Sri Tapan Ghosh: Fighter for Reclaiming West Bengal Identity

Sri Tapan Ghosh

Fighter for Reclaiming West Bengal Identity

Sachi G. Dastidar

For Partition Documentation Project, New York

Mr. Tapan Ghosh, a noted political activist passed away in Kolkata on July 13, 2020, sadly through Corona Virus infection.

Mr. Tapan Ghosh was a pioneering in his political activism. Since partition of Bengal and India in 1947, politics of both Bengals took extremist bend. Eastern Bengal or East Bengal or East Pakistan or Bangladesh took an intolerant anti-Hindu Islamist bend with millions of Hindus killed over time, with tens of millions of Hindus fleeing for partitioned West Bengal State of India. While western Bengal or West Bengal increasingly became intolerant anti-Hindu Left, also called “communal communism” ruled by Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPM, yet almost all their leaders chose not to live in Muslim-majority East Pakistan or Bangladesh, for Hindu India which gave them shelter. (CPM massacred many Hindus, most notable of them were killing of Hindu monks and nuns in the heart of Kolkata https://empireslastcasualty. blogspot.com/2009/07/hindu-monks-and-nuns-killed-in-india-by.html, and killing of thousands of oppressed-caste Bangladeshi Hindu peasant refugees in Marichjhapi island in southern West Bengal https://empireslastcasualty.blogspot.com/2009/08/marichjhapi-west-bengal-india-communist.html. No one has been arrested for those killings, including during anti-Communist Trinamool Congress Party Government, 2010s.)

In West Bengal, India with the rise of communal Leftism – similar to racism of the West - from 1970s, and even earlier during Congress Party rule from 1947 through late 1970s, a tradition developed among Indian Bengali Hindus, including Hindu refugees who fled their Muslim majority nations of Pakistan and Bangladesh, of their identity, as not calling them Hindu, censoring anti-Hindu atrocities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, not teaching uncensored Indian history during colonial Islamic ruler and Islamic settler rulers from Central Asia, as well as during colonial British history, although anti-British history was not fully censored. They also stopped teaching ancient Indian/Hindu literature till 1800s in schools and colleges as they were “Hindu” literature as all the literature had to do with worshiping Mother Nature, plants and animals, to sun, moon and water, the six seasons, deities and more, as Hindus worshiped all of those and literature were enmeshed with those. This colonial mindset also affected millennia-old music, dance,

Surprising, a young man named Tapan Ghosh rose from that soil who openly identified himself as Hindu, and started talking of defending Hindu tradition and literature. This was something very new in 1960s through 2000s. Bengali elites termed such people as “communal” to hide their own communalism. To bridge the divide between Bengali Muslims and Hindus Mr. Ghosh made trips to Bangladesh as well and to Muslim-majority areas in West Bengal in India. In 2007 he formally developed Hindu Samhati, or Hindu Togetherness, a nationalist organization, which included all groups, to empower Hindus, especially Hindus in Hindu-majority West Bengal, India who feel oppressed by the state and elites. This is something risky in violence-ridden and censor-prone politics of West Bengal. He also opposed Neo-colonialism of the elites.

One of the taboos Hindu Samhati and Mr. Ghosh broke is to raise the censored issue of killing and destruction of Hindus and Hindu shrines in Bengal – West Bengal and Bangladesh – since non-native Islamic rulers invaded Bengal and started Islamic conversion. (This writer’s own 300-year old Kali Mandir of the Black Mother was destroyed during 1950s pogrom.) It is still a taboo, but Mr. Ghosh’s Hindu Samhati published politically-incorrect calendars documenting anti-Hindu atrocities in Bangladesh and West Bengal from earlier times till the present. Mr. Ghosh presented two of their calendars, 2018 and 2020, that document some of these atrocities to Partition Center. These are completely censored in history books of Bangladesh, West Bengal, India, America and the West, and by liberal and illiberal press.

In some ways his movement may be compared to Black Lives Matter movement in America, or Armenian Genocide remembrance movement among Armenians, or Jewish Holocaust remembrances in Europe of remembering their oppressive historical events, and give courage to victims.

Sri Ghosh visited Partition Center, and visited Partition Center volunteers in India.

Ghosh with Little Saraswati of New Jersey During His Visit to the U.S.

Let us pray for his soul, as we say “He is resting in Mothers Bosom in the Heaven.” Om Shanti! Om Peace!

His last speech was on June 20, 2020 on Paschim Banga Dibas or West Bengal (Establishment) Day, at a virtual event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDLOdAvOrJ0 The lecture is in Bengali.

Here are pages from 2018 and 2020 calendars.

2020 Calendar

(The Calendar Highlights 12 Mosques Built after Destroying Hindu Mandirs [Temples])

2018 Calendar

(The Calendar Highlights 12 Major Mass Killings of Hindus and Buddhists in Bengal in the Recent Past)

January: 1964 East Pakistan Killing

February: 1950 Dhaka Killing

March: 1971 Operation Searchlight

April: 1992 Logang Massacre

May: 1971 Chuknagar Massacre

June: 1971 Golaghat Massacre

July: 2016 Attack on Dhaka Holey Artisan Bakery

August: 1946 Great Calcutta Killing

September: 2012 Ramu Violence

October: 1946 Noakhali Genocide

November: 2001 Post Election Attacks

December: 1992 Hindu Bloodbath

Reading from “Mukti: Free to be Born Again & Mother Language Day Celebration 2016

Reading from “Mukti: Free to be Born Again – Partitions of Indian Subcontinent, Islamism, Hinduism, Leftism and Liberation of the Faithful” by author Dr. Sachi Dastidar at ISPaD: Partition Center on Sunday, March 6^th, 2016

Shuvo G. Dastidar, ISPaD Project Coordinator

Reading from Dr. Sachi Dastidar’s nonfiction book “Mukti” held today was a monumental occasion for history. The event was held in the conference meeting area of The Indian Subcontinent Partition Documentation (ISPaD) Project. Those who attended were impressed by some of stories told.  Stories, Indian and Bengali, which are actually narratives, depict a society that has sidelined all inhibitions towards any pain, fear, war, and hatred directed at one’s neighbor - literally. Prejudice and impartiality runs side-by-side, is a serious contradiction of the society. Too many parts of society have also moved to eliminate choices as the society, mostly through harmful acts and violations of human rights, moves to become a religious region by force. Dr. Dastidar succinctly explains to readers the background and mobilizing factors that propelled his authorship forward and completion of a book/historical piece in the Preface of the book: “Mukti is a product of love and pain of at least three decades. It is a byproduct of over three decades of field work, social work and travel in the 1947 Partition-affected Bengal –Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), West Bengal State of India – as well in the neighboring states…….During my travel in Muslim-majority Bangladesh I have come across the term ‘mukti’ from many, especially indigenous pre-Islamic Hindu, and lately Buddhist, families as they pray for liberation from their suffering….The book is directed towards Western readers many of whom may have heard of India, yet very little is known about post-partition Muslim-majority Bangladesh and Hindu-majority West Bengal, the effects of Indian Partition on the people of the Bengali-speaking region, the former mixed Hindu-Muslim Bengal Province of Colonial British India……Yet the privileged-caste Hindu-refugee elites quickly rose to power in two Hindu Bengali-majority states in India: West Bengal and Tripura. They would champion liberal, left and Marxist ideologies but refused to show solidarity with the oppressed, mostly belonging to Hindu oppressed castes [whom they left behind]… Seeds of Mukti was first sown in early 1990s when many of my friends and associates asked for translation of my Ai Bangla, Oi Bangla (This Bengal, That Bengal.)…..The Bengal of British India was known to be a relatively-tolerant mixed Hindu-Muslim society where both Hindu and Muslim nationalism played significant role. In a surprise twist of history after Partition of Bengal and India in 1947 both Bengals took stride towards intolerant politics, one…Islamism, the other….Leftism, led by Bangladeshi (East Pakistani) Muslims and Bangladeshi (East Pakistani) Hindu, albeit refugee. The book delves into that ethos and contradiction, although politically incorrect and, at times, impolite…..I have no power to protect individuals and families who have shared their deepest feelings to my family. I have no power to protect their villages either. As a result I have not used the real names of individuals, villages and neighborhoods….”

Dr. Dilip Nath introducing Mother Language Day and Sachi Dastidar

The painstaking intellectual, research (both with documents and with people), unbelievable amount of time, and most certainly emotional process that coalesced to complete this piece of work is something which truly does “blow my mind”. Mukti is a 700 page book that took over 18 years to write

The day of the reading started out a bit slow, as was to be expected of most Bengali/Indian events – especially one in which there was a cricket match of Bangladesh vs. India. Little by little the room filled up with individuals. Dastidar was introduced by Dr. Dilip Nath and then by this writer introduced the Partition Project. Dr. Nath, in line with the Mother Language Day asked all for a moment of silence for the Language Martyrs who were killed on February 21, 1952 to defend their mother language.

Dr. Caroline Sawyer and Ms. Anjali Sharma during Q&A

Following the introduction was the book reading portion where Dastidar selected a few passages he thought would be especially relevant to the individuals present. Mrs. Shubra Goswami graced the crowd with her beautiful voice by singing several songs. Mrs. Goswami sang traditional Bengali songs and at the request of the audience sang a song of Rabindranath Tagore. A Q&A followed the reading. After the formal event had finished all individuals introduced themselves and their special interests. AND finally all partook in the wonderful Indian food available in a wide variety in large amounts, as well as Caribbean snacks from Brooklyn provided by Mr. Jay Hyman. Most who attended also purchased one or more copies of “Mukti” and made sure that it was signed. It was a day that will be seen as a date to remember since it was the date “Mukti” was made publicly available to us and the first speaking engagement Dr. Dastidar gave for it. (Few more book readings are coming in Ozone Park, New Jersey, Albany and Long Island.) Thank you all for having supported research about the Indian Subcontinent.

During Question & Answer

A Few of the Book Presentations at: 

•   Harimandir Temple, South Richmond Hill, Queens, New York City; March 26, 2016

• State University of New York, Old Westbury, Long Island; April 19, 2016

• Albany, NY organized by State University of New York Distinguished Professor Dr. Ram Chugh; May 31, 2016