West Bengal verdict: Healing begins for a state bruised by years of corrosive politics
The BJP's victory promises transparent and responsible leadership, encourages people’s participation, and seeks to unleash the aspirations of millions
The BJP’s victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections is not just an electoral triumph. It’s a turning of the tide in the state, which has been denied for decades by cynical, power-hungry politics. The election results do not merely mark a change in government; they herald the dawn of a New Bengal, one that rejects crime, corruption, and communalism, and steps confidently into India’s march towards development and growth — in infrastructure, industry, health, education, agriculture, factories, safety, security, and dignity for women Beyond policy and progress, the verdict marks something deeper, the beginning of healing. The soul of Bengal, bruised and diminished by years of corrosive politics, has to be restored. This is a land that once nurtured the idea of Indian nationalism. It was in Bengal’s fertile soil and flowing rivers that Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay found his inspiration and gave us ‘Vande Mataram’. It was in Bengal that Rabindranath Tagore composed ‘Jana Gana Mana’.It is here that the idea of Bharat Mata took shape in the eponymous 1873 play by Kiran Chandra Banerjee, and was immortalised in an Abanindranath Tagore painting. Then came Sri Aurobindo’s articulation of nationalism in his historic Uttarpara speech, a moment that transformed political thought into spiritual conviction. His words —“Nationalism is not politics but a religion, a creed, a faith… it is the Sanatan Dharma which for us is nationalism” — continue to echo. Bengal is a land of reformers, revolutionaries, saints and scientists. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar led pioneering efforts to protect women, a legacy that must now be reclaimed as Bengal confronts the erosion of women’s dignity in recent times. This is the land of spiritual giants like Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivekananda. It is the land that gave us scientific minds such as Jagadish Chandra Bose, Prafulla Chandra Ray, Satyendra Nath Bose, Meghnad Saha, and Upendranath Brahmachari, who discovered the cure for kala-azar. It is also the land of sacrifice, of revolutionaries who laid down their lives for India’s freedom: Khudiram Bose, Surya Sen, Pritilata Waddedar, Binoy Basu, Badal Gupta, Dinesh Gupta and Bagha Jatin. With the BJP’s victory, Bengal also witnesses a homecoming — this is the land of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, one of India’s tallest nationalist leaders. He worked to safeguard Bengali Hindus during Partition and stood firm during the horrors unleashed during the Muslim League’s Direct Action Day. As the founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the ideological forerunner of the BJP, he gave a rallying call that continues to resonate — One Nation, One Flag, One Prime Minister. Bengal was home to revivalist movements within Hinduism. Bankim’s Anandamath must be understood in the context of the Sanyasi Rebellion, a movement that stirred Hindu consciousness. Vande Mataram, born from that work, became the mantra of Indian nationalism. In 1892, Chandranath Basu authored Hindutva, the first formal articulation of the idea. In 1905, Abanindranath Tagore’s Bharat Mata gave a visual soul to the nation. Bengal also gave rise to spiritual movements that strengthened Hindu identity — the Hindu Mela, akin in spirit to Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations; the Bhakti movement, as carried forward by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The spiritual renaissance began with Rani Rashmoni through the Dakshineswar temple, where Ramakrishna Paramahansa served, and led to the emergence of Swami Vivekananda’s global vision. That was institutionalised through the Ramakrishna Mission. The tradition extended to times closer to ours, when A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in 1965, taking Bengal’s spiritual legacy to the world. That tradition finds renewed political expression today. The BJP’s victory promises trans
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