="CHANGEDBY" content="Greynium"><meta name="CHANGED" content="20090203;13513085"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } --> </style> <p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Barack Obama's mission to reach the world and his 'Yes We Can' slogan brings him to Calcutta. He comes with the CEO of Public Motors to set up a automobile plant in the Communist heartland of India. He decides to take a walk around the streets of Calcutta with Moti Basu and opposition leader Janata Banerjee.</i></span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama </b>– Mr Basu its a pleasure to take a walk with you early morning. I have always heard about you since my childhood.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Moti Basu</b> – What...You knew about me. I never thought I was so popular in America</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama</b> – Well you are Mr Basu. Americans always keep an eye on extreme development or extreme deterioration. You and your party have overhauled the 'City of Joy' into something the old time Britishers and Bengali intellectuals will cry if they see.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Moti Basu</b> – No Mr Obama. We have just made sure that wealth is distributed equally across all sections of people. Its impossible to make everyone rich, so we closed down the industries and made sure everyone is poor and there is equality in the society.</span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Opposition leader Janata Banerjee walks in and greets Obama but ignores the presence of Moti Basu. In her trademark agitated tone she says.</i></span></span></span></p><p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>
<br /></i></span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Janata Banerjee</b> – No he and his party have turned Kolkata into City of Khoy (Loss) and the City of Bhoy (Fear)</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama </b>– Well I can see that Calcutta opps Kolkata has lost some of its beauty.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Moti Basu</b>- You can't say that we have graffiti all over the place to beautify our beloved city. The Britishers just left us plain white buildings we have added colour to them.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Janata Banerjee </b>– I strongly object to that, these people paint all the walls and the bus stops with 'red' a sign of danger. We are left with walls and railway stations in the outskirts of the city. DO YOU GET THAT BARACK DA?</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama </b>– Well Ms Banerjee my ears are hurting. Why do you always scream at the top of your voice. Why can't you talk softly?</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Janata Banerjee </b>– That's a trade secret. When you have to make pointless arguments its better to scream to ensure that others are forced to listen. People are emotionally attached to people who scream rather than act intellects.</span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Just then a group protesters are passing shouting slogans against the government and the police. One of them turns towards Janata and says</i></span></span></span></p><p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>
<br /></i></span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Protector</b> – Didi, by what time will you join us? We have already jammed the main road and set three state government buses on fire.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Janata Banerjee</b> – Let me finish my appointment with Barack da, I will meet you in the grounds of the high school till then keep screaming. In the mean time make arrangements to burn tyres on the road.</span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>The protester along with others leaves the place</i></span></span></span></p><p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>
<br /></i></span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama </b>– What is this protest for Ms Banerjee?</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Janata Banerjee</b> – Nothing serious, its a daily ritual here in Bengal. A shopkeeper was selling a packet of <span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">cigarette</span></span></span></span></span> to an under age boy when some intellects protested, The police rounded the shopkeeper and beat him up. We are protesting against that.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama</b> – But that's a crime right? Selling <span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">cigarettes</span></span></span></span></span> to under age people.</span></span></span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Janata Banerjee</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style=""> – I don't care about that. The shopkeeper is a person who votes for me and nobody can touch him whatever the reason may be. I am like his mother and have to safeguard his business.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Obama</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style=""> – By even going against the law?</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Janata Banerjee</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style=""> – See that's the only source for income for the shopkeeper so he also has the right tor earn a living. The boy who was buying the cigarettes was from a </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">affluent</span></span></span></span></span> <span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">family so his parents can take care of him.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama</b> – Ms Banerjee its easy to understand Mr Basu's party but not yours. They believe in one thing to oppose America and people like me and they do it pretty well. You seem to have no ideologies or logic behind most of your action. I failed to understand why you chased out the auto giant from Bandur.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Janata Banerjee</b> – Well you are not a smart enough politician and not eligible for politics here in India. You missed my achievement in the entire issue. </span></span></span> </p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama</b>- What achievement? People seem to be disappointed with you</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Janata Banerjee</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style=""> – </span></span></span></span></span>The auto giant going away was a loss for the educated youth who any ways don't vote for me. Secondly I have 10% seats in the assembly so we can't match up with the decibel level of Mr Basu's party in the assembly and this was a perfect platform for me to show my strength in the state politics.</span></span></span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Obama</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style=""> – Let me get it straight I have come here with a business plan to set up a automobile plant. We have seen some signs of development in the last five years under the leadership of Shuddhodeb and we consider this very encouraging.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Moti Basu </b>– <span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">Shuddho is like my son and that is why I vacated the seat of Chief Minister for him. But to tell you the truth many party colleagues don't like him. He is turning into a capitalist comrade now.
<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">
<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </p> <p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Janata can't take this and returns to her trademark screaming again.</i></span></span></span></p><p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>
<br /></i></span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Janata Banerjee</b> – No there has been absolutely no development. Barack da where do you see the signs of development?</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama</b> – An American President leading a team of business leaders looking for investment in communist West Bengal is development I guess.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Moti Basu</b> – But we can't allow you to set up any industry here.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama </b>– But Mr Basu why?</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Moti Basu</b> – You are Americans and that's reason enough. We have always protested anything American from your industries to your joint military exercise with our forces.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama </b>- But see times have changed I am the first 'black man' in White House. Moreover we now talk about some bit of regulations and restrictions in our economy after the financial turmoil So you can also change your stand against the Americans.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Moti Basu</b> – No we can't, we won't and we ill not let anybody else do it. Do not ask me for a reason I don't have one.</span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Obama turns towards Janata Banerjee with some hope in his eyes</i></span></span></span></p><p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>
<br /></i></span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama </b>– And you Ms Banerjee?</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Janata Banerjee</b> – Barack da we can't give you any land unless you pay the price similar to that of Manhattan. And all my party workers given the contracts to supply goods to your industries and paid leaves when I sit for protest against your automobile plant.</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Obama</b> - Anything else Ms Banerjee</span></span></span></p> <p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Janata Banerjee</b> – Yes you will get the land 200 kms south of Kolkata
<br /></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: normal;" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span></span> </p> <p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Obama finally says to himself '<b>No We Can't' </b>and decides to return home. Suddenly his cell phone rings and he gets a call from Gujarat CM Virendra Body who promises him a huge plot of land and other freebies. He says goodbye to West Bengal and files off for Ahmedabad.</i></span></span></span></p><p style="" align="justify"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>
<br /></i></span></span></span></p> Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-3176513783287896282009-01-03T00:57:00.000-08:002009-01-03T00:59:27.690-08:00Trinamool Congress continues with its insanity<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMErS0U1M6yu_tsWLaZLScNsoX0AJ36CO6vgy1oksos5wow9QSKof-WDw0bFX4XzuCfecD2ZSnFcqA7tXO8CzXLln0tDDkKnoZ4-ToaKNijrbAoG7B_GaiHgKeHby5PJFH6omIV_8KT1a/s1600-h/Mamata.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMErS0U1M6yu_tsWLaZLScNsoX0AJ36CO6vgy1oksos5wow9QSKof-WDw0bFX4XzuCfecD2ZSnFcqA7tXO8CzXLln0tDDkKnoZ4-ToaKNijrbAoG7B_GaiHgKeHby5PJFH6omIV_8KT1a/s200/Mamata.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286989313574912578" border="0" /></a>If insanity is a word in Indian politics Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress has to be its greatest example. As if chasing away the Tata Nano project from West Bengal was not enough TMC has jumped in to champion the cause of the Auto rickshaw drives in the state. TMC has mastered the art of instigating violence in the state. They have turned into a visionless party whose only reason for existence seems to be disruption of developmental activities in the state.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The Calcutta High Court had issued an order July last year to ban commercial vehicles registered before Jan 1, 1993, from Kolkata and its outskirts. The court directed that all auto-rickshaws, irrespective of their date of registration, will have to convert LPG or CNG. This was in order to check the pollution levels in the city which has reached an alarming level. Is the State Government's initiative to check the pollution levels in the state some form of a demonic act?<br /><br />Logically any public vehicle which has plied on the road for 15 years has earned it worth and needs to be replaced or altered with. Similar steps have been taken in major cities of the country like Delhi and have substantially brought the pollution levels down. What is that Mamata Banerjee and her party men opposing? Is it the clean air that the children should have the right to breathe? Or is it the step forward to bring Kolkata and West Bengal at par with other developed states in the country.<br /><br />The only terms in Mamata's dictionary seems to be strikes, protests and blockades. Has she ever thought how much her insane acts hurt the state as well as the entire region. How many level headed souls would have thought of chasing away the Tatas form a industry starved state. What is it that she wants West Bengal to be? Why is it that she does not take on the government in the State Assembly and rather prefers taking them on the streets. The answer is simple good arguments need understanding of issues and a little bit of grey matter.<br /><br />Any developmental project will hurt some section of the people. You cannot breathe fresh air when you have old vehicles smoking the road. The people of West Bengal at large and Kolkata in particular have to decide do they want to support such insane acts. The choice is between development and insanity and choosing the right way should not be difficult way for a balanced individual.<br /></div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-79042421704629524312008-12-09T04:34:00.000-08:002008-12-09T04:52:06.276-08:00Whats Calcutta's problem – An outsider's perspective<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIVMeu_rejVvoKqNJ3P4xqeLS2f3huaokaHfVDuOxXZf6l8lM_f0CJAIgFZpDtN1RgTUfLT_OiMtWQQj4lVpru-CQfkdk-HC3EzqGXibmZ03q-Zh00gHKY2VuCVQ6AaZzYO9KKaA6CzTq/s1600-h/tram.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIVMeu_rejVvoKqNJ3P4xqeLS2f3huaokaHfVDuOxXZf6l8lM_f0CJAIgFZpDtN1RgTUfLT_OiMtWQQj4lVpru-CQfkdk-HC3EzqGXibmZ03q-Zh00gHKY2VuCVQ6AaZzYO9KKaA6CzTq/s320/tram.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277769040597133730" border="0" /></a>The 'City of Joy' as it is called is currently the 4<sup>th </sup><span style="font-size:100%;">largest city in India by population but not among the most sought after destination be it for education, jobs or business. From being the nerve centre of British India to fading away as another populous city in India, Calcutta or the modern day Kolkata has seen it all. Once considered to be the hub of education and culture the capital of West Bengal has be synonymous with bandhs and strikes in the recent decades.</span></div> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is not very surprising that once former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had once quoted “Calcutta is a dying city”. All the residents of the city and Bengalis like me around the world would never like to believe it but to be honest we have lost the plot somewhere. The entire eastern part of the country seems to be surviving in a different era as compared to the rest of the nation. Calcutta's decline has resulted in the underdevelopment of the entire region. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;">Being a outsider to Calcutta and working in Delhi and Bangalore I have observed some of things which I personally feel is the problem with Calcutta. People might not appreciate an outsider's perspective but at times its easier to understand things from outside.<br /><br />1) An over influential political system, from education to land allotment everything is decided by which party one patronises. Politics is a drawing room conversation in the city which leaves it little time to talk about developmental issues.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;">2) The present Chief Minister is good but his party took Kolkata and West Bengal inside the black hole. Also the absence of a good alternative in terms of opposition leaves voters with hardly any choice. They are compelled to send the same people to the assembly. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;">3) All Bengalis like me are very emotional. The problem with being too emotional is at times our logical thinking takes a hit. Singur is a shining example where emotion and political ego cost the state an golden opportunity to revive industry.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;">4) Cities grow in proximity and Calcutta has been unlucky in this regard. Being far away from any other major city has made sure that it has been denied of indirect development. Pune gained heavily from being close to Mumbai, Gurgaon and Noida have benefited from being Delhi's neighbour..</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;">5) The enormous brain drain that happens also hurts the city like anything. The cream of the city goes out and adds to the development of other major cities. This deprived the city and the state of visionary people who can bring in the change. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;">6) The pride in Kolkata's golden past many a times overshadows its present state in the minds of people. Its good to be proud of the past but the hangover should not be a barricade stopping people from venturing into a new future. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;">All the above mentioned arguments are my understanding of the situation after closely observing Calcutta and talking to the people of Calcutta. However I invite arguments from all those who do not agree with any of my arguments.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-81664217241136675332008-11-24T04:36:00.000-08:002008-11-24T04:41:02.456-08:00When will Calcutta rise again?<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is a question which strikes all the inhabitants of Calcutta (I prefer calling it by the old name due to its glorious past) and everyone who has a direct or indirect connection with 'City of Joy'. Such was the aura of Bengal in general and Calcutta that freedom fighter Gopalkrishna Gokhke had once famously said “What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow.” But to be honest Calcutta cannot afford to sing praises of its past and regret its present for too long.</span><br /><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;">First hit by partition, then by naxalism and finally by vision less politics for decades Calcutta became an irreverent city in the context of the Indian nation. We Bengalis might argue against this being a very emotional community but the truth is we are not among the places people go gaga about anymore in India. It is true Bengalis are still doing well (mostly outside Bengal) but Bengal as a brand has failed miserably in the last 50 years.</span><br /><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;">When Tatas came to Bengal the the people suddenly saw a sense of hope in the cultural capital of India. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was being seen as a developmental leader trying to revive the state from the slump and driving it out of the 'Black Hole' in which it has been for decades. But for a leader and her demands the Tatas walked out of Bengal and with it crushed the dreams of many both within the state and outside it.</span><br /><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Many people were planning to re-migrate to </span><i><span style="">'desher mati' </span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">once decent career opportunities were available in Calcutta. They were eyeing Tata Nano to be a turning point in Calcutta's history. I had a bet of Rs 100 with one of my friends from Calcutta during the heights of Singur protest. He said Tatas would not leave after investing so much money while I insisted Tatas won't do business in a war like situation. This was one bet I would have been happy to loose. </span></span></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">The IT business which is the buzz word in the country has at the most kissed Kolkata when compared to cities like Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Gurgaon leave aside the Silicon Valley of India Bangalore. This is pretty disappointing considering Bengalis or people from West Bengal comprise are one of the largest work force in terms of head count in this industry.</span></span></span><br /><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">Another industry which has eluded Calcutta is the BPO sector. It surprises me as Calcutta is one of the most cost effective cities in the country a must for the BPO business. Add to it the huge number of BPO executives from the region especially North East this business would have flourished in Calcutta. But unfortunately apart from a few major BPOs the city has seen negligible job opportunities being created by the calling business.</span></span></span><br /><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">A SWAT analysis of the state needs to be done immediately to bring in some much development to the state which is crying for it. The present chief minister seems to be the best man helming the affairs of the state right now. Hopefully people sitting in the opposite bench will realise and take a lesson from the grave mistake that they have committed in the recent past. Its a dream of many that 'City of Joy' also becomes 'City of Opportunities'</span></span></span><br /><br /></p>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-18505244762627156722008-11-12T22:30:00.000-08:002008-11-12T22:31:04.456-08:00Calcutta calling<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCp9TiaKMXYJiHgPa8OhvIpZCfNjUipgqekoh23ZiFVzfRQWqe2q0S-Us2H93AL_MBpFyeVyu72_O9H21OA8DG_p_49pM7PLwrNoQOZz2DIC8wSxKpC3HwPvhsZAkPX4c37XSf6UjRIvhP/s1600-h/SecondHug.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCp9TiaKMXYJiHgPa8OhvIpZCfNjUipgqekoh23ZiFVzfRQWqe2q0S-Us2H93AL_MBpFyeVyu72_O9H21OA8DG_p_49pM7PLwrNoQOZz2DIC8wSxKpC3HwPvhsZAkPX4c37XSf6UjRIvhP/s320/SecondHug.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268025481110386562" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">The City of Joy as it is called has something special and that is 'character'. Unlike many other big cities in India Calcutta or Kolkata has not turned materialistic and still has a humane side to it. Its a underdeveloped city by its potential owing to many reasons but its a city where people are still happy and have time to smile. I might sound bias being a Bong but the truth is many of my non-Bengali friends who have been there second my opinion.</span><br /></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I realise it more being in a plastic city like Bangalore. As a by product of the IT revolution the smile in a person's face has been programmed. People are too much engrossed in looking high up that they are having pain in their neck. Success here does not give time to relax and enjoy but puts across another gold in life. In doing so an entire generation is missing out on the beauty of life. The positive side is Kolkata is somewhat isolated from this syndrome.</span><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Being born in the lush green hills of Shillong an annul visit to Kolkata during the winters was what I always looked forward to. It was time to see so many things like trains, planes and cycle rickshaws which were not seen in my 'Scotland of the East'. The numerous earthen pots of misti doi and rosogollas never could satisfy me. The slow moving trams and the hand pulled carts symbolised a city which is trying to hold on to its glorious past.</span><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A paradigm shift happened to my love for this city when I started growing up and did not see Kolkata offering me much opportunities. Soon the 'City of Joy' seemed too doomed to offer me anything. I tried Delhi but could not find my solace there and now Bangalore has taught me interesting lessons as to why we are still lagging behind in comparison to other cities.</span><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This city will only grow when the best of its brains work here rather than migrating to other parts of the country. True there are may factors resulting in this brain drain but we seem to over worship other places and look down upon out own. An entire overhaul needs to be done with our everyday thinking as India is changing fast and our glorious past needs to reflect in our present and golden future.</span><br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">People think me to be a fool when I talk of working in Kolkata. They always reason it with the kind of salary Kolkata pays. But I value the quality of life and not its price may be because of my upbringing in beautiful Shillong. A smile on my parent's face is more valuable to me than a luxurious bungalow. I want to move to Kolkata and work there. I cannot be a General in the city's growth but can definitely be a foot soldier. </span></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"> </p>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-973073761959559942008-11-11T20:18:00.000-08:002008-11-11T20:25:34.783-08:00East: The Internet Shadow Area<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUnt_wQVvLdmYIjHPIZk9eXt01s2wQbwT1BmV4a_2dQ81ISdH0jWElUgU5xjsIwl0ReEuj1J93wXc2lBa7OQzi96Sfm9jPp4cEGZ-mfQmipkc_H3w-YYrJKw8E13poB3dJIyYTCsXmxI3/s1600-h/computer_cartoon.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUnt_wQVvLdmYIjHPIZk9eXt01s2wQbwT1BmV4a_2dQ81ISdH0jWElUgU5xjsIwl0ReEuj1J93wXc2lBa7OQzi96Sfm9jPp4cEGZ-mfQmipkc_H3w-YYrJKw8E13poB3dJIyYTCsXmxI3/s320/computer_cartoon.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267621517416479506" border="0" /></a>Wyndham Lewis coined the term 'Global Village' and the world has indeed become a village where many things have neared if not physically but definitely psychologically. Gone are the days when to get a copy of foreign newspaper people had to wait for two days; internet now delivers the world in our finger tips. No other country has perhaps cashed on the internet revolution like India has done but the irony is that the Eastern and the North Eastern part of the country has been left far behind. We have fallen in a 'Internet Shadow Area'<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The reasons are many both political as well as psychological. One of the major reasons Internet hasn't spread in the region is because it has been considered to be rocket science by many. They have thought it to be too tough to handle. That is far from what is true as research has time and again shown that it is more difficult to create a Word document than to surf the net.<br /></div><br />We still not have realised the power of internet as an advertising tool. It is one the cheapest form of advertisement with a long shelf life. Here too we have failed ourselves. Take the websites of any educational institute or organisation in the region we will find that they are appear to be poor when compared similar sites in any part of the country. And even most newspapers of the region have their websites running on obsolete internet technology.<br /><br />Working for internet portal for over a year I have realised the actual power of internet. Take a small example a regional newspaper which publishes for small geographical reader. Now its reach is limited to that particular region. With internet someone sitting at opposite end of the planet can have access the same news in real time. All other forms of media print, television and radio have their geographical limitations but no such law applies to the internet media.<br /><br />Internet is a very powerful tool which can do wonders and being the fastest growing form of media we cannot afford to ignore it for too long. Staying in the internet shadow area has thrown us back by many years. We need to stand up and question ourselves for how long will we love to live in this isolation which is not only technological.</div></div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-48200596480682041092008-10-23T05:38:00.001-07:002008-10-23T05:41:39.114-07:00Ratan Tata’s open letter<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0g6eT2BhXM0jlWuK076Yj-TYiiIgtdX0C7rKcgUOFv1lRUE3b157SC4rbES4Idh-SH9DaQgqHs5u8k-Kky7dT5eRSzB8myaZ1-gX3pSQNq-COmSGqi-7iMesTOboAjW6-zlyQiMFxy_w/s1600-h/Ratan+Tata.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0g6eT2BhXM0jlWuK076Yj-TYiiIgtdX0C7rKcgUOFv1lRUE3b157SC4rbES4Idh-SH9DaQgqHs5u8k-Kky7dT5eRSzB8myaZ1-gX3pSQNq-COmSGqi-7iMesTOboAjW6-zlyQiMFxy_w/s320/Ratan+Tata.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260328386894978562" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Ratan Tata's open letter to the youth of West Bengal to choose between modern infrastructure and lawlessness. The letter showed how much Mr Tata a many of very few words was hurt in being forced to movie out of West Bengal. The Tatas did not say goodbye to the sate happily after having invested close to Rs1500 crores in what would have been a engineering marvel to roll out of a state infamous for bringing industries to a standstill.</span><br /></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Expectedly the letter met with severe criticism from the Mamata Banerjee and her party members. After chasing the Tatas away she has kept a low profile in Bengal and demanded a judicial enquiry into the Batla House encounter in Delhi. What a leader who crushes the dreams of thousands of youth in her own state under her meaningless ego and political beliefs and then rubbishes the sacrifice of a police officer who laid down his life for the sake of the nation.</span><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Mamata Banerjee might have forgotten a that the Constitution of Indian bestows every Indian citizen with 'Freedom of Speech'. She challenged Ratan Tata to come and contest elections. No doubt she proved her insane self in throwing up this challenge to Mr Tata. He is an industrialist who brings in development to the nation and not a mindless politician like many in Trinamool Congress are. Ratan Tata can contest elections if he wants but can our Mamata set up industries and create jobs? She can halt them for sure.</span><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Tatas have always done their business ethically and have been instrumental in development of the places where they have operated from. Personally I happened to witness the difference between the Tatas and the others in the tea gardens of Assam. As a part of our Mass Communication course we had to make a documentary and we chose the tea gardens of Assam. Most of the gardens we visited lacked the basic necessities like proper sanitation, drinking water, roads but to our sheer surprise the garden maintained by the Tatas were a startling contrast to the other gardens having elementary schools, good roads and medical facilities.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">One of my close friends has the habit of chatting with people across the world. On conversation with a Brazalian boy he was asked what did he know about Brazil, my friend replied football, samba dance and pretty girls. When my friend asked him what did he know about India he replied Taj Mahal and Tata. Such is the aura of the company whom some super intelligent fellows chased out of West Bengal.</span><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Tatas are gone and we have grieved enough and now its time to think ahead. Perhaps in his exit Ratan Tata has given some clues as to what the people of the state especially the youth have to do in the near future. As for the mindless politicians in the state I hope the next parliamentary elections puts them where actually the belong to. Thanks Mr. Tata even in your exit you showed us a way. </span></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"> </p>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-853849807908539772008-10-19T20:44:00.000-07:002008-10-19T20:50:05.446-07:00Calcutta to Kolkata: The joy still remains<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QPoe6qUDwI7vQxkNKf-XTylhIlsi6bIay_z5JPPG6CSyfw6cjKuqdUpySStW7Us4Lm7mBDu0ha9Eh13L53yTbuIDKIkjsHpudqYeLRG3hJoKmH8Xc2fi76t6IiSsiGCsRp06g2FBFi4w/s1600-h/Victoria_Memorial.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QPoe6qUDwI7vQxkNKf-XTylhIlsi6bIay_z5JPPG6CSyfw6cjKuqdUpySStW7Us4Lm7mBDu0ha9Eh13L53yTbuIDKIkjsHpudqYeLRG3hJoKmH8Xc2fi76t6IiSsiGCsRp06g2FBFi4w/s320/Victoria_Memorial.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259078070988157970" border="0" /></a>The entire tourism industry is saying 'Look East' and what better place to visit than the 'City of Joy' Calcutta or modern man's Kolkata. A city which has something to offer to everyone from history to rich literature, music and most importantly an everlasting joyous environment. The erstwhile capital of British India Kolkata was once regarded as the ' <strong><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Jewel of the East'</span></span></strong><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""></span></span></strong>The modern day Kolkata is city fast changing metropolis but unlike other mega cities the old and the new have a symbiotic coexistence here. From Victoria Memorial to the river bank across Hoogly, Kolkata is a travellers delight. The ever romantic ride in a tram leaves a mesmerising impression on the mind of any visitor to the city. Some of the must visit spots in the city are:<br /> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b>Victoria Memorial</b><br /><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">Victoria Memorial is perhaps the most renowned landmark of the city, a monument people in the city swear by. This magnificent structure was designed by </span></span>Sir William Emerson <span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">in 1921. Victoria Memorial is regarded as one of the finest art museums in the world.</span></span><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Birla Planetarium<br /></strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="">The second largest planetarium in India the Birla Planetarium Kolkata was built in 1962. It is the centre of the space science, technology and communication. Astronomical shows are a must see here providing information about the solar system, galaxies, space, planets, life span of stars.</span></strong></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><a name="SnippetList_ctl06_ctl00_ImageContent1"></a> <strong><b>Nicco Park<br /></b></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kolkata's own version of the Disneyland this amusement park provides a modern touch to the classical city. Situated in the northern part of the city it attract lots of youngsters everyday . One of the biggest attractions in this amusement park is the River Cave Ride.</span></strong></p><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fort William</span><br />Situated at the banks of the river Hoogli it is named after King William III of England. It was established during the tenure of British Raj in 1696. It has served as the seat of military power from the time of the British Raj and is currently the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">National Library</span><br />The largest library in the country it is situated in a 30 acre estate. It was established in the year 1836 and houses a collection of more than 1000000 books making it one of the largest libraries in the world. The library is currently digitising most of its rare books and journals.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Howrah Bridge</span><br />A rare cantilever bridge on the river Hoogli in 1874 after which even a movie is named. Considered to be one of the busiest bridges in the world it connects Howrah to Kolkata. Rechristened as Rabindra Setu the 270 feet high bridge sees more than a hundred thousand vehicles pass under it everyday.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hospitality</span><br />Kolkata has hotels and restaurants for every pocket. The city has some of the best hotels in Eastern India including Taj Bengal, Hayat Regency, Oberoi, Grand, Lytton and Hindustan International. Other than these there are hundreds of budget hotel and lodges around the city catering to thousands of people arriving at this magnificent city everyday.<br /><br />Kolkata is a place to eat and Bengalis take pride in their cuisine. The taste here varies from a variety of fish curries to the rosogolla, sandesh and sweet curd. The city also has great eateries like Kewpie's Kitchen, Tung Fong, Arsalan, and Tamarind which serve mouth watering dishes. A must visit would be Aminia and Shiraz famous for their biriyani. The street food in Kolkata can be just defined a awesome.</span></strong><br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Aviation</b><br /><a name="SnippetList_ctl01_ctl00_SnippetContent"></a> <span style="">Kolkata is connected via flight from all major hubs in India and the world. The Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport serves as a major transit point to the countries in far east. It is located </span><strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="">17kms</span></strong><span style=""> from the central business district of the city. It connects Kolkata to 26 destinations in the domestic sector and 14 international destinations. </span> </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is carrying a major face-lift of the airport and building a fourth terminal in it. The modernisation plan also include the lengthening of the runways for bigger jets like Airbus A380 to land at the airport. Recently the airport has been linked by a suburban railway system connecting it to major parts of the city. The airport currently has a capacity to handle 350 flights per day. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Some of the surrounding tourist destinations around Kolkata are Bandel, Sreerampur, Dakshineswar Kali Bari and Chandannagar. Kolkata today is fast changing but the fact remains the 'City of Joy' still has something to offer to everyone. </p>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-84402004264518612252008-10-11T01:51:00.000-07:002008-10-11T01:55:34.622-07:00Mamata scripts Bengal's biggest loss<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnp3-H_6OkWtdiqK9Oj_Yro4uogVdSc1pnBsLs7sJxj35VJFVolHrC47DLyYaI-DjM_Fm7NQL7CmwXzbfRTxNCaDcnzqSEZMwvtUuDOYorrslvj5an65eFeUnTFNvw2IN7cMUqYoPhR_Nq/s1600-h/Mamata.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnp3-H_6OkWtdiqK9Oj_Yro4uogVdSc1pnBsLs7sJxj35VJFVolHrC47DLyYaI-DjM_Fm7NQL7CmwXzbfRTxNCaDcnzqSEZMwvtUuDOYorrslvj5an65eFeUnTFNvw2IN7cMUqYoPhR_Nq/s320/Mamata.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255817064453144306" border="0" /></a>What a puja it was for West Bengal and the entire Bengali community. After all the drama Ratan Tata decided to pull out of West Bengal proving who had the power to decide. Mamata Banerjee on her part scripted the biggest loss in West Bengal's recent history. It is ironical that she did not live upto the meaning of her name which means 'mother's love'. There was a time when she was looked up as a selfless politician but she has rather proved to be a cat among the pigeons. The truth is today she eyes the Writers more than she cares about the farmers of Singur.<br /> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">Ratan Tata had earlier warned that any industry cannot run under 24 hour police protection and if the situation on the ground is not normal he will be forced to pull out. So he did just when the entire state was gearing for the biggest festival Mr. Tata gave the final blow. The entire state was left shell shocked and the politicians on both sides were short of words.<br /></p><div> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">The best joke of the entire event came from the Singur MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharya belonging to the TMC who said they did not want the Tatas to leave Singur. Then why did he join the meaningless protest. Was he trying to script his way into a Tollywood movie facing the news reels everyday. People like Mr Rabindranath Bhattacharya fell sorry not for the farmers but for themselves as they made a lots of quick bucks supplying building materials to the erstwhile Nano plant.<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">The land that was taken from the farmers is not suitable to agriculture and so most of the farmers have lost literally everything. The thousands of educated youngsters of the state who were looking up at this project are heartbroken. The labourers and the workers employed at the Nano plant have turned jobless overnight. All because of a failed politician who wanted to revive her doomed political career at the cost of the state's development</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">As far as Mamata's CV is concerned she has been a 'big talk' politician all her life. People should not forget how she almost brought the Indian Railways to a halt while she was the Railway Minister. The same Indian railways is making huge profits under a surprising candidate Laloo Prasad Yadav. Mamata's dream of becoming chief minister of the state can only bring catastrophe to West Bengal<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">The big question that arises is in all this who has emerged as the winner. Surprisingly its a man by the name of Narendra Modi who has got one more jewel in his crown in his already industrialized Gujarat. Perhaps Mamata should have judged the importance of this projects from the politicians of other states who were in a rat race to get this project in their home state. Modi for now is surely in the steering wheel of the engineering marvel.<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">Now with the Tatas gone and Bengal's re-industrialization dream dented chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya will have to look of other potential investors. Perhaps the only sign of hope came from him when he said the war is not over yet. As for the people of West Bengal they will have to decide the fate of people like Mamata Banerjee who have the potential to take the state back to the stone age.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-60327490268467408792008-09-15T05:51:00.001-07:002009-04-04T20:37:20.299-07:00The rural v/s urban divide in West Bengal<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLq2vIjVwKswSzXEoGmIp3ocruw77yKjE289LtYUSkOCOdKu2A_xBsRUlODNJZ22YNPBWngbhCfW1e8R_PTCGdBeXdN-Dq-i-hvycMHo5AFXRXSzPgMTVOy4GbAP_K2YDohRt2h8krioV4/s1600-h/tata-nano-standard1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLq2vIjVwKswSzXEoGmIp3ocruw77yKjE289LtYUSkOCOdKu2A_xBsRUlODNJZ22YNPBWngbhCfW1e8R_PTCGdBeXdN-Dq-i-hvycMHo5AFXRXSzPgMTVOy4GbAP_K2YDohRt2h8krioV4/s320/tata-nano-standard1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246230085398596770" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">The Singur land row over the Tata Nano project seems far from over. On one side is chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya who wants to have a renaissance of industries in West Bengal and the other side is Mamata Banerjee a emotional leader who had nothing to loose in her political career. It is very ironical that the Trinamool Congress is using the same modus operandi of road blockades, bandhs which the Left Front had mastered over the last thirty years.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">The crisis had not only divided the political class into two different camps but even created a huge divide among the rural and urban people of West Bengal. The people of Kolkata and other urban regions are keeping their fingers crossed and want this project to take place at any cost. They want to be at par with their counterparts in other metropolitian cities in the country. On the other hand the people in rural Bengal whose only asset is their land are not willing to part with it at at cheap rates.<br /><br />Two years back during my stay in Delhi I was talking to a panwala from rural Bengal when the Singur crisis was at its infant stage. Being a urban Bengali youth I was seeing this project as a event which will revive entire West Bengal. Mine and his concern and polarity on this issue were opposite. He told me "You are educated and will get a job if such projects. My entire family is illiterate so it will not benefit me. They will give me a job of of a security guard but I will loose the only asset my family has our land". I was taken back by his statement as the urban youth in me could have never thought on these lines.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;">Coming back to the present state of the land row the an important factor behind this stir which many are missing out is the enormous increase in the price of the land in Singur and its adjoining areas. The farmers have seen the prices go up by 10 times in many cases and are trying their best to get a better deal from the government. This problem has been hijacked by the mindless Trinamool Congress supporters who are promising a higher price to the poor farmers. It if amazing to see how TMC has turned this small village as its biggest battle ground.<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;">Mamata Banerjee on her part is trying all the political tricks up her sleeves to revive her political future which was almost shattered in the last assembly elections. In a state which is crying for development the kind of opportunist politics she is playing brings shames to democracy in this country. Mamata should realise that for development industries and agriculture have to go hand in hand.<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;">The solution to the Singur problem should be inclusive and not exclusive . It should not be tabulated seeing the rates of land today. It should be seen in a active manner keeping in mind the future. We need to be reminded of a place called Gurgaon which from a small outskirt town of Delhi became one of the most vibrant economic destination in the country owing to another small car projects.<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;">It is up to the people to decide whether they want to see their state up in the league of or continue with the slow death it has suffered in the last 30 years. Once the Tatas pull out it will be nail in the coffin for further industrialization for West Bengal and with it the entire eastern part of the country</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: georgia;" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="justify"><br /></p>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055996155066066366.post-31590325793489792352007-12-21T23:23:00.000-08:002008-09-15T21:26:36.563-07:00Looking Towards East of India<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUZ8whclI-t1Q_0FUti9aGDtE2g_CWphVouOSDVUcM8NXus94kHkH9b6zhwpNe8muT28_tVmnM37W_DRjlRLAL_DOytUu8t_LWdd9DC7s8RtBKKn7pOP9Re2ftT4hrvn8P5cphYCuv0Za/s1600-h/Sun+rising.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 106px; height: 79px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUZ8whclI-t1Q_0FUti9aGDtE2g_CWphVouOSDVUcM8NXus94kHkH9b6zhwpNe8muT28_tVmnM37W_DRjlRLAL_DOytUu8t_LWdd9DC7s8RtBKKn7pOP9Re2ftT4hrvn8P5cphYCuv0Za/s320/Sun+rising.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246470721304707826" border="0" /></a>Many people often wonder why is the government so keen on its Look East policy any why is it investing so heavily on east and especially on the North East. The people who have these kinds of doubts in their mind should monitor the exchange if the US dollar over the last year and they are sure to get the idea clear. The message is very clear as far as the markets are concerned that if we are over dependent on the US for all our business we are inviting trouble.<br /><br />The entire eastern region is far lagging behind as compared to the rest of the country. But this is also a huge virgin territory for a entrepreneur. Anybody starting any kind of business will be a pioneer in the field. The markets in the south east Asia see India as a sleeping giant as far as trade is concerned.<br /><br />China is ruling the market in this part of the world but we have an advantage over China as far as the product quality is concerned. We still are better in the Information Technology sector as compared to China although they are ruling the hardware markets. Thus the call of the hour is look towards the east and tap the market there before anyone does it.</div>Subhadeep Bhattacharjeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02695405234628810284noreply@blogger.com0