Columnist R Jagannathan fears that the Mamata’s Bengal will be seeing more communal clashes in 2014. He said," One of the reasons Mamata Banerjee won big in West Bengal in 2011 was the shift in the Muslim vote from the Left Front to her Trinamool Congress. When the Left laid siege to Nandigram in 2007 and then “recaptured” the village – which had a significant Muslim population - from those protesting against land acquisition, Muslim opinion started moving towards Banerjee.
But it seems Banerjee is proceeding along the same path of buying the Muslim vote with symbolic gestures rather than substance. The same tokenism that has marked “secular politics” in the rest of India is now visible in West Bengal, so much so that many in the majority community are concerned and even the minority community is accusing her of “vote bank politics."
He quoted an unnamed government official as saying: “Steps like allowances for Muslims clerics, the images of Didi wearing a burqa and offering namaaz, and a slew of projects and schemes targeted at the minority Muslims have only enhanced the polarisation.” When Banerjee went to Delhi to address a rally with Anna Hazare, a Muslim cleric warned her not to share the platform with the RSS-backed Anna, and Anna anyway failed to turn up.
Another report shows, there has been a sudden spike in communal clashes in the state. Statistics show that between 2008 and 2012, communal incidents averaged around 25 a year. In 2013, the number soared to 106 – a more than four-fold jump from the average over the preceding five years.
Even the most alarming is the data that states, that in 9o% of the women rape and molestation cases in last two years in Bengal the culprit is notably from minority community and that has to be hushed up compulsorily. It is reasonably feared now that Mamata’s Bengal is more dangerously looking like Mulayam Singh’s Uttar Pradesh, with a rising trend in communal tensions.
But INDIA HONEST will take the liberty to ask the so called secular parties, that whom you will blame for this already roof touching high graph of communal tension, when the so alleged communal have still to make entry in the state of Bengal .
INDIA HONEST argues that one must not pass the entire blame on Mamata for the deterioration in Bengal, when the continued and unabated migration from Bangladesh,has converted many constituencies near the porous border, now to have either Muslim majorities or near-majorities, or have a Muslim voter share of 25-30 %, making them vital decider of the winner.
Moreover the overriding effected by the Congressman Nandan Nelkeni's "AADHAR card scheme" over the conventional citizen verifying methods, despite very serious objection from national visionaries, has helped in creating an official status to all the migrants unchecked .
But this demographic shift has been the main factor largely in creating both social tension and a new assertiveness among Muslims who now don’t see the need for the “secular” parties to mediate between them and the “majority”. In fact, Muslim netas even within secular parties are “revolting” against the existing orthodoxy.
INDIA HONEST worries on the effect of such revolt by this new clan of Muslim authoritarian, that had led the attack on CPM politburo leadership, when their decades old trusted leader Abdur Rezzak Mollah revolted and said about the party’s politburo that they are “dalals” not grassroots people. He believes the present CPI(M) leadership is too Brahminical in its approach, a path chosen to separate minority as an new identity,far away from CPM's secular credentials in long run.
IH worries this wind will sway on other parties sooner then longer, the increasing swing power of minority clerics is bound to interfere in the working of Mamata Banerjee led TMC government. Though Mamata Banerjee has adopted ‘go it alone’ strategy for the coming Lok Sabha polls despite the fact she needs support from Delhi to revive her state's financial difficulties, but she has been questioned by one of her own close aides who had hailed Didi’s “Delhi chalo” call at Brigade Parade Grounds last month.
Shahi imam of the Tipu Sultan Masjid, Maulana Barkati, wants the Trinamool chief to tweak her post-poll strategy and join hands with secular forces — including Congress — to keep "Narendra Modi at bay". Barkati didn’t mention Left forces in the coalition, but he wanted the Left to play a role against the “communal BJP”. “The Modi-led BJP is a fascist force. If we cannot block it, our country will be heading towards a situation like the one in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iraq,” Barkati said.
INDIA HONEST wonders how it is secular polarisation and not a communal polarisation. But the secular and communal terms have different meaning and usage for different people, different political parties and of course for different communities , yes that is never guided by the save national interest first thought, rather it aims only to grab power first.
Feeling the heat from the minorities, Mamata stepped up the ante against BJP a few notches as seen in her address to Trinamool activists at Pailan, where she said: “Some people are trying to divide Bengal. They are out to divide Hindus and Muslims and drive a wedge between the Hills and the plains.”
INDIA HONEST has serious apprehension,why this minority community clerics led political polarisation will not ultimately cause similar route of polarisation in other communities including the Hindus and Gurkhas,when the so called secular parties are hell bent on using the fatwas of Muslim clerics as their road guide map to political recourse. Yes the so cherished secular ma-mati-manus-mamta will soon loose the development and good governance plank, which is most needed for the people,economy and industry in a stagnant state like Bengal.