The paper analyzes the influences of ideology and politics on the development process. The term development is not a neutral concept with a given meaning, but is one that is constructed through the adoption and dissemination of a particular idea of what development should consist of based on different ideologies. More often than not, development models are said to be influenced by the ideology of a particular party or group. However this correlation between development and ideological proclamations will be analyzed and questioned by bringing in the aspect of politics. The main hypothesis of the paper is that Ideology influences Development, but does so through a process intertwined with Politics. To explore this, the political scenario in West Bengal has been used as the framework to analyze the hypothesis. While the ideological influences of the Left ideology on the development model is evident, the ‘paradox of political pragmatism’ that exists parallel to such ideological premises is undeniable.
Development, Ideology, Politics, West Bengal
