In West Bengal state of India, the word ‘democracy’ is in utmost danger. For 32 years, majority of the people of this eastern Indian state have voted Left Front into power. In this long tenure, apart from quite a few development works, there also has been a sharp fall in basic civil and human rights in the state, a massacre in the law & order situation and a massive calamity concerning the freedom of press being misutilized by a section of the print and screen media. As a result, the state is in the middle of the biggest crisis situation ever in the history. There is widespread violence by means of uncontrolled cache of arms & ammunition available in the hands of people.
A section of the society, though engages in a normal civilized lifestyle, the other section is engaged into endless violence, thus, converting the golden Bengal into a land of deaths. Politically, every party is blaming the other for these destructive works. But in reality, each and every political party is recruiting poor and economically downtrodden people to take up arms in lieu of money and engage into violence against opponent. Since independence of India in 1947, plenty of thousands of lives have died due to political violence between parties.
After the year 2000, the society has witnessed a sharp rise in television journalism, thus, giving birth to a bunch of mismatching variety of political statements instead of impartial news presentation. Freedom of press has been misutilized in the farthest limits as possible. A certain section of television journalists have resorted to moneymaking by delivering political party’s statements on air. Gone are the days when journalists were poor people who lived in shabby residences in a non-posh locality in their city. Now journalists have rich pockets, they buy costliest of cars, invest in their personal business establishments etc. All these, is a typical scene in Bengal now. People don’t get these news, as they are the ones who deliver news and off course they hush up their own stories and they only talk about others. So, journalists are the fearless hyenas of the society now, far more dangerous than any political leaders can be.
Politicians, joining hands together with a certain section of journalists have unleashed undescribable terror situation in entire West Bengal. Home Minister has already stated that WB has turned into a killing land and he was right. Every day, round the clock, not a single day spared, we hear news of political violence among parties. People of all parties are dying. But news channels are speaking according to party lines. Honest journalists have been forced to go backstage now. It is only because of one truth: money talks more than anything else does. As long as the phenomenon of ‘freedom of press’ prevails, anything goes. The political leaders and journalists have, together, availed this golden opportunity to influence and terrorize people.
In the way of downfall of democracy, the police has been badly used to act in favor of ruling party’s political wishes. Oppression caused violence to grow more. Adding into the fire, the electronic news channels used their microphones and cameras to show only one side of the coin to the public. Amidst this political quarrel, the anti-national forces like the Maoists began their journey and rose to the scene, this also added to the people’s sufferings in addition to the political clashes. Everywhere around people are loosing their lands, and their dear one’s lives. Women have been raped by human penis and iron rods. Pregnant women have been kicked and their unborn child aborted. Parents have lost their children and children were also turned into orphans. Wives lost their husbands. Only political leaders and journalists filled their pockets out of these incidents.
Democracy is in a frightening condition right now. As I am writing this, now also a severe gun battle is in full swing in Nanur area of WB. CM Buddhadeb doesn’t want joint forces to combat it, since it is a political battle and not Maoists. But it is the same loss of lives that is occurring here too. In the evening, we will see another set of talk shows in all the news channels, discussing whom to blame. Tomorrow or day after, Home Minister will issue another statement of condemning this violence. That is all which we have got in the definition of democracy in WB state.
Sadly enough, according to the definitions of democracy, whatever the ruling party does is called people’s wish, and the same thing if done by opposition is called ‘anti-democracy’. We the people of WB are struck. If I call out to the rest of the world, if I send out a SOS message through my blog and my Twitter, hardly any hand of support will be extended by anyone. Because I am not a famous guy, and I live in West Bengal state, so my voice is unheard. I don’t have a huge list of friends through social networking so that I can spread out my SOS message among million others. There are, million others, who are far more down the line as I am. Their voice is unheard. Police is rejecting the meeting proposals of our Human Rights Commission and are being booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Several other people are getting arrested on a daily basis, without being shown any reasons by the police, they are being taken somewhere blindfolded which is completely unlawful, and then they are later released in the darkness of the night, at an area far from their homes.
Countless people have already died, so many more thousands still to embrace death. Innumerable families to cry in vain. There is nobody to listen to our voices. People’s ruler is people’s killer now. This is our reality. Life is so cheap and can be taken any day in this state, law will turn a deaf ear to loss of lives. In West Bengal, democratic laws are being raped daily, by the ruling party, by the police and by their designated lawyers. Then, a severely manipulated news is presented to us by qualified and corrupt set of journalists.
In 2011 assembly elections, if people vote for a change, situations won’t improve then too. Because, WB state is already filled with tonnes of arms & ammunition. In power or not in power, creating violence is just a matter of a cup of tea now. The miscreants already have enough cache of weapons to continue violence for many more years. Now, people’s wish or people democratic mandate means very little or nothing at all. After 2011, today’s ruling party may sit in opposition, but will not leave the means of violence, and today’s opposition will rise to power and will hardly rule nicely for only a few years, then they’ll also turn into demons and kill people. Because, it is all about money & political power.
Honesty is the prime disquailfication mark in the profession of politics & journalism in West Bengal. And that is why, democracy is in danger in this state.
