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CPIML: Moinul’s children are traumatised, daughter sobbing inconsolably, had not had anything to eat or drink since incident

Freshly Brewed

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September 28, 2021

CPIML: Moinul’s children are traumatised, daughter sobbing inconsolably, had not had anything to eat or drink since incident

Kolkata: “We met his (Moinul Haque) small daughter and son. The daughter was sobbing inconsolably and had not had anything since the incident took place. The family and community are traumatised, children in particular. The entire family is living under a makeshift house made of tin,” mentioned , press release shared by the CPIML team, after meeting the family.

A CPIML Liberation team visited the site of the infamous eviction and killing at Dhalpur, Darrang district, Assam.

On September 25, a delegation led by CPIML met the family members of Moinul Haque, the very poor peasant who was shot dead by Assam Police.

The report also pointed out, “We saw two homes near Moinul Haque’s house, which had not only been demolished but also burnt down.”

The incident, which came to the fore because of a video going viral, had shocked the world, especially in the manner, the poor peasant was shot at and then a photographer pouncing on his motionless body. “Moinul was defending his home from arson and firing by the police & the ‘photographer’ associated with the DM’s office. What can justify 17 Assam police personnel opening fire on a lone man armed with nothing but a stick? This is not crowd control, it is not an ‘encounter’, it is murder,” the members claimed.

The report also said that no process of eviction was followed by the administration, and they termed it, ‘illegal evictions.’

Eviction Notices have been served to some through Whatsapp calls the previous night, some got notices after eviction, and some have not yet received notices at all.

The visiting team questioned, “What was the tearing hurry to evict by force, without even serving notices properly?”

cpiml visits assam moinul haque darrang eviction — A dismantled house (probably) of Moinul Haque at Dhalpur village in Darrang | Courtesy: CPIML Liberation

The administration has acted against the locals as encroachers, but most of them had settlement papers and they lost their land from flood-related erosion.

The team termed the ‘encroachers’ as erosion affected farmers.

“The evicted households have settlement papers dating back to 7 February 1979, showing that they have been paying occupancy charges. The government has set up Aanganawadi Kendras and schools among others. When the river floods their land they are displaced onto government land. How can such households be termed ‘encroachments’?” it reads.

The team also found that the Land Policy is unjust, and made to benefit Corporates, not ‘indigenous’ people.

“The 2019 Land Policy and Brahma Committee report talks of evicting non-indigenous “encroachers” from government land which will be distributed to ‘indigenous’. The definition of ‘indigenous’ is not provided in the policy – why are families of Bengali-descent Muslims considered non-indigenous when they have lived on the land for 4 or 5 decades.”

Moreover, erosion-affected persons in Laika and Dadiya in Tinsukia who fit the BJP’s definition of “indigenous” are yet to get the government land they are demanding. Why divide erosion affected persons based on ethnicity or religion?

The fine print of the Land Policy makes it clear that even the “indigenous” Assamese are not going to receive any land. The whole thing is a ploy to grab land to hand over to corporate as is already happening near the airport, at Mikir Bamuni among others.

After visiting, CPI-MLmade demands:

The CM Himanta Biswa Sarma responsible for the communal eviction policy and his brother the SP of Darrang Sushanta Biswa Sarma conducted the murderous attack must resign.

Directions of the Supreme Court in its order dated 23.09.2014 in People’s Union for Civil Liberties vs. Union of India [(2014) 10 SCC 635] (on police encounter killings) must be strictly complied with. There should be a registration of FIR regarding the killing of Moinul Haque and Sheikh Farid. An independent investigation into this must be conducted by the CID or police team of another police station under the supervision of a senior officer. The police officer(s) concerned must surrender their weapons for forensic and ballistic analysis, including any other material as required for investigation.

The SP Darrang and police personnel involved in firing and arson must be sacked, arrested and charged under all appropriate criminal sections including murder, arson and attempt to murder.

No more evictions of the poor under any pretext. Instead evict the super-rich who have built resorts in forest core zones, tea companies who have occupied 6354 acres of land to illegally set up tea gardens, encroachments by industries in tribal belts, and the BJP office built on Govt land in Guwahati.

Stop the communal propaganda claiming that temples are being encroached on by ‘illegal immigrants’. In fact, at Darrang the temple has been kept safe in an area where almost 99% families are Muslim. The Hindu caretaker of the temple Parvati Das has also been evicted under the Land policy. If the Govt speaks of preserving sacred sites (“satras”) – why is the land grab near the airport destroying the “koita siddhi satra” near it?

Local communities are providing relief to the displaced persons but the Government must take responsibility and provide relief including medical camps, drinking water, food, shelter, and hygiene.

All evicted persons at Darrang must be restored to their lands and their homes must be rebuilt.

The team comprised Politburo member Kavita Krishnan, CPIML MLA from Bihar Comrade Rambali Singh Yadav, Central Committee member and Karnataka secretary Clifton D’Rozario, Central Committee member and Assam State Committed member Balindra Saikia. They were accompanied by Bihar youth activist Ravi Ranjan,

AIKS leader Jayanta Gogoi, Jipal Krishok Sromik Sangha leader Pranab Doley, Sangrami Krishok Sromik Sangha leaders Dinesh Das and Jehirul Islam.

Bhawanipore victory will bring a new dawn in Indian politics: Mamata Banerjee

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September 27, 2021

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Bhawanipore victory will bring a new dawn in Indian politics: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who is contesting from Bhawanipore constituency to get elected as a legislator for the state assembly to continue her tenure as chief minister, hinted at the importance of her winning the bypoll. The victory would carver out a bigger national role national politics for her and TMC. She said at a public meeting at Jadubabu Bazar, Kolkata.

“You people made us win the Bengal election, now Bhawanipore victory will make a new beginning in our politics,” she told the crowd as they cheered the CM and Trinamool Congress candidate, who continued, “Thereafter, we will go across India. We will go to Tripura, Assam, UP and other states.”

After the mandate for third consecutive terms for her party TMC, political observers believe that Mamata Banerjee will be a strong opposition face against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The TMC chief had also visited national capital Delhi after her massive win and besides meeting PM Modi, she had met several opposition leaders to connect dots among the opposition parties in India.

As, the TMC supremo contesting by-poll, to ensure her tenure as the CM, on Sunday, the second last day of campaigning, she made it clear, how important her win would be for national politics.

Bengal CM also attacked Tripura chief minister Biplab Deb for criticizing the judiciary and terming himself beyond everything. “I have a video, in which a BJP CM is saying that he is above law. He says, he does not care about courts. We do criticize court judgments, but how can we claim that we are above law?” Banerjee questioned.

“I have the video and if any citizen wants to lodge a defamation case against him, they can take it from me,” said Banerjee.

Earlier Bengal chief minister mentioned how in BJP ruled states, TMC leaders were not being allowed to enter. “They did not let our partymen to meet victims, it happened in Uttar Pradesh after Hathras gangrape incident, in Assam when people get killed because of NRC and our leaders want to meet them, they did not get permission, in Tripura also they doing same.

“But there is no such issue for BJP leaders when they visit Bengal. They come and dance here, dance means not dandia, means doing ulta-pulta thing (nonsense activities),” she pointed out.

The three-time chief minister and TMC chief in her 35 minutes long speech- whenever spoke on politics, she used Hindi language and when she mentioned her government’s work, her language choice remained in Bangla.

The 66-year-old seasoned politician, also used many couplets in her speech, from Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna Ab Hamare Dil Mei Hai, Dekhna Hai Zor Kitna Baju-e-Qatil Mei Hai (The desire for revolution is in our hearts, let’s see how to strengthen the enemy has) to Roshni Chand Se Hoti Hai, Sitaaron Se Nahi, Mohabbat Ek Se Hoti Hai Hazaron Se Nahi (Light comes from the moon, not from stars, Love happens with one, not with thousands), connecting it with people’s love for her party TMC and that it could not happen with CPIM, Congress and BJP.

Bengal CM mentioned her government’s work during pandemics and lockdown, while accusing the BJP of doing nothing.

“BJP has no humanity. They left migrant workers on road. They did not even bear the cost of train fare. We did. We paid train fares. We brought our people from buses,” she mentioned.

TMC chief continued and alleged, “BJP beats and kills people it does not save life.”

Before the TMC supremo’s speech, the party’s All India General Secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee who was also present at the meeting had spoken at length and challenges BJP to stop him from going to Tripura, when he has been allegedly attacked by BJP cadres.

He had tweeted on Tripura CM’s controversial remarks demanding Supreme Court to take cognizance of Deb’s comments.

“@BjpBiplab is a DISGRACE to the entire nation! He shamelessly mocks Democracy, MOCKS the Hon’ble JUDICIARY and seemingly gets away with it! Will the SUPREME COURT take cognizance of his comments that reflect such grave disrespect? (sic)”.

Assam killings pre-planned, says Kolkata’s civil society

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September 25, 2021

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Assam killings pre-planned, says Kolkata’s civil society

Kolkata: Assam’s Bharatiya Janata Party government, has sown seeds of hatred against Bangla speaking Muslims in the mind of the people and planned the Assam killings, believe members of civil society in West Bengal.

A huge number people belonging to several civil society groups staged a protested in front of Assam Bhavan to register their anger against the brutal killings of three people including Maynal Haque and Shaikh Farid by Assam police, during the eviction drive.

A video that went viral on Thursday, showed the state police firing at a man coming towards them with a stick in hand, on Wednesday during the eviction drive. Not only did policemen fire on his bare chest from point-blank range but also lathi-charged his dead body. The video also showed professional camera man pouncing on the body of the deceased while he breathed his last.

Significantly, the superintendent of police of Darrang district is Sushanta Biswa Sarma, brother of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The incident has angered all the right-thinking individuals. But apart from arresting the cameraman Bijoy Bonia, the Assam government did not take any action against Darrang police.

assam killings horror bengali muslims kolkata — Protesters at Assam Bhavan, Kolkata

“The killings of Bangla speaking Muslims were pre-planned. Else it would not happen at the district where the chief minister’s brother would be posted. And a government photographer would have not danced on a dying person’s body. But we will not let this go. Such a shameful incident has not happened anywhere in the world in recent history. We demand the resignation of Himanta Biswa Sarma. There will be bigger protests in coming days,” reacted Samirul Islam, of Bangla Sanskriti Mancha.

CPIML’s Sumon Sengupta said, “All these are the outcome of the politics of hatred propagated by the BJP against Muslims. In all BJP ruled states, Muslims are facing atrocities for one or another reason. But, we will continue our fight against it.”

The organizations which participated in the protest were— Bhumiputra Unnayan Morcha of India (BHUMI), Bangla Sanskriti Mancha, AISA, DYFI, RSP, SPDI, SIO among others. There were people from all fields of life, activists, professionals and civilians. Women and children had also come with placards to protest against the ‘barbaric killings’ by Assam police.

Today, a large number of people also hit the street to raise their voice against the horrific incident in national capital Delhi and Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi.

“The video is so horrifying that it crossed all the limits of inhumanity. What happened is state terrorism by Himanta Biswa Sarma. It is ethnic cleansing and mockery of the Indian constitution,” said Manzar Jameel, a social activist.

Murad, a software professional, who is associated with BHUMI said, “I have to come here because Bangla speaking Muslims are always targeted in Assam. Earlier Nellie massacre happened and now this.”

“The people of India, who care about the rights of Afghanistan women, are good and should be appreciated. But they should worry about women in India too, who are becoming widows, because of such killings in BJP ruled states,” said Sucheta Dey, of CPIML.

“In Assam, all parties including BJP and Congress have created this situation against Bangla speaking Muslims. It is not just politics of power, but politics of hate that is being done by society at large in Assam. If you visit Assam, in many places, you will find it is written, throw out Bangla speaking people,” mentioned Shaikh Abid of ISF.

Nousheen Baba Khan, an activist added, “Does Maynal Haque’s murder during the eviction enrage you more because his name was listed in the NRC? Would his killing justified if his name was not listed on the NRC list? Does it enrage you more because he was a Muslim or because he was a Bengali Muslim? You see this from different lenses because these power mongers want you to see things in this manner. They will keep you busy in such incidents to hide their acute failures in the economy and on several other areas.”

ये केवल एक मिनट बारह सेकेंड का वीडियो है

राय

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September 24, 2021

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ये केवल एक मिनट बारह सेकेंड का वीडियो है

इसके पहले फ्रेम में सात पुलिसवाले दिख रहे हैं। सात से ज़्यादा भी हो सकते हैं। सभी पुलिसवालों के हाथ में बंदूकें हैं। सबने बुलेट प्रूफ जैकेट पहन रखे हैं। तरह-तरह की आवाज़ें आ रही हैं। तड़-तड़ गोलियों के चलने की आवाज़ें भी आ रही हैं। कैमरे का फ्रेम थोड़ा चौड़ा होता है। अब सात से अधिक पुलिस वाले दिखाई देते हैं। गोली की आवाज़ तेज़ हो जाती है। एक पुलिसवाला हवा में गोली चला रहा है।एक के हाथ की बंदूक नीचे है। एक पुलिसवाला सीने की ऊंचाई के बराबर गोली चला रहा है। दूसरी तरफ से दो तीन पुलिस वाले भागे आ रहे हैं। उनके आगे एक आदमी भागा आ रहा है। वह ढलान से उतरता हुए तेज़ भागा आ रहा है लेकिन सामने से पुलिस वाले भी तेज़ी से उसकी तरफ बढ़े जा रहे हैं। अब वीडियो के फ्रेम में कई पुलिस वाले दिखाई देते हैं। एक पुलिस वाला उस आदमी पर बंदूक ताने दिखता है। एक लाठी उठाए दिखता है। कुछ और पुलिस वालों के हाथ में लाठियां हैं। भागने वाले आदमी के हाथ में भी लाठी दिख रही है। गोलियों के चलने की आवाज़ आती जा रही है। निहत्था भागता आया आदमी नीचे गिरा दिखता है। यहां तक वीडियो के 9 सेकेंड हो चुके हैं। सिर्फ 9 सेकेंड में आप इतना कुछ होते देखते हैं। जितना कुछ ख़ुद को दिन रात महान और सहिष्णु बताने वाले इस मुल्क को आप कई हज़ार साल में नहीं देख पाते हैं।

अब अगले छह सेकेंड में जो दिखता है वह भयावह नहीं है। आपके लिए जो क्रूरता और बर्बरता है, वह किसी के लिए संवैधानिक कर्तव्य हो सकता है। संविधान जिसने सबको बराबर माना है। वीडियो के 9 से 15 सेकेंड के बीच कई पुलिस वाले उस गिरे हुए और मरे हुए आदमी पर टूट पड़ते हैं। लाठियों से मार रहे हैं। गोलियों के चलने की भी आवाज़ें आ रही हैं। लोगों की आवाज़ें भी आ रही हैं। सब कुछ मिटा देने की इस कार्यवाही में एक कैमरा है जो इस पूरे प्रसंग को मिटने से बचा रहा है। सभी गतिविधियों को रिकार्ड कर रहा है। वही कैमरा ज़रा और खुलता है या कहिए कुछ पुलिस वाले कैमरे के सामने से हट जाते हैं।

एक लड़का सा दिखाई देता है। वह वर्दी में नहीं है ।उसके कंधे से बेल्ट के सहारे एक बैग लटका है। गर्दन में उसने सफेद और लाल रंग का गमछा लपेटा है। यह गमछा असम की पहचान है। इस लड़के के हाथ में एक कैमरा भी है। यहां तक वीडियो के 26 सेकेंड हो गए हैं। मैंने पॉज़ कर दिया था ताकि पुलिस और उस लड़के की बर्बरता को एक एक फ्रेम में देख सकूं। बिना वर्दी वाला वह लड़का लाश की तरफ तेज़ी से दौड़ता हुआ जाता है और मरे हुए उस आदमी की छाती पर कूद जाता है। काफी ऊंचाई से कूदता है। मैंने ओलिंपिक में इसी तरह किसी को कूदते देखा था। नाम याद नहीं। किसे देखा था। कूदने के बाद वह लड़का तेज़ी से कैमरे की तरफ़ मुड़ता है। तभी एक सिपाही उस मरे हुए आदमी पर ज़ोर से डंडे मारता है। मरा हुआ आदमी कोई प्रतिकार नहीं करता है। मरा हुआ आदमी मरे हुए आदमी पर वार करता है। कैमरे वाला लड़का ख़ुद को संभालता है और इस बार गर्दन पर कूदता है। थोड़ा आगे आता है और फिर से मुड़ कर मरे हुए व्यक्ति की तरफ पहुंचता है और इस बार मुक्के से उसकी छाती पर मारता है। एक बार और मुक्के से मारता है। एक पुलिसवाला उसे ऐसा करने से रोकता है। वहां से हटाता है। यहां तक वीडियो के 35 सेकेंड हो चुके हैं ।

अब सारे पुलिसवाले कैमरे के फ्रेम से हट जाते हैं। इतना सब कुछ हो चुका है लेकिन रिकार्ड करने वाले कैमरे को थामने वाला हाथ नहीं कांपता है। स्थिर है। गोलियों के चलने की आवाज़ें आ रही हैं। बहुत से लोगों के हल्ला करने की भी आवाज़ पीछे से आ रही है। एक लाश पड़ी दिखाई देती है। जैसे वह गिरने से पहले सावधान मुद्रा में होने का अभ्यास कर रही हो। एक दूसरा आदमी लाश की तरफ बढ़ता दिखाई दे रहा है। उसने जीन्स की पतलून पहनी है। पूरी बांह की कमीज़। वर्दी वाला नहीं है। रिकार्डिंग वाला है। उसके कंधे से भी एक बैग लटका है। जो कैमरा इन सबको होता हुआ रिकार्ड कर रहा है वो तेज़ी से लाश की तरफ बढ़ता हुआ लाश पर जाकर रुक जाता है। मैंने पॉज़ कर दिया है। 46 सेकेंड हो चुके हैं। प्ले कर देता हूं।

जिस व्यक्ति की मौत अब हर तरह के संदेह से परे हो चुकी है, उसने बनियान पहनी है। पुलिस के साथ भागा भागी में कुर्ता कहीं रह गया या वह बनियान में ही घर से निकला होगा। उसकी छाती पर चूड़ी बराबर गोलाई दिख रही है। जिसमें किसी ने लाल रंग भर दिया है। लगता है गोली छाती में सुराख़ बनाती हुई पार निकल गई है। ख़ून के छीटें भी दिखाई नहीं दे रहे हैं। गोली ने उतना ही सुराख़ किया है जितना उसे मारने के लिए ज़रूरी होगा। ख़ून के गोल धब्बे के अलावा बनियान एकदम साफ और सुरक्षित है। किस कंपनी का बनियान है, दूर से पता नहीं चलता है। उसकी लुंगी ऊपर तक मुड़ी है। हरे रंग की है। बायें पांव में रक्त के निशान हैं। सर के पास एक गमछा गिरा है। यहां तक वीडियो के 52 सेकेंड हो चुके हैं।

जैसे ही 54 सेकेंड होता है, अचानक वही बंदा तेज़ी गति से दौड़ता आता है और मरे हुए इंसान की छाती पर ज़ोर से कूद जाता है। इतनी ज़ोर से कूदता है कि खुद दूर जा गिरता है। वह फिर से वापस आता है और ज़ोर से उसकी छाती पर मुक्का मारता है। उसे रोकने जैसी आवाज़ें आ रही हैं। यहां तक वीडियो के 59 सेकेंड हो चुके हैं। एक पुलिस वाला लाश पर कूद कूद कर लात और मुक्का मारने वाले को हटा कर दूर ले जा रहा है। लाश अकेले में पड़ी है। 1 मिनट 12 सेकेंड हो चुका है।

इस 1 मिनट 12 सेकेंड के वीडियो को देखा जा सकता है। मुझे लगा कि मैं नहीं देख सकूंगा। आप भी देख सकते हैं। आए दिन आप इस तरह के वीडियो देखते रहते होंगे।

जिसमें लोग एक दूसरे को मार रहे हैं। पुलिस लोगों को मार रही है। आप पहले से ही मरे हुए हैं। आपको पता नहीं चलता है कि पुलिस देखने वालों को मार रही हैं। बता रही है कि इस तरह से मारे जाने की बारी किसी की भी आ सकती है।

इस देश में अदालत है। कई तरह की अदालतें हैं। कानून है। कानून की प्रक्रिया है। आप सभी ऐसा ज़रुर मानें। जैसा पुलिस कहे, वैसा ही मानिए। वर्ना 1 मिनट 12 सेकेंड से कम के वीडियो में आप निपटा दिए जाएंगे। ये विश्व गुरु भारत है।

मैंने वीडियो साझा नहीं किया है। महान फेसबुक के सामुदायिक नियमों को तोड़ना ठीक नहीं है। जब संवैधानिक नियमों को इस तरह तोड़ा जा रहा है तब फेसबुक के सामुदायिक नियमों की रक्षा में ही सबकी रक्षा है। आइये हम सब अंबेडकर जयंती मनाते हुए संविधान को छोड़ सामुदायिक नियमों का पालन करें। आमीन। जय हिन्द।

Has Babul Supriyo’s induction into TMC made Muslims uncomfortable?

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September 22, 2021

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Has Babul Supriyo’s induction into TMC made Muslims uncomfortable?

Kolkata: The induction of Babul Supriyo, Member of Parliament from Asansol into Trinamool Congress has not gone down well with the Muslim community of West Bengal.

The 50-year-old two-time Asansol MP was a junior minister (till July) in PM Modi cabinet

The singer-turned politician joining the ruling party is being considered as a big blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bengal and a significant gain for the TMC.

However, Muslim intellectuals based in Kolkata feel that TMC should not have taken Supriyo into the party fold since Supriyo was allegedly the instigator of the Asansol riots in which many innocent lives were lost in a city, which was known as a city of brotherhood. Asansol police had also slapped a case against the MP during the riots. Besides his role in the Asansol riots, there have been many incidents in which the former minister had used abusive languages against a Muslim youth and during his Jadavpur University visit.

Welcoming Babul Supriyo in TMC is uncalled for

“Mukul Roy and some other TMC leaders joining back the party after a brief stint with BJP are understandable. But welcoming Babul Supriyo into TMC is uncalled for,” reacted Mohammed Reyaz, assistant professor at Aliah University, Kolkata.

Reyaz, who also wrote several social media posts on the issue, claimed in one of his post, “Except embarrassing the BJP and taking revenge for trying to encourage defecation in the Trinamool Congress before the assembly polls, I do not think Babul Supriyo is bringing anything on the table for his new party.”

Reyaz questioned, “There are also murmurs that Babul Supriyo may resign and instead go to the Rajya Sabha on a TMC ticket. TMC has sent Jawhar Sircar and Sushmita Dev to the Upper House of Indian Parliament, what about Muslims, Bengali-speaking Muslims in particular? Why can’t one more Muslim be nominated to the Rajya Sabha?”

And added, “Muslims may feel uncomfortable with Babul Supriyo joining TMC, but they know they do not have many options.”

But Sabir Ahmed, social activist and educator caution the party, “If Mamata Banerjee and TMC are preparing for 2024 Lok Sabha polls then they should not ignore Muslims, which have always been the core voters of the party.”

Sabir also pointed out issues at the district level, “Besides joining of communal leaders, there are other issues, which are concerned for local Muslim TMC leaders. Wherever the party is making changes in district units, fewer Muslims are being inducted or given important responsibilities.”

Silence of Muslim TMC leaders

Significantly, when eNewsroom contacted a few Muslim TMC leaders to know their views on Supriyo joining TMC and Muslims feeling uncomfortable, Rajya Sabha MP Nadimul Haque and member of Lok Sabha Sajeda Ahmed both refused to comment.

However, an Asansol-based TMC youth leader said, “It is the party’s decision taken by senior leaders, so we can not do much. But, we feel that a person who created communal tension in Asansol, when is not be on the other side, we are hopeful of no such tension taking place in the future,” said Shahnawaz Khan, president, Asansol North Block II, Trinamool Youth Congress.

Politicians have no religion: Imam Asansol

Imdadullah Rashidi, Imam of a mosque in Asansol, whose 16-year-old son Sibtulla Rashidi was killed during the 2018 Asansol riots, told eNewsroom, “Let’s forget these things.” And mentioned, “Politicians have no religion, see how Nitish Kumar was earlier with Lalu Prasad Yadav and now against him.”

“But, if a person (Babul Supriyo) changes his ideology by joining a secular party, he should be given a chance,” he added.

Is Babul Supriyo more keen on getting a ministerial berth in Mamata cabinet than being a Rajya Sabha member?

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September 20, 2021

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Is Babul Supriyo more keen on getting a ministerial berth in Mamata cabinet than being a Rajya Sabha member?

Kolkata: Two days after joining the ruling party in Bengal, the freshly-minted Trinamool Congress leader, Babul Supriyo, met with the party chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat on Monday.

Since the singer-turned-politician has joined TMC, there have been speculations that he could get nominated for Rajya Sabha but sources also say that he might get a ministerial berth in the Mamata cabinet. The celebrity politician had told newsmen that he wanted to ‘serve the people of Bengal’ and wanted to be in ‘playing 11‘, not being benched out.

After meeting Mamata Banerjee, Babul Supriyo said that he has had a “musical conversation” with the TMC chief. The singer, who attained fame and instant recognition with his rendition of Dil Ne Dil Ko Pukara in the 2000 musical, Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai had earlier said that he was given an offer by the TMC, he could hardly refuse.

Till now, Babul has kept his cards close to his chest. It remains to be seen what the ‘offer’ is that sounded music to the ears of the former Union minister of state for the environment. He even sang a line from Aha Ki Anondo Akashe Batashe from Satyajit Ray classic Hirak Rajar Deshe, indicating his state of mind. It remains to be seen if his wish to get a ministerial berth was granted by the TMC chief.

“I am very happy to meet Mamata Didi. Whichever way she wants to utilise my services I will try to keep up to her expectations. She has also asked me to sing and work for the people wholeheartedly,” said the singer-turned-politician.

Does that mean he wasn’t able to serve the people in the Union ministry, wonder political pundits?

Asked about the post he has been offered in his new party Babul said that it is the prerogative of the chief minister Mamata Banerjee to decide.

Babul said that was happy that he was given the freedom to work for the people and sing to his heart’s content. Can we construe his statement that he wasn’t able to work for the people being in the Union ministry? Or was he not able to contribute to Bengal politics when he was in the BJP?

It is well known that he has had his differences with the Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh and even had shown reservations when ‘outsiders’ were being given tickets in the assembly polls.

On Monday evening, Dilip Ghosh was removed from the post of BJP Bengal president.

Earlier in the morning the BJP president had slammed Babul and said that the saffron party had made him a ‘striker’ but he failed to find the net.

“Babul is claiming that he was not able to play in the BJP. We made him a striker but he failed to score for us. The Tollygunge assembly poll result is testimony to that,” said Ghosh.

Pointing out the notice by the home ministry a couple of days back, which stated that Babul was being given Y-category security instead of his present Z-category, the former minister showed his letter written to the home ministry on August 3, where he stated that he was giving up his central security.

“The letter that was floated by MHA doesn’t stand as I have long back given away my security. I had asked TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee for state security which I still haven’t got,” claimed Babul adding that he had travelled to Kolkata twice without security.

BJP sacks Dilip Ghosh as defector list grows longer

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September 20, 2021

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BJP sacks Dilip Ghosh as defector list grows longer

Kolkata: Two days after the defection of former union minister of Modi cabinet and Asansol MP Babul Supriyo, Bharatiya Janata Party sacked its Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh.

Earlier Babul Supriyo, senior lawmaker Mukul Roy and three other legislators from the saffron camp deserted the party since the Bengal assembly verdict was declared in May.

TMC led by Mamata Banerjee won more than two hundred seats, giving its best performance ever to stop the ambitious plan of BJP coming to power in Bengal. The saffron camp despite its mighty campaigning with star speakers managed to secure only 77 seats of the 292 assembly seats. Elections on two seats did not take place, because of the sudden demise of its candidates.

Now, BJP has reduced its number of MLAs in the state is 71. Two of its MLAs resigned as they were members of Parliament too. And it is not only MP and MLAs but hundreds of party caders and district units of the BJP that have joined the ruling TMC or merged itself.

Since the results were announced, it was expected that Ghosh would be made a scapegoat and sacked state president position, for the drubbing, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had conducted several rallies and used all the resources of the party.

But it seems the party was waiting for a better situation for Ghosh to be martyred. Today Ghosh got replaced by Balurghat BJP MP Dr Sukanta Majumdar. The party is trying to pacify him by naming him the national vice-president of the party.

According to BJP sources, the party made the sudden change in an attempt to show that the saffron camp is serious about North Bengal.

“There is a constant exodus from the BJP to the TMC and most of the defectors have complained against Dilip Ghosh and held him responsible for the defection for which he was replaced,” said the BJP sources.

But exodus to continue in BJP

According to BJP sources, two more BJP MPs following the poll debacle are likely to switch to the ruling Trinamool Congress.

Not just MP, several MLAs are also in talks to switch camps. Raigunj MLA Krishna Kalyani had already hinted towards the defection.

“Kharagpur MLA Hiranmoy Chattopadhyay and Darjeeling MLA Neeraj Zimba had expressed their grief against Dilip Ghosh. Apart from MP SS Ahluwalia and Khagen Murmu at least 15 MLAs are in touch with the TMC camp,” said the sources.

Earlier Krishnanagar MLA Mukul Roy, Bishnupur MLA Tanmay Ghosh, Bagda MLA Biswajit Das and North Bengal’s Kaliyagunj BJP MLA Soumen Roy had already defected back to the TMC making the total number of BJP MLAs to 71 and also with Babul’s joining TMC made the BJP MPs count come down to 17.

According to poll analyst Mainak Pututundu, the BJP by replacing Ghosh is trying to give an ‘image makeover’ to the party.

“The BJP is trying to bring a new face; also the saffron camp is trying to give importance to North Bengal,” said Mainak.

Meanwhile, Dilip Ghosh giving his reaction to the party’s decision said, “I have given my best and the change was needed. The BJP has grown and become strong in West Bengal. Now, I will do whatever the party central leadership instructs me to do.”

India’s capital tops in communal violence cases: NCRB data

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September 20, 2021

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India’s capital tops in communal violence cases: NCRB data

Bhopal: A large-scale anti-Muslim violence that rocked parts of the national capital Delhi in February 2020 caused a 96 per cent hike in the cases of communal riots in the country. This is revealed in the data released by the National Crime Records Bureau, (NCRB), the other day.

The overall increase in riots was 50% which includes riots during farmer protests (38%) that began in the latter half of 2020 as well as riots during public protests (33%).

The NCRB recorded 438 communal riot cases in 2019 while in 2020 it went up to 857. The spike is because of the Delhi riots. Delhi Police alone filed 520 communal cases during 2020. More than 50 people, the majority of them Muslims, were killed in the violence that rocked the national capital in the last week of February 2020.

The data shows that Delhi was followed by Bihar where 117 cases of communal violence were recorded. Haryana and Jharkhand reported 51 communal cases each followed by Maharashtra (26) and Gujarat (23).

Notably, no communal violence case was recorded in Uttar Pradesh in 2020, the NCRB report revealed. But UP is the only state that saw an increase in the number of cases (2,217) registered for offences against the state. In 2019, 2,107 such cases were recorded in the state.

Meanwhile, going through the NRCB report-2020 it is revealed that Delhi, among 19 metropolitan cities, is the most unsafe for women. The report states that 40 per cent of all rape cases recorded in the metropolitan cities were reported from Delhi alone. The report says that 25 per cent of all murder cases in metropolitan cities were also from Delhi.

Of the total crimes against women last year, the maximum of 1,11,549 was under the category “cruelty by husband or relatives”, while there were 62,300 cases of kidnapping and abduction also, NCRB records showed.

According to the data, India reported an average of 80 murders daily in 2020, total 29,193 fatalities over the year, with Uttar Pradesh topping the chart among states. This was an increase of one per cent over the total 28,915 murders in 2019, with a daily average of 79 killings during the year, the data showed.

77 women raped every day in India in 2020

According to data released by NCRB, nearly 77 rape cases were reported across India on an average every day in 2020, total 28,046 such incidents during the year.

Overall, 3,71,503 cases of crime against women were reported across the country last year, down from 4,05,326 in 2019 and 3,78,236 in 2018, the NCRB, which functions under the Union home ministry.

Of the total cases of crimes against women in 2020, there were 28,046 incidents of rape involving 28,153 victims, according to the NCRB data for the year, which witnessed COVID-19 outbreak and pandemic-induced lockdowns. Out of the total victims, 25,498 were adults, while 2,655 were below the age of 18 years, it stated.

The number of rape cases, as defined in IPC section 376, stood at 32,033 in 2019, 33,356 in 2018 and 32,559 in 2017. The figure for 2016 was 38,947, according to NCRB data from corresponding years.

Among states and Union Territories, the maximum of 5,310 rape cases were lodge in Rajasthan in 2020, followed by Uttar Pradesh (2,769), Madhya Pradesh (2,339), Maharashtra (2,061) and Assam (1,657).

Besides rape, there were 85,392 cases of “assault to outrage modesty” and 3,741 cases of “attempt to commit rape”, the NCRB data showed. There were 105 cases of acid attack logged across the country during 2020, it added. India also recorded 6,966 cases of dowry deaths with 7,045 victims last year, the data showed.

The state of Madhya Pradesh saw the rape of 45 women every week last year. The NCRB Report reveals this sordid saga about the state that fair sex is in. As far as violation of women goes, Madhya Pradesh is in third place.

A girl falls victim to a rapist every 3 hours in BJP-ruled MP

Meanwhile, the central state of Madhya Pradesh appears to be most unsafe for children (girl child). This conclusion is based on the NCRB report-2020.

As many as 3,259 girls were subjected to rape during the period which means a girl was raped almost every three hours on average. These crimes were registered under section 376 of IPC and sections 4 and 6 of POCSO. MP was followed by Maharashtra which registered 2785 such cases and UP with 2533 cases. As far as the total number of crimes against children is concerned in the state, it witnessed a decline in 2020 as compared to the year 2019 but as far as the crime rate is concerned it was the highest in the country at 59.1. The total number of crimes against children in 2020 stood at 17008 in comparison to 19028 in 2019 and 18992 in 2018. Children were subjected to heinous crimes like murder, murder with rape, abetment of suicide, attempt to murder, infanticide, foeticide, exposure and abandonment among others.

In 2020, as many as 144 children were murdered as per the report. Thus, MP stood third among states as far as the murder of children is concerned. Uttar Pradesh topped the chart with 271 murders while Maharashtra recorded 149 murder cases. Thirteen children were murdered after rape in the state; the second-highest in the country after UP with 30 such cases. Madhya Pradesh again topped the chart of crime with 73 cases as far as abetment of suicide of children is concerned (reported under section 305 of IPC) followed by 59 in Maharashtra and 50 in West Bengal.

But Congress-ruled Rajasthan most unsafe state for women

The data shows that Congress-ruled Rajasthan is the most unsafe state for women as the number of rape cases recorded in the state was 5,997 against 3,065 in Uttar Pradesh and 2,485 in Madhya Pradesh.

The state of Rajasthan is at the top with 5,310 rape cases, followed by the state of Uttar Pradesh with 2,769 cases. In the state of Madhya Pradesh, 2,341 women and girls are raped in the year 2020.

Madhya Pradesh is the 3rd topper in rape cases, according to NCRB-2020. In 2020, as many as 2,341 women and girls were allegedly raped in the state of Madhya Pradesh, according to the report.

In the year 2020, there were rape attempts on as many as 34 women and girls, but they managed to escape from the clutches of the criminals somehow. Out of the 2,341 rapes, 10 girls of age less than 18 years were raped and out of 34 attempted rapes, 11 were minors.

MP 2nd in crimes against elderly

Meanwhile, according to the NCRB data Madhya Pradesh recorded the second-highest number of crimes against senior citizens in 2020. There was a significant rise in cases in the state from 4184 in 2019 to 4602 in 2020.

However, Indore recorded only 95 cases in this category, maintaining a low for the fourth year in a row. Overall, there was a decrease of 10.8% in the crimes against senior citizens in the country as compared to last year.

Indore, however, has remained constant for the past four years. The numbers had started decreasing in the city from 2015. Indore managed to reduce the crimes from 58 in 2016 to 0 in 2017, and then it rose to 114 in 2018 and 100 in 2019, which again reduced to 95 in 2020.

Indore in top 3 metropolitan cities of drug peddlers

Among the 19 metropolitan cities in the state, Indore has witnessed the highest number of assault cases. There have been 2,865 cases of minor assaults registered in 2020, according to the NCRB report.

Besides, the trend of possessing illegal arms in the city is also alarming, as, among the metropolitan cities in the country, Indore has the second-highest number of cases registered under the Arms Act. There have been 1,405 cases of the Arms Act registered with the police, last year. Similarly, the city is among the first three cities in the country, under the metropolitan category, where drug-peddlers have been booked.

Rise in murder cases in MP

The state of Bihar is the topper with 3,195 cases of murder reported in the year 2020. Maharashtra was in the second position in the country with as many as 2,129 people murdered during the year.

Earlier, a special trend was seen in the state of Madhya Pradesh where a drop in the number of murder cases was seen over the past three years. In Madhya Pradesh, in the year 2017, as many as 1,908 people had been murdered; in the year 2018, the number of cases decreased to 1,879; and, in the year 2019, the number dropped to 1,795. But, in the year 2020, the number increased to 2,155 in the pandemic year.

Three murders were reported during a dacoity in Madhya Pradesh in the year 2020. In the state of Chhattisgarh, 17 cases of murder and dacoity were reported and three cases were reported in the state of Maharashtra.

People of the state of Madhya Pradesh are also not far behind in keeping arms. In the year 2020, as many as 12,977 cases under the Arms Act were reported. In Uttar Pradesh, the highest number of 33,578 cases under the Arms Act were reported and, in the state of Rajasthan, 5,199 cases were reported.

Where else MP tops or in second position

Gambling: People of Madhya Pradesh are also gambling enthusiasts; as many as 27,975 cases were registered in the state—the highest in the country. While in Rajasthan, 17,774 cases of gambling were registered; in the state of Gujarat, 17,226 cases of gambling were reported in the year 2020.

Bought for prostitution: As many as 5,431 women became victims of an assault on women with intent to outrage their modesty. Among them 127 were minors. Alarmingly, 24 children were procured for prostitution in the state.

Minors below 12 years: As many as 5,670 children below the age of 12 years were sexually assaulted, sexually harassed and forced into pornography in MP. The state of Uttar Pradesh was at first place with 6,904 cases, followed by Maharashtra (5,756) and Madhya Pradesh (5,670)

Children kidnapped: In the reported year, 3,914 children were assumed to be kidnapped in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra was at first place with 3,917 kidnappings and Odisha at third place with 3,666

Shelter home girls: Sick people did not even spare women and girls living in shelter homes of the state. As many as 65 women and girls faced sexual harassment in MP. In Maharashtra, 95 cases were reported and in Gujarat, 63 cases

Sold for prostitution: According to the report, four girls were sold for prostitution in MP, nine in Bihar and two in Gujarat

Cases of mischief: Cases of mischief are also causing problems to the people of the state. People of MP had filed 447 cases at police stations. In Maharashtra, 498 cases were filed and in Tamil Nadu, 227 cases

UP leads in atrocities against SC/St

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 10,360 cases followed by Bihar with 7663 cases and MP with 7229 cases of atrocities committed on members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. In MP, a total of 509 SC/ST women were raped, including 204 minors. Importantly, 82 were less than 12 years old. As many as 10 girls were kidnapped for marriage and 99 women had faced sexual harassment and 45 of them faced voyeurism in 2020.

Every year, atrocities against SC and ST people are increasing in Madhya Pradesh, says the NCRB report. In 2018, the number was 4,753, which increased to 5,300 in 2019 and it reached 7229 in 2020.

The cases of ‘Promoting Enmity Between Groups’ reported across the country in 2020 were 1,804, while cases recorded under this category for 2019 were 1,058. Tamil Nadu recorded the highest such cases (303) followed by Uttar Pradesh (243).

The UAPA (anti-terror law) cases registered in 2020 also saw a dip compared to 2019. A total of 287 cases were registered in Jammu and Kashmir followed by Manipur (169) and then Jharkhand (86).

Mamata Didi, a popular PM face for 2024: Babul Supriyo

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September 19, 2021

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Mamata Didi, a popular PM face for 2024: Babul Supriyo

Kolkata: A day after joining Trinamool Congress (TMC), the former minister in Modi cabinet and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Asansol MP Babul Supriyo said that in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a popular face but for the 2024 Parliamentary election chief minister Mamata Banerjee, is the most popular one.

“I want to see the most popular face as the next Prime Minister of India and no one can rule out the popularity of Mamata Banerjee. The landslide victory of TMC has proven that people of Bengal want to see Mamata Didi as the PM of India,” said Babul in his first press conference as TMC leader.

The former minister mentioned that he is even ready to ‘interchange’ the allegations that both he and Abhishek Banerjee had exchanged earlier as political rivals.

“I will not delete any political posts from social media and will keep them saved. As political rivals, we have cross swords against each other but now we will have to work together,” pointed out Babul.

Expressing gratitude towards TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Babul said that they have given him a chance to stay in ‘playing 11’.

“I wanted to work for people and didn’t want to sit in reserve. The camp that will make me play in the main 11 players I will play for them. Mamata Didi had empathized with me and asked me to do good work and motivated me,” he claimed.

Babul also stated that after he visits the national capital on Tuesday if Speaker Om Birla gives him time then he would resign from the BJP MP post that day itself.

On the issue of being trolled on social media, the singer-turned politician said that he was aware that he will be slammed.

“Whatever Dilip Ghosh, Suvendu Adhikari are saying is correct as they are allowed to say anything against me. I was aware of all these, despite all, I have decided to defect,” he further said.

In a response to his ‘Jhalmuri’ diplomacy in 2015, Babul said, “For the sake of development I entered chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s car after a program and we ate jhalmuri, for the sake of people of Bengal I am ready to meet BJP ministers across dhokla. People have seen my works in the last seven years. In 2014, people had voted for me as a singer but in 2019 people have voted for my work.”

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’ Brien who was also present in the press meet did not miss to remind that PM Modi has not done a single press conference since he assume PM office. “Babul had answered all the questions raised, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi have never called for a press conference for the last seven years,” he said.

Saugata Roy, another senior TMC leader and MP was also present at the press meet.

It may be recalled that while quitting politics in early August, Babul had mentioned that he will never rejoin politics and even if he does later he will rejoin the BJP and no other political parties.

However, the Bollywood singer is the first BJP MP to desert the saffron camp post Bengal assembly polls verdict. It is also believed that many will follow him. Earlier, four BJP legislators, including Mukul Roy, a senior politician in Bengal politics had done ghar wapsi.

Speculations are rife that in the coming week one more MP and an MLA will leave BJP and join ruling TMC.

Khwabnama relies on the shared experience of people to tell its own

Book Review

Ashutosh Kumar Thakur

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September 18, 2021

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Khwabnama relies on the shared experience of people to tell its own

Khwabnama by Akhtaruzzaman Elias, translated by Arunava Sinha is a beautiful mosaic of magical realism, lyrical poetry and prose that captures the politics of majoritarianism that wreaks havoc on the lives of the common men and women. Arunava Sinha’s translation of one of the greatest Bengali novels depicts the socio-political scene in rural pre-partition Bangladesh.

Akhtaruzzaman Elias was a Bangladeshi novelist and short-story writer who, despite writing only two novels, is regarded by most critics as being part of the pantheon of great Bengal authors. Chilekothar Sepai detailed the psychological journey of a man during the turbulent period just before Bangladeshi independence in 1971 and offered an unrivalled depiction of life in Puran Dhaka, an old town. ‘Khwabnama’ (1996) depicts the socio-political scene in the rural pre-partition of Bangladesh.

Told through the aspirations and anxieties of people who fall through the cracks, leaving them out from the larger narrative of a nation and its leaders, the narrative asks a profound question:

What are dreams made of and who gets the leisure of a dream?

Akhtaruzzaman Elias’s Khwabnama talks about the dream that the working class farmer’s nurture in their mind that one day they will become an independent farmer with their cultivable land and cattle. However, the suppression and the dream of being a solitary planter lead the working class people like Tamiz in unconditional misery.

Set in the Bengal of the 1940s, Khwabnama is an epic in terms of its scope, the historical backdrop, the characters and their stories. It starts like a fable and slowly singes its way with a firm political voice: the despair of starvation, the oppression faced by landless peasants and farmers who work tirelessly in the fields in the hope of some relief only to be denied a fair share of the crop, people who do not count for much except for their labour, except for their votes and numbers in a crowd assembled for a political cause.

Work is scarce and wages are low. There is barely any food to be had. The proposal for the formation of Pakistan, the elections of 1946, and communal riots are rewriting the contours of history furiously. Amidst all this, in an unnamed village, a familiar corporeal spirit plunges into knee-deep mud. This is Tamiz’s father, the man in possession of Khwabnama. The book argues for the need to understand resistance as a process and anti-colonialism as a cry against forcible extraction of surplus value before it’s seen as a demand for national-political action.

Legendary author Akhtaruzzaman Elias writes in the book “The spot where Tamiz’s father stood with his feet planted in the mud, craning his neck as high as possible, stretching his nerves taut, and waving his jet-black arms to dispel the grey clouds, needs to be noted carefully. A long time ago, when, leave alone Tamiz’s father, even his father had not been born, when his grandfather Bhaghar Majhi the fisherman’s birth was still a long way in the future, when Bhaghar Majhi’s grandfather’s father—or was it his grandfather—had barely been born, or not, and even if he had, was only crawling about on the newly-laid earth in the home built by clearing a part of the forest, on one afternoon during those days, while he was speeding towards the Karatowa river in order to visit the Mahasthan Killa with several of Majnu Shah’s fakirs, Munshi Barkatullah Shah was flung from his horse after being shot dead by Taylor, the commander of British troops. The hole left in his neck by the bullet was never filled. After his death, with a chain around this neck and his body smeared with ash, and holding an iron pan with fish motifs carved on it, he perched on the fig tree on the northern side of the Katlahar Lake. Ever since then, he became the sunlight during the day and spread himself all over the lake, and reigned over the lake all night from the fig tree. Tamiz’s father waved his arms to get rid of the clouds in the sky in the hope of catching a glimpse of Munshi.”

At first glance, Khwab Nama is the tale of a harmless young farmhand who becomes a sharecropper and dreams of a future that has everything to do with the land that he cultivates and the soil that he tills. Tamiz is compelled to migrate to town to work in the house of a leader of the Muslim league. He had to migrate there because of the police case is given by Kalam Majhi but we see that he has a nostalgic will to go back to his village to stay with his newly married wife and daughter and we see a very significant nostalgic dream of land and to be a full-time farmer (a dream of cultivable land and a pair of cows). The fabrics of his dreams, though, have as much to do with the history of the land as its future, and as much to do with memories as with hope.

Tamiz will work in his land and his wife Phuljaan will help him in farming and together they harvest lots of crops and there will be no one to demand his percentage of the crops. He started dreaming this after his return from Joipurhat where the Tebhaga movement was going on and he had a great influence on the movement throughout the novel. For that reason, we see that when he was forcibly migrated from Bogra to Dhaka, he cannot control his dreaming and cannot stop him from joining Tebhaga. He left the train and caught another to meet with his dream Tebhaga.

In this magnum opus, which documents the Tebhaga movement, wherein peasants demanded two-thirds of the harvest they produced on the land owned by zamindars, Akhtaruzzaman Elias has created an extraordinary tale of magical realism, blending memory with reality, a legend with history and the struggle of marginalized people with the stories of their ancestors.

Elias’ novel ‘Khwabnama’ falls within the perimeter of what Palestinian-American critic and activist Edward Said has described as “late style.” Khwabnama‘s maze-like narrative, its thematic structure, and, of course, its immensely creative as well as inaccessible prose point towards its radical stylistic organization that Said calls late style. However, late work or not, ‘Khwabnama’ remains Elias’ most challenging work and, in every sense, his finest as well.

Elias writes in the book ‘But it didn’t turn out the same way every time. No, on some nights an unbroken sound woke Tamiz’s father up completely. Someone was speaking in a hoarse drawl far in the distance—where else but the fig tree…

Munshi lives in the fig tree to the north

Beneath him swim all the fierce murrels

Late at night, only on Munshi’s command

All the murrels take the form of sheep.

But because Tamiz’s father started violently, the verses from afar did not remain audible, although they gave him a violent itch on his scalp before subsiding. It was possible that the tingling he had been feeling all over his body had been caused by the droning of these verses. No sooner had it acquired the form of words, however than Tamiz’s father woke up, by which time the sounds had returned to the fig tree. A violent gust of the same wind on which they had flown in now blew them away to the roof of the Mandals’ home in the south, which in turn awoke the flock of white storks on Sharafat Mandal’s silk cotton tree. These storks were favourites of Sharafat’s, whose influence in the area ensured that they survived. It was because of his strict instructions that, leave alone the villagers, not even the thousands of people who visited the village fair at Poradaho on the last Wednesday of the month of Maagh every year dared to throw rocks at the tree. Like Sharafat Mandal, the ancestors of the storks too had their original home in the village of Nijgiridanga.”

How the book of a dream, ‘Khwabnama’ changes hands and, from the custody of dreamers and poets, eventually ends up in the possession of the opportunistic nouveau riche (the national bourgeoisie) is what the novel describes by using intricate yet extremely creative narrative strategy. An in-depth discussion about how the novel deploys metaphors, symbols and magic realist techniques to create a myth-ridden and mysterious world is not possible here.

“But Sharafat himself became the owner of the land in this way. When the blacksmiths moved to the town, Mandal’s hired hands went over to plough their land, which was when the swarm of storks on the arjun tree flew across the lake to perch on the branches of Sharafat Mandal’s silk cotton tree. Sharafat offered shelter to the helpless birds with great tenderness. God is merciful, nothing escapes his eye, and so Sharafat had been rewarded plentifully for this act. His flourishing household kept swelling with children, women, cattle, ducks and hens, land, and hired hands. But a question—could birds from a Hindu village possibly turn anyone’s luck so much? “Akhtaruzzaman Elias writes further.

One distinctive feature of the novel comes into view right away, while most novels depend upon the development and struggles of individuals to tell their stories, Khwabnama relies on the shared experience of people to tell its own. Only a handful of novels written in the past century can measure up to Elias’ last work. It is a milestone in world literature.

At the heart of the novel’s thematic structure stand the dreams, struggles and baffles of the ordinary folks, mostly fishermen and landless farmers, who find their lives upended by Tebhaga Uprising on the one hand and the independence movement on the other. This work not only problematizes the way resistances have been shaped by an overarching national-liberation paradigm but also suggests the need to shift that paradigm now. The idiom of national liberation is important enough not to be rejected. But it is, at the same time, not so significant as to be fully embraced.

However, instead of being the Subject, they become the ‘subject’ of capitalism; which makes people like Tamiz a ‘subaltern’ through remembering scholar, literary theorist Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s argument “can the subaltern speak?”

This book attempts to discover if Tamiz is the representation of the voiceless people of working-class society, in other words, to discover if Tamiz is a subaltern or not?

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Khwabnama relies on the shared experience of people to tell its own

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