A court in Kolkata granted bail to Bangla Pokkho's founder, Garga Chatterjee, who was arrested for allegedly spreading misinformation through social media posts during the West Bengal Assembly elections.
In West Bengal's assembly elections, fish has become a potent symbol of Bengali identity, with the Trinamool Congress and BJP clashing over food habits and cultural representation.
A group of students from Kolkata University's Carmichael Hostel were allegedly attacked near Sealdah and branded as "Bangladeshis" by shopkeepers and miscreants, triggering a political row.
The politicisation of ethnic sentiments in the state has coincided with the ascent of the BJP and increased activities of far right Hindu outfits, which organised rallies and other events on religious occasions such as Ram Navami a festival not very popular in West Bengal- unlike states in north India.
The Mamata Banerjee-led party, which has often been mocked by opponents for not having a well-defined ideological plank, seems to have finally found its calling in Bengali sub-nationalism, as a section of top party leaders feel only an 'inclusive message of regionalism, which the Bengalis can identify with, will counter the aggressive nationalism and Hindutva practised by the saffron camp'.
Bengali sub-nationalism is slowly emerging as a rallying cry ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections due next year.
Jayanta Roy Chowdhury reports on how the West Bengal elections are being fought by the BJP and Trinalool Congress amid COVID challenges, 'Bangaliana', and campaigns based on religion, region, and caste.
