Mamata Banerjee and West Bengal have been in the spotlight for the last few weeks for reasons that are painful and horrific. Ever since the country learnt about the tragic ra*e and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College, there has been outrage and a lot of it has rightly been directed towards the West Bengal government and Mamata Banerjee. In an act of protest, three leading film and theatre personalities of West Bengal have returned their state awards. They have taken this step in protest over the handling of the case. Protests are going on in the state persistently and answers are being sought.
The three artists, well-known faces in the Bengali entertainment industry, are actor Sudipta Chakraborty who won the National Award winner for the film Bariwali, prominent theatre personality Biplab Bandyopadhyay and thespian Chandan Sen. The trio have also expressed deep dissatisfaction with the response of the government over the incident, saying that the administration has not taken enough steps to ensure justice for the victim and to prevent such heinous crimes in the future.
What did the protesting artists say about Mamata Banerjee’s handling of the issue?
When Sudipta Chakraborty returned the Special Film Award conferred on her by the Mamata Banerjee government, in a detailed letter she said, “In the wake of the current status of our state and the related comments made on September 1 by one of our respected MLAs Kanchan Mullick, I hereby wish to return my certificate and the honour bestowed upon me and continue my demand for justice, both legal and social, standing on the road.”
To clarify, a statement was issued by Mullick on when the actor-turned-TMC MLA had explicitly asked the award recipients to return their awards were they to join protests against the ra*e and murder of the doctor of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Chakraborty continued in her letter, “I have been paid an amount of Rs 25,000 too with the certificate, if I remember correctly. Kindly provide me the means by which I can return the amount. Looking forward to your positive response.”
Sharing her sentiments was Biplab Bandyopadhyay who said, “I felt ashamed and aggrieved as a human being and disturbed by the shameless hyper activism of the state after the R G Kar incident. I have intimated the Akademi (about returning the award).” Chandan Sen who was returning the Dinabandhu Mitra Purashkar shared his views too by saying, “I have already mailed the Secretary, Information and Cultural Affairs, expressing my wish to return the prize money.”
To remind readers, about a week ago, a well-known theatre group had also said that it would return a state grant to protest the government’s handling of the R G Kar issue. As this tragic case unfolds, both the general public and the artistic community hope for nothing more than justice for the victim. The return of the awards themselves is a powerful reminder that some influential voices can use their platforms to speak out for justice and change in society.
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