Gangster State

Three and a half decades of communist rule in West Bengal came to an end, and this book asks how that collapse was built. Sourjya Bhowmick combines reporting with a fictionalised insider's vantage point to trace the party's organisation, its hold over local administration and the steady erosion of public consent. The account keeps ideology, governance and everyday political practice in one frame, which makes the decline legible rather than mysterious. Strengths of this edition: • A study of the CPI(M)'s long dominance in West Bengal • Reporting blended with narrative to explain party machinery • Analysis of accountability, cadre politics and public opinion • Context for anyone following Indian state-level politics Suited to political science students, journalists, researchers and readers of South Asian current affairs, available at Boipoka.