To concentrate on Bengal’s humongous tragedy, its perilous aftermath and disasters in the offing, Bengal Volunteers and its digital organ ‘Kanjik’ together with SMaRT, an acclaimed mass media platform, organized conference in Kolkata on February 09, 2024. ‘Bengal Volunteers’, an awe-inspiring revolutionary organization during national freedom struggle was resurrected a few years back only while SMaRT is an eminent mass media platform. Contrary to expectations or as usual, the conference was found to be attended by a strong gathering.
The commemorative speech on Dr. Benoy Kumar Sarkar “Are Bengali Hindus a dying race?” gripped the central attention. And it must also be stated that the issues reflected here didn’t surface in the state ever since the birth of West Bengal ever. Another forgotten hero of freedom struggle, Major-General AC Chatterjee (INA) was recalled as well. It’s worth mentioning, BV conference’s motto ‘Turn every Hindu household into a fortress’ was used first by the same INA combatant in 1947 when Islamists had threatened to seize Calcutta by force.
What made the conference unique was the presence of present heirs of revolutionary organizations viz. Atmonnati, Jugantar and Bengal Volunteers viz. Sri Abhinaba Gupta (nephew of Sri Satya Gupta, close aide to Netaji SC Bose and also one of pioneers of Bengal Volunteers), Sri Santanu Mukherjee (Atmonnati Samiti and also the grandson of Sri Gopal Mukherjee – extensively famed for his gallant resistance to Muslim League’s diabolical ‘Direct Action Day’ or ‘Week of the Long Knives’ on August 16, 1946), Sri Kaushik Chandra Majumdar (Jugantar and the grandson of Sri Dinesh Chandra Majumdar, martyred through capital punishment in the Presidency Jail, Kolkata in 1934) respectively. Others who graced the occasion included Dr. Mohit Roy, Sm. Anamika Tiwari of SMaRT, Sri Subhash Chakraborty and Sri Supriyo Banerjee. The conference did initiate with Vedic Chanting.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mohit Roy emphasized on the need to strengthen the cult of political Hinduism brushing aside age-old nonchalance, defeatism.
Sri Shubhash Chakraborty termed each and every claim of Bangladeshi language movement on February 21 as a blatant lie and only a ploy to snatch the language from the Hindus. he has been a serious activist for decades and hence, stated in very clear terms of the traumatic experiences of ill-fated Hindus settled in Bangladesh (as an outcome of ill-fated partition in 1947 which has proved to be nothing except nemesis to them), their recurrent genocides and how the anti-Hindu state policy of Islamic Bangladesh has come forth as a scourge to decimate the once-sprawling, plenteous populace.
Sri Kaushik Chandra Majumdar cracked down on the absence of martialism among present Hindu generation and recalled his adolescence and youth when the situation was not so dim. He has committed to the study and practice of combat techniques, Indian martial arts like lathi in particular and presenting several such instances stated stridently that Akhada culture has come to halt as a result of sinister designs of state’s political top brass. Unless the brutal negativism is checked, Hindu Bengalis have hardly any way to survive.
While Sri Santanu Mukherjee focused on the need of more such conferences, Sri Abhinaba Gupta brought forth the revolutionary tradition of Bengal Volunteers and also of unknown tales of Rodda Arms Heist, the globally acclaimed robbery in broad daylight that rocked the British Imperialism.
SMaRT session presented aptly Ms. Anamika Tiwari – Program Manager proved to be engaging.
The conference ended with a dramatic presentation of “From Keshkambali to Karl”, enacted by Sri Supriyo Banerjee and Sri Jayanta Roy brilliantly, explaining the futility of Marxian chronicles.
