MASSACRE ON BIJON SETU BY CPI (M)
ANANDA MARGIS BUTCHERED (2/7)
16 MONKS AND 1 SANYANSIN
LOST LIFE
SARASIJ MAJUMDER
Ananda Marga is a global spiritual and social service
organization founded in 1955 by Shrii
Shrii Ananda Murti (Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar). The mission of
Ananda Marga is self-realization (individual emancipation) and service to
humanity (collective welfare): the fulfilment of the physical, mental and
spiritual needs of all people. Through its meditation centers and
service projects around the world, Ananda Marga offers instruction in
meditation, yoga and other self-development practices on a non-commercial
basis, and responds to social emergencies and long-term social needs. They were
opposed to both communism and capitalism. They had their Head Quarters in
Purulia. Their focus was on a grassroot socio-economic democracy. As they were
ideologically opposed to the communists, the CPM of the early 80s was deeply suspicious of their
activities. The
first attack on them was at its Purulia headquarters in 1967, in which five
Margis were murdered by CPM cadres.
Two years later, their Cooch Behar congregation was
attacked. Few people injured. No
knowledge of any death, even if happened. The CPI (M ) used to cover up these incidents
by saying political ambitions and agenda lay underneath the spiritual-religious
cover of the Marga, and local public
up-rising happened.
On 6th February 1982, local CPI (M ) leaders of the
Kasba-Jadavpur area called forward a public convention to discuss about the
upcoming establishment of Ananda Marga
at Tiljala, which was a communist bastion.
Prominent CPM leaders present at the meeting were:-
1) Kanti Ganguly, later minister in the last Left Front cabinet;
2) Sachin Sen, then local MLA;
3) Nirmal Haldar, local CPI (M) leader;
4) Amal Majumdar, councillor of ward no 108 (Tiljala);
5) Somnath Chatterjee, then MP from Jadavpur and former Speaker.
On 8th February 1982, a report was published in local CPI (M) mouthpiece, GANASHAKTI, asking local people to
protest against the upcoming MARGI ESTABLISHMENT. This campaign finally ended
with the gruesome murders, as described below,
which will be completing about 42
years soon.
In the early hours of 30th April 1982, 16 monks and 1 sannyasin
of the spiritual organisation Ananda Marga were lynched in broad daylight in
the heart of South Kolkata. They were headed to their establishment in Tiljala,
a locality in Kolkata. The way was through Bijon Setu in South Kolkata. Taxis
carrying monks and sannyasin were intercepted at three separate pre-determined locations. The MARGIS were forced out of the
Cars, were beaten with iron rods, doused in petrol and set on fire. 17 Margis
were charred to death, several others were severely injured. A whisper campaign
has begun earlier saying the Margis were kidnapping children. Co-incidentally,
similar gory details can be found for the Palghar lynching. But that’s
another story.
Even after the 1982 attack, in April 1990, five Ananda
Margis were murdered in Purulia by CPI (M) cadres.
IN ALL,
MAY BE ABOUT 50 ANANDA MARGIS WERE KILLED BY CPI(M) IN WEST BENGAL.
REACTIONS
Initial reporting in the media did not include any compassion for the
victims, a tone that prefigured the reaction of left front government. The left
leaders said that incident was staged to embarrass the party prior to the
upcoming Assembly Election. Then Chief Minister Jyoti Basu infamously
said, “What can be done? Such things do happen”.
INVESTIGATIONS
The state government set up a commission of inquiry that did not proceed
beyond its notification, and did not have a single hearing. The NHRC took up
the case in 1996, but it did not make much headway, due to interference from
the state government.
When Trinamul Congress government came to power in 2011,
Justice Amitabh Lala Commission was formed to investigate this atrocity. He
noted that the Commission filed its report in 2019 but still today, the report
has not been released by the West Bengal government. Most of the murderers are
by now DEAD.
NO JUSTICE
WAS EVER DONE.
References:-
1.0 https://www.opindia.com/2020/04/bijon-setu-massacre-kolkata-ananda-marga-cpim-lynching/
2.0 https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/41-years-on-justice-awaits-ananda-margis-1503177027.html
3.0 https://www.projecthindukush.com/incident/bijon-setu-massacre-west-bengal-india/
4.0 https://hindupost.in/politics/a-40-year-old-massacre-swept-under-the-carpet/
5.0 IMAGE:
GOOGLE
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