The decision to float a
pro-Muslim and Dalit outfit for a person like Rezzaq Mollah, firebrand and also
rebel leader of CPIM, who doesn’t miss a chance to deride the imperceptible dominance
of Bengali Hindu higher castes in Bengal, is no thunderbolt. He has been known
for days, if not years, to voice against weird Hindu dominance in Bengal and
also for having the resolve to end it. And to give this Jihad against Hindu
dominance a concrete voice, he has set up “Social Justice Forum” having all
potentials to become a political outfit soon and also to contest in no less
than 185 seats in Bengal’s assembly election of 2016. The first public
convention of the organization took place at Rabindra Sadan in Kolkata, on February 23,
2014.
A few highly known faces were
also found in the audience. They include Laxman Seth, another firebrand and
rebel leader of CPIM, representative of Tapashili community and also on the
brink of being expelled from the party; Sukhbilas Barma, MLA of Congress and
also ex-IAS, Ali Akbar Ansari, representing backward Muslim community from
Bihar and Suraj Singh Besrao, founder of all Jharkhand Students Union and also
ex-tribal MLA of Lalu Prasad Singh’s cabinet. Even if Nazrul Islam (disputed IPS
officer) is a staunch support of this cause, he was not present in the
presence. But his absence was compensated by the presence of Hazarat Kashem
Siddique or Prizada of Furfura Sharif and Pirzada of Basirhat at the conference’s
podium. Both of them blessed the cause and hoped for its success.
Well, Mollah made it clear at the
beginning that the outfit is not against any particular caste but against the
pernicious influence of Brahmanism, a notion which is more than extinct in Bengal’s
socio-political-economic structure for more than a century. He was heard to state in the convention, “We
are not against any caste. But so long as there is upper-class hegemony in the
government, parties and administration, the welfare of dalits, downtrodden and
minorities will never happen.” He also praised the recent statement of Dr. Amartya
Sen where the globally acclaimed Nobel Laureate had argued for empowerment of
backward classes. Are there other
factors to propel him to commence this political combination? It is his innate
desire to empower depressed classes and perceive a Dalit Chief Minister in the
state soon. He also vows to introduce a Muslim Home Minister and Deputy Chief
Minister plus other backward classes (OBCs) in the state cabinet. As per him,
this will end the ceaseless feudal system under the aegis of Brahmans and other
Hindu higher caste groups in the state.
And through these combative
endeavors, Mollah brings back memories of Shri Jogendranath Mandal, undisputed leader of Scheduled Caste Hindus in 1947, whose rebellion against Hindu upper caste then accelerated the demand of Pakistan and also inspired Muslim League to
include him into its cabinet. However, this self-claimed custodian of Hindu Dalits was shown the
boot when he dared to protest against the genocide of Dalit Hindus at Barisal
in 1950. He was also warned of dire consequences and hence, he returned to the
so-called caste Hindu dominated Indian state of Bengal and sent his
resignation to Liaquat Ali Khan, the
then and also first Prime Minister of Pakistan, from Calcutta Airport. Shri Mandal
was the first Minister for Law and Labor in the first Government of Pakistan and
also the highest-ranking Hindu member of the government.
This singular initiative brings forth several questions – will Mollah’s “Social Justice Forum” complete the unfinished task of partition in 1947 now? Will it hoodwink Dalit Hindus in Bengal through false promises? Will caste Hindus be targeted in the beginning to be followed by Dalits? Lastly – will Bengal become a new Bangladesh thus?
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