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Thread: Kolkatta, the forgotten city

  1. #1
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    Kolkatta, the forgotten city

    Namaste,

    These are all unverified, biased observations and conclusions. You are warned not to accept any of it and do your own research if you feel so inclined to learn about Bengal’s unbiased recent history.

    The establishment and growth of the East India Company in Bengal created the need for ever increasing number of clerks and lower level administrators. More and more Bengali Indians learned English to qualify for these positions. Christian clergy, ever ready to ‘harvest and save the souls’, was very active there at the time and influenced people’s thinking through teaching English. The intellectuals of the day with a spiritual bend, the likes of Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo and Raja Ram Mohan Roy, were able to go beyond the traditional Hindu scriptures and get exposed to the Christian theology, and Western concepts such as secular humanism and critical thinking. As giants among men endowed with superior intellect, and as pioneer English learners, they translated many of the Hindu scriptures and gave discourses on what has come to be known as ‘Hinduism with a Universalism flavor’.

    There were many other learned sages and spiritual giants in India at the time, but the ‘Bengali babus’ came to be known as cream of the crop because of their ability to articulate themselves in English. And they catered to the Westerners with a dash of Xitian theology thrown into the mix. This made them magnets for westerners who were attracted towards Hinduism, and also the darling of the Indian English educated class. Anyone bringing religion to our doorstep and introducing us to a coherent theology becomes very endearing to us, and with time attains god-like status in our thinking. That is perfectly human as all of us cannot get educated in Sanaskrit and then spend a lifetime reading and understanding the scriptures. The teachers adept in English provided some of us with translations, which are like Cliff Notes to spirituality. Hindu scriptural knowledge and Hindu philosophy did not start with the ‘Bengali babus’, but they contributed towards spreading it beyond the traditional boundaries through mixing it with the Xitian mindset.

    Fast forward by some decades – the East India Company had been replaced by direct British rule. As more and more land mass came under British occupation, use of English language became more prevalent among educated people from all areas, many common people were getting their college degrees and getting employment in the British Govt. bureaucracy; the movie industry based in Kolkatta created many jobs. Things were good and life was easy. Then everything began to unravel. The seat of the Govt. was moved to Delhi and the movie industry based in Mumbai started to eclipse the one in Kolkatta. After a long stretch of relative affluence, jobs evaporated and economy shrank. By and large the Bengalis were easy going people who had made a living by holding jobs, and there was very little in terms of entrepreneurship. So, in the vacuum created by a sudden loss of jobs in the traditional fields and a lack of any entrepreneurial activity to compensate for the loss, the empty promises and slogans of communists sounded like an enticing alternative. The Bengalis embraced communism full on and strong trade unions came into existence. Industrialists went elsewhere for investing in new factories. With no new economic activity, things became stagnant and the infrastructure deteriorated. All that was left was the ‘Bengali pride’.

    After decades of socialist policies enforced by the Bengal state govt. in independent India, the decay is noticeable. The old buildings, total lack of any economic activity, not many international airlines routing to or passing through Kolkatta has been bad for its unfortunate citizens. Whereas rest of the big cities are booming with engineering software parks and call centers, new shopping malls and people buying new appliances/cars, Kolkatta residents have to contend with low paying jobs. Hope some day things will change as the brains of Kolkatta, who are second to none, deserve better.

    I warned you about my observations being biased. If you are not happy with my take on Bengal's recent history, feel free to write your own.

    Pranam.
    Last edited by Believer; 28 August 2013 at 02:00 AM.

  2. #2
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    Re: Kolokatta, the forgotten city

    Quote Originally Posted by Believer View Post
    The Bengalis embraced communism full on and strong trade unions came into existence.
    Greetings,

    Why did the Bengalis embrace communism?
    "Everybody wants to see God but nobody wants to do any sadhana." -- Swami Sivananda
    "You can advance only through karma yoga; by karma yoga you may benefit others also....Only hard work can make a person powerful and energetic." -- Haidakhan Babaji
    "Do everything you do as Śivathondu." -- Yogaswami

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    Re: Kolokatta, the forgotten city

    Namaste,
    Quote Originally Posted by Jetavan View Post
    Why did the Bengalis embrace communism?
    The normal trickery of promising jobs, galvanizing the labor by branding the 'greedy industrialists' and the management as the source of their woes, the never ending talk of equality of different classes of labor. It was them who invented a new tool to harass the managers at various companies by conducting what was termed as 'gherao' - imprison the managers by surrounding their offices with workers, thereby blocking their exit, for days on end. It was psychological warfare that our simpletons bought into and stayed loyal to, for decades. What amazed me was that a large cross-section of educated people were also duped into this charade.

    Pranam.

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    Re: Kolokatta, the forgotten city

    I lived in Bengal and have many friends and Kolkata is the intellectual capital of India to me. It has rich heritage which can be shared with one or two other places in India. The artistic talent shown by almost majority of the population is mainly due to the fact that they value intellectualism more than making money and exploiting people.

    I personally know a person whose brother is a grammy award winner and his grandfather is a very reputed artist whose paintings are quite famous. Because of many intellectual giants from Kolkata India made her name in her heyday.
    ॐ महेश्वराय नमः

    || Om Namo Bhagavate Rudraya ||

    Hara Hara Mahadeva Shambo Shankara

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    Re: Kolkatta, the forgotten city

    Namaste,

    India has many, many ethnic and linguistic groups. Each one of them has made a contribution towards its advancement and each one tries to project its contribution to the pie as the biggest. There is no doubt that Bengal has produced many intellectual giants and world class artists. But it would be unfair and insulting to other groups to claim that India gained all its prominence due to the accomplishments of just one group. Each piece of mosaic helped to make the picture complete.

    And this talk of 'exploiting people' is the typical old, tired commie slogan. When a businessman puts his money down, he takes a risk. He might lose everything he puts down, if he can't sell the product from his investment because of lack of demand or the price structure. Investment by an individual, weather it be in the stock market, or in private equity or in a new business is always with a desire to make some profit, and it always involves an inherent risk. Whereas I concede that sometimes the workers are taken advantage of and are treated as bonded labor, but to paint every business venture with a broad stroke of 'exploiting people' is naivety. What happens when you drive the capital out? It results in poverty which is not the desired results of it all. There is a deep seated mis-programming of some Indian minds that all business is bad and all businessmen are greedy, exploitative overlords. What happens when the state takes over the running of industry? Everything that they touch loses money and bankrupts the state/federal treasury. Looking at the big picture of economics gives one a different perspective than sloganeering. What one city in the whole world still has a statue of Lenin in a public square and is under a 24 hour guard - Kolkatta. This termite is eating away at the core of a rich culture by holding them back economically.

    Pranam.
    Last edited by Believer; 07 August 2013 at 12:16 PM.

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    Re: Kolkatta, the forgotten city

    I love those rich, beautiful Bengal cotton saris! (And this is my second love of Bengal after Sri Dakshineshwar Kali).

    Hail to those Banerjees and Chatterjees!
    jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar

  7. #7

    Re: Kolkatta, the forgotten city

    Quote Originally Posted by Viraja View Post
    I love those rich, beautiful Bengal cotton saris! (And this is my second love of Bengal after Sri Dakshineshwar Kali).

    Hail to those Banerjees and Chatterjees!
    And The Mukherjees Too
    Hari bol

  8. #8

    Re: Kolkatta, the forgotten city

    Namaskar,
    Bengal has been one of the great region of India to give birth to a lot of great souls who have done a lot for its Motherland.I would say Bengalis are some of the most intellectual people.Rabindranath Tagore was the first India to receive Nobel Prize for Literature and he was a Bengali.However,he was a great literary scholar and also a patriot.He fought against the Britishers not with Arms but with his Literary Creations and that is one of the reasons why he surrendered the Nobel Prize given to him by the British Government.

    This was one of the examples .I have many more a young kid called Khudiram Bose who was the First Martyr of Indian Revolution and hew as a Bengali.He was just growing up and was only 18 years old but before he could experience life,he was hanged by the Britishers.

    Another Leader called Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose,who was a rebelious leader and believed that in order to take away the Britishers we also have to opt for violence.Then only the British Rule can be taken off from India.He had created the "Azad Hind Fauz" also known as Indian National Army in Japan and from there he used to execute his activities to free India from the British Rule.The Britishers were so annoyed by him that even after accepting to leave India they made an agreement with the Leaders like Nehru and Gandhi that even after the Independence Netaji is found he would have to be handed to the British Governement but he was never found.Some say he died in a plane crash but no one knows what actually happened there is a popular thought that he was alive even after the crash and that he was not in that plane and lived rest of his life in Japan so that he could never be caught and handed to the Britishers.This was the treatment given to a Great Leader by our government.

    There are so many examples and if I try to tell about everything it would take the entire page and more.Examples like Swami Vivekanand,Aurobindo Ghosh,Sharatchandra Chattopadhayay and more.

    Bengalis have done a lot towards the Motherland and still are contributing towards the development but still some people ignore it.
    Hari bol

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    Re: Kolkatta, the forgotten city

    Namaste,

    No one is denying their intellect or their contribution to the fabric of the Indian culture over the centuries. However what is sad is their whole hearted support to communism for decades and now to Mamata. During the communist rule the state was in a state of decay. Now it is being islamized. Hoardes of Bengladeshis come in every day. Every mullah in the state gets a stipend of Rs. 5000 per month, which is not available to the clergy of any other faith. Her power base comes from these muslims and the gullible Hindus. The anti development policies being followed by Mamta to stay in power are keeping the industrialists out. No major international airline touches the Kolkatta airport as there is no business to conduct. It is pathetic how Bengalis are being duped into becoming the next muslim majority and remain a poverty stricken state. Just having pride over the past accomplishments does not do Bengal or the rest of India any good. Installing Robindra sangeet piped music systems at every corner, instead of fixing the potholes in the city does not do anyone good. I wish they would wake up and reclaim their glorious past but I am not holding my breath for that as intellect without common sense is disastrous. Unfortunately for all of us, the Bengali intellectuals and the masses of the day are in a deep slumber mode. When and if they wake up, they could impact the current fabric of India in a major way and even run the whole country. But the way things are now, they are happy with their past with no desire to rise and be glorious in the present or in the future.

    Pranam.
    Last edited by Believer; 21 June 2014 at 10:22 AM.

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    Re: Kolkatta, the forgotten city

    Namaste Believer

    I have received shocking accounts (over the phone) of hordes of Islamic Bangladeshi illegal aliens causing havoc now on certain key roads in central City, some areas you do not want to park a car or it will be stolen right away and taken into Bangladesh. I have also seen them with my own eyes, and trouble.

    The last time I was in Kalighat, my driver had to go after a pack of four with a bamboo beating rod.

    The CPI(M) wasn't as horrible as some imagine, but I have had red flag column just out my window off Chowringhee, and had a bit of a problem with some communist dalits.

    But overall, Kolkata is a wonderful place and I would recommend to come and have vacations. I hear there are some recent improvements also. I use to like to take some stupid friends near where they chop up live chickens to show them Islam and to scare them to death. But with the Bangladeshi issue becoming serious, this is not a joke and you might not want to go into some areas. But other areas have improved as far as stores and stuff, but I haven't been in 4 years I think now and pinning to go back. It is a marvelous place.

    Om Namah Sivaya

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