West Bengal is against war, more so if this is a war against Islamic fundamentalists. Any other conflicts, for instance Muslim mobs attacking Hindu families in the districts of Murshidabad or Palestinian attack on a concert in Israel, are condoned by such staunch pacifists of the state. The Leftists, though very few in number, receive backing from the state administration which is also anti-anything that the ruling national government does. During the height of Indian Operation Sindoor, when public sentiment was strongly nationalist, they were silent. Rightly so, there had been many instances where anti-views talking against Sindoor got thrashed. Now sensing relative safety, these people surfaced as soon as there is some sudden announcement of ceasefire. Since Bengali sentiment flares up and cools down very fast, now the Leftists found an opportune moment to demand peace, not war.
West Bengal loves to stand alone in its thoughts. An interesting feature of anything this group of socalled Leftists undertake is their utter lack of knowledge—either of current events or technology and economy. They use certain standard moth-eaten jargon to press home their arguments. For instance, they suffer at the thought of poor residents of Pakistan losing their lives due to the war. Little did they care to check that India’s high-tech arsenals took down only safe havens of terrorists and at the second stage, Pakistan’s military facilities. Indian missiles did not touch civilians at all. On the contrary, Pakistan’s shelling affected our citizens at the border areas. But these protesters had no time or sympathy for them.
The ignorant lots who keep repeating certain jargon have no clue how modern warfare takes place, how their cherished Russian forces were stopped at the border of Kiev when a massive troupe was approaching Ukraine. A bunch of tech-savvy persons, mostly amateur drone enthusiasts used their skills in Artificial Intelligence and thwarted the huge Russian built up at the border itself. This arguably remains a lesson on how modern arsenals are not useful in the face of technology. Indian attack on select targets in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor is an advanced demonstration of modern military technique. It was so meticulously planned that its unfriendly neighbour like China or apparently friendly super-power USA has paused to take stock of a new rival in the global power atlas.
Instead of looking at the shifting global equation and emergence of India as a power to reckon with, this ignorant bunch went on screaming against India’s war against terrorism from Pakistan. They not only exposed the woeful state of Left ideology but also absolute imbecility of the argumentative Bengali. A view peddled in West Bengal is that this was a showcase war engaged by New Delhi in order to retrieve its sinking political position in the forthcoming Bihar elections. Without going into the veracity of BJP’s political strength or weakness in Bihar, this group, too, failed to study the precise development since the night of 6 May.
First in just 25 minutes India demolished the terrorists’ hideouts in Pakistan, a swift attack that stunned the Pakistan defence forces. The next barrage of attacks from India was on 10 May when as many as 11 airbases of Pakistan were targeted in around just 90 minutes. This really broke the back of Pakistan which approached the Indian DGMO for ceasefire. More important, sensing a publicity advantage, Mamata Banerjee-style, the US President Donald Trump jumped in to claim that he had worked out a ceasefire deal. Had the entire war was a sham, as claimed by a section of Secular-Marxists of West Bengal, would Trump have attempted to seek limelight? The other critical element of Operation Sindoor is what Indian Prime Minister declared that the operation has merely been suspended and would be resumed in face of any provocation from Islamabad and its pet terrorists. Clearly, it was not a simple pretence war game indulged to campaign in the Bihar assembly election. The illogical arguments, originating mostly from Kolkata, lack fact, a strange disease affecting the city’s chatterati. Armed with bottomless ignorance the Left-Liberal frogs thus could fearlessly jumped into what they love to do, that is take out protest march to rehash their dusty slogans.
What these people wink at is the fury of common men who have been seen thrashing people supporting Pakistan. Police cannot protect them always from public anger. Kolkata’s chatterati are digging their grave. The unkempt, unfed look of those who tried to protest Operation Sindoor on the streets of Kolkata illustrates that funds are not flowing to support their ridiculous efforts any more. Time does not stand still. India has moved far away from the bullock cart era when street demonstrations could hoist the Left in power in the state and keep them there uninterrupted for 34 years. Aspiration of people has changed. They have access to global information on their handheld. They need not read Ganashakti to get a world view.
The Left’s electoral support in the state is now close to “Nota”. Yet the shameless rag-tag leftover cadres attempt to demonstrate on the streets of Kolkata. They don’t care to note that by doing so they are effectively making the city ludicrous to the rest of Indians. The city that ignited the sense and spirit of nationalism in India is today the harbinger of anti-nationalism. When the global powers are wondering at the success of the Indian armed forces, it’s made in India equipment and ability to precise hits of targets, when they are silently realising rise of yet another power in the horizon the half-wit, half-fed comrades are demonstrating on Kolkata streets. Sugato Hazra is an author and political analyst.