Politics and Silence Follow the ‘Unheard’ Kaliachak Incident

What explains the muted response of the West Bengal government on the Kaliachak incident? Asks Sudipta Chanda.

The West Bengal government has chosen to keep mum on the Kaliachak incident. (Photo: Sudipta Chanda/The Quint)

The year 2016 has had a turbulent start and the aftershocks are being felt from Pathankot to Kaliachak. If it is Pakistan-sponsored terrorists in Pathankot, it is home-grown radicals at Kaliachak.

What is perhaps unsettling is how political parties pounced on both Pathankot and Kaliachak, trying to milk the most of it. But then, that is their wont.

BJP MLA Samik Bhattacharya was arrested while he was headed to Kaliachak, for ‘taking stock of the situation’. (Photo: Sudipta Chanda/The Quint)

Pathankot we all are aware of, courtesy the attack on the air base. But Kaliachak? Where is it and why is it burning? Fake currency racket, drug racket, opium (poppy) cultivation, flesh trade, improvised arms manufacturing units – you name it and Kaliachak, a hick town along National Highway 34, bordering Bangladesh in Malda district, West Bengal has it.

How the Situation Spiralled Out of Control

• Despite incidents of violence and ransacking, West Bengal government and the police has remained unusually silent over the Kaliachak incident.
  
• Meanwhile, political parties have jumped into the fray with BJP MLA Samik Bhattacharya being arrested while he was headed to Kaliachak.
  
• A congregation called upon to condemn remarks against Prophet snowballed into a tense situation with radicals taking to the streets.
  
• ESK (Edara-e-Sharia Kaliachak), the religious outfit has since distanced itself from the violence.
  
• Since polls are due in West Bengal in 2016, it would be interesting to watch how the political parties play out vis-a-vis Kaliachak.
  

Silence on Kaliachak

The flashpoint was, therefore, coming and it did, on January 3. Kaliachak erupted in flames on Sunday. The local police station was burnt down, several vehicles were torched, BDO office and the nearby Khalitpur Railway Station were ransacked, as were some police quarters.

Radicals took to streets in Kaliachak resorting to violence and ransacking. (Photo: Sudipta Chanda/The Quint)

Unlike Pathankot, that garnered conflicting remarks and comments from a motley crowd of politicians and officials, the West Bengal government as well as the police remained unusually silent over the Kaliachak incident which could have easily snowballed into a communal riot.

The political parties have jumped into the fray with the BJP leading the pack. The party’s only MLA in West Bengal Samik Bhattacharya got arrested in Malda town while he was going to Kaliachak along with party supporters “to take stock of the situation”.

How It All Began

Trouble began after a little known organisation, ‘Edara-e-Sharia Kaliachak’ (ESK), convened a rally at Kaliachak. It had called for a protest against derogatory comments on Prophet Mohammad by a Hindu Mahasabha activist, Kamlesh Tiwari in Lucknow on December 1, 2015.

According to an ESK leaflet, Tiwari has been arrested and is in jail. However, the blasphemous act, albeit a month ago, could not be allowed to let go without protest and so the ESK arranged a public remonstration at Kaliachak on January 3. It was legitimate till that point, but all hell broke loose thereafter.

Leaflet by the Edara-e-Sharia Kaliachak (in bengali), calling upon people for a congregation. (Photo: Sudipta Chanda/The Quint)

Using the Islamic congregation as a smokescreen, radicals took to the streets burning, ransacking, terrorising and coercing, as the police stood as silent observers in the face of the onslaught.

The ESK has distanced itself from the violence. The organisation in its invitation leaflet had printed a contact number. When contacted, the person at the other end of the call said, “Spotting armed people in the assembly and the prevailing aggressive mood, we concluded the rally early and have nothing to do with the mob frenzy.” The person, however, chose to remain anonymous and refused to divulge the name(s) of any ESK official(s).

Also watch After Communal Clashes, Situation Tense in Malda

<p> Spotting armed people in the assembly and the prevailing aggressive mood, we concluded the rally early and have nothing to do with the mob frenzy.</p>

Edara-e-Sharia Kaliachak

Politics of Tension in Kaliachak

The police have arrested some people in connection with the hostilities, but the signs are ominous. Border crime flourishes at Kaliachak, as extremism does on the other side of the border. By exploiting a religious congregation, certain elements gave it a nasty twist on January 3. The apprehension is extremists might find the conditions fertile to sow their warped ideas.

The administration in Kaliachak is waiting for the tension to die down and then probably swing into action thereafter. (Photo: Sudipta Chanda/The Quint)

The administration ostensibly is waiting for the tension to die down and then probably swing into action thereafter. But with 2016 being the election year in West Bengal it would be interesting to watch how the political parties play out vis-a-vis Kaliachak.

The BJP has decided to send a team of parliamentarians to Kaliachak on January 12 or January 13 and the Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh has decided to visit Malda on January 18. With BJP threatening to steal the thunder, how long would it take for the Left Front, Congress and the Trinamool Congress to fish in muddy waters at Kaliachak under the pretext of assuaging frayed nerves?

(The writer is a Siliguri-based freelance journalist)

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