Wednesday might have momentarily resurrected Kolkatas memories of largescale campus violence thanks to the clashes at St Pauls College directly over admission forms but allegedly also part of the fallout from the Lok Sabha results. But thats hardly the story unfolding since May 16. That has been one of incessant political violence,a narrative of retribution and revenge that runs without a break,that West Bengal has failed to debunk through its travails of deindustrialisation,reindustrialisation,red and green. After the poll-related violence in early May,allegedly by both CPM and Trinamool cadres,came what was reportedly selective terrorising by Left cadres. Amidst allegations of murders and abductions on both sides of the political divide in Bengal,came the recapture of Khejuri in East Midnapore district on Tuesday,in a supposedly bloodless but vigilante coup by the Trinamool. The mention of Khejuri chills the spine,given its use as the launch pad by CPM cadres in their bloody assault on Nandigram (just across the Talpatti canal) in November 2007. On Tuesday,angry villagers,seen to be with the Trinamools blessings and the police in tow,conducted a violent door-to-door search,seemingly to recover arms stored in the homes of CPM leaders and cadres. Many CPM leaders and supporters were reportedly forced out,their homes torched,and a number of CPM offices ransacked,with the one in Kalagachia most symbolic hitherto of red might reduced to a deserted spectral mess. And yes,guns,bombs and cartridges were recovered,testifying to the culture of violence. The Trinamools Lok Sabha victories in both Tamluk and Contai constituencies,under which Nandigram and Khejuri fall respectively,might have encouraged some locals to exact a revenge on the CPM. But even as Trinamool chief and Union minister Mamata Banerjee complains about red terror in Bengal,shouldnt she consider the pitfalls of her partymen paying the Left back in its own coin? One wrong cannot be righted by another,and vigilante action is just a step away from violent and prolonged turf wars,which Bengal could unfortunately be staring at if the players dont change the rules of their game.
