In Kolkata book fair, police prevented Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) workers from distributing Hanuman Chalisa among the visitors at 44th International Kolkata Book Fair. The Police stated that the distribution of Hanuman Chalisa could lead to law and order problem in the event.
However, they have no problem with the distribution of the Quran and Bible, which is occurring at every book fair and literature festival, and was being done and Kolkata book fair too.
“There was tension initially. But when we wanted to know why the Hanuman Chalisa cannot be distributed if other organisations can give out the Quran and the Bible, the police relented and we continued with the distribution,” said VHP member Swarup Chatterjee.
At the book fair, many students from leftist outfits raised anti-CAA slogans, and they had a minor altercation with VHP members too. When former BJP state unit President, Rahul Sinha, went to book fair, the students from leftist unions raised anti-CAA slogans. The leftist students also hit a VHP Karyakarta. “A Karyakarta, Somesh, was beaten up by Left goons who created disturbances in front of our stall where a large number of people had gathered on seeing Sinha there. We showed utmost restraint,” said a VHP Karyakarta.
The workers from VHP and BJP leaders showed utmost restraint against the hooliganism and heckling by the leftist students. “The people have discarded them (the Left parties). We are not fools to allow them to steal the limelight by getting into a fight with them. Our fight is with the TMC,” said Sinha.
It is well known that the people from Abrahamic faiths are present at almost every book fair and literature festival to propagate their ideology. Not just that, the Marxist, Ambedkarite, Buddhist and almost all kind of ideologies are propagated at these festivals. But when the VHP Karyakartas distributed Hanuman Chalisa, the students from leftist outfits tried to stop them from doing so, and raised slogans against CAA, and beat up the people from the Hindu propagation outfit. Mamata Banerjee’s police too prevented the people from VHP from doing so.
The President of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, organisers of the book fair, Tridib Chatterjee, said what the students of the leftist organizations did is unfortunate. “Kolkata Book Fair is a place where a hundred flowers bloom and different organisations can profess their ideologies without promoting hatred and bigotry,” said Chatterjee.
The state of West Bengal is carrying out reverse discrimination against the Hindus. On one hand, festivals like Durga Puja are being secularized, on the other; the students are being beaten up by the Muslim community for demanding celebration of Saraswati Puja. A few weeks ago, at least five students were allegedly beaten up by the local community in West Bengal’s North 24-Parganas district, for demanding resumption of Saraswati Puja. Hindus are the only community which is not secure in the state of West Bengal, where they are already in minority in many areas.
