Kolkata College Violence: Politicians Of Future?

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!