The state of West Bengal is currently in grip of a wave of violence and you must have across scores of such violent incidents both at the national and regional press and electronic media. The perpetrators of this violence cut across all party lines and loyalties. They are indulging in such mindless acts of violence just to spread the glory of their respective ideologies. Our first Prime Minister Jawharlal Nehru once described the India democracy as “ the functioning chaos”! But I would like, keeping in mind the violent situation in West Bengal, to go a few steps further and call it a “malfunctioning democracy” which aptly sums up the situation. By now you must be wondering why I have been adding these lines to tell you the heroic tale of a little girl and the most despicable behaviour of persons who have just grown in years and not in wisdom.

 

Priyanka Golder is a little girl of nine and an inhabitant of a village which is located some 30 to 40 km from Kolkata, the heart of West Bengal. She was merrily participating in a blood-donation-camp-cum-sit- and-draw competition along with scores of other children. When they were all engrossed in this competitive activity with all joy and gusto there appeared a few motor-cycle-borne beasts on the scene and let loose the hell with bombs and pistol shots. Priyanka and others could not make out what the hell was going on initially. To her dismay she saw the bullet-ridden body of a young volunteer of the blood-donation camp. She stood aghast

for a few seconds. But there was more horror for her. A bomb was hurled at a place close to her and a few shrapnels entered her upper part of her right arm and she was too petrified to feel the initial pain and before she could regain her full senses she saw the toddler of her next door neighbour who was crying inconsolably. Little Priyanka forgetting her own pain clasped the hand of the child and ran for dear life!

 

On reaching her hut she found none of her parents both of whom were outside to eke out a living for the family. But her 13 year old brother saw bleeding profusely and called other neighbours who took her to state-run hospital where she was treated with antibiotics and no surgery was performed to take out the shrapnels lodged inside. A general bandh for 12 hours was called by our great leaders and the normal was duly paralysed. And Priyanka could not be taken to a Kokata hospital because the political creatures were too busy with making the bandh a grand success. And who has time to feel the pain of a poor little girl who just wanted to sit and draw her world!


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