It was long time back. Kolkata was not born and all of its citizens were pleased to stay in Calcutta.Every house was built in Greek-Italian, Roman Gothic structure and city could boast proudly for its widest footpaths for pedestrians at Chowringhee area at par with of London and Singapore. Every morning automatic sluice pipe of Municipal Corporation used to wash its large roads as well as wide footpaths.Mohammad Ali could stitch suits at par with those Seville Rowe of London. Adjacent satellite town Howrah was easily called Sheffield of east. It was having at least 500 small/medium scale industries.
We know that scenario changed to some extent after partition of original Bengal.Million of refugee came at Calcutta like flood water. All firm houses and grand villas at suburbs of the city had been taken forcefully by those refugee in large groups for their shelters. All grand footpaths of the city became makeshift shade of refugees. The colour of the city changed slowly. Road side food stall started in almost every corner by those people to start life anew. A new business started all over in the name of Hindu God numbers of small temple built on the footpath or street corners. A new way of livelihood. No one to control these activities,.Clean Calcutta, once told as City of Palaces had been polluted with all dirt and filth and the city gradually started losing its glories
This part is only social aspects. Now the State became crippled economically also. Bengal was perennially rich for its Jute industries.The most critical divorce in human history had made Calcutta empty in supply of raw materials as majority of jute had been grown in plains of erstwhile East Bengal, the part of newly formed East Pakistan( now Bangladesh). So supply of jute became lesser and lesser in those industries and production was affected.Once production affected, company could not pay salaries to staff regularly. Net result, the lock out and closure of industries.By the year 1977 at least 100 of large and more than 500 of small industries were closed.
Meanwhile new ideology of Communism started spreading its wings in divided West Bengal and trade union activities started everywhere. Bandh/Strike culture was common and 'Inqilub Zindabad' word has become a part and parcel working (??) class. Meanwhile the first and best chief minister of divided Bengal Dr. B C Roy tried to put a rein on these attitudes. He fought with New Delhi and brought first IIT at Bengal but, at the cost of a portion of Bengal had to be given to Bihar as per Delhi's request as Bihar is a poor State.Thus West Bengal became loser again.Dr B C Roy started his dream project, a satellite township at Kalyani. But after his demise next chief ministers could not control the state up to the expected level.So, another new revolution started around juncture of late sixties and early seventies in the name of Naxals. Bright young man and women started the revolution with a new ideology, new dream.But probably the time was not ripe for them or they born before time.Their mouth was gagged by iron hand of the than chief minister S S Roy and infamous Runu Guhaneogi who acted like Gestapo leader and after incomparable torture and blood bath they could bury the revolutionaries. But,Congress could nor reign long after this and they lost their bastion to the RED in 1977.
People of Bengal gave their mandate to Red and they indirectly put the last nail in their coffin. Once CPI(M) taken the rein of West Bengal with their cadre system and 'Operation Barga' all other good people started moving out slowly.Strike and Inqilub Zindabad' became the bread and butter of working class and obviously there was no work culture.Movement of industries and other sector became a routine affair. Film industry has gone long back at Bombay. The aviation industry where the writer of this Blog had personally seen many foreign airways like AIR France, KLM, Royal Jan Airlines, British Airways and many more operated from Calcutta had shifted to Bombay( Mumbai) and Delhi. Rekitt and Coleman Britannia etc many such big indusries shifted their base by abandoning Calcutta. The princess of yesteryear became a penniless Kolkata.
Still Calcuttans (Kolkatans?) have dream.. The Red has changed into Green. The city is culturally holding the Numero Uno position at least. Some changes have been evidenced in recent past. The beautification of the city has been done by present Government to give the city a modern look. New Calcutta new town and Sector 5 area are really at per with many other modern cities.But, until fresh industries bring oxygen to the state there will always a vacuum will stay in comparison with Mumbai, Bangalore etc. The CEO of vibrant Bengal has to think different.
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