UNDERSTANDING THE BENGALI HOMELAND NARRATIVE: A SAGA OF LOSS AND EVASIVE SOCIAL JUSTICE

Terminologies like ‘Dangababu' (The Riot Man), ‘Handa na Gadha' (Fool or Donkey), etc. were part of the political diction of Mamata Banerjee to describe Narendra Modi in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as a reaction to Modi's statement of sending back illegal Bangladeshi refugees. Interestingly, Mamata's growing popularity seemed inversely proportional to her crossing the limits of democratic conduct. The underlining sentiment in this populist exercise is the notion of ‘Bengaliness' which Mamata seemed to protect so vigorously. Growing Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh coupled with the populist politics of Mamata in West Bengal, forces one to relook at the underlining fundamentals of culture, language, and economy on which this idea of a ‘Bengali' homeland is based. The paper argues that the present conditions are not such where ‘homeland' discourses and practices can work. Though occasionally nationalistic poems, songs, images, etc. can act as referential points in this discourse but they fail in resisting the onslaught of populism and fundamentalism which seem to be making irreparable damage to this homeland discourse and thus denying social justice to its participants.