Distribution of anger

Sir — West Bengal’s rural poor have neither purchasing power nor selling power (“Grain of truth”, Oct 25). People, not just in West Bengal but all over the country, are disgusted with the functioning of the public distribution system. The way the public discontent with the PDS has spread in Bengal is a clear indication of the collapse of people’s faith in the state administration. The state machinery is hand in glove with unscrupulous traders, local politicians and their cohorts. The unfolding saga of ration riots in this state reminds one of the mass outrage during the Bengal famine. While the victims remain the same poverty-stricken people, the colour of the perpetrators have changed over the years.

Yours faithfully,
Surajit Das, Calcutta

Sir — The Left Front government of West Bengal, by alleging that the violence on ration dealers is the handiwork of the Opposition, is trying to sidestep the main issue of the evil nexus between government officials and ration dealers. The Forward Bloc holds the food portfolio in the state cabinet, but its minister has been largely silent on the black-marketing of PDS goods, primarily rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene. Instead, the party has been trying to find fault with the ‘big brother’ of the coalition, that is, the Communist Party of India (Marxist). This is a well-known tactic, resorted to by the smaller Left Front allies every time the government is in a spot. The problem is that the people are not interested in the political colour of the dishonest ration dealers — although it is a fact that most of them are affiliated to the Left. Unless the culprits of the public distribution scandal are punished, more such cases are likely to be dug up in other government departments and local self-governmental institutions. Where the PDS movement will lead to is anybody’s guess, but it is certain that police forces and local legislators rushing to the scene are not enough to quell the fire of discontent.

Yours faithfully,
A.K. Das, Calcutta

Sir — There is no doubt that the food riots in West Bengal have not been engineered by forces opposing the ruling Left Front government. The statistics provided by Abhirup Sarkar tell you why: in Bengal’s villages, 106 out of every 1,000 households suffer from inadequate food during some months of the year. The number of households underfed throughout the year is 13 in Bengal against 0 in Rajasthan and Haryana. And this, despite the fact that West Bengal’s food production is 0.2 tons per capita every year. It would be incorrect to attribute the ration riots in Bengal solely to corruption in the PDS, since ration dealers are corrupt almost everywhere in India. Also, the food sector is not the only public department which is afflicted by malpractices. The question is: who will put an end to this? All political parties in their election manifestos speak of transparent administration, but not one of them will do anything to fight corruption since they are all neck-deep in corruption themselves. The people sometimes have no option but to take the law in their hands.

Yours faithfully,
C.R. Bhattacharjee, Calcutta

Sir — During World War II, when there was an acute scarcity of foodgrains, the government of India installed the rationing system to ensure equitable distribution of food among the people. The present-day fair-price shops of the PDS are supposed to carry on the legacy of that old system. The malfunctioning of the PDS, which has resulted in mobs attacking the owners of the fair-price shops in districts of the state proves that the more the intermediaries between the producer of the foodgrain (the farmer) and the consumers, the more the opportunities for corruption. The system is useful only in situations of scarcity of foodgrains. The PDS has outlived its utility as there is no real scarcity of foodgrains in the country. It would be better if the government winds up the PDS and pays a fixed or variable amount of subsidy in cash to those below the poverty line. The public’s anger against the fair-price shops is an early warning. Action must be taken before the fire spreads to the rest of the country

Yours faithfully,
C.V.K. Moorthy, Calcutta

Sir — Abhirup Sarkar writes that purchasing power of the people can be increased “only by promoting industrialization on a very large scale”. This is known to even a lay man. What is interesting is that the Marxists have suddenly, after 30 years of demolishing industries, woken up to the truth. But the anti-industry culture promoted by the Left cannot be wiped off overnight. Which is why, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s zeal notwithstanding, we are still 17th among the states as an investment destination.

Yours faithfully,
Asoke C. Banerjee, Calcutta

Parting shot

Sir — In “Have prize, will talk drivel” (Oct 25), Roger Highfield advises the media to ignore the mutterings of geriatric Nobel laureates. Highfield is, of course, entitled to advise. But Nobel laureates are not so easy to pass by. We have seen seventy of them being herded together to support Kofi Annan on his role in the Iraq oil-for-food programme. A home-grown Nobel laureate also appears to support the manner of land-acquisition in Singur. How can we ignore Nobel laureates when they have such a lot of nuisance value?

Yours faithfully,
Bappaditya Pal, Calcutta