Kolkata: “I’m old, sick, tired, disillusioned, harassed, slandered, and unappreciated,” says Simon Bolivar, the protagonist in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s The General in His Labyrinth, a book based on the final days of the man known as the liberator of many South American nations.
Last week, a picture emerged, in which Jagdeep Dhankar, the Governor of West Bengal, is shaking hands with a pale old man with an oxygen pipe in his nose, barely smiling, barely recognisable, sitting in a room full of books.
The similarities with Marquez’s Bolivar could not be missed, especially given the fact that the elderly man is one of the Colombian author’s greatest admirers and even translated two of his non-fiction works into Bengali — The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor and Clandestine in Chile.
In his time, the man was the epitome of the Bengali bhadralok in his crisp white dhuti–panjabi (dhoti-kurtas), and the ‘liberator’ who planned Bengal’s industrial renaissance. He is Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the former chief minister of West Bengal.
The parallels with Marquez’s Bolivar are striking — Bhattacharjee is physically sick, probably tired of the repeated drubbings his Communist Party of India (Marxist) has received in every election except in Kerala, slandered by his political opponents and unappreciated by the very Bengalis he sought to liberate. Harassed is probably the only epithet used by the legendary author that doesn’t apply to him.
After meeting Bhattacharjee, Governor Dhankar said: “I pay my regards to a man for whom I have enormous respect. He had been the chief minister of the state. Meeting him was inspirational. I wished him good health and a speedy recovery.”
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Autumn of the patriarch
Bhattacharjee turned 75 on 1 March, and is the sole surviving patriarch of the CPI(M)’s 34-year heyday in Bengal. He barely moves out of his ancient 770-square foot two-room flat at Palm Avenue in south Kolkata.
The only connection he has left now with the party office is its library. Pradosh Kumar Bagchi, the librarian of CPI(M) mouthpiece Ganashakti, still receives a list of books from him, and sends them regularly.
“He has his own collection. But he reads so much that we still send him books according to his requirements,” Bagchi told ThePrint. “He has some difficulty in reading, but nothing can take him away from his books.”
Bhattacharjee today has nearly lost his eyesight, but continues to use a magnifying glass, saying he doesn’t get the real sense of a book until he reads it, a senior leader close to him said.
“Buddhababu last attended the party’s state conference in 2018. Since then, he has not been able to come to the party office,” the leader said.
“The last public appearance he tried to make was on 3 February this year, at a Left Front election rally at the Brigade Parade Ground (Maidan). He was seriously unwell then, but as a committed and loyal Communist, he reached the venue in an Ambassador, with the oxygen pipe still attached. Doctors refused permission, but he defied them for the sake of the party. However, he was not able to get down from the car and left the venue after some time. He could not even wave at the people who were standing by the road to catch a glance of him.”
Chronicles of state, national and international politics
Until last year, Bhattacharjee was a regular at the party headquarters at Alimuddin Street. In his small chamber, he kept writing books, party documents and letters to comrades.
Over the years, he wrote 13 non-fiction books dealing with the state of politics in Bengal, the national and international political scenario, such as on China and Latin America. His book Phire Dekha (Looking Back), chronicling the first 10 years of the Left Front government (1977 to 1987), was released at the Kolkata International Book Fair in 2016. A year later came the sequel, Phire Dekha, Part II, which documented the last five years of the Left government.
His last book was Nazi Germanyr Janma Mrityu (The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany), published in 2018. Along with these, he also wrote two booklets about the Left Front and its ideology.
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Of industrialisation and other demons
The parallel is often drawn between Bhattacharjee as the leader of Bengal and Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union. His attempts at industrial renaissance were the catalyst for the violent anti-land acquisition movements in Singur and Nandigram, eventually heralding the end of the Communist era in Bengal and the rise of Mamata Banerjee.
Perhaps it was his intention to change the “anti-industry” image of the Marxists that made Bhattacharjee go all out against bandhs and gheraos. He had no qualms in accepting that the Marxists had “made mistakes” and that “it was time to rectify them”.
A former home secretary of the state who did not wish to be identified told The Print: “We saw in him a leader passionate about industry and investment. He used to say we (Marxists) made mistakes in the past. But we have to move on. In all meetings with industrialists, he used to say, Bengal’s only contribution to the Oxford English Dictionary was the word gherao.”
Shishir Bajoria, industrialist and member of the BJP’s state committee, was once a member of the CPI(M) and a good friend of Bhattacharjee. Although there hasn’t been any communication between them since August 2014 when Bajoria joined the BJP, he recalled the former CM’s “honest efforts” that failed.
“Bengal is suffering badly on the industrial front. We cannot forget how Mamata Banerjee won the 2011 election on the back of an anti-industry movement in Singur. I strongly feel that our former chief minister (Bhattacharjee) was equally responsible for not taking timely action when she blocked a national highway for seven days, when the state had an order from the Calcutta High Court” Bajoria said.
“His intent was good. But the honest efforts failed in many ways.”
Civil servants who served under Bhattacharjee’s regime, however, maintain that it wasn’t Singur or Nandigram that brought about the downfall of the Communists. It was, they said, their withdrawal of support from the UPA government in 2008, and the consolidation of the Congress and Trinamool Congress’ votes as part of an anti-Left alliance.
“It was poor decision-making by the Left Front and its constituents. But Bhattacharjee faced the flak,” the former home secretary said.
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Alliance in the time of Trinamool
Bhattacharjee never stopped trying to return the Left to power by halting the Trinamool’s bull run. In April 2016, Kolkata witnessed something unprecedented — Bhattacharjee shared the stage with then-Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, just ahead of the assembly elections.
The old rivals’ alliance had been clicking at the local level, so there were efforts to replicate the success at the state level. The former CM openly admitted that a depleting Left was in no position to oust Banerjee alone, and was one of the main proponents of the alliance, going against the CPI(M)’s so-called “Kerala lobby”.
But the alliance suffered a humiliating defeat, leading to Bhattacharjee’s resignation from the CPI(M)’s Politburo and the central committee.
“First, his coterie of intellectuals, the ones he thought were his friends, deserted him. His friends switched loyalties — most were hobnobbing with Banerjee and the Trinamool. This was a shock for him,” a senior CPI(M) leader said on the condition of anonymity.
“On top of that, he found it difficult to accept that the Left was unable to find favour with the voters. His ideas were fast losing relevance. These shocks and failing health saw him withdraw from public life.”
Years of solitude
Bhattacharjee hardly agrees to meet anyone nowadays, so there are few visitors at his home. Among the exceptions are CPI(M) state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra and former MP Mohammad Salim.
Salim says “Buddhada” recused himself from all political activities after the 2016 assembly elections, in which Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress retained power.
“He is the one who honestly tried to turn things around. He remained incorruptible, fiercely secular and uncompromisingly honest about his intent. But after Singur and Nandigram, the people of the state, all opposition parties, and above all, the intelligentsia went against him,” Salim told ThePrint.
“He was called a man with blood on his hands. He was made the fall guy. And he could never come out of that shock. He never comments on Singur. But, he at times mentions issues relating to national politics.”
In the last eight years since she came to power, Banerjee has visited her ailing predecessor twice — in October 2017 and April 2019. On both occasions, she offered assistance for better treatment at a private hospital, but Bhattacharjee refused.
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It was his own party that blocked his way. Polit bureau members like Prakash Karat and Biman Mukherjee who are non-accountable to the public, manipulated the PB and he was told to refuse the offer. Jyoti Basu called it “a historical blunder.'” How true this has proved to be!
Budhdhabau is indeed frail. But he is not forgotten.
Still people want to know about him and eagerly wait for any news about him.
It was a blunder that happened in 2011 and hopefully time will correct it.
Mr Bhattacharya was indeed able to attract many industrialists to Bengal. JSW is one of them. Singer and Nandigram was manipulated to her favour by Mamta. Even today she struggles to get investors to the state. Unfortunately CMP politburo did not support his decision to resolve Singur imbroglio, agreed to in governors House in presence of Mamta. It was a few 100 acre trade off. His party betrayed him by not allowing him to do the concession, and then the CPM also drowned in 2012
Read the comments made earlier. Many of the comments are factually incorrect. Bengal was never a BIMARU state. ( B ihar, M adhya Pradesh, R ajasthan, U ttar Pradesh are the BIMARU states.) It was during Bhattacharya’s reign that Bengal had become of the top states in agriculture producing the highest amounts of paddy and potato. Moreover Bengal was one of the very few states which had a zero riot record even when the country sizzled post Ayodhya and post Godhra.
Bhattacharya was a politician and gentleman…one of the rare breeds in India now. The IT industry in Bengal which boasts of names from TCS to IBM and employs over a lakh people are all Bhattacharya’s work.
He had tried to bring the automobile industry in Singur and chemical industry at Nandigram but had failed miserably. Still, this doesnot take away his contribution to Bengal
Very well said. My voice chokes whenever I try to think about this gentleman and great human being. His reign as CM was the only golden decade in Bengal’s history. TMC took over like a bunch of vultures. A situation quite similar to the story of The Lion King.
Very sad state of affairs for Bengal, past was glory, present is bleak and future is dark
May he get well soon.
Needless to say for last 32 years CPIM killed Bengal & then generation after generation in terms of Education, jobs, industry, development program. They left no stone unturned to sabotage Bengal! Laks & Laks of people were killed/trotured. God has listen to it & bestowed long & tremendous suffering before death to them. I don’t feel a bit sorry for them …..!
Left affiliated Trade Union ruined many industrial units by too violent means. However, it was because of left Union, poor daily wagers, industrial workers and million managed to get decent wages. It was partially the narrow minded industrialist who attempted to exploit workers and thus trade unions got hold of workers. I wish they maintained some Lakshman Rekha.
This is message to all those politicians in power who are arrogant and don’t meet common man and don’t redress their grievances. Law of Nature shall apply one day and no-one will care you except spend the days in solitary. Hands of God is supreme.
A good man. Wishing him health and a long life. Very gracious of HE the Governor to call on him.
Sir aaj Kal His Excellency is passe. It is Maha Mahim ?
Higher caste intellectual men destroyed Bengal and supported violence to stay in power. Mamata is cut off the same cloth and BJP will do the same in the future, all thanks to the Leftist rule for over three decades. This is the time when Bengal joined BIMARU states for its horrible development indices but since recovering in Mamata’s rule. The latter being an underappreciated aspect of her connect with peoplem
Late Harkishen Singh Surjeet, Late Jyoti Basu and Shri Budhadeb Bhattacharjee – they were all people with novel ideas and initiatives. But they were not allowed to do their job in an atmosphere of narrow thinking and political expediency. If they were allowed to do what they wanted to do the history of India would have been different today. While saying this, I particularly refer to the fact of Jyoti Basu’s missed opportunity to become Prime Minister of India.