Ever since the establishment of the RSS-driven government at the centre, there has been communal hate mongering and an endless series of attacks on the minorities. There have been many rape cases in West Bengal and the Trinamool government has shown a negligent and sexist attitude in all the cases. It is in this context that we must look at and condemn the recent attack on a convent school in Nadiya and the gang rape of the 70 year old nun Mother Superior. Whether the Ranaghat rape is a case of communal violence or some other form of malevolence, the West Bengal government has been shamefully incapable of preventing it or punishing the guilty.
On the night of 14 March some heinous criminals broke into the convent, looted costly items, vandalized Christ’s image, and raped the senior-most nun. It is a moot question why they chose the most senior nun and not any of the others. Clearly the criminals had a grudge, either personal or political, against that church. According to the other sisters, this nun had told the criminals to tell her what they wanted and not to harm any of the others. That she did not plead for mercy and faced the attackers bravely angered them and they not only raped her but also injured her in several places.
Even 3 days after the incident there was no progress in arresting or punishing the criminals. 3 days later when the CM Mamata Banerjee went to visit the site, students and guardians stopped her convoy and refused to let her move further, demanding why no arrests have been made so far. Mamata Banerje threatened the people and after 45 minutes the police lathi-charged and dispersed the crowd. Cases have also been registered against some of the protesters.
VHP General Secretary Surendra Jain attempted to use the Ranaghat rape incident to spread hatred and inflame communal passions. He said, “Attacking nuns is the Christian culture; we do not do such things.” After the attack on a church in Haryana, the CM of that State put the blame for the attack on the ‘conversions’ carried out by the church! Narendra Modi is silent on such statements by his cronies and colleagues.
CPI(ML) and AIPWA held 3 day (17-19 March) protests and rallies in different parts of West Bengal against the extremely insensitive attitude of the administration and the vengeful behavior of the Chief Minister. A rally was taken out in Hind-Cone Nagar of Hooghly. Rallies, street meetings, and road blocks were conducted at Ashok Nagar and Kharda (North 24 Parganas), Bajbaj and Choriyal (South 24 Parganas), Siliguri in Darjeling district, while posters protesting the Ranaghat rape were put up in Kolkata and other places.
On 19 March an impressive joint rally was organized by 15 organizations including AIPWA, Maitri, Nari Nirjatan Pratirodh Manch, Darbar Mahila Samanvay Samiti, Shramjeevi Mahila Sangathan and other women’s groups. The march started at College Square in Kolkata and proceeded to Dharamtalla. Around 2000 women participated, raising their voice against sexual violence and demanding punishment for the guilty in the Ranaghat rape incident. At Dharamtalla a huge human chain was constructed and cultural programmes and street plays were staged.
