West Bengal Left Front Govt: A Historic Anniversary

West Bengal Left Front Govt:
A Historic Anniversary

Prakash Karat



THE Left Front government in West Bengal enters its 30th year of existence on June 21, 2006. This is a historic day which comes in the background of an equally historic election victory which has led to the formation of the seventh Left Front government.

The three decades of the Left Front government is of enormous significance in the annals of the communist movement in the country. It has also acquired international significance. It is necessary to recall the past history in order to understand the long and arduous political struggle that has gone into the creation of a stable Left political formation and a stable Left Front government in West Bengal.

THE PRE-1977 PERIOD

The Communist Party first formed a government in 1957 in Kerala after winning the assembly elections. This government, headed by E M S Namboodiripad, was ousted in 21 months. Article 356 of the constitution was used for the first time by the then Nehru government to dismiss an elected state government.

After the fourth general elections in 1967, when the Congress lost in nine states, the United Front governments were formed in West Bengal and Kerala for the first time. These were coalition governments in which the CPI(M) was the largest party. But these governments were not allowed to remain in office for long. The first United Front government of West Bengal was dismissed after nine months. The Left parties fought back this conspiracy and central intervention to destabilise the United Front government and, in 1969, once again the United Front was re-elected with a big majority. This government also fell after 13 months, in 1970. In Kerala, the United Front government lasted for 31 months and fell apart in 1969. These governments were formed at the crest of sustained struggles.

The Left Front of West Bengal is a product of decades of class struggle and popular movements. The 1950s and 1960s witnessed the rising struggles of a working class, peasantry and other sections of the working people in West Bengal. It was not possible for the ruling classes to tolerate the existence of governments in which the Left had a leading role. The Congress governments at the centre were hostile to the existence of communist-led state governments. Given the all-India political situation in the 1950s and 1960s, in view of the correlation of forces and the hostility to communists amongst the whole ruling class political spectrum, it was not possible to sustain these governments beyond short spells.

It was only in 1977, after the end of internal emergency and the increased democratic consciousness of the people after the anti-authoritarian struggle, that it became possible for the Left-led governments to remain in office for a full term. This was also because of the fact that the CPI(M) increased its strength and became the dominant political force in states like West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. Even after this, attacks continued as witnessed in the rigging undertaken and terror unleashed in Tripura during the 1988 assembly elections. But the innate strength of the CPI(M) and the Left overcame this onslaught too.

SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS

It was in this conjuncture that the Left Front government, headed by Jyoti Basu, began its work three decades ago. Looking back, we can see how the Left Front government worked within the constraints of the existing constitutional and socio-economic system, implemented land reforms, decentralised powers, instituted the democratic panchayati raj system, accomplished growth in agricultural production, protected democratic rights, ensured communal harmony and nurtured secular values.

The two most important changes brought about by the Left Front government in its early years in the countryside were the implementation of land reforms and the reorganisation of the panchayats as democratic institutions of the local government. These two --- identified as the policy of walking on two legs --- were closely interrelated. The government acquired over 11 lakh acres of land and distributed the same among 25 lakh landless and small peasant households and, under its Operation Barga, 14 lakh sharecroppers were registered, bringing 11 lakh acres of land under the control of the bargadars. About 55 per cent of the beneficiaries of land distribution and 42 per cent bargadars came from the dalits and adivasis.

Alongside, the Left Front revitalised the three-tier panchayati raj system. A big majority of the elected representatives in the panchayati raj system came from the small and marginal peasants, adivasis and dalits. More than one-third of the seats are occupied by women. This democratic system was institutionalised 17 years before the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments became enforceable in all the states.

As the CPI(M) Programme envisages, land reforms have led to increased agricultural production. By the end of the seventh plan period, food production increased by 29.89 per cent in the state as against the all-India average of 13.42 per cent. It is the land reform programme and the institutionalisation of the panchayati raj system which provided the backbone for the rural base of the CPI(M) and the Left Front.

TWO PHASES



The 29 years of the Left Front government can be more or less equally divided into two phases. In the first phase --- 1977 to 1991 --- the Left Front government was working under a regime where state regulation of the economy under a capitalist path of development existed. The role of the central government and the nature of centre-state relations were different in this period. The centre had licensing powers for industry and allocated resources for public investment and development. During this period, West Bengal suffered from discrimination. The successive central governments would discourage industries being set-up in West Bengal and utilised the licensing power to the detriment of the state. The centre also wielded its financial powers in a manner to deprive the state of public investment. In this period, the Left Front had to wage continuous struggles to oppose discrimination.

Industrial development languished due to these iniquitous centre-state relations and due to an inadequate appreciation in the earlier years of the fact that the Left Front government is in for a long stint in office. In fact, West Bengal, which was the front-ranking industrial state at the time of independence, slipped behind and in 1985 it was only contributing 8 per cent of the total industrial output in the country.

The second phase in which the Left Front government is now working began in 1992 and continues upto now. This is the phase of liberalisation and the deregulation of the state control and intervention in the economy. It is also marked by the push for neo-liberal policies and the drastic cutbacks on state investments. The centre’s withdrawal from welfare and social sector responsibilities have also had a serious impact on the state.

It is in such a situation that the fifth Left Front government adopted an industrial policy in 1994. Taking into account the new situation, the Central Committee of the CPI(M) adopted a resolution on the “Role of the West Bengal Left Front Government: In the Context of the New Economic Policies” in December 1994. Subsequently, the West Bengal state conference of the party, in 2002, adopted a resolution on “The Left Front Government and Our Tasks.” It is on the basis of this approach that the Left Front government has sought to meet its commitments to the people and has been working for the development of the state in a milieu where the central government is vigorously pushing for free market policies and privatisation. The Left Front government has taken initiatives to invite private investment, so that the state can have a strong industrial base and acquire high technology. While promoting private investment, the government is committed to defend the rights of the working class and their trade union rights. At the same time, the Left Front government is committed to people-oriented development where the poorer sections are provided the wherewithal to overcome poverty. Education, health and social welfare facilities have to be provided even though the resources of the state are limited. The state government, while attracting private investment, will not retreat from its commitment to provide basic services for the people.

This is the perspective of the CPI(M) for the Left Front government spelled out in the Political Resolution of its 18th congress: “Faced with the neo-liberal policies of the centre, the Left-led governments have to struggle hard to pursue policies which ensure pro-people and balanced development. While promoting private investment, the Left Front governments defend the public sector in key areas, protect and, if possible, expand public expenditure in the social sector and project alternative policies to protect the poorer sections who are the worst affected by the policies pursued by the central government.”

PEOPLE APPRECIATE POLICY FRAMEWORK

The recent assembly elections show that the people have appreciated the policy framework that the CPI(M) and the Left Front has set out for the development of the state. The performance of the sixth Left Front government, under Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, has sought to build on the past achievements and chart out a path of development which can avoid the pitfalls of the neo-liberal prescriptions of the centre while, at the same time, realistically utilising the existing resources of the state and private investment.

Throughout these three decades, West Bengal under the Left Front rule has shown the country that it is possible to avoid the harmful politics of communalism and casteism which divide the people and disrupt the working class movement. The fact that the BJP and other communal forces have failed to make headway in the state testifies to the anti-communal atmosphere prevailing in West Bengal. All through the vicissitudes of the offensive of the communal forces, particularly in the 1990s, West Bengal stood as a bastion of communal harmony and adherence to the secular principle. This, in a state which has a Muslim population of 26 per cent, is a shining example for the rest of the country. This has been possible because the peasantry, the workers and all other sections of the working people, irrespective of religion, have been united along class lines and developed a political consciousness which rises above sectarian identities and loyalties.

The seventh Left Front government is conscious of the need to provide for the all-round development of the Muslim minority, so that they can more fully be part of the common endeavour of all sections of the working people for a better life.

The Left Front government is the political manifestation of the fact that West Bengal is the bastion of the Left and democratic forces in the country. It is the existence and the record of the Left Front government in the past three decades which has provided the ballast for the Left movement in the country. When the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the imperialist offensive commenced in 1991, the Left Front government was able to withstand the hostile ideological environment, both internationally and domestically. It has also been able to avoid the worst aspects of the anti-people, neo-liberal policies and steer a course whereby its pro-people commitments are not abandoned. This was possible because of the strong mass base of the CPI(M) and the Left. We recall the tremendous sacrifices by the CPI(M) and Left cadres over the three decades. Thousands of them laid down their lives in the class struggle and in defence of democracy.

As the Left Front government enters its 30th year of existence, it has the good wishes and support of all progressive and democratic-minded people in the country.

From People's Democracy, June 25, 2006

How the Left Front and Its Government Emerged

How the Left Front

and

Its Government Emerged

Biman Basu

THE Left Front of West Bengal grew and evolved by traversing an arduous path, through the people’s long and intense struggles. It had to surmount many challenges and vicissitudes before it could get consolidated on the basis of united resolve of the Left parties in the state.

PRODUCT OF EXPERIENCE

Since 1952, as a matter of fact, different Left and other anti-Congress parties off and on unleashed democratic movements through unity in action, in the interest of the common people and sometimes unitedly launched movements, which directly helped to pave the way for a proper understanding with the Left parties and the principles they were based upon. Thus the Bengal Left Front grew and established itself firmly by conducting and getting deeply involved in a struggle against the forces of authoritarianism and anti-people policies of the Congress governments. However, the task of charting the roadmap for democratic movements was not always easy. This was only on the eve of Lok Sabha elections in 1977 when the Left parties, through their own experiences, realised that they have to solidly unite on a common programme; it was then that they formed the Left Front. A decade ago, a United Front (UF) had been set up on the combined initiative of the Left parties and other anti-Congress parties. This was in the post-election situation way back in 1967 and before the elections in 1969.

Thus we can suitably sum up to say that the backdrop to evolution of the Bengal Left Front comprised a variegated and rich realistic developments. These included the experience of working in a United Front, the variety and different forms of functioning of its constituents in different time periods, and the bitter fruit of experience we all had to taste as a result of their taking positions contrary to one another.

These days one can often observe and experience across the country, and also at the central level, the sight of an assortment of alliances and fronts being formed by political parties just before the polls or in the post-poll situation without declaring a common programme at all. West Bengal too sometimes witnessed the growth of such ‘electoral’ alliances. For example, one recalls the formation of the ‘Save Bengal Front’ of some opposition outfits on the eve of the 13th Lok Sabha elections. Can one compare these ‘fronts’ with the Left Front of West Bengal?

BEFORE 1947 AND AFTER

To seek a proper answer to this question, one shall have to flip back pages of the history of struggles and movements in the not-too-recent-past of Bengal. Thus we find that during a special period in the 1930s, when the independence movement was raging, the Communist Party placed the theory of a united front against imperialism. It was way back in 1936. In the years that followed, unity was built up among the working people while, on the other hand, a united anti-imperialist programme was formulated in conjunction with other forces.

Among the joint programmes then implemented were the all-India post and telegraph strike, movements of the government employees and, above all, the programmes built up around the naval uprising at the Bombay seaport. Later, the historic Tebhaga movement unified the rural poor and created a point of inspiration for kisans in the then united Bengal. There was a big movement of students and youth as well. These struggles and movements stand as evidence of the splendid historic role played by the Communist Party in the pre-independence period.

Mass struggles took place and advanced along various routes after the country’s independence as well. In West Bengal, the Communist Party discharged its historic responsibility by playing a crucial role in the organisation of various mass movements. Thus, in 1953, when the already profit earning British-owned Calcutta Tramways Company hiked the tram fare (backed suitably by the then Congress raj) in order to further increase its profit margin, the Communist Party and other anti-Congress parties put up an angry resistance.

In 1954, when Dr B C Roy was the Congress chief minister, a massive food crisis overtook the state. There was a near-famine condition in Bengal. An anti-famine committee was then set up, and it organised statewide movements.

In 1954-55, in order to contribute to the struggle for Goa’s freedom from Portuguese occupation, a big march of satyagrahis to Goa was organised thanks to the united effort of all anti-Congress forces. In fact, the number of satyagrahis coming from far-off Bengal was much more than those coming from the states nearer to Goa.

Soon the committee against the Bengal-Bihar merger conducted a statewide movement against the merger proposal. At this time, the Lok Sabha byelections saw Professor Mohit Moitra, president of the anti-merger committee, receive the support of all anti-Congress political parties and defeat the Congress candidate, Ashok Sen, from Kolkata Northwest. In the tumultuous political atmosphere that was thus created, chief minister B C Roy had to withdraw the Bengal-Bihar merger proposal and victory celebrations were observed throughout Bengal.

BARBARIC KILLINGS

In 1954-56, the teachers of Bengal launched a movement to demand subsistence salaries. The salary then varied from Rs 62 to Rs 96 a month, and went up to a maximum of Rs 112. The teachers had no job security either. But the state government rejected the legitimate demands of these teachers and unleashed police repression against them. A massive anti-Congress struggle then grew up against the move. Further, a statewide students’ agitation grew up when the Phillips commission called for curtailment of higher education. A food movement was organised in 1958, as was a students’ agitation in the same year.

In 1959, the state suffered from a massive food shortage. Following a month-long campaign movement, a central rally was organised in what is now the Shahid Minar Maidan. The rally, held on August 31, spilled over into the Surendranath Park (formerly Curzon Park) and Rani Rashmoni Road. The massive rally had Jyoti Basu and other leaders of the democratic movements in the forefront. The administration was at a loss about what to do in the face of such a huge rally. There are indications that they initially thought about taking the rallyists into custody, but suddenly they decided to change the tactic. The rallyists kept raising militant slogans for more than half an hour but, just before the dusk settled in, the police arrested the leaders and then started a brutal lathicharge; 80 people were bludgeoned to death on the spot and hundreds left injured. This was one of the rarest examples of so many people being killed in such a short space of time, at the crest of a democratic movement that remained peaceful.

Students organised a strike on September 1. When the police fired upon their rally and killed some students, a protest day was observed in the form of a strike on September 2. A general strike was organised successfully on September 3. Over 130 courted martyrdom between August 31 and September 3.

Mass movements were organised during 1960-61 also. The student movement roared in protest against the setting up of an Indo-American Foundation for import of wheat under the PL 480 scheme. In this background, a united Left alliance contested against the Congress during the 1962 general elections. In 1962, when a Sino-Indian border clash occurred, we raised the demand for a solution of the problem through bilateral discussions. For this, a part of the Communist Party was dubbed as Chinese agents. A movement against the increase in tram fare took place in 1965. In the same year, when an Indo-Pak war broke out, we communists demanded a solution through peaceful talks, and now we were dubbed as the agents of Pakistan.

In February 1966, a student agitation demanded food, kerosene oil and exercise books. But the police opened fire against the students. A school student, Nurul Islam, was killed. A big movement of students now roared across West Bengal, followed by a still bigger mass movement. Several districts like Nadia, Hooghly, Burdwan, and 24 Parganas plus Kolkata became the volcanoes of protests. In March, a one-day strike against police oppression in Bengal evoked two-day or even three-day strikes in some of the districts. The massive discontent among the common people in the state created a negative atmosphere for the ruling Congress party, and it broke into two. Ajoy Mukherjee and some other leaders left the Congress to form the Bangla Congress.

1967 ELECTIONS: A TURNING POINT

We stood steadfast against all these attacks and never shied away from the issues that were in the interest of the working class, the peasants and the mass of other toilers.

It was in this background that the 1967 elections for the state assembly were held, with no complete understanding among the anti-Congress forces. Though there were two fronts in contest against the Congress, the latter got pushed into a minority position in the assembly. The two anti-Congress fronts --- the United Left Front (ULF) and the People’s United Left Front (PULF) --- now came together to create a United Front (UF) in the post-election scenario, and formed the state government. It is to be noted that, despite being the leader of the largest political party, Jyoti Basu did not become the chief minister. Instead, Ajoy Mukherjee of a minor group (the Bangla Congress) was allowed to sit in this chair.

But the Congress regime at the centre struck back and the UF government was dismissed within nine months. But the mid-term election of 1969 again made the Congress a minority party. UF candidates fought unitedly and a second UF government was set up. However, this government too was dismissed within 13 months. From 1970 onward, an atmosphere of terror was being created. A mid-term election was held in 1971. Siddhartha Shankar Ray, who at times opens his mouth to pontificate on this and who later became the chief minister, was then a central minister and looked after the Bengal related matters. He created an atmosphere of terror in the state in a planned manner. This has been referred to by a former US ambassador to India, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, in his book A Dangerous Place. He notes that the US supplied funds to prevent the rapid growth of communist influence in West Bengal. The book mentions that the US twice helped India with funds in such like situations: once to topple the first communist government in Kerala under E M S Namboodiripad, and then to curtail the communist strength in West Bengal. Maybe, in the days to come, we get to read how many more times had the US put in funds to influence the Indian politics.

However, what was unfortunate was that even after such wealth of experience no united front was set up for the mid-term elections of 1971. The CPI(M) forged an understanding with a few smaller parties and, in the elections that followed, anti-Congress forces together got a majority again. The CPI(M) emerged as the largest single party. Yet the governor ignored the parliamentary norms and did not invite the CPI(M) to form a government.

CPI (M) FACES THE SEMI-FASCIST TERROR

In the meantime, the CPI (M) had spread amongst the masses in all the 16 districts then existing. Its relations and contacts had grown with different sections of the people through various mass organisations who led the movements and struggles.

The 1972 election was marked by a massive rigging. Booth capturing, false voting, forced voting and manipulation during the counting of ballots took place on a large scale. All-out efforts were made that the CPI (M) was defeated everywhere during the assembly elections. However, these attempts did not succeed and we won several seats. Nevertheless, the CPI (M) boycotted the state assembly set up on the basis of these malpractices. Its winning MLAs did not take oath in protest, nor did they take their wages and other perquisites for five years. This was an example of the morality and principled stand of the CPI (M).

The Congress government that took office now was headed by Siddhartha Shankar Ray as the chief minister. Under him, every effort was made to isolate the CPI(M) from the people.

Not all the political parties, at that point in time, adopted a principled stand as the CPI(M) did. The CPI(M) was able to take a principled stand because it works towards forging a unity of the workers, peasants and other toilers to change the society, and exert itself in the interest of the working people; it is because it acknowledges and accepts Marxism-Leninism as a science and its guiding ideology. The party had had to tackle a variety of situational realities at various points of time in its daily functioning and in its effort to build up mass movements in the interests of the people.

The CPI (M) has had to adopt a different tactic while confronting the semi-fascist terror of the 1970s. We had to tackle such situations as institution of false cases against 80,000 of its supporters, ouster of over 20,000 families of its cadres from their hearth and home, and illegal occupation or forcible closure of about 350 trade union offices. As many as 927 teachers were not allowed to join work, and from the students was taken away the right to form student unions. On the other hand, we had to carry out such programmes as the demand for increase of wages for agricultural workers, and organising programmes including marches and a central programme in Kolkata against the imperialist aggression in Vietnam. On March 28, 1973, a historic movement was carried out as part of the anti-unemployment day. In this way, very many mass movements could be organised with success. At the national level, Mrs Indira Gandhi proclaimed Emergency in 1975, but we in West Bengal had already had a bitter taste of it from 1972 till 1977.

LEFT FRONT STUNS OTHERS

Once the Emergency was relaxed in January 1977, Lok Sabha elections were declared and took place in March. During this time, through their experience, several Left parties in West Bengal understood the new reality and formed a Left Front based on a common programme. The Left Front and the Janata Party, formed through the merger of a breakaway group of the Congress party with several other parties, contested the Lok Sabha elections with an understanding. The Congress lost these elections. A Janata Party government was set up in Delhi, with Morarji Desai as the prime minister.

The defeat of the Congress in Lok Sabha elections restored democracy in Bengal and gave a boost to the mass movements of various kinds. They started to struggle against the suffocating ambience that had been earlier created during the Congress regime. In the elections to the state assembly that were held soon afterwards, the Janata Party underestimated the Left Front, considered it as the junior constituent and adamantly demanded that it would fight 60 percent of the constituencies. Following a series of discussions between the leaders of the Janata Party and the Left Front, the Left Front finally placed the proposal that the Front would file candidates in 48 percent of the seats and the Janata Party in 52 percent. But the Janata Party would not accept anything below 56 percent of the seats, and the talks broke down. In the changed situation, the Left Front resolved to put up candidates in all the 294 assembly seats.

The Left Front manifesto contained 36 precise points. In a press conference, the then chairman of the Left Front, the late Comrade Promode Dasgupta, appealed to the people to defeat both the authoritarian Congress and the anti-unity Janata Party, making the Left Front victorious to establish democracy and democratic rights of the people. The two-stage elections, held on June 11 and 14, 1977, saw all the 59,000 booth areas assume the veneers of a festival. The Left Front won 243 seats. The first Left Front government was thus established, with Jyoti Basu as the chief minister.

After leading the Left Front government for consecutive five terms, Jyoti Basu voluntarily gave up the post of the chief minister and the sixth Left Front government saw Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee sworn in as his successor. Five years later, the seventh Left Front government assumed office after winning 235 seats, reducing the main opposition (Trinamul Congress) to 30 seats. The Left Front government is now in the process of celebrating the completion of 30 years of its pro-people and pro-poor existence.

Not recalling the myriad of successes of the Left Front in the last 30 years (which can wait for another occasion), I would like to stress emphatically and clearly that the West Bengal Left Front and its government have evolved through a lengthy process of vigorous movements. The continuing existence of the Left Front government is backed by precisely its mass initiatives and mass struggles.

Just as in the pre-1977 period, thousands of Left Front leaders and workers had to embrace a martyr’s death during the last 30 years of the Left Front governance as well. We are also aware that the forces of reaction shall continue their anti-Left depredations with ever new attacks. But the massive rallying of the people around the Left Front has always boosted our confidence. We have to take up the reactionary challenge, organise still bigger mass movements, and take the people along to make the pro-people presence of the Left Front government secure. The Left Front and its government are complementary to one another in writing a new chapter in the annals of the democratic movement in India.

From PEOPLE'S DEMOCRACY, 24TH JUNE, 2007

THIRTY YEARS OF THE LEFT FRONT GOVERNMENT IN WEST BENGAL

Historical Outline

The formation of the Left Front Government in West Bengal was a culmination of decades of struggles by various sections of the people — workers, peasants, teachers, refugees and students — under the leadership of the Left, and its biggest component the CPI (M). Faced with the rising tide of struggles and the growing influence of the CPI (M) and the Left, the Congress government, which was formed after it blatantly rigged the elections in 1972, resorted to a reign of semi-fascist terror in West Bengal. The CPI (M) and the mass organizations faced the brunt of this repression. 1,100 Party workers and close sympathizers were killed.

In the general elections of 1977 the Congress was severely punished by the people of the country for its authoritarian and anti-democratic actions during the Emergency. The Janata Party Government was formed at the Centre with Morarji Desai as Prime Minister. The Assembly elections in West Bengal were held shortly after the general elections in 1977. The people came out to vote in very large numbers to get rid of the reign of terror. The Left Front won by over three-fourth majority.

While assuming office in 1977, the Left Front government was aware of the limitations of a State government in implementing pro-people policies within the existing Constitutional set-up. While the major responsibility of delivering services to the people was with the State Governments, financial resources were concentrated in the hands of the Centre. Keeping in mind this constraint, the Left Front government embarked upon a programme to provide immediate relief to the people and implementing alternative policies in spheres where the State government had some say. The major initiatives of the first Left Front government were to carry out thoroughgoing land reforms and establishing a vibrant Panchayati Raj. These historic initiatives broke the back of landlordism in the rural areas and immensely empowered the poor peasantry and agricultural workers. Large sections of the rural poor, especially the dalits, adivasis and minorities, gravitated towards the Left and the CPI (M). This section continues to be the most stable mass base of the CPI (M) and the Left Front till date. Several other pro-people initiatives were also undertaken regarding workers’ rights and social sector development, which benefited different sections of the people: factory workers, unorganised workers, government employees, school and college teachers, students, youth, women and the refugees. Through their experience, the majority of the people of West Bengal came to recognize the Left Front government as a pro-people government, a custodian of their rights and a fighter for their cause. Therefore, since 1977, neither did the people ever look back nor did the Left Front government.

Land Reforms, Democratic Decentralization and Agricultural Success

Land Reforms

The land reforms initiated in West Bengal had three major components: (i) effective imposition of land ceiling and vesting of ceiling surplus land (ii) redistribution of vested land among the landless cultivators and (iii) securing of tenancy rights of sharecroppers (bargadars) through a system of universal registration of tenant cultivators (Operation Barga). As a result of this thoroughgoing land reform programme, West Bengal today has the most egalitarian land ownership pattern in the entire country. While West Bengal accounts for only around 3% of agricultural land in India, it accounted for over 21% of ceiling surplus land that has been redistributed in India till date. The total number of beneficiaries of land redistribution in West Bengal is over 28 lakhs, which is almost 50% of all beneficiaries of land redistribution in post-independence India. The security of tenancy rights provided to the sharecroppers under Operation Barga was also unprecedented in India. The total number of recorded sharecroppers has reached over 15 lakhs, which accounts for over 20% of the total agricultural households in the State. Over 11 lakh acres of land was permanently brought under the control of sharecroppers and their right to cultivate land was firmly established.

After 30 years of Left Front rule, 84% of land in West Bengal is owned by small (owning 2.5 acres to 5 acres of land) and marginal farmers (owning less than 2.5 acres) today, while the all-India figure is only 43%. Over 12 lakh acres of ceiling surplus vested land is lying with various State governments today but not being distributed among the landless. This shows the difference in the political will of the Left Front government in West Bengal and other State governments run by bourgeois parties. Moreover, around 56% of the total beneficiaries of land redistribution in West Bengal are dalits and adivasis. Dalits and adivasis also comprise over 41% of the registered sharecroppers. NSS data show that the proportion of agricultural land owned by dalits in comparison with their proportion in the rural population of West Bengal is the second highest in the country (after Tripura). Till date, over 5.35 lakh women have been given joint pattas and 1.57 lakh women given individual pattas (ownership rights over land) in West Bengal. Muslims have also benefited significantly from the land reforms programme. The share of land cultivated by Muslims in West Bengal in total cultivated land is 25.6%, which is the second highest in the country (second only to Jammu and Kashmir where the share is 30.3%).

Following the onset of the neoliberal policies in the decade of 1990s, whatever land reform measures were undertaken in most Indian States in the post-independence period were sought to be reversed. However, in West Bengal an additional 95,000 acres of land was acquired in the 1990s under the land reform legislation and 94,000 acres redistributed. These figures for the decade of the 1990s account for almost all the land acquired and over 40 per cent of the land redistributed in the entire country. The Left Front government has continued with the land redistribution programme. 30,000 acres of land was distributed among landless families in 2006-07.

Panchayati Raj

Reorganisation of the system of local government has been one of the most important institutional changes brought about by the Left Front government. In the process, West Bengal has created a history of participation of the common people through the process of decentralisation. A system of democratic elections to local bodies at anchal, block and district level has been instituted: gram panchayats at the anchal level, panchayat samitis at the block level and zilla parishads at the district level. Elections to these local bodies were held in June 1978. The newly elected panchayats were involved with the execution of land reforms. Panchayats took the initiative in exposing benami land holdings, ensured the identification of excess land and the declaration of vested land and were also given charge of ensuring the legal rights of recipients of vested land and bargadars over land.

The panchayats were also involved in arrangements for the provision of institutional credit for the beneficiaries of vested land and for bargadars. After the rural development projects were devolved to panchayats for implementation, the beneficiaries of land reform were given priority in the receipt of benefits from these projects. This was possible because through the panchayat election of 1978, a new leadership was established at the helm of the rural bodies from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds. The erstwhile village elite, including landlords and moneylenders, lost their dominance over the newly elected local bodies. The new leadership after 1978 came out of the tradition of peasant upsurge and struggle for land reform of the past three decades.

The West Bengal government has held regular elections to local bodies every five years for the past 30 years. The aim has been to provide a substantial share of fiscal resources of the state to the local bodies. The West Bengal government has made a serious effort at devolving funds from the state government level to the lower tiers of administration. The panchayats have also been assigned a large and substantial range of responsibilities that were earlier seen as under the purview of the district-level bureaucracy. The panchayats perform civic duties and undertake developmental activities like construction and maintenance of hospitals, schools and libraries, promotion of agriculture, cooperatives and cottage industries, child welfare activities, etc. They play an important role in the local-level planning and implementation of government schemes. Panchayats in West Bengal have played an important role in activities like mobilising cooperation for improving agricultural production, management of local resources, and identification of beneficiaries for housing, poverty alleviation and social security programmes. This has made the panchayats a critical institution of local governance in the West Bengal countryside.

Over time, there has been an increase in the representation of the rural poor and of socially deprived groups like dalits and adivasis, as well as women, in the elected bodies. All this has helped to change the power equations in rural society as well as encouraged the social and political empowerment of social groups that were earlier marginalized. The proportions of dalit and adivasi panchayat representatives in all the three tiers are over 37% and 7% respectively, well over their share in population. Since 1995, one third of the seats and positions of chairpersons in the panchayati raj institutions have been reserved for women. It is noteworthy that the actual representation of women exceeds one third as a number of women candidates also win in the general constituencies. Presently, over 36% of the gram panchayat members are women. Also, 7 out of 17 zilla parishads have a woman sabhadhipati and 155 out of 351 panchayat samities have a woman sabhapati. In the late 1990s, the panchayati raj system in West Bengal was further strengthened by introducing gram sansads. These are the general councils of voters in every ward, that are required to meet twice a year with a minimum quorum of 10 per cent of voters to discuss the work done by the panchayats and utilisation of funds.

Successes in Agriculture

This strategy of the Left Front government; of implementing land reforms on the one hand and the establishment of an effective panchayati raj in West Bengal on the other; has not only led to the political empowerment of the rural poor but has also brought about a rejuvenation of agriculture in the State. Since the Left Front came into office in 1977, foodgrains production in West Bengal has grown at the rate of 6% per annum, which is the highest among seventeen most populous States of India. From a food deficit State witnessing famines and food riots during the Congress rule, West Bengal has emerged as a leading food producer in the country under the Left Front rule. West Bengal has emerged as the topmost producer of rice, vegetables and fish among all Indian States. Cropping intensity in West Bengal has increased from about 136% in 1980-81 to about 180% in 2000-01, second highest in the country. This has been achieved through significant expansion of irrigated land area through small and minor irrigation projects.

In the backdrop of the neoliberal policies being adopted by the Centre since early 1990s, agricultural growth has slowed down across the country. While agriculture grew at less than 2% in India during the Tenth Plan period (2002-2007), the growth rate of agriculture in West Bengal has been over 3.5%. The Left Front Government has been successful, to some extent, in insulating the agrarian economy of West Bengal from the acute agrarian distress currently being witnessed across the country. This has been possible by following pro-peasant policies. For instance, the charge for flow of water in agriculture under major irrigation has not been increased in West Bengal since 1977. Water for irrigation is the cheapest in West Bengal at Rs. 37 per hectare in West Bengal compared to Rs 156 to Rs 267 per hectare in the rest of the states of the country (except for Kerala where it is much lower). Agricultural workers are also protected and the minimum wage of Rs. 63 is implemented effectively, in contrast to many other States where despite the scheduled minimum wage rates being higher, they are not implemented effectively.

Industrialization: An Imperative

Reversing Industrial Stagnation

For most parts of its lengthy tenure, the Left Front government has had to encounter hostile governments at the Centre. There was a conscious effort on the part of successive Central governments, particularly those run by the Congress, to discourage industrialization in West Bengal since it was a Left ruled State. This was done both through a denial of public sector investment as well as licenses for setting up private industries. During Indira Gandhi’s tenure as the Prime minister in the early 1980s, a proposal for setting up an electronics complex in Salt Lake near Kolkata was shot down by the Central government on security grounds, because West Bengal was a border State! Permission for the Haldia Petrochemical project was withheld by the Central government for 11 long years. The freight equalization policy; which meant that railway freight rates of industrial inputs like coal, iron ore, steel or cement were structured in a way through Government subsidies so that they were available at the same price in all parts of the country; also became a major obstacle. This robbed West Bengal, along with the other states in the Eastern region of India like Bihar and Orissa, of its locational advantage of being rich in those minerals which came under the purview of freight equalization. Other industrial inputs were not included in the freight equalization scheme.

Following these discriminatory policies pursued by the Centre and the vitriolic anti-Communist propaganda carried out by the bourgeois media, which led to some degree of capital flight, West Bengal experienced industrial stagnation during the decade of the 1980s. Traditional industries like tea, jute and engineering were on a decline. This aggravated the unemployment situation in the State, especially in the urban areas, besides causing hardships for the workers in the sick industries. The need was felt to make special efforts to reverse the trend towards industrial stagnation and re-industrialize West Bengal.

Meanwhile, a big policy shift had come at the national level when the Narasimha Rao led Congress Government adopted the “New Economic Policies” in 1991 following the dictates of the IMF and the World Bank. The neoliberal “economic reforms” initiated by the Central government abandoned the earlier emphasis on public sector investment, devised a strategy of liberalizing and deregulating the economy and laid emphasis on private capital, both domestic and foreign, as the main driver of economic growth. These policy changes were clearly in the rightwing direction, which was opposed by the CPI (M) and the Left. However, it also meant an end to the discriminatory policy regime of the Central government, based upon licensing and freight equalization policy, which had caused enormous harm to the economic interests of West Bengal. It was in this backdrop that the Left Front government had to devise its industrialization strategy. In September 1994, Comrade Jyoti Basu announced the Industrial Policy of the Left Front government in the changed scenario, which stated: “we are all for new technology and investment in selective spheres where they help our economy and which are of mutual interest. The goal of self-reliance, however, is as needed today as earlier. We have the state sector, the private sector and also the joint sector. All these have a role to play”. Following the adoption of the Industrial Policy, the industrial scenario in the state witnessed a turnaround, with important projects like Haldia Petrochemicals and Bakreshwar Thermal Power plants finally being set up.

Industrialization Gathering Momentum

The process of industrialization received further impetus after the Left Front government registered its sixth consecutive victory with Comrade Buddhadeb Bhattacharya as Chief Minister in 2001 and subsequently its seventh victory in 2006, with an enhanced majority. During the period from 1991 to 2006 a total number of 1,391 industrial units have been set up in West Bengal with a realized investment of Rs. 32,338.95 crore and creating direct employment for 2.03 lakh persons in the organized sector. The number of new industrial proposals in West Bengal is increasing progressively, especially in sectors like Iron and Steel, Chemical and Petrochemicals, Food Processing and Information Technology.

Since the thrust of the West Bengal government’s industrial strategy is on employment generation, the focus is not limited to big industries alone. The State government has consciously provided policy support to small and micro enterprises, because of which the number of unorganised manufacturing enterprises in West Bengal has increased from 19.1 lakhs in 1994-95 to 27.7 lakhs in 2000-01, with employment in these industries during this period increasing from 43.8 lakhs to 58.7 lakh. West Bengal now ranks first among all Indian States in respect to both the number of working units and employment generation in the small-scale industrial sector. The West Bengal government is providing infrastructure support to the small-scale industries by building industrial clusters in all districts of the State, with a target of 150 such clusters set for the Eleventh Plan period.

Unlike other State governments, which succumbed to the neoliberal prescriptions of the Centre, the Left Front government has followed a different approach towards industrialization. Rather than following the policy of indiscriminate privatization of public sector units, the Left Front government has sought to strengthen them and earnestly tried to revive sick or closed industrial units. By repeatedly placing its views before the BIFR in the interest of industry and workers, the Left Front government has been able to obtain the sanction of revival scheme in respect of 79 units. Of these, 22 units have already been revived and about 25 more units are likely to be revived.

SAIL has recently decided to invest Rs. 10,000 crore in the modernization of the IISCO factory at Burnpur, which will be one of the biggest public sector investment projects currently being undertaken in the country. The Central government had earlier decided to privatize this sick unit. It was the protracted struggle waged by the IISCO workers and the principled position adopted by the West Bengal Government, which prevented privatization and has subsequently led to the revival of IISCO. Similarly, Bengal Chemicals, which had become a sick PSU, is being revived with Central investments worth Rs 440 crore. Recently, two public sector units, Coal India Limited and Damodar Valley Corporation have come together to acquire and revive the Mining and Allied Machineries Corporation (MAMC) based in Durgapur, a prestigious PSU that was closed few years ago. Closed units like Jessop and Dunlop have also been reopened. Rather than following the dictates of the Central government in privatizing the State Electricity Board, the West Bengal government has firmly maintained the public ownership of the WBSEB and initiated reforms to improve its performance. The WBSEB, which was a loss making entity till recently, registered a profit of Rs. 300 crore in 2006-07. All this reflect the alternative approach of the left front government.

Some controversy has arisen recently over acquisition of agricultural land for setting up industries in West Bengal, especially in the context of the Tata Motors plant in Singur and a proposed chemical hub near Haldia. While the opportunistic gang-up of the entire opposition, from the ultra-Right to the ultra-Left led by the reactionary Trinamul Congress, has sought to pitch the debate in terms of industry versus agriculture, the Left Front government has repeatedly emphasized the need for a balanced and harmonious development of both sectors. The slogan of “agriculture is our foundation, industry our future”, put forward by the Left Front before the Assembly elections of 2006 has received wide acceptance among the people.

Pro-People Initiatives and Constraints

Education

The Left Front government in West Bengal has undertaken several pro-people initiatives to ensure all-round development of the State. The Left Front government has ensured significant expansion in the spheres of public education and health. The first Left Front government had made school education free upto the higher secondary stage. With a thrust on the expansion of school education, the number of schools in West Bengal has seen a substantial increase in the post-1977 period, with the number of secondary and higher secondary schools registering a four fold increase, from 4600 in 1977 to over 22,500 in 2006. Accordingly, the number of students appearing for the secondary board examination has increased from a little over 2 lakhs in 1977 to over 7.5 lakhs in 2006.

Positive results have also been seen recently in the implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, with the net enrolment ratio of children of the relevant age group (5+ to 8+) exceeding 98% in 2006-07. The drop-out ratio has also fallen below 20% due to the effective implementation of the mid-day meals scheme, which now covers 94% of the primary schools in the State. This has been made possible through the involvement of Self-Help Groups in providing cooked meals in the schools.

Health

West Bengal has witnessed significant improvements in some health indicators in the recent past. The death rate in West Bengal at 6.4 per thousand is the lowest in the country. The infant mortality rate has also dropped to 38 per 1000 live births, which is much lower than the national average at 58. The birth rate in the urban areas of West Bengal is the lowest within urban areas of the country and the total fertility rate has also fallen much below the national average, with the State heading towards achieving the population stabilization goal by the end of the Eleventh Plan. This has been possible due to active government intervention in the sphere of public health.

West Bengal has also registered significant successes in providing access to toilets and safe drinking water, especially to the poorer section of the population. The State government had set a goal of providing 40 litres of safe drinking water per capita per day in each habitation in the rural areas. Already, 81% of the 91320 rural habitations of the State have been covered fully. This is the second highest coverage achieved by a State in the country. As far as sanitation is concerned, West Bengal has the second highest coverage of access to toilets for all BPL households as well as for all Scheduled Caste households in urban areas, in the country. These have been possible due to the concerted efforts by the State government and the local bodies in the implementation of the programmes.

The National Health Accounts published by the Union Ministry of Health in 2001-02 showed that public expenditure on health in West Bengal was the second highest in the country (Maharashtra had the highest figure). In fact, around 80% of the indoor patients in West Bengal today are treated in Government hospitals, while the all-India figure stands at only 50%. This obviously translates into affordable healthcare for the people. The total per capita health expenditure in West Bengal was lower than the national average on account of very low private expenditure on health compared to other States. While the per capita health expenditure in West Bengal needs to increase substantially, what is noteworthy is the effort on the part of the government to commit substantial resources for public health in a fiscally constrained scenario.

Workers’ Rights

The Left Front government has firmly defended the trade union rights of the workers. It has also taken important steps to provide social security to workers like introducing a provident fund scheme for unorganised sector workers for the first time in the country (nearly 7.9 lakh workers have already joined the scheme so far), providing financial assistance of Rs. 750 per month to workers of closed factories and tea gardens and providing social security to the construction workers.

Another important development in West Bengal in the recent years from the point of view of employment generation is the phenomenal growth of Self-Help Groups (SHGs). The total number of SHGs in West Bengal reached 3.8 lakhs in 2005-06, involving nearly 38 lakh persons, 90% of whom are women. This has opened up new possibilities for self-employment and women’s empowerment. When the seventh Left Front government assumed office in 2006, a dedicated Ministry to provide policy support to these SHGs was created.

Minority Welfare

The Left Front government has also taken positive initiatives to uplift the Muslim minorities, who comprise over 26% of the State’s population and are socio-economically backward. The West Bengal Minority Development Finance Corporation (WBMFDC), which was formed in 1996 following the passage of an Act in the State Assembly, provides training as well as soft loans for self-employment and scholarships for meritorious students among Muslims. The WBMFDC ranks second, both in terms of cumulative disbursement of funds (from 1994-95 to 2005-06) as well as the number of beneficiaries, among all the State level minority development corporations. It has disbursed Rs.10751 crore to 28904 beneficiaries over this period. If the fact that the Uttar Pradesh MFDC started disbursing funds from 1994-95 (i.e. two years before the WBMFDC started disbursing funds) is taken into account, then the performance of the WBMFDC clearly emerges as the best in the country.

Challenges and Constraints

There is no doubt that the West Bengal government needs to do much more as far as people’s welfare is concerned, especially for the socio-economically disadvantaged groups. The areas in which improvement has to be brought about have been noted by the West Bengal Human Development Report 2004. The Sachar Committee Report 2006 also pointed towards the necessity of adopting concrete steps for the upliftment of the Muslim minorities. The Left Front government has been proactive in taking initiatives to do away with the shortcomings that continue to exist in its developmental effort. For instance, the Left Front government was the first State government to announce a sub-Plan for minorities at the State level, earmarking 15% of all Plan expenditure for development programmes meant to benefit minorities and implement the recommendations of the Sachar Committee. Several new initiatives have also been taken to improve the quality of public service in school education and public health in order to improve the human development scenario.

However, the capacity of the Left Front government to deliver in the spheres of peoples’ welfare and social infrastructure has been severely constrained by the limited availability of resources. Unless the resource constraint is overcome, major welfare initiatives cannot be undertaken. While a part of the additional resources can be generated through internal resource mobilization, much depends upon the direction of economic and social policies of the Central government too. The power to take crucial economic policy decisions in India rests with the Central government and not the State governments.

Within the existing Constitutional set up, while the State governments are expected to deliver upon a lot of responsibilities related to development and peoples’ welfare, the financial resources available to them have remained extremely limited given the skewed nature of Centre-State relations. The skewedness in Centre-State relations has aggravated in the post-liberalization period. Finances of most State governments have worsened due to growing indebtedness, squeeze in resource transfers from the Central Government to the States, rising interest cost of States’ debt and conditionalities regarding fiscal austerity imposed upon State governments through successive Finance Commissions and the Planning Commission. The Left Front government in West Bengal has also not been able to escape this predicament.

The Left Front government has tried to resist the neoliberal reforms imposed by the Central government. For instance, the West Bengal Government has rejected the dictate of the Centre regarding the enactment of the neoliberal Fiscal Responsibility legislation, which in effect binds the capacity of the state governments to undertake development expenditure. Alongwith the Left led Governments of Kerala and Tripura, the West Bengal government also resisted attempts by the Centre to force all States to undertake neoliberal pension reforms, which seeks to privatize the pension system. Similar unity between the Left led governments was on display during a recent meeting of the National Development Council on Agriculture, where efforts were made by the Centre to impose reforms of the State level APMC Acts and get all the States to endorse contract farming by corporates. The struggle for restructuring Centre-State relations is crucial for creating the autonomous space for the Left Front government to continue with its pro-people policies in future.

Conclusion

A big achievement of the Left Front government in West Bengal is its record in safeguarding democratic rights. Notwithstanding the vicious campaigns unleashed against it from time to time by its opponents, the Left Front government continues to remain firmly committed to democratic values and principles. Its impeccable record in upholding secularism and communal harmony, dealing with communal elements with a firm hand and defending the rights of minorities is a welcome exception to the programmatic or pragmatic communalism practiced by the bourgeois parties and the State governments led by them. The fact that the communal RSS-BJP combine have failed to gain any significant foothold in the State is primarily because of the relentless ideological-political campaign against communalism, in which the Left Front government leads from the front. While dalits and adivasis across the country continue to be victims of caste violence, it is indeed heartening to find that West Bengal has an almost zero rate of atrocities against dalits and adivasis. The Left Front government also has the distinction of resolving the Gorkhaland issue, in a just and democratic manner within the framework of the Indian Constitution, by providing regional autonomy to the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.

Born out of the struggles against authoritarianism and State repression, it is the commitment of the Left Front government to democracy, which has won it enormous credibility in the eyes of the people of West Bengal and enabled it to complete thirty years in office.

This incisive and thought provoking article was created on 2007-07-19 and contributed by Prasenjit Bose. He is a PhD in Economics from JNU, and is currently into full time research.