Pro-Bengali organization
Bangla Pokkho is a pro-Bangla advocacy organization that focuses on rights for Bengalis in the Indian Union, Bengali Nationalism[1] and works against the Hindi cultural and linguistic imperialism and nomination of Hindi speakers in West Bengal. It is organized along linguistic lines and aimed at protecting Bengali culture. It uses the Bengali slogan Joy Bangla.[2]
Demands and Protests
Bangla Pokkho majorly demands 100% reservation for residents of West Bengal in fields of Government job[3] and 90% reservation in other job sectors, education, military, administration works.[4] The group has done numerous meetings, gatherings and rallies throughout many places of West Bengal and Tripura.[3][5]
Bangla Pokkho, also demanding domicile reservation gave numerous deputations in universities, which eventually resulted in starting Domicile reservation in Calcutta University [6] and Jadavpur University[7]
Bangla pokkho also demanded for Bengali language in various exams i.e. Rail, JEE, NEET[1] etc., and in Banks, offices and other sectors. The group proposed that the top administrative officials in West Bengal must come from WBCS/WBPS cadre and not IAS/IPS.
Protests
Bangla Pokkho made protest when Bengali workers in WBSEDCL were expelled as they had not fluency in English and Hindi. After protests, the company has taken back then and enacted them in respective places.[8][9]
Massive controversy broke out when in the second season of webseries ‘Abhay’, released on OTT platform Zee5, young Bengali freedom fighter Khudiram Bose was shown as a ‘criminal’ in its second episode. Bangla Pokkho along with many nationalist organisations protested and demanded the show to be banned.[10] The group sent a legal notice to remove the scene.[11] After that Zee5 edited and re-released the show cutting out the Khudiram image.[12]
The group opposed the CAA, NRC, planned by the central government to be implemented in Bengal. Bangla Pokkho said that the BJP unlawfully had passed the laws in the parliament to break the unity of Hindus and Muslims.[13]
The group also protested against the idea of formation of Gorkhaland. They fired an idol of Subramaniyam Swami who proposed to make a separate state from West Bengal namely Gorkhaland [14]
Bangla Pokkho along with Kanchanpur Nagarik Surakkha Mancha meet in a big protest in Tripura, that gathered more than 30,000 Bengalis in Tripura, complaining against social discrimination of Bengalis by the Tripura state BJP Government.[15]
Support and criticism
As of January 2019, Bangla Pokkho claims to have 200,000-300,000 supporters.[1] Supporters usually have a stand for promotion and protection of Bengali culture and strict opposition to ill aspects of Bihari and Bhojpuri culture. Bangla Pokkho gets huge support from Bengali people and those who support Bengali business houses. The Marwari-Gujrati nexus fears to compete in a free market where Bengali bourgeoisie can flourish and therefore wants to operate in a market that is tailor made to suit their needs. Bangla Pokkho is known to promote Hindu Muslim unity in among Bengalis.
Maidul Islam, political analyst and faculty member of Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, terms this as rise of organic nationalist left of center, after the decline of Left and its class politics.[16] The Bengali struggle is equivalent to class struggle.
