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Dear proud Bengali, Tagore and Satyajit Ray are past. Please come out of the time trap

Invoking Bengali pride has been one of the distinct traits of West Bengal’s politicians, whether it is to duck criticism on Covid or play the language card.

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What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow’ — the famous saying by social reformer and freedom fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhale is something that Bengalis swear by.

But Bengal, which was once the symbol of India’s intellectual modernity, is dying a slow death due to its crumbling social infrastructure, lack of jobs and economic stagnation. Over the past few decades, West Bengal has degenerated into ‘Waste Bengal’.


Trapped in time

Bengalis are, however, stuck in a time-warp, refusing to even talk about the state’s problems. Bengal’s intelligentsia or the ‘buddhijibi’ (as they are known in Bangla) hardly ever talks about the state’s economic decay, shut industries, the unimaginable political violence during elections or lack of jobs, as for them, their favourite pastime is reminiscing about the illustrious past.

They will never miss an opportunity to show off how much they prioritise books over everything else. I wonder if they ever read up on the state’s poor finances and creaking infrastructure.

 

Bengalis love to take pride in their culture, language, and identity, and it is non-negotiable. They love to worship Rabindranath Tagore or Satyajit Ray.

No doubt, they were great personalities, but for Bengali intellectuals, you’re not ‘Bengali’ enough if you haven’t read Tagore’s poems or seen Ray’s films.

Although I’m a Bengali too, I find it hard to stomach such cultural arrogance, especially when the state is plagued by so many problems for years now, which remain far from being resolved.


Also read: Boroline — the cure-all that is stuck in time but still brings joy, especially to Bengalis


The politics of Bengali pride

Invoking Bengali pride and sub-nationalism has been one of the distinct traits of West Bengal’s politicians, who stir up such sentiments to cover up their administrative failures and to gain a political upper hand.

Be it the Left Front a decade ago or Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress now, invoking Bengali pride has been their go-to answer to the state’s colossal problems.

The Bengali pride has come to Mamata’s rescue in the coronavirus times too. The chief minister is playing up the ‘Bangla and Bangali’ refrain to counter criticism for Covid mismanagement.

On 12 May, during a press conference in Kolkata, Mamata had even said she would pray to god to forgive “Bengalis who are maligning the image of Bengal”.

She also wants to change the state’s name to Bangla, something the Left Front government also tried to do. She had once asserted that those living in West Bengal will have to learn to speak Bangla.

West Bengal’s former chief minister Jyoti Basu had invoked Bengali chauvinism by wanting to introduce Bangla as the official language in the Calcutta High Court. Furthermore, in the year 2000, the Left government under Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee issued an order to introduce Bangla in government offices.

Playing up this sub-nationalism card is perhaps an easy option for the politicians to fool people by touching the emotional chord, and garner votes.

In a way, Bengal’s cultural pride and arrogance have always come in the path of its social development, and done more harm than good to the state.


Also read: Mamata becomes mellow ‘Bengal’s daughter’ as she rebrands herself for 2021 assembly polls


Bengalis can do better

But all is not lost for Bengal yet. There are certain course-corrections that Bengal and Bengalis need to do for a better future.

First and foremost, the state needs to reverse its industrial decline. Bengal was once an industrial powerhouse. But years of trade unionism and government’s criminal apathy dealt a severe blow to industrialisation, leading to many big industries exiting Bengal.

Lack of industry and jobs have hurt educated Bengalis the most as they’ve been forced to migrate in search of jobs. Bengali intellectuals, especially the state’s young population, must support and encourage industries and businesses as much as they can. Reversing the industrial decline won’t be an easy task but is a must to get the state’s economy back on track.


Also read: Mamata is invoking Bengali pride again — her new ‘strategy’ to counter Covid flak


Looking beyond the ‘past’

Bengal also needs to invest massively in its health infrastructure. The state has failed miserably in tackling the current pandemic. According to reports, Bengal has one of the worst Covid testing records with the highest fatality rate among top ten states with most active cases. Bengal’s intelligentsia will do the state some good if it can build a narrative around Bengal’s failing health system and how it can be fixed. Also, moneyed Bengalis settled outside the state and the country, who keep feeling sorry about Bengal’s deprivation, can donate and invest in the health sector.

The Bengali intelligentsia can’t rest on the laurels of the past, and keep getting nostalgic about it. They must generate new ideas and vision with regard to the state’s social and economic growth. They should also consider entering public life to usher in positive changes — something which Bengal needs desperately.

Bengal does have the intellect to again be the symbol of modernity and prosperity. But for that, it needs to shed its colonial baggage and move forward.

A state’s pride lies not just in the number of Nobel laureates it produces, but also in the way it takes care of its citizens. Misplaced pride cannot prosper a state, but jobs, industries, and a robust health system certainly can.

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343 COMMENTS

  1. Such a disrespectful article and this need to be reported . No fact checks at all. waste Bengal what kind of careless comments. Disappointed Print.

  2. Waste Bengal! Really? Bengalis are doing better, I hope The print gives better articles than this. Sick writer and such hate-mongering post. Shame, that A Bengali writes this non-sense and has the audacity to think, people will applaud

  3. No i am not agree with this.
    Economically we lagging but intellectually bengal still holding same glory.
    If we see the achivement of last 40 years your perception will change.

    Here are some achivement of last 40 years.

    1) Bengal produced another 2 nobel laureates

    2) One Osker winner
    3) one Miss Universe
    4) 2 Grammy award winner

    5) 14 Dada shaheb Phalke award winners in Film which is the highest no from any community.
    6) 6 Jnanpith award winner in literature.

    7) 12 Fellow of Royal society scientists, London, UK

    8) 8 Chess Grand masters

    9) Indian/ Bollywood music is predominantly dominated by Bengalis.
    10) Bengal is Indian Football champion.

    Bengal continuously producing many many sports persons who won medal in Asian games, world chsmpionship and national championship make india proud.
    Some are
    Jhulan Goswamy, Jaydeep Karmakar, Saurav Ghosal, Paulomi ghatak, Jyotirmoyee Sikdar,
    Swapna Barman, Pinki Pramanik, Wridhyman Saha, Dipa Karmakar, Dola Banerjee, many chsmpion footballers.

    11) Bengalies are also present significsntly in higher education.( research )

    Within 2 years bengal industry scenerio will change as many mamy industrial projects
    supposd to finish this year. Hope for the best

      • ALL (read all) industry in India (Nuclear Plant, Power plant, Chemical, Railway Engine, Turbine, All Scientific instruments used in University, College & Engg College all over India, IIT system) are created by those Bengali Royal society Fellows. Don’t be ignorant, Wake up, go to school, read lot, then may be you will able to understand. Also before commenting think about it might show your ignorance and complete lack of understanding. And remember we are still doing it. One Dirac fellow in Physics will created many scientific and intellectual industry in future.

  4. These Bengali bhakts need to wake up and smell the coffee. The state has certainly become Waste Bengal due to poor work culture & their love for flaunting their so called ‘intellectual’ prowess-
    Today Waste Bengal is one of the most poorly developed states as the people just day dream about their imaginary superiority without doing any work. No wonder the wiser ones are moving to better states such as Maharashtra & Karnataka to dp well in life.

    • Bengalis don’t need to listen to your crap, you don’t need to be insulted your face is one all by itself.

      Bengalis are the most educated, nerdiest people in India. They have given loads of Intellectuals. You deserved to be kicked out of India. We don’t need you in this country anymore thankyou😊.

  5. This is what I hate about Bengalis ( urf Bengalis like the one writting this post) . Leave aside all points let me come to the point of imposing bengali as official language of Bengal.. it’s indeed needed . I presently stay at UP and here hindi is imposed day in and out on me. All the letters are in Hindi.. it’s taken for granted that you should know Hindi… Then why won’t bengali be the official language here what’s so alarming in this. West Bengal with the name bengal in it represents bengali .. if someone is trying to be oversmart here he or she should be pulled to a region A of the country and made to reads rather get forced to read letters in hindi … Thanku

  6. Haha! Such a sub-standard article! There’s a saying in Bengali “Ghente Gho”. You reminded me of it! Some facts I do agree, but mostly the current state of Bengal is not because if it’s cultural orientation but absolutely political. Bengalies are still surviving and doing fairly well because of their cultural orientation. Bengalies who have done fairly well in life also have retained their strong cultural orientation. Further, nothing has stagnated as you blindly pointed at. Culture in not what you invent today but what you do today based on your learnings from yesterday. If one ignores or forgets ones yesterday, then the one becomes disoriented and clueless and messed up just like you here! People who start writing articles with their disoriented mind are foolish too. So I’ll leave you at your peace. If you ever come out of this cultural ignorance, you’ll probably be a good writer too. Bengalies have time and again survived any situation and proven themselves because of their cultural orientation and respect for their past and belief in their learned ancestors. I see your ignorance and perversion, and being a Bengali myself, I pardon you and wish you be blessed with some culture! Best regards.

  7. West Bengal Bengalis are so much into arts and culture , Dr. Subhash Mukherjee the first Indian bengali scientist to develop the first test tube baby in India was forced to commit suicide for these high well known Bengali intellectuals of Arts graduate. Never was such kind of Shame bought to any part of India like it did in Bengal. Clever Bengalis are only for arts and literary work Nothing else. Mukherjee never got any recognition for his work in his lifetime. Such a shameful act they committed by killing a scientist and Bengalis still claim arts to be superior to science is either their ignorance or they are proud brainwashed creatures.

  8. IF BENGAL IS SO BAD NOW THEN WHY SO HUGE NUMBER OF BIHARIS NONBENGALIS COMING HERE. NOW u WLL SAY THEY ARE COMING HERE TO IMPROVE BENGAL

    • Bihar and Biharis themselves are useless trash. All they do is infestate other Indian states and start causing problems, like the 2018 voilence against hindi speakers in gujarat began with a Bihari who raped a 14 month old girl. We need to send back these coward Biharis to their own state so they develop it and stop causing disaster in India

    • Ask your government not allow any non bengali to your state. Then we will kick out your bengali people from our city Mumbai and other states. We will shut all non bemgali business, inter state transport and all . Where ever bengali will be seen we will kick out them from our states

      • Really? LOL then you will surely miss out on these things because-

        Today 67 % of India’s top academicians are from Bengal.

        3. Today 54% of Indian scientists are Bengalis.

        4. Today 90% of phd scholars in science in top 5 IITs and IISc Bangalore are Bengalis.

        5. Today 70% of scholars in Indian Institute of Mathematics Chennai are from Bengal.

        6. Bollywood is set up by Bengalis and is still dominated by Bengalis.

        If we have to, we will also kick out people like you from our state

      • And also, I was only talking about Bihari’s, not other Indians. So if you want to make a fit at me and threaten me, then remind yourself that people like you will be the ones being kicked out not Bengalis.

  9. Either writer is old, or she wants Bengali to remember two great personalities from Bengal.
    In Bengal peoples busy in their daily works, After BJP rising in West Bengal Swami Vivekananda name is cropped up many times.

  10. I just want to ask one question, how is having Bengali as the official language of Bengal bad??????? Hindi is the official language of U.P. is that bad???? Bengalees are not asking the rest of India to adopt Bengali and teach Bengali in the schools of Kanyakumari. They are continuing the language of their own state in their own state. What is wrong in that????? When Hindi is the official language of Bihar it is their culture and when Bnegali is the official language of Bengal it is linguistic chauvinism!!!!! It is like when son comes home at late night from office he is working hard and when daughter in law does the same she is characterless!!!! First stop this nonsense. We are not going to be apologetic about loving our language and culture. ‘worshiping’ Tagore and Ray do not make us bad. What makes us bad is the lack of work culture, political violence, illegal infiltration as well as economic stagnation. If you really care about Bengal then talk about these things and if possible try to come up with some suggestions that people can work on. Only hurting the cultural sentiment of the bengalees may gain you some favor of North India, it will not help Bengal in anyway. If that is what you want then do it openly. We already have hundreds of such bengali/bihari people residing in bengal and doing it day and night. You will be one more addition to that. No problem. But don’t take the garb of being a wellwisher of Bengal. That way you unnecessarily waste the time of serious readers who get misled by the appearance and waste time reading the article thinking there will be some sense in it.

  11. This article was written based on mixed priorities. The writer is confused between the past glory and the current state of matters. True, we are behind many states in growth and development. This is because of the political climate we embraced for the past five decades and Bengalis are suffering from that. However, how can I blame my past achievements because of the current situation? British Raj is gone. In London, you will see hardly any white English man or woman. It is a new demography there. But did they forget Shakespeare?

  12. In the Pandemic, no one can say anything?.
    I know that Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu showed the best result in their hospital infrastructure.

    • West Bengal is underveloped because so many people leave their state rotten, following this those Biharis come and infestate west bengal with hindi language and try to impose it on Bengalis, even calling them bangladeshis and to go back to bangladesh. Bengalis have had enough of this crappy trash Biharis, we need to kick their asses out of our state and go back to their undeveloped poor dirty filthy Bihar.

  13. May the writer be damned…..He seems to be a traitor to the Bengali community………Young man, you should keep in mind that Bengal is still producing the majority of India’s stalwart academicians………Do not daydream anymore, you should be furnished with the correct data before you venture out to comment on anything………You should remember that culture forms the basis of unification……..If we do not have culture, then we simply do not have any specific identity……..Thus, taking pride of our culture should be a part of our ethics……….

  14. I personally think you don’t have to worship anybody. But every person should know their history. I don’t understand how feeling proud about Tagore and Ray is related to our economic diaster. Can you please elaborate?

    Are you suggesting that due to our economical status we are not allowed to be proud of them?

    • You are absolutely correct. You have been quick enough to identify the flaws in the article.The writer is an unworthy member of the Bengali community.

  15. Past is past. We should stop living on past laurels. We need industries and jobs. The leftist buddhijibis (so called intellectuals) are groups of losers who cannot even carry a file sucessfully from one table to another. I dont disagree with the writer. She is right when she tells that we have to develop ourselves.
    I am a Bengali first and since Bengal is a part of Indian Union, I may also call myself an Indian after sipping 2-3 pegs of whiskey. So, I am not worshipping other states because I consider them foreign countries voluntarily creating a commonwealth of Inidan states.
    Indian Union is more like European Union (culturally) and you have to sweat and bleed if you want to grow. If we fail to produce jobs, industries, modern intellectuals, good movies etc , rest of India will always look down on you.
    No wonder, many Bengalis suffer from inferiority complex.
    I disagree with the writer on one point. In Bengal, Bengali language should be given preference and once and for all, Hindi is NOT the national language of India. Entire India is not UP- Bihar. Any non Bengali staying in Bengal for more than 30 years should be able to speak Bengali. We are not a colony of North India.
    Satyajit Ray was a loser. He harmed Bengali cinema and I would have wiped out his name from every record if I had a chance to do so.
    So, Bengalis should be proud of their language and heritage but should strive for economical growth. Just reading story books and singing songs will not lead you anywhere. Man up and fight. Get out from the stupid notion of India first. India DOES NOT EXIST as a cultural and social unit. It is a commonwealth of autonomic states. Every state is a semi independent country. You have to develop yourself. You cannot keep on crying and glorifying old poets and writers. Poor people with intellectual powers are not respected.

  16. We need to come together and drive this bihari-culture away from our state, they are main reasons why we are moving out of our state, uneducated parasites, they are actually brought here by the other non bengalis living, they are much more united and they have used dirty politics and by doing so they have taken control of our state and our beloved city. There are uncountable scenarios of bengali families getting affected due to this, people are dying in poverty here though they are educated. I want anyone to create a group. We are gifted with our emotional and creative abilities, no one can replace us in this planet. Let’s come together dadara, didira and sobai.. amader k ebar uthe daratei hobe.. nahole sob sesh.

    • Woaa ! How can uneducated parasites drive self claimed intellectuals like you out ? Does that mean you are less educated than them ?
      And which research provided you this extremely superficial data ?
      Well since you seem so curious about these parasites ,go do a research on most number of IITians , IAS , IPS officers, toppers , and all sorts of administrative officers , shit!!!! Most of them are these uneducated parasites right, who cracked these highly competitive exams and not intellectuals like you ? Aaah they must have cheated right?
      If biharis stop working , more than half of the work and labour force of india will be gone,

      Now you’ll say ” then go to your own land and leave us” , Haha kiddo , for us India is our land . You want to be where these uneducated parasites are ? Go get it child , they aren’t holding you back .

      Just like labour biharis, there are labours from rural bengal working in Bihar, ask how many of them are labelled uneducated parasites there .
      Seen the gesture of biharis recently towards migrant workers ? Oh ! Do you get time to read newspapers ?

      And let’s come to the ” glorious history ” of these uneducated parasites,

      You know who is the inventor of zero ? the great mathematician Aryabhatta ?
      Yea guessed it right , he was a bihari

      first president of India ?
      Dr. Rajendra Prasad
      Haha such an uneducated parasite

      Great Indian emperors who established the idea of India ,
      Ashoka , Chandra gupta Maurya they were all biharis
      And yes one more , Chanakya , well he needs no introduction

      Where did Gautam Buddha attain enlightenment, aaaah again Bihar.
      Who won the ramon magsaysay award for journalism?
      Again a bihari aaah

      And the list is never ending

      You self claimed intellectual will go and write long essays on social media about racism but will endorse racism when it comes to your own land .
      Eee hypocrisy kaise chalega bhaiyaa

      The motive of this reply was just to help self claimed intellectuals like you erase the false belief of ” my culture is better than yours ” .It was not to offend any culture or glorify mine , you treat the way you expect to be treated , simple enough ?

      Work hard and achieve what you want and don’t rely on excuses to justify your miserable failures.
      Be grateful that you live in the most culturally diverse nation in this world
      Thankyou

        • yes this biharis are polluting west bengal and abusing bengalis each and every day. they should be washed out

          • yes. agree with u.. its true that there are no industries in bengal. . But bengali people are still doing good in their job in education in every sector.. Bengalis are progessive people and they will be also in future.. And bengal culture is ruining due to Biharis and UP people

      • LOL !
        How you telling that biharies get most number of seats in IIT, IAS ?
        LOL! Its fake. Varify the records properly.
        And yes, IIT, IAS get you a job for earn a living but can not make grate personality like

        1) Swami vivekanda
        2) Rabindranath Tagore
        3) pandit Ravishsnkar
        4) Satyait Ray
        5) kishor kumar
        6) R D Burman(music)
        7) S d Burman(Music)
        8) Satyan Bose (Scientist)
        9) Gagadish chandra bose(scientist)
        10) Amartya sen
        11) Abhijeet banerjee
        12) Subash bose
        13) Bankim chatterjee
        14) shyama pradas mukherjee
        15) Prasanta mohonalobois
        16) magnad Saha
        and many many mor.end less.
        Indiand are following them and their work.
        if you do not know just check.
        bengal produces most number of nobel prize winner
        bengalies get most nmber of Dada saheb phalke award.(film)
        bengalies get most number
        of Gananpith award(literature)
        indian music and film dominated by bengalies.
        bengal produces grate scientist.
        bengal produces grate interpreneur like
        bose corporation
        chatterjee group
        Sahara group nd many more

        Biharies are most backward in all fields including education in india.
        Shutup your mouth.

      • Change the criteria of IIT, CSE other all India academic and employment exams criteria from English and hindi question paper to English and state official languages and see the result than does the results stays so or take a total u turn

      • LOL

        Since you began this war, were going to finish it. Just look at the list of Bengalis:Iqbal Ahmed, CMD of Seamark Group

        Syed Ahmed, British entrepreneur, businessman, television personality

        Arundhati Bhattacharya, first woman director of State Bank of India

        Kumar Bhattacharyya, Baron Bhattacharyya, Director, Warwick Manufacturing Group

        Moorad Choudhry, former Managing Director, Head of Business Treasury and Global Banking & Markets at Royal Bank of Scotland

        Ashok Sekhar Ganguly, former chairman, Hindustan Unilever

        Asim Ghosh, former CEO of Husky Energy

        Rajat Gupta, first foreign-born Managing Director (chief executive) of management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company from 1994 to 2003; sentenced to two years of prison in 2012 for insider trading

        Omar Ishrak, Chairman, Intel

        Aktar Islam, restaurateur, curry chef and businessman

        Sir Birendra Nath Mukherjee, IISCO

        Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman, Microsoft India

        Subir Raha, former head, ONGC

        Aveek Sarkar, chairman, Ananda Bazaar Patrika

        Mutty Lal Seal, businessman and entrepreneur

        Dwarkanath Tagore, known for partnership with the British East India Company

        EntrepreneursEdit

        Subroto Bagchi, founder and former Chairman, Mindtree

        Somen Banerjee, Indian American entrepreneur and co-founder of Chippendales

        Siddhartha Basu, founder and CMD of BIG Synergy

        Sanjit Biswas, Indian American entrepreneur and CEO/ co-founder of Samsara, built and sold Meraki to Cisco for $1.2 billion

        Amar Bose, founder of Bose Corporation

        Amjad Khan Chowdhury, founder of PRAN-RFL Group

        Samson H. Chowdhury, founder of Square Pharmaceuticals and Square Group

        Anjan Chatterjee, founder, Speciality Group of Restaurants

        Purnendu Chatterjee, founder, TCG Group

        Bicky Chakraborty, Sweden’s biggest hotelier;[2] President and founder of Elite Hotels of Sweden and The Bishop’s Arms[3]

        Alamohan Das, founder, India Machinery Company

        Sadhan Dutt, founder, Development Consultants of Kuljian Group

        Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, founder of Bandhan Bank

        Samit Ghosh, founder, MD and CEO of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank

        MA Hashem, founder and chairman of Partex Group

        Jawed Karim, co-founder of YouTube, first person to upload a video to the site

        Rajat Neogy, founder and editor, Transition Magazine in Kampala, Uganda in 1961

        Pritish Nandy, founder of Pritish Nandy Communications

        Sir Rajendra Nath Mukherjee, co-founder, Martin Burn Ltd, IISCO

        Diptendu Pramanick, founder, Secretary of Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA)

        Kamal Quadir, founder and CEO of CellBazaar Inc, First Mover Fellow of The Aspen Institute, TEDIndia Fellow

        Subroto Roy Sahara, founder and chairman, Sahara India Pariwar

        Barun Sengupta, founder of Bartaman

        Moosa Bin Shamsher, founder of GATCO

        Neeraj Roy, co-founder, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

        Prannoy Roy, founder, NDTV

        Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, founder and Chairman of Bashundhara Group

        Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, “father of micro-finance”, Nobel laureate

        Bibha Chowdhury–First female particle physicist of India
        Kadambini Ganguly–First female doctor of Asia
        Ashima Chatterjee–First female Scientist of India
        Susmita Sen–First Miss Universe of India

        HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE WAS INVENTED BY PC RAY—A BENGALI SCIENTIST😂😂
        BJP-founder is SHYAMA PRASAD MUKHERJEE–another Bengali..😂😂
        FR Khan–Father of Tubular Designs 😂😂
        Tubular Designs is the study of modern architect 😂😂

        Dont compare filthy and uneducated people that abuse in the name of mother and sister

    • Biharis. What do you mean. First eliminate the racism which existing like poison in you. We are Indians first than comes everything caste,religion,ehinic origin. When we got the independence way back in our proud history,it was a collective efforts from all the individuals accross the country. Its a a effort and unity which bring victory and not the racism and division. Exploitation of politics is existing in us also not only in them. First of all we are not United among ourselves. We don’t bother about ourselves. We resemble the character of crab,by pulling down ourselves if someone is rising.. we need to change our attitude ,way of thinking polite and receptive first than only we can succeed. Being a Bengali iam not ashamed to state the facts. Pls don’t perceive me in a wrong way. PROUD TO BE BENGALI.

  17. Ms. writter,

    You said everything negative but you did not say West Bengal is 6th position among all states in GDP in 2018-19. West Bengal’s GDP growth is highest in the country among all states in 2018-19.
    Why I am mentioning 2018-19 because that is the latest data available. Check facts before posting anything. It’s very shame that people with half knowledge, come up to distribute “prabachan” without even knowing facts and figure just for money.

  18. All those commenting negative here are nothing but those having brains but don’t wish to feed practicality into their knowledge.
    Bengal is only proud of the past? Not of the present?Why so? Cause Bengal is no more producing new generation Tagores and Rays from within the state.
    The actual scenario of West Bengal:-
    For better jobs, people are forced to move out of Bengal.
    For better education, move out of Bengal.
    For better treatment, move out of Bengal.
    If to achieve all this one has to leave Bengal then what is left good in the state?

    I saw one comment that number of Biharis have increased now in West Bengal and that the state should be named Bihar Bengal…
    Why so? Because Biharis or other state people are replacing those talented Bengalis who have to move out of their homeland to be something, to achieve.

    Firstly stop dragging the political parties into this…. No one is good in this country , but if the people of a state only know to PNPC and be noshtalgic (the actual spelling is nostalgic) then such a state will never develop, no matter which ever party comes.

    Secondly, Criticism should be accepted positively in order to succeed, to develop. The people living in Bengal only behave like Cry Babies on getting criticized.

    Bengalis were the foremost people who had brought the feeling of independence within every Indian while the colonial rule was destroying the country. We were leaders. West Bengal literacy rate was the highest in the country. Not now. Kolkata was the capital. And today Kolkata has just remained a City of Joy.

    Remember the struggles of the great Bengalis and don’t be nostalgic only about their outputs.
    This is for those fellow Bengalis who live in West Bengal.

    Come on Bengal, Move ahead….

  19. All those commenting negative here are nothing but those having brains but don’t wish to feed practicality into their knowledge.
    Bengal is only proud of the past? Not of the present?Why so? Cause Bengal is no more producing new generation Tagores and Rays from within the state.
    The actual scenario of West Bengal:-
    For better jobs, people are forced to move out of Bengal.
    For better education, move out of Bengal.
    For better treatment, move out of Bengal.
    If to achieve all this one has to leave Bengal then what is left good in the state?

    I saw one comment that number of Biharis have increased now in West Bengal and that the state should be named Bihar Bengal…
    Why so? Because Biharis or other state people are replacing those talented Bengalis who have to move out of their homeland to be something, to achieve.

    Firstly stop dragging the political parties into this…. No one is good in this country , but if the people of a state only know to PNPC and be noshtalgic (the actual spelling is nostalgic) then such a state will never develop, no matter which ever party comes.

    Secondly, Criticism should be accepted positively in order to succeed, to develop. The people living in Bengal only behave like Cry Babies on getting criticized.

    Bengalis were the foremost people who had brought the feeling of independence within every Indian while the colonial rule was destroying the country. We were leaders. West Bengal literacy rate was the highest in the country. Not now. Kolkata was the capital. And today Kolkata has just remained a City of Joy.

    Remember the struggles of the great Bengalis and don’t be nostalgic only about their outputs.
    This is for those fellow Bengalis who live in West Bengal.

    Come on Bengal, Move ahead….

  20. Shameless published. You are also on those branch of crab who only knows how to pull legs. If you are really concerned about Bengals then do something about bengal and our motherland. Don’t just criticize. What you have done so far that’s why you have post some shameless article. It’s a natte kinds of people like you.

    Do something and then criticize.

  21. The original article is partly true and rest is simply trash. Nothing wrong to be proud of your past provided you don’t underestimate others. But one can’t live only on the past. Bengal was never a power house of industry. Eastern India has the concentration of heavy industry which started suffering from mid 1960s. Another reason for decline is the policy of freight equalization. No industry is closed due to labour problem for example, MAMC, Burn Standard, Jessop, Dunlop, Metal Box, National instruments, many more. The states without trade unions like BIHAR, Orissa, UP, MP are also not industrialised heavily. But majority of Bengalees have favoured recently not to industrialised their state, example Singur automobile and Nandigram for chemical hub. These two projects would have changed the industrial scenarios of WB. They want to send the industrialists to Alipurduar, Raigunge, Coochbihar. They are waiting this to happen. Every community including Bengalees have few positive and negative aspects.
    Positive: average information level of Bongs is usually higher than other indians. Still money can’t purchase social prestige in WB. Perhaps it is slowly changing. Influence of caste, religion and province is less in WB. Importance of education is high in Bengali society. HDI indicators are good amongst the large states during last 35 years.
    Negative: very much conscious about rights,but, least concerned about duties. Underestimate the education quality of other indians. Amount of bribes in govt offices are comparable with Bihar and UP. Social indiscipline only comparable with Bihar, UP,MP which creates hindrance for development. Politics is gradually moving in the hands of goons. Influx of poor, economically and intellectually, people from neighbouring states, Bihar and Jharkhand, with political patronage. Fanaticism with few football clubs where good players are mostly nonbengali or non indian. There are nonexistence of multiple equivalent cities in WB as in other states.
    All these have finally turned out to be
    1) kolkata is the richest village of Rajasthan
    2) WB is the safest place for criminals of Bihar and UP
    3) state name can be changed to BIHAR-BENGAL as the number of hindi speakers are increasing exponentially.
    BONGS NEED TO INTROSPECT why it happens in that way in spite of many positive aspects.

  22. No body is perfect so are the Bengali people but the problem with them is that they don’t like criticism .The writer did not express her views against Gurudev n other intellectuals .She is saying that the present situation is very alarming Because of TMC government ‘s appeasement policy where muslim community gets advantages over other weaker sections of society ..She gifts money to clubs which can be used for relief work .Why her almost every decision is questioned be it Saving RAJEEV KUMAR ,SHARDA CASES etc.She is totally failed to fight Corona ,why she is hiding facts about death cases , distribution of relief food to poor sent by Central government .The press is not free n she files n defeated in court against ZeeTV She does not respect The governor n even PM she did not allow opposition political leaders to enter Bengal.The Violence during n after election is a black spot of Bengali culture .Accept the reality n give productive suggestions for improvement of future of West Bengal .She commited a blunder with the future of Young generation when she did not allow TATA to do business in Bengal

  23. That’s really very sad face of media. You are demeaning legends and using their names out of context just to grab some attention. Since the author has no strong evidence to describe the course of events, they are trying to create controversy.

    Next day you will wake up and challenge Shivaji Maharaj’s heritage because Maharashtra is struggling with COVID situation.

    And they other day, may be you will want a selfie on Indian currency, because you are not happy with peace theories of Mahatma Gandhi, and you would rather disown the father of your Nation.

    What is really questionable here is your style of writing with sheer lack of judgement and bias intentions of creating controversy than content.

  24. Ms. Dey, congratulations on writing such an enlightening article. It has drawn the attention of many in such a short span of time. Perhaps that was your focus. However, if there was any other objective beyond that, it is unfortunately lost amidst the “waste”. Were you trying to create awareness among Bengalis? Is your article about the wasted pride in culture or about the economy, or the political scenario, or permit me to extend the imagination, to COVID cases found in Bengal? Whatever be it, it seems you are not even sure what you want to write about. And either way your knowledge about neither seems commendable. What it has achieved is sensationalizing and stripping a sentiment and earning a few brownie points with the likeminded. Undoubtedly, it would be very easy for your kind to categorize the critical responses to your article as personalized or biased. If you disagree, I’m sure you have read Hume, Locke, Hobbes, and others (they are not Bengalis btw), leave alone current affairs to counter the responses. If not, please refurbish your knowledge and realize that your pen has more responsibility than aggrandizing cheap publicity. Best wishes.

  25. Firstly the narrative is myopic and distraught in nature. Tagore, Ray, Bankim Chandra, Sarat Chandra, Netaji, Rishi Aurobindo, Raja Rammohan Roy, Swamiji, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, A Jagadish Bose, Satyen Bose, Amartya Sen, Dr BC Roy names are countless for Bengalis, Indians or World has Esteem, Faith, Respect or Adoration.

    Merging or Mixing present political societal and economic condition of WB with the thoughts, ideology, contribution of such stalwarts as above and countless many more that have not mentioned here, is sheer-disdainful oblivion or purposeful propaganda.

    Personal Prejudices or Bisases or apparent few experiences cannot contest the colossal Quintessential Bengali Mind Spirit and Soul.

    Please remember that Entire Bangladeshi population both in Bangladesh and all over the world are proud emissaries and torch bearers of the rich cultural heritage that “Bangla” offers and possibly more than many of us Bengalis hailing from WB.
    So please reflect upon your writings in introspection and write for a cause not only applause (cheap publicity negative or positive) . Jokes shall exist about Bengalis and this article is also just good joke for people who know what Bengalis are all about.

    • Do not live in the past. Come to the present. bengal can not provide any tangible neretive to the Modern India.

      • Ok let’s talk about present, as per the latest data of 2018-19 West Bengal ranks 6 among all states in terms of GDP. Bengal is has highest GDP growth among all the states across India. Now tell me what is the rank of your states?

      • Your past is munshi babu and present is chetan bhagat. Do you have any idea about how many writers wake among bengalis each year? Our past, present and future is full of great personalities who are extremely specialised in their respective fields . Every year we get to see such people and ofcourseo Tagore, Ray and Islam above all. Show me one indian as great as them and we shall gladly make them our idols. Don’t teach us what’s good for us. Worry about your own culcult

  26. Wow! I wonder how such a half baked article could even get published? Where’s the data? Where did this goldmine of information come from? Amit Shah’s office?
    According to this dimwit Bengalis should not be proud of their culture and heritage but the only propaganda that BJP has is our “glorious Indian Hindutva”. How much progress has BJP brought in India? Since the time they came in power what great industrial trend have you seen in the country? But they have definitely managed to deepen the communal divide and violence to play their dirty games.

    If you are so apalled by Bengal time to shut your gujju/baniya shop from our land and go to where you belong. I am sure you will find what you are looking for in UP or Rajasthan. Now STFU.

    • The main problem with my state and it’s people, is jealousy. No one can deny, that my countrymen and women hates it when others do well. This comment is only about the lay Bengali, not the celebrity in general. Like they will hate the capitalist making money using the labourers sweat. That is when the jhanda comes out, red or blue.
      And then they will always (almost) will find ways to look down upon you, whoever you are, in a given context. At the “para” level, at the state level, and at the caste level. My people will look magnanimous when others are watching, and when only your own tribe is watching, you will hammer down, beat up, anyone who in the given context is an “outsider”. Complex bigotry plays out all the time. If Tata builds a factory, this you-us game is played out in a certain context. Change the context, we will all shout at the top of our voice to award the same Tata the Bengal Ratna award.

  27. I think one should file a complaint against this press for publishing such a poor article. You know nothing about bengalis …..we are not just proud of two names you mention but there are many brilliant and succesful faces in the past present and will be also in future. SEE YOU CALLED BENGAL WASTED and you earned from it as well. Money is not everything for us otherwise we would have been richest in the world.we are not HARAMKHORS and thieves like others. thank you all

  28. Wow! I wonder how such a half baked article could even get published? Where’s the data? Where did this goldmine of information come from? Amit Shah’s office?
    According to this dimwit Bengalis should not be proud of their culture and heritage but the only propaganda that BJP has is our “glorious Indian Hindutva”. How much progress has BJP brought in India? Since the time they came in power what great industrial trend have you seen in the country? But they have definitely managed to deepen the communal divide and violence to play their dirty games.

    If you are so apalled by Bengal time to shut your gujju/baniya shop from our land and go to where you belong. I am sure you will find what you are looking for in UP or Rajasthan. Now STFU

  29. I think one should file a complaint against this press for publishing such a poor article. You know nothing about bengalis …..we are not just proud of two names you mention but there are many brilliant and succesful faces in the past present and will be also in future. SEE YOU CALLED BENGAL WASTED and you earned from it as well. Money is not everything for us otherwise we would have been richest in the world. Bongs are most talented ones because we are not HARAMKHORS and thieves like others. thank you all

  30. I think one should file a complaint against this press for publishing such a poor article. You know nothing about bengalis …..we are not just proud of two names you mention but there are many brilliant and succesful faces in the past present and will be also in future. SEE YOU CALLED BENGAL WASTED and you earned from it as well. Money is not everything for us otherwise we would have been richest in the world. Bongs are most talented ones because we are not HARAMKHORS and thieves like others.

  31. It is clear you wanted to provoke bengalees but the point is Tagore, Ray, Nazrul and others are still mirrors through which bengalees see the world and cease to amaze by the depth of their understanding of the milieu in which we live in. They make the really educated bengalees what they are. I sincerely wish Tagore,Ray , Nazrul and others of their I’ll never become irrelevant to bengalees. As for your grievances which are political in nature you may make a study about centre state relations, state finances, over centralisation over the years and it’s impact on state finances, discriminatory policies from center, effect of partition on the state etc then take a realistic view . Also find out which communities are responsible for gigantic NPA’s of banks, Swiss bank accounts etc and looted the country mercilessly all these years since independence what is Bengal’s contribution in it. Don’t judge bengalees by what’s app forwards.

  32. With all science and maths inclination in East Bengal… Bangladesh… have they developed one ounce since 1971?

  33. Has Bangladesh with all her inclination on science and maths developed since 1971?… then this theory of Mr. Basu doesn hold good. Next abour scntist and engg in West Bengal knowlege is to be taken in how many bengali scientist and engg are working in prominent position in various parts of world in compared to other non bengalis. How many nobels we have received in comparision to other states…. the diff between a Baniya state and West Bengal is mainly in its amalgamation of artistic culture and other abilities. But other state are like only money making business units … thwy donot have the broadness in thoughts as we have. Do they have the fine intellect as ours…. these are achived genetically through generation of similar thots amd values and not suddenly and we are proud to have it within us . Yes other state are rich … but they definitely have some negetive points which we need to look into if for argument sake. One small eg , we love music , one of my North Indian colleague told me they dont preffer music in household as they associate music with Tawaif culture. .. so we have long overcome these ideas.. this is where our success is. Money is not the only requirement in life… Culture equally is important for a human growth.

  34. I agree and appreciate your honest writing and along with that I would add the growing hindu intolerance in the state…..talking to ppl there I realise they take more pride being bengali than indian… your state is important but your national identity should me more important for u…

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