Prof Bhaskar examines the political and cultural transformation in West Bengal, detailing the decline of left-wing dominance and the rise of new forces, exclusively for Different Truths.
From the late 1960s till the late 1990s, I hardly found youths in West Bengal who were not wrapped in left ideas by which I understand pro-people’s ideas for their survival and, over time, their dignified living. Most of the youth, particularly during the late 1960s till early 1970s, were ideologically ignited, called by any name like Naxal and all. Since the early 1990s, the scenario changed – the left forces started experiencing less social support while the right and often autocratic-fascist forces started filling in the political vacuum. This needs critical examination, even if the above observations are partially true.
The initial thrust of Partition, 1947 and the influx of refugees from East Pakistan formed in 1947 as a prize of decolonisation or formal political independence led to rising crises in West Bengal in terms of rising population and its density in the inelastic geographic area, non-rehabilitation of this population, housing crises and particularly food crises of the mid-1960s. All these led to left movements, and despite intra-differences, the left came to capture state power. Parallel to the formation of government on the circumference in the mode of Parliamentary democracy, the other wing of the left remained radical.
A brief attention here to the socio-cultural canvas of West Bengal is warranted, on which the other forces work. This may not be specific to West Bengal, but the discourse here is centred on West Bengal.
Bhakti
The 27th of June was the day of Lord Jagannath. People across caste-community-gender-belief-education-age sent through WhatsApp photos of Lord Jagannath – and that only – to express good morning (Suprabhat). This reflects living in the belief that Lord Jagannath will shower blessings on them. I don’t have any idea if this blessing is all-inclusive or excludable, either. But people have their own cultural life. Of course, the street vendors and women domestic workers were outside this exchange of photos of the idol Jagannath. But Jagannath is not alone – there are other saviours like Maa Manasa during the monsoon, Maa Shitala for the cure of diseases like smallpox, Santoshi Maa relevant for women on each Friday for some purposes. All these determine the public life of West Bengal as observed. In the public place, puja of Shani God every Saturday is a compulsion with a professional priest and devotees engaged in preparation and distribution of fruits and cheap sweets as prasad. Then there is Bazar Kali, which is organised by vendors supported by local political leaders at the back, that fulfils hunger by the distribution of Khichdi. People at the bottom of the economic ladder fulfil both – hunger satisfied and blessings of the Goddess – protection assured.
Left or Left Out
Most of the above are out of the frontier of competence of the left. And probably the most organised segment of the left post-1964 seems lost post-1990s about the roadmap or the future course of action. Some mild protests were visible here and there – mostly Kolkata-centric. The doctors’ protests post-August 9, 2024, on public roads in Kolkata and suburban areas did not include the left, as it did not for other political organisations, too. West Bengal, being a political society, all these carry meaning in public life.
Middle Section
It has become a happy section by most of the visible indicators – protection of their own children for higher education, for sending and settling them in countries outside India, but claiming to be nationalist and patriotic. Most of them are micro-smart – that take nuclear family as the only safety zone, that, however, is occasionally lost for fearless roaming potential rapists like in cases of murder-cum-rape of a young doctor-on-duty at RG Kar Hospital in central Kolkata on August 9, 2024 or gang rape of a law student in Law college in Kasba, South Kolkata on June 27, 2025.
The above is not to connote that the middle section is specific to West Bengal only. The reason why the role of the middle section repeatedly comes is because they had been the forerunners in the Bengal renaissance and forerunners in the left movement in West Bengal post-1960s in independent India.
Impact of the Left and How it was Left Out
In my understanding, since the mid-1960s, the major political party on the left wing, along with its satellite small-sized parties, had a direct impact on public life by acknowledging labour and labourers, land and agriculture, tiny services in towns, and social relations that started declining since the days of personal charisma ended. Left ruled West Bengal for 34 years at a stretch and ended unceremoniously in an ignoble way, with much corrosion in the political-social system. The successor ruler went many steps ahead of the former, learnt from the former and imposed a rule based on autocracy minus political education and training. Political collusive duopoly in centre-state relations helped it.
The recent problems with the left leaders are that they cannot recite the Hanuman chalisa, cannot take a dip into the Varanasi Ganga just before political elections, cannot wash the feet in public of a selected Dalit, cannot take advantage of caste-ism and probably cannot encourage heavy-weight criminals on a large scale. These are apart from money-corporate power, so indispensable in electoral politics. The money-corporate power is not West Bengal-specific; it is pan-India and global. So, the left forces are constrained by multiple visible and invisible equations.
Comfort Zone
Comfort zone in the life of human beings differs based on the initial conditions or power conditions. The initial conditions are also not unique or homogenous – some are born in privileged families, and some are born outside the privileges. Rather than generalising the comfort zone for all, if I confine myself to the Bengali middle section in West Bengal post-1947, some characteristics come into visibility. One is micro-smart that protects the self and the nuclear family by any means. Two, indifference to whatever happens in the world that is identified as externality. Third, self-glorification, ideology-neutrality and ahistorical. Once history withers away, other activities refer only to the present to chalk out a roadmap for the future that is safe for future generations. A type of ‘guardian mode’ develops here – the next generation gets formal education but fails to distinguish between right and wrong, and may not care for social disutility when private utility is guaranteed.
Relevance of the Left
If the above is considered seriously, the relevance of the left may be well understood, which might show the way for mass interest, relevance of public institutions, and non-adverse inclusion of people in economic activities. This is not to glorify the left but to ponder over the fact of inclusion of people at the bottom – ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ (inclusive development).
Left or Lost
Probably because of the mismatch between the public aspirations and the rule by the left, the latter had been left out through the political process of voting. An easy-going, basically unstructured political party has been ruling for more than past one decade, which also included people in a way different from its predecessor. The difference lies in culture by language-behaviour in the public domain, understanding honesty-dishonesty, truth-lies, private-public, institutions and non-institutions. West Bengal probably lost understanding of all these, though not the whole of it at a time, with the left being left out. Had society been apolitical in West Bengal, the post-left era would not have been lost. The fact is, it is a political society, particularly since the mid-1960s.
Poverty-miseducation was allowed to play in a refugee-dense West Bengal post-1947 rather than rehabilitating them through housing, education, and protective health care. Crises of the mid-1960s enhanced the agony of West Bengal that ultimately paved the path for anarchy post-2010. In between, it was some pro-people activities that kept people’s expectations alive. Party-based blame game does not help the hungry-poor-unemployed-women. If expectations are not lost forever, the society of West Bengal can ponder over what went wrong and what can be done immediately for damage control. Development is a long way from going.
Concluding Comments
Notwithstanding the achievement of a tiny section from within the middle section in West Bengal, most of the constituents of this section are cocooned in the past glory of the 19th century, and it seems less concerned about the agony and anarchy of West Bengal of the 21st century. Let there be no elasticity of imagination that political society creates social development or the glory of an era. By extension, left is not to be tested on that canvas. It is the people-inclusive culture that frees people from captivated thinking – let the left take the lead.
Picture design by Anumita Roy
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