In the wake of the enormous interest across the globe in the fall of the Left Front in West Bengal, this book describes the Left era as one of passive revolution: limited reforms and changes, big compromises, corruption of the commissars and the failure of the Left in assessing popular discontent and anger; thus, it is the end of revolution even in passive form.
A collection of articles by Samaddar from leading national dailies and journals between 1977 and the downfall of the Left in West Bengal, this books analyses the era of the Left rule, its political decisions and its social and economic viability. Samaddar argues that the Left′s rule and its own governmental style destroyed the hegemony it had built up through assiduous work of decades.
A commentary on contemporary history and an assessment of it, this work helps the reader understand, better, the re-emergence of the Maoist movement in West Bengal, the governmental techniques of the Left and the dynamics of popular politics.
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Analyzes the era of the Left rule, its political decisions and its social and economic viability. This book argues that the Left's rule and its own governmental style destroyed the hegemony it had built up through assiduous work of decades. It helps the reader understand, the re-emergence of the Maoist movement in West Bengal.
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Introduction: Writing the History of Contemporary Bengal
I: CAPITAL, LABOUR AND POLITICS
Decade of Strike by Capital
A Dying Metropolis
Does the Left Front Favour the Urban Elite?
Environment and Employment: Will the Trade Unions and Greens Join Hands?
The Tannery Workers of Tangra
Lessons of Ayodhya: Has the Left Lost Its Vision?
New Right and the New Left
Party, Mass Organizations, and Mass Movements
More on Party and Mass Organization
Votes and Populism
II: NEW ISSUES, NEW PERSPECTIVES
Who is Afraid of the Migrants in Bengal?
A Library and an Institution
Hunger and the Politics of Life
Rajarhat-An Urban Dystopia
Dialogue and Growth
All Die, But All Do Not Die Equally
Chronicles of the Ranks
The Fast Emerging Power Vacuum
Civil Society and the Politics of a Society /Is Bengal′s Restless Spirit in Decline?
III: CONTENTIOUS POLITICS
Claim Making in the Age of Bio-politics
That was Revolt, This is Civil War
Elections in the Time of a Civil War
Populism and Peace
Different Ways of Truth telling
The Idea of a Front
Elections and Expanding our Representative System
Spring Time in Bengal
Their Civil Society, Our Civil Society
Stocktaking Midway through the War
IV: MESSY CHANGE
Transitional Challenges
Governing the Multitude-I
Governing the Multitude-II
How to Prevent a Telengana type Situation in West Bengal
The Challenge of Building a Non-corporate Path of Development
A Suggestion on Bengal′s Economic Woes
A Square Leading to Many Unknown Destinations
Early but Inevitable Errors in Judgement
A Violent History of Peace
Political Change is never for Utopia
Knight Riders in Kolkata /V: PERENNIAL THEMES
Eternal Bengal
"It does not die"-Urban Protest in Calcutta, 1987-2007
VI: POSTSCRIPT
The Epoch of Passive Revolution
Index
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The book contains many brilliant flashes of a social scientist. The analytical framework he uses to understand the contemporary history of West Bengal and interpreting it in terms of a sense of heterogeneity of events in a contemporary time scale adds to the value.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9788132110941
Publisert
2013-12
Utgiver
Vendor
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
Vekt
490 gr
Høyde
241 mm
Bredde
158 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
266
Forfatter