‘Ashru’ -Exhibition on the persecution of minorities in Bangladesh.

Hindu Samhati has successfully organised at
Thakurnagar, 24 Parganas (N), West Bengal (WB) the Bengali version of
FACT’s (Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism) exhibition ‘Ashru’ (tears) on the persecution of minorities in Bangladesh.

The
exhibition has been put up in the fair ground of the annual gathering
of the members of the  Matua community who converge from all over India
in festivities at Thakurnagar to honour the cherished memory of their
Leader and Guru  the great social reformer Sri Sri Harichand Thakur.
The exhibition was inaugurated on 1^st April 2008 by Shri
Keshav Rao Dikshit senior Pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Shri Tathagata Roy – Member BJP National Executive, Shri Ratneshwar
Sarkar – General Secretary, All India Refugee Front and Shri Tapan Kumar Ghosh – Convenor, Hindu Samhati and the chief organizer of the exhibition spoke on the occasion. Shri P.Veeru Chaudhary, national coordinator of FACT was also present on the occasion.

The
exhibition ‘pandal’ was tastefully decorated with panels depicting
graphically the atrocities committed on the Hindus/Buddhists and others
by Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists in Bangladesh. With striking
captions the selected photographs bring out the condition of extreme
insecurity that Hindu women/children/places of worship etc suffer from
in Bangladesh, especially after the radicalization of its polity.
Over-fifty thousand people have visited the exhibition already, the
members of the Matua community who gather for this annual fair could
well-relate to the exhibition because they have themselves been victims
of displacement and these very atrocities (especially in the massive
Hindu exodus of the years 1947-48, 1951, 1964, 1971 and 1992 from the
erstwhile East Pakistan and later Bangladesh, due to unspeakable
Islamic atrocities). As a matter of fact, in the anti Hindu pogrom in
Bangladesh in 2001 (upon which theme this exhibition is based), many of
the victims were actually across-the-border relatives and extended
family members of the Matua’s of West Bengal.

The
response has been overwhelming – in six days about 50000 viewers
visited the exhibition, with hundreds seeking to establish contact with
the organizers. A stall of Nationalist/Hindu literature has also been
put up containing informative booklets on the condition of Hindus in
WB/India, on the dubiousness of secularism, duplicity of intellectuals,
betrayal of Hindus by politicians. Its to be noted that the district
where the exhibition is being held is one of those heavily affected by
Islamic infiltration from across the border.

The
uniqueness of this show is that for the first time an exhibition of
international standing, highlighting the plight of persecuted Hindus,
has been successfully organised in a district of West Bengal and has
received massive and unstinted support from the local people. It is a
timely reminder to all those who have been afflicted with the
complacent secular malady of co-existence, that when Islamic
fundamentalists get in power, they ring the death-knell of that very
co-existence, tolerance and harmony. A legendary western historian had
commented on societies dying not so much by aggression but by suicide –
Hindu Samhati’s exhibition starkly raises this
question before the Hindus of  India in general and of West Bengal in
particular – whether they would prefer looking away and thus follow the
suicidal path to extermination or would they turn around, consolidate,
resist and survive?

That the Hindu Samhati
and its disciplined and committed volunteers have indefatigably and
single-handedly worked towards organizing this exhibition, raising with
great difficulty resources on their own, mobilizing people, laying the
exhibition speaks volume of their single-minded dedication to the cause.

Since
most of our ‘secular’ Hindu-baiting media is purposely ignoring the
event and ‘secular’ minority-appeasing politicians are taking umbrage
at it being organised successfully, this is an appeal to all
like-minded individuals/organizations/groups to give wide publicity to
the event & support the issue and the efforts of the Hindu Samhati.
It is imperative that a consolidated action be initiated towards
protecting the eastern region of Bharat from further
disintegration/division and onslaught of ‘islamofacsism’. Hindu Samhati’s efforts in organising this exhibition is definitely a major step towards that consolidation.

Here are the pix of our Exhibition and the Matua festival:

This is the location (follow the place mark within the red circle) and the yellow line to the right is the Bangladesh border.

Artist’s impression of Sri Sri Harichand Thakur (1811-1877)

The Exhibition venue at Thakurnagar

From right: Sri Tapan Kumar Ghosh, Sri Keshav Rao Dikshit and others before the venue.

Sri Keshav Rao Dikshit inaugurating the exhibition by lighting the lamp before the picture of Sri Sri Harichand Thakur.

 

From
left: Shri Jagdish Sarkar (Standing), noted Social Activist, (seated)
Shri Mihir Nag, Jt. Convenor, Hindu Samhati, a local lady organiser and
Shri Tapan Kumar Ghosh, with local volunteers.

Inaugeration
programme of the Ashru exhibition – seated from the left are Shri
Keshav R. Dikshit, Shri Tathagata Roy – noted Political Activist
(centre) and Shri Tapan Kumar Ghosh (far right).

Shri
Popuri Veeru Chaudhary, National Coordinator-FACT and Shri Tapan Kumar
Ghosh, Convenor-Hindu Samhati, before the exhibition venue.

Crowds at the exhibiton

Crowds 2

Crowds 3

Crowds 4

Crowds 5

Crowds 6

Does it rekindle some unpleasant memories?
[About 90% of the Matua’s in West Bengal are refugees from East
Pakistan/Bangladesh, victims of successive waves of expulsion through
the last six decades.]

Hindu
Samhati and FACT (New Delhi) heartily thanks all their organisers,
members, volunteers and the local people and pilgrims at Thakurnagar,
whose ceaseless efforts and enthusiastic participation made this
exhibition a resounding success. We also extend our heartiest regards
to the online community of our readers – may you receive as much
satisfaction in viewing this exhibition report as we got in organising
it.

Hindu Samhati.

If you want to view the full photo gallery of the festival and exhibition, click the link below:

Thakurnagar Matua Mahamela and ASHRU exhibition.

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