ABSTRACT
In this final empirical chapter, the underlying, yet continuous project of grassroot level politicisation of the transition initiatives has been brought into the spotlight. Chapters 4 and 5 established the political nature of the transition process. Chapter 6 takes the argument forward by examining how, not only in intent and meaning, but even the translation of policy directives to the grassroot level was intensely politicised. This is done with reference to the theoretical perspective of the shadow-state (discussed in Chapter 2), CPIM’s political rationale (Chapter 3), and the land-acquisition-centric problems in the infamous Singur-Nandigram incidents (described in the Prologue) that marked the onset of the downfall of the regime. The chapter argues that while CPIM’s incursion into every realm of the Bengali society has been extensively discussed, the debates around Singur-Nandigram have lend themselves to a (formal) state vs. peasantry format. There, however, remains a story to be told about the role of local party functionaries in the process, who can be seen as blending into the ‘shadow’. This chapter therefore builds an alternative narrative of the said events, bringing to the forefront a set of political dynamics that has gone largely unnoticed.
