By making the spat with the governor public, Mamata Banerjee concedes her failure to control the Basirhat riots.
Subhankar Chatterjee (name changed) is a computer engineer from Baduria in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. He is a neighbour of Souvik Sarkar, a 17-year-old student who was arrested for allegedly uploading an offensive post on Facebook on July 2, triggering riots in the area.
I met Subhankar at a coffee shop in Kolkata as he had fled his home because of the riots. “The post was derogatory to Muslims,” said Subhankar. “But Souvik could not have done it. Now there are two accounts in his name,” said Subhankar, who was on Souvik’s friends’ list on Facebook. Both accounts have been deleted. The son of a poor mason, Souvik lost his mother when he was eight. Two of his uncles work in the police department.
“On July 3, I saw a large number of local people entering Souvik’s house. Later, some outsiders raising slogans entered the house, torched a portion of it and stole all valuables,” said Subhankar. The police just about managed to arrest the boy before the attack.
For a few hours after the attack, no one—even Tushar Singha, chairman of the Baduria municipality—could enter the locality. “There were at least 1,000 men. They set fire to a part of the police station and seven police vehicles, after the police refused to hand over Souvik to them,” said Subhankar. Violence spread quickly. Even women were not spared. The attacks, which were initially one-sided, soon turned into a full-fledged communal riot, spreading to other parts of Basirhat.
Baduria is part of the Basirhat subdivision, which has a sizeable Muslim population. “Hindus and Muslims in Basirhat used to be an example for the rest of the country. But that has been shattered,” said Subhankar.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 23, 2017 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 23, 2017 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Ram temple not an issue in south
Much has been said this election season about the alleged north-south divide.
Haute and sweaty
In Mumbai, where I live and work, there is a severe heatwave going on. The highest temperature this month has been 40 degrees, sweltering and humid for the coastal city.
MOVE AWAY MARY!
In many parts of the world,unique names are becoming popular
CALL OF THE WILD
Tejas Thackeray, the younger son of former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, shares his passion for wildlife conservation and photography
CEPA and beyond
Bilateral trade between the UAE and India has grown almost 16 per cent year-on-year, touching $84.5 billion
Brash and raw
When I chanced upon Raj Narain, who humbled Indira Gandhi
Lone voice of dissent
“I am keen to invite Parakala [Prabhakar] to Mumbai… What do you think? Do you know him?” A friend asked. No, I don’t know the man. And no, it is not a good idea to invite him, unless you want to invite trouble, I replied.
Modi and the Muslim syndrome
I have long been intrigued by the prime minister’s desire to hug every passing sheikh and sultan and his contrasting contempt for the ordinary Indian Muslim.
Assam Rifles not trained to guard borders; need separate force for Manipur border
Imphal is blanketed in darkness. The sun has set a little too soon in the valley, but N. Biren Singh is yet to call it a day.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE SENTINELS
Manipur government wants the Assam Rifles replaced, but the Union home ministry is focused on upgrading infrastructure and connectivity before deciding who guards the state