West Bengal politics amidst people&#39;s moral degradation and self-centeredness

West Bengal politics amidst people's moral degradation and self-centeredness

By Harasankar Adhikari
Politics is certainly an important and significant determinant of the socio-economic status of a nation as well as its population, particularly in a democratic nation. There has been a long-standing political history in Bengal since the colonial period. Its contributions to a nation’s development are to glorify the nation. Social, economic, educational, and political reforms in India were started in Bengal by a group of eminent thinkers and intellects. Bengal has taken the most glorified part in freeing India from colonial rule.
After the independence of India, Bengal's think tanks played a vital role in reforming and reconstructing the nation socially, educationally, and economically because every policy and program in India is formulated according to the expertise and opinion of the think tanks in Bengal. For example, the formation of the Planning Commission of India and its functions was initiated by the unforgotten leader, Nataji Subhash Chandra Bose.
Anyway, gradually, the people of Bengal were sensitized politically to true democracy through the implementation of local self-government under the Panchayat Raj Institution. Significantly, this Panchayat Raj expedites people's participation in democratic government through land reforms, the narrowing of casteism, and other socio-economic evils in society. People's democratic rights have been established.

Local-level development planning and societal structural reformation have become people's own choices. Political awareness and people's participation have also had some bad impacts, like deindustrialization and political groupism, which badly impact personal relations and interaction.

It breaks togetherness in family, community, and other aspects. It facilitates a political party supporter’s based division, even within a family. Unfortunately, it is not so much based on political party-based principles; it is based on political opportunity-based greed.
People's moral degradation and self-centeredness become political party-based traits. This opportunist promotes two categories of political beneficiaries: opportunists and non-opportunists. One may consider as the ruling party supporters and opposition. There is a huge gap between the two, and greed works to attract opposition supporters to the ruling party, from which one can enjoy different benefits of the government.
The TMC came into power after defeating the 34-year-old rule only using this weakness of the people of Bengal. Since 2011, TMC has been ruling the state as a populist government. Its policy and programs are only to purchase people as blind supporters of TMC. It uses all administrative techniques to keep people in favor of it for a long time. In addition to this, it abuses the administration against the opposition and critics of this government. But it is not confident about people's opinions, so it applies different techniques of vote looting.
Within a decade, this party has committed corruption in every sphere. But people are at large silent, realizing this party has harmed the glory of the state. But they are not collectively struggling against it because of fear of losing benefits or of losing a peaceful life.

Comments

Grueling summer ahead: Cuttack’s alarming health trends and what they mean for Odisha

By Sudhansu R Das The preparation to face the summer should begin early in Odisha. People in the state endure long, grueling summer months starting from mid-February and extending until the end of October. This prolonged heat adversely affects productivity, causes deaths and diseases, and impacts agriculture, tourism and the unorganized sector. The social, economic and cultural life of the state remains severely disrupted during the peak heat months.

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

Why India must urgently strengthen its policies for an ageing population

By Bharat Dogra A quiet but far-reaching demographic transformation is reshaping much of the world. As life expectancy rises and birth rates fall, societies are witnessing a rapid increase in the proportion of older people. This shift has profound implications for public policy, and the need to strengthen frameworks for healthy and secure ageing has never been more urgent. India is among the countries where these pressures will intensify most sharply in the coming decades.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

Proposals for Babri Masjid, Ram Temple spark fears of polarisation before West Bengal polls

By A Representative A political debate has emerged in West Bengal following recent announcements about plans for new religious structures in Murshidabad district, including a proposed mosque to be named Babri Masjid and a separate announcement by a BJP leader regarding the construction of a Ram temple in another location within Behrampur.

Search This Blog