Barua Saheb & Other participants
The problem of West Bengal’s slow pace of industrial development in
comparison with states like Kerala, Gujarat, Punjab etc requires careful study
inside a well-stocked library. I
do not have either the time or facilities for such a serious pursuit but I
would like to discuss the matter with just a little commonsense.
Bengalis have always done well in the Anglo-Indian type of education
introduced by the colonial rulers. So have the boys and girls of some other
states where Universities were set up in the early 19th century.
As one or two netters have
pointed out Bengalis did not have a tradition of becoming little traders in
the same way Marwaris and Gujaraties were. There were of course little
businessmen here and there but they failed to become prosperous. So far as
Assam, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa are concerned, the Marwaris dominated the
economy and local businessmen simply failed to compete with them.
At the time British quit India, the political climate of West Bengal
was volatile. Even tea planters migrated elsewhere after India became free.
The grand English shops like Whiteaways & Laidlow ( hope the name is
right) simply disappeared. The sparkling Hogg Market became unrecognisable. A
little away from the centre of the city one day I found a grand Victorian
building in ruins used by hawkers and petty shopkeepers although the plaques
bearing the name of a jeweller who worked for royalty, the Nawabs and the like
were still there.
But modern buildings – those of glass and concrete – did replace many
rambling Victorian structures following Independence, e g LIC buildings, the
Indian Banks and so on. But on the buildings’ wall you would have invariably
found the slogans of political parties, the unions etc. The Indian businessmen
of Kolkata decided to move elsewhere fearing a Communist take over. But
unexpectedly when the Communist came, in particular under the leadership of
Jyoti Basu, things improved, at least there was a genuine attempt by the
Government to overhaul the corrupt and inefficient administration and bolster
the economy. Basu went abroad a number of times seeking foreign investment
with the blessings of Government of India. Normally a State Minister is
constitutionally prohibited to do international negotiations. When Debeswar
Sarmah, an Assam Government Minister threatened that he was going to build a
refinery with Romanian help, he was chastised. Another instance is that of
late Keshab Gogoi, another Assam Government Minister who was invited by the
Japanese Government for discussion on a number of things after the visit of
a Japanese team to Assam,
Government of India did not allow Mr Gogoi to accept the invitation. I do not
know how far Jyoti Basu’s trips abroad were successful.
However, the situation is not so bleak as our netters appear to have
portrayed. As I said at the beginning I do not have facts and figures to
support my claim. I know that West Bengal has done well as manufacturer of
chemicals and drugs, in milk production, banking, housing development, book production, ceramics (the Bengal
Potteries are stated to be best in India) and so on. I wish I had some
official papers produced by the Government of West Bengal with me. I know that they have not done so
badly. I am of course not comparing them with the Gujaratis or Keralites,
etc.
Shifting of the capital from Kolkata to Delhi is certainly a factor for
decline in West Bengal’s fortune in many ways. But that happened long ago and
in spite of that West Bengal continued to prosper for the time being because
of the concentration of the
headquarters of some big companies in Kolkata for many years, and then the
North-east became the hinterland of industrial Bengal.
Now Bangladesh is being praised for their healthier economy than
India’s. One of the reasons for this prosperity is the remittance of vast amounts of foreign money by the
hardworking expatriate community, a majority of whom are perhaps in lowly
jobs.
So far as educated Bengalis are concerned, whether NRI or not, they too contribute to West Bengal or
India’s economy by what they earn in various ways..I am afraid I have taken
too much time knowing full well that brevity is the soul of wit!
Bhuban
