From RG Kar to Kolkata Law College, student politics under Trinamool’s shadow has turned campuses into dens of fear, crime, and unchecked power.
West Bengal’s educational campuses, once symbols of intellectual ferment and progressive politics, are now fast becoming crime scenes, a theater where criminal impunity, enabled by political patronage, flourishes unchecked. From the horrific rape and murder of a young doctor at RG Kar Medical College to the recent gang rape at Kolkata Law College, a terrifying pattern is becoming undeniable. The nexus of crime and politics, particularly through student wings of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), is poisoning the very idea of higher education in the state.
These are not isolated incidents. They are chapters in a sordid saga where institutional silence, political cover, and social fear collide. The young law student at Kolkata Law College was lured to the union room post-class hours, when the college gates should have been shut. Instead, they were kept open allegedly with the help of a complicit security guard. Once inside, she was raped, filmed, and threatened by three men who, as per her testimony, demanded she “prove her loyalty” to the student wing of the TMC.
The main accused, Monojit ‘Mango’ Mishra, is no mere mischief-maker. His social media presence, bearing photos and posts from 2017 onward, proudly claims leadership of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad’s college unit. That he wielded unchecked power is no secret; fellow students feared him, and even faculty members reportedly stayed away. Despite prior harassment complaints against him, no disciplinary action was taken. The accused allegedly acted with the assurance that nothing, not college rules, not police, not moral consequence, could touch them. And perhaps, till now, they were right.
Trinamool Congress has distanced itself from the accused and publicly condemned the act. But their denials ring hollow. If such individuals weren’t politically protected, how were they allowed to operate in brazen violation of rules? Why was a known offender never punished? And why have student union elections been suspended across the state for over a decade, allowing unelected party proxies to dominate campus spaces like feudal lords?
This is not just a law-and-order issue; it is a political one. TMC’s campus control model isn’t about representing students or solving academic issues. It is about creating territorial dominance through local youth enforcers. As JNU political theorist Dwaipayan Bhattacharyya puts it, this is “franchisee politics.” In his words: “Local TMC leaders use Mamata Banerjee’s image to run their businesses… like a license to exploit, control, and dominate, as long as they stay loyal to the brand.”
Thus, campuses have become franchise zones. The brand? Trinamool. The product? Power. The cost? Women’s safety, academic freedom, and the rule of law.
The rape survivor’s testimony about being forced to prove her political loyalty as a prelude to assault reflects the grotesque degeneration of student politics in West Bengal. It isn’t about ideology anymore. It’s about intimidation, control, and silencing dissent. That students must pledge allegiance to a party line or, worse, suffer sexual violence for resisting, is an unspeakable violation of democratic and human values.
The data backs up this grim picture. West Bengal’s crime rate against women in 2022 stood at 71.8 per lakh population, higher than the national average of 66.4. These numbers are conservative; widespread underreporting due to fear, stigma, and lack of trust in law enforcement keeps the real figures hidden. If women on campuses can be brutalized by politically connected perpetrators and not feel safe enough to report it, we are staring at institutional collapse.
This unchecked criminal-political ecosystem has metastasized because of three factors:
- Suspension of democratic student elections: This ensures party-affiliated enforcers, not elected representatives, control campus life.
- Impunity for political actors: Even when complaints are filed, they rarely translate into punishment.
- Weak law enforcement: Police often act under political pressure, if they act at all.
The immediate solution must be bold, systematic, and people-driven. First, campuses must be secured with 24×7 CCTV surveillance, biometric-controlled entry and exit, and designated women-only complaint desks. Institutions must establish emergency alert systems and rapid response units for any student in distress.
Second, student union elections must resume under a strictly monitored democratic framework. If not, campus politics must be banned in its entirety. Only issue-based discussions and forums should be allowed. No one with a criminal record or those facing serious allegations should be allowed to hold positions of influence.
Third, the role of the police must be radically reformed. Swift action, timely FIRs, preservation of evidence, and public disclosure of investigation progress must become the norm. In the current cases, if the police falter, they too should face disciplinary consequences.
Finally, and most crucially, the people of West Bengal must recognize the rot and act. The very power that enables these local political enforcers comes from electoral legitimacy. If the ruling party does not dismantle these rogue operations, then it becomes complicit by design. The question then isn’t whether Mamata Banerjee approved of “Mango” Mishra’s actions. It is whether she allowed a system to grow where people like him feel empowered to act as they did.
West Bengal has a proud history of intellectual and political resistance. That legacy cannot be allowed to wither under the weight of crime, fear, and syndicate rule. The moral fabric of education must be restored, and that begins with the people demanding accountability, not just from the criminals, but from the institutions and political forces that shield them.
Let there be no mistake: only the people can change what the people have put in place. And the time to act is now.
