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| Afghanistan-Pak-India |
| Bengal flood victims forced to join anti-US demonstrations |
| 2005-11-06 |
| The Communist Party of India sinks to new lows - coercing flood victims and extorting money from them KHARAGPUR, NOVEMBER 5: When a 150,000-strong Left mob demonstrates outside the Kalaikunda airbase here for a planned four hours on Monday, many thousands of participants will be victims of Midnaporeâs devastating floods a fortnight ago. For them, the journey from shattered hutments and devastated paddy fields to a protest against George W. Bushâs foreign policy will be a party-dictated compulsion. District CPI(M) leaders have issued instructions that not only must people turn up, they must pay Rs 10 each for expenses. âThis is a policy of the improved Left,ââ says Madan Mohan Karan, gram panchayat member, âearlier we used to take them for free, provide food ... When it pinches them, it adds worth to such participation.ââ Said Dipak Sarkar, district secretary of West Midnapore, who is coordinating the protest: âWest Midnapore has been given a target of 1 lakh supporters and East Midnapore has been given a target of 35,000.â East Midnapore is where the floods were the worst. A visit to villages two days before the rally shows that even those hit by floods in late October were not spared the ââmobilisation targetââ. No less than 35,000 demonstrators are required from the flood-hit areas of East Midnapore â Egra, Contai, Bhagabanpur, Heria and Tamluk. In neighbouring West Midnapore, inundated areas like Ghatal, Sabong and Pingla are not exempt from anti-America duty. Sabong, 45 km from Kalaikunda, is a case in point. A CPI(M) zonal committee member, Amalesh Basu, admitted rather reluctantly that the partyâs district leadership had set him a target of 1,000. In Basuâs words, 11 of 13 anchals (clusters of villages) covered by the Sabong zonal office were hit by floods on October 19, destroying 5,000 houses and affecting 160,000 people. ââBut sending 1,000 people from these areas is not difficult,ââ says Basu, ââthe zonal committee is sure to exceed the target and send not less than 3,000 ... because of the positive response against US imperialism and the joint military exercise.ââ Behind the big words is a sad story. In Ruinan village, for instance, flood waters have not receded yet. Acres and acres of standing paddy has been damaged. Watermarks on the mud houses are still fresh. In the midst of this misery, has come the call to rally against Washington, says Gourhari Manna, a CPI(M) member in the village. "For many,ââ points out Manna, "Rs 10 is a precious amount. How can one demand this from the flood afflicted? But itâs a party decision, and we will have to send not less than 50 from our village.ââ Gourhari didnât have to leave his house during the floods. He was luckier than Indramohan Ghorai, a Dalit forced to take shelter in a school. Ghorai returned to his damaged hut only two days ago. Now heâs got the summons. ââThere is hardly any way to ignore the partyâs call,ââ says Ghorai, ââI will have to go, come what may.ââ The landless, hapless man, a BPL (below poverty line) card holder will postpone rebuilding his life to take on Uncle Sam. So will Madan Mohan Guchait and Ashok Pal and others from the 400 odd families in Ruinan. Madan Mohan Karan, local gram panchayat member, assures them itâs necessary to fight off the ââbigger threat of US imperialismââ. |
| Posted by:john |
| #3 The communist state goverment of West Bengal won't allow any american aid even if offered. They would love Chinese help though. China is the commies ideal. |
| Posted by: john 2005-11-06 19:03 |
| #2 Probably too wet to start any new constuction, and the USAID helo's won't arrive till the clouds clear anyway. Might as well attend a good ole fashioned anti-American rally. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-11-06 17:45 |
| #1 And this same CPI government is wooing US investors. |
| Posted by: john 2005-11-06 17:34 |