We are shutting down mines and our few factories, convinced that these actions are pro-poor. We de-industrialise Coimbatore and Ludhiana, by forcing 16-18 hour power cuts on them, even before we have successful industrialisation. Incidentally, while by no means the only one, power-cuts were a significant factor in de-industrialising West Bengal. Some 20 years ago, I had gone to pay a visit to Mr Dugar, who was my company’s landlord in Kolkata. After several generations of Dugars doing business in difficult terrains in Assam, he was busy selling his tea gardens in Assam and buying some in Munnar. I congratulated him on the improvement of the power situation in Kolkata. “Dugar saab, ab to power cuts ka problem chala gaya hai, aapke Kalkatte mein.” He actually started crying.
“Rao saab, aisa mat kahiye. Kalkatte key sab kaarkhaane band ho gaye hain. Isi liye power ka problem kum ho gaya hai. Yeh koi tareeka hai power cut ki samasya ko solve karne ka? Yeh to bahut hee bura hua hai.” As you look at the chunks of land all around Kolkata, Howrah, Sealdah, Garden Reach, where factories are shut, the equipment is rusting, grass is growing in areas that were earlier paved, one begins to understand Dugar. In the coming years, get prepared to see these sights in other parts of the country too. There is a saying: What Bengal thinks/ does today, the rest of India thinks/ does tomorrow. We are determined to create a de-industrialised moonscape across India. All of India in 2035 could, and probably will, look like Bengal does today.-wrote Jerry Rao