Bengal Communal Clashes: Humanity Shot Dead!

In a country raged by communal hatred and fueled by political misunderstanding, it is sometimes dangerous to have a political opinion – An Unknown Writer.

Sipping on a cup of tea, a friend of mine asked “who caused the riots and the killing”. Overlooking the above quoted statement, I simply replied: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame.

Following the riots in Asansol and other parts of West Bengal during Ram Navami celebrations, the only picture we can imagine (leave aside witnessing) is burnt properties, destroyed houses, vehicles on fire, shops looted and obviously people mostly minorities killed mercilessly.

Now you reading my blog would be thinking how selfish of me, keeping human life after all the material things, then let me tell you the one gone has gone, the one left has to live willingly or unwillingly, battles to survive, battles to reconstruct these so called material things and at times battles all alone.

Having a word with my colony vegetable vendor, she trembled at very thought of that day as if death had come knocking at her door. Her father in law killed mercilessly hitting with a stone, her house with her husband’s memories turned into ashes. The poor widow now lives in a four walled room with tinned roof along with her old mother in law and her kid, a place where most of us won’t be able to breathe even. On other hand, this morning seeing a pretty young girl instead of my usual garbage wala made me little surprised, on asking she said she was busy cooking dinner for her parent in laws and her seven year old son when suddenly a group of men came shouting and throwing stones towards them. She along with her family took refuge for 3 days in a Muslim dominated area as it was safer than her own home. On returning saw the house is no more, all her savings (whatever little she had) gone, only the horrified memories left. She had no choice but to move to Kolkata and start working along with her husband, start her life all again.

Since March 25, when Ram Navami celebrations began, Asansol, has seen a series of communal clashes. The epicenter of the violence is Raniganj, a town about 100 KM from Burdwan. As per reports, the trouble began at a busy area of the town when stones were thrown at a Ram Navami procession. This escalated into a clash between various groups which included bomb blasts and gun firings in various parts of the town. Bengal communal clashes provided the perfect cover for mobs to loot shops and ransack homes. Hindus in the area are moving to ‘safer locations’ where ‘population of Muslims is quite less’ and Muslims are feeling insecure in their own homes and moving to refugee camps.

Writing this blog made me remember few lines I had read sometimes in my school life: