Times of West
Bengal, a state of eastern India, seem to be marching step-in-step with the
increasing intolerance shown by its Chief Minister Mamata Bannerji to almost
everybody living in her state—from writers, journalists, cartoonists, rape
victims to even foreign investors. As we have often referred to her in these
pages ‘merciless’ Mamata promised a new beginning by uprooting the 34-year-old
stagnant and autocratic rule of the Left in May, 2011 and by bringing her Trinamool
(grass-roots) Congress (TMC) overwhelmingly into power. But over time she has
managed exactly to shake up those very grass-roots of West
Bengal. She has managed to antagonize political parties and
citizens alike thus creating an unhealthy atmosphere of mistrust, doubt and
malevolence. Today we have witnessed another shame happening to this state
known once for having a most literate, cultured and sensitive population.
It was just a
college in prime Kolkata that like any other college is supposed to impart
education on the students. And it was just a day when nominations were to be
finalized for the college union elections. But maybe discarding education
completely and taking lessons from the political behavior rampant in this
country called the largest democracy of the world students came well prepared
for the occasion—with guns, crude bombs and all other ‘political’ weapons.
The rival unions
had to be the student wings of the TMC and the Congress for the simple reason
that Congress could not manage to come to power last time and that Mamata
walked out of the Congress led ruling coalition of India in apparently utter disgust.
The role of the Left union could not be put in the ‘right’ perspective till the
last reports came in. The students though were in the right political
perspective and their ‘dedicated’ and ‘inspired’ behavior must have made Indian
politics proud. And violence was the only possible result. .
It was the most
shameful and ugly outburst of violence coming from none other than the
students—the future of India.
They lunged for each other’s blood and there was absolute chaos with smoke,
fires and brickbats piercing the broad daylight. The shame was complete when a
police sub-inspector on duty got the bullet and was declared brought dead at
the nearby hospital. Scores of others got injured in the mindless violence. And
what followed was equally shamefully political—passing the buck and more blame
game.
Future
politicians of the largest democracy of the world in the making? Grief!
