The arrest of a professor of Jadavpur University for circulating a cartoon critical of the chief minister Mamata Banerjee has sparked off a series of protest march by the civil society in the state. While there were a number of demonstrations in the districts like Burdwan, North 24 Parganas and some other districts in the last two days, in Kolkata the Jadavpur University students took out a procession protesting the act of the state government which they described as an attack on democracy.
Some thousands of students and teachers came out of their campus and marched on the streets of the city with placards of protest in their hands. Another protest march was held by a number of educationists from College Square on the same issue.
The Jadavpur university students in a statement made it clear that some recent developments like the increasing violence against women (the rape cases in Bally Bridge, Katoa, Dhakuria and Park Street) and the government’s insensitivity towards the case at Park Street, the transfer of IPS officer Damayanti Sen, the arrest of seven individuals including a scientist who were protesting against the eviction of slum-dwellers from Nonadanga, have been agitating their mind.
Finally, the midnight arrest of Prof. Ambikesh Mahapatra of Jadavpur University “point towards the worrying state of affairs in West Bengal.” The students feel that the message is clear-no criticism of the state government will be tolerated. Already eminent writer Mahasweta Devi, poet Sankho Ghosh, economist Ashok Mitra and some others protested the arrest of the university professor.
Meanwhile, Prof. Mahapatra’s case has attracted the attention of state human right commission. The commission today suo motto initiated a case and asked for a report from the home department on this case. The civil society has already scored a minor victory as some of the assailants, who had manhandled Prof. Mahapatra and took upon themselves to hand him over to the police, now, have been arrested after a complaint was lodged by the professor against them, though they were granted bail later.
Prof. Mahapatra today took part in one of the protest march. Demand for release of another academic, ParthaSarathia scientist associated with Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata is being raised from various corners. On April 8 Parthasarathi Roy was arrested along with 68 others when they assembled to protest against the eviction of slum dwellers of Nonadanga, on the south east fringe of Kolkata.
Noam Chomsky, Aruna Roy and many others have requested the Prime Minister seeking his intervention for the release of the scientist.
