Ras Bihari’s books on Bengal’s political history readable and laudable: PM Modi

• Ras Bihari, Senior Journalist and President, NUJ(I) presents his three books to PM
• Special visitation was held at Victoria Hall during his stay in Kolkata
• Appreciating my efforts by PM means a lot to me: Ras Bihari

By khel Today Repoter

New Delhi – Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has lauded the three books on Bengal politics by senior journalist Ras Bihari. Modi said, it is an important  task to present decades of political history by highlighting it with fairness and correct facts, which has been well realized by Ras Bihari. The Prime Minister said this when Ras Bihari presented his three books to him at Victoria Hall in Kolkata on the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on 23rd January.

In the meantime, the PM said that he should continue writing in future. Ras Bihari said, “the Prime Minister’s appreciation of my efforts is of great significance to me.”

Three books are “Raktanchal- Bengal Ki Raktcharitra Rajneeti,”, “Raktranjit Bengal-Lok Sabha Chunaav 2019” and “Bengal-Voto ka Khooni Lootera” have been published by Yash Publications. Senior journalist Ras Bihari is former president and general secretary of Delhi Journalists’ Association. At present, he is the president of the National Union of Journalists (India).

The brief information of the three books is as follows:-

Raktanchal- Bangal ki Rakta Charitra Rajneeti

Raktanchal – The blood-politics of Bengal

Political violence in West Bengal was expected to cease after Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee became chief minister in 2011. In Mamata Banerjee’s rule, the possibility of political violence of the opposition parties has proved true in every election. In the book, the incidents of violence and rigging in the by-elections with the 2014 Lok Sabha and 2016 Assembly elections are mentioned in detail. The murders and conflicts for political reasons from 2011 to 2018 are mentioned in detail. The book tells how the leaders and activists of the Trinamool Congress kept biting and bombing each other to fight for the Cut Money syndicate, bloodshed to grab contracts, collect extortion and occupy illegal businesses.

It has been unabashedly and impartially revealed that to maintain dominance, how the Trinamool Congress killed the CPI(M), Congress and BJP workers to spread terror. This book describes about Bengal’s bloodthirsty politics, with examples of incidents of rape of women, beating of children and setting houses on fire to teach a lesson to the opponents. An in-depth assessment of Mamata Banerjee’s life and politics has been written with an accurate analysis of the Chief Minister’s confrontation with Governors on political violence.

Raktranjit Bangal- Lok Sabha Chunav 2019

Bengal in pool of Blood – Lok Sabha Elections 2019

The book describes in detail the political violence before, during and after the voting in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Examples of people killed and injured in political violence in 2019 are evidenced by bloodied Bengal. How the houses were blown up to spread terror in the battle for political supremacy. How the people of urban and rural areas live under death threat throughout the year due to the bombing and firing that took place in the political struggle. In West Bengal along with the increasing political violence, the growing support base of the BJP, the base of the Congress and Left parties getting narrow and the appeasement policy of the Trinamool Congress for the  votes have been deeply assessed. The growing influence of illegal weapons and black money  in politics has been highlighted. Accurate analysis has been given of attacks on the Supreme Court, Central Government, Governors, Election Commission and security forces to spark politics by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Bangal- Voton ka Khooni Loottantra

Bengal – bloody robbery of votes

The first book to fully describe the political violence of the last 50 years after Naxalism flourished in West Bengal. It has given details of 1967’s farmer movement, shutdown and strike in industries, bomb blasts in universities, colleges and schools and chaotic movements with fires of bullets from revolvers. Detailed description of political violence is also written since  the repression of the Congress Chief Minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray in 1972 and after the formation of the Left Front government in 1977. After the implementation of the three-tier Panchayat system, how did the CPI (M) maintain power with the help of political violence. The bloody plunder of votes in the Panchayat elections by the ruling party the Trinamool Congress in 2013 and 2018 is revealed in the book, with full details of the killings and violence during the nine panchayat elections held from 1978 to 2018.

Ras Bihari — a veteran journalist having spent four decades in journalism associated with Dainik Hindustan, Nai Dunia and Governance Now — has for the last six years closely studied the political landscape of West Bengal, a state torn between rising fanaticism and those trying to protect the Bengali asmita, the dichotomy of a society that is vacillating between ultra Left to extreme Right. Born at Govardhan in Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, Bihari did his early education from Palwal and Faridabad in Haryana and then moved to New Delhi where he joined the Hindustan Times group and served for 22 years as a senior journalist. He also briefly worked with Hindusthan Samachar as its Executive Editor. He holds a postgraduate degree from Guru Jambheshwar University, Haryana and has been a regular commentator on TV channels on Indian politics. He is currently holding the office of the President of National Union of Journalists (India).

(Man Mohan Lohani)

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