Editor,
Having the power of being in the ruling party, some local miscreants in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal allegedly usurped arable land from the common people and turned them into bheris (ponds of pisciculture). There were also serious allegations of sexual assaults on women. The administration and the ruling party in West Bengal must be criticised for failing to prevent them.
However, as soon as these nasty incidents came out in the media, the state government did not follow the new normal ‘silence is golden’ rule and started taking action. The local residents of Sandeshkhali thanked the media for highlighting their problems. This is the reason why we need press freedom, and sliding down in the Press Freedom Index is a matter of concern, especially for the common people.
Gender violence, be it in Hathras, Kathua, Unnao, Uttarakhand, Manipur, or Sandeshkhali, or be it against Bilkis Bano or women wrestlers must be condemned by the people in general and by the media in particular, irrespective of the political dispensation in power. A democratic institution must not take selective approach while dealing with such matters. While criticising the state government over alleged atrocities on women, CPM politburo member Brinda Karat pointed out, “The (National) Women’s Commission was here (in Sandeshkhali) but it didn’t go to Manipur or Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.”
If there is a doubt about the impartiality of an institution, how can it instil faith in the minds of the victims?
Prevention is better than cure. Every political party needs to prevent misuse of power by some bad elements. But whenever such nasty things happen, they should take prompt curative actions without remaining silent, because silence gives consent. Also, a political party needs to give a clear instruction to all of its members not to give an ovation to rapists and murderers in public as was done by a group of people when the convicts of Bilkis Bano case came out of prison.
Though the administration and the ruling party in West Bengal cannot escape criticism for failing to prevent horrific incidents, they, however, deserve praise for taking prompt series of curative actions. It has been reported in the media that the ruling Trinamul Congress has begun an internal probe into villagers’ charges against the party’s Sandeshkhali block president Shibaprasad Hazra that range from land grab to sexual assault.
Both Hazra, against whom the charges of sexual assault and physical torture were the most in number, and another local TMC leader Uttam Sardar, a co-accused in the case, have been arrested. However, Shahjahan Sheikh is still absconding.
The state government has set up five camps in the area to receive complaints from Sandeshkhali villagers, and also created a mechanism to reach out to aggrieved people by deploying officials from the BDO office to visit people’s homes for complaints from those who are hesitant to visit camps. The ruling TMC has begun the process of paying 105 villagers the dues a cumulative sum of Rs 3.5 lakhs. Hazra and Sardar owed that amount of money to some farmers as their ponds had been taken on lease by them.
The opposition parties should highlight the misuse of power by the ruling party in a democratic country. But in the name of agitation, fomenting hatred against Muslims and Sikhs is totally unacceptable. Manipur witnessed the horrors of hatred between two communities. This should not be allowed to spread all over India.
Some BJP leaders allegedly called a turban-clad IPS officer a ‘Khalistani’. A video clip posted on X showed Jaspreet Singh vehemently protesting the alleged comment directed at him. He said, “If you have got something to say against me as a policeman, say that. You cannot speak against my religion.”
The malicious comment directed at the police officer was as unwanted as the one made on the people who protested against the Citizenship Amendment Act that they could be identified by their clothes. India needs peace and harmony, not divisive politics and hate speeches.
Sujit De,
Kolkata