Sandeshkhali in West Bengal is symbolic of the ills plaguing the present-day society in several states. A set of women from poor background, or tribals, have come to the fore with complaints that the ruling Trinamool Congress leaders of the area are harassing them, raping them, and grabbing their land. The police, they say, were of no help and were rather helping the Trinamool gangs perpetrate such cruel acts on them. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s silence for days and her accusation that the opposition BJP was behind such upheavals are condemnable; more so after the Calcutta High Court took cognizance of the matter and allowed opposition leaders to visit the affected areas.
Allegations from the TMC side are that the BJP is trying to turn this into tribals versus minorities confrontation, by citing the fact that the main “villain” of these condemnable acts is TMC leader and zilla parishad member Sheikh Shahjahan, a Muslim. Clearly, the nearly two-week-long protests by women have embarrassed Chief Minister Banerjee and raised questions about her claim to being a champion of women – a claim that helped rally women across various sections in West Bengal behind her in successive elections. In fact, the main vote bank for Banerjee comprised women and the Muslims apart from a cross-section of the population that is anathema to the Leftists. The chief minister’s claim that no one has come forward to file an FIR so far in respect of the complaints is ludicrous, considering that it is difficult if not impossible for an impoverished village woman to do so. Besides, the police too are complicit with the perpetrators of the heinous acts. But finally they collectively rose as one and did a public chest-beating about the ordeal they were allegedly put through by the ruling party gangsters.
That some of these accused men hold elected posts is a sad commentary on the way the ‘representation’ system in our democracy has been hijacked by muscle-flexing, anti-socials with major backing from established political parties. Such reprehensible acts might be happening not just in West Bengal but other states too, where the police are at the beck and call of the ruling party politicians. With considerable grit and determination, the women of Sandeshkhali have come forward to seek a halt to the reign of terror. It’s up to the chief minister to act in an impartial manner and book the guilty. If false accusations were levelled at the instigation of the BJP, those who did it and those who were behind it should be brought to book. Filing a suo motu FIR by itself would not exonerate the authorities from the charges of complicity in the acts of rape, land-grab and more on hapless people.
