Immediately on the
aftermath of Tsunami, SYMA volunteers were doing relief work at Cuddalore. On that night we met 6 people clad in saffron
– who had travelled all the way from Bengal.
When queried what they will do - one
of them said, anything that would bring some relief, be it providing chapatis, helping
in construction or merely being with them at their hour of distress. To another
Q how long would they stay – he retorted – no specific date, till date, we
feel, we are of some use here !! - Anand Margis ! (they were)
Bijon Setu is a
bridge situated above Ballygunge Junction railway station connects EM Bypass
through Kasba with Gariahat, in West Bengal.
The bridge is named after a Bengali engineer Bijon Basu of Calcutta Improvement Trust. On 2 August 1974,
while he was returning home from Santoshpur to Sealdah, a gang of robbers got
on the train and looted passengers. Basu protested but the robbers stabbed him
and threw him out from the running train beside Ballygunge railway station. The bridge was built in 1978
West Bengal has
seen lot of violence of all kinds and there have been brutal massacres aimed at
Hindus in particular.
Ānanda
Mārga (lit. 'The
Path of Bliss'), is a world-wide socio-spiritual organisation founded in
Jamalpur, Munger, Bihar, India, in 1955 by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, known as
Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. It is also the name of the philosophy and life-style
propounded by Sarkar, described as a practical means of personal development
and the transformation of society. It is established in more than 180 countries
across the world. Its motto is Ātmamokśārthaṃ
jagaddhitāya
ca (Self-Realisation and Service to the Universe). Tantra yoga, as interpreted
by Sarkar, serves as the foundation of Ananda Marga. The basis of Ananda Marga practice is covered
by a set of rules called the 'Sixteen Points' that guide the practitioner on
both spiritual and social aspects. It consist of yoga asanas, mudras, bandhas,
pranayama, self-massage and two specific dances, kaos'ikii and tandava.
Ananda Marga
Pracharaka Samgha (AMPS) have been fighting for justice for more than 42 years
now, demanding stern action against those involved in the killing of its 17
monks and nuns. On 30 April, 1982, 17
monks and nuns belonging to AMPS were burnt to death by CPM goons in broad
daylight on Bijon Setu.
FIR was lodged against
Somnath Chatterjee, Sachin Sen, Kanti Gangopdhyay among others. The Left Front
government did not do anything and no one was arrested. On 30 April, 1982 some
monks and nuns who had come to the city to attend a conference at AMPS headquarters
at Tiljala, were accosted on Bijon Setu by the CPM goons. They were dragged out
of their vehicles, doused in kerosene and set on fire. The CPM alleged that the
monks and nuns were involved in child lifting. After four decades of the Bijon Setu massacre,
the rulers of West Bengal have not initiated any action against the
killers. Although the attacks were carried out in broad
daylight, no arrests were ever made. After repeated calls for a formal judicial
investigation, a single-member judicial commission was set up in 2012 to
investigate the killings.
Violence on Hindus
in Bengal is not new – remember Noakhali riots of 1946 when Hindus were targeted,
years later in 1967, attack on Margis occurred at their Purulia Global
headquarters were 5 of their members were killed allegedly by CPI M goons. A couple of years later, Cooch Behar
congregation of Anand Margis was attacked.
Jyoti Basu, the chief
minister in Bengal at the time of the murders, and his police force were
accused of inaction, decades later, he formed the Deb Commission in response to
the pressure. Ananda Margis had no faith in the commission because Kanti
Ganguly and other prominent CPI(M) leaders were accused in this incident. The National Human Rights Commission took up
the investigation in 1996, but did not make much progress, allegedly due to
interference from the state government.
In 1999, the Ananda Marga Pracharaka Samgha (AMPS) demanded a high-level
judicial probe led by a working Supreme Court judge into the mass killing of
Ananda Margis. On 30 April 2004, Ananda
Marga held the first rally in Calcutta commemorating the massacre without the
need to acquire a court order for permission; their
protests continues every year as justice still eludes !
After the Trinamool Congress
came to power, a single-member judicial commission under the supervision of
Amitabh Lala, a former judge of the Calcutta High Court, was formed in March
2012 to investigate the killings after repeated appeals for a formal judicial
inquiry. Jyoti Basu was to say – what can
be done, such things do happen !. Commies hated the Ananda Margis because they opposed them ideologically
and the reprisal was killings. How sad
!! When Trinamul Congress government
came to power in 2011, Justice Amitabh Lala Commission was and filed its report in 2019 but still today, the
report has not been released by the West Bengal government.
Homage to
those who lost their lives in the violence and those who have been silenced by
the goons.
With
regards – S Sampathkumar.
3rd
May 2024.
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