Thirty Years of the Left Front Government in West Bengal

The Left Front Government in West Bengal completes thirty years in office on 21 st June 2007 The uninterrupte! e"istence of a Left Front government in a #tate for thirty years is a remar$a%le achievement This &oul! not have %een possi%le &ithout the massive an! un&avering support of the &or$ing people of West Bengal for the programme an! policies of the Left Front Government 'n the course of this long tenure( the Left Front government has set a shining e"ample of pro)people governance %y implementing lan! reforms an! esta%lishing a !ecentralise! mo!el of local self) government through a three)tier *anchayati +a,( &hich has empo&ere! millions of rural poor an! irreversi%ly change! their lives for the %etter 'ts recor! in !efen!ing secularism( securing !emocratic rights an! uphol!ing pro%ity in pu%lic life is also unparallele! The Left Front Government in West Bengal continues to %e an inspiration an! source of strength for progressive an! !emocratic forces across the country Historical Outline The formation of the Left Front Government in West Bengal &as a culmination of !eca!es of struggles %y various sections of the people - &or$ers( peasants( teachers( refugees an! stu!ents - un!er the lea!ership of the Left( an! its %iggest component the .*' /01 Face! &ith the rising ti!e of struggles an! the gro&ing influence of the .*'/01 an! the Left( the .ongress regime &hich &as forme! after it un!emocratically rigge! the elections in 1272 resorte! to a reign of semi)fascist terror in West Bengal The .*'/01 an! the mass organisations face! the %runt of this repression 1(100 *arty &or$ers an! close sympathisers &ere $ille! The .ongress &as severely punishe! %y the people of the country for its authoritarian an! anti)!emocratic actions in the general elections of 1277 an! the Janata *arty Government &as forme! at the .entre &ith 0orar,i 3esai as *rime 0inister The 4ssem%ly elections in West Bengal &ere hel! shortly after the general elections in 1277 The people came out to vote in very large num%ers to get ri! of the reign of terror The Left Front &on %y over three)fourth ma,ority While assuming office in 1277( the Left Front government &as a&are of the limitations of a #tate government in implementing pro)people policies &ithin the e"isting .onstitutional set)up While the ma,or responsi%ility of !elivering services to the people &as &ith the #tate Governments( financial resources &ere concentrate! in the han!s of the .entre 5eeping in min! this constraint( the Left Front government em%ar$e! upon a programme to provi!e imme!iate relief to the people an! implementing alternative policies in spheres &here the #tate government ha! some say The ma,or initiatives of the first Left Front government &ere to carry out thoroughgoing lan! reforms an! esta%lishing a vi%rant *anchayati +a, These historic initiatives %ro$e the %ac$ of lan!lor!ism in the rural areas( empo&ere! the poor peasantry an! agricultural &or$ers immensely an! !ecisively change! the correlation of class forces in favour of the rural poor Large sections of the rural poor( especially the !alits( a!ivasis an! minorities( gravitate! to&ar!s the Left an! the .*' /01 This section continues to %e the most sta%le mass %ase of the .*' /01 an! the Left Front till !ate #everal other pro)people initiatives &ere also un!erta$en regar!ing &or$ers6 rights an! social sector !evelopment( &hich %enefite! !ifferent sections of the people7 factory &or$ers( unorganise! &or$ers( government employees( school an! college teachers( stu!ents( youth( &omen an! the refugees Through their e"perience( the ma,ority of the people of West Bengal came to recognise the Left Front government as a pro)people government( a custo!ian of their rights an! a fighter for their cause Therefore( since 1277( neither !i! the people ever loo$ %ac$ nor !i! the Left Front government

Land Reforms, Democratic Decentralization and Agricultural Success Land Reforms The lan! reforms initiate! in West Bengal ha! three ma,or components7 /i1 effective imposition of lan! ceiling an! vesting of ceiling surplus lan! /ii1 re!istri%ution of veste! lan! among the lan!less cultivators an! /iii1 securing of tenancy rights of sharecroppers /%arga!ars1 through a system of universal registration of tenant cultivators /8peration Barga1 4s a result of this thoroughgoing lan! reform programme( West Bengal to!ay has the most egalitarian lan! o&nership pattern in the entire country While West Bengal accounts for only aroun! 9: of agricultural lan! in 'n!ia( it accounte! for over 21: of ceiling surplus lan! that has %een re!istri%ute! in 'n!ia till !ate The total num%er of %eneficiaries of lan! re!istri%ution in West Bengal is over 2; la$hs( &hich is almost <0: of all %eneficiaries of lan! re!istri%ution in post) in!epen!ence 'n!ia The security of tenancy rights provi!e! to the sharecroppers un!er 8peration Barga &as also unprece!ente! in 'n!ia The total num%er of recor!e! sharecroppers ha! reache! over 1< la$hs( &hich accounte! for over 20: of the total agricultural househol!s in the #tate 8ver 11 la$h acres of lan! &as permanently %rought un!er the control of sharecroppers an! their right to cultivate lan! &as firmly esta%lishe! 4fter 90 years of Left Front rule( ;=: of lan! in West Bengal is o&ne! %y small /2 < acres to < acres1 an! marginal farmers /less than 2 < acres1 to!ay( &hile the all)'n!ia figure is only =9: 8ver 12 la$h acres of ceiling surplus veste! lan! is lying &ith various #tate governments to!ay %ut not %eing !istri%ute! among the lan!less This sho&s the !ifference in the political &ill of the Left Front government in West Bengal an! other #tate governments run %y %ourgeois parties 0oreover( aroun! <>: of the total %eneficiaries of lan! re!istri%ution in West Bengal &ere !alits an! a!ivasis 3alits an! a!ivasis also comprise! over =1: of the registere! sharecroppers Till !ate( over < 9< la$h &omen have %een given ,oint pattas an! 1 <7 la$h &omen given in!ivi!ual pattas /o&nership rights over lan!1 0uslims have also %enefite! significantly from the lan! reforms programme *roportion of lan! o&ne! %y 0uslims in West Bengal is the highest among all 'n!ian #tates &hich have a significant share /over 10:1 of 0uslim househol!s in total rural househol!s Follo&ing the onset of the neoli%eral policies in the !eca!e of 1220s( &hatever lan! reform measures &ere un!erta$en in most 'n!ian #tates in the post)in!epen!ence perio! &ere sought to %e reverse! ?o&ever( in West Bengal an a!!itional 2<(000 acres of lan! &as ac@uire! in the 1220s un!er the lan! reform legislation an! 2=(000 acres re!istri%ute! These figures for the !eca!e of the 1220s account for almost all the lan! ac@uire! an! over =0 per cent of the lan! re!istri%ute! in the entire country The Left Front government has continue! &ith the lan! re!istri%ution programme 90(000 acres of lan! &as !istri%ute! among lan!less families in 200>)07 Panchayati Raj +eorganisation of the system of local government &as one of the most important of the institutional changes %rought a%out %y the Left Front government 'n the process( West Bengal has create! a history of participation of the common people through the process of !ecentralisation( &hich is uni@ue in 'n!ia 4 system of !emocratic elections to local %o!ies at anchal( %loc$ an! !istrict level &as institute!7 gram panchayats at the anchal level( panchayat samitis at the %loc$ level an! Ailla parisha!s at the !istrict level Blections to these local %o!ies &ere hel! in June 127; The ne&ly electe! panchayats &ere involve! &ith the e"ecution of lan! reforms *anchayats too$ the initiative in e"posing %enami lan! hol!ings( ensure! the i!entification of e"cess lan! an! the !eclaration of veste! lan! an! &ere also given charge of ensuring the legal rights of

recipients of veste! lan! an! %arga!ars over lan! The panchayats &ere also involve! in arrangements for the provision of institutional cre!it for the %eneficiaries of veste! lan! an! for %arga!ars 4fter the rural !evelopment pro,ects &ere !evolve! to panchayats for implementation( the %eneficiaries of lan! reform &ere given priority in the receipt of %enefits from these pro,ects This &as possi%le %ecause through the panchayat election of 127;( a ne& lea!ership &as esta%lishe! at the helm of the rural %o!ies from less privilege! socio)economic %ac$groun!s The erst&hile village elite( inclu!ing lan!lor!s an! moneylen!ers( lost their !ominance over the ne&ly electe! local %o!ies The ne& lea!ership after 127; came out of the tra!ition of peasant upsurge an! struggle for lan! reform of the past three !eca!es West Bengal is the only #tate in 'n!ia to have ha! regular elections to local %o!ies every five years for the past 90 years The aim has %een to provi!e a su%stantial share of fiscal resources of the state to the local %o!ies West Bengal &as the first state in the country to ma$e a serious effort at !evolving fun!s from the state government level to the lo&er tiers of a!ministration The panchayats have also %een assigne! a large an! su%stantial range of responsi%ilities that &ere earlier seen as un!er the purvie& of the !istrict)level %ureaucracy The panchayats perform civic !uties an! un!erta$e !evelopmental activities li$e construction an! maintenance of hospitals( schools an! li%raries( promotion of agriculture( cooperatives an! cottage in!ustries( chil! &elfare activities( etc They play an important role in the local)level planning an! implementation of government schemes *anchayats in West Bengal have playe! an important role in activities li$e mo%ilising cooperation for improving agricultural pro!uction( management of local resources( an! i!entification of %eneficiaries for housing( poverty alleviation an! social security programmes This has ma!e the panchayats a critical institution of local governance in the West Bengal countrysi!e 8ver time( there has %een su%stantial representation of the rural poor an! of socially !eprive! groups li$e !alits an! a!ivasis( as &ell as &omen( in the electe! %o!ies 4ll this has helpe! to change the po&er e@uations in rural society as &ell as encourage! the social an! political empo&erment of social groups that &ere earlier marginalise! The proportions of !alit an! a!ivasi panchayat representatives in all the three tiers &ere over 97: an! 7: respectively( &ell over their share in population #ince 122<( one thir! of the seats an! positions of chairpersons in the panchayati ra, institutions have %een reserve! for &omen 't is( ho&ever( note&orthy that the actual representation of &omen e"cee!s one thir! as a num%er of &omen can!i!ates also &in in the general constituencies 8ver 9<: of the gram panchayat mem%ers are &omen 4lso( 7 out of 17 Ailla parisha!s have a &oman sabhadhipati an! 1<< out of 9<1 panchayat samities have a &oman sabhapati. 'n the late 1220s( the *anchayat +a, system in West Bengal &as further strengthene! %y intro!ucing gram sansads These are the general councils of voters in every &ar!( that are re@uire! to meet t&ice a year &ith a minimum @uorum of 10 per cent of voters to !iscuss the &or$ !one %y the panchayats an! utilisation of fun!s Successes in Agriculture This C&al$ing on t&o legsD strategy of the Left Front governmentE implementing lan! reforms an! the esta%lishment of an effective panchayati ra, in West BengalE has not only le! to the political empo&erment of the rural poor %ut has also %rought a%out a re,uvenation of agriculture in the #tate #ince the Left Front came into office in 1277( foo!grains pro!uction in West Bengal has gro&n at the rate of > per cent per annum( &hich is the highest among seventeen most populous #tates of 'n!ia From a foo! !eficit #tate &itnessing famines an! foo! riots !uring the .ongress rule( West Bengal has emerge! as a lea!ing foo! pro!ucer in the country un!er the Left Front rule West Bengal has emerge! as the topmost pro!ucer of rice( vegeta%les an! fish among all 'n!ian #tates .ropping intensity in West Bengal has increase! from a%out 19> per

cent in 12;0);1 to a%out 1;0 per cent in 2000)01( secon! highest in the country This has %een achieve! through significant e"pansion of irrigate! lan! area through small an! minor irrigation pro,ects 'n the %ac$!rop of the neoli%eral policies %eing a!opte! %y the .entre since early 1220s( agricultural gro&th has slo&e! !o&n across the country While agriculture gre& at less than 2: in 'n!ia !uring the Tenth *lan perio! /2002)20071( the gro&th rate of agriculture in West Bengal has %een over 9 <: The Left Front Government has not only %een successful in insulating the agrarian economy of West Bengal from the acute agrarian !istress currently %eing &itnesse! across the country( agricultural pro!uction continues to rise in West Bengal even to!ay Industrialization: An Imperative For most parts of its lengthy tenure( the Left Front government has ha! to encounter hostile governments at the .entre There &as a conscious effort on the part of successive .entral governments( particularly those run %y the .ongress( to !iscourage in!ustrialiAation in West Bengal since it &as a Left rule! #tate This &as !one %oth through a !enial of pu%lic sector investment as &ell as licenses for setting up private in!ustries 3uring 'n!ira Gan!hi6s tenure as the *rime minister in the early 12;0s( a proposal for setting up an electronics comple" in #alt La$e near 5ol$ata &as shot !o&n %y the .entral government on security groun!s( %ecause West Bengal &as a %or!er #tateF *ermission for the ?al!ia *etrochemical pro,ect &as &ithhel! %y the .entral government for 11 long years 0oreover( the freight e@ualiAation policy for coal an! iron ore ro%%e! West Bengal( along &ith the other states in the Bastern region of 'n!ia( of its locational a!vantage of %eing the most mineral rich region of the country Follo&ing these !iscriminatory policies pursue! %y the .entre an! the vitriolic anti) .ommunist propagan!a carrie! out %y the %ourgeois me!ia( &hich le! to some !egree of capital flight( West Bengal e"perience! in!ustrial stagnation !uring the !eca!e of the 12;0s Tra!itional in!ustries li$e tea( ,ute an! engineering &ere on a !ecline This aggravate! the unemployment situation in the #tate( especially in the ur%an areas( %esi!es causing har!ships for the &or$ers in the sic$ in!ustries The nee! &as felt to ma$e special efforts to reverse the tren! to&ar!s in!ustrial stagnation an! re) in!ustrialiAe West Bengal 0ean&hile( a %ig policy shift ha! come at the national level &hen the Garasimha +ao le! .ongress Government a!opte! the CGe& Bconomic *oliciesD in 1221 follo&ing the !ictates of the '0F an! the Worl! Ban$ The neoli%eral Ceconomic reformsD initiate! %y the .entral government a%an!one! the earlier emphasis on pu%lic sector investment( !evise! a strategy of li%eraliAing an! !eregulating the economy an! lai! emphasis on private capital( %oth !omestic an! foreign( as the main !river of economic gro&th 8n the one han! these policy changes &ere clearly in the right&ing !irection( &hich &as oppose! %y the .*' /01 an! the Left 8n the other han!( it also meant an en! to the !iscriminatory policy regime of the .entral government( %ase! upon licensing an! freight e@ualiAation policy( &hich ha! cause! enormous harm to the economic interests of West Bengal 't &as in this %ac$!rop that the he Left Front government ha! to !evise its in!ustrialiAation strategy 'n #eptem%er 122=( .omra!e Jyoti Basu announce! the 'n!ustrial *olicy of the Left Front government in the change! scenario( &hich state!7 C&e are all for ne& technology an! investment in selective spheres &here they help our economy an! &hich are of mutual interest The goal of self) reliance( ho&ever( is as nee!e! to!ay as earlier We have the state sector( the private sector an! also the ,oint sector 4ll these have a role to playD Follo&ing the a!option of the 'n!ustrial *olicy( the in!ustrial scenario in the state &itnesse! a turnaroun!( &ith important pro,ects li$e ?al!ia *etrochemicals an! Ba$resh&ar Thermal *o&er plants finally %eing set up This process of in!ustrialiAation receive! further impetus after the Left Front

government registere! its si"th consecutive victory &ith .omra!e Bu!!ha!e% Bhattacharya as .hief 0inister in 2001 an! su%se@uently its seventh victory in 200>( &ith an enhance! ma,ority 3uring the perio! from 1221 to 200> a total num%er of 1(921 in!ustrial units have %een set up in West Bengal &ith a realiAe! investment of +s 92(99; 2< crore an! creating !irect organiAe! employment for 2 09 la$h persons The num%er of ne& in!ustrial proposals in West Bengal is increasing progressively( especially in sectors li$e 'ron an! #teel( .hemical an! *etrochemicals( Foo! *rocessing an! 'nformation Technology #ince the thrust of the West Bengal government6s in!ustrial strategy is on employment generation( the focus is not limite! to %ig in!ustries alone The state government has consciously provi!e! policy support to small an! me!ium enterprises( %ecause of &hich the num%er of &or$ing small scale in!ustries in West Bengal has increase! from 12 1 la$hs in 122=)2< to 27 7 la$hs in 2000)01( &ith employment in small scale in!ustries !uring this perio! increasing from =9 ; la$hs to <; 7 la$h West Bengal no& ran$s first among all #tates in respect to %oth the num%er of &or$ing units an! employment generation in the small)scale in!ustrial sector Hnli$e other #tate governments( &hich succum%e! to the neoli%eral prescriptions of the .entre( the Left Front government has follo&e! an in!epen!ent approach to&ar!s in!ustrialiAation +ather than follo&ing the policy of in!iscriminate privatiAation of pu%lic sector units( the Left Front government has sought to strengthen them an! earnestly trie! to revive sic$ or close! in!ustrial units By repeate!ly placing its vie&s %efore the B'F+ in the interest of in!ustry an! &or$ers( the Left Front government has %een a%le to o%tain the sanction of revival scheme in respect of 72 units 8f these( 22 units have alrea!y %een revive! an! a%out 2< more units are li$ely to %e revive! #4'L has recently !eci!e! to invest +s 10(000 crore in the mo!ernisation of the ''#.8 factory at Burnpur( &hich &ill %e one of the %iggest pu%lic sector investment pro,ects currently %eing un!erta$en in the country The .entral government ha! earlier !eci!e! to privatiAe this sic$ unit 't &as the protracte! struggle &age! %y the ''#.8 &or$ers an! the principle! position a!opte! %y the West Bengal Government( &hich prevente! privatiAation an! has su%se@uently le! to the revival of ''#.8 #imilarly( Bengal .hemicals( &hich ha! %ecome a sic$ *#H( is %eing revive! &ith .entral investments &orth +s ==0 crore +ecently( t&o pu%lic sector units( .oal 'n!ia Limite! an! 3amo!ar Ialley .orporation have come together to ac@uire an! revive the 0ining an! 4llie! 0achineries .orporation /040.1 %ase! in 3urgapur( a prestigious *#H that &as close! fe& years ago .lose! units li$e Jessop an! 3unlop have also %een reopene! #ome controversy has arisen recently over ac@uisition of agricultural lan! for setting up in!ustries in West Bengal( especially in the conte"t of the Tata 0otors plant in #ingur an! a propose! chemical hu% near ?al!ia While the opportunistic gang)up of the entire opposition( from the ultra)+ight to the ultra)Left le! %y the reactionary Trinamul .ongress( has sought to pitch the !e%ate in terms of in!ustry versus agriculture( the Left Front government has repeate!ly emphasiAe! the nee! for a %alance! an! harmonious !evelopment of %oth sectors The slogan of Cagriculture is our foun!ation( in!ustry our futureD( put for&ar! %y the Left Front %efore the 4ssem%ly elections of 200> receive! &i!e acceptance among the people Welfare Initiatives and Constraints The Left Front government in West Bengal has un!erta$en several pro)people initiatives to ensure all)roun! !evelopment of the #tate The Left Front government has ensure! significant e"pansion in the spheres of pu%lic e!ucation an! health The num%er of schools in West Bengal has seen a su%stantial increase in the post)1277 perio!( &ith the num%er of secon!ary an! higher secon!ary schools registering a four fol! increase( from =>00 in 1277 to over 22(<00 in 200> 4ccor!ingly( the num%er of

stu!ents appearing for the secon!ary %oar! e"amination has increase! from a little over 2 la$hs in 1277 to over 7 < la$hs in 200> 4roun! ;0: of the in!oor patients in West Bengal to!ay are treate! in Government hospitals These reflect the commitment of the Left Front government to&ar!s human !evelopment The Left Front government has also ta$en some important steps to provi!e social security to &or$ers li$e intro!ucing a provi!ent fun! scheme for unorganise! sector &or$ers for the first time in the country /nearly 7 2 la$h &or$ers have alrea!y ,oine! the scheme so far1( provi!ing financial assistance of +s 7<0 per month to &or$ers of close! factories an! tea gar!ens an! provi!ing social security to the construction &or$ers 4nother important !evelopment in the recent years from the point of vie& of self)employment in West Bengal is the phenomenal gro&th of #elf)?elp Groups /#?Gs1 The total num%er of #?Gs in West Bengal reache! 9 ; la$hs in 200<)0>( involving nearly 9; la$h persons( 20: of &hom are &omen This has opene! up ne& possi%ilities for employment generation an! &omen6s empo&erment When the seventh Left Front government assume! office in 200>( a !e!icate! 0inistry to provi!e policy support to these #?Gs &as create! The Left Front government has also ta$en positive initiatives to uplift the 0uslim minorities( &ho comprise over 2>: of the #tate6s population The West Bengal 0inority 3evelopment Finance .orporation( &hich &as forme! in 122>( provi!es training as &ell as soft loans for self)employment an! scholarships for meritorious stu!ents among 0uslims The reforms %rought a%out in 0a!arsa e!ucation in West Bengal are also note&orthy( especially the mo!ernisation of curriculum inclu!ing intro!uction of vocational courses an! computer training an! %ringing the recruitment of teachers in ma!rasas un!er the purvie& of the #chool #ervice .ommission 't is significant that ><: of stu!ents stu!ying in the ma!arsas of West Bengal are girl stu!ents an! 12: of stu!ents are non)0uslims There is no !ou%t that much more nee!s to %e !one as far as people6s &elfare is concerne!( especially for the socio)economically !isa!vantage! groups( as has %een note! %y the West Bengal ?uman 3evelopment +eport 200= or the #achar .ommittee +eport 200> The Left Front government has %een proactive in ta$ing initiatives to !o a&ay &ith the shortcomings that continue to e"ist in its !evelopmental effort For instance( the Left Front government &as the first #tate government to announce a su%)plan for minorities at the state level to implement the recommen!ations of the #achar .ommittee #everal ne& initiatives have also %een ta$en to improve the @uality of pu%lic service in school e!ucation an! pu%lic health in or!er to improve the human !evelopment scenario ?o&ever( the capacity of the Left Front government to !eliver in the spheres of peoples6 &elfare an! social infrastructure have %een severely constraine! %y the limite! availa%ility of resources Hnless the resource constraint is overcome( ma,or &elfare initiatives cannot %e un!erta$en While a part of the a!!itional resources can %e generate! through internal resource mo%iliAation( much !epen!s upon the !irection of economic an! social policies of the .entral government too The po&er to ta$e crucial economic policy !ecisions in 'n!ia rests &ith the .entral government an! not the #tate governments

Conclusion 4 %ig achievement of the Left Front government in West Bengal is its recor! in safeguar!ing !emocratic rights Got&ithstan!ing the vicious campaigns unleashe! against it from time to time %y its opponents( the Left Front government continues to remain firmly committe! to !emocratic values an! principles 'ts impecca%le recor! in uphol!ing secularism( !ealing &ith communal elements &ith a firm han! an! !efen!ing the rights of minorities is a &elcome e"ception to the programmatic or

pragmatic communalism practice! %y the %ourgeois parties an! the state governments le! %y them While !alits an! a!ivasis across the country continue to %e victims of caste violence( it is in!ee! heartening to fin! that West Bengal has an almost Aero rate of atrocities against !alits an! a!ivasis Born out of the struggles against authoritarianism an! #tate repression( it is the commitment of the Left Front government to !emocracy( &hich has &on it enormous cre!i%ility in the eyes of the people of West Bengal an! ena%le! it to complete thirty years in office June 17( 2007