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 19
th 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
