Letters: 'Left' to rethink

I read the article “Thin red line” by Ishita Ayan Dutt (April 2) with great interest. While I was working as a senior agricultural economist in the World Bank, I had led a workshop in Dacca to discuss whether the experience of Operation Barga and its positive impacts on the agricultural growth in West Bengal could be replicated in Bangladesh. The workshop saw great support from policy makers from both Bangladesh and West Bengal. I had a special meeting with West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta, who also supported the workshop. I need to stress here that Asim Dasgupta is a great scholar in designing “two sector growth models” and Operation Barga was, I think, based on the solid premise of the two sector (agriculture and industry) flow of resources.

The point of mentioning all this is to emphasise that several scholars had accepted the success of the Operation Barga. A key reason to raise this issue now is to question what happened to the second generation multiplier effects of that success in other sectors of the economy? Why has West Bengal not succeeded in other businesses like that of the garment industry in Bangladesh? Why was the success of West Bengal in agriculture left unnoticed by policy makers in New Delhi?

Perhaps Mamata Banerjee’s party will win in the state elections but that would give policy designers of the present government enough time to reflect on the past loose ends and reenergise their forces to return to power. If Mamata Banerjee’s party loses the elections it will, of course, give the present policy makers a “second chance”.

Chandrashekhar G Ranade, on email

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