THE LAST COMMUNIST
As Tripura heads to polls, Manik Sarkar’s biggest challenge is fighting public memory, not the BJP
The only time Manik Sarkar seems exasperated is when one suggests to him that Tripura has fallen behind in the race for development in the 20 years under him.
“Do you even know where Tripura was before the CPM took over?” says the state’s veteran chief minister, sitting in his office, a portrait of neither Marx nor Lenin, but Rabindranath Tagore, in the backdrop. He then reels off statistics to prove progress in each sphere.
As Tripura heads to polls, the 69-yearold Sarkar’s biggest challenge is fighting not the BJP, but public memory.
It is quite widely acknowledged that Sarkar ended insurgency and brought peace to the state. But the era of peace has meant that a new generation has emerged, with little memory of conflict, but with aspirations of modernity. And Sarkar’s CPM is seen to be struggling to meet those aspirations. Would the man — the only communist chief minister across the swathe of north, west, central, east India — be able to remind citizens of how Tripura used to be before he came to power? Or will dreams of a better future overwhelm the memories of conflict and push citizens towards ‘poribirtan’ (change)?
In that lies the story of the 2018 election in the state, which votes for a 60-member assembly on Sunday.
THE AGARTALA DOCTRINE
While CPM has been in power for 25 years, Sarkar took over in 1998. In a state where the primary fault line is between Bengalis and tribals, Tripura was then reeling under a tribal insurgency. He recalls, “At that point, people were under severe threat from the extremist onslaught. These groups were operating from camps in Bangladesh. They were pampered and nurtured by ISI and CIA. They divided people on ethnic lines and created trouble in the state. My biggest challenge was bringing peace.”
To tackle this, Sarkar claims he involved people across communities and ran an ideological campaign. “They were raising ideological-political questions by demanding secession and the ouster of outsiders. We had to debunk this first and counter it with correct explanations.” Sarkar claims they supplemented this with development activities. On the security front, in a lesson that may have a resonance in other parts of the country, Sarkar said he did not interfere in operation of forces. “My principle was liberty with caution. I gave them authority but you cannot be triggerhappy and can’t win without the support of the people.”
These three components — ideological, developmental, security — helped. But it may not have been enough without the external component.
“We are surrounded on three sides by Bangladesh. The border is porous. Camps were there. I used to give them specific information, but the Bangladesh government was not helpful and we didn’t get support.”
This was when Begum Khaleda Zia governed the country. What Sarkar does not mention, but has been documented by journalist Subir Bhaumik in his book, The Agartala Doctrine, is how Sarkar authorised “limited trans-border action” against insurgents by Tripura Police in “total secrecy”.
These attacks on rebel bases and safe houses used a combination of surrendered militants and Bangladeshi mafia lords, writes Bhaumik. In this, Sarkar had the backing of the then home minister LK Advani. “Rarely has an Indian state, not even the Centre, attempted a sustained covert trans border offensive campaign against armed militants like the Manik Sarkar-led government,” wrote Bhaumik.
This led to a drop in violence and allowed CPM cadres to begin their political campaign. Externally too, Bangladesh’s outlook improved.
Sarkar says, “Things changed after Sheikh Hasina came to power and said their soil won’t be allowed to be used against India. She cracked down. I must give her credit.” The violence levels dipped so much that Tripura even withdrew the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from the state, leading to the celebration of Sarkar as a man committed to civil liberties.
Not everyone agrees with this description of Sarkar’s record.
One of his fiercest critics is Congress’ working president, Pradyot Manikya Deb Barman, who is also from the Tripura royal family and is a tribal. “Manik Sarkar is a Bengali chauvinist. Bengalis in Tripura have come largely from east Pakistan. They have suffered through the 20th century during Partition, in east Pakistan, during Bangladesh’s libera- tion and after. Sarkar decided he would protect Bengalis and became their leader. In that quest, he quashed tribal insurgency.” The fact that a lot of the media in the Northeast is controlled by Bengalis helped in his image building, says Deb Barman.
“There were fake encounters under him. He has only allowed pliant tribal leaders to grow. There has been no development in tribal areas,” says David Debbarma, a young tribal entrepreneur.
THE DEVELOPMENT STORY
But for the most part, Sarkar is given credit for bringing peace. Many voters hailed the stability. This peace, rather than any form of dogmatic communism, is the key to understanding his success. But this could now be a source of vulnerability because a new generation wants more.
At Tripura University, students speak of the need for jobs and of how CPM cadre monopolise government employment. In the outskirts of the capital, local police officials speak of low pay (government employees are still on the Fourth Pay Commission in the state). An Agartala shopkeeper speaks of lack of industrialisation. A political opponent mocks how the capital got its first set of traffic lights only a few weeks ago.
Sarkar believes that this ignores what he has actually achieved. “To go from Agartala to Kolkata via Assam used to be a 1600km trip. I remember protesting in Delhi’s Boat Club, meeting Rajiv Gandhi, demanding greater rail connectivity in Tripura. Air links were poor. When I took over, communication was so poor that I could not talk to even my BDOs (Block Development Officers). There was a power deficit.”
Sarkar then enumerates the changes that have come about: national highways; 900km of state highways; 8,000 habitats connected by road; broad-gauge rail links; 26-28 daily flights from Agartala (“We have the second busiest airport in the Northeast after Guwahati”); power surplus (“We sell 140 MW to Bangladesh”); irrigation; 98% literacy (“We have the highest literacy rate in the country now”); healthcare (“96% people avail public health services”).
All of this, Sarkar claims, has paved the way for industry to come in. He speaks of connectivity plans with Bangladesh and South East Asia. It seems like speaking to a man with ambitions of placing Tripura at the heart of a grand capitalist enterprise rather than a left ideologue wary of capital-based economic engagement with the world. And on unemployment, which is a key issue, Sarkar says, “No district, no state is free of unemployment across the country. Don’t single out a small state like Tripura. We are now moving to the next stage of development.” He also rejects charges that his administration has favoured Bengalis over tribals.
THE POOR CM
But if the CPM is able to retain Tripura, it will be less to do with the government’s development record and more to do with Sarkar’s personal image.
Many voters praised Sarkar’s own integrity and austerity — he is a good man, goes the refrain — before suggesting a change may be in order.
An Association for Democratic Reforms list recently ranked him as the poorest chief minister, with total assets of ₹26 lakh. He gives his salary to the party, which then gives him an allowance. “It is now up to ₹8,000,” says Sarkar, with a laugh.
But critics say this cannot be a cover for the wrongdoings in the government. Tapas Dey, Congress’ Tripura Research Department Chair, says, “Manik is poor but not honest. He has not controlled corruption in his ministerial ranks.” The BJP, aware of the need to cast doubts on Sarkar, has taken up the issue of the Rose Valley Chit Fund Scam — a ponzi scheme which has victimised many in the state, and one in which CPM ministers are potentially implicated.
Sarkar himself inaugurated an amusement park of the company, opening himself to accusations. Sarkar dismissed these allegations. “It is all false. This is all political.”
It is in this backdrop — of a restive new generation, of tribal discontent, of four-term incumbency — that Sarkar is fighting his biggest political battle, of defending Tripura from his party’s biggest enemy, the BJP. When asked about the saffron surge in the state, he said, “Tripura is not an oasis. If India is threatened by them, how can Tripura not be? But Tripura is fighting valiantly and bravely. We are confident.”
At a time when India’s communist movement is in the throes of a crisis, all its hopes rest on this one man to keep the red flag flying.
DEMOCRATIC REFORMS LIST RANKED HIM AS THE POOREST CM, WITH ASSETS OF ₹26 LAKH; HE GIVES HIS SALARY |TO THE PARTY, WHICH THEN GIVES HIM AN ALLOWANCE