Islamists persecute Hindus in Etinda Panitar village Panchayat, Basirhat

Can myth of Rule of Law make Hindus there confident anymore?

Basirhat is moving towards an Islamic hegemony speedily; this deduction is not based on any fiction but hard facts – facts that are cruel enough to send shudder through the backbone of any sane and patriotic individual. Religious persecutions on Hindus led by Islamists have become order of the day in Basirhat and with each day it passes, intensity of crime, persecution and hatred against Hindus gets increased.  

Kalipuja is organized under the aegis of Panitar Market Committee, in the area of Etinda Panitar village Panchayat, P.S. Basirhat, Sub-division: Basirhat, District: 24 Paraganas (North), every year. Fair does also take place (for 4 days at a stretch) to celebrate the joyous environment. On March 10, 2012, the Kalipuja (of this year ) was organized. Hindus, in and around Etinda Panitar village Panchayat , were perceived to make merriment.

On March 12, 2012, at 7 pm, an Islamist youth was caught red-handed while attempting to molest a Hindu housewife in the fair. Credit goes to the Committee members who never missed a chance to identify the felon and make him stop. The Islamist ruffian, as expected, was manhandled and thrashed in addition. However, he was not alone; his cohorts (6 Islamists) clashed with the Committee members repeatedly to save him. All efforts failed at that time.

The gang withdrew but returned with more men of Muslim-dominated village: Nikaripara after 45 minutes and thrashed everyone they found before them. Microphones were broken and the open-air drama was also stopped. Committee members phoned police a lot but none (either from P.S. Basirhat –located at 10 kilometers away or its local outpost) did appear. Finally BSF had to intervene (Etinda Panitar village Panchayat is in the India-Bangladesh border area) to rein in the fervid disturbance. 2 police personnel in civil dress appeared once the fiery mob of Islamists was restrained but no Islamist was arrested.

Nevertheless, the situation was far from over. At 8.30 pm, a large contingent of Islamists from Nikaripara (comprising almost all villagers including young and old and children and women) stormed the Hindu-dominated village: Daspara (organizer of Puja and fair) to teach Hindus a lesson. Hindus, en masse, were thrashed brutally and many of them had to flee for the sake of life. To save the situation and also skin and  kith and kin of Hindus, Mr. Tapan Pal, head of Etinda Panitar village Panchayat, and Mr. Dilip Das, member of the same Panchayat, phoned police and after frequent pleas police appeared at 10 pm.  

Even if the police force succeeded to overpower Islamists, Hindu village and its dwellers were completely destroyed by that time.  

To find a solution out, a peace meeting took place at P.S. Basirhat on March 13, 2012, and it was joined by members of both communities. Police became successful to restore normalcy but no Islamist was taken into the custody. Hindus left the police station disgracefully while Islamists were found to celebrate their unprecedented victory.  

On March 14, 2012, just on the next day, Mr. Biswanath Das, resident of Daspara and also the first to protest against the attempt to molest, became victim of a cruel thrashing.  He is known to be in a critical condition in a local hospital, at the moment.

Here is a question to the readers. Such incidents are getting more and more common in Bengal these days – resembling the days before partition in 1947. What do these incidents bear out? It’s a single aspect on the whole – national sovereignty and rule of law has become the greatest casualty in this part of India.

Both cease to exist in Basirhat.