Puja Pandal Attacked in Basanti

Can Hindus get justice in secular India ever? Time to evade such a daydream!

Islamists attacked a Hindu religious function in Basanti, and desecrated the altar and destroyed the Murthi (Icon) of Goddess Lakshmi by chooping off the head and hands of the Deity. The local police has remained mute spectators against the attackers. In contrast, they forced the devotees to drown the Murthi and local arrested Hindus for protesting and have not allowed the media to cover the communal event.  

Religious discrimination is always blameworthy and allegations of state-sponsored majoritarian communalism, especially from the alleged votaries of secularism – Leftists and Islamists, are not new. But the same forces prefer to retain a strange silence when the situation gets reverse and the same is going on at Ranigarh, Jyotishpur Bazar, P.S.: Basanti, West Bengal in full swing.

The neighborhood is known for its Radha Krishna Temple, has been performing Durga Puja, greatest festival of Bengali Hindus, for 32 years at a stretch. But the situation started to worsen when the Muslim community of the vicinity did settle on to organize an Id-Milan Utsav in the field adjacent to the said Temple on 31.10.10. The decision, clearly discerned as a ploy to usurp political control of the entire area was enough to stimulate local Hindus and owing to their determination and struggle tooth and nail, the sinister design did suffer a humiliating defeat.

Meanwhile local leaderships of CPM & RSP did leave no stone unturned to go on with the Id-Milan Utsav, but the resistance of Hindus proved to be strong for them.

The xituation was out of the frying pan into the fire when local Muslims started to avenge the defeat – Nagar Sankirtan teams of the Temple (a common Vaishnavite ritual taking place early in the morning) were insulted, threatened for consecutive days and women were manhandled in particular. However, this was somewhat trivial compared to the recent events on account of Laxmi Puja. The pandal or makeshift temple for worshipping the Goddess in the Radha Krishna Temple did suffer a sacrilege. The head of Idol of Goddess Laxmi along with two hands were chopped off; the entire pandal was also desecrated.

The situation was enough to infuriate the local Hindus who burst into protest. Witnessing the mounting Hindu rage police contingents were deployed with immediate effect but it was all to no avail. Even Subhash Naskar, Irrigation Minster of the State of West Bengal and local RSP leader tried to pacify the situation. But, contrary to his own belief, he was gheraoed (surrounded) for no less than almost two hours and could get out of the place under police protection only after announcing over microphone that the said Id Milan Utsav will not be allowed to be held at the declared venue near the temple.

Police officers (I.C. Pinaki Roy and others) tried to their best to make Hindus immerse the broken idol but the obstinacy of Hindus, not ready to do the same till taking into custody of the culprits, could not be dealt with by them. Nevertheless the partisan attitude of the administration has got revealed though several incidents hitherto – gravest of these has been non-availability of any authentic number or governmental authorization even after lodging an FIR.

In the evening a mob of 200-300 Muslims gathered to assault the Hindus but checked by the timely intervention of the police. Tension reigns supreme in the neighborhood.

P.S.: The police has forced Hindus to immerse the desecrated Idol of Goddess Laxmi and has taken a few Hindu youth into custody to maintain tranquility. However, any culprit is yet to get arrested.

Addendum - Information Hitherto:

Hindus in Basanti go on shivering – in fright and uncertainty

There seems to be no respite for the Hindus at Ranigarh, Jyotishpur Bazar, P.S.: Basanti, West Bengal, who dared to voice their protests against the sinister designs of the administrative scenario, local and also state-wide, under the cloak of secularism.

Not only a deep uncertainty and panic do exist in the Hindu-infested areas, but their houses are also getting subject to forceful searches, abuses and what not. Even the Hindu women are not being spared all at once. It seems that the local administration has got partisan in hurling abuses too – Hindu women, thanks to their intrinsic tender and motherly attitude, seems to be a better choice.

No spectacle of development in the political environment has been perceived yet. What is most striking, Hindu-Muslim Milan Utsav (whose potential celebration on 30/31 October had been announced and was deferred owing to the timely intervention of Subhash Naskar, Irrigation Minster of the State of West Bengal and local RSP leader) has become bone of contention once again. It is being alleged that pressures are piling up on local governmental councils to make Utsav a success. The situation is tensed and heavy presence of police contingents in the neighborhood can be seen.

In the meantime, Banamali Dalui who has been arrested as an alleged miscreant against the FIR No. 327/10/10 is languishing in the Alipore Central Jail and has been charged under Sections – 149,186, 353, 323, 565. The next hearing will be on 28.October.10.Hindus in West Bengal are increasingly being accustomed with the secular system of justice in which the Muslim perpetrator of crime against the Hindus will not be arrested and the protestor Hindus will be arrested to pacify the Muslims. To the administration it is the golden method to maintain law and order, and to the secularists, this is the only golden way to uphold secularism.