Om Prakash Mishra - Quelling a Facebook riot in West Bengal
People have simply
refused to react to morphed, photoshopped and out of context pictures in
Badauria-Basirhat. Instead, they are taking out peace marches. The conspiracy
to pit one community against the other has failed. All this seems to have
frustrated the state BJP leadership.
A diabolical and
planned conspiracy to involve West Bengal in a cauldron of communal riots,
centring on Baduria and Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district has been
defeated. Not only has peace been secured, the triumph of communal amity is
being celebrated by people in innovative ways. A malicious hateful Facebook post shared
by a teenager from Baduria was the opportunity communal and extremist elements
were waiting to exploit. A porous border, lax administration and the likely
collusion between certain sections of the ruling Trinamool party with malefic
elements across the border with Bangladesh meant that hundreds of people
descended on Baduria and Basirhat from both sides to inflame passions in the
name of religion.
The fact that
outsiders were involved should leave us in no doubt that the riots were planned
keeping in mind the geographical location of Badauria-Basirhat on the
India-Bangladesh border. As if on cue, the counter-attack was also immediate.
In the process, two persons were seriously injured - Kartick Ghosh succumbed to
his injuries, but Fazlur Sardar, although seriously injured, has survived. Signifi-cantly, Kartick
Ghosh’s son brought Fazlur Sardar to the Kolkata hospital in the same ambulance
arranged for his father. He was the one who got Fazlur admitted to the hospital
and looked after him.
North 24 Parganas is
one of the largest districts in the country, with 33 Assembly constituencies. A
large part of the district borders Bangladesh. Smuggling in cattle, patronized
by leaders of the Trinamool Congress as well as earlier governments has been
the mainstay, especially in Basirhat and Bongaon sub-divisions. Illegal
migration is common, while the irregular movement of people across the porous
border is a fact of life. Importantly, irregular migration has involved not
only Muslims but also Hindus from neighbouring Bangladesh.
To protest the attack,
counter-attacks, bandhs and rail roko agitation in surrounding areas were
equally swift. The BJP was in the forefront of organizing the agitation. Though
the teenager was arrested for his Facebook post, the vandalism and arson by the
protesting mob of outsiders could not
be prevented despite the efforts of
villagers belonging to both communities. The administration has
been most lethargic in containing the violence. It has not made any significant
arrests. Instead of focusing on the deteriorating situation in Basirhat, chief
minister Mamata
Banerjee, who also holds the Home portfolio, spent her time in accusing
Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi of insulting her – he had, reportedly,
confronted her over the phone on the deteriorating law and order situation in
the district.
The governor-chief
minister spat took the focus away from the administration’s demonstrated
resolve to deal with the situation. The TMC was conspicuous by its absence as
outsiders ran amok; it was the activists of non-TMC political parties, like
Badauria Congress MLA Qazi Abdur Rahim Dilu, and social and cultural
organisations who attempted to restore peace. Residents of Souvik
Sarkar’s village say that those who attacked his home were outsiders and it was
his Muslim neighbours who rushed in to contain the fire. In Basirhat South, the
TMC MLA was first conspicuously absent from the scene, then displayed a cunning
highhandedness upon arrival – it is widely believed that he is in collusion
with cattle smuggling syndicates. The Facebook riot was waiting to happen. The
nexus between cattle-smuggling gangs, large-scale rigging by the TMC to capture
the Basirhat municipality and its constant efforts to engineer defections in
panchayat bodies as well as the blatant misuse of the police has been ongoing
for several years.
And contrary to the
black-and-white “communal divide” descriptions resorted to by several national
media, the truth is that both Hindus and Muslims have taken early and eager
steps to defuse the situation. This was one of the reasons why attempts to
provoke violence could not spread to Deganga or to Swarupnagar. In quite a few
places, BJP activists were chased away when they tried to stop trains running
on time. People have simply
refused to react to morphed, photoshopped and out of context pictures. Instead,
they are taking out peace marches. The conspiracy to pit one community against
the other has failed. All this seems to have frustrated the state BJP
leadership.
Last week’s weapon to
incite communal tension, social media is now being vigorously used to battle
hate-mongers. Even while the teenager is being condemned, many people are now
asking why a school-boy was allowed to share a post which was obviously the
handiwork of communal elements.
A campaign supported by people of both communities has also been launched to forgive the teenager. Questions are being directed at the state government’s failure to gauge the situation and take immediate measures. It is not surprising that the miscreants who vandalized a large part of Basirhat have not been identified. The TMC and BJP are both trying to polarize the situation, but at least for the time being, their nefarious plan is not succeeding.
A campaign supported by people of both communities has also been launched to forgive the teenager. Questions are being directed at the state government’s failure to gauge the situation and take immediate measures. It is not surprising that the miscreants who vandalized a large part of Basirhat have not been identified. The TMC and BJP are both trying to polarize the situation, but at least for the time being, their nefarious plan is not succeeding.
