APPEASEMENT CANNOT SOLVE ANY PROBLEMS. IT MERELY INCREASE THE DIVERSITY AND DIFFERENCES AMONG THE TWO COMMUNITIES. Mamata Banerjee showed exemplary toughness in combating the Maoist menace in the State, as exemplified by the killing of Kishenji, even though Maoists had supported her party in the run up to the elections two years ago. She refused to yield an inch on the issue of a separate Gorkhaland. But she seems increasingly at sea on the issue of Islamic assertiveness. Currently, her sole plan appears to be appeasement. The lists of Muslim demands includes: bring all Muslims under the OBC category (80 per cent are already included); reservations in employment and education (the latter has now been met); 25 per cent reservation in accommodation in new cities like Rajarhat; 5000 new flats for Muslims to be built by the Kolkata Corporation. The growing stridency of Muslim leaders is beginning to cause unease among the regime as some assess the cumulative impact of growing violence across the State.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 06:46:38 +0000