Democracy in Distress

The recent civic polls in West Bengal have proved that the days of Left rule in the state are numbered. And it's become imperative to see how and WHY it's a reason to celebrate.

Communism depends on party aparatchik, and not on individual liberty; an all-deciding party organization would monitor governance, and consequently government. Administration,government or otherwise( an NGO,for example), is invariably inseparable from the various levels of party organization on and along which it operates. People in need of any administrative assistance go to local party or zonal party leaders instead of the concerned official authority,thereby creating an administrative snafu and serious malfunctioning,a malady of democracy,and more dangerously, instilling in common men a false view of the great tradition of democracy.

Democracy operates, on the other hand, on three parallel levels: political, administrative and judicial. There are clear and well-delineated lines of demarcation among these three. Any attempt to muddy these distinctions is sure to upset the principle of balance,so vital in a democracy.

The Left in Bengal not only blur the distinctions,but also sanctify them in a most solemn manner,bringing in Marx,Stalin and Mao(the last mentionrd 'sage'(!!!) has got somewhat sidelined here) all of whom sort of legalized this system of governance.

Madness and Methods

My love of literature seems innate as I remember reading everything,especially story books and novels, meant for elders when others of my age pored over spelling books.My father has been an avid reader as well as a writer of some repute.Genetically,it did have some effects anyway.
But as a student of literature I was shocked to find that thrill and excitement of reading I got in my childhood replaced by what we call critical analysis.Seemed brilliant for sometime indeed.I myself became so unquestioning a votary of that madness on methods( of criticism,of course)that I never stopped to ask myself what a great treasure remains unexplored when we read literautre not for entertainment,but for methodical reading.We talk less of Shakespeare than of Foucault;less of Tagore than of Said;less of literature than of Philosophy.Woe to us