Appeasing Minorities? The Fine Print of Mamata’s Muharram Diktat

With more than 10 communal incidents reported in the past year, one wonders how Bengal has changed.

As a young student in high school in Kolkata, I would often be given the chance to ‘express’ myself in various forms during my half-yearly and annual exams. The best form of ‘expression’, as I recall, was the Bengali essays we were asked to write. Almost invariably, the question papers used to be great levellers – a mix of easy to relatively tough questions, in short and long form, from modern literature to ancient text, and more.

It was a great equaliser in one more aspect: religion. Almost every time with ‘Muharram’ as an essay topic, there would be a complementary one in ‘your favourite Bengali festival’; as many questions from ‘Bidrohi Kabi’ Qazi Nazrul Islam’s poems as there would be from the great Tagore’s. Both Hindu and Muslim students would attempt them without any biases.

I spent my formative years in mainland West Bengal during the 90s. A Bengal where the ‘Nazrul janma-shotobarshiki’ (birth centenary) was celebrated with as much grace and jingoism as the state formation days are celebrated in some of India’s newly-formed states. Rabindra Jayanti would be as grand as Independence Day celebrations.

In inspiring music, Hindu-Muslim friendship, sweets and chocolates – the public would rejoice on these occasions.

With over 10 communally charged incidents reported in the past one year, and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s third consecutive order to postpone/delay idol immersion ‘conflicting’ with Muharram, one wonders to what extent Bengal has changed over the years.

Some, including the Calcutta High Court, said Banerjee’s order was ‘unconstitutional’, others painted it as the Chief Minister’s attempt to appease the minorities.

Also Read: Mamata Urges Pujo, Muharram Organisers to Ensure Communal Amity

Is there any other angle to the issue? Let’s delve into it.

Zeroing in on the Value System

Both Muharram and Durga Puja are observed in a grand way. Muharram, meaning ‘forbidden’, is largely reserved as an occasion to mourn. It is observed in remembrance of Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, Hussain, and his family who were killed in the Battle of Karbala. It’s a commemoration of grief, sadness, and loss. People hurt themselves, shed blood and sweat to visualise the pain they must have gone through.

Vijaya Dashami, the last day of Durga Puja, is when devotees bid farewell to Goddess Durga as she returns to Mount Kailash.

Most Bengalis know that at the intersection of Muharram and Vijay Dashami, there are a few things in common. If the two align together by either the lunar Muslim calendar or the religious Hindu ‘panjika’, it is an emotional day for devotees across religious lines.

Instances of communal clashes mark the degradation of our values and our culture.

Zooming in on Vulnerability

Many in Bengal, the government machinery included, believe that there’s isn’t much to worry about. They say Bengal is still a place of communal harmony.

If true, then it’s about handling minor problems. As American poet Emily Dickinson says, “If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves.”

What this means is enforcing law and order – even just ensuring that the processions don’t clash or that people don’t engage in unruly behaviour.

But, why would the Chief Minister issue a postponement order, something that violates the right to worship? It means somewhere in the state, a clash is waiting to happen.

According to a management theory, risks are better handled in four possible ways: by avoiding it, mitigating it, transferring it, or accepting it.

If Banerjee is managing ‘risk’ by issuing a postponement order, what strategy is she adopting? The strategy to avoid, which means the anticipation of a greater risk.

The Recourse

Taking Banerjee’s order into consideration, or going by facts, there is considerable risk.

According to a 2016 report in The Hindu, in response to questions asked by two MPs in Parliament, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that the number of communal incidents in Bengal had increased from 16 in 2014 to 24 between January and October 2015. From Burdwan to Basirhat, from Dhulagarh to Illambazar, 2016 continued that trend.

Also Read: Baduria Riots: Another Face of Bengal's Communalised Politics?

The problem needs a prominent solution, possibly a multi-party alignment.

End the ‘Divide and Rule’ Policy

When the British divided the subcontinent, so hasty and unreasonable was the carving out that there were territories, counter-territories even counter-counter-territories. One of the messiest was the India (Largely West Bengal) and Bangladesh border. As the cult Bengali movie, directed by well-known Srijit Mukherji, ‘Rajkahini’ (Hindi adaptation titled, ‘Begum Jaan’) shows, so abrupt was the Partition that it divided families, homes and even living rooms by whimsical lines. Fortunately, India and Bangladesh finally fixed the anomaly in 2015 with an elaborate exchange of land and people.

Today it appears as though the problems are not much at the border, but have moved transversely to the heartland of Bengal. God forbid, if we allow it, the fissures will break huge grounds: not just in Kolkata, West Bengal, but to all of India.

You wouldn’t hear anyone say: “Angrez chale gaye aulad chor gaye” anymore. In order to maintain peace in Bengal and for a unified India, we must stop the ‘Divide and Rule’ policy. We must do soul searching.

A place where Nazrul and Rabindranath are worshipped with equal splendor, where Sukanta and Jasimuddin are recited with equal passion – a place without even a semblance of communal violence.

By applying more civic responsibility, or by implementing better administrative control, let the people of Bengal use these lines in their lives – and not just in their essays – “Mora eki brinte duti kusum, Hindu Musalman” (Hindu and Muslims are two flowers of the same stalk)."

(Debnath is an alumnus of SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai. He works as a management consultant. He can be reached on @ImDebnath. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own.The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)

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