Mamata: India wouldn’t have got Independence without Bengal

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asserted that India would not have achieved Independence without Bengal’s contribution, recalling the state’s role in producing eminent personalities and freedom fighters who shaped the nation’s destiny.

Speaking at the “Freedom at Midnight” programme in Behala on the eve of Independence Day, Banerjee said: “If Bengal was not there, India would not have got Independence. Bengal’s role in India’s freedom is the greatest. This soil has produced the maximum number of freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for Independence. The national anthem, the national song and the ‘Jai Hind’ slogan are all creations of Bengalis. Almost 70 per cent of inmates of the Cellular Jail in Port Blair were Bengalis, followed by freedom fighters from Punjab.”

She said Bengal has also been the birthplace of reformers like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Raja Rammohan Roy.

Referring to recent allegations of atrocities against migrant workers and people from Bengal in several BJP-ruled states, Banerjee criticised the branding of Bengalis as “Bangladeshi”. “You have no right to dishonour Bengali language. I will continue to protest against such atrocities till my last breath,” she said. Earlier, at a Kanyashree Diwas programme, she said those who came to Bengal as refugees during Partition are citizens of India.

“Action should be taken against foreigners, but simply speaking in Bengali should not lead to being branded as Bangladeshi,” she stated.

Banerjee alleged a tech professional was denied a hotel room in Noida for speaking Bengali to his son, and cited a Mumbai case where a migrant worker from Birbhum’s Nalhati allegedly lost both ears after complaining about unpaid wages. Questioning the real essence of independence in light of such incidents, she said: “This country, known for harmony and unity in diversity, is seeming ‘unknown’ to me.” She urged people to reject narrow-mindedness and uphold unity.