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Cultural Policing in West Bengal?

Krittivas Mukherjee reports from Calcutta
***The government-sponsored meeting will also condemn the efforts aimed at preventing the shooting of the controversial film 'Water', which is all set to be filmed in the state. State Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Subhas Bhattacharya, who is most vocal in defending 'Hey Ram,' has said the government would also felicitate the film's director Kamal Hassan and Water director Deepa Mehta.***
WEST Bengal's Marxist rulers are facing charges of adopting cultural double standards after banning an allegedly objectionable book while springing io the defence of the controversial movie 'Hey Ram.
The twin moves have sparked criticism that the Left Front government, which has enjoyed a reputation for cultural tolerance, is playing the role of a cultural policeman in the eastern Indian state.
Tlie government has banned a book. Mahua. written by former bureaucrat Achinta Mukhopadhyay saying it contained objectionable remarks on the Rajbongsbis. an ethic community of Cooch Behar in north Bengal.
The government order banning the lx>ok came following a complaint lodged against it by another bureaucrat belonging to the Rajbongshi community. The book lias been banned as
die government felt it could sow seeds of communal dishar-
The government has ordered confiscation of all the copies of the book from the market
Accoiding lo state Home Secretary Sourin Roy. the decision lo ban Mahua was taken in accordance with seclion 95 of (he Criminal Procedure Code. (CrP<) The book has been read by (he government, and found to have contained objectionable
remarks against a certain community." Roy said.
All district magistrates had been issued directions to confiscate copies ol (hr book, which contained objectionable references to the Raj bongs his in pages 10 to 12.
Some official quarters were, however, unsure how the government could ban a book on the basis of complaints by one Individual. There has been no open protest from the Rajbong-
shi community at Luge.
Last year, the state government had banned a book containing a photograph of Prophet Mohammed following widespread protests from a minority community.
The state government had also stirred a cultural debate by deciding lo call a protest meeting against the altacks on Hey Ram. a Him that has offended some sections of the Congress parly because ol alleged deni
gration of Mahatma Gandhi.
The meeting has been called on March 7 at the Nelaji Indoor Stadium where Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, his deputy Bud-dhadev Bhattacharya and several luminaries from the cultural world would speak. Some selected portions of the film would also be screened.
But the move has also been described by many as a political gimmick as the government had "no business spending people's money to hold such a protest meeting. Says Somen Mitra, senior Congress leader, "for them (the government) this is a political gimmick. They have found a good excuse lo wrongly defame our parly. The Congress has nothing to (io with this."
The screening of 'Hey Ram' has been disrupted by protestors belonging to the Cha-Ira Parishad. II •• students wing ol the Congress. The party has also held demonstrations against the Him elsewhere in I he country.
Says Shovandeb Chattopadhyay ol the Trinamool Congress, "so many other films also face agitation. why is the state government not taking it up on itself lo defend those?" He wondered why the Communist government of the state was not holding meetings to defend another film Collon Mary,' which has allegedly offended the sen-llmenls of the Anglo-Indian community.
The government-sponsored meeting will also condemn the efforts aimed al preventing the shooting of the controversial film 'Water', which Is all set to be filmed in the state. Stale Sports and Youth Allans Minister Subhas Bhattacharya, who is most vocal In defending Hey Ram,' has said the govern ment would also falicitale the film's director Kamal Hassan and Water director Deepa Mehta.
Opposition parties have alleged that the slate government was following double standards. and was "resorting to cultural policing behind a laadc of cultural tolerance.
The West Bengal government had objected to the shooting of several films in the past, including The City Of Joy' and La Null Bengali.
India Abroad News Service