Mamata is a Gandhian leader: Mahasweta Devi

You have a life-long commitment to tribal welfare. How do you see the tribal situation in West Bengal today?

I’d say that poor people, irrespective of their religious, cultural or communal allegiances, are deprived in West Bengal. There’s rampant corruption in BPL card distribution. The same is the case with the rationing system. The governance is corrupt, and the poor have to bear the brunt of this racket-driven system.

The tribal communities have always been neglected. It’s true that the state government created Paschimanchal Unnayan Parishad for the welfare of the tribals in Birbhum, Burdwan, Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore. But the parishad has done nothing for the development of the tribal districts.

Why is Lalgarh, of all the places, a target of government oppression?

The Left Front government sold Lalgarh to the Jindal Group under SEZ. Fearing public outcry like that in Singur, the government wants the people to keep mum and this oppression is their way of scaring the tribals away from Lalgarh.

Given the rough terrain of Lalgarh, it’s not possible to dig tubewells there. But the few natural wells in that region have been rendered unusable by the joint forces personnel. Even now schools in Lalgarh serve as police or CRPF camps. As I give you this interview, 22-23 tribal organisations are demonstrating in West Midnapore. They want the government to pull the joint forces out of Lalgarh.

You have been a sharp critic of the Left Front government’s land acquisition policy, especially their strategy to acquire agricultural land from farmers in the name of industrialisation…

We are being branded as regressive and anti-industry, but our point is if land is indeed required for industrialisation, the government should focus on those areas where land lies fallow and farming is not the primary means of living. But Singur is a multi-crop area that produces all major types of rice grains throughout the year. It also produces wheat and many types of vegetables. The Nano factory in Singur would have snatched livelihoods from thousands of farmers. Moreover, an assembling plant can’t be called industry in the true sense of the word. I wrote as early as 2006 that car parts made at a factory in Rajkot, Gujarat were supposed to be assembled in the proposed Singur plant. Such a factory wouldn’t create a lot of new jobs.

Since Trinamool Congress won from the Singur constituency in two Assembly elections in a row, the state government wanted to “punish” the people of Singur. Industrialisation was an expression of their political vengeance.

Do you think Bengal has achieved anything in the last thirty-two years under the Left rule?

We were very happy when the Marxists came to power in 1977. We supported them whole-heartedly. But our dreams were shattered soon after. Villages have been neglected for thirty-two long years – like electricity, safe drinking water is a dream in many villages; the government has done nothing to ensure proper irrigation for farmlands; Indira Housing Scheme also failed. The Left Front government has proved itself a conglomerate of failures.

Is your association with TMC chief Mamata Banerjee ideological or purely personal?

See, I’m a non-voter since the 1970s, and can’t support Trinamool Congress from a strict ideological standpoint. But I have known Mamata Banerjee for the last twenty years. She’s the only political person who’s got the guts to resign from cabinet ministry three times. She’s not one to scam or misappropriate government funds. The state lathi-charged on her and tried to intimidate her in many other ways, but she’s always undaunted.

Moreover, there’s something very down-to-earth about her demeanour. Common people can easily approach her and she’s a great support for women. Acceptability to the masses is a politician’s greatest test and the TMC chief has passed this test with panache. And it’s this acceptability that makes Mamata a great leader of the people. It’s a very rare quality we found in another great leader of our country – Mahatma Gandhi. Mamata’s simple, down-to-earth character makes her a Gandhian leader.

Do you think Mamata can bring that much-needed change?

It’s difficult to predict how the next incumbent will be. But whoever grabs the Chief Minister’s chair must remember that after thirty-two years of misrule people have lots of unfulfilled expectations from their government. Even in rural areas, people have become aware of their rights – their demands can’t be suppressed any more.


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