"Culturally Enriched Bengali Society Could Not Provide Protection to One Single Muslim Lady !!! " - Tapan Ghosh

Tapan Kumar Ghosh, the President of Hindu Samhati reached out to the Hindu community in the Washington DC area, during a presentation organized by the capital area's community leaders. Mr. Sant Gupta, a Committee member from the Durga Temple in Virginia introduced Mr Ghosh. Dr. Satish Mishra, a community leader in Maryland, facilitated the event.

Talking to the audience about his work, Mr Ghosh narrated his experiences in organizing relief and active protection for Hindus in many parts of India over the last three decades, including Kashmir, where Hindus have suffered the worst onslaught of Islamic extremism in recent years.

He described in detail, the atrocities that Hindus are facing in villages bordering Bangladesh. Talking to the audience, he said, “The case of massive illegal infiltration is well known today. Atrocities are increasing and these include crimes targeted against Hindu women; from relatively small cases of eve-teasing and harassment, to sexual assault, rape, kidnapping and forced conversion to Islam. Incidences of illegal migrants encroaching upon Hindu lands as well as organized land grabbing by Islamic criminal network by the likes of Majid Master & Arabul Islam in N. 24 Parganas, is also very common”. Lamenting the hypocrisy of the entire Bengali intelligentsia, he said, “Culturally enriched Bengali society could not provide protection to one Muslim lady, Ms. Taslima Nasreen, a poet and an intellectual who dared to raise her voice against Islamic fundamentalism. Do you really think anyone in today's Bengal is concerned about upholding secularism or free speech?”

Hindu Samhati workers face opposition from political parties in West Bengal, who resent the organization's rising influence in the state. Even law enforcement agencies threaten Hindu Samhati workers in areas where they face tremendous pressure from political satraps. As part of their initiatives, their workers provide financial and legal assistance to victims of communal riots, arson, land grabbing, and property and temple destruction. However, being a village oriented grass-roots organization, Hindu Samhati’s funds are very limited and they depend on popular grass-roots support for their resources.

Describing in detail the purpose of his first visit to the United States, Mr Ghosh said, “The purpose of my visit is in synergy with the aspirations of Hindu Samhati; that spreading awareness and raising concerted opposition to the advances of Islamic expansionism, is critical to the survival of secular, liberal democracies like India and much of the western civilization, including United States. People from India and the United States must realize that the war on Islamic terrorism cannot be won without curbing religious extremism among Muslims, be it in the suburbs of Washington DC or New Delhi or villages in rural Bengal. And this will require the active support and cooperation with each other ranging from cooperation at the highest level to those who work at the grassroots level. In this time of need, we must help and support each other with all possible resources at our disposal.”

Mr Shivram Sitaram, a well known community activist gave the vote of thanks. The attendees expressed their desire to to help raise awareness of persecution of the Hindu population in the Indian state of West Bengal.