When the artless Ambikesh Mahapatra, a chemistry professor of Jadavpur University, forwarded a caricature of Mamata Banerjee, little did he know that cartoons fell under the supreme leader’s category of conspiracy rather than culture. One can hardly blame the man of science for getting his art wrong. But to ignore the basic survival rule of his trade- “Handle with care: volatile mix”…and that too, when dealing with Bengal’s big flame, M.B., the Queen of Hearts ?! Mamata’s minions rushed to cool her down by assaulting and then arresting the Forward Fiend.
While the mainstream media erupted over the attack on the freedom of thought and expression, the professor learnt an important lesson. In this topsy-turvy version of democracy, he was not free to criticize his elected representative while she was free to condemn him.
Just as another Queen of another Wonderland had once said, “All ways here are my ways”, so also is freedom what the party in power makes of it. In its zealous mission of “civilizing people” and stopping them from spreading “canards” (Bengal’s Transport Minister Madam Mitra), Mamata and her party blessed with the flexible forces of law justified taking liberties with liberty.
So whether it is a case of a gag order or gag at the order, the fact remains that in the rabbit-hole politics of West Bengal, the party can make itself heard loud and clear, but for the masses, mum is the word.
Sangeeta Mahapatra 
Democracy as practised here is a very flexible concept.Of course,the king or the queen is always right as long as they last.Three cheers to our democracy.
Great style Sangeeta! Way to go!
Really well written, but now it is time to move out of Bengal- who knows if Mamata di is serious about this too 🙂
Lucid, concise, articulate and very enjoyable
Good writing of a sad happening.
An Indian Sarcasm where cartoons are frowned upon, where on the other side lives are at stake… Mamtadi can condemn people for being light hearted, how about the hundreds of people who lost their lives in train accidents while her own tenure as the Railway Minister…
A very well written article which is suttle but at the same time shows us the ground breaking reality… A work well done. Best wishes from my side Sangeeta. Hope to see more from you.
In this age of screechy news commentary, it is refreshing to read this witty satire. Brevity is the soul of wit and what people take pages to write, you communicated in few pithy remarks. Bravo.
I left Bengal in the 1980s for foreign shores as I thought it was trapped in the dark ages and came back last year hoping that the “paribartan” the new chief minister Mamata Banerjee was talking about was going to be a reality. Rather, she achieved the impossible and pushed us back further. I hope for the sake of Bengal and its opinionated people that the intrusion into our private lives halts asap.
I second Dr. Chatterjee’s complement; your witty take on a grave incident made for a great read. Oh, and I loved the chemistry lab references peppered throughout the first paragraph!