Mr Dutta, seeing no alternative for his predicament, then resorted to barking like a dog. (File)
Srikanti Kumar Dutta barked like a dog into a government vehicle on Saturday, forcing an official to pause and look at his papers, in a video that is viral. Two days later, he got what he wanted - a name-change.
Relief washed over Srikanti Kumar Dutta today when he saw that his unique protest had paid off. From Srikanti Kumar "Kutta", the name on his ration card was finally corrected after several attempts.
Srikanti Kumar Dutta's last name had been misspelt a variety of ways, from Mondal to Kranti, but the final straw was when it was misprinted as Srikanti Kumar "Kutta", which means dog in Hindi.
"How can I explain how insulted I felt? Only someone who goes through it can understand it. I had to go there not once, not twice but thrice. I am a qualified teacher but I have not yet been called for an interview," Mr Dutta told NDTV.
Mr Dutta's desperation grew as he approached district authorities in Bankura thrice to get his name changed, to no avail. When he went to the Duarey Sarkar (government at your doorstep) camp and showed the Joint BDO (Block Development Officer) his ration card, he got nothing.
Practically at the end of his tether, Mr Dutta resorted to barking and yelping like a dog. For several moments, he barked into the window of a car marked "Executive Magistrate", forcing the officer to go through his files on the spot. The video has since gone viral.
"If the person who made this mistake on my card had a kutta written against his name what would he have done? I was very angry and felt like picking up my shoes. But we are educated, we can't do that. That is when I thought of acting according to my 'name'," he said.
Thanking the media, he said there could be "thousands" who faced similar apathy.
"It was because the media picked up the issue that I have been successful in getting my name corrected. There must be thousands like me. Why is there such a crowd at the counter where the corrections are being made? The number seems to be going up each time," Mr Dutta remarked.