Angry Over School Not Allowing Burqa, Trinamool Leader Desecrates National Flag; Calcutta HC Slams Bengal Govt For Hiding The Truth

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday (22 August) slammed the Bengal government for not being honest about an alleged desecration of the national flag at a school in Bansberia in Hooghly district, near Kolkata. 

A division bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, while expressing deep concern over the act, came down heavily on the state government, which denied that any such incident had taken place on 15 August. 

Addressing the state counsel, the division bench said:

“Please tell the truth. Also, every matter you give a political colour, this isn’t permissible. You please tell the truth…Merely by closing your eyes, the world won’t become dark. So you need to tell the truth”. 

The High Court was hearing a petition filed by leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari on the alleged desecration of the national flag by a Trinamool panchayat member, Firoz Khan, that was hoisted at the Ganges High School on Independence Day. 

When the state counsel denied that any such incident had taken place, the Court asked why 17 people had then been arrested. 

Emphasising that the culprits need to be held accountable and taught a lesson, the High Court said: “Is this not a very serious issue? Especially on Independence Day, someone desecrates the national flag and dishonours the flag. The state should be more proactive. Forget what allegations are made by the petitioner, but these people who desecrated the flag must be taught a lesson.”

Asking the state to adopt a transparent and truthful approach, the Court also asked the state not to politicise the issue just because the petition has been filed by the leader of opposition. 

“My experience here is that the cause is never in the focus but only the person who brought the issue before the court is in focus. If you want, we will discharge the petitioner,” said Chief Justice Sivagnananam. 

In its order, the Court recorded that the state attempted to assert that no desecration had taken place possibly because the petition was filed by a politician. The Court opined that this cannot be a reason to take a stand. 

“For us, the petitioner is of no concern but the cause is. In our opinion, if desecration of the national flag has taken place in a government school, it is a serious issue. The state has a duty to ensure that there is no dishonour caused to the flag and the Flag Code is strictly implemented,” the Court said in its order. 

The High court asked the principal secretary to the state home department to file a comprehensive reply to the Court. The Ganges High School was also made a party to the case. 

What Happened On 15 August: 

According to reports, the Ganges High School authorities had, as is the usual practice, organised a flag hoisting programme on the morning of 15 August. 

All students and teachers of the school had congregated and the flag was hoisted to the accompaniment of the national anthem. 

Soon after this, a local Trinamool leader, Firoz Ali, along with some of his henchmen barged into the school premises. The criminals forcibly brought down the tricolour and allegedly stamped on it and tore it to pieces. 

All this happened in front of the school students, which is why Chief Justice Sivagnanam said:

“Day in and day out, children across the nation are singing the national anthem. West Bengal must be proud that the national anthem originated from here. But the young minds (here) are seeing this. Is it not a disgrace to all of us as Indian citizens if there is desecration of the national flag? And you (the state) say it hasn't happened. This is too bad. As a state you must properly defend the matter.”

As word of the desecration spread, locals objected and started staging protests. But Khan and a large crowd of his supporters allegedly clashed with the protestors (mostly Hindus) and injured many of them. 

Locals say that Khan had a dispute with the authorities of the Ganges High School over the wearing of burqas by Muslim girls at the co-educational school. 

The school authorities had disallowed Muslim girls from coming to school and attending classes in burqas. The school authorities had insisted that all students can enter the school premises and attend classes only in the prescribed school uniform. 

Khan and some other radical Islamists of the area had insisted that Muslims have the right to abide by their Sharia which enjoins Muslim girls and women to wear the burqa. 

But when the school authorities remained adamant, Khan warned them that they would be taught a lesson. 

It is learnt that Khan and some local Muslim community leaders wanted the school to stop the practice of celebrating Independence Day and had warned that they would disrupt any such programme in the school premises. 

The local police intervened and brought the situation under control in Bansberia on 15 August, but they arrested some local Hindu men and boys on charges of indulging in violence. 

The next day, when Hindu women went to the police station to demand the release of the men and boys belonging to their families, they were allegedly attacked by Islamists. 

Local Hindu families say they have been attacked a few times by Muslims since then and some Hindu shops were vandalised. Muslim mobs set some rickshaws belonging to Hindus on fire and rained brickbats on Hindu houses. 

Hooghly Lok Sabha MP Locket Chatterjee (of the BJP) went to the local police station to demand the arrest of the actual culprits. She also wrote to Governor C V Ananda Bose and the state authorities seeking their intervention in bringing back normalcy. 

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari also wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Governor seeking their intervention and demanding the deployment of central forces in Bansberia.