Hindu in West Bengal have shown much-needed resistance to Bangladesh by boycotting Bangladeshi products at the Rash Mela this year.

While the Bengali population of South Kolkata, the den of pseudo-intellectuals, liberals, leftists, and Islamists, continues to propagate secularism and a bond with Bangladesh and its people, the Bengali Hindus of rural Bengal have made it clear that they have no intentions of being identified as “Woke” and have boycotted stalls of the Bangladeshi traders during this Rash Mela held in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. 

Rash Mela is a yearly fair that is organized on an enormous scale annually in this region, at this time of the year. It has nationwide fame for the variety of products being sold and bought at the fair. Traders arrive at this fair from different parts of West Bengal for opportunities of making a good sale. Sellers come from Bangladesh as well and they return with a huge profit every year. But the scene was different this year. 

The people of Bengal have not forgotten the anti-Hindu pogrom orchestrated in Bangladesh during the Durga Puja. The memories of vandalised Durga Puja mandaps, ransacked temples and looted Hindu homes are fresh in their memories. In retaliation to the injustice meted out to fellow Hindu Bengalis on the other side of the border, Hindu Bengalis in Bharat silently and peacefully steered clear of the Bangladeshi stalls at the fair this year.

Like every year, the Bangladeshi traders had put out stalls of muslin, jaggery, and Hilsa fish. Though the fair had a great footfall of visitors, the Bangladeshi stalls remained empty. Their stalls of luxurious Jamdani and taant sarees that are very popular among the women in Bengal, stayed bereft of customers also. There was no business given to these Bangladeshi traders and at the end of the fair, they had to return to their country with their products and without any sales or profits. 

The Bengali community is a peace-loving community in general. Hence, despite being one of the most persecuted communities in this part of the world, they have tried to stay secular and welcoming of everyone. But this time they showed to the Islamists that even without resorting to violent measures, the united Hindu can teach them a lesson. 

Nothing works better than a total economic boycott of elements that sponsor Hindu hate and their persecution. The government at the centre has not introduced any changes in its diplomatic ties with Bangladesh even after the genocidal attacks on the Hindus; while Director General of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Dinesh K Patnaik had stated that “small incidents” don’t affect the ties between the two countries, West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee maintains that the relation between Bangladeshis and West Bengal is ‘healthy’. PM Modi too has failed to speak up for the persecuted Bangladeshi Hindus, and his own Hindu supporters who were targeted in the WB post-poll pogrom.

With our secular state failing Hindus, regular people now have to take things into their hands. The visitors at the Rash Mela of Cooch Behar have set an example in front of the country. If these steps are emulated throughout the country, that is, a total boycott of trade with anti-Hindu entities is practised by all Hindus in Bharat, it will send a clear message to our enemies that we will no longer take things lying down and will give a united response.