Women and the Nuclear Energy

I excuse myself for the choice of title of this write up if it made you think that the ultra women may hold the key to our energy woes. They do not. At least not directly. Rather impertinent it might seem to some, I have a simple yet undiscovered base to affiliate women to nuclear energy. But unfortunately this nexus between women and nuclear energy is not a win-win situation for the two.

The recent political drama about the Nuclear deal that ensues even as I write this article has been hitting headlines for time immemorial now. Twists and turns in the Nuclear deal even beat the recent Bollywood Blockbuster 'Race'. And last of these tacks (as of now) was Samajwadi Party's decision to back the Congress led UPA government at the center in case the Left withdraws support on the issue of Nuclear deal. While Samjawadi Party's official decree gave a kiss of life to the Nuclear deal, the event itself was laden with controversies. Firstly, Samajwadi Party was not very sure and only after an endorsement from ex-President and scientist APJ Abdul Kalam, could muster the political will to support. Secondly, critics say the decision was a last ditch effort by the Samajwadi Party to connect with the masses whose unhappiness is seeing them sit in the opposition benches of the Uttar Pradesh State Legislative Assembly. Lastly, the crutch that they are offering the Nuclear deal comes at a price. And one of the wishes of the Samajwadi Party is to drop the women's (reservation) bill.

One thing that surely shocked me was why did the media remain unmoved even at the hint of such a barter, which otherwise is very vocal about anything to do with women. For one, a 'popular' 24 hours Hindi news channel made a two hour program on all the women who want to win over wrestler Khali, not very long ago.

So, as they say, you cannot have it all. Not the middle class at least, who have to trudge the hard way to become successful. And yes, India is middle class, err, actually developing, as they say for countries (and not middle class that is meant for individuals). Maybe this is the problem. Like individuals have this 'middle class thinking' problem (that means a fear of dreaming and aiming bigger than what one has seen anyone achieving; according to my understanding, ofcourse), we, as a nation have this 'developing country thinking' issue. This leaves us gratified with whatever little our government does for us. We get used to (and a part of) the corruption, bad roads, power shortage, delayed trains & flights, long queues, poor housing, no social security, food adulterants, no 911, an unapproachable police, a must avoid judiciary, poverty, begging, casteism, regionalism, fundamentalism and politics based on all of these, rapes, murders and what not.

And only we are responsible for the ironical yet unfortunate trade off that might happen pretty soon. Women's Bill or the Nuclear deal. It is us who bring such incapacitated politicians to power who look like jokers whenever faced with a trying situation.

We are also accountable for coalition politics. Political parties without majority scour for partners who might help them lead (read rule) the country. Like-minded parties come together. But like-mindedness is love but coalition is like marriage. And these are different ball games altogether. The way the Left parties take it is, 'Hey Dude! So, you couldn't make it, eh? Don't worry, keep running, and if I don't like the way you run, I'll pull the trigger.' And for the Nuclear deal, 'Run Lola Run'.

I'm not favoring the Women's reservation bill, not because I'm against women. But more so because I'm against any kind of mindless reservation which is not socio-politico-economically aimed. But what makes me sad is the reason why some political parties are opposing it, and that they might become successful in doing so, thanks to some timely maneuvered political blackmailing.

So, the government, on behalf of a nation whose energy needs are spiraling and facing an urgency to replace petroleum as an energy source, requests all women to shun their political aspirations and the emancipation that might had followed. And in lieu of that, the government promises that you will not have to walk miles to get timber for cooking. Water will flow down taps in your homes and not at a hand-pump kilometers away. There will be electricity in your kitchen where you will cook with LNG or electricity run ovens. Somewhere around 2015. And if all of that does not happen, there will, surely be superfluous media coverage and nondescript news articles like this.

Nandigram cauldron: An inbred dispute

The SEZ dream has gone bust. Homes burnt, men, women and children killed. Nandigram today is a battle field, staging almost a civil war.

One is inclined to think what went wrong for an ambitious chemical hub that was supposed to generate employment for thousands of people?

For facts, the Indonesian conglomerate, Salim Group wanted to set up a chemical SEZ. Nandigram was chosen for the limelight due its supply chain compatibility with Haldia, home to IOC’s and Haldia Petrochemicals’ refineries.

But this was not to be. This huge aspiring project needed land and a lot of it. Call it miscommunication by the state, or a general aversion to industry and capitalists that ironically enough, the ruling CPM had created over the decades, Nandigram revolted to the idea of resettlement.

A stronghold of the CPM till that point in time, its men, women and children came out on streets demanding project be scraped or relocated. Misinformation ruled the roost and the good-for-nothing opposition tried to cash on this issue by saying that the CPM is selling the country to foreigners. There was also the impending fear of losing land, the common man’s main source of livelihood. There were talks of jobs coming from the chemical hub, but this was uncertain. No one had worked before in any industry and this change seemed to unsettle everything, including the pattern in poverty.

CPM’s impression was that of being a party of the peasants, the daily wage labors, the ‘borgadars’ who worked for share on farms of large landowners, the common man. The newfangled, pro-industrialization image of the CPM is yet to reach out to the masses, the people who have been almost religiously voting them to Writers’ Building every five years. (I really do not want to strike the booth-capturing debate right now, although it is quite arguable.) These people, who also lived in Nandigram felt cheated. How can we sell our land to foreigners to build something we do not even understand?

Rumors regarding job uncertainty, corruption in the deal and incorrect land valuation were ensured steadily by people who do not want the progress of West Bengal, not at least the CPM doing it successfully. Fuelling everything was the fear of losing the only asset people have, land. And then there was ‘violence’.

Most appalling of all the events related to Nandigram was the onslaught by the state machinery on the common people. Thousands of policemen marched in, to crush any protest for land acquisition for the chemical hub. It is a dreadful thing to think of. Man vs Man, Indian vs Indian, State vs people.

This brings us to the unfathomable argument of to what extent should the state machinery go against the people for development? Development that is aimed at the benefits of the same people who are protesting it. Should there be policies and legislations regarding this? If yes, then on what parameters?

This is a great constitutional controversy, involving a lot of insights into human rights and public policy, best suited for the constitutional experts.
But as commoners, cannot we understand what lies in the best interests for ourselves? People with basic education will know that agrarian economies cannot match the growth or living standards of industrialized economies.

Moreover, one reasoning that is always provided against land acquisition cases in West Bengal is that the land is fertile and multi-crop. This argument is utterly baseless, not because it is false but due to the fact that land in almost whole of West Bengal is fertile and multi-crop. Where do we find barren or arid land to set up industries? The few areas where the land is less productive, largely the areas bordering Orissa and Jharkhand and the hilly areas are far away from industrial hubs of Kolkata, Haldia or the Durgapur-Bardhman. Most undesirable to any business sense.

Furthermore, it is common knowledge that the same size of land when used for industry generates more employment for the people and income for the nation than agriculture. Then why this holding on to agriculture?

If we scour deeper for answers, we find it to be a ‘colonial hangover’. Land and agrarian activities are considered belonging to us, Indians. Anything resembling industry and affluence is connected with imperialism or colonialism. No wonder, we, the educated, employed class have taken from erstwhile ‘gora sahibs’ as the successor ‘brown sahibs’. Though Indians, we take pride when poorer countrymen call us ‘sahibs’ as if are the Indian britishers. We see class difference everywhere, though the gap is closing in with rapid industrialization.

But West Bengal where Nandigram is located is a case in isolation. Communist influence and trade unionism saw the ‘flight of capital’ from the state since early seventies. The state also missed the first bus when liberalization policies were introduced in 1991, again due to the same reasons. It had been such a long time that industry and capital have become as alien as britishers for the masses. Nandigram is not the first instance. Whenever there have been efforts for large industrial projects to come up, there had been repulsion from the masses, largely due to the inertia that was created over the years.

This public apathy needs to be cured from the minds of people, not by police lathicharge and atrocities. Using gram panchayat as a pedestal, the state can easily deliver the benefits of industrialization, albeit slowly but surely.

What happened in Nandigram was disgraceful for the state and the ruling party. But the opposition is to equally share the blame for spreading imprecise and unwanted knowledge across. The so-called Bengal intellectuals came openly out in public to protest atrocities by the police. Public rallies have become regular phenomena in Kolkata, already infamous for being the ‘city of processions.’ One simple question. Why did not they invest their energies in creating awareness among the people of Nandigram about the benefits of the chemical hub? Probably walking a couple of miles in the November sun in Kolkata is after all not that bad an idea to gain limelight, proving ones commitment to a cause than spending the summer months in Nandigram, walking village to village, making people understand, in absence of basic civic amenities.

The CPM might win this ordeal of a chemical hub. Or the Trinamool Congress might win in stopping CPM in its march against commoners of Nandigram. Some Kolkata celebrities and intellectuals might win a cause for the lifetime. But if this trend continues, West Bengal surely stands to succumb.