Burning issues

A day after complete anarchy unfolded during BJP president Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata when a vicious attack on one of Bengal's most revered figures, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, took place, the whole state plunged into a cultural vacuum overnight. While preparations were on for his bicentenary celebrations, his bust at Vidyasagar College was desecrated and broken into pieces. The incident drew widespread criticism not only from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but also from the Bengali intelligentsia and the people of the state in general. Terming it to be "quite unfortunate and a well-planned attack on the college," she said: "BJP will have to pay for vandalising the statue of Vidyasagar." In Bengal, there is a deep connect with the legacy of the land, an emotion that is closely associated with the greatest reformers and social thinkers who were born here and left an ever-lasting impact on the culture and aesthetics of this part of the country that led to the Bengali Renaissance. Any attack and onslaught on such institutions will lead to a massive outcry, as has been witnessed in the case of Vidyasagar College incident. Creative personalities from various professions condemned the attack and raised their voices against what they termed as the "distasteful" attitude of the Narendra Modi government and urged people to "vote for Mamata Banerjee who is putting up a fierce resistance against the Modi-Shah tyranny". Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, musician Kabir Suman, a former TMC MP, said: "I do not want the Modi-Shah government to remain in power at the Centre. Mamata Banerjee is putting up a fierce resistance against the Modi government and I urge voters to support her. This BJP government does not respect human values and only sow seeds of communalism. BJP is today attempting to use Vivekananda in Bengal for political mileage and shouting out his name but refuses to conform to his ideals." Echoing similar thoughts, poet Joy Goswami said: "We feel embarrassed that such a time has come when we need to hold conferences discussing how our basic values of life are in jeopardy. BJP is demeaning Bengal." TMC leaders have come up with irrefutable evidence showing BJP goons, part of Amit Shah's rally, rampaging and vandalising Vidyasagar's bust, showing no respect or love for Bengal's culture. Thus, the burning issue is that such leaders of our nation cannot respect their own icons, they do not believe in the doctrines of those who shaped the identity of this land, and have forgotten the true spirit of revolution that formed the foundation of our freedom. It has, therefore, become absolutely compelling to evoke sentiments of nationalist pride and honour and to judiciously cast one's own vote because today, it is simply now or never!