Calcutta 1981
The city, its crisis, and the debate on urban planning and development
Mondes Indiens/South AsiaÉditeur : Institut Français de Pondichéry, Concept Publishing Company
Lieu d’édition : New Delhi
Publication sur OpenEdition Books : 14 avril 2020
Collection : Mondes Indiens/South Asia
Année d’édition : 1990
Nombre de pages : 486
Présentation
A city laden with symbolic meaning in the Western mind, Calcutta – with ten million inhabitants today – is much more than the apathetic or violent display of urban destitution in India, as seen by the world at large. This collection tries to reach precisely beyond the cliches, to enable some of those who work in the city as decision-makers, planners or analysts, to speak out and Interpret the multifaceted crisis that has hit this city as it continues to grow, even though its economy is in decline. Their words have all the force as they are derived from first-hand experience.
In analysing the laboured evolution of this city, once known as "the most beautiful city east of Suez", we have provided some material on a major case-study for the debate on urban planning and development in the Third World. The planning exercise launched in Calcutta in early 1960s, with support from American experts, hoped also to halt the spread of communism in Bengal. This was a vain expectation, however, as the Communist Party of India-Marxist has been continuously voted into power since 1977. From that date, the Left Front Government has controlled the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority, which provides amenities to the city and metropolitan district with support from, among others, the World Bank.
What are henceforth the urban development policies of "parliamentary communism"? What are the problems they are up against when action is necessary on all fronts at once? In the final analysis, for what purpose and for whom are they planning? What should be the priorities? To set up the economy to right first? To provide amenities for the city? Or to improve the daily life of the most underprivileged? When confronted with these realities, what the Left is able to achieve in power? These are some of the questions that the contributors to this collection have, in their own way, been concerned with in creating an image of present-day Calcutta, seen through its own eyes.
Sommaire
Inaugural Session
Prasanta Kumar Sur
Let your Seminar address itself to the GrassrootsSession I. A. The Foundations of the Present: Understanding Calcutta
Sunil K. Munsi
2. Genesis of the MetropolisAlok Banerjee
4. The city with two pastsNirmal Kumar Bose
Addendum A. An Immature Metropolis?Session I. B. The Foundations of the Present: Understanding Calcutta
Hiten Bhaya
DiscussionsSession 2. A. A Metropolis in Crisis
Santosh K. Bhattacharya
7. Calcutta in India's EconomyJean Racine
Addendum C. The Port CrisisNirmala Banerjee, Gautam Adhikari et Jean Racine
Addendum D. The Power Crisis in CalcuttaEmmanuel Romatet
Addendum E. A Case Study of the Informal SectorSmall Industries in Pilkhana Bustee, Howrah
Sudhendu Mukherjee et Jean Racine
Addendum F. The Urban PoorAn Outlook of Calcutta's Pavement-Dwellers
Shibani Kinkar Chaube
9. Violence, Crime and Labour Unrest in CalcuttaA Comparative Analysis in Social Tension
Session II. B. A Metropolis in Crisis
Asok Mitra
DiscussionsSession III. A. Tackling the Crisis
The Statesman
Addendum I. On the Crisis of TransportSession III. B. Tackling the Crisis
Barun De
DiscussionsThe Statesman et Unnayan
Addendum K. Whom Does One Plan For?A Case Study of Rickshaws and Rickshawallahs of Calcutta
Session IV. General Debate
Bhabatosh Dutta
DiscussionsBibliographies, Filmography
Jean Racine
Towards an Academic Bibliography on CalcuttaBarun Ray
A Selected Filmography on CalcuttaLe texte seul est utilisable sous licence Licence OpenEdition Books. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.
