The long dark tea time of the soul

Suddenly the government of India, various state governments are competing with each other in excelling in their new job profile. And what might that be? The state governments of West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, all of them have donned the role of what the underworld used to do in the 80s. They are now middlemen for big private players and multinationals. And they are doing a mighty good job at it.

A few decades back, the primary job of underworld in Mumbai was to free real estate for big builders. This was the task of Munnabhai in LRMB. Builders would identify a plot where they can build a multistory apartment or a shopping complex. The task of the underworld was to hand over the land to them. This extra-legal activity was done by bribing officials, kidnappings, rapes and murders were used to threaten the original occupants of the premises to vacate. The government claimed that they could do nothing about it. Of course they could, but at that time the state was still a passive player. Big dons of Mumbai underworld flourished playing facilitators in this illegal land grab.

One fine day, the state decided that it has given the underworld far too much time to carry on their trade. Its the time for the state themselves to join the operations. Initially some people protested, but the state has an ingenious ways to projecting any opposition to its action as ill-motivated.

The tatas are the best to utilize the services of the state. Its chairman decided that he needs to build a car that will cost Rs one lakh to the consumer. Don’t mind the feasibility of this project, don’t mind the concerns related to safety and environment. He needs land for this project and approached various state governments. The west bengal state, overwhelmed by the overture, invited the tatas with open arms. Like a faithful dog, the WB state’s tail began to wag at the sight of the dolly.

The tatas tried to test their new dog, and demanded prime agriculture land for their project. Other areas were available. Wastelands in Purulia, closed industrial lands in Bankura, etcetra. But Tatas, eager to utilize the services of their new dog, they wanted multicrop land where thousands of families were already generating their livelihoods. Like a dog, the WB state went into a overdrive, and armed with the order from tis master barked and bit the farmers.