INDUSTRIALIZATION AND THE LEFT MOVEMENT 31 countries. The same i$ true for a wide range of products. Had intrinsic worth been the main factor no commercial value would be attached to the brand name a's such nor would companies try to prbtect their brand names so zealously. Branded items, it may be noted, were not as widespread in the 1920s as they are now. However, the difficulties should not be, exaggerated. To shift from the fine Lancashire-made dhoti to one ofkhaddar or made in Indian mills, hardly requires less conviction than a transiticm from say. Surf washing powder to another made in small industries. Provided the latter can offer good quality stuff at comparable prices, a sustained political campaign focusing on the evils of MFC need not be infructuous. And without creating a social and moral climate in favour of small industry products one cannot fight the consumerist psychology carefully nurtured by the MFC at considerable expense. The l [To be Continued) [The first draft of this paper was completed in December, 1977. Only small changes have since been introduced in this revised version. I have benefited from comments, favourable as well as unfavourable, from a large number of friends. I am most grateful to them all, most particularly to Sushil K IChanna.] 1 The data arc taken from Economic Review 1977-78, Government of West Bengal, 1978, pp 1,9,31. The size of the urban population is estimated by extrapolation of 1961-71 figures. ^ OHill, The Century ofRevolution, 1603^1714, London, 1969, especially, pp 34-45. ^ The militancy we are referring to is not of the revolutionary kind. A truly revolutionary situation (which is not in sight) would necessarily frighten industrialists and lead to a sharp fall in industrial investments and production. 4 All the Wage Boards set up by the Central government recommended differentiated wage scales for units of different size. At least in one area under their control the Naxalites allowed middle peasants to pay lower wages to agricultural labourers than those demanded of more affluent employers. See "The Rise, Development and Experience of Armed Peasant Struggle in the Bengal-Bihar-Orissa Border Region: A Report by the Bengal-Bihar^Orissa Border Regional Committee". Deshabarti, (in Bengali) April 23, 1970. 5 Quoted from M Kidron, Foreign Investments in India, London, 1965, p 72 6 Economic Times, Calcutta, July 30, 1978. 7 Draft Five Tear Plan 1978-83, Vol 1, New Delhi, 1978, p 81. 8 Ibid, p 73. 9 The vicious circle is as much political as economic; it is linked to the class-structure of Indian society. Without overthrowing that structure one cannot break out of the vicious circle. In the text we arc for obvious reasons concentrating on the economic aspect aloo^- 10 It would be erroneous to ignore the small beginnings. Shortly after the nationalization of banks literally thousands of scooter-drivers, cycle rickshaw operators, and so on became owners thanks to bank loans; such a development was hardly conceivable if the banks remained in private hands.,In the early 1970's the nation-