The slogan of Bangladesh is gaining ground in the politics of West Bengal

Trinamool's slogan in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections in India was 'Khela Hobe'. Also there was 'Joy Bangla'. Bangladesh is the birthplace of both the slogans. To create a counter-narrative in that vote, the BJP raised the slogan of 'Sonar Bangla'. Bangladesh is also closely associated with that phrase.

When West Bengal is in an uproar over the RG tax case, it is seen that the CPM-BJP is chanting 'Dafa Ek Dawar Ek, ​​Chief Minister's Resignation'. The interesting thing is that recently there has been a popular uprising in Bangladesh with this slogan in front. Sheikh Hasina has to resign from the post of Prime Minister and leave Bangladesh to stay in the 'safe haven' of India. But in addition to this, the discussion that has started in the politics of West Bengal is – Is the slogan of Bangladesh mainly showing power in the politics of Bengal in recent times? Is there more 'Jhanj' in the slogan? Or is it in the making of a new slogan that has caught the rust in Bengal's political tradition?

From political leaders to academics, there are different opinions. There is also an explanation. But everyone agrees on one thing, the 'Westernization' of the slogan of Bangladesh has been going on for the past few years. And it is becoming popular.

Political slogans have a long history in Bengal's political movement. It has been going on since before independence. The slogans given by Bengali i.e. Bengalis were converted into national level slogans. All those slogans have been blacked out. In post-independence Bengal too, the trend has continued year after year.

During the Tevaga movement the slogan 'Langal Jaar, Zamin Tar' practically set fire to the peasant movement. In the 60s and 70s, the politics of the Left was mainly land-centric. That slogan was back then too. Tevaga's slogan was used in the program to seize 'benami land' from the hands of jotdar zamindars and distribute it among sharecroppers. Various slogans of the Chinese Communist Party were again Bengalized in the Naxalbari movement. 'The barrel of the gun is the source of power' or the line of the Chinese revolution 'surround the city with the village' was used as a slogan. 'China's chairman, our chairman' was also written on the wall.

Rabindra Bharati's former vice-chancellor and linguist Pavitra Sarkar said, 'I don't think it is unfair to use the slogan of Bangladesh. This can be called linguistic borrowing. Whatever is good, we can accept it.'

Prashant Roy, the former head of the political science department of Presidency University, said, 'Perhaps there is no need to create new slogans in West Bengal. That is why new slogans are not being created. However, in the civil movement that I see in the RG tax case, it does not seem that there is much power of political slogans.

Incidentally, in 2019, the slogan 'Khela Hobe' was first heard by Bangladesh Awami League leader Shamim Osman. But it has been used so much in West Bengal that the holy government knew it was a slogan coined by the Anuvrata Mandal. Prashant of the Presidency knew for so long that Mamata was the creator of that slogan.

According to senior Trinamool leader Nirved Roy, there has been an overall decline in the talent required to create slogans. That is why the slogan has to be 'borrowed'.

In Nirved's words, 'The middle class which used to create slogans, has seen a decline due to various reasons. Slogans for peasants or workers were never made from that part. Made from the middle class. A gap has been created in that place.'

Source: Anandabazar