West Bengal Revisited: BJP’s campaign on CAA/NRC bearing fruit

I visited Kolkata and Santiniketan for six days between December 7 and December 12, 2020. I had three objectives in mind: To assess the level of sectarian polarization, to meet secular people/ groups and to reach out to the youth on the issues of new education policy and the divisive agenda of the government.

I carried 5000 Bangla copies of the flier “Stand for Truth” translated by Prof. Subhendu Ghosh and stayed at the parental home of Prof. Sangeeta Dasgupta. In Santiniketan I stayed with Manisha Banerjee, who has turned her home like an ashram of Gandhi ji, where Hindu and Muslim girls and boys live as a family.

I visited the poor Hindu locality of PyaraBagaan and a poor Muslim locality in Beg Bagaan where families live in single room cum kitchen (rent Rs. 200 per month), sharing common water tap, common toilet and keeping water pots outside the home. Despite congestion, the homes were clean and people pure hearted. A few girls in Beg Bagaanvolunteered they were studying in high schools and colleges. From young to old everyone seemed united in their wish for peace and harmony.

In poor Hindu localities of Jadavpur area, people were equally simple but I did meet a person active with BJP. In Tikiyapara, a 70:30 Muslim:Hindu area, people were engaged in iron related work. Rebecca High School (6500 students, 80% Muslims, 20% Hindus, tuition fees Rs. 200 pm), run by Mamoon Akhtar was a sheer delight to visit. It has a sewing training center. I met 60 girls working on sewing machines. They could read Hindi but only a few could read Bengali. In Santiniketan, my hosts organized a meeting with social activists from the district. This group is planning to organize the traditional 3-day Paush Mela, a major secular cultural event, organized by Viswa Bharati since its inception but this year the VC has declined to hold it.

My Observations: In most areas in Kolkata only 2 out of 10 would accept Bangla fliers while the rest preferred Hindi; Kolkata has significant percentage of non-Bengali people and the BJP has made inroads among them. A taxi driver referred to Muslims as Bangladeshi and claimed police would catch all traffic rule violators but not a topiwala. At the Howrah Maidan market, two youths came up and asked whether I was a Hindu. One of them asked for my opinion on the NRC. When I said it was bad, he said, “Muslims will take away our jobs. We must be kattar Hindu, throw away these fliers”. They left in a huff.

BJP is campaigning on CAA/ NRC issue and widening its base. The lockdown has not diminished its electoral appeal. TMC is in a shaky situation. CPM workers see the TMC as a threat.Secularism has strong base in universities and colleges but they are all shut. These institutions must reopen immediately (The author is a Gandhian working for peace and harmony and is a retired Professor of IIT, Delhi)