In keeping with this theme, can you tell me any other state where a public outpouring of sympathy would have taken place-for a Muslim? Here it is not the government, in fact the government has shown that it is indeed the CPI(M)-Communist Party India (Marwadi). They have been dragging their feet on the investigation, it shows their complicity.
No, here the people of Kolkata the ordinary people have actually come out and voiced their support, have lit candles, sang songs and much more. It is these whose response is so great that the WB government has been forced to take notice of them. How often in India has a largely Hindu city responded so whole-heartedly and ungrudgingly when the person killed is a Muslim?
It shows Kolkata's humanity, its culture and spirit, which is the real fabric and fibre of a city. It is this which defines a city-its culture. Not the flyovers, malls, multiplexes, ring roads and so on that everyone today is so obsessed with. Culture is something no city can do without-and this Kolkata has shown in this incident, that however much things have slipped, the humanity present in Kolkata still exists.
I salute KOlkata's spirit. Unlike every other Indian city, there have been no Kanya Raksha Samitis, no angry protests that "we must protect our girls" and so on. the people of Kolkata have made their choice between apathy and activism. These days many stories talk about the "New Kolkata." Rest assured, the old Kolkata is the one which gives meaning.
