Covetous Bengalis: the Green-Eyed Monsters?

Nepotism and inequity have been bywords for the CPI (M) government in West Bengal from its very inception. Foul mouthing people who do not eulogize the party diktat, comes easily to them. They did not even spare Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Of course in retrospect, both past and present Chief Ministers of the state have apologized for their "criminal mistake/s". But the deed had already been done. Let's take a look at the case of the late Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay, the genius behind India's first "test tube" baby, and the CPI (M) administration's hand (albeit through its chosen band of iniquitous morons from the medical association of WB) in driving him to take his own life.

 Fresh interest has been generated in the field of in vitro fertilization with Dr. Robert Edwards being awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine 2010. Our own home-grown genius was awarded brickbats and had insults heaped upon him, by people who had no inkling of the magnitude of his work, for producing the same results within days of the birth of the first test tube baby. Dr. Edwards’ pioneering work is being lauded by the whole world today. And then why not? Of all the scientific beak-through this is perhaps one that touches and transforms human lives the most. Recognition in the form of the Nobel Prize has come quite late for Dr. Edwards, but as the adage goes, better late than never. That is more than what we can say of the recognition given to Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay, who was hounded by colleagues and bureaucrats because he did not grovel and ask for their approval before declaring that he had been successful in his experiment with in vitro fertilization.

The Chief Minister of West Bengal works out of the "Apology Department" of his cabinet and has the time to apologize publicly for all the gaffes he makes the moment he opens his mouth. However, no apology has come so far for wrecking the life and work of a great scientist and physician who worked under constraints of zero opportunity to showcase his research findings and zero sponsorship to carry out his experiments. As a Bengali and an Indian I hang my head in shame.

Will "Budhhu Babu" and the members of the "EXPERT committee" that labelled Dr. Mukhopadhyay "bogus" please stand-up and speak up? Not likely. The shadows of anonymity and being ushered on to the road to eternal oblivion is better recompense for their services rendered to the bureaucrats. Who wants to think about them anyway? This day is to celebrate the coming to light of the work of a man with rare talent, integrity and genius- Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay. May his soul rest in peace.