(after
getting the info of Abhee Dutt Majumder Memorial Public Lectures On “Corporate Might
Versus Peoples' Right” on 25.07.2015)
I could meet him only once tête-à-tête.
That was a rainy day in 2006. We did not have much time; it was in a small room in an institute.
We were trying to convey him our ideas on “development” in which
society and environment was integrated. The Singur movement had, by then, just
started. And naturally “cars” were in
our talks. He also talked vigorously against the anti-people development.
It was indeed very
heartening when we saw the beautiful term “Maldevelopment” in the short
publication of TASAM – Teachers And Scientists Against
Maldevelopment – perhaps in November 2006 – and we had quite a number of
respected scientists on the streets against the neoliberal aggression on society
and Nature.
Abhee took pioneering role not only in TASAM during its making and
its work, but also in FAMA, Forum Against Monopolistic Aggression.
As a tribute to him let me put here a few of the points we raised, in a bit elaborate form, as some parts of that was also scribbled somewhere – and as i
cannot recollect properly, it would be improper to present what he
communicated, moreover, some parts were personal. Two contextual graphs with recent
data are added. This is Not an article at all, just remembering few points re: cars and Maldevelopment that we talked.
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Normally, these days, the Indian followers
of western development logic, like the
ABP group of dailies, the CPI (M), and etcetera believe that some important
index of ‘development’ are more people buying and riding cars, more ‘suitable’
infrastructure, like high speed driving through Expressways, etc. Their
attitude in this respect is highly questionable, and should have to be
confronted head on.
1. Taking
more and more possible people out of the Public Transport System to ‘personal’
transport was a conscious plan of the capitalists, which was striven with a
great deal of effort particularly in the USA, and by the ruling class of the
USA.
2. Similar
and almost concurrent was the effort of switching more and more from the
Railways to Roadways in case of goods transport.
3. More cars
and trucks ® More roads and expressways making ® More
Petroleum extraction – refining – distribution ® More
repair shops ® More ‘convenience’ in Roadways ® More
cars and trucks ® More roads and expressways making ® More
Petroleum extraction – refining – distribution ® … thus
went the capitalist ‘development’ logic, which meant extended reproduction,
yielded more and more profit, etc and gave capitalism, particularly in the
developed countries, a good lease of life, a good boost, by this plan too.
4. To
attract more and more people towards ‘personal’ vehicles and away from Public
Transport System individualistic, ‘exclusiveness’ etc cult was consciously
proliferated by capitalist media. It helped those at the govt too, who were
eager to minimise their ‘contribution’ [though that contribution was from and
out of ‘Public’ money itself] subsidised public transport system. The resulting
‘inconvenience’ in public transport system too pushed many towards switching to
‘personal’ motor vehicles.
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5. But the
result was devastating at least on two counts: [A] Accidents on roads
increased to an astounding height – even some highly placed bureaucrats of the
most ‘developed’ countries planned to put this agenda for a G8 summit. Perhaps
it is not an exaggeration: an estimate puts the number of road accident death
per year to be more than the number of people killed in the First World War. [B]
Environmental pollution was havoc. Lead poisoning due to leaded fuels became a
matter of anxiety in cities like Mexico City, etc. Then there was a switching
to un-leaded petrol. But even then, if we do not take into account for a moment
the Nitrogenous and Sulphurous poisonous gases plus carbon in monoxide and
un-burnt particle forms, a single litre of petroleum on combustion produces
almost three kilograms of Carbon dioxide – the dangerous “Green-House” gas.
And also, as if as a by-product, this petrochemical cycle gave us: the
notoriously hazardous plastic-polythene-polymer ‘revolution’.
6.
Governments in our country including the CPI (M) led ‘left’ governments are
fond of the aforesaid imperialist-capitalist logic. Among major metros, perhaps
Calcutta is unique in the sense that here private operators dominate public
transport in roadways, and State-Transport is in sheer minority. The WB govt
has done enough to dismantle to a good extent the subsidised public transport
system, to reduce electricity run Tramways, all during the ‘left’ reign; and
also it has done enough to increase petroleum-based pollution.
7. Prominent
intellectuals like much renowned Mr. Arnold Toynbee and religious thinker like
Daisaku Ikeda of Japan have visualised the potential dangers to Nature and
Humanity by this ever-increasing use of personal cars and roadways transport,
perhaps some 30-35 years ago in their book Road to Life. They were in the
opinion to limit austerely this kind of irrational mode of transport barring
some cases of emergency [like rushing an ambulance or fire-brigade vehicles,
etc] if that is unavoidable.
8. Some US
scholars of Marxist Economics, e.g., Paul Baran, Paul Sweezy, have pointed to
the capitalist conscious design behind all these and their effort through these
to cultivate and nurture the anti-collective individualistic tendency among
persons, nearly four decades ago. They called this mode of transport based on
‘personal automobiles’ – irrational.
