It has been 28 days since a 31-year-old doctor was found raped and murdered in a seminar hall of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. And the City of Joy, known to be laid back and hopelessly romantic, is wide awake and angry.
There has been a protest every day for the past four weeks in one or more corners of West Bengal. Lawyers, teachers, doctors, actors - no section of the society has been untouched by the outrage, and the cry for justice.
From children reciting slogans to the elderly holding hands with their sons and daughters in protest rallies, people from every age group have left their drawing rooms and come out on the streets. Age, gender, class, political inclinations - all lines have blurred in this mass movement.
Crimes are quick, but law moves slowly. In a country as populated and complex as ours, it barely plods along. There has been only one arrest in this case so far - civic volunteer Sanjay Roy, who is accused of raping and murdering the doctor during her night shift. Many among the protesters, including the victim's parents, suspect more people were involved - if not in the crime then at least in an alleged cover-up.
The Mamata Banerjee-led state government's actions in the aftermath of the rape-murder have left many questions, prompting allegations of a cover-up and attempts to shield people. Several Trinamool leaders have made incendiary remarks - one threatened to break any finger pointed at Mamata Banerjee - and that has not helped the ruling party in the perception battle.
The protests, which started primarily as a doctors' agitation to demand justice for their colleague and better work conditions, encompass every section of the society as they enter the fourth week. WhatsApp groups created for one march in the early days continue to buzz with updates on the next protest, and the next. Each day, the question pops up - where to, today?
What is sustaining these protests? Kolkata, or Bengal, are not unfamiliar with large protests. From the Nandigram violence to the Rizwanur Rahman case, Bengal has come together to raise its voice against injustice several times in the recent past. But the scale of the agitation over the RG Kar case is different. It is not led by the opposition, though they are joining in. It is the people who are driving this movement, people who are not ready to move on, people who are not ready to forget.
Why is that? Because the RG Kar case has shaken the Bengali woman to her core. It has threatened the freedom she has fought for - and won - over centuries.
The fight against Sati - the practice of widows burning in their husband's pyres - began in Bengal, so did widow remarriage. Be it the freedom struggle or peasant agitations such as the Tebhaga Movement, Bengal's women have walked alongside men in every march for justice. No, it has not been a perfect society and patriarchy has had its moments, but it has been challenged. From lighting funeral pyres to presiding over religious rituals, the Bengali woman has continued to test the boundaries over the years. She has been described as combative, domineering and opinionated. There have been some bizarre descriptors too - like 'black magic expert'. The "Bong" woman has laughed them off.
The RG Kar incident threatens to disturb that milieu. Nearly 150 years after two Bengalis became India's first women graduates, the Bengali woman feels the walls closing in on her. Will she be barred from night shifts? Treated as a vulnerable species? Need men to escort her for safety? All because the system failed her. She won't stay home out of fear, tonight or any other night.
The 31-year-old doctor belonged to an ordinary family. Through her determination and hard work, she not only achieved her own dream of becoming a doctor, but also transformed her parents' future, giving them a more comfortable life. The nameplate on the family's home, with only her name, captures her parents' pride. Then one night shattered the dream.
In the doctor's grieving parents, many women - and men - see their own parents, who believe in them endlessly, dream for them, live for them.
Bengal wants to stand by them, come what may. If they must hit the streets daily for that, so be it.
There is immense anger over the authorities' response to the incident - be it the first call from the state-run hospital to the parents, who were told their daughter had died by suicide, of the allegations of cops keeping the parents waiting for hours and then rushing with the cremation. Questions have been asked on why the state government initially appeared to defend key figures suspected to be involved in the case. The Mamata Banerjee government has been accused of a cover-up attempt and destruction of evidence. The state government's advisory that night shifts must be avoided for women has added to the public outcry. It was an admission that the administration is incapable of protecting women employees, say protesters.
With multiple theories doing the rounds and no clear answers, people are restless. Three weeks have passed since the CBI took over the investigation, and the lack of visible progress has added to the unease. Such is the lack of trust in institutions that people feel if the protests stop, there will be no justice. So, they are not staying home or staying silent. They are screaming for justice and no one wants to stop until something gives.
Even the approaching Durga Pujo has not distracted them or softened their focus. Bengal's most special time of year is round the corner, but for many, it is another medium to express their outrage. Already, some pujo organisers have refused the state government's traditional donation to their pandal. As they welcome the Goddess - who does not need her husband to accompany her on her annual trip - their voices will remain unmuted and uncompromising.
Protest And Politics
The Trinamool Congress has said it agrees with the protesters' demand for justice, but has accused the BJP and CPM of trying to hijack the protests for political gains. The Opposition parties have responded by demanding Mamata Banerjee's resignation and saying she should take responsibility for the incident, not just because she is the Chief Minister, but also because she is in charge of the Home Ministry.
As the protests take on a life of their own, the political slugfest continues in the background. The BJP and CPM have organised many protests, which they are expected to, as opposition parties. But many of these marches have been spontaneous and devoid of political symbols. In fact, at several protests, politicians have been turned away.
The people are shaken, but they do not want to be tagged or threatened or pushed to shout slogans.
(Saikat Kumar Bose is Deputy News Editor at NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.
