ABSTRACT
The Prologue sets the scene for the book, describing a key moment in the political history of the state of West Bengal and indeed that of India – the infamous Singur-Nandigram incidents – where failed (and violent) attempts by the state to forcefully acquire agricultural land for private industrial purposes not only led to serious disturbance in the social fabric of the state, but marked the onset of the downfall of the longest standing democratically elected Left regime in the world, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM)-led Left Front government. Starting from this crucial moment, the Prologue goes on to identify the wider and fundamental conundrums that not only characterised the West Bengal story in the last few years, but are key to a reappraisal of the political economic history of the regime. This, in turn, leads to the central tenet of the book: developing an understanding of how the Indian Left has gradually transformed in response to the post-1991 era of neoliberal economic reforms. The chapter concludes with presenting the reader with a conceptual map of the book.
