POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM IN BENGAL (INDIA) (FROM POLITICS OF TERRORISM, 1979, BY MICHAEL STOHL - SEE NCJ-56208)

• NCJ Number: 56219
• Author(s): R C HULA
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 22 pages
• Corporate Author: Marcel Dekker, Inc
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

CHANGING PATTERNS OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM IN BENGAL ARE HISTORICALLY REVIEWED, WITH TYPES OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE CHARACTERIZED IN TERMS OF IDEOLOGY AND SOURCE OF LEADERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION.

Abstract

THE COUNTRY OF BENGAL PROVIDES A CASE IN WHICH TO CONSIDER POLICY-RELEVANT ISSUES, E.G., THE RANGE OF STRATEGIES AVAILABLE TO A GOVERNING ELITE FOR THE CONTROL OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE. TERRORISM IS VIEWED AS A FORM OF POLITICAL DEMAND. DIFFERENCES IN TRADITIONAL AND MODERN POLITICAL VIOLENCE ARE CONCERNED WITH THE ROLE OF IDEOLOGY AND THE SOURCE OF LEADERSHIP AND MOTIVATIONS. THEY SPECIFICALLY DEAL WITH THE TENDENCY OF VIOLENCE IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES TO BE REACTIONS TO PARTICULAR GRIEVANCES AS OPPOSED TO MORE IDEOLOGICALLY COMPLETE POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN THE 20TH CENTURY, THE TRANSITION FROM PEASANT MOVEMENTS IN RURAL AREAS TO RADICAL THOUGHTS AND VIOLENT ACTIONS IN URBAN AREAS, AND THE INCREASED CENTRALITY OF RELIGIOUS ANIMOSITIES IN PRECIPITATING MASS COLLECTIVE DISORDERS. THE PARTITION OF THE COUNTRY BEGAN IN THE EARLY 1900'S, AND CONFLICT BETWEEN ADVOCATES OF PARTITION AND ANTIPARTITIONISTS EMERGED. INDEPENDENCE FROM GREAT BRITAIN WAS VIEWED WITH AMBIVALENCE. ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL EFFECTS OF INDEPENDENCE ON WEST BENGAL WERE PROFOUND AND, AFTER INDEPENDENCE, LEADERSHIP FOR CONTINUING TURMOIL IN WEST BENGAL CAME FROM THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA DURING THE 1948-1950 PERIOD, WHEN THE MOST INTENSE PARTY ACTIVITIES OCCURRED. PUBLIC DISORDERS REACHED NEW LEVELS IN THE MID-1960'S WHEN THE UNITED FRONT GOVERNMENT CAME TO POWER IN WEST BENGAL. THE STUDY OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM IN BENGAL RAISES SEVERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF VIOLENCE IN POLITICAL SYSTEMS. THERE IS THE ISSUE OF POLITICAL CONTROL, I.E., WHAT OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO POLITICAL ELITES FOR CONTROLLING OUTBREAKS OF VIOLENCE. OTHER QUESTIONS RELATE TO THE IMPACT OF VIOLENCE ITSELF, THE APPARENT INEFFECTIVENESS OF VIOLENCE AS A DEMAND FOR POLITICAL CHANGE IN RELATION TO THE NATURE OF SOCIETY, AND THE VIEW THAT SOME VIOLENCE REPRESENTS NORMAL POLITICS. TRADITIONAL POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN BENGAL FROM 1750 TO 1900 AND NATIONALIST VIOLENCE FROM 1900 TO 1947 ARE EXAMINED. NOTES ARE INCLUDED. (DEP)