Author: Editorial
Publication: The Statesman
Date: April 12, 2003
Bhagbanpur sets dangerous precedent
There seems to be something seriously
wrong with the mind-set of CPI-M leaders and their cadres in West Bengal.
After committing several rapes in Nadia, Cooch Behar and Malda, Marxist
cadres in Bhagbanpur in Midnapore east district went further: slashing
parts of a women's body to teach her the lesson of her life. The horrendous
Bhagbanpur incident shows how brutal and regimented the cadres have become
under Alimuddin Street's influence. Pushpa Rani Patra's body was slashed
with razors after tying her to a tree and almost stripping her. They also
pierced her genitals with pins. What passes understanding is that this
was almost the sole handiwork of women members of CPI-M's Ganatantrik Mahila
Samity. Slogans were shouted after Pushpa, a nurse in a neighbourhood health
centre, fainted. All this despite her being a member of the CPI-M-controlled
Coordination Committee of State Government Employees. She had refused to
part with a portion of her homestead land for a village road. She went
to court and forestalled the move of the local Marxists. But what has sent
shockwaves and outraged popular sentiment is the justification trotted
out. They accuse Pushpa, like the rape victim of Goksadanga, of being a
woman of easy virtue who hobnobs with anti-socials. They also accuse the
opposition of indulging in "dirty politics" by taking up cudgels on her
behalf.
Whatever the Marxists do or say
at Bhagbanpur underlines the total regimentation of the CPI-M. There is
no room for individual rights and freedom. Compliance is enforced. The
message conveyed through the Bhagbanpur attack is that Pushpa's fate awaits
those who disobey the party. The new twist is the use of women cadres to
inflict torture and indignity on another woman. Alimuddin Street does not
realise what it is about. It will cost them dearly.
