The automobiles of Maharajas

Arindam Sarkar

The story goes – according to vintage car expert Gautam Sen in his book on Maharajas and their cars – one Maharaja of Eastern India in early 20^th century went to London to buy a car. After reaching London, he visited the showrooms of Rolls Royce. But he felt insulted, when the sales agent did not take him seriously and showed him the door.

Next day, the peeved Maharaja sent his minister and purchased three Rolls Royce without coachwork and paid for the shipment to Kolkata. On reaching Kolkata, the angry Maharaja converted all the Rolls Royce as trucks to carry rubbish and gifted them to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

There are many such legends and myths associated with Maharajas and the cars of their times which are now called vintage.

Most of the 526 Princely States in India in late 19^th and early 20^th century possessed foreign cars. Today, many of these cars are either in the museums of Europe and the USA or with Indian collectors.

According to the records, a British gentleman imported the very first car, a Benz, to India in 1897. Soon cars arrived in Kolkata. In 1898, a European firm imported three “horseless carriages” which found their way to the Princely States. And with that, sources said, began the love affair of the Maharajas with automobiles.

By the first quarter of 20^th century thousands of fascinating and wonderful machines with intrinsic designs became part of the royalty in India.

Nizam of Hyderabad was the wealthiest man of his times and it is no surprise that he had an awesome and enviable fleet of cars. Nizam’s Palace had 200-odd cars such as Bentleys, Buicks, Delahayes, Duesenbergs, Cadillacs, Humbers, Jaguars, Mercedes Benz, Napiers, Oldsmobiles, Packards and, of course, Rolls Royce.

The arrival of “horseless carriages” changed the lifestyles of Maharajas in India. Unusual coachworks made their way to suit the passion and taste of the royalty. Ceremonial throne cars, hunting cars with Stephen Grebel search lamps and gun racks, wedding cars and cars for ladies with purdah became part of the automobile stable of the Maharajas.

Passion for cars endured for many decades in India and each ruler with strange tastes tried to outdo the other in pomp, glamour and splendour of their “horseless carriages”.  For instance, there was a landowner of Gujarat who possessed a Ford model with intricate silver work and laced curtains.

Seth Hukumchand of Indore possessed a gold-plated Daimler and the strangest was the famous Swan Car of Kolkata. It was a 1912 Brooke with its front looking like a swan.

  

But being strange was not the norm. There were flamboyant Maharajas too like the Nizam of Hyderabad. The famous “Pearl of the East”, a 1908 40/50 HP Rolls Royce, the thirty-seventh car in the series, is probably the first Rolls Royce imported into India.

Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia of Gwalior who had a passion for pearls owned a beautiful Rolls Royce painted with powdered pearl mixed with pigment. Maharaja of Indore Yashwantrao Holkar II owned cars like Bentleys with J Gurney Nutting coachwork; a fantastic supercharged open two-seater Duesenberg; Lagonda drophead coupe; Hispano Suiza; Alfa Romeos; and a Figoni-bodied Delage.

The stable of the Maharajas of Udaipur, Jodhpur and Gondal were also mind-blowing. Apparently, one Maharaja was not satisfied with his Limousine so he got the head chopped off and altered it to a four-door Cabriolet for hunting. Maharaja of Rewa Sir Ghulab Singh was an accomplished hunter and he converted his 86XJ into a “hunting car” in Rewa Motor Workshop and fitted it with four guns with a tiger skin inside. This car is at Zach Museum now.

From Sixties, many Maharajas sold their cars off to the collectors in the West. But with the ban in export of vintage and classic cars in 1972, the “horseless carriages” began to be purchased by Indian vintage car collectors. The most famous vintage car collector is Pranlal Bhogilal whose collection of vintage cars runs into hundreds.

Other major collectors are Vijay Mallya, Sharad Sanghi, Dr Ravi Prakash, Diljet Titus and Nitin Dossa. According to Gautam Sen, most of the vintage cars are either part of private collection or are kept in some museum in Europe and the USA. “All of them have fascinating stories to tell: the men, the woman and their magnificent machines,” claimed Gautam Sen. 

An American Outlook

Arindam Sarkar

If Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has the inclination, Americans have the dollars. Though Mamata is harping to industrially develop Bengal, so far she has not sent the right signals to the US investors, believes America’s one of the leading thinkers on foreign policy Professor Walter Russell Mead.

Visiting the city for the first time in August 2012, three months after the visit of the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Kolkata, the James Clark Chase Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College Professor Russell said Hillary came to build relations with a significant region of India. America recognizes that Kolkata counts as capital of the eastern India.

Russell pointed out it is the geo-political and strategic position of Kolkata that makes the city important for the USA. “There is China, Myanmar and the North-East. Kolkata is a place where many solutions will be crafted in the future. It is a city of a vital region,” believes Walter Russell.

Apparently, Americans think there is no reason why Kolkata can’t become Gujarat or Karnataka where the US companies have made major investments. American experience tells them that countries that have long been under Marxism such as Poland, Estonia or Czech Republic want change. Kolkata too is looking for a change for the better.

Since Bengal has been under Marxism for 34 years and have suffered Partition, they have missed out on economic growth. And with America ready to invest in Bengal, Mamata should make the right moves to get the dollars.

“Small changes matter. American Consulate here is situated on Ho Chi Minh Sarani. Why? Why isn’t it called Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi Street? Americans don’t like the communists. She can change the name of the street,” urged Professor Mead.

He said the CM must realize the real development comes with investments in manufacturing industries. IT provides employment to few and educated. But the masses benefit from manufacturing units as it creates huge employment opportunities. “Both the USA and Japan are looking towards Kolkata. A favorable industrial policy would bring the investors here,” Walter Russell emphasized.

Mamata Banerjee government doesn’t have a global, investor-friendly industrial policy and for that she requires, Walter Russel suggested, US consultancy majors like McKinsey & Co. to prepare an industrial roadmap and bring investments to Bengal. “American government cannot dictate the investments of their business houses. So the CM has to develop a good industrial policy to woo major investors like GE,” explained Professor Mead.

America understands Mamata’s position on `no FDI in multi-brand Retail’. But the Americans want Mamata to take a flexible approach. That is to protect her political interests and at the same time give way to business needs. “She is trying to reinvent Bengal. She has to work out modalities with the American investors to develop her State. She must share her concern and seek advice,” said Professor Mead.

The Americans are surprised that despite being nominated as one of the 100 most influential persons of the year by TIME magazine, Mamata has kept herself out of the American loop. She opened no communication channel with the US ambassadors to India or shown any interest to visit the USA to get business.

As of now, Walter Russell disclosed, the American investors see her as a difficult person to work with. The US foreign experts believe unless she sends the right message and the investors start considering her as a friendly person, American or Japanese investments in Bengal would be a distant dream.

“All the Fortune 500 companies have a global supply chain and the CM has to rope them. Hillary had also stressed on a strategic investment commitment from the CM. If this government delivers, things will happen,” said former Yale University Professor, Walter R Mead.

“She must show her commitment. She must set up trade missions in America. And with Maynamar opening up, she must latch on to the opportunity to make this city a huge trade corridor,” added Professor Walter Russell Mead.

Shooting Star

Arindam Sarkar

It was like a scene out of a movie. A wooden panel door in the study slid aside and in walked Aparna Sen – the face that has launched a countless images and set into flutter a million hearts in the last five decades.

Dressed casually in a crushed salwar-kameez, Indian cinema’s acclaimed filmmaker and Bengali film’s femme fatale Aparna quipped, had she not been an actress she would have been an author.

“I write screenplays passionately. You know, I started acting from the age of 10,” said Aparna, as the table lamp beside her sofa cast a soft but a strange shadow on her face.

Her aptitude for acting blossomed on stage. She was 10. And, the act was Hojoborolo. Aparna told her father Chidananda Dasgupta, an eminent film critic, and mother Supriya, a cousin of poet Jibanananda Das, that she wanted to be an actress. They agreed.

Chidananda wanted her to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), London. But 13-year-old Aparna refused to go because a stint at RADA would mean absorbing “British mannerisms and behavioral patterns” that was unfit for the Asian stage. “To act in India, I would have to unlearn all that I would learn at RADA. Instead, I joined the Little Theatre Group before my debut film, Somapti, in 1961,” said the Padma Shree awardee.

Aparna believes self-confidence helped her to evolve as an actor and filmmaker. She thinks, if one is really passionate about something, there is no reason why the goal cannot be achieved. “So I am not surprised to be a director. I could have been an author as well,” said Aparna.

Though Aparna directed her first film 36 Chowringhee Lane in 1981, she began writing the script much before it happened. She showed the screenplay to her mentor Satyajit Ray. When Ray told her to make it a film, Aparna realized she could write well. “With a good screenplay, I can communicate with the audience,” said the filmmaker who has won a bouquet of national and international awards and is now into her second stint as an editor of a magazine.

But it was acting that drew Aparna to films.  As an actress she had no role model and consciously avoided imitating anyone on screen. “Every time, I faced the camera I got Goosebumps. I liked doing Somapti, Baksho Bodol and Akash Kusum. But when I started acting in commercial cinema, I found it was all about titillating the audience,” rued Aparna.

It soon dawned on her that instead of acting, she was learning how to exploit her physical features in the best possible way. Initially, acting was a challenge because people doubted her capabilities and she had a point to prove. But once she became a star, she lost interest.

“I lost interest in flirting with the audience. Lowering the head, the shy smile, singing songs and endlessly repeating the same emotional scenes,” an exasperated Aparna said with pauses and her typical mile-a-minute deliveries.

But she liked doing comedy, as it demanded good timing and intelligence. Acting was her livelihood and with time it gave her a celebrity status. “The celebrity status assured me a hearing when I wrote my first script,” confessed Aparna. 

At times, Aparna used to regret her decision to not go abroad for higher studies. “We grew up with a staple fare of world cinema. So I couldn’t relate to our cinema and that caused pain,” said Aparna with a sigh. But the dark side had a silver lining. Through acting, she picked up the threads of filmmaking. Acting for her has been like a film school.

Aparna’s co-stars helped her to become a star. And one of them was Uttam Kumar. According to Aparna, Bengal’s greatest star was a kind person and an interactive actor. She fascinatingly watched him on the shooting floor. “Uttam’s acting school was Hollywood. He intelligently adapted the style to Bengali cinema. He understood sound and taught me the subtleties of romantic acting,” she said.

One day, at the studio, Uttam was taking too long to memorize his lines. On seeing Aparna getting irritated, he asked her to sit beside him and said he had a little stammer so he had to learn his lines very well. “The confession of a great actor overwhelmed me and his kindness was a big turn on,” said Aparna.

She met Saumitra Chatterjee, Bengal’s another popular actor, during the making of Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar. Saumitra taught her footwork. “I learnt from him how to move with maximum economy and that equipment does not hinder acting but helps to elevate performance,” revealed Aparna.

Once, when a camera trolley jerked during shooting, Aparna stopped acting and told the director about the shake. But the cameraman disagreed. She was asked to focus on acting and not on camera movement. “It was ridiculous. We noticed the jerk during the rushes,” Aparna remembered.

How would Director Aparna react if her actor did the same? “She would tell them to check the monitor or, if the scene had gone well, keep the jerk because strong emotions can override tremors without anyone noticing it on the screen.”

“In Yuganta, the entire set shook in one scene. But I let it go. I knew the emotion was so overpowering, no one would notice it,” said Aparna. Yuganta bagged a national award. “My curiosity helped in learning the technical aspects of filmmaking as an actor.”

It was Satyajit Ray’s encouragement that saw the birth of 36 Chowringhee Lane. From Ray, Aparna learnt the nuances of script writing and camera movements. “I like few frames of Ritwik Ghatak and Ingrid Bergman, but my cinema is essentially Ray,” admitted Aparna.

Ray told her to make 36 Chowringhee Lane in English and approach Dada Saheb Phalke awardee Shashi Kapoor for production. In 1981, the film won the national award. And, till now, Aparna’s ten films have won many national awards.

Is Aparna Sen a woman’s director? No, she says. That is a perception but not the truth. She argued she has done films delving into the psyche of women because it is a subject she feels comfortable with. “My cinema is more about human psychology, where characters of men also got importance,” she said.

Images come rushing into her mind when she selects a subject. She dots them down and the script begins. For Paroma, an image of an adulteress with her head shorn hit Aparna and the screenplay was written. “Mr and Mrs Iyer, 15 Park Avenue, The Japanese Wife or Iti Mrinalini, Goynar Baksho have strong storyline and are not biased towards women,” Aparna stressed.

“I am not a feminist filmmaker. I am aware of feminist issues and sympathetic towards them. But for me feminist issues are very much a part of human condition. If women are protagonists in my films it is because I understand their psyche better, explained Aparna.”

The thinking director who was in the vanguard of the intellectual movement against the Left Front government said people voted for poriborton and expected a miracle. “But miracles don’t happen overnight. I am willing to give the chief minister and the new regime a chance. The alternative is a Left misrule and I am not for it,” said Aparna quite vehemently.

Does blooming of director Aparna mark the end of actress Aparna? Given a choice, she will not act. Her career in front of the camera is shorter than the one behind it. “I am better off as a director,” shot Aparna with her head tilted and face glowing with a smile that makes millions swoon over her.

Bangladesh in turmoil – Part II

Arindam Sarkar

In January 2015, when the Awami League government completed one year in power in Dhaka, all hell broke loose. In the next four months, the Opposition – Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led coalition that includes the Jamaat-e-Islami – has paralysed the nation by calling strike after strike. Political violence has killed 150 people; properties worth crores have been damaged in arson and loot; government has arrested many BNP leaders; fundamentalism has raised it head; and three bloggers have been hacked to death for their anti-Islam writings in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has declared that militant agitations by the Opposition political parties won't stop till fresh elections are held in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is emphatic that her government would complete its full five-year term. Bangladesh is in turmoil. 

“People of Bangladesh want democracy and this Parliament does not represent them. This government is illegal and should be removed immediately to establish a democratic government that reflects the people’s wishes,” Khaleda Zia believes. 

After a winter of discontent in 2013, the return of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to power in Bangladesh for the third time brought hopes for India. And for Bengal, it meant cultural exchanges and good times.

When Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took oath at Bangabhavan in Dhaka in January 2014, news trickled that Bangladesh’s ban on Hilsa export to India was going to be lifted and soon the silver crop of Padma would flood Bengal. After a bloody 10^th parliamentary polls, whose tremors shook the world and Bengal in particular, that was boycotted by the principal Opposition outfit the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami, Hasina-led Awami League and its allies returned to power for the second consecutive term in Bangladesh.

A three-time prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, whose party won more than two-third of the 300 seats at fray, said she would uphold democracy. “BNP must dissociate itself from the Jamaat and violence must stop. It was foolish to boycott the polls. The Opposition must reach a consensus so that the parliamentary elections could be held,” Hasina said.

Reacting to Hasina, the BNP chief and former two-time PM Khaleda Zia described the elections as a “farce” and sought international interventions. “We have not lost, but they have. It is an autocrat government. Democracy is threatened in Bangladesh,” said Khaleda.

Visiting Professor of Institute of Foreign Policy Studies, Calcutta University, Jayanta Roy believes boycott of elections by BNP was unnecessary. In many Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia, democracy is challenged. If polls were not held, it is Bangladesh that lost on strengthening the poll process.

Senior Fellow of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies Professor Amiya Chowdhury said if Hasina had lost the polls, it would have led to a creation of a second Pakistan. “BNP and Jamaat are pro-Pakistan. Bengal would have been threatened by rabid fundamentalism. In 2001-2006, BNP-Jamaat government Talibanised the eastern front,” said Professor Amiya Chowdhury.

Horrified by the pre-poll violence, the US, European Union and the Commonwealth did not send election observers. Post-poll, the US, Canada, Germany and UK questioned the legitimacy of the Hasina government. Loot, arson, violence, Hindu persecution, death of more than 150 people, blockades and hartals shocked the Human Rights Watch, which urged that peace should be restored in Bangladesh. But Hasina remained firm.

Hasina held the polls according to the provisions of the Constitution. India observed, holding the elections on January 5, 2014, was a constitutional requirement for Hasina. Soon, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian PM Manmohan Singh congratulated Hasina and a disappointed US agreed to work with her government.

BNP, however, is maintaining a tough stand. Senior vice chairman of BNP Tareque Rahman said they would not talk or negotiate with the Awami League. And BNP vice-chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury added: “The BNP’s decision to stay away from this fraudulent, one-sided elections has been vindicated by an unprecedented low voter turnout.” Former President HM Ershad, whose Jatiyo Party contested, remained quiet.

BNP leaders blamed Hasina for creating tension before the polls by arresting their leaders on false charges, intimidating and restricting the movement of Khaleda. But Hasina claimed it is the BNP-Jamaat combination that has put Bangladesh on a powder keg. “They should stop violence, killing innocent people and destroying properties,” Hasina demanded.

But Khaleda retorted they do not believe in violence. “We want to continue peaceful and democratic movements with the people on our side. I again propose that dialogue be initiated to put an end to conflict. And attack on Hindus should be neutrally investigated,” she said.

Bangladesh observers said it is the ongoing trial of 1971 War criminals; banning of the Jamaat; and introduction of the 15^th Amendment that snapped the nerves of the BNP, Jamaat and the Hefazati Islam. Result: they resorted to violence for more than a month before the polls.

The Supreme Court’s decision in mid-2013 to cancel the registration of Jamaat as a political party, since they opposed the Bangladesh’s Independence and many of their leaders have been convicted by the Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) set up by the Hasina in 2010, came as a shock to the Opposition.

The hanging of  “Butcher of Mirpur” – the top Jamaat leader Abdul Kader Mullah – in December 2013 for committing atrocities during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War further antagonized the Jamaat and the Hefazatis. In fact, Awami League leaders and intellectual believe the banning of the Jamaat was the main reason for the BNP to boycott the elections.

“It is the Jamaat ban by the Supreme Court and the war crimes trial that led the BNP to boycott the elections. But people will not forgive those who opposed the Mukti Juddho and Bangladesh’s Independence,” said a former Mukti Joddha and filmmaker Nasiruddin Yousuff.

With pressure mounting on the BNP to snap ties with the Jamaat, the former initially argued they had no ideological understanding. That they were two distinct parties and the electoral alliance was purely a mathematical one. “Just like the Awami League had struck an alliance with the Jamaat in 1995-1996 against the BNP,” said Shamsher Chowdhury.

Later, Khaleda told the New York Times she would consider breaking the alliance with the Jamaat but had not decided on the timing. But writer and documentary-maker Shahriyar Kabir takes this remark with a pinch of salt. “BNP is totally dependent on Jamaat because the former does not have any cadre. They will only part ways if there is pressure from the party rank and file,” he emphasized.

BNP strongly resented the 15^th Constitutional Amendment that did away with holding the elections under a non-party Caretaker Government. Hasina argued that like all democracies, Bangladesh could hold polls under the incumbent regime. But Khaleda put her foot down and refused to talk with Hasina. Interestingly, Khaleda had opposed polls under Caretaker Government when Hasina demanded it before the February 15, 1996, parliamentary polls. Fearing that Khaleda would rig the polls, Awami League boycotted the elections.

Khaleda held the elections and won. But under pressure, she passed the 13^th Constitutional Amendment to hold the 7^th parliamentary elections under Caretaker Government. On June 15, 1996, Hasina won and in 2001 transferred power to Caretaker Government.

“The caretaker government under Justice Laifur Rahman acted in a partisan manner. It helped Khaleda to win. And between 2001-2006, Bangladesh witnessed worst kind of fundamentalism. Three lakh Hindus fled and temples were destroyed. Intellectuals like Professor Mutasin Mamum and Humayun Azad were tortured,” said Shahriyar Kabir who also suffered.

“Communalism and terrorism thrived. Law and order went for a toss under BNP-Jamaat regime,” said Nasiruddin Yousuff. “Anti-India feelings and militancy along the border peaked. Khaleda regime turned Bangladesh into an Afghanistan,” added Professor Jayanta Roy.

After being under Caretaker Government between 2006 and 2008, people gave a landslide victory to Sheikh Hasina. “The Caretaker Government had ruled with 156 Ordnances. It was rudderless. Return of democracy is welcome and there is nothing wrong in 15^th amendment,” explained Prof Amiya Chowdhury.

Awami League is now out to restore secularism, spirit of Mukti Juddho and Bengali nationalism in Bangladesh. But BNP points out the Supreme Court had allowed holding the 10^th and 11^th parliamentary polls under non-party Caretaker Government in the interest and safety of the people and the State. “By selectively ignoring this verdict, the Awami League has pushed the country to the precipice,” claimed Shamsher Chowdhury.

But notwithstanding violent and controversial parliamentary elections in 2014 and a sullen Opposition, Hasina has her task cut out. Dogged by corruption and inefficiency, her government has to perform to satisfy the people and keep the Opposition at bay. 

In the last few years, Bangladesh’s social and economic indicators are on a high. The government has been engaged in empowering people and providing social safety net. It has undertaken development initiatives for children, homeless, senior citizens, widows, unemployed, insolvent freedom fighters, women, farmers and pushed trade and commerce. Hasina has to take it forward.

Chairperson of Transparency International Bangladesh Sultana Kamal said the biggest challenge for Hasina is to justify that the 15^th Amendment would lead to development, progress and protection of the democratic and human rights of the people. “Hasina must also clean the corrupt system and implement the ICT. The BNP should snap its links with the Jamaat because the alliance questions its democratic spirit,” said Sultana Kamal.

One year after the elections, Hasina is on the hot seat. The time is ticking for her. She has to perform or perish. Khaleda Zia has to be positive. Given the present situation, it is to be seen whether Bangladesh remains a basket case or is able to put its violent past behind and become a basket full of promises.

Emergency to democracy in Bangladesh - Part I

Arindam Sarkar

In a democracy crowds do not necessarily translate into votes. In the last fortnight of January 2009, the high-voltage campaign for the ninth parliamentary elections in Bangladesh witnessed both the Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia drawing huge crowds in their publics meetings.

In fact, the Dhaka campaign of Khaleda Zia witnessed such a huge turnout that even the pro-Sheikh Hasina supporters felt that it was going to be a close contest. But that was not to be. The voters casting their franchise after two years of Emergency in Bangladesh had made up their mind.

At the end of the polls, twice Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia's fate was sealed. The "Digital Diva" Sheikh Hasina, who campaigned for a "Digital Bangladesh", swept the polls with her grand alliance capturing 258 out of the 299 seats at fray for the Jatiya Sansad.

And a shocked Begum Khaleda Zia with her "Save Islam and Save Country" slogan went down miserably with only 32 seats (with her allies) in her kitty. However, even the worst of Begum Zia's critics never thought that this time round BNP would be washed out in the elections.

Actually, as Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia took poll guard after releasing their respective election manifestos at Hotel Sheraton in Dhaka and picked up the election tempo, the Bangladesh intelligence agencies and bureaucracy predicted that while Hasina had an edge, she would at best get somewhere close to 140 to 145 seats and BNP would follow suit with 100 to 110 seats.

Therefore, under these circumstances, it was assumed that General (Retd) HM Ershad's Jatiya Party with a possible tally of 26 to 28 seats would be crucial in forming a coalition government. But the prediction was thrown to the winds. People gave a massive verdict against corruption, tyranny and mal-administration of the BNP rule between from 2001 to 2006.

This theory gained ground. Though a section of the people felt that corruption charges alone were not such a big factor to damage the chances of the BNP. On the contrary, the pro-BNP supporters argued that the witch-hunting launched by the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Caretaker Government and arrest of BNP key leaders did not go down well with the people. And this would reflect in the elections.

But now it appears that the BNP has been punished for its wrong doings in its last term when corruption reached its zenith, prices of essential commodities hit the roof, development stopped, commission on government projects became the order of the day, the BNP headquarters – Hawa Bhawan – became the alternative centre of power, minorities were attacked, human rights were violated, opposition leaders including Sheikh Hasina were targetted, Islamic fundamentalism raised its heads and terrorist outfits found Bangladesh to be a safe haven.

In fact, the rout of Jamaat in the elections proved that the young and the middle class voters did not support the fundamentalist campaign and instead preferred it to the secular politics of Sheikh Hasina.

Looking back, it appears that from the very beginning Begum Khaleda Zia was on a sticky wicket. The fact that she accused the Caretaker Government of trying to help Awami League for coming to power and not giving her a "level playing field" was perceived as a bad sporting spirit.

Begum Zia actually was buying time to put her house in order. With her prominent leaders in jail on charges of corruption, she initially decided not to participate in the election. Thereafter, she changed her mind, putting pressure on the Caretaker Government to defer the elections that was scheduled on December 18. Begum Zia's dilemma further aggravated when she found it difficult to field 'clean' candidates in the elections.

And finally, it was the release of the BNP's manifesto that added to her woes. Political analysts termed her manifesto as empty promises without any target or commitment. The manifesto said nothing new about eradicating corruption; it talked about fighting terrorism but gave tickets to those involved with such militant organisation like Harkat-ul-Jihad; and said nothing about snapping ties with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which in 2005 had orchestrated a countrywide bomb blasts.

Although the BNP manifesto spoke of human rights being violated, it said nothing about giving teeth to the Human Rights Commission. It also brushed aside all allegations of violating human rights during its tenure.

The manifesto also lacked special attention to the minorities and the indigenous population as they suffered the most under the last BNP government. BNP's promise to reform the judicial system was not taken seriously – as this body was most interfered under the BNP regime.

Similarly, political analysts observed, BNP’s promise to improve infrastructure, agriculture, poultry, fishing, small and medium enterprises and eradicating poverty lacked specific plan of action and there was no roadmap as to how Begum Zia was to meet these targets and mobilise resources. People called it a bluff.

On the contrary, riding the boat (the election symbol of Awami League) in the Land of Rivers, Sheikh Hasina with her Charter for Change manifesto established immediate connect with the people and the intellectuals. They said Sheikh Hasina's action plan was sincere, practical, judicious, target-oriented and she was hailed as a "visionary," who could take Bangladesh out of the pits.

Before the polls, the business captains made a beeline to meet her at Sudha Sadan – Hasina’s residence at Dhanmondi. The foreign envoys called on Hasina and wished her luck and even the donor countries felt confident that if the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is catapulted to power, the greenbacks would be well-spent and not end up in the deep pockets of the 'ten per cent men' of Bangladesh.

From the very beginning, Hasina meant business. In 2008 autumn, before returning to Bangladesh from United States, where she had gone for medical treatment, Hasina told David Frost of BBC that people of Bangladesh were ready to usher in democracy and Awami League was the political party of the hour.

After that came the masterstroke, when Sheikh Hasina said that if Awami League came to power, she would not reject the measures taken by the Caretaker Government and hinted that neither she nor her party have any complaints against the army that backed the interim government in Bangladesh during the last two years of Emergency.

This came as music to army and the Caretaker Government officials who now hoped for Sheikh Hasina to win. Then, Hasina announced that she would not take any action against the party leaders who were for reforms in Awami League when she was imprisoned. This move united the party behind her and the leaders who questioned her authority in her absence now strongly rallied behind her.

And the icing on the cake was the Awami League manifesto. Hasina talked about inflation, rise in prices of essential commodities, poverty, energy, good governance and terrorism. And to tackle all these, she laid out short-term (five years) and long-term policies (2021).

She promised social safety network and poverty reduction by 2013. She said that her government would work towards attaining food security by 2012. Hasina said Bangladesh would cruise at 8 per cent growth rates of GDP by 2013 and 10 per cent by 2017. The country would produce additional 7,000 MW of electricity in the next four years.

People believed when Hasina said her government would work for independence of judiciary and strengthen anti-corruption and human rights commission. She assured that her government would work towards formation of South Asian Task Force to tackle terrorism.

All this, clicked with the new generation and women voters, who outnumbered the old timers this time. Hasina's pledge to take the country ahead in the 21st century of globalisation, despite recession, came as manna to the fresh voters.

And most importantly, the release of her visionary document called the Charter for Change for all round development of the country by 2021 – which is the golden jubilee year of Bangladesh's Independence – struck the right chord with the mass.

People have reposed faith on Hasina and now it is her turn to fulfill her promises. The powerful verdict against Begum Zia is clear and loud that people would punish severely, if one fails to deliver. Begum Zia got her chance after Hasina failed to live up to the expectations of the people in her first term in 1996. And then Begum Zia failed and people have brought Hasina back. In her second term, Hasina has to deliver or perish.

Singur

Arindam Sarkar

The verdant fields of Singur will go down in our times as the nook where the Left turned Right and the Right turned Left. Result: Tata Motors left for good and both the CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress missed the opportunity to get industry in Bengal.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is now desperately trying to set up industry in Bengal. She has also requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help Bengal become industrialized, but capital is not in sight. Mamata is keen to have Tata Motors back in Bengal.

Today, the paddy and potato fields of Singur stand witness to the power struggle that rocked Bengal from 2006 over setting up of a small car – Nano – plant that eventually shifted to Gujarat. 

The Singur agitation also saw the metamorphosis of Mamata Banerjee from an urban leader to a farmers' leader and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's desperation to resolve the Singur problem in order to keep his tryst with industry.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s industrial policy in Bengal and the forcible land acquisition was opposed by a section of the party comrades in the CPI(M)'s 22^nd State Conference and the 19^th CPI(M) Party Congress at Coimbatore. But chief minister did not stop because he was out to make the Singur Tata Motors Nano plant his showpiece industry in Brand Bengal.

When former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu stepped down in December 2000, Buddha came with the promise to deliver goods and convincingly led the Left Front to victory in the 2001 Assembly elections. It was the people's mandate for a clean and dynamic CM.

The next five years saw Buddha positioning Bengal as an industrial destination; convincing the industries that CITU (trade union body) has shed its militant colour; wooing the IT majors and stressing on the need to develop horticulture; and pushing floriculture and biotechnology as new avenues in the State.

Buddha won the 2006 Assembly elections on the plank of making Bengal the most happening industrial destination in the country.  

Thereafter, Bengal saw the coming of several steel players including Jindals, Balaji, Shyam, Adhunik, etc., new proposals to set up power plants, airports, a deep sea port, a chemical hub, a nuclear plant and many Special Economic Zones.

No wonder, Buddha glowed with pride as such industry captains like Azim Premji, Sajjan Jindal, Mukesh Ambani, Narayan Murthy, etc., all made a beeline to the CM's chamber at the Writers' Buildings. And finally it was the coming of the chairman of the Tata Sons Ratan Tata to set up the Nano plant at Singur that bowled Buddha over.

While all this happened, crucial debates began in the CPI(M) over how to accommodate the industry and where to acquire lands for industry.

While a section of party insisted that industries should go to Purulia, Bankura and Birbhum to set up plants and not disturb agriculture, Buddha and his politburo colleagues Industries minister Nirupam Sen and CPI(M) State secretary Biman Bose insisted that acquisition of 1 per cent of the State's total agricultural land (1.64 crore acres) would be enough for industry and not affect the agriculture.

These mandarins presented the polemics of former communist party chief of China Deng Xiao Peng, who opened up China to the capitalists and cleared the deck for acquiring farmlands for industries, to argue their case. However, while selling Deng, the Bengal apparatchiks closed their eyes to the violent land riots of China in 2005-2006 that occurred due to forcible acquisition of farmlands.

Thus, the very CPI(M), which came to power in Bengal in 1977 through land movements, undertook the Operation Barga and set example in the country with its panchayati system, got down to forcibly acquire lands from the farmers. Argument: time was ripe for the farmers to move from tilling their soils to working in the factories.

Result: a disaster. Nandigram witnessed bloody clashes and casualties in 2007. And State Government backtracked from acquiring 14,000 acres of land there for a chemical hub. The panchayat election blow made the CM cancel the Barasat-Raichak Highway project as it entailed further acquisition of farmlands.

Soon, the CM and the CPI(M) were caught in the Singur quagmire for acquiring the multi-crop lands to set up the Tata Motors Nano plant. This time, however, Buddha didn’t backtrack. And his incentive package to the Singur farmers was a clear signal that this was one project he wouldn't abort.

But Buddha's determination hit the Mamata wall. Despite three rounds of talks with Mamata to reach a solution in Singur, the CM failed to make her give up her demand to return 400 out of the 1,000 acres of land to the farmers who want them back.

Mamata argues that the CPI(M) had violated the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy 2007 of the Centre by acquiring farm tracts in Singur for the motor plant. The policy says that the State Governments shall not acquire multi-crop and irrigated areas.

Though the State Government insists that the Tata Motors plant is a cluster automobile unit where the ancillary units should be attached to the mother plant on 997 acres of land, Mamata said one does not require more than 400 acres to set up a motor plant. Secondly, there is no question of applying any model on land that has been forcibly acquired from the farmers. And finally, Mamata said that the land price at Singur was going at Rs 50 lakh per acre and the reworked compensation offered to the tune of around Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh per acre is pittance, which the farmers should not accept.

There was more to Singur, however, than just Buddha's Nano dream and Mamata's crusade for the farmers' cause.

Confident that the rural vote-bank is intact, Buddha and the CPI(M) were eyeing the vote-bank of the urban areas and the fringe townships around the metro with industry, development and employment opportunities as electoral issues in the ensuing 2009 Lok Sabha and 2011 Assembly polls.

And Mamata who all along struggled to find a foothold in the rural belt, for the first time tasted blood in the countryside. Her Nandigram agitation paid off in the 2008 panchayat polls significantly. And with Singur burning, she went for a kill in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Trinamool Congress said that people in the rural areas were questioning the CPI(M)'s role  as their saviour. Having lost faith on the CPI(M), due to the fear of losing their lands and homesteads for industries, there is a perception among the people that a victorious Marxist would begin with all vigour to displace them and grab lands to please the monopoly houses.

Mamata rode the anti-CPI(M) wave. In 2009 Lok Sabha polls and 2011 Assembly elections, as people of Bengal dumped the Good Old Left, Mamata romped home with a massive mandate. Not surprising, with the Right donning a socialist garb, people chose to leave the Left.

President Pranab

Arindam Sarkar

A shrewd brain that is fond of Éclairs toffee, coffee and cartoons! The 14^th President of India Pranab Mukherjee is not a “Magnificent Cipher” at Raisina Hill.

He has comfortably settled down, busy doing the chores of a president, and has also found time to undertake foreign visits and release his first of the three-part autobiography The Dramatic Decade – The Indira Gandhi Years in December 2014.

The man who scripted the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal, President Pranab Mukherjee is on a visit to Russia between May 7 and 11, 2015. A practitioner of socialism, he is not blind to the positives of capitalism.

In the summer of 2014, all eye were riveted at Pranab Mukherjee. Because some political pundits believed if there was a hung parliament, then the man to watch, as the game changer, would be the occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. However, the BJP swept the polls and Narendra Modi was sworn in as the prime minister.

Pranab may have served Prime Ministers PV Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh, but he has never been a neo-liberal. In fact, Nehruvian Economics has guided his policies as finance minister and as a Congress Working Committee member.

Pranab’s first presidential speech gave a glimpse of his thoughts and the men – Swami Vivekananda, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan – who inspired and shaped his personality in his long political career spanning more than four decades.

A workaholic, Pranab today misses his hectic schedule as Union Cabinet minister, Congress trouble-shooter, CWC member and chairman of the Group of Ministers of the UPA-I & UPA-II Governments in the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Pranab also misses the regular small gatherings in the living room of his residence – with unending telephone calls and cups of coffee. It is here, at the end of the day, Pranab shared lively political anecdotes with his friends and guests.

As a politician, Pranab was at his ebullient best while traveling, in a car or on a flight, and when sitting on the divan in his living room with a huge pillow supporting his back.

He is still touchy about his six-year expulsion from the Congress in 1986. Pranab men say it was a conspiracy against him by the Gang of Four – Ashok Sen, ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi and Ajit Panja – who spread the canard that Pranab after Indira Gandhi’s assassination was eyeing the prime ministership.

Nevertheless, it was Pranab’s defense of Rajiv and the Gandhi family, when the Bofors Scam exploded, gradually helped `The Outsider’ to win over the confidence of Rajiv Gandhi. Congressmen say, in the last few years Pranab was one of the most dependable men of AICC president Sonia Gandhi.

Pranab told party men the “inner voice” speech in 2004 after which Sonia declined the prime ministership of UPA-I was her way of telling `no’ to people who questioned her foreign origin. When not in New Delhi, Sonia-Pranab telephone calls on crucial political issues sometimes lasted more than 15 minutes.

Once at a seaside hotel during an election campaign, Sonia’s called. Pranab rushed from the lounge to his suite. But soon he came out and shouted: “Reduce the volume. I can’t hear her”. The roaring sea waves disturbed him and Congressmen did not know how to reduce the ferocious sound of the nature.

Pranab never takes his speeches casually. Whether addressing the crowds in the villages during elections or the pressure groups inside 5-star hotels on Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal, he always kept it high-stuff – peppered with quotes of eminent personalities.

Once sitting on the front bucket seat of his bulletproof white ambassador – as his convoy travelled a distance of more than 600 km – Pranab gave a non-stop lecture on the history of the Congress, crucial CWC meetings, and prime ministers.

Pranab is that politician who doesn’t fuss much about food and doesn’t ask his companions whether they had eaten. This is largely because Pranab himself is a frugal eater and is known to skip his dinner quite often. A man with a rural bias, taste and habits, Pranab loves his typical Bengali food: rice, beulir dal, alu-posto, postor bora, rui maach and mishthi. (He loves sweets but is off it because of diabetes).

Pranab eats pretty late. He usually has his dinner at around 1.30 am after reading his files, books and taking a shower. A private dinner with Pranab is actually having food alone. He sits with the guest at the dining table with a newspaper and occasionally looks up – until the guest finishes the last spoon of dessert.

Since Pranab doesn’t take hard drinks, no matter how close you are to him, you will end up with hot coffee with biscuits. Soft drink is a luxury and rarely served. In 1983, during an official dinner thrown at Moscow, after the toast Pranab found he was a little tizzy.

Laughing at her finance minister, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi told him she had mischievously mixed little vodka with his soft drink. That was Pranab’s first and last hard drink of his life.

Congressmen say its is his tolerance and patience that has helped him to finally make it to the Raisina Hill and be there without any controversy. Pranab’s detractors in the Congress say he is at best the “head clerk or munim ji of the party”. His supporters say he is “a walking encyclopedia and a Gandhi family loyalist” who is the best prime minister, India never had.

In fact, twice Pranab came close to becoming a prime minister, but 7 Race Course Road eluded him. When Sonia refused to be the PM, Pranab’s supporters thought he was the best choice. Again, when Manmohan Singh went for cardiac surgery, Pranab’s name did the rounds as a replacement for an ailing prime minister. But it seems 10 Janpath had Raisina Hill booked for him. And Pranab is not complaining.

Is Pranab a sleeping President? President Rajendra Prasad often confronted Nehru on the powers and positions of the President of India. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan also had his views on president’s role. Zail Singh did not give assent to the Postal Bill though it was passed by the Cabinet and sent for his signature. Again, KR Narayanan used his discretionary powers to call AB Vajpayee to form a government in 1998 though he did not have a majority and it collapsed in 13 days.

Pranab is no adventurer. He knows where he stands and what the book (read Constitution) says. He is happy to spend time reading, writing, visiting countries, meeting guests and walking three miles in the lawns of the Rashtrapati Bhavan every morning.

The rise and fall of Mukul Roy

Arindam Sarkar

He was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Man Friday. He conducted the elections for the Trinamool Congress and on behalf of the party interacted with the election commission. As the general secretary of the party, he looked after the organization matters. He scheduled Mamata’s campaigns and district visits. Former Railways Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy was no rookie in the party.

Mukul was at the center of Trinamool power and activities since the foundation of the party in 1997. But all his influence and power diminished when the CBI investigating into the ponzy scam interrogated him in early 2015. Rumour spread that Mukul had compromised his leader and party during the interrogation. Soon, Mamata clipped his authority and sidelined him in the Trinamool.

In the summer of 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi splashed the country with the BJP wave and Mamata Banerjee campaigned hard to retain the 19 parliamentary constituencies for the Trinamool Congress in Bengal, her lieutenant Mukul Roy was convinced they would win 35 Lok Sabha seats.

Even the optimists in the Trinamool did not believe the Rajya Sabha MP. But the Trinamool’s organizer par excellence was spot on. With Mamata’s mass magic and Mukul’s organizational skill, the party bagged 34 parliamentary seats.

No wonder, the CBI summons to interrogate Mukul Roy on the Sharada scam cast a gloom over the party headquarters – Trinamool Bhavan – and on the party rank and file.

The importance of being Mukul Roy is not lost on Mamata Banerjee too. The CBI summons to the Trinamool No 2 disturbed party chief Mamata Banerjee the most. For in the last one decade she has come to depend on Mukul not only for shaping up the party organisation but also to advice her in taking major political decisions in the State and national affairs.

“In 2009, Mamata was not keen on striking an alliance with the Congress for the Lok Sabha polls. But Mukul Roy convinced her. And the electoral alliance between the Congress and the Trinamool paid off,” said a Trinamool leader.

Mukul, who knows the geography of Bengal like the back of his hand, peaked as an organisational leader during the 2011 Assembly polls. He helped Mamata to stub factionalism and field the right candidates for the Trinamool.

“The massive mandate for the Trinamool catapulted Mukul’s position in the party. Some said in the party that he was as good an organizer as late Atulya Ghosh of the Congress,” said a Trinamool leader.

Mukul’s rise has not been easy. Throughout the Nineties and the first decade of the 21^st century, he spent most of his time in the backroom of the party studying voting patterns, preparing voters’ list and travelling to remote areas of Bengal to get information for Mamata, before she went there to meet the people.

During the political clashes in Chota Angaria, Keshpur, Nanoor, Nandigram, Netai and the farmers’ movement in Singur, it was Mukul who first visited the place with the party workers and prepared the ground for Mamata’s political meetings. “In Jungle Mahal too, it was only after Mukul built up a party organisation there that Mamata visited the Maoist belt in 2008,” said a Trinamool leader.

Trinamool insiders believe that like the CPI(M), during the Left Front regime, the BJP too has targetted Mukul Roy. For, the political parties in Bengal believe if he can be sidelined, then it would be a big blow to the Trinamool and Mamata.

“There can be another MP, but there cannot be an organizer like Mukul Roy in Trinamool. He is an asset to the party. And there is no replacement for him,” said a Trinamool leader.

But with Mukul’s relations with Mamata souring, his return to the top seems a distant dream. What’s more, after Trinamool’s thumping victory in the recent civic polls and the Assembly by-elections, Mamata is learnt to have indicted to some close party leaders that it is not Mukul but she who always ran the party and got the votes during the elections.

A section of the Trinamool leadership said, many leaders are happy with the sidelining of Mukul, but the fact remains he is the man who knows too much and has given too much to the Trinamool.

RSS will drive the BJP

Arindam Sarkar

Six months back, at the height of the ponzy scam, RSS Prachar Pramukh Dr Manmohan Vaidya said that the situation was ideal for the BJP to corner the Trinamool Congress in Bengal. Also, the BJP could become the principal Opposition party in the State.

After the recent debacle of the BJP in the civic polls, the RSS thinks that the BJP has to reorient itself and chalk out a new strategy to take on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the 2016 Assembly polls in Bengal. Meanwhile, the RSS will also become more proactive in the run-up to the elections.

In the coming days, the RSS in Bengal would infuse more swayamsevaks into its political wing – the BJP – to strengthen the organization, to push the campaign against infiltration, to compel the State government to issue work permits to the infiltrators in order to keep them under scanner and highlight the deeper social problems posed by both the unrecognized and the recognized madrasas in Bengal.

Already, RSS pracharaks Amal Chattopadhyay, who is the BJP State general secretary (organization); Subrata Chattopadhyay, State BJP’s assistant general secretary (organization); and Dilip Ghosh has joined the State BJP.

In the coming months, a couple of new pracharaks would be inducted into the BJP. They would convey the navigation line of the Sangh to the saffron party here in the run-up to the 2016 Assembly polls.

“It is a done thing. In the past, many pracharaks or swayamsevaks have joined the BJP to do political work. In Bengal, we have so far 1,600 shakhas and each shakha has around 110 swayamsevaks. We are working in 4,000 villages of the State,” said RSS spokesperson Jisnu Basu.

The RSS leaders said Sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat, who had visited Kolkata in December 2014 when came to attend the golden jubilee function of the Viswa Hindu Parishad, had already laid down the roadmap of the RSS here. Mohan Bhagwat had indicated his line in his Vijay Dashami speech in 2014, where he spoke at length about the social problems caused by the madrasas and the security crisis posed by border infiltration in Bengal and Assam.

According to the RSS leaders, Mohan Bhagwat categorically said that infiltration escalates Jihadi activities and poses a serious threat to our national security. However, this crisis cannot be fought only politically. The swayamsevaks have to create a social awareness and bring about reforms in the society that would prevent rampant border infiltration.

“Since the border is porous, we want the State government to identity the infiltrators and give them work permits if they are working here as labourers. This would help the government to keep a tap on infiltrators,” said Jisnu Basu.

The RSS is very concerned about the rise of unrecognized madrasas and the Jihadi activities being carried out there. The RSS says the anti-national activities is only one concern, even the recognized madrasas actually do not impart correct education in humanities and science subjects to young minds.

“The history is being selectively taught. History begins with the coming of the Muslim invaders. There is no mention of Gautam Buddha, Ashoka or Harshavardhan. Mainstream education is not imparted in madrasas and that is harmful for young minds,” explained Jisnu Basu.

Finally, the RSS wants to make the people aware of the financial corruption of the State government. The RSS will tell the people that they should vote against a corrupt regime and bring in a clean government.