Photo credit; Telegraph India
In yet another incident of violent “Bengali-phobia”, a Sandeshkhali resident, Tapchhel Jamadar and several other youths from the area, got “brutally attacked” on Saturday at Tatanagar railway station in Jharkhhand, allegedly for speaking in Bengali.
The Telegraph online reports that the group from Boyramari in Sandeshkhali had just reached Tatanagar station and were speaking in Bengali among themselves when local youths reportedly targeted them and assaulted them physically and with sharp weapons.
Witnesses said the attackers shouted derogatory remarks and labelled the workers as “Bangladeshis” because they spoke Bengali.
Tapchhel, who received the most severe injuries, had been working in construction in Odisha for the past five years. H and some others from his village had reached Tatanagar to 2work in a construction project in Jamshedpur.
After a preliminary treatment in Jamshedpur, Tapchhel was brought to Calcutta on Sunday for further medical attention.
The chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, has launched a rehab scheme – Shramashree – with a benefit to Bengal’s migrant workers forced to return home because of persecution stemming from alleged “linguistic apartheid” in saffron-ruled states on account of “Bengali-phobia”.
Under it, each returning worker will receive a one-time grant of 5,000 rupees, including travel assistance, along with a monthly rehabilitation allowance of 5,000 rupees for one year until a new job is arranged for them
