SIR in Bengal :::: "Logical Discrepancies" ... leading to obvious -- "Trinamool leaders are irked" :::: BJP says more deletion on cards

The Election Commission has marked “logical discrepancies” for over-one-crore voters in the Mamata Banerjee-ruled West Bengal. It is arguably stated that the BJP has pushed hard for SIR in the state, primarily to cleanse the voters list of "Bangladeshi infiltrators".

For obvious reasons; the Trinamool leaders are irked over this. According to the draft electoral roll released by the poll panel; over 58 lakh names have been deleted.  

Of course, the Lotus party had used the 'infiltration' issue successfully in neighbouring Bihar where the NDA recorded a landslide victory. In his virtual address to BJP supporters at Ranaghat on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raked up the issue of infiltrators.

“The Trinamool says ‘Go Back Modi.’ They do not say go back to these infiltrators. These infiltrators want to capture Bengal and Trinamool protects them. That is why they opposed the SIR,” he said.

**** 

In terms of geography; South Bengal has been a strong TMC bastion and in 2021 polls - it was this region that ensured Mamata Banerjee survive another term in office. The Congress and the communists lost ground in both North Bengal and also in the southern region.

The BJP penetration was exemplary in North Bengal. The saffron party has done well there in 2019 Lok Sabha polls and in 2021, out of 77 assembly seats, the BJP had won in total -- as many as 23 of them came from North Bengal.

But take a closer look at the draft roll and one finds - in 10 of these 23 seats, the BJP’s victory margin is lower than the voters deleted.

In the industrial belt of Burdwan in South Bengal, the deletions in Asansol South and Kulti assembly seats -- both held by the BJP, are over 13,000. 

The victory margin in favour of BJP candidates in Kutli was 679 

and in Asansol South the margin was 4,487 votes. 

It is estimated more names would be deleted. The draft roll exercise has been described as just a "beginning" by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. 

The interpretation by analysts is --

Names deleted include are dead, missing and shifted voters. 

The BJP says -- these are the voters that the Trinamool Congress used in the local body polls and in the other elections. 

On the face value; the Trinamool Congress is already at a disadvantage. 

Political analyst Subhamay Maitra sums up the paradox quite well: 

“The BJP is not in power in Bengal. They are not in a position to dictate the process of voting. The ruling party is always at an advantage in using dead and missing voters.

 In the seats that BJP won they could because Trinamool’s manipulation of the electoral rolls did not work."  

The Bihar mandate was crystal clear in favour of the BJP. 

Hence, the talk is that Modi's party may yet again use the SIR exercise and try to influence poll outcomes in various states across India.

"The carpet underneath the feet of various opposition parties has been shaken. 

So far, they have been getting Muslim votes even as there are many foreign Bangladeshi Muslims. The SIR has exposed them as now only genuine Indian voters will be able to vote," BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has said. 

Of course Opposition parties including Congress and Trinamool Congress have alleged that many of those removed names in Bihar and other states were Muslims or belonged to social groups and communities that do not form the 

vote bank of the Hindutva forces led by the BJP.

Notably, in Bihar, a state with 130 million people, more than 6.5 million people were removed from the voter list.

But there were no formal complaints even as there have been severe allegations by political leaders

repeatedly. 

In fact, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has discovered a phrase "vote-chori(theft)" and used it to make a blistering attack on the Prime Minister, the Election Commission and of course the BJP.

Congress party organised a rally in Delhi on the same issue recently. However,

National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, which won the polls in the violence-hit province, said it is not party to such campaigns led by Rahul Gandhi. 

In South Bengal districts where the BJP performance in 2021 was fairly good --- were

--

Hooghly, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, 

Bankura, Purulia, Nadia and North 24 Parganas. 

In these areas too there have been substantial deletion already in the draft roll and more such deletions expected by the saffron party. 

After SIR was launched earlier this month, a large number of Bangladeshis, who have allegedly "lived in India as illegal immigrants for years" had to leave India and cross over to Bangladesh.

Both the countries - since August 2024 - do not share good relations. 

But it ought to be understood that politics in West Bengal vis-a-vis Muslim population is much complex. 

Mere polarisation may not actually help the BJP.

The electoral demography in West Bengal is tilted in favour of Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress. This is unlike Uttar Pradesh; where Muslim population is spread in such a way that diverse poll strategies can split Muslim votes and ensure wins for the BJP.

But in West Bengal ... splitting Muslim votes is not simple or easy. This is BJP's biggest worry.

West Bengal’s demography explains that 150 of the state’s 294 Assembly seats have substantial or decisive Muslim populations. 

In constituencies like Sujapur in Malda Dakshin, 

Muslims form an astonishing 89.3% of voters. 

In districts such as Murshidabad (66%), Malda (51%), 

Uttar Dinajpur (49%), and South 24 Parganas (35%), voting patterns operate in blocs, not fragments.

ends 

Monsters, if nurtured, do not remain loyal to creators !! :::: My take in 'The Raisina Hills' ::::: Shooting the Messenger: Bangladesh Media and Its Forgotten Sins ::::: Importantly; why why India must read the warning signs

Attacks on 'The Daily Star' and 'Prothom Alo' expose how radical politics devours its own enablers—and why India must read the warning signs.  

Once celebrated as a relatively liberal, plural space—then called East Pakistan—Bangladesh is today staring at the consequences of a long moral and editorial drift. 

The recent attacks on The Daily Star and Prothom Alo are not isolated outbreaks of mob fury; they are symptoms of a deeper disease that the country’s political class and influential media chose to ignore, excuse, or normalise.

'Prothom Alo' newspaper office torched on Dec 18 late night violence 

The Raisina Hills Link

Today, some of these outlets speak the language of victimhood. 

That would be more convincing had they spent the last decade seriously interrogating the steady radicalisation of the street, the routine India-bashing, and the shrinking space for dissent that did not fit an approved ideological line. 

Monsters, when nurtured, rarely remain loyal to their creators.

The violence directed at Bangladesh’s most widely read newspapers follows a grimly familiar pattern. 

As Agartala-based Bangladesh watcher Manas Pal explains, any radical Islamist surge begins by intimidating or neutralising influential media institutions—“nipping in the bud” voices that may one day resist. 

Chaos, or tawahush, is not accidental; it is tactical. ISIS theorised this explicitly in its Dabiq publication a decade ago, with Bangladesh identified as fertile ground.

Sheikh Hasina in 1990s 

That is why the shock expressed by 'The Daily Star' rings hollow. 

The question that was rarely asked—when it mattered—was why so-called “student protests” in 2024 turned violently communal, or whether Sheikh Hasina’s gravest sin was simply her proximity to India and the legacy of the Liberation War. 

Editorial courage is not demonstrated after mobs arrive at the newsroom gate.

The paper’s own lament—calling the attacks “a dark day for independent journalism”—reads more like belated wisdom than principled resistance. 

Yes, attacks on the press are indefensible. But so is years of selective outrage, moral posturing, and strategic silence on radical Islam while amplifying narratives that weakened the state itself.

Bangladesh today is sliding into chaos. The Yunus-led dispensation looks exposed, immature, and incapable of governance or security management. February elections appear increasingly remote—perhaps by design. 

India-bashing and the targeting of Hindus seem to have been seen as convenient pressure valves, but such tactics rarely remain contained.

Bangladesh watcher : Manas Pal  

For India, the implications are grave—arguably more destabilising than past crises. 

For West Bengal and the Northeast, this is also a cautionary tale: hatred of the “other” eventually turns inward. 

Anti-India rhetoric, casual demonisation of communities, and fashionable ideological hostility have consequences.

The Bhagavad Gita’s warning is starkly relevant: as you sow, so shall you reap. Bangladesh’s media and political elite are now tasting a bitter harvest. 

The region would do well to watch closely—and learn.

Blogger in Dhaka : file snap 

ends 

BJP fixing Congress’ mistakes in Assam: PM Modi in Guwahati ::::: In six decades after Independence, only three bridges were built over Brahmaputra, but four new bridges came up since 2014

**

PM Narendra Modi accused Trinamool Congress of blocking West Bengal's development. In a virtual address for a rally in Ranaghat as he could notland there due to fog;  PM urged for a BJP double-engine government in the state. 

He inaugurated projects worth Rs 3200 crore via video conference.

“Today the country wants rapid development. Bihar once again gave the NDA government a massive mandate for development. Bihar has rejected the rule of ‘jungle raj’ with one resounding voice,” Modi said.

*** 

Addressing a rally after inaugurating a new terminal of the Guwahati airport, Modi alleged that the development of Assam and the Northeast was “never a part” of the Congress agenda. 

"The Congress gave protection to infiltrators who grabbed forests and land, threatening the security and identity of Assam... The BJP government has been correcting mistakes the Congress kept making for decades in the northeast," the PM asserted.

Modi said the Election Commission started the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to ensure infiltrators are kept out of the poll process, "but 'deshdrohis' (traitors) were trying to protect them".

"My attachment to the land of Assam inspires me, gives me strength for development of region. Assam and the entire Northeast is becoming the gateway to India's development. Every state, each region of the country has an important role to play in the mission of a developed India," Modi said. 

The Prime Minister also pointed out that in the six decades following Independence, only three bridges were built over the Brahmaputra, whereas four new bridges have been constructed in the last decade alone. 

This enhanced connectivity, he said, “has emerged as a major catalyst for economic growth, mobility and regional integration in Assam”. 

After the address, the Prime Minister began a massive roadshow from outside Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex in Sarusajai on National Highway 27. Cultural troupes of nearly all communities of the state performed along the route as thousands gathered along the 3.8-km route to have a glimpse of the PM Modi.

On first Assam BJP HQ visit, PM Modi blends in with party workers, talks polls There was no formality; he interacted just like a party member. 

PM Modi opens Guwahati T2, pitches Assam as gateway to Viksit Bharat by 2047

Bangladesh ::: New Delhi has to tackle ... Rise of radical Islamic forces, latent support of west, and entry of Pakistan-China axis ::::: In terms of Foreign Policy - year 2025 for India saw enough Topsy Turvy .... turns and twists

The calendar year 2025 started for India .... on an optimistic note as Donald Trump returned to office in Washington. It was presumed and not without good reasons that old bonhomie and personal rapport between US President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be smooth and defining.  

But the honeymoon died within months if not weeks.

Family members of Dipu Chandra Das killed in Bangladesh on Dec 18 night 

Trump focused on his Tariff diplomacy and expected certain things. He has been extremely ambitious to win Nobel Prize for peace. His Ukraine-Russia efforts hardly showed results. Thus, from May onward he created bigger problems for Modi -- started claiming repeatedly that it was he -- who forced India of Modi and of course Pakistan to opt for ending the conflict after India had launched Operation Sindoor.

In India, the Congress and other opposition parties latched on to this much to the embarrassment of Modi they also discovered a rhyming phrase - 'Narender ... Surrender'. Of course; such slogans did not find resonance with the common people. One major test was election outcome in Bihar.

But diplomatically, PM had to walk-the-talk cleverly. He smartly 'embarrassed' Trump when he did not visit Washington. Trump had actually laid a trap for a possible meeting between 'Field Marshal Munir' and Narendra Modi. The Indian Prime Minister was too smart for all that.  

But by the end of the calendar year - for a change neither US nor the US were amid headlines. It is Bangladesh. Of course -- the 'Deep State' angle and also China-Pakistan-Bangladesh axis come into all that. 

News of Hadi’s death has triggered a wave of violent chaos in Bangladesh. On the night of December 18, an angry mob attacked the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, two of the country’s leading newspapers, known for their progressive and liberal editorial stance. The attackers destroyed property and engaged in arson.

They also vandalized Chhayanaut, a renowned cultural institution known for promoting Bengali music, culture, and tradition. The attackers claimed the institutions were linked to India and supportive of the ousted AL. In Chittagong, protesters also demonstrated and threw stones at the office of the Indian Assistant High Commission, prompting police to intervene and disperse the crowd near the mission.

Multiple Indian visa centres have been shut down in Bangladesh. 

India has to handle things cautiously on multiple fronts. The coming elections will be a critical inflection point for a strategic balance of South Asia and India's role in that. Dhaka's growing complicity with Islamabad and Beijing may actually lead to marginalisation of New Delhi.  

Hence, how New Delhi's foreign policy engine room -- led by PM Modi and supported by Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval - manages the transitory phase through well calibrated with Bangladesh (chiefly party BNP) and vigilance vis-a-vis security will reorient the most consequential bilateral relationship in the region.

This is the time for pragmatic foreign policy. Sheikh Hasina and bonhomie with Awami League are now of nostalgic values at least for the time being. New Delhi needs to adjust to the call of the new era. Therefore; it ought to be understood that besides focusing on security concerns; for Team Modi -- the challenge is also to prepare for a long term transition/shift for more result oriented engagements with Bangladesh.

A parliamentary panel led by Congress lawmaker, Shashi Tharoor, has said that the current situation in Bangladesh is India’s most serious strategic challenge since the Liberation War of 1971. 

Dhaka is altogether a new world today. The old political and security order has collapsed and there is politically hyper sensitive India-bashing. Moreover, there is also the rise of -- 

** radical Islamic forces, 

*** latent support of western powers including the US Deep State and 

*** - the entry of Pakistan ending years of estrangement. 

Amid escalating tensions, Lt Gen R C Tiwari, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command, Kolkata; visited border outposts at Belonia in South Tripura. He was also accompanied among others by GoC, Spear Corps Lt Gen Abhijeet Pendharkar and senior officers from the Army, Assam Rifles, and Border Security Force. 

Lt Gen Tiwari reviewed ground-level security arrangements and lauded the troops for their vigilance and professionalism in safeguarding the international border.

Four northeastern states -  Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km) share a 1,880-km border with Bangladesh. 

The BSF has been guarding the India-Bangladesh border.

Former diplomat Veena Sikri has blamed Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh for attempting to inflame tensions during the transition period, arguing that the group has realised just before elections that it lacks genuine popular support and is therefore resorting to agitation and polarisation. 

She criticised the interim leadership for failing to respond decisively to provocative statements and actions.

ends 

Bangladesh in turmoil is result of synthesis of 'deep state' conspiracy with Islamic radicals ::: Hasina plus Modi (India) ... was a "stabiliser" ..... it kept Jamaat, fundamentalists contained ... and there was good civil-military balance,

When in August 2024, Bangladesh was known for the ouster of Sheikh Hasina. in December 2025 - it is not only chaotic.

It deserves a closer look on why Sheikh Hasina was much better than what Dhaka has now.

"... A nation born from a fight against genocide is now normalising political erasure, street violence, and silence on minority persecution," says former Indian diplomat Nirupama Rao. 

Rao says, Hasina's opponents in the west were "fixated" on her through a narrow lens: elections that didn’t meet Western democratic aesthetics, long incumbency, centralised power, human rights reports. 

Dhaka protest

Protest in Kolkata when Hindus were attacked in Bangladesh

These are all "real issues", but it ought to have been remembered that when "treated in isolation", things won't make such sense and may backfire too.

"Bangladesh was judged as if it were Denmark with a turnout problem, not a fragile, densely packed state with a violent Islamist history and a traumatised political culture," Rao posted on social network X. 

She is also right in pointing out that in doing so, three hard realities were ignored.

First, Hasina was a stabiliser, not a revolutionary hero, 

*** but it is also true that Hasina had proved herself a "state-builder in a hostile environment". 

"She kept Jamaat and its offshoots contained, maintained civil-military balance, protected minorities better than any realistic alternative, and kept Bangladesh economically and geopolitically predictable. Her western opponents knew this. They just chose to downplay it," says Rao.

Rao is actually being nice. 

Any frank and objective analysis would point fingers towards the west and the Deep State and what was their intention in Bangladesh. These lobbies and power that maybe were eyeing Martin islands and these were crucial from the 'necessity' or perspective of keeping a watch on Myanmar and South Asia and South East Asia.

On this Hasina was unrelenting for years and a strong committed in Delhi gave her a strength and neo-confidence to deal with the challenges.  

Rao points out how the west actually "overestimated the “democratic opposition”. There was no credible, unified, liberal alternative waiting in the wings. Removing pressure from Hasina didn’t empower democrats. It empowered street power, radicals, and actors who thrive precisely when institutions weaken".

Rao says:

"..... there was the old habit of believing that toppling or delegitimising a strong incumbent automatically opens space for pluralism. 

History says the opposite. 

In divided societies, power vacuums don’t fill with moderates. They fill with the loudest, angriest, and most organised forces. Often religious, often violent."

This is what exactly happened. 

"These were destructive missteps. Not because Hasina was flawless, but because state collapse is always worse than imperfect order. 

Chasing  democratic optics ended up accelerating a counterrevolution that hollowed out politics, normalised persecution, and destabilised an entire country," writes former diplomat.

"This wasn’t values-driven paternalism . It was context-blind activism masquerading as strategy. And Bangladesh will pay for it long after the policy memos have been forgotten."

She hastened to add: "If this is what victory looks like, Bangladesh has lost. 

Counterrevolutions always promise purity and deliver instability, fear, and blood on the streets."

Hasina and Modi : Made a Good Team for Stability and Growth in South Asia

It is true what Bangladesh has inherited today is - 'Counter Revolution' ::::

1.  Yunus is a proof that sheer manipulation and ambition is not enough to emerge as a ruler or a nation. The interim regime's biggest demerit was it didnot focus on governance -- least administration. 

2. It sided with the radicals and the "tide". 

-- The fall of Hasina left a huge vacuum. But then; gradually extremist elements took over.

3. Interim regime focused on absolutely meaningless priorities -- friendship with Pakistan and India-bashing. It did not enforce rule of law. Extremists took over the streets). 

4. Yunus was clueless and also complicit. Jamaat was brought back into the mainstream.

5. Ahmadiya Muslims and Awami League supporters--everything was brushed under the carpet of the so-called revolution. 

--- First the Chhatra League was outlawed and then the Awami League itself.

6. They ran a discredited Kangaroo court to prosecute Sheikh Hasina and thought

a capital punishment for a former PM would be a winning master stroke.

Seasonal demands return Nagaland :::: "Festive extortion" leaves Govt officials anxious -- reports Morung Express

"As Nagaland prepares for Christmas and New Year celebrations, government departments are reportedly facing renewed monetary demands from Naga political groups, raising concerns over administrative vulnerability and entrenched informal practices," says the report in Dimapur-based daily.

It's routine.

Like Sun rises in the east ... like politicians are busy either making money wherever they can and 'start preparing' for the 2028 battle ... since late 1990s or so ... 'extortion is happening' regularly and rather religiously.

This is one fallout of the ceasefire that started in August 1997 and the so-called peace talks are still pending.

Rhythmic cheering echoed around the streets for about 10 days between Dec 1 and 10th - Hornbill Festival. The extravaganza is organised in very district and every town.

Top of that it has been wedding season. 

Nagas are mostly Christians and hence Christmas is a vital festival. The state of Nagaland cradled in the wilds of northeast corner of India is also regarded as one of the ‘most Baptist states’ as over 75 per cent of it is dominated by Baptist Christians.

But Nagas have remained traditional to the core cherishing good old traditional values and virtues of onetime animism, but CORRUPTION is a way of life.

Corruption is linked to easy money and it is linked to this annual feature of  donation/tax collections and extortion. 

Despite Christians forming 90 percent of Nagaland's two million people, the BJP gained political prominence in 2018 and became part of the state government following an election in February that year.

It is not that Corruption came to Nagaland because of BJP. The original party that ruled the roost in the state was Congress. 

There goes a saying .... As New Delhi shivers; Nagaland sneezes. So BJP capturing power in alliance with a regional party was fairly easy.

Congress has failed to open account in two assembly polls - 2018 and 2023. But in 2024, Lok Sabha polls - "political corruption" helped it to win the lone seat.  

Nagas change their political affiliation with as much ease and fun. They care not much about political parties. Elections are won or lost by candidates and one reason is Bolero and the other reason is cash flows. Thanks to Digital India ... even online payments are done reportedly. 

In fact, politics/elections and even normal life in Nagaland are one of the most expensive affairs in northeast India.

Earlier, Congress had it easy. Even Union Food Minister has been successfully discharging the role of election in-charge (or AICC observer) during elections.

Now, BJP does it and the liberal approach suits the regional protagonists. 

Well, the "resourceful politics" always help to win seats. The effects of the powerful Nagaland Baptist Church Council's appeal for voters to stay away from the BJP and also from corruption during elections never work here.

Rahul Gandhi could easily say "Vote-purchase" is here to stay in Nagaland. And if his party is Zero-MLA party today; it is due to lack of resources. Ideologies do not matter much in most seats. 

Corruption is eating into the inherent virtues of simple Naga people.  

On 'extortion'; the daily 'Morung Express' quotes an official as saying ---

“We are expected to follow financial rules, yet we operate in an environment where unofficial pressures exist".

That's the reality. Here is another set of quotes:

“I am not aware such guidelines or protocols ever made to respond such demands till now and we are stuck in between,” said one head of the department.

Another asserted that there is ‘no clear government guidelines on this".  

“The State government should come up with official notification to stop any kind of contribution/tax.” 

“The government should say NO to such demands” were the pleas of the department heads while pointing out that “there is a risk of service termination and misappropriation of resources in the CAG audit.”  (reports the newspaper) 

ends 

Hindus are Kafirs and hated in Bangladesh - once a loving (sic) paradise called 'East Pakistan' : Bhagawat Geeta says "Jaisa Karm karokey waisa phal deta Bhagwan" ::::: 'Daily Star', 'Prothom Alo' just tasted own medicine .... bitter and unpalatable !!

 Daily Star, Prathom Alo just tasted their own bitter medicine. 

They may try to play 'victim-hood' today -- something we see in India from time to time.

Indirectly they cradled and nurtured the monsters and the monsters - like that proverbial saying - came back to them full grown. 

Why they .... were caught surprised ?

'Daily Star' says -- "atut monoboley egiye jaabe 

(WE WILL MARCH AHEAD WITH OUR UNBREAKABLE CONFIDENCE )

It could have delivered a better journalism had it questioned why 'students' protest' turned so violent in 2024. Was  Hasina's only crime was she was close to India ? 

We would like to see how many strong edits and write ups had come in Bangladesh against 'radical Islam' and unwarranted India-bashing. 

As you sow -- so shall you pray. Sometimes; others also have to pay a price !! 

***

"It happens always. The idea is simple - for any Islamic uprising first attack should be directed to the most popular/circulated media institutions. 

Nip in the bud anything that may one-day try to give a dissenting voice," explains Agartala-based Manas Pal, a longtime Bangladesh watcher.

He points out - "There is a word 'Tawahush' which means total chaos . That Tawahush is  an important and integral tool for Islamic terror tactics on way to creating an Islamic regime. 

That's what ISIS predicted in its mouth piece Dabiq (14th edition) 10 years ago dedicated to Bangladesh." 

He posted on Facebook that - he has a copy of this edition.

Needless to add; one cannot agree more. Indian agencies also knew worse in Bangladesh or in the context of Dhaka-Delhi ties were yet to come. Perhaps. Sheikh Hasina's ouster was a teaser. 

Right from Hadi murder to rabid anti-India, anti Liberation War and anti-Mujib family campaign to everything - all were just part of massive sinister designs. 

It's all planned. Make no mistake, says Manas Pal adding -- "Bangladesh has gone down to drain and the maggots will crawl up from all directions now".  

Daily Star's own version::::

It was around midnight, and the newsroom of The Daily Star was running at full pace. The first edition deadline was close. Reporters were filing last-minute updates, sub-editors were polishing headlines, and the usual pressure of a night shift filled the room.  

A reporter at The Daily Star, began receiving repeated calls late Thursday night warning that a mob was vandalising another newspaper office nearby and was moving towards his workplace.

He immediately alerted colleagues in the newsroom..... and so on !!

Bangladesh is in chaos. The Yunus regime has always been a puppet and now this immature team stands exposed. They do not have any idea about governance or security apparatus.

They thought simple India-bashing and directing the riot against Hindus will salvage them. Perhaps this was the motive when helpless Dipu Das was attacked.

February elections now look remote and that may be chief agenda of a 'fraudster' who faced the other side of law when Hasina was in power.

If polls are held and a new regime - likely BNP - comes back -- he will have no business to be in Dhaka. His western guardians may not take him on lap this time.

"A DARK DAY FOR INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM" -- runs a piece in 'Daily Star' 

It was one of the darkest days for independent journalism in Bangladesh when two of its largest newspapers -- The Daily Star and Prothom Alo -- were attacked.   

"Even while we remember Sharif Osman Hadi's role in the July uprising as one of its frontline activists and are deeply saddened by his untimely demise, we note with concern that certain elements and quarters have exploited the public anger to incite mobs against two newspapers that have always stood for objective journalism. 

It appears that this is another attempt at creating an environment of instability in the country to derail the forthcoming election. We further point out with grave apprehension that this attack on newspapers will reflect badly on Bangladesh's freedom of speech and erode the country's image across the globe." 

( ** some of it is pure gyan. It's like Rahul Gandhi walking into Hindu temples.)  

Media also encouraged a mixed interference of 'Deep State', Pakistan and radical elements and now 'media' shedding tears -- crocodile or of some other living species is for posterity to judge.

But from the Indian point of view - things are serious and more serious perhaps than the 1971 crisis. 

Developments in Bangladesh --- could turn out as the last nail in the coffin for  the aapa-led dispensation in Kolkata.

It's also a lesson for those in northeastern states - who for long encouraged 'hating outsiders'. Hatred sometimes works like the proverbial 'four fingers' coming at you. Anti-Modi rhetoric and RSS-bashing is also a favourite past time with many people and communities in northeast India.

Gaze in thine own heart. 

ends 

"Fundamentalism and radicalism are spreading like cancer in Bangladesh" ::: Look, how radical-Muslim brotherhood had made Bangladeshis forget what Pakistanis had done to them

"Fundamentalism and radicalism are spreading like cancer in Bangladesh. All the right thinking people should unite to fight this menace," said Samik Bhattacharya, West Bengal BJP chief.

He also said that - "Since the 1980s, fundamentalist forces have been spreading their base in Bangladesh".  

(A photograph taken during the conflict of a woman who had been assaulted featured in an exhibition in London. A snap of that era.

Titled 'Shamed Woman', but also called 'Brave Woman', the image was taken by a Bangladeshi photographer, Naib Uddin Ahmed. 

The image is considered to be as "classical a pose as any Madonna and Child".

The woman has her hands clenched, her face completely covered by her hair.) 

The Bangladesh liberation war is often asserted to be one of the most grievous examples of wartime rape.

During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, members of the Pakistani military and 'Razakar paramilitary' force raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women and girls in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape.

Some of these women died in captivity or committed suicide, while others moved from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to India.  

In 2009, almost 40 years after the events of 1971, a report published by the War Crimes Fact Finding Committee of Bangladesh accused 1,597 people of war crimes, including rape. 

Since 2010, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has indicted, tried, and sentenced several people to life imprisonment or death for their actions during the conflict. The stories of the rape victims have been told in movies and literature, and depicted in art. 

The term Birangana was first introduced in 1971 by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to refer to victims of rape during the Bangladesh Liberation War, in an attempt to prevent them from being outcast by the society.

Since 1972, victims of rape during the war have been recognised as Birangona, or "war heroines", by the government of Bangladesh.  

The atrocities in East Pakistan were the first instances of war rape to attract international media attention, and Sally J. Scholz has written that this was the first genocide to capture the interest of the mass media. 

The women's human rights organisation Bangladesh Mahila Parishat took part in the war by publicising the atrocities being carried out by the Pakistani army.

Owing to the scale of the atrocities, US embassy staff had sent telegrams indicating that a genocide was occurring. 

One, which became known as the Blood telegram, was sent by Archer Blood, the US Consul General in Dhaka, and was signed by him as well as US officials from USAID and USIS who at the time were serving in Dhaka. 

In it, the signatories denounced American "complicity in Genocide", in an interview in 1972, 

Indira Gandhi, the Indian prime minister, justified the use of military intervention, saying, "Shall we sit and watch their women get raped?"   

In 1994, the book Ami Birangana Bolchi (The Voices of War Heroines) by Nilima Ibrahim was released. It is a collection of eyewitness testimony from seven rape victims, which Ibrahim documented while working in rehabilitation centres.

The narratives of the survivors in this work are heavily critical of post-war Bangladeshi society's failure to support the victims of rape.

Published in 2012, the book Rising from the Ashes: Women's Narratives of 1971 

-- includes oral testimonies of women affected by the Liberation War. As well as an account from Taramon Bibi, who fought and was awarded the Bir Protik (Symbol of Valour) for her actions, there are nine interviews with women who were raped. 

The book's publication in English at the time of the fortieth anniversary of the war was noted in The New York Times as an "important oral history".

The 2014 film Children of War portrays sexual violence during the war. The film by Mrityunjay Devvrat, starring Farooq Sheikh, Victor Banerjee, Raima Sen, among others, is meant to "send shivers down the viewers' spine. 

"Apostles of neo-consumerism.... Extortion" :::: Sabotage !! Derail !!! :::: We are at the end of 'first 25 years' of a new century .... None can ever have a 'satisfying' answer ... :: We can all pose questions .... that's Nagaland of 2026 and beyond ??

We have come to the end of the year 2025. 

This is not just the end of a calendar year. Take a closer look - we have also come to the end of first quarter of the new century. How much we have traversed is something that ought to be looked into. 

This is all the more important in the perspective of Nagaland. Imagine where things stood around 2000 and what has been achieved or not achieved. 

Last 25 years or to be precise 28 years has been 'years of extortion' for Nagas and other citizens of Nagaland.  

In the process - what everyone has been deprived is the 'road to peace and development'. People called it Solution. But last two decades and more also produced a so-called Status quo Club. They have kept the state and the people away from transition. 

And this status quo means - the old menaces of corruption and nepotism would prevail. Now at the fag end of December 2025 -- around Christmas season --- people no longer harbour hope. Why ? --- it's no longer a question. Probably everyone knows the answer. 

Life is like that - I suppose. Things go awry at times ..... twisting and turning as the river Dhansiri. Around these --- there are protagonists - political and otherwise - who would nurse a secret or two of their own. 

Of course the world has changed a lot since 2000 or to be precise since 1997 or for that matter even 2003. 

For a few minutes --- let us think universal - the well perceived global context. Take a pause - malls are half deserted today; but in 2003 or 2005 or even till 2007 -- the malls made a lot of sense. 

Capitalism and Consumerism ... etc etc.

A boy born in 2000 is today 25 and he knows what's good for him and what's bad. He probably can analyse well - why he has remained an underachiever.

Who was the uncle who displeased his parents? Who was the leader who disturbed his father's job and today he is still coughing out handsome amount of his hard-earned money to 28 other 'uncles'.  

In short he/she - a youth of 25 plus - in Nagaland today has to handle being 'apostles of neo-consumerism' and dealing with their patrons and patrons.  Home sickness is still a disease ....

"Country road ... take me home" - is still a favourite song. But there are 'less roads' .... and probably there is brain drain.

A group of Naga young women made news in Pune recently. Is it their fault alone?  

We have questions. But no one can have a satisfying answer. We can only feel uncomfortable and also make our friends and even detractors uncomfortable. 

The book 'The Power that Be' says humankind has remained the same old stuff -- never stopped worshiping. 

It argues - the people have only changed the icons to worship. His reference was to 'skyscarppers'. Later on people discovered semi-Gods in shopping malls.  

The end of capitalism .... is another refrain. And all that is passing by. 

Narendra Modi's government has 'Act East Policy'. But when it comes to northeastern states - it is by default or design wrong protagonists --

N Biren Singh

Himanta Biswa Sarma

Neiphiu Rio and

Thuingaleng Muivah.

The NSCN-IM leader has shown his ultimate strength and weakness - in the form of Oct 22, 2025 - Soomdal speech.

This happened a day after Oct 21st when Rio turned a neo-champion of regionalism. The helpless and 'starving' Cock was chained.

N Biren Singh is by now an established liability and also a part 'spoiled' kid. Himanta defies definition as of now. Can he retain Assam for the Lotus party -- is a crucial thing to unfold in just about a few months. 

We know this world where 'consumerism' need not be always based on seduction.

Blogger and an Angami Naga friend 

What would a world like this look like? 

Novelist J G Ballard’s thesis in one piece of fiction has been that if consumerism gets politicized, the world is going to revert exactly to what it was before capitalism.

A mindless bundle of war, violence and killing. Neighbouring Manipur has gone through that. There might be foreign hands and there might be Biren Singh's failures; but the fact is mutual suspicion is strong. 

In Nagaland -- some brave people came forward and staged a Common Platform rally on Nov 18. That was a winner.

It killed the efforts of those who wanted to create hurdles for a gathering that wants Peace, Solution and Development. They have ensured a success tale as a milestone -- without Boleros from rich and powerful and also despite veto power of some organisations and notwithstanding the fear of guns.  

One participant from a remote village enthusiastically said -  "ainei mori asey ... extortion paisa dibo lagey. kam bhi nae. Ekta rally teh jailey maribo ?  Na paribo hola

(We are at the mercy of conditions... facing death on daily basis. No money; but we have to pay tax. There is no job around. Just for attending a rally; people will kill us .... ? Is life that easy ? ) 

Salunthang Lotha, president of Naga Hoho, was one of those who attended and spoke  at the Nov 18 rally. He was in Delhi lately and he said : "This was a historic rally. Nagas have expressed their inner feeling .... an exasperation with the system we are in. It is an early warning".

ends