Trinamoolisation Of History In West Bengal
By Dr.M.Mohibul Haque
25 May, 2012
Countercurrents.org
Politics is rightly understood as an activity through which we make, preserve and amend the rules of governance. But we find that overzealous politicians not only try to make or unmake rules under which we live but they also want to control the mind and perception of the people. Gramsci’s views on ‘intellectual hegemony and domination’ by the ruling class and Noam Chomsky’s insightful thesis of ‘manufacturing consent’ explains this phenomenon beautifully. The recent political adventure to change the syllabi of schools by Mamata-led Trinamool Congress in West Bengal is such a move which has many negatives than positives. It is opening up of the Pandora’s Box. Very soon, the state of West Bengal and the nation at large will realize that it is not only an ill-conceived but highly dangerous political move. In fact, no political dispensation should be permitted to toy with the idea of changing the text books of history or other courses to take political advantage.
The Trinamool Congress observes that an ideologically motivated history has been taught in West Bengal under the uninterrupted rule of the Left front for last three decades. Thus there is a need for correcting historical wrongs and therefore, Gandhi and Mandela are to be taught in place of Marx and Bolshevik revolution. A student of West Bengal Board knows it very well that contributions of Gandhi and other leaders of the freedom struggle are the part of the chapters on our national movement. There is hardly any need to teach Gandhi separately in the syllabus. Regarding Nelson Mandela, no one can deny his contribution for the black people of South Africa. However, this is also a fact that in our own country the great contribution made by Dr. Ambedkar for the emancipation of Dalits is not fully appreciated. Ms. Mamata Banerjee should have mentioned his name as well who fought against monopolistic Brahminical dominance. Dr. Ambedkar was not only a great leader of India but also one of the greatest leaders in the world. Nelson Mandela fought against few hundred years of apartheid in South Africa with the appreciable support of the international community whereas Dr. Ambedkar emancipated Dalits from thousands of years of exploitation and repression sanctioned by the normative traditions of a great civilization. To recognize Ambedkar’s contributions Ms. Banarjee has to liberate herself from the sinister grip of the mentality of the traditional ruling elites of our country. Similarly, many Muslim icons, tribal leaders, and great men and women of other marginalized communities must find some space by a populist revision of history.
The problem with the Trinamool Congress is that this is an individual-based party without a systematic ideology. Moreover, Ms. Mamata Banarjee who is not expected to be adequately trained in political theory and philosophy might not be able to understand the significance of Marxism as an ideological metanarrative. No one can deny this fact that Marxism is the only ideology that has a counter discourse against imperialist and capitalist onslaught. At this crucial juncture of human history when universalisation of capitalism has been achieved in the garb of globalization, writing off Marxism or believing in ‘end of ideology’ thesis of Fukuyama will be counterproductive for India and all other developing countries. It must be emphasized that the Marxism has not failed nations or societies rather the societies have failed Marxism. The present political dispensation in West Bengal should realize that the people of the state might have suspended their support to the Left-Front rule for a brief interval but they still admire and adore the socialist ethics. Even today, Kolkata is one of the cheapest metropolitan cities in the country which proudly celebrates diversities of all kinds. The state of West Bengal is largely free of evils like communal riots, caste violence and public indiscipline, thanks to the visionary secular leaders of the state. These great achievements of the people of West Bengal owe a great deal to the value-based curriculum and high standard of education maintained in the state for last many decades.
The present political arrangement in West Bengal is already in controversy for detaining and torturing learned individuals and professors for political dissent. Its important party functionary who also happens to be a state minister is issuing fatwa (decree) urging his party cadres not to marry any CPI-M worker and avoid any social interaction with members of the Left party. The proposed mega project of Trinamoolisation of history in West Bengal reminds us of saffronisation of history by rightist forces during NDA regime. The saffronisation project ended in fiasco and we do not know the fate of the Trinamoolisation project at this stage. However, it is advised that Ms. Banarjee should learn lessons from the history before changing the syllabi of history in West Bengal. Rather than changing the text books, the Chief Minister of West Bengal should try to bring meaningful change (poribartan) in the real life of the people of the state as promised by her, so that she can also find a dignified place in the future history of West Bengal.
There is no doubt that Ms. Mamata Banerjee is a grass-root leader who played a very important role as an opposition leader during the left-front rule. She gave sacrifices, faced brutality of the State’s repressive apparatuses but never gave up her struggle. She championed the cause of down-trodden people of the state. The politicization of the issue of Nandigram and Singur was her biggest achievement. All these services of Ms. Mamata Banerjee were acknowledged by the people as they voted her to power. But now, as she has assumed the coveted office of the Chief Minister of a state which has been maintaining a very mature political culture for last many decades, she is expected to show emotional maturity and statesmanship which will be a positive addition to her unquestionable personal integrity.
Dr. M. Mohibul Haque is Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, AMU Aligarh, U.P.
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