Journalist
The biggest temple of Indian democracy is our parliament. The Parliament has announced Bengali is a “Dhrupadi language.” But the BJP leader has recently said Bengali is not at all an Indian Language. There is no language in India named Bengali. BJP said it is a language of Bangladesh.
If this is the knowledge level of senior BJP leaders on Bengal and Bengali, then we should say, “Please don’t try to come to Bengal to get political power.” The list of blunders in parliament is very long.
We have to start from the head of state.
PM’s expression—”Bankim Da”—is now viral. Bengali’s they don’t call the respectable great people “Da.” Bankim Chandra is a “Rishi” for us.
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Although PM corrected his comment from Bankim Daa to Bankim Babu immediately. But his other team members. A central important minister is saying “Surya Sen”—Master da Surya Sen in a distorted way. Pulin Behari Ghosh to Matangini Hajra—they have made a big list of mistakes. The most lamentable statement is that freedom fighter Madam Matangini Hazra was a Muslim.
I don’t want to submit a list of mistakes. But I want to explore why the BJP is making these mistakes. Actually, the BJP is still (especially today’s BJP) completely disconnected from the Bengali culture. There are no dos and don’ts just to reach the Bengali society, but you have to know & understand the Bengali DNA. Otherwise, the culture shock will be there.
My dear BJP friends, if you have a zeal to acquire Bengal, then firstly! You should do some minimum homework on Bengali’s cultural history.
I have 10 bullet suggestions for the BJP people that they should know immediately.
Firstly, why is Raja Rammohan Roy called the first modern man of India? On religion, what was his view?
Secondly, who is Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar? What was his view on religion, and what did he do for society?
Thirdly, in the freedom movement, what was the contribution of the Bengalis? Why, in 1911, did the British capital, Kolkata, shift to Delhi?
Fourth, Tagore’s nationalism and philosophy of religion. Why Tagore said, “Religion is personal.”
Fifth, Thakur Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansha’s thoughts. What is ‘Jato mat tato path’? This confluence of different thoughts is actually the spirit of pluralism. Not monolithic totalitarianism of thought.
Sixth, BJP leaders always drop Swami Vivekananda’s name, but they don’t know his philosophy. BJP leaders perhaps don’t know he was a non-vegetarian!
Seventh, the BJP should hold a film show event on Satyajit Ray’s movies. When Pather Panchali was released in 1955 in Metro, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L. K. Advani, who were the leaders of Jana Sangh back then, were in Kolkata for a party meeting. They watched the movie Pather Panchali at that point of time. Advani told me to understand the Bengali psyche, and for that, Satyajit Ray was the best code to hack. The BJP leader does not know the person Ray was.
Eight, the role of Sri Chaitanya and the Bhakti Movement.
Nine, are Bengalis Aryan or not Aryan? It is mixed race with pluralism.
Lastly, Bengalis are not parochial, so there is no political party like Telugu Desam or DMK, but Bengalis have a history of radicalism. Historically, there was a Bengali alienation from the so-called Hindu heartland politics. Now, the BJP needs to decode this anti-Delhi traditional mindset of the Bengali middle class.
