Jadavpur
The Jadavpur University, located in South Kolkata, gradually got its educational standards improved, and attracted many students and guardians. It has also attracted headlines for quite a few years, mostly because the ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tried every means to get a foothold there and to convert it into a centre for the propagation of its own brand of 'nationalism'. They were dizzy with what they thought to be their primary success and decided to contest the students' union elections. They did not, or could not, however, field any candidate in the science department, and fared very poorly in the humanities department. In the engineering department, it secured some votes, and since this number exceeded that of SFI and TMCP, they are parading their success with great zeal. Yet the fact is that they lost deplorably to the DSF, known to be a pro-left but non-CPl(M) students organisation. The presidential candidate for the DSF received more than six times the votes polled by the ABVP, the BJP's student organisation. The outcome of the polls for the post of General Secretary is similar. For the post of the Assistant General Secretary, the ABVP received only 13 votes. Thus vigorous campaign of Hindutva has thus failed to produce any tangible result in arguably one of the most advanced universities of this country. The event further proves that forces against communalism, fascism and obscurantism are quite strong as yet. One possible way to counter it is to organise events like 'Donald Trump Nagarik Abhinandain' with great fanfare and at huge expenditure of public money. Subservience to this or that superpower is in the tradition of India's ruling politicians. Now since there is no other superpower at present, it is more prudent to cling to the coat tails of Trump.
A reader, Kolkata

Felani
Border killing has been a highly contentious bilateral issue between India and Bangladesh. Despite Delhi's repeated assurance to end killings along the border with Bangladesh, the situation is the same as previous.

Felani was a 15-year-old Bangladeshi girl. Her father arranged her marraige in Bangladesh. She returned to Bangladesh with her father from New Delhi, India, where the family had been staying. She was working in Assam (India) with her family. On Friday, 7 January 2011 at about 8.30 am she and her father attempted to cross the Indo Bangladesh border by climbing the barbed wire boundary using a ladder. Her father, Mohammad Nur Islam, crossed first. But when Felani tried to climb over the fence, her clothes got entangled in the fence wire, and she started screaming. Hearing her scream, the BSF members started shooting at her. Her body was hanging from the border fence made of barbed wire for more than 4 hours. Dinhata police station Case number 23/2011 was registered by the Border Security Force against unknown persons making it seem as though the perpetrator Constable Mr Amiya Ghosh had fired the shot in self defense.
Kirity Roy
Secretary, Masum

Letter to UP Government
To
His Excellency the Hon'ble
The Government of Uttar Pradesh.
Hon'ble Sir,
It is a matter of grave concern that Dr Kafeel khan was arrested on 30.01.2020 from UP STF in Mumbai from a meeting against NRC without assigning any reason which is not only illegal but also unconstitutional.

Legal service centre strongly condemn such unconstitutional steps which has been taken by UP STF and demanded to withdraw all false allegation against him and immediate release of Dr Kafeel Khan.

It is our impression that good office of the Excellency shall take serious note on this.
Justice Malay Sengupta
Former Acting Chief Justice
Sikkim High Court
Former Judge, High Court, Calcutta
(President, Legal Service Centre)

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Frontier
Vol. 52, No. 37, Mar 15 - 21, 2020