Kolkata: Law Student Gang-Raped in College, TMC Leader Among Arrested
Less than a year ago, a trainee doctor was raped and killed at her place of work and study in the city, the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, in an incident that led to statewide protests and nationwide outrage.
The complaint alleges that the gang-rape took place on the evening of June 25.
Three men – two currently enrolled – have been arrested and remanded to five days of police custody.
The main accused, a college staffer Manojit Mishra, is a former student of the South Calcutta Law College and a leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress's student wing. Mishra's social media indicates that he is close to TMC's national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee. The college, at the time of reporting, has a giant poster of Banerjee at its gate.
Manojit Mishra with Abhishek Banerjee. Photo: By arrangement.
Local media has reported that Mishra has been named in 20-30 complaints, some accusing him of sexual harassment, before this.
The National Commission for Women wrote to the Kolkata Police chief today on the crime, it is reported.
The TMC has posted on its X handle that it "unequivocally" condemns the incident.
Kolkata Police have swiftly apprehended all three accused, and the full weight of the law will be brought to bear, ensuring the most severe measures are imposed on those found guilty."
It has blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the centre for not implementing the "Aparajita Anti-Rape Bill" that the state government brought, which calls for the death penalty for rape accused.
"Our hearts are heavy with sorrow for the profound trauma endured by the victim. The State Administration, under Hon'ble Chief Minister Smt. [Mamata Banerjee], is committed to providing every possible form of support and assistance to the victim during this distressing time. Justice will be served," the TMC wrote.
Local leaders of opposition parties Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have demonstrated in front of the local police station at Kasba. Protests are also taking place at the college premises.
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The Wire
an hour ago
- The Wire
The Increasing Use of Hindu Mythological References in the Armed Forces Under the BJP Govt
All three services have aided the government in crafting a martial identity focused less on professional neutrality and more on cultural assertion. In turn, this only eroded the inherent secularity associated with the Indian military. New Delhi: Since coming to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government has increasingly infused Hindu mythology not just into public life, but also into the military sphere, shaping naming of operations, ceremonial practices, and institutional symbolism to reflect a culturally and politically charged vision of national identity. Assorted military operations, along with numerous defence platforms, doctrines, and programmes, were now routinely named after figures, concepts, and events from the epics and Puranas, curiously linking contemporary security and military power to India's ancient cultural heritage. A politically framed transition The objective, it appears, is to cast the armed forces as an extension of the valour and divinity celebrated in Hindu mythology, emphasising strength, precision, and the swift destruction of adversaries. This transformation is politically framed as part of a broader nationalist effort to 'decolonise' the military, discarding colonial-era associations, tenets, designations, practices, and traditions in favour of culturally resonant symbols that embody a vision of a pure Viksit or developed India. Thus, names such as Sudarshan Chakra (Vishnu's celestial discus), Rudra (the Destroyer), Mahadev (the Great God), and Bhairav (the Ferocious), among many others, have been steadily introduced into the military in recent years for their psychological impact and cultural resonance, with the deliberate and pointed aim of reshaping the military's fundamental character. And in this ongoing endeavour, the armed forces were undergoing re-positioning – not as an apolitical institution – but as 'deliberate custodians' of the BJP's civilisational vision of ethnic nationalism. Rather than resisting, they eagerly embraced this shift, embedding mythological names into manuals, rituals, and briefings, and ensuring such symbolism became part of everyday military culture. A cross-section of service veterans, however, lamented that, by intertwining mythology with modern warfare, all three services had aided the government in crafting a martial identity focused less on professional neutrality and more on cultural assertion. In turn, this only eroded the inherent secularity associated with the Indian military. Alongside, instruction in ancient Indian texts like Kautilya's Arthashastra and Bhagavad Gita has been mandated by the government in military institutions, and in October 2023, the Indian Army (IA), with great fanfare, had launched Operation Udhhav (Evolution) to study ancient Sanskrit and Tamil texts from the 4th century BCE to the 8th century CE. The objective, according to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who inaugurated this Operation at the United Services Institute think-tank in New Delhi, was to 'rediscover' the country's rich heritage in 'statecraft, warcraft, diplomacy and grand strategy' and to operationally adapt it all in the Subcontinent's prevailing nuclear weapons environment. Other than the Arthashastra, Udbhav concentrates on the writings of the post-Mauryan Kamandaka (Nitisara) and those of the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar (Tirukkural) to 'bridge historical concepts' with the contemporary, and to 'integrate age-old wisdom with modern military pedagogy, according to the Press Information Bureau at the time of launching Udbhav. Furthermore, in line with government instructions, the IA's Adjutant General's Branch is reportedly preparing sweeping proposals to discard colonial-era traditions centred on either reconsidering, or altogether eliminating long-established dress codes, pipe and drum bands, colour presentations, and investiture ceremonies. Service veterans strongly opposed prevailing trend of 'mythologising' Longstanding affiliations of blood and bonding between IA units and foreign regiments, forged during the two World Wars, were also likely to soon be dissolved in a move to sever ties with India's mlitary's past. It's an established truism that all militaries, past and current, rely on tradition, institutional memory, and established norms to maintain cohesion, discipline, and professional identity. But when naming practices and symbolic gestures are politicised or infused with cultural Hindutva ideology in the Indian military, they tend to reshape its traditions and ethos and alter its longstanding legacies of neutrality and impartiality. Meanwhile, several service veterans strongly opposed this prevailing trend of 'mythologising' in the military, arguing that adopting names from ancient epics simply amplified the BJP's cultural messaging and facilitated overt narrative construction to serve sectarian politics. While acknowledging that the intermixing of religion and politics was not new, applying it progressively to the armed forces over the past decade, they said, was unprecedented. They further contended that the BJP's deliberate strategy of recasting India's defence capabilities as the modern embodiment of divine power and heroic figures from the past was also 'deeply troubling', but few were willing to openly challenge it as they were fearful of 'consequences'. Another Indian Air Force (IAF) veteran observed that this symbiotic relationship between BJP politicians and soldiers benefited both sides. The former, he said, leveraged military operations to bolster their electoral campaigns, showcasing a strong approach to national security, while ambitious soldiers who supported or endorsed their narratives were invariably rewarded with promotions and career advancement and, in some cases, high-profile employment after retirement. Also Read: Rudra, Bhairav, Shaktibaan: Army's Mythology-Infused Brigades Revive an Old War Plan in New Garb Such mutual reinforcement blurred the boundary between professional military service and political utility, he added, requesting anonymity. But this was not always the case. A three-star Army veteran noted that, for several decades after Independence, operation naming was largely ad hoc and left to the discretion of local commanders. Many operations bore Anglicised, yet neutral names like Blue Star, Brasstacks, Rhino, Cactus, Checkmate, and Trident, amongst others. Nativised monikers were typically functional or drawn from nature, geography, and history – Meghdoot, Pawan, Vijay, Kabaddi, Safed Sagar, Bajrang and Hifazat, to name a few. 'This naming was not only secular but often carried a mischievous and droll streak of informality as in Ops Orchid, Shanti, Ginger, Samaritan and Leech,' recalled the veteran, speaking on condition of anonymity. Platform names too – INS Mysore, INS Ganga, INS Godavari, Chetak, Cheetah, Dhruv, Prithvi, Akash, Nag, Ajeya and Vijayanta – reflected linguistic, cultural, geographical, and historical themes without overtly religious or mythological references, underscoring the armed forces' conscious effort to maintain neutrality and institutional distance from political agendas. 'However, today's trend is different,' he stated, adding that 'All three services now compete to adopt religiously inflected nomenclature to please the government." This shift reflected a growing alignment between military naming and political-cultural messaging, where operation and platform names were no longer purely professional or strategic, but heavily influenced by the BJP's ideological and partisan considerations, he said. Furthermore, many officers, he added, either proposed names with Hindu mythological resonance themselves, or promptly endorsed suggestions from senior ministers, anticipating the BJP's preference for such allusions. Military action intersects with identity politics Globally, many militaries have adopted different naming conventions. The US, Britain, and other Western armed forces, for instance, tended to choose operation names systematically and institutionally, drawing from preapproved lists of neutral or evocative words. These names conscientiously avoided religious, cultural, or political sensitivities and were designed to ensure operational security, while subtly conveying operational intent. Since the 1970s, the US, for instance, has employed a semi-random system in which each command receives blocks of letters to generate two-word operation names, ensuring both neutrality and unpredictability. There is also an implicit rule that all names avoid overt aggression, commercial brands, or cultural insensitivity. For example, Operation Killer (1951, Korean War) and Infinite Justice (post-9/11 Afghanistan), both somewhat evocative, were replaced with Operation Ripper and Operation Enduring Freedom, respectively. The British Ministry of Defence favours understatement and anonymity, providing units also with randomly generated lists, from which one codeword is selected. Traditionally, Britain uses one-word names for operations, two-word names for exercises, but all neutral and discreet. French operations, for their part, are named after geographic or symbolic references, avoiding religiosity, while post-WWII German operations employed abstract, benign, or humanitarian names, reinforcing the military's role as an impartial instrument of state policy. Compared to these neutral models. India's increasing use of evocative, culturally charged operation names highlights a unique trajectory, where military action intersects with identity politics. Operations like Sindoor, for example, typified this trend, framing military action not as a strategic necessity but as a 21st-century enactment of a cultural legacy. Besides, operations like the 2016 'surgical strikes' and the 2019 Balakot air attack were woven into electoral campaigns, portraying the forces as instruments of nationalist messaging. Veterans cautioned that such lobbying gravely undermined the armed forces' secular and inclusive character and risked weakening of one of India's most trusted institutions. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Advertisement
The Wire
2 hours ago
- The Wire
In Gopal Patha, BJP's Latest Effort at Establishing an Icon in Bengal Fails Again
The narrative propagated by the trailer of an upcoming film fails to grasp this multifaceted identity, or perhaps, it wilfully ignores it Gopal Mukherjee's grandson Shantanu with photos of his grandfather in his house in Kolkata. Photo: Joydeep Sarkar. Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) long quest for a resonant Hindutva icon in West Bengal has a new candidate – but not if his family has anything to do about it. For the last few years, the party has attempted to co-opt a wide range of historical figures. From nationalist hero Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda to the ancient king Shashanka, alongside its traditional icon in Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, BJP has never stopped trying to find its local hero in Bengal. But these efforts have yielded little in terms of electoral gains. Now, their focus has turned to Gopal Mukherjee, better known as 'Gopal Patha', a figure many scholars identify as a local strongman who fiercely defended Hindus during the brutal Calcutta riots of 1946. This latest experiment at historical appropriation, however, appears to be collapsing even before it could fully be forged, primarily because Mukherjee's family has expressed strong objection to how he has been shown in the trailer of director Vivek Agnihotri's upcoming film The Bengal Files. The film by the director, who has earlier made communally charged films, has been mired in controversy since it was announced. BJP workers and sympathisers quickly rallied behind the project, hoping it would serve as a cultural weapon in Bengal's electoral battlefield. Bengal is set to go to polls next year. In the trailer, Gopal Mukherjee is introduced with the words "there was a butcher" in Hindi, against a saffron backdrop. Mukherjee's family has now had a first information report filed against Agnihotri's film, accusing it of malicious distortion. 'This is a twisted portrayal that paints my grandfather as a leader of communal riots. It's true that during the 1946 riots, my grandfather, Gopal Mukherjee, took up arms to resist the attackers. But he protected people of all faiths, Hindus and Muslims alike,' said Shantanu Mukherjee, Gopal Mukherjee's grandson. Gopal Mukherjee's house in Kolkata. Photo: Joydeep Sarkar. Shantanu provides a counter-narrative that is far more complex and nuanced than the one-dimensional hero the Hindutva ecosystem seeks. He points to living memory, citing Muslim families in central Kolkata who still remember his grandfather fondly for protecting their families and properties. Mukherjee's political lineage further complicates the BJP's narrative. 'My grandfather was a companion of Mahatma Gandhi, and the revolutionary Anukul Mukherjee was his uncle. Inspired by their ideals, he initially joined the Congress party. Although he later had differences with their non-violent policies, he never became a leader of a communal party,' Mukherjee said. Books like Suranjan Das and Jayanta K. Ray's The Goondas: Towards a Reconstruction of the Calcutta Underworld offer a glimpse into who Mukherjee was. A goat-meat trader by trade – something which is conjectured to have given him his nickname ' patha ', which means goat – he was led into politics by Congress leader Bijay Singh Nahar during the 1946 riots in Kolkata. Mukherjee formed a private militia, the 'Bharat Jatiya Bahani,' to defend Hindu areas. This group, skilled in combat, was funded by wealthy Hindus during the crisis but is understood to have been abandoned afterward. Facing a lack of support and social stigma, Patha and his followers reportedly turned to organised crime, including robberies and smuggling. The Lalbazar Detective Department's record from 1950 lists Gopal Chandra Mukherjee with the number CRO-HS-K23865 identifying him as the mastermind behind a number of organised crimes, including a kidnapping in 1950 and several bank and mill robberies. Gopal Mukherjee. Photo: By arrangement. Mukherjee's story highlights the many layers of the 1946 riots. While his militia resisted violence, Mukherjee's mentor, Bijay Singh Nahar, also conducted peace marches with a local Imam. This duality of resistance against sectarian violence and simultaneous efforts towards communal harmony was the reality of 1946 that is often overlooked in modern political narratives. Kolkata-based journalist Sourav Guha, whose book on the underworld of Kolkata – Kolkatar Tolpet: Mastanir Ekal Sekal – featured a chapter on Gopal Mukherjee, contextualises his actions within the state's role. 'The government wanted riots to happen at that time. Many people, like Gopal Mukherjee, took to the streets to prevent those riots. Therefore, calling him a 'butcher' would be suppressing the real truth and distorting his role in maintaining communal harmony during that time,' Guha explained. The physical space of Gopal Mukherjee's central Kolkata home, a near 200-year-old landmark, stands as a testament to this complexity. Adorned with photos of freedom fighters, the walls feature Ram Mohan Roy, the Muslim poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, Mother Teresa, and Congress stalwart Bidhan Chandra Roy. The presence of Bidhan Roy's photo is significant as Mukherjee was known to be a strongman for the Congress leader. He was also allegedly tasked with disrupting leftist processions and was accused of electoral rigging by the left parties. Gopal Mukherjee in his old age. Photo: By arrangement. The BJP's narrative fails to grasp this multifaceted identity, or perhaps, it wilfully ignores it. By trying to fit a complex Bengali figure in the narrow mould of a Hindutva icon, the party has once again misread the history and character of Bengal. Perhaps the party can learn a lesson from West Bengal's electoral history. The parties that worked to prevent the 1946 riots fared much better in the state's first assembly election. The Indian National Congress formed the government with 150 seats, while the Left emerged as the main opposition. In contrast, the Jana Sangh of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, won only nine seats, and the Hindu Mahasabha secured just four. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Advertisement
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Vote Adhikar Yatra: Rahul Gandhi's convoy 'crushes' cop
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly "crushing" a police constable during a roadshow in Bihar's 'Vote Adhikar Yatra.' In a social media post on X, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla shared a video in which a car carrying Rahul Gandhi was seen running over a police constable. The policeman was later seen limping. 'Rahul Gandhi's car crushed a police constable who was critically injured,' Poonawalla said 'The dynast did not even get down to check on him,' he added The incident comes amid the opposition's campaign against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The 'Vote Adhikar Yatra,' which began on Sunday from Sasaram, is a 16-day march aimed at protesting against the SIR and alleged 'vote chori.' The rally will culminate in Patna on September 1 after covering more than 1,300 km across 20 districts. Earlier, Rahul had accused the EC of colluding with the BJP to 'destroy Indian democracy and steal elections,' and argued that if the EC does not provide electronic voter data of 10–15 years and CCTV footage, then it is 'partaking in crime,' since these are now 'evidence of crime.' He urged the judiciary to intervene to save Indian democracy. Citing the study, Rahul claimed the BJP won Bangalore Central by 32,707 votes while 1,00,250 fake votes were polled in its favor. He said the fake votes fell into five categories: duplicate voters (11,965), fake/invalid addresses (40,009), bulk voters at a single address (10,452), invalid photos of voters (4,132), and 'misuse of Form 6' for first-time voters (33,692). Showing files, he cited examples to argue that people had voted multiple times in different booths of the seat, while voter list addresses included 'Street 0' and 'House no. 0.' He said there were cases where as many as 80 voters were shown at one address, or 50 in a single one-bedroom house, and that attempts to cross-check resulted in either researchers being beaten up or confirmation that the voters did not live there.
