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Memories of Marxism in a Post-colonial city: Calcutta, c. 1971-1993

Debraj B attac arya !nstitute of "ocial "ciences

A fortnight after the defeat of Left Front in 2011 Assembly election in the Indian states of West Bengal and Kerala, one of Indias foremost historians, Ramchandra !ha, "rote an article in a maga#ine called The Caravan$ %e started the essay by saying& '(he recent defeat of the )omm!nist *arty of India +,ar-ist. in Kerala and West Bengal / "here it r!led for 01 !ninterr!2ted years / calls for a detached, dis2assionate analysis of the 2artys 2lace in the history of modern India$1 What str!c3 me "as Reading !has !se of the "ords 'detached and 'dis2assionate and his desire to ascertain )*I4,s '2lace in the history of modern India$ !has sentence, ironically eno!gh, made it clear to me "hat I "as str!ggling to do since 2005406 follo"ing !nfort!nate incidents at 7ing!r and 8andigram$ It "as aro!nd this time that I started to as3 myself the 9!estion, '%o" did I become interested in ,ar-ism and "hat do I still belie:e in; As3ing s!ch a 9!estion in a mood of intros2ection "as 2art of a general mood of des2air "ith the state of )*I4,, and by e-tension ,ar-ism in West Bengal<India$ What !ha "as s!ggesting in the sentence mentioned abo:e "as "hat as a st!dent of %istory I had learnt / one sho!ld maintain a distance from the ob=ect of st!dy and analy#e the ob=ect of st!dy as if the analyst is an o!tsider<a :isitor<a =!dge, trying to find the tr!th abo!t a 2erson, 2eriod of time, a 2olitical regime, the socio4economic str!ct!re of :illage etc$ (he 9!estion I "as trying to gra22le "ith on the other hand "as this / ho" do I "rite as an insider to a certain historical e-2erience; Instead of trying to "rite a history of ,ar-ism or a 2artic!lar ,ar-ist 2arty or a 2artic!lar 2lace r!led by a ,ar-ist go:ernment "hat if I tried to !nderstand ho" I became interested in ,ar-ism and ho" does my story relate to the ebb and flo" of historical changes d!ring a 2artic!lar 2eriod of time; What follo"s is an attem2t to create s!ch a narrati:e$

Ramchandra !ha, After the Fall, The Caravan, 1 >!ne 2011, htt2&<<cara:anmaga#ine$in<7tory$as2-; 7toryid?@1AB7tory7tyle?F!ll7tory, chec3ed on 0A$12$11$
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#arly $ays I "as born in a 2ri:ate 8!rsing %ome in a 2lace called C!md!m in 8orth )alc!tta in the year 1@51, the year made famo!s by ,rinal 7en in his film Kolkata Ekattor2 +)alc!tta 51.$ (he 2re:io!s fe" years had seen the most :iolent er!2tion of comm!nist mo:ement in the history of West Bengal / the 8a-alite ,o:ement,0 or the Nokshal Andolon$ By 1@51 ho"e:er the mo:ement "as grad!ally beginning to s!bside and the state go:ernment !nder 7iddhartha 7an3ar Ray "as gaining control o:er it$ (he 2rocess of gaining control "as anything b!t democratic and h!ndreds of st!dents and follo"ers of the mo:ement "ere tort!red and 3illed in the name of la" and order$ (here "ere :iolent incidents of retaliation as "ell from the side of the 8a-alites and it became 9!ite common to find someone in the neighbo!rhood to be missing or dead$ (o ma3e matters more com2licated, the 're:ol!tionary and the 'criminal became intert"ined and "ho "as getting 3illed for 2olitical reasons and "ho "as getting 3illed for 2ersonal reasons "as sometimes diffic!lt to determine$ ,y 2arents still feel 2aranoid abo!t those days$ ,y mother recalls that e:ery e:ening she !sed to remain tense as to "hether her h!sband "o!ld ret!rn home safely or not$ ,y 2arents also remember dead bodies being carried a"ay in a cart in front of them$ While my 2arents still see the 8a-alite re:olt as a 2eriod of t!rmoil that sho!ld not come bac3, there "ere other shades of 2o2!lar o2inion in the "orld I ha:e inhabited$ (he first "as that the 8a-alites "ere heroic re:ol!tionaries "ho belong to the same tradition as the re:ol!tionary e-tremists of the colonial era$ (he second "as that they "ere good idealistic yo!th "ho someho" "ent the "rong "ay es2ecially "hen they chose the 2ath of :iolent re:ol!tion$ (he third "as that they "ere nothing b!t DdalalsE +agents. of )hina and it "as good that 7iddhartha 7an3ar Ray dealt "ith them forcef!lly$ (here is no scientific o2inion 2oll to determine the 2ercentages for each s!ch 2osition, b!t all these o2inions co!ld be fo!nd as I gre" !2 and 2erha2s e-ist e:en today$ What is e9!ally tr!e is that more than the historical facts abo!t the mo:ement "hat contin!es to e-ist in 2o2!lar
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,rinal 7en, Calcutta 71, *rod!ced by C7 *ict!res, 1@52$

For a history of the 8a-alite ,o:ement see 7!manta Baner=ee, In the Wake of Naxalbari: A istor! of the Naxalite "ove#ent in India, 7!barnare3ha, Kol3ata, 1@60F India$s %i##erin& 'evolution: The Naxalite ()risin&* Ged Boo3s,London, 1@61+ Rabindra Ray, The Naxalites and their Ideolo&!* H-ford Ini:ersity *ress, 8e" Celhi,1@66$
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imagination is a certain stereoty2e / that of a thin, bearded yo!th in !nclean ,an-abi "ho smo3es hea:ily and has a -hola +side bag., so m!ch so that if a yo!ng man decides to ha:e a beard, he may +half4serio!sly. face the 9!estion, DAre yo! becoming a 8a-alite;E I ha:e no direct memory of 8a-alite mo:ement$ (he mo:ement entered my conscio!sness thro!gh films li3e )alc!tta51 and 7amaresh ,a=!mdars no:el, Kalbela*1 "hich "as later made into a film by o!tam hosh$J ,y earliest memory starts from a rented ho!se in C!md!m, north Kol3ata, "here my 2arents !sed to li:e in a =oint4family "ith my grandfather and grandmother, t"o a!nts and t"o !ncles$ (here "ere others in the family, li3e my -!atha +my fathers elder brother. and some of my fathers co!sins "ho also li:ed nearby$ It "as a large ho!se in com2arison to todays flat bari +a2artments in m!lti4storied b!ildings. standards "ith a largish bac3yard$ I remember :ery little of that ho!se d!ring the 2eriod "hen "e !sed to stay there as "e shifted to a rented ho!se in 7o!th )alc!tta "hen I "as abo!t fo!r years old$ >oint4 families "ere brea3ing do"n into n!clear ones and o!r family "as no e-ce2tion$ (his ho"e:er did not mean that that the ties "ere com2letely lost and "e :ery often "ent to :isit o!r grand2arents$ ("o :is!als of this 2eriod stand o!t in my mind$ (he first "as that of my grandmother "ho "as an intensely religio!s 2erson and !sed to ha:e her o"n 2rayer room .thakur &hor/ and "e !sed to en=oy the rit!als "here :ario!s s!gar candies .batasha and nokul dana/ "ere dished o!t to !s$ (he food that "as ser:ed after the )u-as at home "as also 9!ite delicio!s$ (he second memory is that of my grandfather "ho "as a criminal la"yer and !sed to ha:e his office +!s!ally called 'chamber. in the o!ter 2art of the ho!se$ (his room !sed to be 2o2!lated in the e:ening by all sorts of 2eo2le, some "ere I g!ess his clients and some "ere 2eo2le "ho !sed to =!st dro2 by$ I 3ne" that this "as the s2ace for gro"n !2 2eo2le + boroder -aa!&a. and I "as not s!22osed to go there$ I first got to see some 'red boo3s at my maternal grandmothers 2lace, "hich 2robably my !ncle had collected and read at some 2oint as a yo!ng man$ 7ometimes there "ere disc!ssions of contem2orary 2olitics at home$ It is at this stage 2erha2s that !nconscio!sly the first fe" "ords and ideas of ,ar-ism began to enter me$ ,ar-ism "as less clearly !nderstood by me at this 2oint as a 2olitical 2hiloso2hy and more as the ideology of the 2olitical 2arty that my family
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7amaresh ,a=!mdar, Kalbela, Ananda *!blishers,Kol3ata, 1@61$ o!tam hoshe, Kalbela, 2rod!ced by Coordarshan, 200@$

s!22orted$ It "as, I !nderstood the most 2rogressi:e 2olitical 2arty of the co!ntry and to be 2rogressi:e meant s!22orting )*I4,$ By the time I "as abo!t eight or nine I came to !nderstand that the hammer and sic3le icon meant a 2arty of ordinary fol3s + sadharon #anush. li3e !s and not of the rich +borolok.$ )om2licated conce2ts li3e 'dialectical materialism, 'class conscio!sness etc$ "ere still 9!ite far a"ay$ I had also come to 3no" of the 8a-alites b!t "as not clear as to "hat the differences bet"een )*I4, and 8a-alites "ere$ By 1@60 )old War had cre2t into my conscio!sness$ 8ot thro!gh a so!nd reading of international relations b!t thro!gh the disco!rse s!rro!nding the Hlym2ic sched!led to be held in the I77R b!t I7A had boycotted the I7A "as afraid of losing to 'good I77R$ In 1@61 my 2arents "ere relie:ed "hen I finally managed to 2ass the entrance e-am of a "ell4 3no"n school in 7o!th )alc!tta, *atha Bha:an$ (he school "as created by a gro!2 of ed!cationists affiliated to the )omm!nist *arty of India +)*I. and "as hea:ily infl!enced by the ed!cational 2hiloso2hy of Rabindranath (agore$ (he most im2ortant contrib!tion of my school in my !2bringing "as that it made me a biblio2hile$ I en=oyed reading boo3s by the masters of Bengali literat!re s!ch as (agore and also the literat!re meant for teenagers + kishore0 sahit!a. by a!thors s!ch as 7atya=it Ray, Bimal Kar, *remendra ,itra, 7!nil ang!ly, 7irsend! ,!3ho2adhaya, 7a3ti2ada Ra=g!r! and others$ (here "as also the slightly more ad!lt detecti:e fiction of 7aradind! Bandyo2adhaya$ (here "ere also the Bengali translations of >!les Kerne by Adrish Bardhan$ 7lo"ly I also began to read boo3s in Lnglish starting "ith Lnid Blyton and then mo:ing on 7herloc3 %olmes and thriller "riters s!ch as Alistair ,cLean$ Lnid Blyton "as the first ste22ing stone to"ards Lnglish lang!age confidence$ ,y lo:e for boo3s slo"ly too3 me to"ards becoming a member of the childrens library at the Rama3rishna ,ission Instit!te of )!lt!re in ol2ar3 area of 7o!th )alc!tta$ %ere, in the library of a religio!s instit!tion, I disco:ered some of the most "onderf!l boo3s on modern art, scientific disco:eries, and ill!strated histories of modern L!ro2e that hel2ed to form a modernist mythology inside me$ (his "as a mythology of 2rogress and science as o22osed to religion and blind faith$ ames "hich "as ames$ We had ta3en the side of

the 7o:iet Inion +in Bengali "e 2referred to say 'Raa4she4aa.$ We li3ed to belie:e that 'bad

Reading boo3s "as only one 2art of the story$ I also de:elo2ed a fascination for b!ying boo3s and "riting my name on them$ (he 2rinci2al st!mbling bloc3 in this 2!rs!it "as of co!rse money$ I !sed to roam aro!nd the second4hand boo34stalls near ol2ar3 "hich !sed to ha:e a "ide range of second hand boo3s / from Lncyclo2edias to 2ornogra2hic maga#ines$ While I did b!y some im2ortant boo3s from these stalls s!ch as )arl 7agans Cos#osA and maga#ines s!ch as National 1eo&ra)hic, Ti#e and Ne2s2eek, nothing co!ld match the delight of holding a brand ne" boo3 in ones hand$ (he e-change rate :is4M4:is British *o!nd and I7 Collar at that 2oint in time "as not as harsh as it is today b!t still b!ying a boo3 2!blished by *eng!in, for e-am2le, "as not easy$ Fort!nately there "as a m!ch more attracti:e alternati:e$ (he boo3 stall that I :isited the most d!ring this time, on the other side of the second4hand stalls of ol2ar3, a small sho2 o"ned by a certain Ti2ari0-i, !sed to ha:e a series of bea!tif!lly 2rod!ced b!t ine-2ensi:e hard bo!nd boo3s coming from I77R$ (he "or3s of masters s!ch as (olstoy, or3y, Costoye:s3y, ogol and others "ere a:ailable in richly ill!strated hardbo!nd editions that e:en I co!ld b!y$ It "as im2ossible not to get attracted to these boo3s and of co!rse the "riting "as mesmeri#ing to say the least$ (he lo:e of these R!ssian boo3s also too3 me, li3e many others, to"ards boo3s by ,ar- and Lngels, Lenin and 7talin$ (he big fat :ol!mes of Ca)ital "ere still a little too intimidating to b!y +and read. b!t the boo3 that acted as the bridge bet"een me and ,ar-ism "as a no:el named D%o" the 7teel "as (em2eredE 5 by a relati:ely !n3no"n "riter named 8i3olai Hstro:s3y$ (he boo3 "as immensely 2o2!lar at that 2oint in time in )alc!tta and also had a Bengali :ersion named DIs2atE or 7teel$ Its 2rotagonist, a yo!ng man named *a:el Korchagin, left a dee2 im2ression not only on me b!t on many yo!ng hearts of my age$

%ei& bour oo$ Hne of the earliest memories I ha:e of the hammer and sic3le "as the 2ro2aganda cam2aign that "as carried o!t by )*I4, "or3ers on the neighbo!rhood "alls$ Beca!se of my interest in :is!al
)arl 7agan, Cos#os, Random %o!se, 8e" Nor3, 1@6J$ (he interest in the boo3 "as generated by the tele:ision serial by the same name "hich )arl 7agan !sed to anchor$
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8i3olai Hstoro:s3y, o2 the %teel 2as Te#)ered: A Novel in T2o ,arts, *rogress *!blishers, ,osco", 1@5@$
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arts as a child I !sed to be fascinated by the ama#ing de-terity "ith "hich the 2arty "or3ers of )*I4, !sed to "rite their election cam2aign slogans on the "alls$ (he "alls of the neighbo!rhood "ere first ta3en o:er for 2arty slogans and graffiti before the elections$ Firstly, one gro!2 of =!nior artists "o!ld come a "hite4"ash the 2ortion of the "all and "rite DAll "all )*I4,E "ith a f!t!re date attached to it, thereby im2lying that the "all belonged to the 2arty till then$ (hen the senior artists came and in bea!tif!l calligra2hy "rote slogans s!ch as D #arkin s#ra-!obad ni)at -aakE +Co"n "ith I7 im2erialism. and 3ba#front sorkar ke bi)ul bhote! -o!i korun4 +Kote Left Front to :ictory. and in:ariably there "as a hammer and sic3le ne-t to the slogan 2ainted in bold$ (he foc!s of the 2arty acti:ities in o!r neighbo!rhood "as a sl!m called 1obardan&a 5asti6 When the dadas belonging to the )ongress *arty !sed to go to the sl!ms they !sed to beha:e li3e fe!dal lords and refer to the 2eo2le of the sl!ms in the derogatory D tuiE mode$ Left Front on the other hand la!nched a serio!s sl!m im2ro:ement 2rogramme$ 8ot that the sl!m "as radically transformed b!t electricity and drin3ing "ater "ere ens!red$ What "as most im2ortant "as that the sl!m d"ellers fo!nd a ne" sense of dignity :is4M4:is the middle4class babus of the neighbo!rhood, a 2henomenon that "as obser:ed by $K Lieten 6 in r!ral West Bengal as "ell$ It "as no more 2ossible for middle4class babus to tal3 to them in an !ndignified manner$ (his ne" fo!nd sense of dignity "as e-2ressed by the sl!m d"ellers in a rather inno:ati:e manner$(here "ere three different )u-as in the neighbo!rhood / the %aras2ati ,u-a +mainly organi#ed by teenagers., the 7ur&a ,u-a +organi#ed by the middle4class dominated )l!b of the neighbo!rhood. and t"o Kali ,u-as / one by the middle4class yo!th and the other by the sl!m d"ellers$ (he sl!m d"ellers ne:er 2artici2ated in the C!rga *!=a as it "as considered to be a 2!=a of the bab!s$ Kali "as on the other hand closer to the s!baltern sensibility of the sl!m d"ellers and also a symbol of 2o"er$ What "as most stri3ing ho"e:er "as the difference in the m!sic that "as 2layed in the t"o 2!=as$ (he middle4class yo!ths "ere hea:ily into Bolly"ood m!sic at that 2oint in time and m!sic of the latest bloc3b!ster from Bolly"ood !sed to be 2layed o!t lo!dly in their )andals$ Hn the other hand the sl!m d"ellers made it a 2oint to 2lay only %h!a#asan&eet, a form of Bengali de:otional m!sic e-cl!si:ely for goddess Kali$ (here "as a c!lt!ral statement in this 2olitics of the m!sic / the sl!m d"ellers tried to sho" that they "ere more c!lt!red than the middle4class babus of the neighbo!rhood altho!gh they "ere 2oorer$
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K Lieten, Continuit! and Chan&e in 'ural West 5en&al, 7age, 8e" Celhi, 1@@2$

,y 2arents ne:er became radical comm!nists b!t they ta!ght !s to treat "or3ers "ith res2ect$ (his got reflected in the "ay "e addressed domestic ser:ants and other members of the "or3ing class "ho :isited o!r ho!sehold$ For e-am2le, "e "o!ld call o!r ho!semaid "ho "as older than !s by the same s!ffi- as "e "o!ld call any other female older than !s / %anaka0di$ 7imilarly an electrician !sed to come e:ery no" and then for :ario!s 3ind of re2air "or3 and he !sed to call my father "ith the s!ffi- DdaE instead of the more traditional DbabooE and "e !sed to address him as D7idhyes"ar4daE =!st as "e "o!ld call any elderly 2erson in o!r class$ (hey "ere not made to feel that they belonged to lo"er class and caste in the lang!age in "hich they "ere tal3ed to$ I "as in fact 9!ite fond of 7idhyes"ar4da "ho "as a reg!lar 2arty member$ It "as he "ho introd!ced )*I4,s 2arty ne"s2a2er 1anashakti to my father "ho became a s!bscriber$ It "as initially a fo!r42age "ee3ly and later on became a daily$ It "as 2arty 2olicy that e:ery member, and 7idhys"ar4da "as one of them, had to sell a certain n!mber of 2a2ers e:ery month$ %ence he a22roached my father$ In my mental register another name slo"ly came to be ingrained as I "as gro"ing !2 / )art! office$ (his "as technically s2ea3ing the office of the local committee of )*I4,$ I "as not directly associated "ith it b!t the 2arty office "as an im2ortant landmar3 by 1@6146J$ 7o for e-am2le "hile gi:ing directions to someone it "as 9!ite common to say / D"al3 straight, yo! "ill see the 2arty office and then$$$E ,ore than any indi:id!al, )*I4, "as re2resented by the 2arty office or L), i$e$, Local )ommittee$ It is some"hat embarrassing for me to admit it, b!t the tr!th needs to be told, at this stage I had no 3no"ledge of "hat is land reform and "hat is )ancha!ati ra- / the t"o 2illars of Left Fronts s!ccess in West Bengal after coming to 2o"er$ H!r o"n e-2erience as city d"ellers "as of 2rolonged 2o"er4c!ts$ (he "ord Dgo:ernmentE someho" did not become a res2ectable one e:en tho!gh a re:ol!tionary 2arty had come to 2o"er and "e stoically co2ed "ith 2o"er c!ts +2o2!larly 3no"n as Dloadsheddin&E. almost e:ery e:ening, es2ecially d!ring the s!mmer months$ Left Front contin!ed to be s!22orted in o!r family more beca!se the 2arty "as 2art of o!r identity rather than beca!se of its 2erformance in !rban areas$ (here "as also endemic :iolence in o!r neighbo!rhood bet"een the criminal elements of the t"o sl!ms on t"o sides of o!r neighbo!rhood "hich "as bro!ght !nder control after m!ch effort by the 2olice$ (he e-2erience of riding in a 2!blic b!s "as also not 2leas!rable to say the least$ (he b!ses tended to

be o:ercro"ded and getting a toe hold on the ste2s of the b!s !sed to re9!ire lot of s3ill$ B!t for teenagers li3e me getting into a Dr!nning b!sE i$e$ "hile the b!s "as on the mo:e "as a so!rce of masc!line 2ride$ Altho!gh it is tr!e that the Left Front had sec!red a strong 2osition d!ring this time and I "as coming !nder :ario!s ty2es of ,ar-ist infl!ences it "o!ld be a mista3e not to note an im2ortant social transformation that "as ta3ing 2lace in middle4class society d!ring the eighties$ Among my schoolmates there "as already a trend that became more and more 2rono!nced as years "ent by / not to be interested in 2olitics or 2olitical ideology at all and concentrate solely on st!dies and career b!ilding$ (imes had changed from the late si-ties and early se:enties$ *erha2s beca!se of the e-2erience of the br!tal re2ression of the 8a-alite mo:ement in "hich many bright st!dents had lost their li:es, 2arents in middle4class Bengal "ere more and more becoming conser:ati:e and rigidly 2!shing their children li3e race horses into a clearly defined career 2ath / 2ass ,adhyami3 +class ten le:el. "ith highest 2ossible scores, =oin D7cienceE stream in %igher 7econdary and then a22ear for D>ointE and DII(E i$e$ entrance le:el tests for medical and engineering streams$ (hat defined s!ccess$ (o be interested in 2olitics "as an e-ce2tion rather than the r!le$ Before 2roceeding f!rther, it may be !sef!l to 2!t the time I am tal3ing abo!t in terms of the standard historical narrati:e of West Bengal$@ (he 2eriod 1@A5455 "as a 2eriod of 2olitical t!rmoil, incl!ding the 8a-alite mo:ement and the Bangladesh liberation "ar "hich led to massi:e infl!- of ref!gees from across the border$ R!ral 2o:erty "as :ery high$ West Bengal
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At 2resent there is no single :ol!me that traces the history of West Bengal d!ring the late se:enties and

early eighties altho!gh there are boo3s and articles on :ario!s iss!es related to the 2eriod$ A !sef!l o:er:ie" is At!l Kohli, 7e#ocrac! and 7iscontent: India$s 1ro2in& Crisis of 1overnabilit!* )ambridge Ini:ersity *ress, )ambridge, 1@@0, cha2ter 10$ 7ee also Ben Rogaly, Barbara %arriss4White and 7!gata Bose, %onar 5an&la8: A&ricultural 1ro2th and A&rarian Chan&e in West 5en&al and 5an&ladesh* 7age, 8e" Celhi,1@@@F 7!nil 7eng!2ta and %aris a#dar 'Agrarian *olitics and R!ral Ce:elo2ment in West Bengal in >ean CrO#e and Amartya 7en +ed$. Indian 7evelo)#ent: %elected 'e&ional ,ers)ectives , H-ford Ini:ersity *ress, 8e" Celhi, 1@@AF Ross ,allic3, 7evelo)#ent ,olicies of a Co##unist 1overn#ent: West 5en&al %ince 1977 , )ambridge Ini:ersity *ress, )ambridge, 1@@0F

$K$ Lieten,

Continuit! and Chan&e in 'ural West 5en&al, 7age, 8e" Celhi, 1@@2, %arihar Bhattacharya, "icro0foundations of 5en&al Co##unis#, A=anta, 8e" Celhi, 1@@6$

"as ho"e:er still a leader in ind!strial 2rod!ction in India$ (he :a#indari system "as abolished b!t agric!lt!re and agrarian relations "ere yet to be moderni#ed$ )alc!tta "as the most im2ortant city, indeed the only ma=or city of the state "hich had to co2e "ith an enormo!s 2o2!lation 2ress!re beca!se of the infl!- of the ref!gees from across the border s!ch as my o"n family$10 In co!rse of the eighties r!ral West Bengal sa" a three4fold transformation for "hich a certain amo!nt of credit goes to the Left Front$ (he first t"o "ere land reform and 2anchayati ra= and the third "as the green re:ol!tion$ reen Re:ol!tion "as ho"e:er not necessarily the credit of the Left Front$ (here is a debate among scholars as to "hether land reform and 2anchayati ra= led to greater 2rod!cti:ity b!t there is no do!bt that beca!se of these three transformations 2!t together r!ral 2o:erty "as 9!ite dramatically red!ced tho!gh not eliminated$ %o"e:er on the other hand West Bengal began to "itness a steady decline in ind!strial 2rod!ction$ (he city "as clearly less of a 2riority for the Left Front "hich e-2lains "hy "e had to co2e "ith 2o"er c!ts and cro"ded b!ses$ *olitically this "as the time "hen )ongress began to decline and )*I4, grad!ally strengthened its 2arty machinery in both !rban and r!ral areas$ Bet"een 1@55 and 1@6J Left Front "as able to establish itself firmly as the hegemon in West Bengal$ (he 8a-alites had become 2olitically insignificant and di:ided into inn!merable factions$ (he di:ision bet"een the democratic left and the re:ol!tionary left, tho!gh, "as cast in stone and they sa" each other as enemies rather than as comrades$

#n$ of t e "o'iet Dream In 1@6J "e came to 3no" that a certain ,i3hail orbache: has become the eneral 7ecretary of the )omm!nist *arty of 7o:iet Inion$ From :ario!s so!rces I co!ld gather that here "as a man "ho "as trying to do something different, trying to rectify the ills of 7o:iet Inion and "as
10

,y fathers family "as from (angail and my mothers family "as from 7ylhet$

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certainly as glamoro!s as Ronald Reagan, the I7 *resident$ (erms s!ch as &lastnost11 and )erestroika12 became familiar to !s$ (he festi:al of India in ,osco" and orbache:s :isit to India "as "idely co:ered on tele:ision and "e admired the s!a:e charm of the man$ 7o:iet leaders "ere !s!ally grim b!t here "as a man "ho "as smiling$ At the 1@66 Hlym2ics 7o:iet Inion "on 102 medals +JJ old, 01 7il:er and 1A Bron#e., Last ermany "on 102 medals +05 old, 01 7il:er, 25 old, 0J 7il:er, 00 Bron#e. and I7A came third "ith only @1 medals +0A

Bron#e.$ (his "as again a th!m2ing :ictory for !s$ It may seem strange today b!t at that 2oint in time the ne"s of the 2roblems of the I7 economy "as more in the air than something going terribly "rong in the 7o:iet Inion$ I7A "as ha:ing a trillion dollar national debt and a monthly P1J billion deficit$ Hn 1@ Hctober 1@65, DBlac3 ,ondayE it "as called, I7 7toc3 ,ar3et crashed$ Co" >ones "ent do"n by J06 2oints in one day$ %alf a trillion I7 Collar "orth of "ealth "as lost$ (his "as the biggest crisis of the I7 economy since 1@2@$ By the end of the year more than 16,000 Americans "ere fo!nd to be s!ffering from a ne" inc!rable disease called AIC7$ Hn 1 >an!ary, 1@66 Ti#e ,aga#ine declared its ,an of the Near / ,i3hail (he same iss!e described 1@65 as Dthe ro!ghest yearE for I7A$ Amidst all these +"hat then loo3ed li3e. 2ositi:e as2ects and "ithin o:erall sense of ass!rance of a modernist ,ar-ist ideology, there "ere a fe" minor crac3s in my belief system$ From 1@6A465, I had de:elo2ed a habit of b!ying old co2ies of Ti#e and Ne2s2eek from the second4hand boo3sho2s in the ol2ar3 area$ It may be noted here that there "as no internet at that 2oint of time and there "as no sco2e of "atching international tele:ision channels$ In this information star:ed 2eriod the ne"s maga#ines "ere the only so!rce of serio!s =o!rnalistic re2orts$ Hne of the attractions "as of co!rse the brilliant 2hotogra2hs, b!t the detailed ne"s re2orts on the Lastern Bloc3 that "ere coming d!ring this time "ere raising a fe" do!bts$ I "as not able to dismiss them as bo!rgeois 2ro2aganda$ orbache:$

' lasnost, as is no" "idely 3no"n, literally means 'o2enness$ It "as a 2olicy initiated by ,i3hail orbache: that so!ght to increase trans2arency in go:ernance of 7o:iet Inion$ 7ee 7te2hen F )ohen and Katrina Kanden %e!:el, ;oices of 1lasnost: Intervie2s 2ith 1orbachev<s 'efor#ers $ W$ W$ 8orton B )om2any, 8e" Nor3, 1@6@$
11

'*erestroi3a literally means 'restr!ct!ring and refers to the 2olicy of restr!ct!ring of the 7o:iet economy and 2olity !nderta3en by ,i3hail orbache:$ 7ee *rem 7han3ar >ha, The ,erilous 'oad to the "arket: The ,olitical Econo#! of 'efor# in 'ussia* India and China , *l!to *ress, London, 2000$
12

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(hen came the first big shoc3$ I "as eighteen years old$ I "as shoc3ed by "hat ha22ened at the (iananmen 79!are in )hina$10 ,y yo!ngest !ncle, "ho "as in his late t"enties, "as the only member of my family "ho "as an acti:e member of )*I4, for some time$ In fact the co2y of )omm!nist ,anifesto that I inherited "as 2resented by him to my mother on her birthday in 1@5J$ Chhotka, as I !sed to call him +meaning the yo!ngest !ncle. "as 9!ite close to me$ We shared a common anti4religio!s attit!de and a lo:e for literat!re$ I remember that after the (iananmen ,assacre I had a h!ge 9!arrel "ith him$ %e agreed that the e:ent "as tragic b!t contin!ed to arg!e that for the sa3e of the re:ol!tion this had to be done, there "as no other "ay$ I "as not con:inced b!t remained in a state of conf!sion$ A fe" months later came the second big shoc3 / the Berlin Wall fell in 1@6@$ 11 It "as diffic!lt to ma3e sense of "hat "as going on$ B!t the images of yo!ths brea3ing the "all and mo:ing from Last to West ermany "ere diffic!lt to absorb$ (here "as also a feeling that more "as in store$ B!t "hat "as abo!t to ha22en "as beyond anybodys "ildest imagination$ It "ill be "rong, ho"e:er, to 2ro=ect the years 1@6641@@0 only as years of internal 2olitical crisis$ By middle of 1@66 my ,adhyami3 e-amination +7tandard 10 le:el. "as o:er and I "as no" relie:ed that I had the freedom to st!dy only the social science s!b=ects$ (hese years "ere also the years of a22roaching ad!lthood / b!n3ing school, going on :acation "ith friends, tasting alcohol, and "atching mo:ies only meant for ad!lts$ In 9!otidian terms life in fact became better as "e shifted to an !22er middle class locality of 7o!th )alc!tta called olf reen as my father got a 9!arter there$ (he horrible days of 2o"er c!ts "ere also a thing of the 2ast$ (he locality "as 2lanned and !n!s!ally for )alc!tta, had considerable amo!nt of greenery$ ,y academic sit!ation also loo3ed bright for the first time in life as I did s!r2risingly "ell in the %igher 7econdary L-amination in 1@@0 and e:en managed to 2ass the entrance e-amination of *residency )ollege, "hich "as at that 2oint in time one of the best !ndergrad!ate colleges in India$ ,y 2arents at last had something to feel 2ro!d of me$ (h!s ironically "hile my ideological "orld "as in t!rmoil the 2ractical side of life "as indeed loo3ing good$

Li! Binyan, R!an ,ing and Q! Random %o!se, 8e" Nor3, 1@6@$
13 14

ang, Tell the World: What ha))ened in China and Wh! $

William F B!c3ley >r$, The =all of the 5erlin Wall* >ohn Wiley and 7ons, 8e" Nor3, 2001$

12

Wal3ing in thro!gh the gates of *residency )ollege as a st!dent "as not =!st a matter of entering into one of the finest colleges in India b!t entering into a Bengali mythological s2ace that "ent bac3 to the so called Bengal Renaissance$1J It "as not sim2ly a matter of im2ro:ing ones career 2ros2ects b!t also finding ones foothold in the imaginary s2ace of modern Indias meritocratic elite$ (heoretically at least, only merit "as im2ortant, anybody "ho co!ld 2ay R!2ees 7e:enteen 2er month co!ld st!dy, and the s2ace "as o2en to men and "omen irres2ecti:e of caste or religion$ (he reality "as some"hat different from the myth, altho!gh that did not red!ce the significance of the instit!tion as a moderni#ing s2ace$ (he eology de2artment, for e-am2le, "as o2en only to male st!dents and the hostel for male st!dents "as o2en only to %ind!s$ 7imilarly "hile the )ollege "as o2en to st!dents from all bac3gro!nds o!r school ed!cation system "as s!ch that the o:er"helming ma=ority of the st!dents "ere from )alc!tta rather than the districts, from 2ri:ate rather than go:ernment schools, o:er"helmingly !22er caste %ind! and hardly e:er belonging to the 2oorer sections of the society$ I can recall only a fe" ,!slim st!dents and cannot recall a single st!dent from 7ched!led (ribe bac3gro!nd$ %a:ing said this, it m!st be admitted that *residency )ollege re2resented one of the finest e-am2les in the co!ntry of liberal h!manities tradition / "here debate "as enco!raged and tho!ghts "ere not censored and both male and female st!dents en=oyed a s2ace of relati:e gender e9!ality$ Loo3ing bac3, I thin3 I "as fort!nate to get some o!tstanding teachers 2recisely at a 2oint of time "hen I had reached a stage of intellect!al and emotional conf!sion$ Coing my !ndergrad!ate co!rse in %istory "as of co!rse abo!t trying to get the co:eted Dfirst classE in order to im2ro:e my career 2ros2ects, b!t it "as a lot more than that$ (he D%istoryE that "e read in school "as rather boring and "as almost all abo!t rote learning rather than ind!lgence in debates$ (han3s to my teachers, %istory no" became more abo!t inter2retations by :ario!s %istorians rather than a bland chronology of facts$ While ,ar-ism o!tside the class room "as facing its greatest challenge e:er, inside the class room it "as almost im2ossible to deny the

Ca:id Ko2f, 5ritish >rientalis# and the 5en&al 'enaissance: The 7!na#ics of Indian "oderni?ation , Ini:ersity of )alifornia *ress, Ber3ley, 1@A@F 7!sobhan 7ar3ar, >n the 5en&al 'enaissance* *a2yr!s, Kol3ata, 1@5@F 7ibnarayan Ray& 5en&al 'enaissance: The =irst ,hase , ,iner:a Associates, Kol3ata, 2000, 7!brata Casg!2ta, 5en&al 'enaissance: Identit! and Creativit! fro# 'a##ohun 'a! to 'abindranath Ta&ore, *ermanent Blac3, 8e" Celhi, 2005, 7!mit 7ar3ar, A Criti@ue of Colonial India, *a2yr!s, Kol3ata,1@6J$
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,ar-ist %istorians their s!2remacy$ (he "or3s of C$ C$ Kosambi 1A and Romila (ha2ar15 in Ancient Indian %istory, that of Irfan %abib 16 in ,edie:al Indian %istory, that of 7!mit 7ar3ar 1@ in case of ,odern Indian %istory, Lric %obsba"m, 20 great 2ride$ At the same time tho!gh, "e "ere introd!ced to some of the challenges that ,ar-ist inter2retations "ere beginning to face$ Irfan %abib "as being challenged by 're:isionist historians li3e ,!#affar Alam,20 the ,ar-ist48ationalist inter2retation of colonialism and Indian freedom str!ggle "as being challenged by the follo"ers of Le"is 8amier in )ambridge, 2o2!larly 3no"n as the )ambridge 7chool,21 inter2retations of the French Re:ol!tion "ere being
16

eorges Lefeb:re21 and Albert 7obo!l22 in

case of L!ro2ean %istory to name =!st a fe", had a 2o"erf!l im2act on me and filled me "ith

C$C$ Kosambi, An Introduction to the %tud! of Indian istor!* *o2!lar *ra3ashan, Bombay, 1@5J$

Romila (ha2ar, AAoka and the 7ecline of the "aur!an E#)ire* H-ford Ini:ersity *ress, 8e" Celhi, 1@A1$
17

Irfan %abib, A&rarian %!ste# of "u&hal India, H-ford Ini:ersity *ress, 8e" Celhi, 1@@@, +first 2!blished 1@A0., (a2an Raycha!dh!ri and Irfan %abib, Ca#brid&e Econo#ic istor! of India* vol61* )ambridge Ini:ersity *ress, )ambridge, 1@62$
18

7!mit 7ar3ar, "odern India:1BBC019D7, ,acmillan, )hennai, 1@6@F %2adeshi "ove#ent in 5en&al: 19EF019EB, *eo2les *!blishing %o!se,Bombay, 1@50, A Criti@ue of Colonial India , *a2yr!s, Kol3ata,1@6J, ,o)ular "ove#ents and "iddle Class Geadershi) in Gate Colonial India* K* Bagchi B )o$ for )entre for 7t!dies in 7ocial 7ciences, Kol3ata, 1@60$
19

Lric %obsba"m, The A&e of 'evolution: Euro)e* 17B901BDB , Wiedenfeld and 8icholson,London, 1@A2F A&e of Ca)ital: Euro)e* 1BDB H 1B7C* Kintage, London, 1@@AF A&e of E#)ire: Euro)e* 1B7C H 191D, *antheon Boo3s, London, 1@65F Industr! and E#)ire: fro# 17CE to the )resent da! , *eng!in, London,1@A@$
20

eorges Lefeb:re, The Co#in& of the =rench 'evolution 17B9 , Kintage Boo3s,London, 1@J5F The =rench 'evolution fro# 179F H 1799, )ol!mbia Ini:ersity *ress, 8e" Nor3, 1@A1F The 1reat =ear: 'ural ,anic in 'evolutionar! =rance, *antheon Boo3s, 8e" Nor3,1@50$
21

Albert 7obo!l, The =rench 'evolution* 17B7 to 1799: =ro# the stor#in& of the 5astille to Na)oleon , Kintage Boo3s, 8e" Nor3, 1@51$
22

,!#affar Alam, The Crisis of E#)ire in "u&hal North India: A2adh and the ,un-ab: 17E7 H 17DB , H-ford Ini:ersity *ress, 8e" Celhi,1@6A$
23

Anil 7eal, E#er&ence of Indian Nationalis#: Co#)etition and Collaboration in the Gater Nineteenth Centur!, )ambridge Ini:ersity *ress, )ambridge, 1@A6F >!dith , Bro"n, 1andhi$s 'ise to ,o2er* 191C: 1922, )ambridge Ini:ersity *ress, )ambridge, 1@52F >ohn allagher, ordon >ohnson, Anil 7eal,
24

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challenged by historians li3e 7imon 7chama 2J "ho ref!sed to see any dee2 economic str!ct!ral reason behind the re:ol!tion, and a ne" radical school of historiogra2hy had emerged s2earheaded by Rana=it !ha 3no"n as the 7!balterns,2A "ho mo:ed a"ay from class analysis to a broad di:ision of the society into 'elite and 's!baltern$ In case of L!ro2ean %istory, Allan B!lloc3 had "ritten a boo3 that so!ght to sho" %itler and 7talin as t"o sides of the same coin 25 / an inter2retation that inf!riated o!r teacher of L!ro2ean %istory "ho "as of ,ar-ist dis2osition$ Francis F!3!yamas End of istor!,26 in "hich he 2redicted that the battle bet"een ideologies has come to an end "ith the fall of the 7o:iet Inion, "as in circ!lation$ Hlder anti4 ,ar-ist boo3s s!ch as Karl *o22ers The >)en %ociet! and its Ene#ies2@ also had made a re:i:al$ (he "or3s of Annales 7chool00 of "riting %istory, "ho offered an alternati:e methodology to ,ar-ist class analysis to !nderstand long term changes in society, "as also disc!ssed in the classroom, es2ecially ,arc Blochs master2iece on L!ro2ean Fe!dalism, The =eudal %ociet!$01 %ence altho!gh ,ar-ist historians "ere 2re4eminent there "ere also some ma=or challenges to their 2ers2ecti:es$ Hne may here note that "hile I came to 3no" of certain
Gocalit!* ,rovince and Nation: Essa!s on Indian ,olitics 1B7E019DE , )ambridge Ini:ersity *ress, )ambridge,1@50F )$ A$ Bayly, Gocal 'oots of Indian ,olitics* 1BBE: 192E, H-ford Ini:ersity *ress, H-ford, 1@60F Francis Robinson, %e)aratis# a#on& Indian "usli#s: the )olitics of (nited ,rovinces$ "usli#s 1BIE H 192F, )ambridge Ini:ersity *ress, )ambridge, 1@51$
25

7imon 7chama, Citi?ens: A Chronicle of the =rench 'evolution, Kintage, London, 1@@0$

Rana=it !ha +ed$. %ubaltern %tudies* vol6 1, H-ford Ini:ersity *ress, 8e" Celhi, 1@62$ In all 11 :ol!mes of the series "ere 2!blished$ (he first si- "ere edited by Rana=it !ha$ (he historians belonging to the 7!baltern 7t!dies )ollecti:e s!ch as Rana=it !ha, Ci2esh )ha3rabarty, *artha )hatter=ee, Ca:id Arnold, 7hahid Amin and Ca:id %ardiman indi:id!ally 2!blished se:eral im2ortant essays and boo3s$ For a critical analysis of the 7!baltern 7chool see Ca:id L!dden +ed$. 'eadin& %ubaltern %tudies: Critical istor!* Contested "eanin& and the 1lobalisation of %outh Asia , *ermanent Blac3, 8e" Celhi, 2001$ 7ee also *artha )hatter=ee, 'After 7!baltern 7t!dies in Econo#ic and ,olitical Weekl!, Kol QLKII, 8o 0J, 7e2tember 1, 2012, 22$ 1141@$
26 27

Alan B!lloc3, itler and %talin: ,arallel Gives, Alfred A Kno2f, 8e" Nor3, 1@@2$ Francis F!3!yama, The End of istor! and the Gast "an, Free *ress, 8e" Nor3, 1@@2

28

Karl *o22er, >)en %ociet! and its Ene#ies* vol6 2: e&el and "arx, Ro!tledge B Kegan *a!l, London, 1@1J$
29

For a re:ie" of the Annales 7chool see *eter B!r3e, The =rench %chool* 1929 H 19B9* 7tanford Ini:ersity *ress, *alo Alto, 1@@0$
30 31

istorical 'evolution: The Annales

,arc Bloch, =eudal %ociet!* vol 1J2 , Ro!tledge B Kegan *a!l, London, 1@6@$

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alternati:e 2ers2ecti:es to the ,ar-ist "ay of loo3ing at the 2ast, I "as not as yet a"are of the ideas associated "ith Fo!ca!lt or Cerrida or 2ostmodernism$ (hat came to me a little later, d!ring my ,A days, b!t by early nineties s!ch ideas "ere :ery m!ch in :og!e in )alc!tta academic circles$ (he age of certit!de and sec!rity of ideas li3e 'base4s!2erstr!ct!re, 'contradiction and 'mode of 2rod!ction "as clearly o:er$ 8e" terms li3e 'disco!rse, 'binary, '2o"er<3no"ledge "ere gaining c!rrency$ H!tside the class4room, there "as )ollege 7treet$ )ollege 7treet has a s2ecial 2lace in Bengali society for its boo3 sho2s, es2ecially the second hand boo3 sho2s$ It "as also the mythic s2ace of radical tho!ght, romance and re:ol!tion$ (he )offee %o!se "as symbolic of Kol3atas leftist intellect!al ferment$ By early nineties this mythic s2ace had to some e-tent lost its shine and indeed I "as 9!ite disa22ointed "ith the cro"d I sa" in )offee %o!se$ B!t it "as the )ollege 7treet area that I fo!nd many of the 7o:iet 2!blications of ,ar-, Lngels and Lenin "hich "ere no" beginning to disa22ear$ Hn 1<10<@1, I bo!ght a 7o:iet edition of Ca)ital: A Criti@ue of ,olitical Econo#!602 It "as a bea!tif!lly 2rod!ced hard bo!nd boo3 in three :ol!mes$ %o"e:er soon it became clear to me that I do not ha:e the intellect!al ca2acity to act!ally !nderstand the te-t$ (he first :ol!me of Ca)ital alone, more than 500 h!ndred 2ages of dense te-t, "as intimidating to say the least$ 7o I 2referred to rely on e-2lanations offered by t"o highly readable boo3s "hich I fo!nd in )ollege 7treet boo3sho2s, Robert L$ %eilbroners The Worldl! ,hiloso)hers: The Gives* Ti#es and Ideas of 1reat Econo#ic Thinkers00 and ($G$ La:ines =ro# %ocrates to %artre H The ,hiloso)hic Kuest601 A series called the Fontana ,odern ,asters had also started to a22ear in the boo3stores and that contained a masterly short introd!ction on ,arby Ca:id ,cLellan$0J I fo!nd these three boo3s !sef!l in getting a reasonably good !nderstanding of the basic ideas of ,ar-$ (he "ay %eilbroner, for e-am2le, e-2lained the logic of Ca)ital in abo!t forty odd 2ages "as 9!ite astonishing$ (he title of the cha2ter on ,ar- also left a dee2 im2ression on me, The Inexorable %!ste# of Karl "arx$
32

Karl ,ar-, Ca)ital: A Criti@ue of ,olitical Econo#!* vol6 10F* *rogress *!blishers, ,osco", 1@6A$

Robert L %eilbroner, The Worldl! ,hiloso)hers: The lives* ti#es and ideas of &reat econo#ic thinkers* 7imon and 7ch!ster, 8e" Nor3, 1@52$
33 34

( G La:ine, =ro# %ocrates to %artre: The ,hiloso)hic Kuest, Bantam Boo3s, 8e" Nor3, 1@61$ Ca:id ,cLellan, "arx, Fontana *ress, London, 1@66$

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In the o!tside "orld ho"e:er 7o:iet Inion, to o!r astonishment, "as falling a2art$ Hn Cecember 2J, 1@@1 the red flag "as lo"ered for the last time and the ne-t day 7o:iet Inion "as formally dissol:ed$0A It "as ironic that 2recisely at the 2oint of time "hen the 7o:iet Inion "as cr!mbling and ,ar- "as going o!t of fashion that I managed to ac9!ire my first !nderstanding of the basic 2rinci2les of ,ar-ism$ In fact, as I "as b!ying the three :ol!mes of Ca)ital, one of the 2ersons at the store said* 3ni!e -aan ekhon* er )or aar )aben na4 +ta3e them no", soon they "o!ld be !na:ailable. hinting at the sto22age of 2rod!ction and s!22ly of s!ch boo3s from 7o:iet Inion$ A2art from the class room and the )ollege 7treet the third im2ortant s2ace "as the )anteen and the 7t!dent Inion room$ (he 7t!dent Inion of *residency )ollege "as dominated by the 8a-alites d!ring the late si-ties and early se:enties$ L:en in 1@@0, the year I =oined, the Inion "as controlled by a 2ro48a-alite organi#ation named *)7A$ By 1@@1 this s2ace had beg!n to see an im2ortant transformation$ B!t to !nderstand this transformation one m!st first recogni#e that by 1@@0, i$e$ after 10 years in 2o"er, )*I4, had established an iron4gri2 on the st!dent !nions of the state thro!gh its st!dent "ing 7t!dent Federation of India or 7FI$ It "as not !ncommon for it to a22ly intimidating tactics and "in "itho!t any contest$ (here "ere :ery fe" st!dent !nions in colleges "hich "ere not in the control of 7FI$ What "as ho"e:er most fr!strating "as the fact that st!dent !nions, e:en "hen they "ere not r!n by 7FI "ere in:ariably controlled from o!tside by some 2olitical 2arty or the other and the st!dent !nions became agents of the 2olitical interests of these 2olitical 2arties rather than the reflection of the ideas, dreams and interests of the st!dents themsel:es$ It is in this conte-t that a loose, ideologically some"hat conf!sed b!t !nited in its o22osition to 2arty control, 2olitical o!tfit named Inde2endent )onsolidation +I). came to 2o"er in 1@@1 in the *residency )ollege 7t!dent Inion$ (heir :ictory "as 9!ite remar3able as the organi#ation "as formed only a year or so earlier$ I) 3e2t its door o2en to ideas coming from all sides, ,ar-ist or other"ise$ It attracted st!dents "ho "ere against o!tside domination of the !nion b!t "ho belonged to :ario!s 2olitical beliefs$ It is fair to say that "hat I) "as able to introd!ce "as not any clearly definable 2olitical<ideological agenda that "as either left or right b!t a certain amo!nt of healthy conf!sion and generated debates$ It rebelled against the notion of st!dent 2olitics
For a recent disc!ssion see ,ichael Kort, The %oviet Colossus& istor! and After#ath* ,$ L$ 7har2e Inc, 8e" Nor3, 2010 +5th Ldition.F ,artin ,c)a!ley, The 'ise and =all of the %oviet (nion, Longman, London, 2006$
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being remote4controlled by *arty leaders from o!tside$ Hrgani#ationally I) "as a loose formation and not a strict cadre based 2arty "ith a definite hierarchy$ L:erything "as ho"e:er not la!dable abo!t it$ It sho"ed at least t"o fla"s of democratic 2olitics as "e ha:e e-2erienced it$ (he first "as 2o2!lism, "hich got reflected in the fact that the Ann!al )!lt!ral Festi:al +'Fest. "as the most im2ortant e:ent in the calendar of the Inion$ (his hel2ed I) to attract st!dents e:en if they "ere not interested in 2olitical<ideological debates and con:ert them into :ote ban3s$ (he other acti:ity "hich had some 2o2!lar a22eal "as anti4establishment agitation +'2rinci2al gherao. b!t "hat "ere ne:er ta3en !2 "ere constr!cti:e acti:ities to im2ro:e the condition of the college, s!ch as im2ro:ing the college library or social "or3 for the disad:antaged children "ho "or3ed in the )anteen$ (he second fla" of I) "as factionalism "hich di:ided the leaders of the o!tfit "ithin a fe" years of its formation$ (y2ically these "ere 2ersonality clashes co!ched as ideological differences$ 8onetheless, st!dent 2olitics in *residency )ollege "as at least free from 2hysical :iolence, "hich often characteri#ed the 2olitics of other colleges$ In 1@@2 I sat for my *art I e-amination and missed the co:eted 'first class by less than one 2ercent$ It "as a sad moment$ %o"e:er a bigger tragedy "as on the cards$ 7ince middle of 1@60s India "as "itnessing a re:i:al of %ind! right "ing forces aro!nd the iss!e of the Ram (em2le at A=odhya$ (he D7angh *ari:arE combined fierce nationalism "ith anti4Islamic statements and "as led by L$K$ Ad:ani$ Hn Cecember A, 1@@2, ro!ghly one year after the fall of the 7o:iet Inion, a :iolent mob of RKar 7e:a3sR bro!ght do"n the Babri ,as=id, 05 an e:ent that shoc3ed the nation$ (he e:ent "as follo"ed by riots all o:er India, claiming aro!nd 2000 li:es$ )alc!tta "as also to some e-tent affected and o!r college remained closed for a fe" days$ When "e co!ld ret!rn to )ollege after a fe" days, a 2rocession "as organised by the 7t!dent Inion in "hich many of the teachers also 2artici2ated$ We "ent ro!nd the nearby neighbo!rhoods as3ing for 2eace$ I am not s!re "hether the 2oor 2eo2le li:ing aro!nd the college "ere con:inced by "hat the st!dents and teachers of an elite instit!tion "ere saying$ It "as 2erha2s less for them and more for !s that "e "al3ed in the 2rocession$ H!r o"n belief system "as !nder attac3 and
For a detailed in:estigation into the Babri ,as=id Cemolition see Giberhan A!odh!a Co##ission 'e)ort* ,inistry of %ome Affairs, o:ernment of India, htt2&<<"""$mha$nic$in<!ni9!e2age$as2; idS23?J51, Accessed 0A$ 0@$12$
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it "as o!r an-iety that too3 !s to the street to ma3e the symbolic march$ A fe" st!dents "ere also beginning to tal3 in %ind! right 2ers2ecti:e and intense debates in the )anteen "ere common$ Academic 9!estions s!ch as the religio!s 2olicy of A3bar no more remained a strictly academic iss!e$ Altho!gh the %ind! Right "as 2olitically "ea3 in West Bengal and almost insignificant in terms of n!mbers "ithin the college, yet they had an im2act in the sense that it became im2ortant to ref!te their claims$ In some cases s!ch as their claim regarding destr!ction of %ind! tem2les by ,!slim r!lers "as diffic!lt to deny$ (hese ideas ne:er ac9!ired in the "orld aro!nd me a hegemonic 2osition b!t nonetheless it did thro" a challenge to sec!lar4 rationalist self that I had de:elo2ed as a teenager$ 7imilarly, from 1@@0 on"ards, st!dent comm!nity across India "as di:ided by the a22ro:al of caste4based reser:ation as 2er recommendations of the ,andal )ommission that K* 7ingh introd!ced$ A Celhi Ini:ersity st!dent named Ra=i: 2rotest of the decision by the os"ami tried to immolate himself in o:ernment$ West Bengal "as ho"e:er not one of the ner:e

centres of the anti4reser:ation mo:ement$ (here "ere heated arg!ments and debates in the college canteen, altho!gh the iss!e "as less im2ortant than %ind!t:a$ For me, and 2erha2s for many others, "ho did not acce2t caste, it "as a 2artic!larly diffic!lt moment$ Reser:ation stood against a :ision of caste4less India that I had and it stood in contradiction to the belief that merit sho!ld be the sole basis of selection in Ini:ersities and =obs$ (here "ere cr!de anti4reser:ation =o3es li3e "hether yo! "o!ld li3e to ha:e an o2eration "hen the s!rgeon is from a reser:ed seat, b!t the larger iss!e of caste based India :ers!s caste4less India remained$ I "as at this stage against reser:ation beca!se I belie:ed that reser:ation does not lead to emanci2ation$ I "as 2erha2s not e:ol:ed eno!gh to as3 myself "hy there are so fe" st!dents from 7ched!led )astes or 7ched!led (ribes in my college$ Along "ith '>ai 7hri Ram and '9!ota, terms s!ch as TliberalisationT, TglobalisationT, Tmar3et economyT and T,8) "ere also gaining c!rrency d!ring this time$ 06 (he 8ehr!:ian model of mi-ed economy "as beginning to be considered o!tdated$ )ongress o:ernment !nder 8arasimha Rao and ,anmohan 7ingh "ere beginning to integrate the Indian economy "ith the "orld economy and ,!lti 8ational )om2anies +,8). began to
Francine R Fran3nel, India$s ,olitical Econo#!* 19D7 H 2EED: The 1radual 'evolution , H-ford Ini:ersity *ress, 8e" Celhi, 200JF >Uan Cre#e and Amartya 7en, India: 7evelo)#ent and ,artici)ation, H-ford Ini:ersity *ress, 8e" Celhi, 1@@A$
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find their "ay into India in greater n!mber and "ith a ne" legitimacy$ 7t!dents in o!r college started to thin3 abo!t )A( e-am and getting into management instit!tions "hich "ere 2ass2orts to !nbelie:able salaries in ,8)s$ (he b!## "as in the air 4 there is no alternati:e to ca2italism and the 9!estion "as "hether India can =oin the cl!b or not$ All this "as ha22ening "hile I7A !nder democracy, an im2erialist "ar in the eorge B!sh +7enior. had !nleashed, in the name of !lf$ 0@

For me, li3e many others, the "orld had th!s changed fore:er, a change that "as diffic!lt to come to terms "ith$ It "as sim2ly not 2ossible to acce2t that the )old War "as o:er and the I7 had "on it and it "as the only s!2er2o"er in the "orld no"$ A boo3 that someho" came as a solace "as *a!l Kennedys bestselling boo3, 'ise and =all of 1reat ,o2ers $10 I s2ent a large ch!n3 of my 2oc3et money to b!y a co2y of the boo3 in "hich Kennedy 2redicted that the I7 "o!ld not be able to remain a s!2er2o"er for long and "o!ld ha:e to acce2t itself as one the 2layers in a m!lti42olar "orld$ After reading the reass!ring last cha2ter I "rote an article in o!r college maga#ine on this$ (here "as no =olt to me in my family life "hich contin!ed its middle4class e-istence, in fact im2ro:ing some"hat in terms of 9!ality of life$ I had my share of yo!thf!l f!n and romance as "ell$ B!t at an ideological le:el the e:ents of 1@6641@@2 destroyed something dee2 inside$ (he belief system that "as created "ithin me bet"een 1@5@ and 1@6J no" lay in shambles$ (he sec!rity of a rationalist4,ar-ist "orld4:ie" "as beginning to fall a2art b!t there "as no clear alternati:e 2ath to 2!rs!e either$ It "as a time for chaos and conf!sion for a large section of yo!th of my generation$ As I com2leted my grad!ation in 1@@0 I remained sym2athetic to ,ar-ism b!t did not see any 2artic!lar 2olitical 2arty or mo:ement that I co!ld s!22ort$ I contin!ed to belie:e in ,ar-ism b!t !nderstood that there are many 9!estions that the ideology co!ld not ans"er$ I had to acce2t the br!talities of 7o:iet Inion es2ecially !nder 7talin and 2ost4 (iananmen )hina "as not a so!rce of ins2iration either$ In all 2robability the reason "hy many in
ad Bar#ilai, Aharon Klieman and il 7hidlo, +ed$. The 1ulf Crisis and Its 1lobal After#ath6 Ro!tledge, London, 1@@0F ,icah L 7ifry and )hristo2her )erf, The 1ulf War 'eader: istor!* 7ocu#ents* >)inions, (ime Boo3s, 8e" Nor3, 1@@1F *ierre 7alinger, Lric La!rent, %o"ard )!rtis, %ecret 7ossier: The idden A&enda 5ehind the 1ulf War , *eng!in Boo3s, London, 1@@1$
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*a!l Kennedy, 'ise and =all of 1reat ,o2ers: Econo#ic Chan&e and "ilitar! Conflict fro# 1CEE to 2EEE* Kintage Boo3s, 8e" Nor3, 1@6@$
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my generation felt attracted to"ard the songs of 7!man )hatto2adhyay +later Kabir 7!man. d!ring this time "as 2recisely the fact that he reflected this mood / anti4ca2italist, against the conser:atism of )*I4, b!t not a 8a-alite either, fiercely anti4establishment and some"here maintaining the !to2ian dream of a better "orld$ (his "as :ery different from the songs of an earlier generation s!ch as the ones com2osed by 7alil )ho"dh!ry for e-am2le, that "ere directly related to mobili#ation by the )omm!nist *arty thro!gh the Indian *eo2les Little (heatre$ Class(Caste(!$entity Let me 2a!se here and as3 ho" did class, caste and ling!istic identity inform my mo:e to"ards ,ar-ism; Loo3ing bac3 I thin3 there "as something middle4class and something Bengali abo!t my road to ,ar-ism$ It "as middle4class in the sense that it "as not the e-2erience of "or3ing class str!ggles that too3 me to ,ar-ism$ Indeed at this stage of life I "as far remo:ed from any 3ind of e:en moderate acti:ism$ It "as 2rimarily thro!gh family infl!ences and thro!gh boo3s that I became interested in ,ar-ism$ Net it "o!ld be sim2listic to see my social 2osition as similar to that of the bhadralok elite$ H!r family, and I thin3 most families that "ere dra"n to"ards ,ar-ism, "ere not from the erst"hile landed bhadralo3 society, b!t rather from a middle4class families the li3es of "hich ha:e been 2ortrayed by 7atya=it Ray in films li3e ,ahanagar or >ana Aranya$ Li3e the families 2ortrayed in these films o!rs "as a middle4class family and not really the elite of the society$ Net there "ere similarities "ith the Bhadralo3 elite of the society in terms of choice of c!lt!ral icons, a shared s2ace of Bengali 2ride o:er great Bengali c!lt!ral 2rod!cts, and certain "ay of s2ea3ing in Bengali and Lnglish$ %o" did )aste 2lay a role; 7ince my father "as a ref!gee from Bangladesh he "as not able to !se his !22er4caste stat!s for any economic gain$ %e did not ha:e any land to fall bac3 !2on$ %e had to find his "ay thro!gh school and college and find his so!rce of li:elihood thro!gh merit rather than by !sing his caste stat!s$ )aste also did not 2lay any role in the 2rocess of my !2bringing e-ce2t d!ring the occasion "hen I "as !nder 2ress!re to ado2t the sacred thread "hich I declined$ What mattered for social standing, in the absence of serio!s "ealth, "as academic 2erformance and c!lt!re rather than the caste stat!s$ (h!s 3no"ing (agore or ,ar"as an im2ortant c!lt!ral ca2ital$ By the time I "as a teenager, caste had ceased to be a so!rce of 2ride and 2ri:ilege in the "orld aro!nd me$ What mattered "as not so m!ch caste b!t "hich school or college I "as in and ho" I "as 2erforming in the school e-ams and "hether I 3ne"

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(agore or Cic3ens or not$ It "as im2ortant "hether I 3ne" Bengali and Lnglish, belonged to a good school<college and "hether I did "ell academically$ B!t caste did contin!e to 2lay a shado"y role in the social s2ace as I cannot recall any 2erson from the 7ched!led )astes or (ribes e:er belonging to o!r social circle$ (his "as not a conscio!s 2olicy follo"ed by o!r family, b!t the !nconscio!s di:ide bet"een the !22er4caste and lo"er castes contin!ed irres2ecti:e of the coming of ,ar-ism$ ,ar-ism and 2erha2s other 2rogressi:e thin3ing destroyed caste as an intellect!al category b!t it contin!ed to 2lay an !nconscio!s role in sha2ing social relations$ In another cr!cial sense my road to ,ar-ism "as 2ec!liarly Bengali b!t not necessarily middle4 class$ ,ost Bengalis, irres2ecti:e of class or caste, are bro!ght !2 reading Bengali "riters<thin3ers and their Lnglish<L!ro2ean<American co!nter2arts$ %indi or other Indian lang!ages and their intellect!als are hardly e:er gi:en any res2ect$ Intellect!ally Bengali society is m!ch closer to London or 8e" Nor3 than Bihar, Ittar *radesh or (amil 8ad!$ %ence names li3e Ram ,anohar Lohia11 or >ay2ra3ash 8arain12 ne:er fig!red in the intellect!al s2ace that I belonged to e:en tho!gh they "ere im2ortant socialist intellect!als$ We ne:er read a!thors "ho "rote in %indi and hardly 3ne" anything abo!t them$ (h!s I +and many others. as2ired to read Alth!sser or *erry Anderson b!t not Lohia or >*$ (hose names "ere sim2ly not se-y and not in circ!lation in the intellect!al s2ace of my school and college days$ Among other im2ortant ,ar-ist<socialist thin3ers, L,7 8amboodiri2ads10 name "as 3no"n to me b!t once again he didnt ha:e the glamo!r of someone li3e Antonio ramsci$ (his rel!ctance to read a thin3er born in India o!tside Bengal "as definitely a colonial legacyF one that e:er so s!btly dre" the bo!ndaries of my intellect!al landsca2e$ (he socialist<,ar-ist in Bihar or Ittar *radesh did not e-ist in my boo3shelf$ I do not thin3 I "as an e-ce2tion to the general trend among 2eo2le aro!nd me$
7ee Ind!mati Kel3ar, 7r6 'a# "anohar Gohia* his Gife and ,hiloso)h!* Anami3a *!blishers, 8e" Celhi, 200@$
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7ee 7andi2 Cas +ed$. La!)rakash Nara!an: A Centenar! ;olu#e* ,ittal *!blications, 8e" Celhi, 200J$

R$ Krishna3!mar, 'A reat Life& L$,$7$ 8amboodiri2ad, 1@0@ / 1@@6 in =rontline* A2ril 1 / 15, 1@@6 htt2&<<"""$frontlineonnet$com<fl1J05<1J050110$htm$ Accessed on 0A$0@$12F 7$R$ Ba3shi, E6"6%6 Na#boodiri)ad, Anmol *!blications, 8e" Celhi, 1@@1$ L,7 8amboodiri2ad, istor!* %ociet! and Gand 'elations: %elected Essa!s* Left"ord, 8e" Celhi, 2010F L,7 8amboodiri2ad, The =rontline Mears: %elected Essa!s, Left"ord, 8e" Celhi, 2010$
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(his "as 2erha2s a cr!cial limitation of the ,ar-ism that I, along "ith many others, imbibed in Bengal$ (he ,ar-ist mo:ement in Bengal failed to de:elo2 dialog!es "ith :ario!s socialist forces in the %indi heartland and other 2arts of India$ We read R!ssian boo3s in Lnglish and boo3s coming from IK and the I7, boo3s from L!ro2e translated into Lnglish b!t did not care to learn the lang!age, c!lt!re and intellect!al c!rrents of other states$ (herefore o!r ,ar-ism failed to gro" and ac9!ire an all4India 2ers2ecti:e$ (he ,ar-ism that de:elo2ed in West Bengal did not e-2and to other neighbo!ring states in the 60s and @0s$ When a mo:ement fails to gro" it becomes firstly stagnant and then atro2hies and this is "hat ha22ened to ,ar-ism in Bengal$ If lac3 of dialog!e "ith the other states and their c!lt!res "as an im2ortant as2ect of the time I ha:e disc!ssed then the other 2!##ling silence "as regarding ideas associated "ith social democracy$ After liberali#ation and fall of 7o:iet Inion it became clear that West Bengal cannot a:oid 2ri:ate ca2ital$ And for a 2arty "hich "as significantly 2resent only in three states of India it loo3ed a rather long shot to be able to dismantle the global ca2italist economy$ At this stage 2erha2s an arg!ment in fa:o!r of social democracy co!ld ha:e retained a strong commitment to"ards 2o:erty alle:iation, healthcare and basic ed!cation "hile at the same time achie:ing economic gro"th thro!gh 2ri:ate ca2ital$ Instead )*I4, s"!ng from anti4im2erialist rhetoric to neo4liberal ca2italism$ ,ar- "as 3e2t in the boo3shel:es and for brigade 2arade gro!nd rallies b!t in reality it "as time for 72ecial Lconomic Gones to be set !2$ (h!s by mid4nineties, ,ar-ism as an idea had become more or less irrele:ant in Bengal$ What "as left "as )*I4, as a 2arty<organi#ation "hich "as 3een on staying in 2o"er b!t "as not clear as to "hich ideological<2olicy direction it "anted to ta3e$ %o" that led to its electoral defeat finally in 2011 is of co!rse another story$