Eurasia Review | P. K. Balachandran
West Bengal's political landscape, historically a Communist stronghold, has undergone a profound transformation towards Hindu nationalism, a shift rooted deeply in its 19th-century history. British rule, following centuries of Muslim governance, fostered a Hindu consciousness among upper-caste 'Bhadralok' by favoring them and promoting Hindu scriptures, creating a distinct Hindu-Muslim binary. The 1906 partition of Bengal and the subsequent annulment, driven by Hindu agitation, further solidified this divide. The 'Communal Award' of 1932, which fragmented Hindu society by granting separate electorates to Depressed Classes, intensified Hindu revivalism. Post-partition, successive West Bengal governments, including Congress and Communist parties, neglected the Muslim population, leaving them economically and educationally disadvantaged. This historical context of unaddressed grievances and embedded anti-Muslim sentiment has created fertile ground for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to exploit, leveraging these animosities to secure Hindu votes and cement the state's 'saffron' transformation.
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