Votes come and go, along with promises made by various political parties. Some heart-touching political slogans are heard, slogans that make people feel emotional. However, slogans remain slogans, and the picture of reality remains the same. One such mind-blowing slogan is Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chaay — which literally means ‘Bengal wants none but its own daughter’. The ruling party of the state wants to motivate the people with the slogan, Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chaay. Incidentally, it is the girl from Bengal who holds the seat of the Chief Minister of the state presently. If this is the spontaneous slogan of the people of Bengal, then they definitely have some claim to Bengal’s own daughter.
Recently, I was shocked to see the incident of Chopra in West Bengal. No, it’s not Afghanistan; it’s West Bengal. Yes, that West Bengal about which Gokhaleji said, “What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow.” Where has the honor of the mothers of Bengal gone today? To see such brutal torture on women, have people put their own daughter in the chair of the Chief Minister of Bengal? Hundreds of mothers and sisters of Bengal have been brutally tortured by the leaders and activists of the political party whose slogan is ‘Bangla wants its own daughter’. The people of this state have seen the incident of Sandeshkhali. We were shocked to hear the story of Sandeshkhali’s mothers and sisters. Another incident today: “Bangla’s own daughter’s representative” threw the couple in the street and beat them up.
Yes, a local don in the ruling party of the state. After watching the video that has come out today, if it is not said that it is the incident of Chopra in West Bengal, then people might be mistaken for the incident in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. A reminder of this medieval brutality was Chopra’s killing of a young woman in the street. But unfortunately, the truth is that in today’s West Bengal, mothers and sisters have to face such incidents. A young woman is being tortured by her hair. And the people gathered around are standing and watching the fun. If people say no, it will be wrong. Without value and consciousness, no one is human, but some human-like animal is having fun.
However, not only recently, there is a lot of evidence of atrocities on women since the beginning of the rule of the female Chief Minister in this state. According to a report published in BBC Bangla on June 14, 2013, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, 30,942 crimes were committed against women in West Bengal in 2012. In 2011 too, the state of West Bengal was at the top in this regard – the number of crimes against women in that year was 29,133. West Bengal accounts for about 13% of all crimes against women in India.Â
But nowadays, the statistics of these incidents have increased a lot, the main reason for which is the administration not taking strict action. If a woman chief minister questions whether there is any evidence of rape when there is a rape incident in the state, then it is a shame. Sandeshkhali, Cooch Behar, Chopra are happening one after the other, how much more? How many such incidents of medieval brutality will happen in this state?Â
Swami Vivekananda said, “The ideal of womanhood in India is motherhood — that marvelous, unselfish, all-suffering, ever-forgiving mother. The wife walks behind — the shadow. She must imitate the life of the mother; that is her duty. But the mother is the ideal of love; she rules the family, she possesses the family.” Again, he once said, “In India, the woman was the visible manifestation of God and that her whole life was given up to the thought that she was a mother, and to be a perfect mother she must be chaste.” This speech of Swami Vivekananda, who introduced Bharat in front of the world, reveals the deep respect that Bharatiya people have for women. But what is the present situation of the women of West Bengal, the state where Swamiji was born?
Poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote in his poem ‘Nyayadanda‘, “The one who does injustice and the one who tolerates injustice, then hatred is equal to him.”Â
Today, the people of West Bengal want Sandeshkhali’s Shahjahan or Chopra’s JCB, along with the narcissists who are professional torturers of women, whose long inactivity has allowed these perpetrators to have the temerity to turn mothers and sisters into consumables, to be given severe exemplary punishment.
Today, the whole society has to take initiative to stop these brutal crimes against women. The administration should punish the culprits impartially. If the administration sees the political color of the guilty and deviates from its duty, then where will the common people go? Those who come to the doors of the common man with a basket of promises under the guise of election should not avoid this responsibility. What do the people of Bengal want today? Bengal today wants to protect the dignity of the women of its home. The people of Bengal want their mothers and sisters to be able to go out on the streets safely. In a country where women have always been worshipped as goddesses, this kind of violence against women is a shame for the entire country.
Manusmriti says,
“Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra Devata
yatraitaastu na pujyante sarvaastatrafalaah kriyaah“.Â
Where Women are honoured, divinity blossoms there, and where ever women are dishonoured, all action no matter how noble it may be, remains unfruitful.
Again, the ancient scriptures say,
“Ya Devi sarva bhuteshu,
matri rupena sangsthitayaa”Â
That is, Devi Who in All Beings is Abiding in the Form of Mother. In the culture of Bharat, the significance of femininity lies in motherhood. And so, the female race is like a goddess to us. This is why we still worship women as goddesses through Kumari Puja. We believe that the primal power Mahamaya resides in Kumari. Â
 It is the demand of the people of Bengal to rise above political interests and government give priority to the common people. Be on the path of Swamiji’s words, “O India, forget not that the ideal of thy womanhood is Sita, Savitri, Damayanti.” Stop violence against women in Bengal.