Hardly has the heat around the recent religious violence in Bengal’s Purulia and Raniganj districts subsided, and the citizens of both Bengal and the rest of the country are in for another rude shock. The Kashmir syndrome, i.e mass exodus of Hindus following concerted attacks against their community by the special community, which had haunted the Kairana district of Uttar Pradesh and was instrumental in throwing the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav out of power, has now returned to haunt Indians once again, this time in the state of West Bengal.
This time, the exodus of Hindus is happening in the Asansol district of Bengal, not very far away from the site of violence in Raniganj. The violence in Raniganj had resulted in the Ram Navami Pandal being set ablaze, and the DCP of Asansol Arindam Dutta Chaudhary almost losing his right hand with several flesh injuries, courtesy a petrol bomb being hurled at him.
Source: ABP News report
Before delving deep into the issue, let us quickly recap the incidents that had followed the procession on the occasion of Ram Navami. Defying arbitrary diktats, a large procession organized by jointly by RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal and other like-minded organizations took a tour of the entire Raniganj district. It was passing through the Muslim majority town of Bardhaman, where the procession was attacked with stones, petrol bombs, flare torches etc., which resulted in the Ram Navami Pandal being set ablaze, and the subsequent injuries of as many as six to seven people as per the official count, one of them even succumbing to it.
The repercussions of the Raniganj violence didn’t take very long to reach Asansol, where fresh violence broke out following the incident. Though Section 144 has been imposed in the town, with a huge deployment of RAF as well as local police personnel, another incident has now cropped up which would make every Indian hang their heads in shame.
Following the massive violence in Asansol, which has reduced the local groceries and vegetable markets to cinders, the Hindus have started migrating to less volatile areas. In an interview with the ABP News, which was the first channel to cover the issue, some of the migrants said this:
“We are moving to safer locations……..We are taking our families to the places where the population of Muslims is quite less.”
“Mamata Banerjee is doing nothing for Hindus…”
Yes, these are the very words of the people who’re now forced to leave their homes, thanks to rampant hooliganism in Bengal and the overt minority appeasement being practiced by the incumbent chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Her soft corner for Muslims at the cost of law and order in the state, is notorious throughout the country.
Though this sort of exodus is not new to India, which has suffered such shameful incidents before as well, be it the Kashmiri holocaust or the recent Kairana exodus (though Yogi Adityanath has improved the situation a lot in the latter, compelling the migrants to come back), these incidents seem to be slowly and steadily testing the patience of the majority.
From our childhood, we’re taught that India is a SOVEREIGN SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, with no room for religious discrimination. Yet, such incidents, coupled with blatant disregard for the Hindus who are generally the victims, force us to think otherwise.
With the exodus of Hindus in West Bengal, the onus clearly lies on chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who seems to have shamelessly allowed goons to have a free run in the state. The way her government has shielded criminals in the name of protecting the interests of the minority is not only despicable, but appalling to say the least. Her current actions are precisely the same ones which propelled people like Tarun Gogoi and Akhilesh Yadav out of power in their respective states. If Mamata doesn’t stop this exodus quickly, the ghosts of Asansol may haunt her for the rest of her life, especially if they throw her out of power in 2021.