West Bengal’s political clashes are actually communal – Niti Central

West Bengal’s political clashes are actually communal

By Priyadarshi Dutta

A central BJP team headed by MP Meenakshi Lekhi will visit the violence hit Sandeskhali in West Bengal. Sandeshkhali I & II are community development blocks under Bashirhat subdivision in North 24, Parganas district. Violence erupted in Haldarbheri and Sandeshkhali, recently, after BJP supporters celebrating Narendra Modi’s swearing-in came under fire from the rival Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters. Bullets and firebombs were used as a result of which 16 BJP supporters (BJP claims 26) and 4 TMC supporters were injured, necessitating their hospitalisation.

History of political violence in Bengal: West Bengal has always been a politically volatile State. Classically, these clashes were between the Congress and the Communists. With the rise of TMC, clashes broke out between its supporters and the Communists (like in Keshpur, Garbeta, Nanur and Choto Anguria in late 1990s). Most dangerous clashes in this category were witnessed between 2006 and 2011 like in Nandigram and Khejuri. With CPI (M)-led Left Front losing power in the Assembly election in May, 2011, the equations were reversed. The hunter CPI (M) became the hunted.

BJP comes under attack: The BJP had rarely been a part of the narrative of the political violence in West Bengal. It had been a minor player except briefly in the 1990s. But, during the recently concluded general election, BJP cadre came under numerous acts of violence. That indirectly reflects the rising popularity of the BJP under NaMo effect. Vote share of the BJP has almost tripled to 16.8 per cent, though it got only 2 seats. It now threatens to replace CPI (M) with 22.7 vote share as the principal Opposition in the State.

Communal animosity underlying political hostilities: But there is often an unstated element in these political hostilities viz. communal animosity. This is an aspect both the political class and intelligentsia shy away from acknowledging. Muslims comprise more than a quarter of the population of West Bengal. Political pundits feel a shift in the Muslim vote in favour of the TMC led to the dislodging of the Left Front in 2011 Assembly election.
The Sandeshkhali conflict reveals pattern of communal violence in West Bengal. The so-called supporters of TMC were all Muslims and BJP supporters were Hindus. In reality, a small number of Hindu supporters of TMC had initiated the protest with no casualties. But after they were gone, Muslim mob fell upon the BJP supporters. The incident is comparable to the attack recently unleashed by Muslim goons on BJP victory rally at Bijapur, Karnataka. But while Bijapur is being acknowledged as a communal case, Sandeshkhali is being denied. My sources tell that notorious don Shahjehan Sheikh was behind these attacks. Shahjehan Sheikh was earlier with the CPI (M), but like many other dons changed their allegiance in favour of TMC as the political atmosphere changed in West Bengal.

It is unlikely that the West Bengal unit of BJP will highlight the issue. Like the proverbial dog in Sherlock Holmes story (The Adventure of Silver Blaze) which never barked even when the racehorse was stolen, the BJP (West Bengal) keeps silent on cattle trafficking, communal violence against Hindus and Muslim mafia running Kolkata. I am told they have some in-built apathy to such issues. It was only NaMo magic that pulled their vote share up.

Communal element in intra-TMC clashes: The communal element in political clashes of West Bengal is confirmed by recent intra-TMC clashes. Take for instance, a clash between two factions of TMC in Arambagh (dist Hooghly) on Wednesday late night in which a TMC worker Naresh Ray (40) was killed and 12 others were injured. The deceased and the wounded are all Hindus. The attack was undertaken by Shahbuddin section of TMC local unit. Police has arrested 36 of his men, mostly Muslims. It was an intra-TMC clash that has rocked Goghat Panchayat-II in recent times. The Ataul Haq faction is at war with Tapan Mandal faction. The militia Shahbuddin belongs to Ataul Haq faction whereas Nitai Nandy to Tapan Mandal. The deceased Naresh Roy belonged to Nitai Nandy’s militia. It seems like a redux of Lebanese civil war in West Bengal countryside.

Similarly, in Kankartala Panchayat (Birbhum) firebombs were exchanged between two factions of the TMC. The attacks were allegedly initiated by a person called Sheikh Handu. On the complaint of Panchayat Chairman Nirajan Mandal of TMC, two persons called Niyamul Sheikh and Milan Sheikh have been arrested. Ten firebombs have been recovered. News of similar intra-TMC clashes on communal lines are reported from Khandaghosh PS of Burdwan district.

Communalism in Intra-Left clash: One may recall the attack on the ancestral house of Subhas Naskar, the then Irrigation Minister in May, 2008 at Basanti, South 24 Parganas. Subhas Naskar belonged to Revolutionary Socialist Party, a constituent of the Left Front, and the attackers were allegedly from CPI (M), the main constituent in that Front. Gouri Naskar, wife of Minister’s nephew, died as a result of the attack. Basanti PS is a communally sensitive zone and all the attackers happened to be Muslims. It could not be termed as secular merely because the assaulter were carrying Red Flag instead of green banner of Islam.

Reading between the lines of political rivalry in West Bengal would often reveal communal aggression. It’s time the high powered BJP central team took note of it. In February, 2013, when 250 Hindu houses were looted and burnt in Canning, South 24 Parganas after murder of a cleric Maulana Ruhul Kuddus, the central leadership of the BJP did not take note. It, belatedly, sent a two-member team led by MP Arjun Meghwal. But this time, it is different because BJP feels it is in striking distance of the Opposition benches in next Assembly election in West Bengal.