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Lalan’s soldiers at Plassey
Some voices of dissent to Bengal’s communal-driven elections
In the mercenary contest for votes on religious lines in West Bengal, efforts of a few citizens groups to rekindle harmony are not entirely lost even if they remain largely obscure. In Nadia, a district bordering Bangladesh, the BJP’s CAA outreach is as much about underlining dignity for the Matuas, a Scheduled Caste Bangladeshi migrant group that is believed to be influential in approximately 40 Assembly seats, as alienating the Muslims. The strategic combination of the BJP’s communal and caste calculus derives its validation from the ruling Trinamool Congress’s ostensible “appeasement” politics. But there are pockets where remnants of Bengal’s majestic spiritual past are still relevant in countering this dominant narrative. At Kadamkhali grounds in Assanagar village stands the shrine of the greatest among the Bauls, Lalan Shah Fakir. Bauls follow the Bhakti-Sufi tradition of