West Bengal has been on a decline ever since 1963, when the chief minister of the state Bidhan Chandra Roy passed away. He reinforced the foundations of the state after partition of 1947, got the Durgapur & Alloy Steel Plant, Chittaranjan Locomotives, India's 1st satellite town in Kalyani, Digha Beach Resort, expanded the engineering industries, set up engineering, technology, medical, management and other institutes.
It was the HQ of Birla, JK, Bangur and Thapar and Tata. The grand Tata Centre was built for that purpose. This was the vision of TATA's. Most of their investment was in Jamshedpur. Most foreign companies had their India HQs in Calcutta. This was the reason Calcutta has best of the Clubs in the country. Ithad the highest number of international flights, Bombay used to serve mainly Aden, Muscat and East Africa.
And then 'Ashok Kumar Nite' happened in Feb 1968. Women were dragged out and their naked dead raped bodies were found in and around the lake for the next two days. The CPM leaders (Jyoti Basu and co) called it "the rise of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie" and justified it.
Calcutta started emptying. Soon after, Aditya Birla was out of his car between GPO and RBI, opposite Writers Building, thrashed, clothes torn, stripped down to his undergarments and made to walk like that to office at 15 India Exchange Place. With a crowd roaring in laughter and jeering, he went home and took a flight to Bombay, never to return. He took all his money and offices out of Bengal. Today they are one of the top industrial houses in the country.
So did JK, so did Thapar, within a month. So did most entrepreneurs, so did most MNCs. Latest example was the ousting of Tato Nano. Those were 'Mass Exodus' of money and employment from the state. Today no industrial house plans to start any project in the state. That, this being the dream that the communists wanted and there is no change by the present government too.
Communists in West Bengal started their political power capturing from 'Ashok Kumar Nite' in 1968 and went through 'Sain Bari killings' in 1970, 'Marichjhapi massacre in 1979, 'Bijon Setu massacre' of 1982 to 'Bantala gang rape' of 1990, 'Nanoor massacre' of 2000 and 'Nandigram massacre' of 2007.
They destroyed the work culture and closed down thousands of factories in West Bengal in the name of violent Trade Union and Co-ordination Committee. Presently, the state has been infected with the culture of 'cut money', 'Syndicate', 'Para-teachers, Civic Volunteers and migration of lakhs of labourers to other states.
.......to be contd.
Tailpiece.
Got up at a trifle before 6, the chores and was ready by 10, after Girija had arrived at the office and given me hot water for bath.
Breakfast was biscuits and tea. Went out to confirm the booking of rooms for the participants of the state quiz competition AM 18. Bought books to be given away as prizes.
The 'sarga saayaahnam' saw Surya kathakrithu Jayadevan in action.
Second evening at the Foundation.
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