Chemistry of Communism &Communalism in India

Ideologically, the Muslim communalists and Godless Communists are poles apart in their worldview. It is however said that Muslim communalists often used the cadres of the Communist Party of India (CPI) as their point men in furtherance of their communal grievances. Who used whom may be a debatable question but the experience of their political game in this country shows that they fought jointly against the nationalist forces, which were their common target.

Communists are known for speaking in many voices if it suits their interest. Contrary to the Marxian dictum -'religion is the opium of people' their softness towards the religious obscurantism of the Muslims exposed their intellectual hypocrisy and puzzled the people of India. Gradually both of the Communists and Muslim communalists became strange allies perhaps due to some under mentioned resemblance in their character, which served as common link to bring them together:

Both the Communists and the Muslim communalists are internationalists in character. The Communists attempt to 'ape Russia and China' for everything. It is said, if there is rain in Moscow or China, Indian Communists open their umbrellas. The Muslim Communalists on the other hand are emotionally attached to Perso-Arabic socio-culture with Saudi Arabia as their international centre.

None of them ever opposed collaborative relation between China and Pakistan, which was basically to precipitate chaotic conditions in secular India.

None of them believe in the concept of common nationalism. For Communists Indian nationalism is bourgeois nationalism but Russian/Chinese nationalism for them is proletarian nationalism. "Once the Marxist bug bites a person, he dumps nationalism and cuts himself off from his civilisational heritage" (Dina Nath Mishra in Pioneer dated August 22, 2004. For Muslim communalists Indian nationalism denotes religious nationalism of Hindus but Arab nationalism is Islamic nationalism for them. The Communists called the nationalist leaders of freedom movement as Hindu bourgeois whereas the Muslims called them Hindu leaders.

The Communists believe only in state that is the legal and geographical association of people. Being the limbs of international Communist movement they do not recognise national boundary of India. The Muslim communalists too believe in pan-Islamism in which there is no place for motherland. As supranationalists they do not have faith in nationalism.

Patriotic association that constitutes a nation with common heritage and culture in which hearts and minds move in one direction is not acceptable to either of them.

For both of them the concept of nationalism is synonymous to Hinduism and therefore they opposed the efforts of nationalist forces to promote its spirit among the countrymen during freedom movement. Hate-Hindu campaign became a common link between them and they jointly targeted the nationalist forces as their common enemy.

The Communists described the nationalist movement for freedom as collaboration of National Bourgeoisie with 'fascism' and therefore supported the war efforts of 'British Bureaucracy' ', which they had earlier called 'British Imperialist'. The Muslim League too supported the war efforts of the British.

The Communists floated multi-national theory in support of two-nation theory propagated by the Muslim League.

Theoretically both of them believe in social equality but in practice they purge their opponents once they are in political power. Both believe in social equality but consider their own concept on this issue perfect. "Both Muslims and Communists regard their own concept of social structure perfect" (Dalwai in Muslim politics in India).

Both claim themselves to be democratic in character but do not allow freedom of thought.

Both of them justify use of violence to propagate their doctrine.

While the Muslims are supposed to work for a united 'Ummat' (Muslim community) for whole world, the Communists' slogan is to 'unite the workers of the world'.

The political objective of the Communists is to establish the 'dictatorship of proletariat' even though they have hardly produced any leader of proletariat origin in last over seven decades of existence in this country. For them, dictatorship of proletariat meant dictatorship of Russia or China. The political objective of the Muslim communalists on the other hand is to establish 'Dar-ul-Islam' which is possible only with religious dictatorship of Muslim world.

Communists' leadership continued to remain confined to English educated minority group, who remained unconscious of the pre-medieval glorious history of India. The Muslim communalists too remained captive of their medieval mindset with obsession to the ascendancy of Islamic power as the only glorious history of India.

To run down the pre-medieval heritage and culture of this ancient land emerged as their common program.

Communism failed everywhere in the world, but its followers in India are still hoping against hope to revive it by entrenching the Indian polity with their divisive tactics. Similarly the Islamic revivalists in India also believe that only Muslims are capable to govern this country and are hopeful of the revival of Muslim era. Late Dr.Sayed Mahmood, being projected by Muslim intelligentsia as a nationalist Muslim had said, "It is quite well known that Hindus are incapable of ruling a country. This is what history has proved adequately. We are going down the drain as a nation because Muslims in this country have no share in power. Only Muslims can save this nation from doom"(Muslim Politics in India by Hamid Dalwai, page 63)

It was a historical coincidence that the Communist movement followed the Muslim communalists' movement for separatism launched during the freedom struggle against British colonialism.

Ever since the Communist Party of India (CPI) was born in mid 1920s it had been trying to keep the Muslim mind confused over pre-Islamic past of this country. The Communists equated the controversial Aryan invasion theory as well as forceful eviction of Dravidians to the South that was propounded by the historians of the West with the Muslim invaders and persecution of the Hindus. Banking on the European account of Indian History theCommunists argue that if Muslim invaders like Arabs, Turks, Central Asians, Afghans or Persians were outsiders, Hindus too were not the indigenous people of this land as they were also the descendants of Aryan invaders from outside? They rationalised the violent entry of Islam in India at the point of sword justifying the peace even with violent means. Their understanding of Indian history is that Islam gave new life to the broken antiques of Indian civilisation by providing social equality to oppressed masses (Selected Works of M.N.Roy edited by Sibnarayan Ray, Oxford, 2000, Volume IV).

Controversial historical accounts worked as lifeline for Muslim communalists in their movement for a separate national and political identity. Running down the pre-medieval past of Hindu civilisation the Communists also wrote unrealistic history in favour of beef eating in Vedic period. Such anti-Hindu thesis encouraged the Muslims to maintain an uncompromising attitude towards the sentiments of the Hindu majority. Known for their strong opposition to the civilisational ethos of Bharat, both of them worked with common goal to dilute the collective consciousness of the Indian people of their glorious heritage, culture and thousands of years of traditions.

M.N.Roy, one of the founder members of Communist Party of India (CPI) said that Indian masses oppressed under Brahmanical orthodoxy facilitated the Islamic invaders and "readily rallied under the banner of Islam which offered them social equality if not political equality" (Selected Works of M.N.Roy edited by Sibnarayan Ray, Oxford, 2000, Volume IV, page 398). He added, "the Mohammedan power was consolidated in India not so much by the valour of invaders' arms as owing to the propagation of the Islamic faith and the progressive significance of Islamic laws" (Ibid. Page 400). He accused the Hindus for allegedly being contumelious towards Islam. He said, "Hindus superciliousness towards the religion and culture of Muslims is absurd. It insults history and injures the political future of the country … Learning from the Muslims, Europe became the leader of modern civilisation … Unfortunately India could not fully benefit by the heritage of Islamic culture because she did not deserve the distinction … Knowledge of Islam's contribution would shock the Hindus out of their arrogant self-satisfaction" (Selected Works of M.N.Roy edited by Sibnarayan Ray, Oxford, 2000, Volume IV, page 401).

Historically, Stalin formulated the strategy to spread the hegemony of communists over West Asia to neutralise the influence of America in the region and wanted the support of Israel but the latter did not respond to him favourably. The followers of Stalin in India therefore started supporting the Muslim world against Israel. Had Israel accepted Stalin's proposal the CPI might have taken a different stand on this issue. They opposed Israel's occupation of West Bank and Gaza but never raised any voice against Chinese occupation to Tibet or Russian occupation. Baltic countries. Similarly, they never raised the issue of Russian presence in Afghanistan.

Communists wanted to convert the freedom movement into 'people's war' in alliance with the Muslim League against the nationalist forces. In 1940 the CPI came closer to All India Muslim League (AIML), when the latter emerged as a mass organisation of the second largest religious community in India. With hate-Hindu campaign as a common link they targeted the nationalist forces, as common enemy on the dictum of enemy's enemy is friend. "Since 1940 the CPI had tried to 'placate' the Muslim League, equating it with the Congress party as India's two mass political organisations" (Communism in Indian Politics by Bhabani Sen Gupta, Columbia University Press, 1972). The nationalist forces  on the other hand evaluated the Communists as "anti-nationalist foreign agents" (Ibid), who followed the "just" demand of Muslim League for Pakistan.

Contrary to their strong reservation against religion based State the Communists supported the communal demand of AIML for creation of Pakistan. They provided intellectual support to the two-nation theory of AIML by floating multi-national theory.

The CPI's resolution adopted in its central committee meeting in September 1942 suggests the conviction of the party on communal division of India. The resolution said: "Every section of the Indian people which has its contiguous territory as its homeland, common historical tradition, common language, culture, psychological make-up, and common economic life would be recognised as a distinct nationality with the right to exist as an autonomous state within the free Indian Union or federation and will have the right to secede from it if it may so desire" (Selected Works of M.N.Roy 1932-1936, Volume IV). Non-participation of the Communists in Quit India Movement against the colonial oppression was the opportunism of the worst kind. It was apparently their tactical alliance with Muslim League to "precipitate nation-wide disintegration". Their desired objective was not only to break India into Hindu India and Muslim India but also into various linguistic and ethnic nations with sovereign political entity.

The main obstacle of the CPI against its movement was the Indian National Congress, a nationalist party that had a strong mass following during freedom movement. Therefore, it described the Congress as party of Indian National Bourgeoisie and preferred a tactical alliance with AIML, which it had also described a party of Indian Muslim Bourgeoisie. The CPI infiltrated its Muslim members into AIML with a view to weaken the greater bourgeois Congress by supporting smaller bourgeois. The All India Student Federation members of Aligarh Muslim University also joined All India Muslim Students Federation (Legacy of a Divided Nation by Mushirul Hasan, 1997, page 113). The Aligarh School of Muslim orthodoxy that supported the British imperialism against the forces of Indian nationalists got a natural political ally in CPI, which had also supported the war efforts of the colonial power. The experience of Muslim politics in India therefore, suggests that the modernist Muslims of Aligarh School were more prone to Muslim orthodoxy and communal politics than of Deoband School.

"The most grotesque decision was to send its (CPI) Muslim members to enter the ranks of Muslim League"(Pakistan: Military Rule or People's Power by Tariq Ali, London 1970, page 31)". " The CPI had entered the Muslim League in order to strengthen the bourgeois faction in the League against the feudal landlords, a plan perfectly in keeping with Stalin's theory of revolution by stages" (Ibid. Page 32). "The manifesto of the Punjab Muslim League was written by a well known Indian Communist lawyer, Daniyal Latifi"(Ibid.).

The CPI while supporting the division of India even appreciated the Muslim League's co-operative attitude towards the British war efforts against Hitler, which it had earlier termed as 'Imperialist War'. Its support to Pakistan movement therefore was a support to Muslim separatism. For the CPI loyalty to Soviet Russia was more important than to free the country from the British. Their support to British war efforts was factually a response to the call of Soviet Russia to the Communists all over the world following Hitler's attack on it.

The CPI leaders supported Pakistan movement by organising processions and demonstrations in its favour. "In mid forties E.M.S. Namboodaripad led processions of Muslims along with A.K.Gopalan (both of them were leaders of the CPI) shouting 'Pakistan Zindabad' and 'Mophlastan Zindabad'. No wonder, therefore, that Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, himself a leftist, had to say that India was killed by the CPI which provided the Muslim separatists with an ideological basis" (Pakistan: From Jinnah to Jehad by S.K.Datta and Rajeev Sharma, 2002, Page 18).

India was partitioned but the CPI did not get any dividend to establish dictatorship of proletariat. The party cadres were badly treated by Muslim League Government in Pakistan and were uprooted from there. "Pakistan dealt with Communists very sternly.

Dr.Ashraf and Mr. Sajjad Zahir who went to Pakistan from India to give a momentum to communist movement there landed up directly in jail. It took ten years to get out of jail and they chose to return to India" (Muslim Politics in India by Hamid Dalwai, Hind Pocket Books, page 58).

The CPI did not take any lesson from the treatment its cadres received in Pakistan. Instead they adopted a new strategy to reiterate the dangers of Hindu nationalists in post-partition India and induced a fear psychosis in the Muslim masses, who stayed back in India. They carried forward the legacy of their alignment with AIML and launched a systematic campaign to mould national opinion to justify the communal grievances of the Muslims by maintaining a hard attitude against the cultural tradition of India. They continued supporting the historical violence perpetrated by Islamic invaders and subsequent Muslim rulers on the Hindu natives as a part of policy to placate the Muslim communalists. They never raised any voice against the obsessed mindset of feudal and elite section of Muslims for political domination over the Hindus rather preferred to glorify the Islamic rule in the country.

The Congress exploited the so-called fear of Hindu Rashtra induced in Muslim masses and used them as their vote bank to remain in power. The Communists were however rewarded by Jawahar Lal Nehru the first Prime Minister of the country by accommodating them in various academic power plants as main operators. He took their help to uproot the concept of integrated nationalism for unity and integrity of the country and floated a concept of composite culture. Taking advantage of Nehru's benevolence and shelter in his 'secular' umbrella the Communists infiltrated their red cardholders into Congress to help the Muslim orthodoxy for reviving their movement for communal separatism in the name of religious identity. This attitude of the Communists also helped in obstructing the assimilation of Muslim masses in national mainstream.

Marxist historians, who maintained their hegemony in authoring the school textbooks during long period of Congress rule, masked the barbaric role of Muslim invaders in India and were reticent to portray their bigotry against the Hindus. They preferred to paint destruction of Hindu temples more for economic motivation than iconoclasm. Portraying the exclusivist and totalitarian ideology of communalist Muslims as ideology for social equality they feel proud in tarnishing the cultural tradition of this country. It became a ritual for them to denounce Hindu nationalists as major cause behind any communal riot. They however, closed their eyes when there was a nation level war cry against Supreme Court verdict in Shahbano case.

In post-colonial India too the aspiration of the Muslim communalists for distinct and sovereign political identity remained intact. Both the CPI and the CPIM supported such mindset of Muslim communalists by giving substantial share of political power to Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the post-partition incarnation of AIML in coalition Government in Kerala. They also "worked together with IUML to create a new Muslim majority district in Malabar and named it Malapuram"(Communism in Indian Politics by Bhabani Sen Gupta, Columbia University Press, 1972,Page 188). In 1980s Indian Muslims gave moral support to U.S.A. in its military adventure against Soviet occupation of Afghanistan but the CPI and the CPIM remained indifferent on this issue. They however, fully supported the Indian Muslims in their war cry against American attack on Taliban Government in Afghanistan in the new millenium

The Muslims of West Bengal aligned with Communists particularly the CPIM since the decline of Congress in mid 1960s. On the eve of 1969 midterm Assembly election, the state secretariat of the party received reports from all of its district units, which "revealed one common feature - that the agriculture labour and poor peasants, non-Bengali workers, and Muslim masses have in a big way swung towards the United Front especially to the CPI (M)"(Communism in Indian Politics by Bhabani Sen Gupta, Columbia University Press, 1972,Page 247).

The secret of Marxist Government in West Bengal lies with the electoral support of the Muslims, who constitute about twentyseven percent of the electorate. It recommended deletion of certain discussions about medieval period. "In 1989 the West Bengal Secondary Board under a Marxist Government issued a circular dated 28 April 1989 (Number Syl/89/1) which recommended the deletion of most discussions about the medieval period because it was too controversial" (Islamisation of Pakistan by Y.C.Ross, 2003, New Delhi, page 16-17). Its silence over unabated Muslim infiltration from Bangladesh is only to improve its votes even at the cost of national interest. Communist regime in West Bengal and Tripura allowed infiltration of Muslims from Bangladesh. 

The cozy relation of Communists with Muslim/Christians shows their preference to the authoritarian concept of religious exclusivism than the democratic concept of Hinduism that believes in the concept of religious inclusivism. "In an interview to the Hindu (Hindu dated 15 August, 2004) Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat said, there was a national trend of various Christian denominations to talk to the CPIM and invites its leaders to forums of the Church". Even today the UPA Government under the pressure of Communists stopped the publication of a book on the contribution of primary teachers in freedom movement, which was to be published by the H.R.D. Ministry of previous NDA Government (Pioneer dated August 17, 2004).

The agenda of the Leftists is seemingly not only to placate the communalist Muslims but also to provide uninterrupted lifeline to them for pursuing their movement for separatism. Their confrontation with nationalist historians on this issue still continues. Muslim historians of Pakistan on the other hand re-wrote the history textbooks for school with hate-Hindu actions of Muslims as triumph of Islam over Kafirs (Non-believers).

The experience of over last 69 years of Independence shows that the Communists in alliance with Muslim communalists constantly believed "the medieval period of Islamic ascendancy in south Asia as part of their historical legacy". They did not like to understand the reality that Indian sub-continent had to pay heavy price of losing the lives of its 1.5 million population for it. They did not realise that creation of modern political nationality in India could be possible only due to preservation of the thousands of years of collective consciousness towards spiritual and cultural unity of this country which was a remote possibility in Islamic India. Instead of strengthening this reality they preferred to amalgamate the power hungry forces together as 'liberal bourgeois', who are popularly known as 'secularists'. As a part of power politics the forces of liberal 'bourgeois' encouraged the movement for Muslim communalism which provoked the traditionally tolerant Indian society to revive the movement for Hindutva.

Dhruva Trivedy

Manchester to Telebhaja, Nandigram to Khagragarh

Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerji

During the time of independence, rather during partition of India, had not there been a person named Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerji, the state named West Bengal would not have formed. Only state of India which was partitioned twice, first in 1905 when the pure purpose of the British was to divide and rule, secondly in 1947 when Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee fought for Hindu homeland. Had not these two historical events – Direct Action Day and Noakhali Genocide in 1946 happened, West Bengal would not have formed in 1947 and may have gone to East Pakistan.

Netaji SubhashChandra Bose

This land gave the first president of Indian National Congress, Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee. Again this land gave founders of Communist Party of India, Manabendra Nath Roy and Abani Mukherji. The list continues, land which gave founder of Forward Bloc, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (undivided Bengal), the land which gave founder of Jan Sangh, Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee should have performed far better than the way it has performed so far. Does the land which gave birth to so many national political parties and great leaders deserve such state of affairs which it is going through since independence? This land should have featured in top 3 states of India in all parameters always. What went wrong? Why it doesn’t feature in top 3? Let us see how political forces came to power in West Bengal and how they ruled the state.

W C Bonnerjee

M N Roy

  

Communists
During Noakhali Genocide in 1946, the backbone of the Hindus were smashed and they fled for life to Tripura, Assam and majorly to Western part of undivided Bengal (presently West Bengal) and they started living in unimaginable condition. The anger of these refugee Hindus was excellently encashed by the Communists in Bengal. The Indian National Congress ruled till February 1967 since independence, in the meanwhile Communists of Bengal increased its supporter base by spreading its ideology. How? It needs no explanation, these refugees were poor, and had to live in below-standard conditions. Communist party intervened that time and promised gains to the poor and made it their core ideology and as a result, found natural support from these refugees.

Not only were the Hindu Refugees, the natives of West Bengal ravaged by poverty for many years. British ransacked the wealth of Bengal from the beginning, defeating Siraj-ud-Daulla and ruling it for 200 years – more than any other states of India. After that, there were the famines which affected Bengal the worst. Communist party focused only on the ‘poor’ and gave promises of wealth creation for the poor, which naturally appealed the poor masses.

Bengal was the first province to develop modern industries in India. It was once called the Manchester of the East by Europeans because of its Jute mills and other factories. A new class developed in Bengal, the class of industrial workers which was absent in any other part of the country. Industrial workers differed fundamentally from peasants in the fact that they had to dilute social norms and practices like religion and caste to survive in the factory settings. An upper caste worked on the same floor as a Dalit or a Hindu had to share toilets with a Muslim in a worker’s colony. As a result social inhibitions got away and workers were able to identify with each other as belonging to one class instead of being fragmented on the basis of caste or religion. So the Communist party which talked about the ‘workers’ were able to gather immense support from them too.

The Indian National Congress was dethroned in West Bengal by the United Front in 1967. Since then communists had been major political influencer in the state. The only achievement which the communists can boast of in West Bengal is the Land Reform done by them, better known as Operation Barga. The Communists also gave few names to the history of West Bengal which people want to forget today, few such historical names are listed below:
    Sain-Bari,
    Naxalite Movement,
    Marich Jhanpi,
    Ananda Margi,
    Keshpur,
    Bantala,
    Felani Basak,
    Nanoor,
    Chotta Angaria,
    Singur and Tapasi Mallick,
    Nandigram,
    Mangalkot,
   Netai, which we elaborated in our earlier blogs, West Bengal Politics: Blood Stained Names - I and West Bengal Politics: Blood Stained Names - II

Apart from those historical names during the Communist regime, West Bengal saw continuous industrial decline, removal of English from primary school, hostile trade union which affected employment, extortion, builders’ syndicate, party members engaged in corruption, political murders, false cases on opposition party members and rigging of elections. The anti-establishment approach of the early day’s communists continued even when they were ruling in West Bengal. They continued their anti-establishment approach with Central Government which reduced Central Government’s priority for this state and resulted in retardation of the development of West Bengal.

Let us quickly go through the economic condition of the state during Left regime. In the late 1940s, factory employment in West Bengal was as much as in all of Bombay State (present Maharashtra and Gujarat combined). West Bengal was the second-most industrialized state in terms of value added and first in terms of number of factories and employment even in the mid-1960s. With a severe and long process of deindustrialization, it lost its primacy. Its share of net value added in the factory sector fell from more than 14% in 1971 to 4% in 2002, and its share in employment from 16% to 7%. Yet in 1980-81, in per capita income, Bengal ranked fifth after Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra and Punjab. By 2000-01, Himachal Pradesh and the four southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu overtook West Bengal and its rank slipped to 10th. Today we hardly keep a track of ranking as West Bengal has slipped down to bottom 10 in many parameters!!

Subodh Banerjee

Readers will be amazed to know, in 1953, the Calcutta Tramways Company could not revise its second-class fares, unchanged since 1922. There were protests by the Tram and Bus Fare Enhancement Resistance Committee, known popularly as Pratirodh Committee, led by the future Communist Party of India-Marxist Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, and Subodh Banerjee of 'gherao' fame, among others. The CTC went bankrupt and was taken over by the West Bengal government in 1967. Subodh Banerjee, minister in the 1967 and 1969 United Front Government, introduced the 'gherao' tactic, by which the employer is prevented from leaving the workplace until workers’ demands are met. 'Gherao' was added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2004, and he became immortal, as a Bengali enriching the English vocabulary in recent times!
 
Trinamool Congress (TMC)
If we look at the political history of Bengal, Bengal had been a land known for mass movements. Bengal was the epicentre of the Swadeshi movement. It produced more violent movements against the British rule since the Sepoy Mutiny than any other province. So the politics in Bengal has been dominated by anti-establishment since the British period. Also, Bengal was the first state to witness movements for workers’ rights in India. These movements did not have much to do with communism but the driving force of a left movement has to come from the workers. Bengal observed industrial strikes since the late 19th Century and these movements were crucial in the development of class consciousness among workers. There were also massive peasant movements in Bengal before the independence. The Tebhaga Movement was one such movement which was against the Zamindari system. It was a movement for demanding two third of share of the crop for the peasants who produced them.

Mamata Banerjee

These movements continued with demands for land reforms, food security and for rehabilitation of refugees after the partition. These movements were utilized by the Communist party to build a solid mass base among a large section of the people. The Trinamool Congress, rather Mamata Banerjee understood it very well that only a strong mass movement can dethrone the Communists from West Bengal. She continuously tried to build up such movement, on October 1992 she organized a massive rally at Brigade Parade Ground and struck “Death Bell” to oust the Communist regime from Bengal. On December 1992, Ms Banerjee took a physically challenged girl Felani Basak, who was allegedly raped by CPI(M) cadres, to the Writers’ Building to the then Chief Minister Jyoti Basu but was harassed and allegedly molested by the police before being arrested and released from detention at midnight, this attracted universal outrage. Ms Banerjee along with Pankaj Banerjee and Madan Mitra decided to march to Writers’ Building on 21st July 1993, to appeal Photo Voter ID cards (EPIC) to be made mandatory for free and fair poll. 13 got killed!

After all these futile attempts for mass movement earlier, Mamata Banerjee was in a pathetic state of affair, but she waited for an appropriate opportunity. Nandigram and Singur came simultaneously to her, which she didn’t falter to grab as an opportunity. Rest is history. On 2011, 34 years of Left rule in West Bengal was uprooted by her almost single-handedly. People of West Bengal sighed relief!

Everything went well till February 2012, the scenario dramatically changed from an incident of rape at Park Street in Kolkata. It was followed by another rape at Katwa in March 2012. It was followed by murder of Barun Biswas – a school teacher, who protested against a local criminal gang, who were using gang-rape to terrorize the people of Sutia, on 5th July 2012. Anarchy erupted throughout the state thereafter. West Bengal recorded the highest number of gender crimes in the country at 30,942 in 2012 – 12.7 percent of India’s total recorded crimes against women. These crimes include rape, kidnapping and sexual harassment and molestation. Kamduni, Madhyamgram, Dhupguri and many more rape incidents happened in subsequent years. Most astonishingly, on Jan 2014, a 20-year-old woman in West Bengal was gang-raped by 13 men on the orders of a Panchayat, as punishment for having a relationship with a man from a different community, at Subalpur village in Birbhum, about 180 km from Kolkata.

Appeasements of the minority community by TMC lead to riots at various parts of West Bengal and to utter surprise the mainstream media didn’t report it even! Namely, Deganga Riot in 2010, Canning Riot in 2013, Nadia Riot, Samudragarh Riot and Usti Riot in 2015. During this period, in Bangladesh, High Court cancelled the registration of the Jamaat-e-Islami on 1 August 2013, ruling that the party is unfit to contest national polls because its charter puts God above democratic process. Many fled Bangladesh and took shelter in neighbouring states of India and did spread their activity in border districts of West Bengal. Had not been a blast at Khagragarh in Burdwan on 2nd October 2014 the presence of Jamaats in West Bengal would remained unknown to all of us.

Along with the mentioned in above two paragraphs, West Bengal witnessed more industrial decline, more extortion, more hostile builders’ syndicate, more false cases on opposition party members and more rigging of elections compared to the left ruled West Bengal. Apart from those, harassment of School Teachers and College Professors and Principals within School and College campus was new addition. And above all, was the alleged involvement of Ministers, MPs, MLAs and leaders of TMC in Chit Fund Scam.

Land acquisition policy of TMC ruled State Government is another hindrance for the development of industry and infrastructure of the state. West Bengal, after Bihar, the second-most densely populated state of India, has 1,029 people a square kilometre. With so little land and so many people, agriculture alone cannot put the state on a sustained path of high growth and prosperity. Agriculture can grow at say five per cent for a few years, but can never absorb surplus labour in 'quality' employment or generate sustained seven to eight per cent overall growth for two to three decades.

Promoting industry requires land acquisition for new industry and rejuvenation of the physical infrastructure. The infrastructure bottleneck is best illustrated by the sorry state of the north-south corridor extending from Haldia port via Kolkata to Siliguri in the north, and touching important towns such as Baharampur, Krishnanagar, Malda and Raiganj. It is an artery connecting Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim to the sea, and Bangladesh and the seven sisters in the Northeast to the western parts of India. The corridor improvement project, including its four-laning, got stuck for years because of land acquisition problem. Such was the poor state of National Highway-34, the corridor’s southern section, that all air-conditioned bus services between Kolkata and Siliguri were suspended in August 2013! 

Mamata Banerjee, as a Minister of Railways of India was well aware of the Federal Structure of India, took its advantage and laid innumerable foundation stones of Railway Project in West Bengal. She was well aware that only a good relation between State and Centre can develop a state. But what she did as a CM? She took the Communist path of Anti-Centre! And a step further, she even degraded political rivalry to an extent of mimicry of PM in an interview! Her ego is another hindrance for West Bengal’s development; till date, she didn’t attend any Niti Ayog (earlier Planning Commission) meeting called by PM Narendra Modi. Instead, she declared 'Telebhaja' as industry and Muri bhaja (Parched Rice) as employment generating avenue!!  How will this state get priority from Centre?

Hopefully we were able to list down few points among many, which retarded the economic growth and degraded socio-political standard of this land. If we really want to develop this Sate, each political party, leader, political party member and each political worker in West Bengal has to rise up and shine (a phrase commonly used by Derek O'Brian, Rajya Sabha MP of TMC, in his tweet-lines) over petty politics like appeasement, extortion, builders’ syndicate, party members engaged in corruption, political murders, false cases on opposition party members, calling 'Telebhaja' industry, generating employment through Muri Bhaja (parched rice) and rigging of elections and work only for the real development of the state.


 

Spare me as a secular!

I am afraid to call myself Hindu anymore. Coz, if I want to tell the full form of ISIS, uttering the first word, I will find abuses coming towards me and calling me communal.

NaMo is the actual culprit behind ISIS attacks in Paris – Waiting for such updates / news from Indian so-called sickulars, self-proclaimed intellectuals and petro-dollar paid media. Today, when Paris is under attack by the ISIS, everywhere on social media platforms people are seen changing profile pictures. Media is aggressively telecasting the incidents. But is this the first time ISIS has attacked France? ISIS is a barbaric group. The media is shamelessly showcasing that due to western supervision on their countries these groups have evolved. The reality is, in countries like Iraq and Syria, women are being treated by these ISIS as sex slaves. Girls of 3-6 years are even not spared. Pregnant women are put on auction and bought as sex slaves. Mass killing, where the victim list comprises not only the non-muslims (kafirs), even the Shiyas as well, destruction of museums, libraries, public monuments. Several such incidents are happening during the past few years by this dreaded group. But, none has bothered to react so far. So, why this sudden compassion for France? Is this because of the common fear that India is also a very prospective target? Why there has been so much media highlight all of a sudden? Have the media also understood the fear of ISIS now, when they are just breathing on the neck? Or the media want to highlight the ISIS threat to earn a name. If there is a similar incident in India, then they will say, we had warned about it earlier.

India has been a country, which has withheld hundreds of invasion. But somehow, the country was able to retain its originality. This could not be seen in European and Middle East countries. Earlier, the kings fought and tried to retain our sovereignty. If there is an explosion in India, then it will not spare anybody based on his / her religion. Only Modi ji as the Prime Minister of India is aware of this upcoming threat and trying to make the country secure. But, as the basic nature of Indians is to cut the branch on which they are sitting – this is naturally not liked. When the PM is visiting Britain, the Taliban-paid Khalistanis are demonstrating protest that Modi is the “Hindu Taliban”. Has anyone seen any American or Russian residing in another country protesting against Obama or Putin when they are on a visit to that country? Indians will never learn. The British also saw that in what state they had left us, we have successfully maintained that state. We are too vulnerable and anybody can divide us and make us fight against our own leader. They are proving in front of the entire world that if you spit towards the sky, the spit will fall upon you only.

If you say that Modi is a Taliban, then also accept that only this Taliban can defend us against those Talibans. If we accept Modiji as the “Taliban”, then you also accept that – as long as this TALIBAN is leading the nation, every Hindu, every Muslim, every Christian, every Sikh, every Congress and even every Communist are safe in this country. If there is a bomb blast, then nobody will know people of which religion or which political party are dying. Ultimately it will be DEATH of HUMANS.

Once a person from a Hindu organisation, Durgapur (West Bengal) told me that give us some activity. I told him that if you want some serious activity to save the people of the world, burn ISIS flag, just like it was done in Kashmir. He replied that as the flag contains verses from Quran, it won’t be right to burn it. Then I told him, remove the Quranic ayaat and then burn the flag. He replied, ISIS has not done anything in Durgapur, so will it be right to burn their flag here? This means – we should wait till ISIS does anything in Durgapur / Kolkata / Bengal / India to act against them. This means, Indians’ thoughts are like – as long as my house remains safe, I will not act/say anything against a criminal.

In this country, when you demonstrate rally carrying ISIS flags - media highlights you. And if you burn the ISIS flag, you get arrested and media condemns you for being communal.

India can never be a Hindu Rashtra, as per the current constitution. But, please, dear seculars, kindly don’t turn our country into a terrorists’ den. It’s time for us to arise, awake and realize. Be united, irrespective of religion and political affinity and strengthen our PM’s hands in making India safer and stronger.

It is very easy for some people to abuse some Indian organisations in social platforms, being influenced by paid media presstitutes, sitting comfortably at their couches. But remember, these so-called “Taliban” people and their open courageous voices are making the actual terrorists think a second time and retrace their step, before attacking this country. Don’t be a plates of naives that these presstitutes will make a fool of you, to go against the country, to go against the government. Be united, so that in future these terrorists will not dare to attack our nation. 

- Indranil Banerjee

Muharrum violence ripped through Kaligram air during Durga Puja

Date: 25th, October, 2015 

Place: Kaligram, Malda, West Bengal 

Muharram Flag

Yet again, communal violence has tarnished the Hindu Puja celebrations in Kaligram, a prosperous village of Chanchal Sub-division of Malda District. Year after year, what people of Kaligram have been witnessing in the name of Muharrum celebration is nothing but traumatizing agony of Hindu voice suppression both by majority uneducated Muslims and by the administration. Till 23 rd October, 2015 Hindu Durga Puja celebration was in in full swing in an around Kaligram like any other part of Bengal. Though communal tension was prevalent in peoples mind in the area, people came out in large number to celebrate. Each year during Muharrum various kinds terrifying incidents are perpetrated by the Muslims to terrorize Hindus in the area. Moreover, the local administration and their political masters become enablers for the mischievous activities. Most importantly the local I.C, Chanchal, Tulsidas Bhattacharaya, (Mob:- 9734355393) in not only patronizing Muslim violence in the name of celebration but also is believed to be co-conspirator in this whole matter.

Shop Vandalized

On 24th afternoon, as usual around five thousand armed Muslims men and goons primarily uneducated gathered from outside areas, started the procession of Muharrum brandishing swords, lathis and many sharp local arms. The procession, as it was passing through the village, the mob kept no stones unturned to terrorize minority Hindu population. The mob was teasing Hindu women, misbehaving with them and terrorizing the whole Hindu

Shop Vandalised

diaspora. Anti-India slogans i.e. ‘Pakistan Zindabad’, ‘Hindu Ko Mar Dal’ were chanted in a horrific manner in the presence of Civil & Police Administration. These slogans rendered the Kaligram air like never before. In the preparatory meeting, convened before the Puja & Muharrum celebration, an agreement was reached that Hindu property and idols will be fully barricaded during Muharrum procession. In the same meeting representatives of Civil & Police administration, Hindus & Muslims communities were present. It was also agreed that Proper police force will be present during the Muharrum procession, but

Shop Vandalised

didn’t happen in reality. Unfortunately barricade was not sufficiently done and the Hindus lives were vulnerable. The mob went on vandalizing Hindu shops and stones were pelted at the Durga Idol in number of places. A drinking water Tap was uprooted as it was used by Hindus to induce the fear. Around eight Hindu men were badly injured due to the stones pelted during the procession. Many Hindu women took shelter in Kaligram High school to save their modesty. Administration did nothing to either stop the mob or to protect Hindu women. When lathis and stones were pelted at Durga idol of very traditional ‘Kaligram Bazar Sarbojanin Durgotsav’ then Hindu youth were forced to respond with stones. Finally administration was compelled to call R.A.F. around 12 rounds of bullets were fired and finally, police did ‘lathi-charge’ to disperse the Muslim mob. Jayanta Ghosal (S.D.O, Chanchal) & Rana Mukherjee (S.D.P.O, Chanchal) did a commendable job thereafter to manage the situation. Finally, in the evening, a reconciliation meeting was convened by the administration, SP, SDO, BDO were also present. A resolution was taken that while returning with the Muharrum procession no

Masjid Bricks used for pelting

arms will be allowed and the total of number people would not be more than hundred. In the contrary, around 11 p.m. when Muslims return through the village they came with huge mob of around fifteen hundred people and similar kind of afternoon atmosphere were tried to be re-induced. Though this time no unfortunate incident happened, but if it was initiated by the mob there wouldn’t have been much protection from the administration. In this whole incident I.C, Chanchal, Tulsidas Bhattacharaya not only swayed away from his responsibility of protecting people but also turned blind eye by doing nothing to control the Muslim fanatic mob. Minority Hindu population is nothing but sitting duck here in Kaligram. State administration and local TMC, Congress, CPM leaders are behaving like a conspirator in this whole very unfortunate situation. Yet again people of Kaligram see Pakistan flag being unfurled in broad day light in the name of Muhurram celebration in the Bengal, all intellectuals, main stream media have no time to debate and discuss this kind of horrific incidents that has been happening in the name of Muslim celebration. So, let’s take a pause and think which State, are we living and aspiring to be peaceful and be happy??

Think and Act before it’s too late.

Digital India: An Analytical View on Ushering Political Interest into the IT World

In general, the minds of people working in IT industry are very wavering or volatile. In the morning, most IT people start their day by logging onto Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Their opinion changes depending on the trending posts and tweets. In the morning, they support something else and in the evening, the support shifts to an opposite perspective.

Foreign companies, for the sake of their own benefit, nailed in the minds of the IT people that politics is a nasty game. The CEOs have always evoked the flame of ‘fear’ burning inside the workers that politics will hamper you as well as us, and so involving in it might take your business or job away. Mostly the investors think that if they are investing 20% on the employees, the ROI from the latter part should be 200%. Thus, employees are expected to think and work only for the job and the world outside it is totally ignored by them. As a result, these kinds of people at the end of the day, get frustrated, stressed, angered, from ‘job-dissatisfaction’, which get reflected first on the family members and eventually on political leaders, government, and the overall nation.

Mostly these people, from the beginning, focus on their career-graph, family security, job security and yearly savings. Politics for them seem to be field for hypocrites, frauds, cheats and opportunists. They never bother about nationalism, except criticizing the love and feelings of the nation, through some ‘intellectual’ posts or tweets. Their patriotic feelings get destroyed in the beginning due to career responsibility and due to the overall fear scenario in the IT industry of getting ‘pink slips’.

If this issue can be taken care of, our nation’s 90% problem can be solved. So, to initiate the feelings of nationalism inside these categories, we need to work differently.

Convincing IT people is a big factor. But, educating them is a bigger task, which lies specially through imparting information on our nation’s correct history and refining their childhood history studies. Then only they can be true nationalists. Then only they can differentiate between politics and corruption, between nationalists and anti-nationalists and between communal and secular.

Recently, our honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modiji has done the appropriate job of drawing the attention of IT people. ‘Digital India’ has seen millions of people, a majority percentage belonging to the IT industry, changing their profile picture and supporting the nation’s mission of Digital India, following Mark Zuckerberg.

In order to get support of the IT people, the government needs to be IT-oriented. Through social media and social networking platforms, the various government agendas and upcoming missions can be spread, which generally remain hidden to these people. As they depend on IT methods and technologies only, their supports have to be drawn through IT only.

A majority percentage of young people today, are entering into the IT industry, as the job is quite lucrative. Their mindset needs to be changed to impart nationalist views. This is already in vogue by the Muslim fundamentalist organizations like ISIS. They are picking up the cream, young IT professionals and making them work in a hi-tech style to accomplish their mission. These people belong to a smarter planet, and from development to hacking, they are acquainted with the entire technology. Hence, if nationalist mindset is imparted into these minds, it would be beneficial for the entire nation. 

- Indranil Banerjee,