“That kingdom of idiocy – the fatal lack of common sense – was continuously invaded by the Pathans, sometimes by the Mughols and sometimes by the British. From outside we can only see the torture done by them, but they are only the tools of torture, not really the cause. The real reason of the torture is our lack of common sense and our idiocy, which is responsible for our sufferings. So we have to fight this idiocy that divided the Hindus and imposed slavery on us (…) If we only think about the torture we will not find any solution. But if we can get rid of our idiocy, the tyrants will surrender to us” – Gurudeb Rabindranath Thakur in ‘Samasya’ (The Problem), Agrahayan, 1330 Bangabda, in “Kalantar”
Here comes the elections, and the issue of Bengali Asmita (Pride of Bengal) has taken centrestage, along with opposition to the cleansing of electoral rolls through intensive revision as a symbol of resistance. The horrific incident in Malda district has yet again reminded us about the grave situation in West Bengal. The way street power has been used to undermine the Constitutional authorities, including that of the judicial officers, is the ultimate sign of the decades-long state of affairs in Bengal. The upcoming Assembly Election in West Bengal is not about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the deletion of voters who could not substantiate their citizenship with valid documents, or about the process. This election is about whether Bengal decides to protect the true spirit of its history and culture from the politics of radicalism, hooliganism, intimidation, appeasement and violence.
The SIR process for cleansing electoral rolls is being conducted nationwide, not just in West Bengal. The Election Commission regularly carries out this exercise. The main issue is not about Bengali versus ‘Bahari’ identities but rather why only Bengal’s State administration, and not others, is resisting this process despite judicial clearance. Incidents like the gherao and stone pelting on judicial vehicles do not reflect the true spirit of Bengal that was upheld by the freedom fighters. Real Bengali Asmita (pride) is preserved not by exclusive claims to the freedom struggle, but by upholding its true spirit, as shown by the Renaissance pioneers.
Ironically, this Bengali Asmita, which also paved the way for the revival of Bharatiya Asmita, has been challenged at the dual level for the last seven to eight decades. Since the 1937 elections in the United Bengal province, the Muslim League, led by Huseyn Suhrawardy, used the policy of communalising administration and politics of violence as a tool to push the idea of Pakistan. Targetting innocent people, especially women, as a political tool became a norm. The Kolkata killings of 1946 that resulted in the killings of more than 4000 people, disrobing and raping of hundreds of women, rendering thousands homeless, finally forced the Congress to accept the Partition of the country on communal lines. It was the first major blow to Bengali pride, which had successfully resisted and reversed a similar attempt to divide the country in 1905 with the slogan ‘Vande Mataram’.
Post Partition, Congress continued to neglect the forcefully migrated population from the Eastern part of Bengal, giving the way to Communists to dominate the political scene on class lines. Communists continued the policy of appeasing radicals for vote-bank purposes but introduced the politicisation of the state machinery through party control, as is generally the case in any Communist regime. Not only were the media and intellectual voices that would talk about the true Bengali pride rooted in Swadeshi and Swadharma muzzled, but systemic violence was also introduced as a tool of political power. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, one of the softest communist leaders in West Bengal, officially accepted on the floor of the Assembly that more than 28,000 political murders have taken place in the state. The numbers to date are estimated to be more than 55,000. Why is murderous and violent politics a norm in West Bengal and Kerala, where Communist parties did get some foothold? Communism, combined with Islamic radicalism, normalised the politics of violence and undermined the real Bengali Asmita.
Mamata Banerjee, who at one point cornered the Communist Government on the issue of illegal infiltration and demanded a discussion in the Parliament on August 4, 2005, while calling the problem a ‘disaster’, changed the tone after coming to power. Her party systemically defended and promoted the voting rights of non-citizens of Bharat, using them as vote banks. The forced withdrawal of opposition candidates, bogus voting practices, intimidating masses for supporting opposition parties and using mobs to oppose constitutional authorities have become a common practice. The opposition to SIR and turning it into a Bengali vs Bahari issue is just a ploy to instigate the mob against the revision process. “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high” is the real Asmita of Bengal and for the sake of few votes, Trinamool Congress is perpetuating the atmosphere of terror and disrespct in the State.
Mobocracy taking over the electoral process with street power is the death knell to democracy. Instead of questioning the constitutional process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the real concern should be how to save the nationalist spirit of Bengal from the politics of intimidation and appeasement. Elections are an integral part of democracy; more important is the free, fearless and fair nature of the process. At every stage, a constitutional remedy is available to address the grievances. Anybody resorting to violence to challenge the Constitutional authorities like the Election Commission, the Security forces and the judicial authorities is a sign of mobocracy and not democracy. The upcoming elections in the State is not just about electing the new government but also about safeguarding the true spirit of Bengal from the politics of infiltration, intimidation and appeasement.
