EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE THE HINDU CHENNAI SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2019 GROUND ZERO 9 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE The foot soldiers of Hindutva in West Bengal As ideological barriers give way and political activists switch sides, the BJP is relying on its tried and tested ways of getting into the mainstream on the strength of a host of communal organisations. Suvojit Bagchi reports on the rise of the BJP as tensions flare up and rumours abound in election time n an oppressively hot day in Ba­ ruipur, 50 km south of Kolkata, Oin South 24 Parganas district, Swarup Dutta sits in a shop crammed with stabilisers and inverters. He slowly sips his morning tea while chatting with three middle­aged men. Outside, ban­ ners of the Trinamool Congress show­ ing the grim visage of Chief Minister Ma­ mata Banerjee are erected. But that doesn’t reflect the political leanings of the four men inside. Dutta is one of the founders of the Hindu Jagran Manch, an organisation affiliated to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), in Baruipur. The Hindu Jagran Manch, according to its website, aims to “enable social harmo­ ny and Hindu unity, propagate in public interest Hindu myths, and rehabilitate the victims of love jihad,” among other things. The four men discuss the ongoing general election, which has been marred by violence in West Bengal. Much has changed in the eastern State in just a decade. The West Bengal polit­ ical landscape underwent a transforma­ tion in 2011 when the Trinamool rode to power, bringing to an end the Left Front’s 34­year rule. Eight years from then, the contest is not between the Tri­ namool and the Left, or even the Trina­ mool and the Congress. A new national player is making inroads everywhere. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s steady rise is not necessarily because of the party’s activities; it is supported by a host of or­ ganisations in West Bengal and has deep coffers. Established over the last three decades, these organisations have mul­ tiplied since the Trinamool came to power. Their rise has forced the Trina­ mool to change its election strategy and adapt to the new challenge in ways dic­ tated by its competitor. This is a story of the work done by some of the agencies that lend their support to the BJP. Jumping ship Samir Naskar, 40, who has dropped in for a chat, is a member of the Hindu Ja­ gran Manch, which is still unregistered here. He is a former member of the So­ ”The Trinamool’s bigger challenge beyond May 23 will be Hindutva outfits which are not clearly visible on ground, unlike the BJP. “ A religious procession marking the Ram Navami festival in Siliguri in April, 2019. narpur Zonal Committee and Panchayat (Below): An Ekal Vidyalaya in a tiny hamlet, Kalitala, in the Habibpur developmental block of Malda district, West Bengal. * AFP/ SUBHAM DUTTA of the Communist Party of India (Mar­ xist). Now, he is a committed foot sol­ dier of the BJP. change, we began noticing how the mi­ But the Trinamool could also turn <> We [Trinamool] do not have of the campus which has a Ram Mandir, “What to do? Dilip­da wanted me,” he norities were growing from strength to this into an advantage, he says. “An im­ cadres who are informed and a goshala, a computer­training school explains. “Dilip­da” is the BJP State pre­ strength. The majority community was portant characteristic of Mamata is that educated to monitor the Sangh and various skill development pro­ sident Dilip Ghosh, who was particular­ complaining and the BJP was failing to she is a quick learner. Not having a Parivar. They [Hindutva grammes to impart training to courier ly keen on roping in Naskar because of take advantage of the situation,” he strong ideology helps her to continu­ organisations] are operating at boys or automobile mechanics. But the his ability to manage elections. Naskar says. “We decided then to act and began ously improvise. This is a kind of jugaad many levels. real success story is the 85,000 Ekal says he switched recently from the Hin­ promoting Ram Navami to engage the in the world of politics.” But while the schools in India. “Bengal has about Moazzem Hossain du Jagran Manch to the BJP. The reason youth.” Trinamool “adapts”, there is no way to District president of the Trinamool in Malda 3,600 of such schools, of which 250 are is “understandable,” says Dutta. “Nas­ There was some apprehension in tell which direction its flock will turn. in Malda,” says Pande. kar has worked with Dilip­da in the putting the spotlight on Lord Ram in a Biswanath Das (name changed) is a It is early morning. Dalit and Adivasi Manch. They share a bond.” It is against State where Durga, Kali, local gods cele­ reasonably affluent political activist. He der. They report cases of cow theft, children chant the Gayatri Mantra in the blurring of boundaries between ide­ brated in Bengal’s literature such as Ma­ lives on the bank of the river Padma in smuggling and atrocities by the ‘majori­ Kalitala village in Habibpur. The school ologically inimical parties that the 2019 nasha and Itu, and other godmen are Murshidabad’s Jalangi block. “We are of­ ty’ in Murshidabad,” says Biswas, a has one teacher, Jolly Mondal, who is election is playing out. celebrated, he says. “But we felt we ficially Trinamool and unofficially BJP,” swayamsevak. Muslims, who constitute pursuing a Master’s degree. She gets Naskar used to be in charge of booth should select only that icon, which has says Das. Das, a Trinamool Panchayat about 70% of Murshidabad’s popula­ ₹1,000 as honorarium per month and management for the CPI(M) — his task helped us grow elsewhere, to mobilise Samiti member, was denied a ticket tion, are the majority in the district. “enjoys teaching”. The children under was to gather together boys in his Pan­ people. This year we have had rallies in when internal infighting broke out with­ Colonel Dipak Bhattacharya, the her watch recite a series of poems re­ chayat, Pratapnagar, which is adjacent all the 512 of the VHP’s own blocks.” in the Trinamool. He was also attacked South Bengal president of the SCM, says counting the greatness of Sita and Savi­ to Baruipur, to mobilise voters to reach Sinha agrees that their programmes by members of a faction of the Trina­ the organisation was launched in Ben­ tri. The children say that their favourite the booths and vote, he says. Now, he is have helped “the BJP increase its vote mool. He still has a neatly spread Trina­ gal decades ago, but began to grow only hymn is the Bijaya Mahamantra, in the poll manager of the BJP in four Pan­ share,” but insists that the VHP is not mool flag on the roof of his house. “The from 2017. “In the last four years, from praise of Lord Ram. chayats, which together have about “connected to elections”. “We are a reli­ Hindus here are all with the BJP, but the very few volunteers we are now have Pande insists that Ekals are “both 67,000 voters. gio­social organisation,” he says firmly. flag is for protection,” he says. about 30,000 in the State, of which non­religious and non­formal schools” “Today, Hindus are supporting the Neither does the Left Front have a Sinha smiles while talking of the Trina­ 20,000 are in South Bengal,” he says. and that they follow the government­ap­ BJP because of Mamata’s policy to ap­ strategy. In the Kolkata office of the Par­ mool adopting the same strategy to gar­ Nation-building The Colonel became a full­time proved syllabus for children up to the pease the Muslims,” says Naskar. His ty of Democratic Socialism, founded by ner votes. “They’ve realised that the Seemanta Chetana Mancha (SCM), a swayamsevak after retirement, he says. fourth grade. These schools, some of grouse with the CPI(M) and the Trina­ the CPI(M)’s rebels in 2001, Samir Puta­ Hindu votes are consolidating behind platform to increase awareness about The SCM is popular in border States which are residential, impart education mool is that they are “reluctant to pro­ tundu, one of the founders, says they the BJP.” borders and commit to the nation­build­ like Rajasthan and Gujarat. One of the in sports, language, culture and patrio­ tect the interests of Hindus”. He adds: “never monitored the RSS [Rashtriya ing process, is another success story of key programmes that popularised the tism. “We teach children to love their “Last month, Muslims planned a jalsha Swayamsevak Sangh] outfits over the Changing strategy the Hindutva brigade in Bengal. Stand­ SCM in the border towns and villages of country through songs. There are 90 in Sangur village in Pratapnagar. We years, as neither the BJP nor the RSS At the Ram Navami celebrations in ing in a floodplain of the Padma, the Bengal was “stopping land transfer to such schools in Habibpur block, besides stopped them from organising it. The was perceived as a threat.” With the Left April, thousands of people could be SCM’s State Committee member, Ta­ Muslims”. Many Hindu families, espe­ many run by the RSS,” says Pande. Both police arrested me.” now floundering in West Bengal, and seen brandishing hefty metal swords pash Biswas, says the organisation, cially aged couples whose children live Ekal and Gramotthan are funded by With the participation of activists like with the Trinamool still its main adver­ and rocket launchers made of thermo­ which “closely coordinates with the in Kolkatta, were selling their property “well­wishers in many countries, espe­ Naskar from across the State, the Hindu sary in the State, more and more of its col.