After an allegedly blasphemous Facebook post by a minor student, who was immediately arrested by the Police in 24 Pargana District of West Bengal, what happened in Baduria of Basirhat tehsil is a very dangerous sign. The fundamentalists did not only demand for handing over the boy to them but also torched dozens of shops and houses, and at least six police vehicles. Quazi Abdur Rahim, the MLA of Baduria, is believed to be a party to this act. This is not the first time Islamic fundamentalists in Bengal have made the mockery of the law and order situation. From Malda to Dulagarh and from Durga Puja to Basant Panchami, they do not miss a single chance to project their muscle power.
We need to understand that what is happening in Bengal time and again is not by accident but by design. As per the estimates, the Pakistan backed Razakars as they were called then killed 30 lakh (3 million) and raped 4 lakh Bangladeshis during 1971 War. They later became the fundamentalist group called Jamaat in Bangladesh. From 1971 to 1990, this group heavily funded by the Islamic countries and politically supported by Pakistan, created their own dens in Bangladesh through business and educational activities. Their hand-in-glove with the criminals, especially involved in fake currency rackets further strengthened them.
Though the Islamic radicals of Bangladesh always found it convenient to establish their networks in bordering districts of Bengal, thanks to the appeasement politics of earlier Left-front Government and now the Mamata led TMC Government. Especially since, Bangladesh under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina decided to crack down on these radical elements and expedited trial against them on the grounds of war crimes, many of them shifted their base to Bengal through porous borders. There are many erstwhile Pakistani citizens and active members of Jamaat-e-Islami group who have infiltrated in present day West Bengal and many of them are behind flaming these Jihadist tendencies. If new reports are to be believed, Ahmed Hassan, aka Imran, is also son of one of the key members of Razakars, and currently a TMC member as well as the Rajya Sabha MP.
The courts have repeatedly passed the strictures on this issue, still Mamata Banerjee blinded by vote-bank politics is encouraging this dangerous hydra. Bengal which spread the seeds of nationalism in modern times have to awaken to this reality and going beyond the party politics should respond to these anti-national elements at the societal level.
The devious designs of power politics and pseudo intellectualism have unfortunately categorised the violence and lynchings also on secular and communal lines. The intellectuals and media celebrities of Bharat, up in arms with protest banners of #NotInMyName barely a week ago, were hell bent on proving Bharat as ‘lynchistan’ on beef issue and so-called ‘minority’ community is the target, are surprisingly gone silent on this brazen mobocracy. One can understand that the electoral compulsions of ‘secular’ parties, but when it comes to media and intellectuals it is very difficult to understand in whose name they are promoting this lynching of
our nation. @PrafullaKetkar
