The power to become habituated to his surroundings is a marked characteristic of mankind. My Bengal & the ‘Bhadralok Bangalis’ have become habituated to violence, bloodshed & riots.
While the state burns & people are in dire need of their CM to stand up to occasion, she is busy positioning herself as the fulcrum of opposition to take on Narendra Modi. The distress cry falls on deaf ears. The ignorance & the apathy of the Chief Minister & administration have left the people vulnerable to be tormented in the hands of rogues. In addition to it, there is the ‘sanctimonious’ national & regional media which mostly ignores the diabolical savageness in the state. And even if they do , they find & focus on an aberrant logic that-because Bjp is trying to expand its base in Bengal, violence are increasing in the state. Compare this with their reaction on issues such as temporary shortage of Tunday kebabs in Uttar Pradesh, a Bjp ruled state.
The last two, three months have been devastating for Bengal. Starting from the communal riots during Ram Navami to violence in the run up to panchayat election, the state machinery has been a mute spectator. And it is still not over after the elections & as things stand the violence is here to stay. In fact, things are going to worsen whether it is political or communal violence.
Let us analyse it point by point-
1) Communal Violence-
“Broken roads and voices unknown
posters torn and crying children
seems like i am a riot now.
Protests, scratches and guns
scream and air filled with dust
seems like i am a riot now.”
As far as communal violence is concerned the following factors should be considered while elaborating it & why the cycle refuses to end.
A) Media narrative gives covering fire to TMC’s appeasement centric politics & emboldens them
The left liberal media has been vehemently trying to push forward their agenda that before BJP set its eyes on conquering Bengal , the state was immune to ‘communal violence’ .
For them, Bengal is a model state for secularism & a secular utopia of sorts & Didi is the guardian of secular politics. But have they forgotten about the Deganga communal riots of 2010 or the Canning riots of 2013 where 200 houses where burnt down by ‘peaceful’ citizens? Do they not remember about the rally organised in 2013 in support of the prime accused in the 1971 genocide in Bangladesh? Bjp was not a factor in Bengal politics till 2014 Lok Sabha elections. They were irrelevant in the electoral politics in Bengal. Or are they deliberately trying to erase it from the history so that they can put the onus of communalisation of Bengal on Bjp.
There has been a systematic effort to mute the voices of Hindu community. If one looks carefully it all started from the Malda riots back in 2016. The media overlooked it. Infact they went on to mock the sufferings of Hindus.
It was like ‘testing of the waters’ too see if there is any severe backlash & criticism & they succeeded mostly. Without social media whatever little attention the Malda riots drew it wouldn’t have got. More importantly, the local media particularly ABP Ananda’s disinterest in debating Malda riots gave the ruling party a boost to continue with their ‘secular politics’ .
B) Communal violence to intimidate & subdue the majority community
The ‘secular’ leaders of Bengal are of the view that the only way to stop this expansion of the saffron party is to intimidate & terrorise the Hindus. Make them fearful about the consequence of joining BJP. Be it Dhulagarh riots, Basirhat riots or banning Durga Visarjan on Vijay Dashami it is a well planned & synchronized effort to send a message across the state- Dear Hindus of Bengal you have no choice but to accept the dictats & live as a 2nd class citizen in this state
Consider this order Justice Dipankar Dutta passed on October 6, 2016: “There has been a clear endeavour on the part of the state government to pamper and appease the minority section of the public at the cost of the majority section without there being any plausible justification. The reason is, however, not far to seek. To put it curtly, the state government has been irresponsibly brazen in its conduct of being partial to one community.”
This was regarding the Visarjan ban but it can be applied to every aspect & every situation in Bengal.
Now consider the behaviour of Dipendu Biswas, the TMC MLA who represents the Basirhat Dakshin constituency. One of the victims of the Basirhat violence, Sutapa Dey told a daily newspaper: “Our MLA, Dipendu Biswas, accompanied the police, making sure that our boys were picked up. When the Muslims attack us, the police just sit quietly, and if we do anything, they come and arrest us. Mamata was insulted just because the Governor said something that is right… what about us, are we not insulted?”
Who is communalising & polarizing Bengal politics with biasness towards different outfits?
On one hand a massive PFI rally demanding “Justice for Rohingyas” are allowed to be held choking the entire city & on the other hand, Mohan Bhagwat’s programme in a closed auditorium is cancelled on frivolous grounds.
C)Targeting religious festivals to instill fear among the majority community
Take the example of recent violence regarding Ram Navami celebration. The Tmc goons attacked Ram Navami processions & set a Ram Navami stage on fire
TMC goons attacked VHP workers and set Ramnawami stage on fire at Burdwan. Please tweet with a hashtag #MamataAgainstRamnavami pic.twitter.com/NaAJ9utg22
— Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) March 24, 2018
The irony is TMC itself organised Ram navami rallies to counter BJP & RSS. But our “liberal & unbiased” media termed it as colourful.
But in stark contrast media painted BJP, RSS & VHP as the villains for poisoning the atmosphere of Bengal.
FIR’swere filled against state Bjp leaders. Lord Ram was termed as an ‘alien’ God, a ploy to make the Bengali Hindus ashamed of their culture.
An alien god culture being used by outsiders funded by outsiders to import an alien culture of hate & riots thru alien slogans in Hindi to Bengal, the homeland of Bengalis. My @NH_India piece on #RamNavami https://t.co/QI2lD9GC5A @sanjayuvacha @ganeshchetan @saliltripathi
— Garga Chatterjee (@GargaC) March 29, 2018
D) Forceful demography change
Hindus of Asansol were forced to migrate & leave their place in fear of being attacked. The forced uprooting of the Hindus is a result of the violence reported after a Ram Navami procession was targeted with stones by members of the Muslim community of the area. As reported by the Indian Express some hardline members of the minority community prevented the Hindus from carrying out a procession and sing Ram bhajans.
What is to be particularly noted is that while parts of the state were burning, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was busy meeting potential allies in New Delhi for the 2019 elections. Again a methodical process is being followed & executed . Add to it the influx of Rohingyas which can be catastrophic for the state. According to a report sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), nearly 40,000 thousand Rohingyas, who are currently staying in various parts of the country, have been reportedly instructed to settle down in Trinamool Congress-ruled state. This would only lead to futher tension & make the matter more complex.
2) Political Violence
Political violence is not a new phenomenon in Bengal. The cult of political violence had been ingrained and cemented in West Bengal by the lefts who ruled Bengal for a prolonged period. Whether it is Sainbari killings, Nanoor Massacre or
Nandigram Massacre the bloodshed & goriness has been constant in Bengal politics.
So much of pre Panchayat poll violence in West Bengal! Quite unthinkable. Not the Bengal I grew up in.
— Pritish Nandy (@PritishNandy) May 2, 2018
During the regime of communist due to the lack of media penetration &social media they got away easily. And this time around Mamata is getting a walkover by putting all the blames on “communal forces” who are trying to capture Bengal & media seems to readily swallow this without any further counter. Mamata Banerjee who herself was a victim of left violence has now resorted to the same thing. Infact she has gone a step ahead & mastered the arts of covering up the hooliganism of TMC even in this age of social media & that is a no less feat to achieve. From filing nominations to the build up to panchayat polls &even after the results came out the violence refuses to wither out.
A) Violence in the build up to Panchayat polls-
This violence is a manifestation of a deeper issue and that, for me, is based on insecurity. In spite of enjoying a massive popularity across the state & particularly in the rural belt, Mamata is afraid of any slip ups. She does not want any dent on her rural popularity. & to dissipate her fears she allowed bloodshed & violence to be the dominant force in the build up to panchayat polls. Violence is literally ‘institutionalized’ in West Bengal’s political history & Mamata is simply following that pattern. Repeated & periodic violent clashes between the ruling and Opposition parties ensured the opposition candidates get threatened & do not fill the nominations & in the process, TMC ensured they won 1/3 rd seats unopposed even before votes are cast. Half the battle was won. Surely ‘democracy’ is not threatened & in danger in Bengal.
B) Violence on the poll day
With TMC winning more than 1/3rd seats unopposed one would have thought there would be no friction between the ruling party & the opposition on the polling. But Alas!
This is Bengal. Here violence is rewarded with electoral success & to fulfil Mamata’s insatiable quest to achieve the impossible 100% record more miseries were piled on opposition & voters. There was mayhem & complete chaos with reports of violence, booth rigging & journalists being thrashed coming from different parts of Bengal.
By the end of the polling day, 12 people had lost their lives. & instead of accepting their fault Rajya Sabha Mp & a close confidant of Mamata Banerjee Derek O Brien resorted to number crunching to bail his party out. Even with shocking images being broadcast across the country through media channels, TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien tried to justify the violence.
To all 'newborn' experts on Bengal #PanchayatElections in State have a history. 400 killed in poll violence in 1990s in CPIM rule. 2003: 40 dead.Every death is a tragedy. Now closer to normal than earlier times.Yes, few dozen incidents. Say,40 out of 58000 booths. What's %age ?
— Citizen Derek | নাগরিক ডেরেক (@derekobrienmp) May 14, 2018
The election had turned into a commotion because no rules were followed. Police could not strengthen the security as they had to give in to the whims of TMC cadres.
A presiding officer, Rajkumar Roy lost his life. A CPM worker and his wife were burnt alive after their home was locked and set on fire allegedly by some Trinamool Congress men early morning on the polling day. Bogus voting was also seen, with people jamming polling booths, driving out the election personnel and even beating the police away. In some cases, booths were vandalised in an attempt to disrupt the polls. Ballot boxes were carried away in some instances and ballot slips burned or otherwise destroyed.
Ballot papers were even seen floating in a pond with locals trying to retrieve the ballot box thus leaving ballot box defence league liberals red-faced.
C) Violence even after results declared
Even after the polls concluded there was no end to the violence. Despite TMC adopting all foul means, it could not stop BJP to emerge as the dominant force in Bengal politics. The future elections will be a direct contest between Bjp & Tmc. The RSS influence is spreading & Didi is wary of it.
With BJP making inroads into unfamiliar territories which no one had expected based on the rigorous groundwork of RSS expect some brute decisions to be taken by Mamata Banerjee in future which will be justified as a step to curb ‘communal politics’ in Bengal. As days pass expect winning candidates of opposition to be pressurised by the ruling party to join their ranks while Mamata Banerjee preaches morality & ethics regarding horse trading. And while such things take place to expect the media & liberals to act as ignoramus hiding under the cloak of ‘neutrality’ because living on hypocrisy is a healthy diet for our liberals.
The majority community will be further pushed to submission by the biased decision-making of the state govt. There will be more communal riots in future where all the blames will be put on “communal Hindus” & “alien” God culture. And the illegal immigrants will thrive in this ‘Sonar Bangla’ & very soon they will have theist right to use the resources of Bengal.
Thus to conclude there is no joy or relief for Bengali Hindus living in Bengal until & unless some drastic steps are taken. While the bhadraloks are busy enjoying their delicacies, listening to Rabindra Sangeets & evening adda they are unaware of menace that lies in store for them & their future generation.
