India, May 24 -- West Bengal's electoral earthquake creates an opportunity to remake its crumbling economy, revive its reputation as an intellectual capital, and eventually restore its forgotten foundations as a cradle of culture and sporting achievement.

A half century of decline cannot be overcome in short order, but it is best to focus on relatively easy wins, inviting in capital from across India and globally, while also nurturing Bengali entrepreneurship over the long term.

The horrific RG Kar rapemurder of a young doctor highlighted the depths to which Kolkata's publichealth infrastructure has been corroded. But Kolkata still has private hospitals and doctors of high quality who provide the nucleus of a potentially successful heal...