July 23, 2013

Tata group not to leave West Bengal, says Cyrus Mistry

KOLKATA: Chairman of Tata Sons Cyrus Mistry today said that the group has no intention to leave West Bengal.

"Tatas have never left West Bengal. We will never leave West Bengal as a group," Mistry told shareholders at the AGM of Tata Global Beverages.

Mistry, who chaired the meeting for the first time after becoming the Chairman of Tata Sons last year, succeeding Ratan Tata, declined to make any comment on the Supreme Court's recent observations on Singur.

"The matter is sub-judice and we do not want to discuss at this stage," Mistry told reporters after the meeting.


The apex court had said that the Tata Motors should make its stand clear on its leasehold rights over the Singur land in the wake of the changed scenario as the company had already moved its Nano car plant out of West Bengal to Gujarat.

Tata group not to leave West Bengal, says Cyrus Mistry

Violence, malpractices mar third phase rural polls in West Bengal

KOLKATA: Three persons were killed and the body of nother was found during the third phase of the five-phased panchayat polls in West Bengal on Friday even as allegations of wide-spread electoral malpractices including rigging and booth capturing were made against the ruling Trinamool Congress by major political parties in the Opposition.

One of the victims died when he succumbed to injuries sustained when security forces fired during a clash with local people in the Joynagar area of South 24 Parganas district.

The incident occurred even as there were reports from various places in that district as well as Howrah and North 24 Parganas — the other two districts that went to the polls — that the Central security forces were not put to effective use to prevent violence and electoral malpractices.

“The Centre has been generous to provide security forces to the State. It is for us, the State government to deploy them,” Governor M K Narayanan told journalists in New Delhi, adding that the forces should be deployed not only to ensure the safety and security of voters but to instil confidence among the people. A man, stated to be a supporter of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was killed after being attacked by bombs allegedly by the Trinamool Congress activists in Bodia village in the Amdanga block of the State’s North 24 Parganas district some time after polling began.

A Trinamool Congress supporter was shot dead near a polling booth in the Lakshmikantapur area of the State’s South 24 Parganas district. The police are trying to ascertain the cause of the death of a youth whose body was found in the Ghutia Sharif area of the district and check whether he was another victim of poll-related violence. Officials of the State Election Commission refused to attribute the deaths to a failure in the election machinery. Such a question could have risen had they occurred inside polling premises.


More than 70 percent voters have exercised their franchise by the evening in the three districts and the officials said that the figure was expected to rise later in the evening as final reports pour in, they said. Supporters of the CPI(M) descended on the major roads in the districts and tried to put up a blockade in protests against the manner in which elections were held. At certain places, Trinamool Congress supporters attacked them. “The State government has unleashed a war on the State Election Commission and on the democratic right of the people to participate in the polls,” Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Surjya Kanta Mishra said.

SAMAR MUKHERJEE'S LIFE IN PICTURES

COMRADE SAMAR MUKHERJEE PASSED AWAY

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on July 18.

THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses its deep sorrow at the death of Comrade Samar Mukherjee, a most exceptional, outstanding and dedicated leader of the communist movement in India. A valiant freedom fighter, able parliamentarian and leader of the trade union movement, Samarda passed away at the age of 100 in Kolkata today. He was the oldest living member of the CPI(M), having joined the Party in 1940. He dedicated his entire life as a communist to the cause of the working class and to the exploited people of India. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Party from 1966 and was elected to the Polit Bureau in 1978 and continued in that capacity till he was elected as the Chairman of the Party’s Central Control  Commission at the 14th Congress of the Party in 1992. At the time of his death he was a Special Invitee to the Central Committee.

Samar Mukherjee began his political activities as a young student and joined the freedom struggle. He was deeply inspired by Marxist ideology and the work of the Party. Immediately after he got his membership in 1940, he became a fulltime worker of the Party. He was one of the founders of the communist movement in Howrah district. In 1942 he became the organising secretary of Howrahdistrict of the undivided Communist Party. He became a member of the West Bengal state council of the Party in 1953. It was under his leadership that the movement for the rights of refugees from the erstwhile East Bengal was built up in Bengal which played a significant role in expanding the influence of the communist party.

Com. Samar Mukherjee played an outstanding role as a leading communist parliamentarian. In 1957 he was elected as an MLA from the North Howrah constituency. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Howrah constituency for three consecutive terms from 1971 onwards. He was also elected to the Rajya Sabha for two terms. As the leader of the CPI(M) group in parliament, he most effectively put across the Party’s line on all major issues, raising the voice of the working people and their struggles. He won the admiration of leaders cutting across Party lines because of his unambiguous commitment to the cause of the exploited masses.

Com. Samar Mukherjee led the CITU as its general secretary from 1983 to 1991, having earlier served as its working committee member from the inception of the CITU. He had played a leading role in the historic railway workers strike in 1974. Following the emergency he fought against the attacks on workers.

He made a multidimensional contribution as Party organiser, as writer, as trade unionist and as a parliamentarian.

Rarely have we seen such an individual who sacrificed all personal interests, living a spartan life in a Party commune in the service of the Party. He was affable, easily accessible and loved by the people.

The Polit Bureau pays its respectful homage to his memory.

Large-scale Plunder of Votes in Panchayat Elections

BOOTH CAPTURING, ARMED ATTACKS AND RIGGING MAR FIRST TWO PHASES

Rape of Democracy, alleges Left Front

FREE run of armed ruling party gangs, large-scale booth capturing, forcible false votes, blockade of villages, violent attacks on opposition candidates and their polling agents, active connivance of state police with miscreants. West Bengal panchayat elections, after first two phases of polling, can easily be summed up as an “unprecedented plunder of votes”.

In the first phase, voting took place in West Midnapur, Bankura and Purulia on July 11.

In continuation of the terrorisation, which was going on before the election, TMC gangs roamed freely in the villages in these three districts, threatening voters not to come out of their houses, particularly in Bankura and West Midnapore. In West Midnapore, booth capturing was rampant in Pingla, Dantan, Gopiballavpur, Shalboni, Nayagram, Chandrakona, Debra, Ghatal, Keshpur, Garbeta.  In many areas, the booth capturing started after 1 pm.  For example, 79 booths were captured in Ghatal and more than 50 in Debra. In Gopiballavpur, more than 30 booths were captured out of 98. TMC miscreants chased away CPI(M) polling agents from most of these booths and the polling officials were forced to keep silence under threat. In Pingla, CPI(M) leaders were attacked with sharp weapons and many were injured.

In Bankura, there was no semblance of fair elections in 11 out of 46 seats in Zila Parishad (District Council). Thousands of people were denied their voting rights in Indas, Taldangra, Bishnupur, Joypur, Kotulpur, Mejia and Saltora. Booths were captured, particularly after 12 pm. However, in southern parts of the district, mainly tribal areas, people came out in numbers to vote.

In Purulia, there were sporadic incidents of violence. In a major attack, CPI(M) activists were injured in Barabazar. However, people came to vote in this district despite fearful atmosphere.

In the second phase, on July 15, the attacks were more violent, more unconcealed and more widespread. Voting took place in Burdwan, East Midnapore and Hooghly districts in that phase. Large numbers of seats in these three districts were already snatched away by the ruling party as Left Front candidates were not allowed to file nominations or were forced to withdraw in the face of brutal terror. In the rest of the seats, TMC gangs wrecked havoc by widespread booth capturing, never witnessed in the state for decades.

In Burdwan, TMC brought gangs from outside the district. They infiltrated in the district in the last two days before polling from the neighboring districts. TMC started a full-fledged attack on booths in almost all areas in the district from the morning. In Jamuria, Sheikh Hasmat, the husband of a CPI(M) candidate, Monowara Bibi, was killed in a bomb attack at Madhudanga gram panchayat. Enraged villagers chased the miscreants and one of them, was beaten to death. Even after this incident, numerous booths around this area were captured by TMC.

In Rayna, widespread attack took place. Many booths were captured. CPI(M) district council candidate Suprava Karfa was arrested when she complained about rigging. TMC gangs captured many booths in Galsi, Aushgram, Kalna, Khandaghosh, Mangalkote, Ketugram. At the end of the day, 890 booths were fully or partially rigged and captured in Burdwan district alone.

In another incident, symbolic of what happened throughout the district, ballot papers were snatched from the hands of Chayarani Tah, mother of murdered CPI(M) leader and ex-MLA Pradip Tah in a booth in Burdwan Sadar. A TMC activist snatched the ballot and stamped it within the booth. This person is an accused in the murder case.

Wherever the villagers tried to resist, the state police came in support of the miscreants of the ruling party. In many places, villagers were arrested.

In East Midnapore, elections turned into sham in many areas. In Nandigram, no other political parties are allowed to function for the last two years. In some of the seats, ruling party faced challenges from independent candidates. TMC activists gheraoed booths and obstructed voters from reaching in many areas. In some areas, the independents, mostly TMC rebels, suffered the attacks. In Sonachura, in Nandigram, the vote boxes and tables were brought outside the booth and polling took place in open. This was done to prevent any voter from casting votes against TMC.  CPI(M) and Left Front agents were chased out of polling booths in Egra, Ramnagar, Patashpur, Khejuri, Panshkura, Moyna. In Kanthi, home to father-son MP duo of TMC, villagers were attacked so that they do not go to polling booths. Nearly 450 booths were captured in this district. Central forces were kept idle and TMC gangs roamed freely. Hundreads of booths witnessed looting of votes, openly.

In Hooghly, already 362 booths saw no voting at all. TMC ‘won’ in all three tiers there ‘without contest’. In Dhanekhali, Polba, Tarakeswhar, Arambagh, Haripal, TMC armed gangs created terror with the help of police. They stormed booths, beat up CPI(M) polling agents, and stamped ballots in one after another booth. In Arambagh alone, 136 booths were totally under ruling party control. In Salepur in the same subdivision women came out of their homes and clashed with miscreants after CPI(M) polling agent was forcefully kidnapped. CPI(M) candidates were attacked in many areas. In Uttarpara, CPI(M) candidate in panchayat samiti Shuvra Chatterjee was attacked and she suffered head injury. Piyush Dhar, another candidate in Debanandapur was grievously attacked. In Nabagram area, a bike borne gang went from booth to booth and chased away people. 

In the second phase nearly 1500 booths were captured in the three districts.

The state administration virtually kept aside the central para military forces. They were not deployed in booths. Most of the central security forces were stationed in the block office. Some of them went to main roads but not in the villages. The state government was opposing the deployment of central forces from the very beginning. Central forces were sent to the state under the direction of the Supreme Court. However, they were forced to remain inactive. In the second phase central forces were not deployed in 88 per cent of booths.

Biman Basu, Left Front chairman, expressed anguish in the manner voting right of the people was snatched. He told presspersons, “Our worst apprehensions came true. The chief minister herself continually threatened election commission and the opposition. Ministers openly threatened that the opposition parties would not be allowed to operate freely. Those terror tactics were implemented in the first phase. It accentuated in the second phase. Thousands of people were not allowed to vote. Booths were captured. Security forces were forced to remain idle. This is a rape of democracy.”

WEST BENGAL Party Account is fully transparent

Biman Basu Dares Any Probe into Baseless Insinuation

KOLKATA: BIMAN Basu, secretary, West Bengal state committee of the CPI(M) has strongly refuted any wrongdoing in the affairs of collection and maintaining the Party fund and condemned the baseless and wild insinuation by a section of media and Trinamul Congress. A report in Ananda Bazar Patrika suggested that the CPI(M) state committee’s bank account is run by individual leaders. They also mentioned some figures in this account. They tried to collect ‘comments’ from Trinamul leaders and tried to construct a story that all is not well with the CPI(M)’s account.

Biman Basu, in a press conference, categorically refuted any misconduct and detailed the sources of income and how it was maintained.

He said, in our Party Constitution’s Article no 1o, it is clearly written that every Party member must pay a monthly levy as laid down by the Central Committee. Those whose incomes are of annual or of seasonal character have to pay their levy at the beginning of the season or at the beginning of every quarter on the same percentage basis. If a member fails to deposit his levy within three months after it is due, then his name is to be liable to be even removed from the Party rolls. Like any Communist Party, the main source of the CPI(M)’s income is the levy collected from the Party members. There are fixed rates of levies according to income level. For example, the lowest rate is 25 paisa per month upto an income of Rs 300. And the highest is 5 percent of his income per month if it is above Rs 8000.  The CPI(M) has 3,14, 457 Party members in West Bengal. The levies are distributed among different levels of committees. Those Party members who are directly attached to the units under the state committee give their levies to state centre. Their levy amount turns to be nearly 45 lakhs.

Basu said, apart from the normal levies, Party members who are elected as members of parliament, state assembly or any other elected post deposit their salary to Party. Even the large portions of pension of retired elected representatives are deposited in Party fund. This can only be possible in a Left party. No other parties can even imagine this practice. Apart from all these, Party calls for special funds from time to time, in which one-day or half-day wages are collected. This is the principal method of Party’s income. The whole process is crystal clear, transparent and meticulously maintained.

About the insinuation perpetrated by a section of media and the ruling party in West Bengal about the “Bank Account”, Biman Basu said, this account was opened by a resolution of Party’s state committee and was given to the bank on the letterhead of the state committee. It was first decided that the account would be run in the name of Sailen Dasgupta, the then Party state secretary and Biman Basu. After the death of Sailen Dasgupta in 2010, the name of Nirupam Sen was added. This decision was also communicated to the bank on the formal letterhead of the Party. All formalities have been maintained during the transactions. However, we did not know that the bank was treating it as ‘personal account.’ As soon as we were informed, we requested the bank to transfer it as a state committee account. There was no secrecy, nothing under the table. It was an open transaction with the said bank.

Basu said, the details of this account are audited. According to rules, we send annual audit report to Party Central Committee and through them, the Income Tax authorities and the Election Commission gets those reports. The Election Commission has praised us many times for maintaining accounts in a correct manner.

Basu said, there is nothing in our Party account and this bank account which is shrouded in secrecy. We are ready for investigation by any agencies, brought from any part of the world. There was absolutely no reason to raise this issue except trying to mislead a section of people during panchayat elections. Trinamul Congress and its chief minister had failed to run the administration in the state. They are just trying to divert attention from this.

To another question, Basu said, the amount of money is perfectly consistent with the levies and special funds that we had mentioned.

Interestingly, the Ananda Bazar Patrika has shied away to publish the details of Biman Basu’s arguments and downplayed the whole thing after two days. 

KAMDUNI PROTESTS
















KOLKATA UNSAFE


SWASTIKA MUKHERJEE, actress

We always bragged to friends that Calcutta was the safest city. There was a time when two or three of us, all girls, would take a taxi and return home late… we never thought about safety. Since the Park Street rape case, it seems like there has been a spurt of incidents all around the city, not just in the seedy parts or on desolate roads but in posh areas like Jodhpur Park. Around six months back there was an incident in the lane (in Golf Gardens), which we use as a short cut, even to get things like chips and stuff. That is unthinkable now. Even as early as 8pm seems unsafe in Calcutta.
My daughter Anwesha is in Class IX and sometimes she says she is meeting friends after school or going to South City Mall and would take a rickshaw home. I tell her NO. I feel bad because I used to travel back from school alone from when I was in Class VIII. But I am very scared for my daughter because even in the afternoon I don’t think it’s safe. I tell her she has to take the car or ask one of her friends to drop her home.
Her tuition ends at 8pm and I start panicking by 8.15. I don’t send her out alone to get chips from the local shop because very often there is a group of boys hanging around.
When we plan a party we make sure there are more men than women in the group. Just having to make such calculations is so frustrating.
And the incidents just seem to keep increasing in frequency. Maybe these people have got the message that they can get away with anything. Unless exemplary punishment is meted out to the perpetrators, this issue cannot be addressed.

RILA BANERJEEsinger
The street lamps on our corner of Bright Street have been temperamental for as long as I can remember. In the ’80s, Bright Street used to be a haven for dumping stolen cars, burgled goods stuffed into oversized gunny bags. And frequent calls to Karaya police station.
Cut to the present. The temperamental street lamps persevere. Bright Street is a not-so-bright hub of abuse. Manic morons mercilessly manhandling their girlfriends, wives, sisters, mothers without fear of reprieve. One of them slapped a woman so hard that I was able to pick up the thuds repeatedly through my car, with windows rolled up and air-conditioner on, parked 50 metres away!
It’s an old story, you might argue, but what is this new phenomenon that transforms these imbecile dimwits into self-proclaimed bands of puny-chest-thumping He-men? It’s insane! They swear the law can’t touch them. They believe they’re invincible (after dark only).
It’s for us to call their bluff, with or without the administration’s support. Our badge-bearing lawmen have tastier fish to fry. Our democratically elected representatives, bereft of empathy, spout conspiracy theories, and the common man laments, “We voted for change. We deserve this.”
I did not vote for change. I do not deserve this. Nor do you — even if you DID vote for change.
You don’t get to choose Calcutta. The city chose you.
This is the city I am fortunate to call my home. This is the city that is my safe haven. This is the city that taught me right from wrong. This is the city that taught me not to be afraid. This is the city that encouraged me to speak up, speak out.
I’m aware. I’m also the devil child of colour-coded politics. Believe me, that’s a fate far fatal than staying monochromatic. I can sense wrong. I know wrong. Do not mess with my sensibilities.
Blame Calcutta, if you must — it’s the colour of my skin. Little else matters.

• Attention ladies: Repair, revise and revamp the unacceptable. Be Calcutta’s sternest critic and staunchest supporter. Wear Calcutta on your sleeve. She likes it. Don’t depend upon colour-coded politicians to solve your problem. They have their own agendas. Be the change.

• Attention moron/creep/ignoramus: Feel free to unleash the depraved two-legged hounds, your para-cultivated Bablus, Jhantus, Munnas, Netais and Bubais all you wish, but we shall not be moved.
We will still return at odd-hours and expect to reach home safe. We will still frequent pubs and nightclubs and expect not to be labelled “looj-character” and prostitutes by the administration. We will still enjoy our menthol-tipped cigarettes and expect not to be molested just because we’re happy, high and feeling good.
We will still dress any way we want and expect that YOU do not expect every inch of exposed flesh is yours to grope at will. We will rally together and I promise we will not be silent this time.
And we will leave Calcutta a better place for our children.
Calcutta, I am. For this is home. This is my city. This is my safe haven. She will stay safe for my daughter. And you will not wrench that away from me.
This much is non-negotiable.
Sometime soon, the street lamps on our corner of Bright Street will shine brighter. And safer.

BERNADETTE STARONa 22-year-old from Germany, in Calcutta for over a month for an internship
I live in a PG accommodation in Salt Lake. That’s where my office is too. I came to Calcutta at a time when people were talking about various stories of rape. People in my PG had also warned me not to stay out too late.
In Calcutta, I don’t wear make-up and I bought myself kurtis and salwars. Partly because I wanted to experience the culture, partly because I didn’t want to attract attention or provoke.
One day, I did wear a bit of make-up and western clothes. At Jadavpur 8B bus stand I had boys and men come up and say: “Hi! Where are you from?” I was very short in my answers and now I also have a special tone that I put on so they know I don’t want to converse.

NANDINI CHAKRAVARTYbusinesswoman
The newspaper headlines are becoming usual: political apathy, demoralised police, emboldened goons, victimised women and children, assaulted relatives, minors raped and murdered.
Indulgence from political parties with elections round the corner emboldens these young men to commit crimes. They don’t need to earn a living, or practise a trade, as political parties use their criminal bent of mind to achieve their ends.
My understanding is that the police are demoralised as they know that political pressure will force them to yield when they put these criminals behind bars. Besides, it takes longer to write a judgment for conviction than to pass a verdict of “lack of evidence” and set free the same criminal to commit more crimes. Witnesses are threatened or silenced when the same criminals are out on bail.
The defining incident for me has been when goons ransacked Kalighat police station because they were not allowed to go down a certain road being repaired. If they can treat the police in such a fashion, citizens like us do not stand a chance.
The responsibility of protection of citizens is the primary, fundamental, basic premise under which a government is elected. As an honest taxpayer, I feel the job of citizen protection lies squarely with this elected government.
A civilised society is defined by its ability to protect its young, its women, and its aged. Our elected government has failed on all three counts.

CHIRU SURa resident of Entally who has hosted many foreign nationals in the city
Things have become bad, especially in the last one year. In places like Lord’s Bakery in Lake Gardens and the stretch from Navina cinema to the Tollygunge Phari crossing, or the Lake level crossing, there are biker gangs that hang around at cigarette shops that stay open till late. They pass lewd comments when they see a white woman. I have a bunch of friends, including women who are foreign nationals. The moment they see a white woman, they stare, act rough and make passes. And after 1am it’s dangerous. Probably because the women are not local residents, these boys think they’re more vulnerable. That’s the attitude.

BRITTA LEICK-MILDEa German national and the new general manager of Hyatt Regency
The Jodhpur Park incident is really unfortunate and I feel empathetic towards the victim, who will probably have this memory for a long time. Even though I am still new here, I have found Calcutta to be a very safe, metropolitan city, which I think has fewer incidents like the one that recently took place, than many other places in the world.
The only suggestions I have for female travellers is to be always on the side of caution and not take anything for granted — especially when they are in a new city. From the bureaucratic angle, I would push for enhancement of the public transportation system and have more policing at key points and times.

NINA SAXERwife of the general manager of Swissotel
What happened was very scary. I attend many social functions and often dress up, so this worried me. Luckily, I have a driver and a car. But I think here, in Calcutta, young women should not take a cab late at night. Incidents like this are happening too often and it’s frightening.

PRIYA SARKARa 27-year-old event manager and resident of Tollygunge
Given my work, I often have to stay back at the venue and thus get late. I am a regular clubber as well, but I always make sure I am with close friends or cousins. The stretch near my home gets pretty empty by 11pm. I never avail of public transport after that hour. I stay back at a friend’s place if I have no one to drop me home.
It feels sad to see the mentality of people in the city. I would never ever dare to wear a short skirt and walk on the streets here. If I, belonging to the city, do not feel safe alone, how can I ask my friends from other countries to come here?

PRIYANKA GHOSHa 24-year-old resident of Howrah
On Friday, I told a friend who has come from Cyprus not to talk to strangers and advised her to return home before 7.30pm. She gave me a bewildered expression, because instead of asking her to enjoy herself in Calcutta, I was going on and on about safety. Later I realised that the concern came very naturally and immediately to me, because deep down I know my city is no longer safe.

GARIMA BARMECHAa signatory to the citizens’ petition that was submitted to the governor on Thursday
I work on Sarat Chatterjee Avenue, which is the same road on which you have Menoka cinema. There are many occasions when one has needed to take the Metro post-8pm from Rabindra Sarobar to Belgachhia en route to Lake Town, where I live.
Earlier, there would be no worries in walking down Sarat Chatterjee Avenue. But now there is an unspoken fear, as a result of which I usually seek someone from my office to accompany me to the Metro station, which is no more than a six-minute walk.
There is one spot that is particularly vulnerable: alongside the Tollygunge rail bridge on SP Mukherjee Road, which is badly lit and has hardly any pavement. Groups of boys coming from Rabindra Sarobar find this a convenient spot to make advances. I am actually going to check whether the OC of the Charu Market area will read this and post policemen there to protect citizens.
These are some of my suggestions: A police outpost on Sarat Chatterjee Avenue has been discontinued for the last five years and the booth has become a relic. Can it be revived? Can women police constables be deployed in this area where there are so many young girls and women coming to visit Rabindra Sarobar? Can the area below the rail bridge be lit better? Can a CCTV camera be installed at the entrance of the Sarobar Metro station (which serves as a junction of Metro and the local train station) with a poster clearly mentioning the surveillance?
Or would even this be too much to ask of my city?

CHARULATHA BANERJEEa doctor and resident of Sarat Bose Road
I travel outside the city and country frequently on work and use public transport in most places. Unfortunately, I can’t in Calcutta. My husband is obliged to bring me back home each time I return on a late evening flight from the airport. I have this luxury, but cannot say the same for many of my female colleagues who prefer to stay overnight and return on morning flights.
The simple joy of spending time with friends late in the evening and returning home unchaperoned after dark is now a ritual of text messages — after one reaches, when one leaves, when one is halfway in the cab and so on.
Walking down from the gym on Sarat Bose Road in the evening fully covered in track pants and T-shirt and missing a dupatta for comfort is a feeling of despair beyond description — to back off 100 metres when you see a group of men approaching, perhaps harmless but to be doubly sure: what if they reach out and grope?
A year ago I advised a young American-Indian intern to cover herself up when she travelled on the Metro to ensure that she was safe. She could not comprehend it, she felt she was being punished in the heat. I insisted.
Living in fear of being molested in a city that welcomes the Devi every year but abuses us ordinary women in a million ways every day is one of the many contradictions that needs to be corrected.
EINA AHLUWALIA, jewellery designer
I t’s like suddenly all the psychos in Calcutta have been told there will be no consequences. Do what you like, no one will stop you. They’ve become unafraid. They go about in groups, on bikes, and they molest and rape for entertainment, on a whim. There is arrogance in the way they speak, a sense of entitlement.
“I want to **** her.” WHAT???
Who is this new Calcuttan?! Where did he come from? What is this sudden degradation of our system? We have forgiven Calcutta a lot, for its industrial devolution, the lack of corporate opportunity, the fact that everything comes here last. But now we’re talking about a fear for our safety and lives. A constitutional right to freedom and the right to walk our streets.
And this is 50 per cent of Calcutta’s citizens we’re talking about.

Why do you think Calcutta has become more unsafe for women in recent years? Tellttmetro@abpmail.com