Imagination

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Just imagine, Imagination leaves her home, everyday, at 5:30 in the morning, and takes a 15min rickshaw ride to the nearest train station.
Then she takes the overcrowded one and a half hour train ride to Ballygunge station. She takes another auto and reaches a house exactly at 8am. The forgotten elderly gentleman in the house depends on her care for the next twelve hours.
Imagination has been caring for this gentleman for the last twelve years.


She leaves the house at 8 in the evening, takes the same harrowing two and a half hour return journey via auto, train, rickshaw and reaches her home by 10:30 in the night. She has a disabled husband, a son and a daughter at home. Her home is almost dilapidated, she has a few birds in one corner often attacked by snakes, and the family all stay together somehow with the roof over their head. At night, mosquitoes from the ponds attack full fledged – her children have already suffered through several bouts of dengue, malaria, encephalitis.


The old man timed his day on Imagination’s arrival and departure. His whole day depended on her reaching his house. Through rain, sun, thunder, strikes, Imagination always arrives on time, every single day. No calamity, natural or man made, ever stopped her.

Imagination is old now. She is unable to work anymore. The old gentleman in the Ballygunge house is no more either.

For all Imaginations across our country, there’s no pension, no subsidy. Regimes changed, political parties rose and fell, no one considered these innumerable “Imaginations”. There’s no workers’ union for them, no one ever protested for them.

Early morning “Aya” trains from Canning, Lakshmikanthapur, Ghutiyari, Dhopdopi, Suryanagar, Jaynagar, Mazilpur, Sonarpur reaches Jadavpur, Dhakuria, New Garia, Sealdah and brings countless ayas as if slaves. These women work their entire lives, but there is no place for them in our protests or in our hearts. No one cares where they live, how they live, how their children are growing up.


Imagination cares, everyday, all day, but we don’t bother to care for them. We are too busy caring about religion, caste, creed, color.

This is a sad pathetic yet absolutely true and happening chapter of our Bengal and Bengali way of life.

In fact, the entire country is like this.

India’s 75th I-Day

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Today, 15th August, is India’s 75th Independence Day. The country is celebrating especially under directives of the ruling powers and their propaganda media.

But India is rapidly going down the road to fascism, hate, bigotry and massive corporate corruption and takeover where poverty, injustice, Islamophobia, and caste violence have reached an all-time high.

Environmental disaster is now commonplace, and disastrous flood and drought are happening together in different places.

There is extreme social polarization.

This day also is a dark day for Bangladesh, where in 1975, CIA-supported militia assassinated the newborn country’s prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with his entire family at their home in Dhaka. Only two daughters survived because they were in UK.

The elder daughter Sheikh Hasina is now the country’s prime minister. Bangladesh also has rapidly polarized along religious lines, and Islamic extremism has taken a firm grip in the historically secular and liberal nation.

Lata Mangeshkar (1929-2022)

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Lata Mangeshkar – a legendary, iconic Indian singer has passed away. I said goodbye and paid my last respects to her.

And then I wrote a few “punishable” words.

Lata Mangeshkar was a legendary Indian singer. (There were of course more like her, but media and the ruling class did not say much about them, so we did not know much). They used her as a brand. We have grown up listening to her Bengali and Hindi songs since our childhood.

There is no way to deny the influence of Hemanta Mukherjee (i.e., Hemant Kumar), Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar or Asha Bhonsle in the lives of little people like us.

But even after that, the thing that no one would want to say today is – what did she really do outside of entertainment? Outside of Bollywood film songs – songs that have no modernity, no progressiveness, no equal way of life, have never done it and never will be speaking out against this brutal inequality, oppression, violence, and male chauvinism in India – what is her contribution?

In her long life (she was 92, and started her musical career when she was a teen) she saw before her eyes a country spiraling down in poverty, disease, illiteracy, superstition, bigotry, lies, corruption, greed, and a fierce blind patriotism. But she did not say anything. On the contrary, she remained by the side of the ruling class — even talking fondly about supremacists-fascists like Savarkar. Representing an ultra-conservative cultural world called Bollywood, she strongly supported an antiquated social and economic system.

You don’t have to do active politics for this. It is possible to speak against injustice without getting into direct politics. If they had talked about the hugely populist and corrupt system from time to time, the situation in the country would have changed a lot. In Bollywood, this horrible masculinity and imbecile childishness would have come to an end. A business with billions upon billions of black (illegal) money would be a little white (legal).

But she did not say a word. Never said it. Just like Sachin Tendulkar, Vaijayanthimala, Kishore Kumar or Amitabh Bachchan or Hema Malini, she has remained silent forever. Actually, she didn’t even keep silent: recently, she opposed the historic farmer’s strike in India.

Today I must be a little sad by the demise of one of our best singers Lata Mangeshkar, and of course pay my last respects to her, but I do not know what else I have to offer.

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Lata Mangeshkar

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Do I Exist? Do I Matter?

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Konark-sun-templeDo I exist? Do I matter? — No, this is not a philosophical, abstract question.

Western media, Western politicians, and Western academics have done their best to exclude contributions of Old World scientists, artists, authors, philosophers, poets, and thinkers. As if we never existed. As if we are not even worthy of a mention, discussing history of human civilization.

Everybody is so brainwashed to believe that civilization began with the rise of British empire, or Columbus’ conquest of America. And those two events were two of the darkest chapters in human history in the first place!

I mean, everybody knows about Einstein, Marx, Freud, Darwin, or Euclid, Newton, Galileo, Archimedes, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Renoir, or Cezanne. And they were all geniuses, of course. Yes, they were.

But have you ever thought who actually invented the so-called “Arabic numerals?” The use of the number zero? Who invented textiles, silk, paper, or for that matter, concept of an alphabet? How in the world could someone invent the game of chess — with its unbelievably complex algorithms — unless advanced mathematics had already been in practice?

Okay, was astronomy a developed science in ancient India, China, or Egypt? What about Ayurveda that emphasized proactive health instead of profit-based reactive medicine? Or, yoga building immunity and contributing to long life?

Who first conceptualized musical scores, with the use of the seven fundamental notes? I’m not even talking about the hundreds of ragas and talas.

Okay, have your ever thought of the science, engineering, and art — all three of them — used while some “primitive” people built the carved temples of Ellora — cut from a single mountain rock, or the pyramids of Giza, the massive Chinese Wall, sacrificial tomb in Peru, or the colossal temples in Angkor Wat?

Even more recently, in the 19th century, British and Western colonial powers denied world recognition to two Indian scientists — J. C. Bose for inventing the radio, and S. N. Bose for his work in theoretical physics that became known as the Bose-Einstein statistics. Heard of these two Bose’s?

We don’t know, and we don’t care to know, either.

A major, massive brainwashing by Western media and powers made us believe that outside of the American and British-European history, there is no other history. People like me — my history, my heritage, my forefathers — never mattered.

But oh yes, you destroyed my country, stole our natural resources, forests, mines, you looted our gold and diamond and cotton, killed and tortured and raped us, and in just two hundred years, turned us from one of the richest lands on earth to one of the poorest.

And now here I am, begging at your doors for some prosperity and freedom. I am at your mercy.

Sincerely,

Partha Banerjee

Brooklyn, New York

 

America Chooses Between Fascism and Freedom

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America fascismIt is a very critical, ominous time.

Tomorrow, November 6, is an election here in America that could change the course of human history. We can find ourselves thrown back in another dark era of fascism, global war, hate, violence, and terrifying repression Hitler style.

We could see all the pro-people gains American people have made since FDR going down the drain, forever. Right to health care, right to education, right to a livable wage, right to a clean environment, right to organize, and gender and race equality would be unachievable dreams — in our lifetime. Fascists and their corporations will destroy it all.

Or, we can see light at the end of the tunnel. It’s that critically important.

If Trump and his unleashed white supremacist forces win, it could well be the last democratic election we see in USA. And that would create massive ripple effect across the world, bolstering fascist and supremacist forces.

That is my prediction, based on my many years of political activism and teaching.

Unfortunately, I have also predicted that there will be some Democratic victories, but not a landslide to capture both the House of Representatives and Senate, without which Trump’s aspiration for a virtual dictatorship would not be nipped in the bud.

Only way we can stop this absolute horror is if young generation, enlightened American men and women — such as the ones who formed recent, major alliances such as #NeverAgain, #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, LGBT and environmental groups, as well as young labor union workers come forward, and flood the voting booths.

A large number of young, bright, forward-looking canididates have put together a great show of solidarity across the U.S. — against formidable, corporate-funded, heavyweight career politicians. I do hope you elect these young leaders.

I have no power other than my words circulated through social media. I urge you to come out to vote tomorrow, and ask people you know to vote.

We are about to see history unfolding.
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A believer of non-violent, democratic social revolution,

Partha Banerjee

Brooklyn, New York

November 5, 2018

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November Elections: Hope My Ominous Predictions are Wrong!

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no_we_refuse_to_accept_fascist_americaNext week, America will decide whether or not this country will go down on a permanent path to fascism, violence, and white supremacy.

Just before Donald Trump became the president in November 2016, I had written in a leading Indian daily newspaper, predicting a Hillary Clinton win. I was wrong. I was influenced by New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, and such enormous media, and their relentless forecasts.

When I look back on it, I see a glaring lack of communication with the commoners. Conversations at restaurants, pubs and labor unions actually brimmed with an overwhelming support for Trump. The picture remains the same as the November  election approaches. More or less.

I live in New York, which is supposed be a fort for liberals and Democrats. If this is the scenario here, we can imagine the picture elsewhere. I have often pondered over the question as to how union workers could support Trump and his cronies who want to destroy unions in the first place. It’s beyond me!

On November 6, Americans will vote for the Congress. They will elect 435 House representatives and thirty-five senators. The Democrats at present are minority in both chambers of Congress.  And, they hope win the election by a substantial margin, capture the Congress, and thereby impeach Trump for his numerous heinous and illegal acts — the Nixon and Watergate way.

My gut feeling is that Democrats might win the election by a few seats. But it won’t be enough for a substantial majority. There will be no Democratic landslide at all.

Fascism and dictatorship are getting a lot of steam in America of late — like they are getting it in countries like India, Russia, and Brazil.  Here in USA, it’s become ugly and horrendous. Just a few days ago, a white supremacist shot dead eleven innocent Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue. Another white supremacist killed two innocent black people in a Kentucky supermarket. Another such person targeted anti-Trump Democratic leaders like Hillary and Obama by mailing pipe bombs: his truck sported Trump stickers all over.

Regular attacks on journalists have become a part and parcel of life now. Trump separated immigrant children from their parents, and put them in cages. Just two days ago, he declared he would abolish birthright citizenship — a U.S. constitutional mainstay for over a century. Fascists are trying to scrap the legal framework altogether — everywhere.

Yet, protests are on. Problem is, apart from Bernie Sanders, no leader in the Democratic Party is capable of bringing everybody together. Sanders, however, isn’t supported by Bill and Hillary Clinton-dictated mainstream Democrats. New York Times and CNN don’t want him to get mass support either. We have seen how they have destroyed the Sanders campaign in 2016.

Given the scenario, I doubt whether there will at all be a strong surge of of educated and liberal Americans on the ballot box next Tuesday.

Yet, I am hoping against hope that people of America will prove me wrong again. I want my so-called prophecy to fail.
Written by: Partha Banerjee, Brooklyn, New York
Translated by: Samya Brata Roy, Calcutta, India

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Picture from San Diego Free Press. For non-profit, educational use.

Homegrown Terrorism in America

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Cesar SayocThe bomb suspect’s van was plastered with Trump stickers.

FBI got this man Cesar Sayoc for his suspected role in the bomb plot across the U.S. According to FBI, Cesar mailed explosives to a number of Democratic leaders including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, as well as media.

Trump admitted his Republican Party is in trouble because of this scandal — contrary to what his far right politicians, think tanks, and media tried to cook up. Far right wanted to portray it as a left wing conspiracy just on the eve of November elections.

But who is responsible for such unprecedented violence and hate?

A large caravan of migrants — men, women, and children — are traveling from Honduras through Mexico, to reach the U.S. borders. Trump sent border security forces to control the massive migration.

Trump praised a Republican politician who body slammed and hurt a journalist from The Guardian.

White supremacist and neo-Nazi groups are openly throwing violent threats.

Unbelievable as they may sound, this is all happening right in front of our eyes, here in America. A nation of millions of peace-loving, sane, hard working people — of all races, colors, religions and lifestyles — is turning upside down.

I have lived in the U.S. for thirty three years, first as a foreign student with little knowledge about the country, and then as an activist, educator, writer and political analyst for nearly twenty five years — with lots of knowledge and insight about America.

I have never seen such a massive turmoil. The country is truly falling apart.

Donald Trump, president of the United States of America, has very quickly destroyed the social, economic, and political fabric of this country. Through his 24/7 hateful, anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-poor violent lies and rhetoric, he has encouraged the forces of bigotry, racism and misogyny, and turned them loose.

He has encouraged those evil forces all over the world, including India. He has energized them. Hate groups have rapidly increased in number, in just a couple of years.

This man who sent explosives to Democratic politicians and media organizations is the newest, scariest result of this homegrown terrorism.

I hope and pray that the America I have known in my three decades here — the sane, educated, open-minded American people who believe in inclusion, fraternity, diversity, tolerance and peace — wakes up, and stops this homegrown terror.

God help us understand the gravity of the situation, and act upon it.

Sincerely,

Partha Banerjee

Long Island, New York

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Fascism IS Here in USA.

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Occupy dot comA quick analysis that very few will pay attention to.

Honestly, the entire anti-Kavanaugh protests by feminists — without ever undermining their just anger (I believe Christine Blasey Ford is a brave role model for all women worldwide, as was Anita Hill) — was focused on one single issue, and that’s how elite and privileged, liberal Democrats and their New York Times, CNN, and Washington Post built it. It was against Kavanaugh’s sexual predatory past.

And it didn’t work.

The same with Trump. The more we focus on his personal character — however obnoxious and nauseating he is — it brings him higher media ratings, and his no-challenge (no press conference unlike any other president) Twitter one-liners make more impact on hardcore right wingers, white supremacists, Alt-Right, and fascists. In fact, such misplaced anger is pumping up their base: they are energizing even more.

Liberal Democrats did not want to build the anti-Kavanaugh, anti-Trump protests on economic and political issues, because their own closet is full of dirty linen. From private prison to Wal-Mart to police brutality to deportation of poor immigrants to global warfare to Monsanto to big bank bailouts to no-tax GE — show me ANY significant difference between these two oligarchies.

There is practically none. And they know it.

So, with no such weapons in their arsenal, they harped on one single issue — sexual assault — to bring Kavanaugh down. And honest, decent, moderate Americans hoped that Susan Collins would cast a woman-for-woman solidarity vote. They have been kept naive by New York Times and CNN. And then there was Manchin the Democrat, whose Mylan CEO daughter profited big on EpiPen.

I quote from what I wrote in my blog just two days ago.

“Confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court — a lifetime appointment — is not ominous for women and their choice only. His confirmation is bound to create an absolute majority for the far right on the highest court. And America will go back to its prehistoric days — once and for all.

It is very likely that even if Roe v. Wade is not overturned (which many Americans are worried about), other irreversible constitutional changes will happen with the Kavanaugh vote on key social, political, economic, and environmental issues.

Social Security, Environmental Protection, right to political rallies and demonstrations, free speech, right to organize, right to unionize, right to education, right to health, equal opportunity, civil rights, civil liberties, and right to judiciary — all such landmark progresses the American people have achieved over two centuries of struggle — would very likely be destroyed.

Roe v. Wade — however precious — is only one small item, compared to the others I listed. Fascists, neo-Nazis, religious and social extremists, gun lobby, war industries, private prison industries, big banks, Wall Street, GMO and drug industries — along with the richest of the rich (the 0.01%) will be ecstatic.”

That’s what I wrote.

What’s more, people who are hoping that somehow in November, all will be changed, Democrats will take over Congress, and Trump and Kavanaugh will be impeached — are day dreaming. This elite DNC leadership will fail again.

And I sincerely, swear to God, cross my heart and hope to die — that I am proved wrong and stupid.

Fascism is here.

Sincerely,

Partha Banerjee

Brooklyn, New York

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Cartoon from Occupy dot com. Only one-time, non-profit, educational use.

Kavanaugh Confirmation.Why are We Shocked?

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Fascism protest NY
As I am writing this little blog, Brett Kavanaugh is all but certain to become a U.S. Supreme Court judge. 

And some people are shocked — both in USA and around the world — that even after it was exposed that he sexually assaulted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, and this brave, dignified woman came forward to tell her very private story, almost all Republican senators and even one Democratic senator voted yes to confirm him.

But I am not shocked at all.

This Republican Party is now a far right party, with deep connections with white supremacist groups. Trump’s father Fred Trump was involved with KKK, and Trump himself spoke softly about neo-Nazis — starting from the neo-Nazi demonstration at Charlottesville.

Republican Party today is not Lincoln’s Republican Party. In fact, it’s not even the party of Ronald Reagan, president who destroyed FDR’s New Deal economy, and began a new era where America as a country turned upside down.

This Republican Party is now openly, explicitly the party of the richest of the rich. It’s openly anti-immigrant, anti-black, and anti-women. They are against any iota of equality, they are indoctrinated by ultraconservative church and social extremists, and they are funded by billionaires like Koch Brothers who want to destroy the government and any pro-people programs once and for all. This Republican Party’s leaders believe climate change is a hoax, and in case it is real, it occurred because of people’s body heat (I am not making it up). This Republican Party is explicitly against science and arts.

This Republican Party is controlled by known proponents of fascistic rule — such as Karl Rove and Steve Bannon. And they are all supported by a large swath of news media.

Confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court — a lifetime appointment — is not ominous for women and their choice only. His confirmation is bound to create an absolute majority for the far right on the highest court. And America will go back to its prehistoric days — once and for all.

It is very likely that even if Roe v. Wade is not overturned (which many Americans are worried about), other irreversible constitutional changes will happen with the Kavanaugh vote on key social, political, economic, and environmental issues.

Social Security, Environmental Protection, right to political rallies and demonstration, free speech, right to organize, right to unionize, right to education, right to health, equal opportunity, civil rights, right to judiciary — all such landmark progresses American people have achieved over two centuries of struggle — would very likely be destroyed.

Roe v. Wade — however precious — is only one small item, compared to the others I listed. Fascists, neo-Nazis, religious and social extremists, gun lobby, war industries, private prison industries, big banks, Wall Street, GMO and drug industries — along with the richest of the rich (the 0.01%) will be ecstatic.

Far right politics took over the Republican Party for a long time. What we see today is the ultimate manifest of it.

People who thought these Republican senators would suddenly behave differently were day dreaming.

Of course, I am sad. This is a very sad day for the United States of America. Very likely, it’s Doomsday clock ticking from now on.

Sad, but I am not surprised or shocked at all.

Sincerely,

Partha Banerjee

Brooklyn, New York

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Photo courtesy: For one-time, non-profit, educational use — The Silent Majority.

Christine Ford and Anita Hill: Two Brave Women

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Two brave womenI have total support for Christine Blasey Ford. This man Kavanaugh does not deserve to be a U.S. Supreme Court judge.

(And Trump is a racist and a womanizer who doesn’t deserve to be the president of America.)

That said, I remember the time when Anita Hill’s testimony about Clarence Thomas was strikingly similar to Christine Ford’s. I remember how appalled I was then. How disgusted to see a great travesty of justice unfold!

I was new in America, and didn’t know a lot of American politics; yet, I was aghast.

Not too many white liberals came out to support Anita: she was black, and Clarence Thomas, one of the staunchest conservative judges on the highest court is also black. The support (justified 100%) Christine is getting today was simply absent.

Hypocrisy, if you think about it that way.

It’s not only a double standard in America in the Republican world. It’s the same in the corporate Democratic world too.

(And I’m not even mentioning Bill Clinton here: we all know the salacious scandal corporate media and Republican Party drooled over. And the entire world laughed to see the unthinkable moral degradation of this great country).

I congratulate and applaud Ms. Christine B. Ford, for taking this bold step, against all threats, fears, and intimidation by racists and violent powers.

Ms. Anita Hill also took such a bold step, and was so extremely steady and articulate. But I remember she did not get much support from white liberal Americans.

Time to put some history in perspectives.

Sincerely,

Partha Banerjee

Brooklyn, New York

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