Hindu Minority Right Declining in Bangladesh even in Secularist Rule

RSC ANJAN/DrikNEWS
October 2-8, 2009

The right to religion

by Khamin

Khamin writes about the dwindling rights and freedoms of the minority Hindu population of the country, from the failure of secularism to prevail in its true essence

Like any other day, Rikta Devi arrives at the Dhakeshwary Mandir – perceived as the most symbolic and significant Hindu temples in the country – with her two young daughters. However, the zest and enthusiasm with which she usually approaches her religious rituals seem to have waned considerably in recent times, especially when she recalls the vile sexual harassment her daughters are routinely subjected by loafers, en route to the temple. The particular issue has turned into something of a commonplace as many Hindu women attest to walking, with their heads held low, past such distasteful taunts which seemingly condemn them for their religious affiliations, especially during the time of Durga puja. Even as the ceremonial rites are being performed at temples, there have been instances where insults and abuse have been hurled at Hindus from fanatics which have even resulted in bloody fights. There have also been conflicts of interest in terms of religious practices, especially in areas where mosques and temples stand in close proximity. ‘Sometimes, the timing of the azaan and the start of a puja coincide and whenever this happens, we always stop all our activities in respect of the other faith but there has been no reciprocity on their part. There have been various examples of peaceful coexistence between followers of both these religions from years gone by and that had continued for a long time. However, it seems that a high level of negligence and intolerance towards other religious practices have developed in the Muslim community and the prospect of facing more troubles while performing our rituals will only increase during this month,’ says Rina Bhattacharya, a caretaker of Joy Kali Mandir in Wari. ‘Such unsavoury issues are occurring quite frequently and this is due to the lack of respect some misguided people are showing towards other religions,’ says Pradip Kumer Chakrabarty, chief executive of Dhakeshwari temple. ‘The mandir is a holy place where people come for worship and this kind of behaviour only points to the intolerant and fundamentalist approach certain people have started to adopt,’ he adds. Such circumstances would justifiably warrant the need for order and security to be ensured, however, there is a visibly distinct lack of any law enforcer patrolling the premises of the temple. ‘First of all, we need to consider the threats that are being posed to the large number of female devotees that frequent the temple but moreover, valuables such as gold ornaments are also being carried and served as offerings by various devotees to decorate the deities. This also poses the threat of robberies,’ explains Chakrabarty. According to a census in 2001, Hindus account for nearly 9.2 per cent of the religious population in the country and there are around 150 temples in Dhaka city. While the numbers may not seem too significant, they undeniably represent and contribute largely to our heritage and culture. However, hundreds of temples urgently require reconstruction and renovation, including the historic Kalibari Mandir in Ramna, the Shanir Mandir in Shanir Akhra, the Shiva Mandir in Dhaka University and the Dhakeshwari Mandir are more or less in the same state as they were when built. While mosques receive government funding via the Islamic foundation for maintenance, there is only the Hindu Kalyan Trust to look after temples. ‘The government must take initiatives to preserve mandirs through renovations and reconstruction even if it is only done for the conservation of heritage,’ says Pranabesh Dash, a student of Dhaka University. Instead, there have been various allegations levelled at ruling parties in the past, of its musclemen grabbing land and properties, including robberies of idols from mandirs. There have also been allegations against henchmen belonging to the ruling Awami League government, of trying to occupy a temple as well as damaging the deity inside, at the RM Das Road, Sutrapur in old Dhaka on September 11. ‘In previous years, the government accorded proper protection to temples around the country. However, for the first time it seems that this year it has failed to do so as temples are being attacked while deities are being demolished weeks before festivals, when it should be, and this does not reflect well on the present government,’ says Lokkhon Chandra, a member of the puja committee in Sutrapur. ‘The minority population of Hindus are looking to the Awami League again to restore their freedoms which they had lost during the tenure of the previous BNP government. We have not had any evidence of the government doing so as yet,’ says Delip Roy, a secretary of Hindu parisad at Shakahari Bazaar. Delip believes that the situation will not change for Hindus in Bangladesh until the preambles of the 1972 constitution - which had been altered following the eighth amendment - based on the four principles of nationalism, secularism, democracy and socialism, are not reinstated. ‘We feel that we are treated as second class citizens of Bangladesh following the declaration of Islam as the country’s state religion. We feel discriminated. The failure to implement secularism in political and social life is a matter of great regret,’ concludes Noresh Kumer, the president of Joy Kali Mandir committee.

End

Durga Puja in Bangladesh: 2009

Over 21,900 Durga Puja Pandals come up across Bangladesh: Aswin 1416 - October 2009

Over 21,900 `mandops' (marquees) have come up across Bangladesh as Hindus Thursday began Durga Puja celebrations. The number of marquees was higher than last year, a media report said.

President Mohammed Zillur Rahman of the Muslim majority nation described Bangladesh as 'a bright example of communal harmony' and in a message on the occasion urged that all must work together to 'uphold the tradition'.
Separated from India in 1947 and from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh has had a chequered history of harmony between the majority Muslims and the Hindus, who form roughly 11.2 percent of the population.
A message from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, currently at the UN, harked back to the 'spirit of the Liberation War' - a reference to the 1971 freedom movement against Pakistan.
Hasina said: 'The government is pledge-bound to uphold the spirit and values of the war of liberation. We are aware of our constitutional obligation to protect rights of people of all religions.'
Opposition leader Khaleda Zia also issued a message wishing the Hindu community.
Durga Puja is the biggest annual religious festival of the Hindu community in which devotees worship the Hindu goddess Durga.
The origin of public celebrations of grand Durga Puja, also known as Durgotsab, can be traced back to the 15th century.
'With the ascent of the Mughals, Durga Puja became more of a status symbol those days,' The Daily Star newspaper said Thursday.
As a festival, Durga Puja was first organised by Raja Kangshanarayan of Taherpur in Rajshahi in the month of Aswin in the Bengali year 887 and then by Bhabananda Mazumdar of Nadiya in 1606, by the Gregorian calendar.
According to one version of the Hindu mythology, goddess Durga appeared in the midst of the commoners following the prayer of King Kansa.
Marking the occasion, the first Durga worship was held at Taherpur king's palace. The Puja this year has come soon after Ramzan and Eid-ul-Fitr of the Muslims.

http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?a=jjylEcdadfb&title=Over_21%2C900_Durga_Puja_marquees_come_up_across_Bangladesh

-- Mouli Ghosh Bengal Voice Communications http://www.bengalvoice.com/

Tradition Continues: Durga Puja Festivities in U.S.A.

Mother Goddess Killing Demon

Puja in My Mind
Sabyasachi Ghosh Dastidar

For the first decade of our arrival in these shores four decades ago we celebrated Puja in our minds. It was Ma’s letters from home with occasional gifts of dhuti-punjabi reminded me of our Puja. Did I miss Puja? Leaving home seven in the morning returning at six, then showering, cooking, dining, washing dishes and heading back to library by eight, and returning back after midnight didn’t leave any time for “missing.” Telephone reminders from a handful of Bengali Hindus kept Puja alive in our minds, with occasional invitation to puja dinner. In the 1970s it was common to call our friends on Bijoya Dasami, and visit some families who would prepare Bengali sweets expecting our visit: Swati and TriptiDa in Alabama, KalyaniDi in Florida. That practice continued also in Tennessee until we came to New York. In those days we celebrated Bijoya initiated by Bengali Hindus helped with delicacies by all Hindus, participated by non-Hindus including Americans.
Bengali Hindus are known for opportunism, naturally devoid of conviction and morality. New York opened our eyes again. Not only that Puja was being held on a “convenient” weekend, but our first puja was marred when one group took “jabar-dakhal” possession of puja —a tradition brought back from home—to perform a play. “Puja is irrelevant to us atheists.” As the police arrived we soon learned that “jabar-dakhal” would not be permitted while puja-loving group battled revolutionaries taking all the fun away from the joyous occasion. We celebrated in our minds! In the 1980s our fun increased as new groups competed bringing multiple pujas in New York each holding on different weekends “for convenience.” So, our tradition of celebration in our minds also continued. American lifestyle barely allowed multiple weekends of fun! However no Bengali Muslim, Bengali Christian or Bengali Buddhist held their festivities “at convenient weekends.” 1980s was opportune for our children to show off their talents in song, poetry, play and skit learned at Bangla pathshalas; Indian dance; playing of flute, sitar, veena and other instruments. Puja provided us and our children knowing many families intimately as we practiced with our children week after week for upcoming events. Pujas brought us a bit closer, unknowingly.
In the 1990s our Puja scene turned as for the first time Bangladeshi Hindus started observing Puja according to Hindu calendar, not on opportunistic weekends. Now that number has reason to over half-a-dozen in New York City alone. In spite of busy schedule hundreds of devotees came to puja each day, with many times that on weekends, which also attracted a large number of Muslims. This year some West Bengalis will celebrate Puja by Hindu calendar, while others will chant “Joi Ma Durga” on different weekends while celebrating at home in their minds on actual days keeping a tradition alive.

See, "Keeping Tradition Alive," The Hindustan Times daily of India, September 24, 2009; Puja Scope 02; www.hindustantimes.com

Bangladesh Hindus Want Rights And Justice Not Puja Dole

http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2009/09/15/bangladesh-hindus-want-rights-and-justice-not-puja-dole

Bangladesh Hindus Want Rights And Justice Not Puja Dole

By Rabindranath Trivedi

Eminent Indian writer and journalist M J Akbar speaking as keynote speaker at a seminar titled 'Meaning of Minority Politics' organised by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) in the city in December 2007, said he was saddened that Bangladesh's birth principle of 'language-centred nationhood' "was incapable of finding a polity." and said stay true to the country's founding principles.
"Out of all the countries in the Muslim world, Bangladesh had the greatest opportunity to build a modern Muslim country," he said, adding that the question of Biharis and the gradual assimilation of Jamaat-e Islami into national politics have to be addressed.
Otherwise the results will be felt long into the future, he added. Akbar disagreed with the dominant view that a minority is a group of people who are demographically outnumbered in a particular area, stressing that the category is based on perceptions. Outlining the history of Bengali Muslims to illustrate his point, he said they were affected the most as a 'minority' in the last century that have transformed their history, and in effect their lives.
Akbar said the partition of Bengal in 1905, the Indo-Pak partition in 1947 and Bangladesh's independence in 1971 were the three key events that affected Bengali Muslims as minorities. "In 1947, the Bengali Hindu Bhadrolok didn't accept Bengali Muslims because they said they were not Bengali enough, then in 1971, West Pakistanis thought Bengali Muslims were not Muslim enough," he added. ( D S 17 December 2007)
I raised my voice of descent and argued with Mr Akbar . I told him, the word minority has different connotation, particularly in Bangladesh and India. Muslim Minority in India is underprivileged but equal citizens of India. There is no constitutional bar against Muslim rights, property and state religion.
Our submission is that the word minority has its own connotation and definition. By 'minority' today we mean a disadvantaged group of citizens, who are not the privileged ones, at the top, but the under-privileged at the bottom. (Atlantes Magazine, 29th January 1975). It was thought that the Liberation of Bangladesh marked the end of a chapter of communal politics, opening up newer possibilities for the Hindus and other ethnic minorities and they would be able to play a more effective role in the political process. Minorities had also thought that Bangladesh would put an end to discrimination against them, and their loyalty to the country would no longer be questioned. But in the present-day Bangladeshi the Hindu's loyalty to the state is very much questioned. So the question arises: whither Bangladeshi Hindus?
We appeal to all of your kind attention to the very word "minority".
We mean rights granted to minorities as safeguards of their interests and help prevent discrimination against them by the majority. The U.N. Charter also recognizes the status of 'minority' and 'minority rights'. Bangladesh is one of the signatories to that charter. "The minority that desires assimilation but is barred is a 'minority by force'. The minority that refuses assimilation is a ' ‘minority by will'. The Negro-American exemplifies the former, while and the French-Canadian represents the latter. Bangladeshi minority has its own definition, they are the sons of the soil, they belong to the civilization of the soil, they are made minority by politics, policies and persecutions. It needs greater observation on the problems squarely, analyzing them in-depth. The present-day Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan until its independence in 1971.
India was partitioned on the basis of the "two-nation" theory, and Pakistan came into existence as a Muslim state in 1947. But this Muslim state was left with a large non-Muslim minority, particularly in East Bengal. The name of East Bengal was changed into East Pakistan with the introduction of the 1956 constitution in Pakistan. The Hindus constituted the bulk of the non-Muslim minority; 13 out of 14 people in the minority were Hindus. But the present-day Bangladeshi Hindus are the remnants of the partition and migration.
Keith Callard in his 'Pakistan: A Political Study' predicted that the 'Hindu community was likely to diminish in size, in wealth, and in talent' (p-265). It is true in the present context of Hindus. But the present-day Bangladeshi Hindus are classless and caste-less, the remnants of the partition and migration had participated in the creation of Bangladesh and sacrificed a lot for the cause of Bangladesh. They are not Babu Communist to quit Bangladesh only by threat, they will die –but not surrender to humiliation. They are sons of the soil, but equal rights of citizens in Bangladesh are not granted to them.
History tells us, we learn from history that we don't learn from history.In India the Sachar Committee Report on Minority in India submitted to the government on Nov.17,2006 the report gives a new dimension In Bangladesh we are also facing the acute type of crisis .
In Bangladesh, there was no such Committee for minorities in Bangladesh to identify the issues facing 2 crore minorities in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, being a minority means being a victim of oppression, torture and discrimination.
The educated Hindus, who could play a leadership role in the community, left the country. The poor, who lacked leadership qualities, stayed back. Eminent personalities of the minorities who stayed on in Bangladesh live in the cities, so there are none to look after them in times of distress. If any body raised the issues of Hindus in Bangladesh, he would be termed as ‘Communal’ or anti-Muslim. He should be condemned. Thomas Edward Brown (1830-!897) noted: “No man can justly censure or condemn another, because indeed no man truly knows another.”
The Sachar Committee Report on Minority in India submitted to the government on Nov.17,2006. The report gives a new dimension and In Bangladesh we are also facing the acute type of crisis .
M J Akbar writes: “ Will reserving seats for Muslims as category help? The instant answer is yes, if this is the way the political game is being played, then why should Muslims and Christians be excluded from the game? Almost everyone else has been allotted a piece of the cake, so why not them? Are they paying the price for being "foreign faiths," that is, religions that originated outside the Indian subcontinent? If that is the truth, then the establishment should change the truth before the people change the establishment. If that is not the truth, then someone should let us know what the truth is. (DS, 20Dec.06)
But in Bangladesh we are even lacking arguments In another piece published in the daily Star on 13 Sept 09,What has M J Akbar observed that "Indian Muslims need jobs and justice, not iftar parties." In case of Indian Muslims he genuinely asked for jobs for Muslims 'and added: Perhaps the most cynical patron of iftar parties was the late P.V. Narasimha Rao, who insisted on hosting them even after presiding over the destruction of the Babri mosque.
Maybe he was not the most cynical: worse surely were the Muslim acolytes who fawned around him, desperately trying to catch his eye to seek some reward for their presence. Rao was good at throwing handouts towards anyone who had the look of a beggar.Indian Muslims need jobs and justice, not iftar parties he added . ( DS 13 Sept 09)
Sheikh Hasina in her first term in PMO in 1997 allowed Sharadiya reception at Bangabhaban Since then the Bangladesh Government also has been organising Sharadiya Reception for Hindus. Here in Bangladesh like M J Akbar, Hindus also demand jobs and justice not dole for puja The fate of minority remains under the same wheels over sixty years.
The Hindu leadership under the umbrella of Durga Puja is a farce and a great mockery. The Durga Puja has lost its religious fervor and festivity in Bangladesh. It becomes a political bargaining factor for a class of beneficiaries. The celebration of Puja festival committees under the so-called Hindu leaders in Bangladesh is tutored and cared for by the elected Governments and army regimes.
The Puja committees in the capital and other parts of the country depend on doles and protection of law enforcing agencies. They usually organize Puja mondaps and display communal harmony in the name of Puja once a year like other festivals but in reality, besides begging, there is no security and political and economic power to earn for them.
We don't find any difference of behavior, particularly on minority issues, in administration and the nature of humiliation whether democratic regime or autocratic regime or Caretaker Government run by Emergency backed by Army rules in Bangladesh. The appeal by the Hindu leaders, contained in an advertisement published in Sangbad in January 1979,has not yet been conceded, the same demand has been orcherested over three decades.
The excerpt is given below: “It is a matter of great regret that secularism has not been implemented in political and social life. No help has been given in the reconstruction and renovation of hundreds of temples, Vihara and churches including the historic Kalibari temple of Ramna and the East Bengal Swarasta Samaj which were razed by the Pakistani occupation army. The Ramna kalibari has not been returned despite claims. The Enemy Property Act of Pakistan has been illegally retained in independent Bangladesh under a different name and this has been invoked to make hundreds of thousands of non-Muslims homeless and landless. Severe discrimination has been practiced against non-Muslims in the matter of admission in educational institutions ,trade and government services.”
What is the truth? The Daily Star in its an editorial opined :" Member of the minority community have reasons to be concerned over some recent incidents in which quite a few of their families came under attack. In the latest attempt at grabbing land, some hoodlums attacked three Hindu families in Puthia under Rajshahi district and at least 12 people had to be hospitalised with injuries. It happened only a few weeks after land grabbers, allegedly masquerading as developers, tried to evict a Hindu family from their home in Dhaka city. Such a gross violation of rights of any segment of the society will have to be dealt with an iron hand, because that is where the real test of a democratic and pluralistic society lies. ( The DS ,editorial, 3 Sept 09) .
In September 2009, the government enacted the Vested Property Return Act in 2001 amending the Vested Property Act. But, the four-party BNP-Jamaat alliance government stopped the implementation of the act by issuing an order. The caretaker government later promulgated an ordinance in this regard in 2008.
About 1.2 million households and 6 million people belonging to the Hindu community have been directly and severely affected by the Enemy/Vested Property Act. The community has lost 2.6 million acres of its own land in addition to other moveable and immovable property.
The Hindu who was a member of a joint family left this country for India without taking the share of the property was not an owner of his share. His part would remain with the family and rest of the successors would be the owner of the whole property. But the government illegally declared a part or full portion of the property as enemy property and evicts the owners from their lands. Father is the owner of the property of joint family. Sons are not the owner of the property so long as the father is alive. In this situation, if any son leaves the country for India, he is not leaving any property as enemy property because this Hindu law is still prevalent in the country.
The inheritance of property in a Hindu joint family all over Bengal is being determined by the system of Dayabhaga, not Mitakshara which is primarily practised in India. The former suggests the fact that a son inherits the property after the death of his father while according to the latter system of the Hindu inheritance rule; a son can inherit the property of his father on the very moment of his birth.
If any Hindu citizen with his legal passport was traveling India, he was also declared enemy and his property was taken over by the Government. To the contrary, thousands of Muslims were living and working in England, America and Middle East Countries etc. But their properties were not taken over by the Government. Since then the issue has been rolling with ordinances, amendments, circulars, memos, committee and so on. But no tangible action has yet been taken by the Government to solve the contentious issue of minority Hindus. We are Minorities in Bangladesh also want equal Constitutional rights , opportunities in public offices and justice M.J. Akbar writes in January 2008: The only country where Muslims were exposed to reason and logic was India,
It's an evidential fact that Hindus in Bangladesh unfortunately have been facing the music of great declination in respect of politico-economic and social status today, to the extent to which caste is declining as a social factor; it is reverting itself as a political factor.
Unfortunately for Hindus in Bangladesh they have been facing the music of great declination in respect of politico-economic and social status today. If religion is to be true to itself it must stress the worth and dignity of human personality. They should rise to the occasion and call a spade a spade. In sociological terms, Man is the total circle including both the centre and circumference. He is both self and not-self. Lord Krishna says, "Samoham sarva bhutesu, na me dvesygsti na priyah I am the same for all beings: There is none whom I hate none whom I favour"(The Holy Gita-ix/29). Brave one proudly proclaim, "I am a Hindu, a member of the great civilisation."
The sacrifices of the Hindu leadership were never acknowledged either officially or publicly. Does the nation pay respect to those departed souls? Is there any room for the Hindu leaders in the history who fought for the cause of history and the War of Liberation?In the post-August 1975, Bangladesh, Bengali, Hindu and India are equated with a typical psyche by the ruling cliché. "The existing literature on the history of Bangladesh underplays not only the inner contradictions of the Muslims of Bengal, but also other significant features of her past. It's a 'crisis of confidence'.
Rabindranath Trivedi is a former Press-Secretary to the President and Addl Press Secretary to the Prime Minister. Presently Secretary General, Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities ( HRCBM) an NGO in special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the United Nations.-

Asian Tribune -

MarichJhapi, West Bengal, India: Communist Killing of Poor Oppressed-Caste Hindu Peasants

Indian Communists Kill 128* Oppressed-Caste Poor Bangladeshi Hindu Refugees in MarichJhapi Island, Sundarbans Region, West Bengal; 1978-1979

S. G. Dastidar

MarichJhapi: West Bengal State, India

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and its junior partner Communist Party of India (CPI) came to power in West Bengal State on the backs of massive persecuted Bengali Hindu refugees who fled their ancestral home in East Pakistan/Bangladesh as anti-Hindu pogroms were unleashed in their homeland once it became a part of Islamic Pakistan. Communist parties’ main promise to the refugees was rehabilitation of refugees in the Bengali-speaking state which the Congress Party could not provide and many poor peasants were sent for rehabilitation in central Indian Dandakaranya Forest area, as well as to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. Communist parties often blocked transportation as the refugees were sent for rehabilitation in those and other areas outside Bengal which made them darling of Hindu refugees. Through a brief coalition government communists came to power in West Bengal in the 1960s, while they received absolute majority in 1977 election. By then the refugee population has reached about a third of the State’s population – giving them winning margin in election – and almost all the ruling elites of all the parties in the State was in the hands of colonizing Hindu elite privileged-caste refugees – also known as bhadralok or gentleman - as well as the bureaucracy, police, education, labor movement, health, media and more. These elites left Bangladesh/East Pakistan not choosing to live with the Muslim majority and with the majority-Hindus of oppressed castes, all the while preaching Hindu Muslim bhai bhai – Hindus and Muslims are brothers together – in India, yet doing just the opposite. Most of the elite Hindu refugees took dole – small amounts of money or land – from the struggling federal government in New Delhi, though minuscule compared to rehabilitation money given to Punjabi refugees coming to north India from West Pakistan.

After the “Friend of the Refugee” Communist government came to power in 1977 some self-motivated 30,000 peasants from the Dandakaranya Forest area migrated to a delta island called MarichJhapi, cleared the land for agriculture without any subsidy from any governments and rehabilitated them to an area much closer to their own flat and humid climate as opposed to the dry climate of Dandakaranya.

Communist-Marxist Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, himself a Bangladeshi Hindu of privileged-caste who chose not to live with his Muslim and oppressed-caste Hindu neighbors in his homeland, then moved against the poor peasants of the oppressed castes to evict them from their MarichJhapi village killing men, women and children. From 1978 to 1979 State Police fired on the unarmed peasants, stopped NGO relief boats trying to reach the island, destroyed all the boats of the villagers having them no escape route in that crocodile-infested water, starved to death men, women and children, and finally confiscated their property and destroyed their homes.
State even imposed a ban on media reporting.

One of the important books on the subject is Jagadis Chandra Mandal’s Marichjhapi: Naishabder Antaraley (Marichjhapi: Beyond silence), Sujan Publications, Calcutta; 2002.
Incidentally, at the annual Calcutta Book Fair the book’s review was published in the Fair’s journal Pustakmela (Book fair) reviewed by Ms. Jhinuk Chakrabarty titled “Ghrina O Lajjar Kalo Itihash” (The dark history of hate and shame) appearing on page 16. Within a few hours of initial distribution all the copies of the journal was confiscated, and in lightening speed appeared copies of new journal. On page 16 appeared a review of Mr. Jyoti Bhusan Chaki’s book for children replacing the review of Marichjhapi book.

Here are some of the facts as appeared in the book:

A. Number of people missing (killed): 128, list of names appear on page 111 through 114 of the book;
B. People kept in Alipur and Basirhat Prisons: 26, list of names appear on page 115;
C. Residents arrested on January 31, 1979 and kept at other prisons: 130, list of names appear on page 116 through 119;
D. Villagers arrested on January 24, 1979 for collecting rice for feeding their families: 30, list of names appear on page 120;
E. Country boats confiscated from January 24, 1979 through February 11, 1979: 163, list of names of owners of the boats appear on page 121 through 125;
F. Personal property confiscated from January 24, 1079 through February 24, 1979: 113, partial list of names of head of household appear on page 126 through 131.
Source: Raiharan Baroi, General Secretary, All-India Refugee Improvement Committee, Netajinagar (Marichjhapi), Post Office: KumirMari, District: 24 Pargana, West Bengal; as quoted in Jagadis Chandra Mandal.

 (*) A 2019 book, Blood Island: An Oral History of the Marichjhapi Massacre by Deep Halder (Harper Collins, Noida, India) claims that over 10,000 oppressed-caste Bangladeshi/Pakistani Hindu Refugee peasants of estimated 150,000 who came for self-resettlement from Dandakaranya Refugee Resettlement area were killed by the privileged-caste Bangladesh/Pakistani Hindu refugee rulers of West Bengal Government (Page 11). The Left opposed federal Congress Party Government for resettlement of pogrom-affected Bangladeshi/Pakistani Hindu refugees in Dandakarnya for settlement in 'Bengali' West Bengal state.

YouTube - Marichjhapi Massacre Part-I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQfTilDOj-E

YouTube - Marichjhapi Massacre Part-I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-6nPWknqaE&feature=related

Review of Mandal's book for an Indian human rights publication, 2003:

Marichjhapi: Naishabder Antaraley [Marichjhanpi: beyond silence] in Bengali, by Jagadis Chandra Mandal, Sujan Publications, 7-B Lake Place, Calcutta 700 029, India; Rs. 150; 192 pages.

By Dr. S. G. Dastidar

Once in a rare while a book appears as a landmark in the annals of socio-political history, Marichjhapi: Naishabder Antaraley [Marichjhanpi: beyond silence] is one such book. Marichjhapi is a name of a small island in the Sundarban mangrove swamp of the Ganga [Hooghly] delta of West Bengal. Now it is also the name of an idea: The brutal oppression of the poor hapless peoples by the ruling party of an Indian state, West Bengal. This poor group belonged to the oppressed-caste Bangladeshi Hindu refugees, mostly peasant, fishermen and agrarian working class. While the rulers were the Left Front of the Communist Party of India-Marxist [CPM], in association with several other Communist, Marxist and socialist parties. The ruling class belonged to the elite privileged caste, bhadralok, gentlemen, class, Hindu refugee from Bangladesh.

As Bengal was partitioned in 1947, eastern Bengal became a part of Islamic Pakistan. Pogroms and massacres by Islamists created tens of millions of Hindu refugees, initially mostly belonging to the educated and landed privileged caste. East Pakistan became Bangladesh after a bloody Liberation War in 1971. Communist Party of India led a successful campaign of blaming the partition of the ruling Indian National Congress Party, and in turn, organizing the refugees and catching the imagination of these disenfranchised population[1]. Bangladeshi Hindu refugees, almost a third of West Bengal’s population[2] [and almost 70% of another Bengali-speaking state of India - Tripura,] became the backbone of the Communist and left movements of Bengali-speaking India, West Bengal included. While in opposition, when the state was ruled by the Congress Party, Communist Party opposed any settlement of refugees in Dandakaranya forest area of central India or to the Andaman Islands, in favor of resettlement in West Bengal. This continued till 1975 [p 1]. In 1977 the CPM led Left Front, proclaimed as ‘the friend of the Bangladeshi Hindu refugee,’ came to power in West Bengal. In March 1978 over 100,000 refugees left Dandakaranya refugee camps for West Bengal. This time the refugees used their own resources, unlike the state help received by the elite, privileged castes, to travel and to resettle themselves. 30,000 of them reached the island of Marichjhapi. But to secure their new-found power, the privileged-caste Communists would use the state machinery - police, paramilitary, and party cadre, armed thugs, anti-social elements against the oppressed-caste rural, unsophisticated refugees. During successive armed assaults hundreds of women, men and children were killed, women and girls raped and hundreds more were starved to death. The entire island was quarantined for days, not allowing any food or help to reach them. No journalist or social worker were allowed to visit the dying. This is the only book of this kind which chronologically lists such a tragic event in the Indian, Bengali and of the Left history of India. Marichjhapi: Naishabder Antaraley’s strength is its treasure trove of letters, memos and documents ever published. Its appendix is another great asset. Mr. Mandal has also painstakingly collected names of 123 ‘missing’ individuals [Appendix 3-chhaw], those who were incarcerated at Alipur and Bashirhat jails - 52 [3-jaw], at other jails - 130 [3- jhaw] to the number of country boats destroyed - 163 [3- taw], to the names of girls and women raped - 23 [3 - ooa], to the number of men, women, children and babies were starved to death - 239 [3 - ghaw], and lot more. The author raises the question himself as to ‘Why it is being published 23 years after the mass murder?’ [ p chaw]. One may answer by asking another question: Did it take 23 years to intolerance of the Left to loosen? Possibly not. Incredibly many self-critical Left intellectuals in West Bengal call their situation as ‘fundamentalism and intolerance of the Left.’ When the book was first released in Calcutta during the annual Book Fair, the Publishers and Book Sellers’ Guild’s quarterly newsletter, Pushtakmela [book fair] published a review of the book by Ms. Jhinuk Chakrabarty, “Lajja and ghrinar kalo itihash” [Dark history of shame and hatred, Baisakh-Ashar 1409, April-June 2002; pp 16-18]. Only after distribution of a few copies of the journal, the entire stock was confiscated by the Party cadres and state Communist officials. A new version of the entire journal reappeared with Jhinuk Chakrabarty’s book review completely censored out, with another article appeared on pages 16 through 18, in the progressive-run Calcutta. In its historic importance this book parallels the Marginal Men of Prafulla Chakrabarti. I only wish the book was published in English for a wider readership. This book is not only a labor of love, but also a successful outcome of strong determination in the face of state sponsored terror.

[1] Prafulla K. Chakrabarti, The Marginal Men, Lumiere Books, Kalyani, India; 1990
[2] See S. G. Dastidar, “Demographic Changes in Bangladesh and West Bengal: A Comparative Analysis,” in Women, Development, Devotionalism and Development in John Thorp [Ed], Michigan University Press; 1986.

Additional Links:

 

MarichJhapi, Bartaman Patrika, Kolkata (Calcutta), India; January 20, 2010

 

MarichJhapi, Bartaman Patrika, Kolkata, India; January 21, 2010

 

Bartaman Patrika, Kolkata, India, Editorial on MarichJhapi, January 22, 2012

মরিচঝাঁপি ‘ভ্যানিশ’ (সম্পাদক সমীপেষু, আনন্দবাজার। ১৭ই ফেব্রুয়ারি, ২০১৫)

"সম্প্রতি সুন্দরবন ভ্রমণে যাই। মরিচঝাঁপি দ্বীপে বসতি স্থাপনকে কেন্দ্র করে বাঙালি উদ্বাস্তুরা যে নৃশংস অত্যাচারের সম্মুখীন হয়েছিলেন সে বিষয়ে অতীতে পড়াশোনা করেছিলাম। বামফ্রন্ট সরকারের নির্দেশে ১৯৭৮ সালের সেপ্টেম্বর থেকে ১৯৭৯ সালের জানুয়ারি পর্যন্ত উদ্বাস্তুদের উপর সংগঠিত সেই বর্বরোচিত আক্রমণকে জালিয়ানওয়ালাবাগ হত্যাকাণ্ডের সমগোত্রীয়ই বলা যায়। তাই গভীর আগ্রহে চাক্ষুষ করতে চেয়েছিলাম সেই কুখ্যাত দ্বীপটিকে।

আমাদের লঞ্চের চালক দূর থেকে দেখিয়ে দেন জনবসতিহীন সেই দ্বীপটি, যার অবস্থান কুমিরমারি দ্বীপের বিপরীতে, নদীর অপর পারে। কিন্তু ভীষণ অবাক হলাম যখন দেখলাম যে, ফিল্ড ডিরেক্টর সুন্দরবন টাইগার রিজার্ভ কর্তৃক প্রকাশিত পর্যটন মানচিত্রে মরিচঝাঁপি দ্বীপটির উল্লেখই নেই। সরকারি গাইডকে কারণ জিজ্ঞেস করলে তিনি অত্যন্ত বিরক্ত হয়ে বললেন, রাজনৈতিক উদ্দেশ্য নিয়ে আসা বা পাঠানো এক দল লোক অবৈধ ভাবে যে দ্বীপ দখল করতে চেয়েছিল সেটির নাম সরকারি মানচিত্রে না থাকাই ভাল। জনগণকে দ্বীপটির নাম জানানোই উচিত নয়।

অর্থাৎ জনমানস থেকে সরকারি কলঙ্ক-কাহিনির চিহ্নটি মুছে ফেলতে হবে। বিকৃত করতে হবে ইতিহাসকে। যে অপচেষ্টা যুগ যুগ ধরে চালিয়ে এসেছেন নিপীড়ক শাসকরা।"

- গোবিন্দ বিশ্বাস। বারাসত, উত্তর চব্বিশ পরগনা।

http://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/সম-প-দক-সম-প-ষ-1.115674

To the Editor,  Anandabazar Patrika (Kolkata), 17 February 2015

MarichJhapi "Vanish"

"Recently went to Sundarbans for a visit. In the past I studied a lot about the settlement built by Bengali refugees and the unbelievable atrocities faced by them. At the direction of the Left Front Government they organized barbaric attack on them between September of 1978 and January of 1979 which is comparable to the Jalinwalabagh slaughter. That is why I wanted to see for myself that demonic island.

Our launch (boat) operator showed us from distance that desolate island, which is just opposite of  Kumarmari island, on the opposite side. But I was extremely surprised when I saw the absence of mention of that island in the map published by the Field Director of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve. When I asked the government guide about the reason, he was very irritant and said, for political reasons (people) came here or were sent illegally to occupy an island then it is best that the state map does not include that. People should not be told of that island at all.

Because from people's mind that shameful event must be erased. We must distort the history. This is what the oppressive rulers have done for ages. "

-- Gobindo Biswas, Barasat, Uttar Chobbish Pargana (PaschimBanga or West Bengal)

Globalization of Bengali Literature: Then and now in the 21st Century

Globalization of Bengali Literature: Then and now in the 21st Century

Sabyasachi Ghosh Dastidar

If one has to talk about globalization of Bengali, or Bangla, as the theme of 2009 Muktadhara New York Book Fair, one may ask is our beloved Bengali becoming more popular around-the-world, or loosing its significance? Are more outsiders learning Bengali these days than before? Let me first look back at the recent past of Bengali literature.

Bengalis and their literature has gone through four distinct and glorious periods of possible “globalization,” or more correctly significant development beginning in the early 19th Century drawing notice from her neighbors – the larger Indian culture to which we belong. Those four periods are (1) the Bengal Renaissance, Indian Renaissance and the Hindu Reform Movement of early 1800s, (2) the Indian Nationalist Movement coupled with anti-1905 Bengal partition – the Banga-Vanga-Birodh – movement, and the Self-reliant or Swadeshi Movement of early 1900s, ending in partition of India and Bengal in 1947, (3) the Bengali Language Movement that began in earnest in 1948 at Pakistan Parliament but culminated on February 21, 1952, the Ekushey or Twenty-first, the Language Martyr’s Day, and finally (4) the 1971 War of Liberation of Bangladesh and post-Liberation pride in all-things-Bengali. The Renaissance led by Raja Ram Mohon and Hindu Reform Movement were influenced by a large number of luminaries like Vidyasagar, Sri Ramakrishna, Brahmo Samaj, Young Bengal and Vivian DeRozio. As this era was associated in pride in Mother Bengal, Mother India and their native culture and their mother tongue, all the luminaries wrote their ideas in Bengali, the language they spoke. Anglicization hadn’t taken a firm hold in Bengali minds yet. For the first time Bengal’s State work was being conducted in Bengali, until then the Muslim rulers of Bengal used Persian for their State business. Exceptions to the rule were the Maharajas of Tripura and Cooch Behar who used Bengali in their administration. Writings of leaders of Renaissance and religious reformers were the beginning of modern Bengali literature. A large part of that discourse was on religion, especially Hindu religion including the rot within Hindu practices. Almost four hundred years after Sri Chaitanya’s pacifist Vaishnavism-driven art, music and literature Bengal witnessed flowering of Bengali literature unparallel anywhere in India since the Middle Ages. The religious movements of Brahmo Samaj and Hindu Reformation competed with each other to capture the Bengali and Indian minds enriching Bengali literature which included questioning the religious practices and Hinduism itself. (Questioning Bengal’s other main religion Islam was not practiced, although Bengali Muslims like Rokeya Begum and Nazrul Islam in the early 20th Century attempted to advance reformist ideas in Muslim culture, as Syed Ahmad Khan attempted in northern India. Their effect on the Muslim society was marginal at best.)

Bengal and Indian Renaissance led to the rise of Indian nationalism where Bengali nationalism complimented Indian nationalism. When people wrote about Banga Mata or Mother Bengal it was not a secessionist mother but a reincarnation of Bharat Mata or Mother India. Bengali nationalists – Hindu and Muslim – often said it is like strengthening an arm strengthens the entire body. Devotion to God played an immense role in the modern Bengali literature of Renaissance and post-Renaissance. This period produced not only writers and philosophers, but also poets, composers, singers and theologians like Bankim Chandra, Michael Madhusudan, D. L. Roy, Rabindranath, Abanindranath, Rokeya, Kazi Nazrul, RajaniKanto, Hasan Raja, Vivekananda, Mir Mosharaf, Sarat Chandra, Dinabandhu Andrews, AtulPrasad, David Hare, Mukunda Das, Swami Pranavananda, Rev. Lal Behari Dey, Sri Aurobindo and so many more. This was a period when rest of India – and Europeans arriving in India and wanting to know Indian and Hindu cultures – learned Bengali to understand the culture of India. One can argue that this was a period of “globalization” of Bengali – if one can use that term. Religion and religious literature played a very important roles for non-Bengalis’ attraction to learn Bengali. And those religions were caste-less Vaishnavism of Hinduism, new thinking of Brahmo religion, and the liberal-reformed Hinduism of Vidyasagar and Sri Ramakrishna. Non-religious secular literature as we understand today was yet to mature and small in volume to attract beyond India. Yet this flowering of Bengali almost stopped with the partition of Bengal in 1947 as if by divine symbolism Kazi Nazrul’s pen fell silent at the same time! This pre-partition period witnessed the rise of Mahatma Gandhi-led Indian Independence Movement and Mohammad Ali Jinnah-led separatist Muslim Pakistan Movement which led to partition of Bengal and marginalization of Muslim-majority East Bengal in Pakistan and Hindu-majority West Bengal in India. Thus marginalization of second-largest linguistic group in India and fifth-largest in the world began.

It seems it was not just Nazrul whose pen froze with partition, but the entire Bengali nation and their literature – Muslim and Hindu – came to a halt. Who can we cite a star similar to those mentioned earlier? A victim of partition was in her religious identity and writings, music and dance on Mother Bengal as it was associated with Hinduism. In East Pakistan pan-Muslim identity took a front seat as opposed to the Bengali-Muslim identity that drew strength from the pre-Islam and post-Islam Bengal, her festivities and rituals rising from its soil. The new mood was a reaffirmation of the rising Islamic identity with the rise of Muslim League’s influence in Bengal. The saying, “We are Muslim, and they are Bengali” meaning Hindu Bengali was reinforced for some time. It would take almost 75 years from a Bengali homecoming revolution started by Roekya, Mosharaf, and Nazrul that was completed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the Bengali nation. But this process of reinventing our identity also continued in Hindu-majority West Bengal in India. Ironically there rose a different form of anti-Bengali anti-nativist-Hindu, anti-nationalist atheist politics in the name of Left, secularism and Communism. Strangely the people who promoted this were none other than the East Bengali Hindu refugees who chose not to live with their Muslim-majority neighbors and oppressed-caste poor Hindu neighbors while preaching “Hindu-Muslim bhai bhai” (Hindus and Muslims are brothers together) yet saying to themselves “kintu tader sangey bash nai” (but don’t live with them as neighbors.) Thus two main sources of literature were taken off of the Bengali narratives: Bengal-based devotional and religious literature, and that of nation-based literature which had attracted outsiders to Bengali literature. In post-1947 era two Bengalis were reaching out to the outside world not as leaders in their own right but as part of a larger world of Islam for Muslim East Bengalis and to Marxist world through the Left and Communist politics of Hindus of West Bengal.

1952 witnessed a new assertion of East Bengalis, Hindu and Muslim, especially of Muslim East Bengalis towards their love of the language. Yet because of press censorship, propaganda and restrictions on travel that revolution did not reach the other half of Bengal, or more specifically, Indian Bengalis. But the language nationalism was on yet restricted to East Pakistan only. This march continued until 1971 when the East Bengalis took the center stage of world politics and her courage, culture and language came to the attention of the entire globe. This brought the two Bengalis a bit closer for a short time since the straw curtain of 1947, but soon vitiated by communal politics of West Bengali Communists – most of whom were of Bangladesh-Hindu origin who left Muslim-majority Bangladesh for Hindu-majority India – yet chanting “Yahya-Mujib ak hai,” perpetrator of genocide General Yahya Khan and undisputed winner of Pakistan election Mujibur Rahman leading the persecuted majority-Bengali are the same and one, and “Indira-Yahya ak hai,” mass killer Yahya Khan and liberator of Bangladesh Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi are the same and one. As a result the literary force that could expand as a culturally-unified linguistic group fell victim to a new divisiveness. Still learning of Bengali at home received full State support in Bangladesh ushering a new era in Bengali culture. With new passports Bengalis, especially Bangladeshis, now reached seven corners of the world globalizing them, rather than their science, industry and literature globalizing as many had wished for. The ray of hope was finally quashed with the murder of Sheikh Mujib in 1975 in favor of an Arabic- and Urdu-Islamism rejecting Bengal’s pre- and post-Islam Hindu past and composite Hindu-Muslim literary heritage. It was not really a murder of an individual but an idea. Simultaneously the Communists, led by Bangladeshi Hindus who left their home for “Hindu India,” came to power in West Bengal in 1977 rejecting the idea of Bengali, Indian and Hindu nationalism in favor atheist militancy negating the Bengal’s Hindu and Muslim past and their literary heritage in favor of Marxist literature of China and Russia. Who read those besides fundamentalist Marxists? In this process Bengali literature instead of globalizing, the Bengalis themselves started the process of marginalizing in favor of either Islamism or Marxism. Since then that process of marginalization of the Bengali and Bengali literature is continuing.

The plight of Bengali language and literature can be summed up through the lens of universities in the United States: shrinkage. Thirty years ago universities who offered any Indian language was most likely to be Bengali, excluding Sanskrit and Tibetan. However, thirty years later it is to the contrary. Now there are more colleges who offer Hindi or Hindi-Urdu than Bengali, additionally Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi and other languages are also offered. From 1950s through 1970s if universities offered Bengali it is was less to do with Rabindranath and Bankim – which was important – but it was the literature of Vaishnavism – Sri Chanitanya and post-Chaitanya era, Brahmo literature, writings associated with Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Aurobindo, of Hindu-Muslim puthi literature – mostly related to devotion to God, Islam, Mother Kali, or with native-Bengali-Hindu religion that post-partition Bengal rejected. All the Bengali-proficient American and European friends I personally know fall into this category. Then there are a few who learned Bengali in post-Bangladesh period were anthropologists who went to Bangladesh to learn about the newly emerging post-Liberation society.

From Bengal partition of 1947 to 2009 in the 21st Century Bengalis will be hard pressed to find a single individual who has attracted international acclaim for his/her literature. We are fortunate to have stalwarts like Nobel-winning Mother Teresa, Amartya Sen and Mohammad Yunus. Accidentally their work has to do with our poverty and human degradation, and in case of Sen it also had to do with our famine, not popular subjects for globalization of a language, and most of their writings are in English. Even Satyajit Ray’s Oscar fame had to do with poverty through the narratives of Bibhuti Bhusan – a pre-partition story teller. The true beauty of our land, the green-and-gold of the countryside, free-flowing rivers, the dirt paths of rural Bengal, flowering of shiuli during Sarawasti Puja, the baul-matua-murshidi-kirtan songs, the drum-beat of our festivities so eloquently narrated by Jibanananda and Jashimuddin are not attraction enough for globalization of a language in the midst of rising intolerance of Communism or Islamism, and routine violence and daily strikes associated with political extremism. It is not the global community but it is the Bengalis at home who have changed their focus from their own language. Bangladesh which attained a secular nationhood through a language movement – two hundred years since the French Revolution which brought the French-speaking people together – now has her preamble to Constitution written in Arabic replacing Bengali alphabet. When the Communist government of West Bengal opened a new university in North Bengal it chose its emblem in Hindi script over Bengali. Even the Calcutta University and Calcutta Corporation two of the oldest institutions of Colonial British India have Bengali in their emblems but not in Communist-ruled West Bengal who otherwise has banned learning of English and Hindi in schools so that poor Bengalis can’t link up with rest of India or with rest of the world. (Ministers send their kids and grandkids to private English-medium schools. Minister often lectures in English to Bengali audience that I once objected to a minister.) A new generation of Bengali or Bengal-born or Bengal-ancestry – but not with strong linguistic and religious identity – has attained fame lately writing in English. Some of them are Bharati Mukherji, Jhumpa Lahiri, Amitav Ghosh, Suketu Mehta, Vikram Seth, Monica Ali, Chitra Banerji Devakaruni, and Tahmina Anam. Such is the reality. Today in Bangladesh and in West Bengal the trickle of foreign visitors are mainly associated with religion: visitors to Mother Teresa’s mission, visitors from Arab countries wanting to spread the new Wahabi Islam, followers of Srila Prabhupada’s ISKON who consider Sri Chanitanya as their first guru, visitors to Ramakrishna Mission, and followers of Sri Chinmoy. (In 2009 when my Marxist-American friends visited West Bengal, hardly any Bengali Marxist could be found who wanted to have a discourse with him. On the other hand in 2008 when some of my foreign friends visited Bangladesh they found delight in socializing with religious folks.) Some of the foreigners who are trying to Islamize Bengal Bengali literature is inconsequential to them than the literature of the religion written in foreign languages. This is also true who are trying Christianize Bengal, but less so. Once an assistant headmaster of an Islamic madrassa school complained to me the sad plight of Bengali literature in his curriculum as that was considered unimportant. The urge to learn Bengali literature for the last three Hindu-oriented groups is true but they are looked as Bengal-lovers by West Bengali atheist rulers, and are considered as nuisance rather than true friends of Bengal which they are. Nevertheless, one can argue that through West Bengal a little bit of Bengalization has taken place in India. But then again as Bangladesh and West Bengal has different definition of what is “Bengali” this may be challenged by some. The first is “Bengali” name. At one time names like Sabyasachi, Shefali, Shuvo, Joyeeta, Pratima, Amitava, Shiuli, Sujata, Meghna, Januma, Atreyi were known as “Bengali” name. But no more. Now one can find such names from Kerala to Kashmir and from Manipur to Mumbai. Then there are the words like dada (older brother), didi (older sister), ma and baba; and such items like wearing of conch wedding sankha bangles and wearing of “Bengali-style” sari, and men’s dhuti-punjabi popularized by none other than Hindi movies. Even Bengali festivities of Durga Puja of the Mother Goddesses and Kali Puja have gone all-India. I am not sure if these amounts to any globalization of our literature, but in the periphery it creates some attraction to all-things-Bengali. In an age of increasing marginalization, I am happy at least some aspects of our language and culture are still attractive to outsiders. In New York if one sees a white or a black American walking down the street in sari she is most likely to be followers of Bengali Sri Chinmoy or Srila Prabhupada. Same is true when we find an adult attending our pathshala to learn Bengali. One more sign of hope is our second generation who are going in droves to Bangla pathshalas when they are in K-12 school and taking Bengali classes while at college. Through their writing they may not propagate Bengali literature but at least is spreading the knowledge of Bengal. I thank them for this. I thank Muktadhara and Biswajit Saha who have single-handedly kept the flame of globalization of Bengali alive as well as bringing divided Bengalis of the Subcontinent closer. As if he is trying to bring a separated couple back together by retying their wedding knot. For Muktadhara and for rest of us let me pray, “banglar maati, banglar jal, punya houk, punya houk hey bhagaban,” O God, let the soil of Bengal, water of Bengal be blessed for ever!

See Anrarkatik Bangla Utsab (International Bangla Festival) 2009 Smarak Grantha (Commemorative Book), June 26-28, 2009, published by Muktadhara Foundation Inc., New York; 43-45

Hindu Monks and Nuns Killed by anti-Hindu and Communist Party Activists

Hindu Monks and Nuns Killed by anti-Hindu and Communist Party Activists in Hindu-majority Kolkata, West Bengal and India

Sachi G. Dastidar

   The group of Hindu monks and nuns belonged to Ananda Marg Order, headquartered in Kolkata. Sadly hardly any 'progressive' or so-called 'liberal press' of the West asked for prosecution of mass murderers in the heart of 'progressive' city of Kolkata/Calcutta which was a leader of India's independence movement.

  Even after a decade of 'investigation' the anti-communist Trinamool Congress Government of West Bengal hasn't moved an iota (in 2010) either in arresting or in prosecuting the killers.

 



The Side Wall of the Bridge where Some of the Monks and Nuns were Murdered

The Congested Bijan Setu - Kasba Bridge

The Busy Sidewalk next to the Bridge


Kasba-Ballyganj Bijan Setu Bridge

Hindu Monks and Nuns Killed in Hindu-majority Calcutta, West Bengal State, India by an-Hindu Mob and Communist Cadres

on April 30, 1982

at Prestigious Ballyganj Neighborhood;

700 yards from Gariahat Police Station

and 1.5 miles from Kasba Police Station;

 

Communist-Marxist Chief Minister of West Bengal Jyoti Basu

does not arrest a single murderer

17 monks and nuns were first beaten,

then doused with gasoline,

finally set on fire.

Some of the bodies could not be identified.

DAYLIGHT MURDER OF 17 HINDU SANNYASI/SANNYASINI (MONKS & NUNS [FEMALE MONKS]) ON APRIL 30, 1982 AT BIJAN SETU (KASBA BRIDGE),* BALLYGUNJ, SOUTH CALCUTTA

Avadhuta Ananda Prachete (Nun)
A second nun (unidentified)
Acharya Birendra Brahmachari
Acharya Venkateshswarananda Avaduta
Acharya Jagmohan Brahmachari
Acharya Arteshvarananda Avaduta
Acharya Girishananda Avaduta
Acharya Sutreshvarananda Avaduta
Acharya Bhaveshvarananda Avaduta
Acharya Parashivananda Avaduta
Sri Shriramraghuvar of Jaipur (follower of Marg order)
Acharya Vraja Gopal Brahmachari
Acharya Kamaleshananda Avaduta
Acharya Kripashivananda Avaduta
Acharya Sadavrata Brahmachari
Acharya Adishivananda Avaduta
Acharya Pratistananda Avaduta

Note: Several articles appeared in Calcutta newspapers. A booklet on documenting the killing,

Maron yagyer pariprekshitey kayekti prashna (Some questions in light of the killing spree), A.C. Haramatmananda Avaduta, 527 VIP Nagar, E. M. Bypass, Calcutta 700 098; undated

Note: The ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) was defeated in election in West Bengal State of India by the All India Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) in 2011 by a huge margin. The newly formed TMC government in West Bengal ordered a judicial probe into that mass murder when no killer was arrested by then ruling CPM government. 
   *****************************************************************

Times of India

Panel to probe death of Ananda Margis

TNN Mar 8, 2012,

KOLKATA: The state government on Wednesday formed an inquiry commission, headed by retired high court judge Justice Santosh Kumar Faujdar, to probe the killings of 16 monks and a sanyasin belonging to the Ananda Marg on Bijan Setu, near Ballygunge, on April 30, 1982, announced state law and judicial minister Malay Ghatak announced this at Writers' Buildings.

The incident involved massacre of 17 Ananda Margis on the Bijan Setu, adjoining the Ballygunge railway station. They were apparently torched to death.

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Bartaman Patrika, Kolkata, India

http://bartamanpatrika.com/detailNews.php?cID=12&nID=163988
May 1 2019

আনন্দমার্গের মিছিল

নিজস্ব প্রতিনিধি, কলকাতা: আনন্দমার্গের ১৭ জন সন্ন্যাসী-সন্ন্যাসিনী হত্যার ৩৭ বছর পূর্তি উপলক্ষে মঙ্গলবার একটি মৌন মিছিলের আয়োজন করা হয়েছিল। আনন্দমার্গ প্রচারক সঙ্ঘের উদ্যোগের এই কর্মসূচি পালন করা হয়। বিজন সেতু গিয়ে মিছিলটি শেষ হয়। মিছিলে একাধিক বিশিষ্টজন পা মেলান। মিছিল শেষে এক সভায় তাঁরা বলেন, নীতিবাদকে যতক্ষণ না প্রতিষ্ঠিত করা হবে, আত্মকেন্দ্রিক নেতাদেরই জন্ম হবে। এই হত্যাকাণ্ডের তদন্ত বিচারপতি অমিতাভ লালা কমিশন তদন্ত করছে। আনন্দমার্গ আশা রাখে, প্রকৃত সত্যি বেরিয়ে আসবে।

(In 37 years no one has been arrested, nor any one has been prosecuted; neither by Communist-Marxist-run administration - who organized this mass Hindu murder in Hindu-majority West Bengal in Hindu-majority India - nor by the ruling (2010s) anti-Communist TrinaMool Congress Party led by Ms. Mamata Banerjee. This is the silent - mouna - protest as in earlier years. This demonstration in 2019 is in remembrance of that barbaric mass murder.)

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2016 Silent March at Ballygunj, Kolkata, India

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Another Silent Mouna March