Bengal’s new industrial policy – revive the hand fan and pickle industries

Any industry worth its name must necessarily have investors who would like to see their investments multiply and make profit so that a certain portion can be ploughed back to generate more profits. Obviously, those at the helm of affairs of the industries must be visionaries and must strive to enter global markets where dollars rule. That, unfortunately, cannot be said of West Bengal as things stand right now.
The importance of industries in society needs no emphasis because, while it requires adequate land, it also requires men to work and generate the products that get sold and the proceeds go towards payments of the workers and staff.
It is not that Bengal did not have industries – there are the steel plants in Durgapur and Tatanagar, an automobile industry Hindustan Motors in Howrah, the Dunlop tyre factory apart from the petrochemical project in Haldia and the Garden Reach Shipbuilders. Because of such industries, the surroundings prospered and smaller industries took roots to meet the requirements of the larger companies.

However, at one point of time, industrial unrest began to rear its head and the investors fled – there was rampant intimidation of workers and officers and, violence. The political formation that was in power never realized the folly of driving away those who provided employment to the unemployed.
The result was the creation of a huge mass of unemployed youth who opted to use their muscle power to line their pockets. And, the political leaders decided to exploit this group to hold on to power.
Anyway, when the tide turned and a new political formation came to the forefront, there were hopes that Bengal would regain its lost ground – but, that has remained a dream because of the rigid policies of the government with regard to acquisition of land for setting up industries.
The government proudly talks about its readymade land bank – it overlooks the basic fact that if an industry needs 100-acres and it is spread into tiny pockets of 20 and 30 acres here and there, it just would not serve the purpose.
And, the government says that if it must have 100-acres in a single location, it would have to arrange for it on their own by talking to individual owners. Since that is a difficult task for any outsider, it means he must take the help of local mediators – and they are the goons.
What then is the alternative for industries in Bengal? Well – they can go in for industries that require little or no land. For instance, industries like hand fans, pickles, bamboo products, clay idols, brass showpieces and other cottage industries. That way, the farmers can retain their land and the poets can write poems on the green rice fields swaying in the breeze. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Believe it or not, it is true that Bengalis are basically daydreamers – they love their addas where they can theorize and tear to pieces all prevalent thoughts and explain how the country can progress but, when it comes to real action, they hide behind the pallu of their mothers and shy away from hard work.
Bengalis are a homesick lot and, tied to the apron strings, never want to leave the shelter and comfort of the home, the locality and the local tea shops. For them, love blossoms in the lanes and by lanes and bear fruit amidst munching of peanuts in the Maidan or idly staring into the muddy waters of the Ganges hoping for a miracle to happen and sigh.
They are not geared up to the philosophy of ‘do not wait for things to happen but make them happen’.

Bengalis love white collar jobs and, since two major railway headquarters of Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railways are located in the city, a majority of Bengali old-timers were employees of the railways. Then there were the banks - a clerical job in any bank meant assurance of a stable life. The money may not be much, but was sufficient. Of course, these were days when computers had not invaded our lives. This new technology spawned a whole new generation of youngsters whose demands were sky high. They earned in dollars and nurtured visions of one day owning one of those pent house flats.
But, Bengal kept losing out on industries and these are necessary to sustain growth – Bengal was known for its jute industries but, with the entry of polythene and plastics, jute bags went out of fashion and the jute mills closed down. There were many other industries and a whole lot of well-known factories and establishments that began to close down due to labor unrest. Names like Bengal Lamps, Hindustan Motors, Dunlop Tyres and Jessops and more recently Tata Motors at Singur, beat a hasty retreat.
And, politicians seized the opportunity to exploit the group of unemployed masses by offering them money in exchange of services, services that included violence and bloodshed to strike terror in the minds of the opponents.
A new order was created and the unemployed realized that education does not pay as does cozying up to the leaders – that is the sure path to prosperity. The leaders created a Frankenstein and, as expected, it has gradually gone out of control. (to be continued …)
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Buying a Premier Padmini of 1978 vintage for Rs 30,000

In those days, HAL gave Rs 30,000 as car loan for purchase of a four-wheeler because it was that period when there were a few models of cars on the roads. Most popular in the four-wheelers were the grand old Ambassador car of the Hindustan Motors and Premier Padmini, the Indian version of the Italian Fiat. The amount of car loan was just enough to cover the cost of a second hand model and, when I became eligible to get a loan, I applied.
The approval of competent authorities used to take some time because there was an annual quota of loans that would be disbursed and, invariably, there would be someone who would try to squeeze in the queue quoting some reason or the other.
As I waited for the approval, I set in motion activities connected to acquiring a car, activities like carrying out a recee of the cars available in the market. To help me in this work I got hold of a Malayalee – he was a master in automobiles and, most of the garages in Nashik had hordes of Malayalee workers. That helped.

Finally, I zeroed in on a white colored 1978 Premier Padmini and settled for Rs 30,000. I paid the owner a token amount for booking. My application for loan had been cleared but imagine my surprise when I came to know that there was an embargo on issue of further loans for that financial year. It was a directive from HAL Corporate Office.
When I checked with my friends in Bangalore, they informed that the orders had certainly come but the local Finance department had decided to pay the loans to those whose approvals had come and then apply the embargo.
Unfortunately, in Nashik, the Finance department was a stickler for rules and, even though my loan had been approved, I could not get the loan amount. I was in a fix because I had already committed to the deal and had to, therefore, arrange the money from alternative sources.
All this happened just before my departure with the Russian specialist to New Delhi and I had to leave the car parked in front of my quarter. I never imagined that my son would take advantage of the ready availability of the car and, on the pretext of warming it up in the mornings, he would take the car out on the road.
By the time I returned from Delhi, he had mastered the art of driving and, later, taught me how to drive!! (to be continued …)

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