And now the Nano may go away from Singur. I grew up in Kalighat on Russa Road where my grandfather, who was the president of the Small Bus Owners Association of Calcutta and an owner of three buses, lived. My first job after returning from Wharton was at the IIM in Calcutta; I watched, at the Maidan, as the 1969 United Front government in the state was dismissed and Bengal’s leadership was assaulted by mounted police. That area under crops is not constant, but is probably falling is something this column has established; scarce land has to be paid for and now there is a rehabilitation policy. But large projects and growth cannot be ignored. The Narmada rehab plan was ready by 1985; some activists played a major role in being watchdogs for the implementation. Others just delayed it, with very poor people paying for that. We see the same story in Bengal now, with people breaking consensus for tiny political gains. 

And now India’s access to enrichment and reprocessing technologies is the focus of those who want to sabotage the nuclear deal. They, in their countries, are very clear as national elites always are. Until two weeks ago, no one in India made this an issue. Completing the fuel cycle for long-term energy needs through eventual thorium fast-breeder reactors is necessary; Rahul Gandhi was the only one to state that nuclear power could ultimately be two-thirds of the total. The line must be firmly drawn now. 

We have to punish those politically who violate the few things we will stand for and fight for, for only then will a national elite emerge.      

... contd.