Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Agitation of 16th Nov. & Symbolic "Kangali Bhojan" in front of Bikash Bhavan by the Part Time Teachers

The agitation & spontaneous protest of the part time teachers, against meagre salary, & economic exploitation by the Govt, ended with an innovative protest gesture in the form of a symbolic "Kangali Bhojan"(feeding the destitutes) which was attended by hundreds of part time college teachers from across the state, & covered by more than a dozen electronic & print media. Later that day the representatives of the association led by Elora Biswas, as per schedule & prior appointment went to meet the HE Minister. Unfortunately the police personnel at the Bikash Bhavan manhandled the teachers' representatives on their way to the fifth floor of the building, & even refused them entry, blocking their way near the HE Minister's room. This naturally created a strong resentment among the representatives, who felt greatly humiliated at this incident. Even after much chaos when the representatives finally managed to enter the room, the HE Minister refused to believe that the teachers have been manhandled by the police. The discussion started off peacefully, but the minister decided to disagree with all the demands of the association & decided to call off the meeting. This enraged the already humiliated & harassed members of the association, who demanded a prompt solution to their problems. The minister also refused to answer why the Govt in a state of financial crisis cannot bear the burden of a respectable salary for the part time teachers, when it has given a 8% D.A to its employees only a few days back & has already bourne the responsibility of pension of 70 lakh transport employees. Should the part time teachers alone suffer for the govt's financial crisis? The ministers at this point decided to end the discussion finding no suitable answer to the questions of the association & called in through his officials The School Education Minister Mr. Partha Dey, from the adjoining chamber, to his rescue. The members of the association questioned the legitimacy of the school education minister's presence in their meeting exclusively with the HE Minister. But without giving any proper response to the questions of the teachers both the ministers called in the combat forces of Bikash Bhavan who brutally & inhumanly, dragged & jostled the teachers out of the chamber, in which a few teachers were badly hurt. The agitated teachers then sat down on the corridor in front of the room demanding justice against this inhuman treatment meted out to them. Elora Biswas, in the meantime, left alone in the minister's chamber along with the other officials was also reported to have been physically manhandled by the police officials, who virtually dragged her out after some time of the chamber. Later, at 5.30 pm in the evening the situation came under control at the intervention of a Deputy Magistrate sent to the teachers' representatives for out an amicable solution to the problem. The leaders of the association at this stage talked again to the minister, who now realizing the grimness of the situation, assured the association to look into their demands seriously & do the required at the earliest. This is indeed a victory for the members of the association who were present on the spot & had witnessed the entire episode, & a source of banter & criticism for those who idly stay afar and strongly believe that everything they have achieved had miraculously fallen from the sky one fine morning, & none had strove enough for it. These are the people who had not uttered a single word of sympathy(from their heart's core) till date, in favour of these unfortunate teachers, & are now up in arms to protest against their move when these teachers have stood with their backs to the wall. It's always easy for some people to criticize others, who indeed work little themselves. Truly said that "only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches". People who say that our association has done something disgraceful, are all the "enlightened & graceful people" of this society perhaps, who are yet to know the part time teachers are "more disgraced against than disgracing".