On Tuesday, Kolkata Police took strong action against protesters marching towards the state Secretariat Nabanna in response to rape and murder of a junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. Amidst the crackdown, an elderly man in red attire and holding the Tricolour braving water cannons became one of the striking images which went viral on social media.
On Thursday, head of BJP IT Cell and party's central observer for West Bengal Amit Malviya, termed the viral 'monk' as the most powerful image of protest in recent times.
The most powerful image from the recent protests in West Bengal seeking justice for the rape and murder victim of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital was of the 'sanyasi' facing the monster water cannons of the oppressive Mamata Banerjee regime," Malviya tweeted over X.
The picture has stirred the people of Bengal and the rest of the country," said the BJP leader, "because it represented the rich legacy of the state as the birthplace of the Hindu renaissance movements since the 18th century."
Malviya pointed out that Bengal usually leads in promoting and leading revivalist movements in Hinduism.
"The reformist movements born in Bengal have centred around the Vedic and Upanishadic precepts of Sanatan Dharma. Bankim Chandra's 'Anandamath' has to be seen in the context of the sanyasi rebellion, which had a profound impact on the Hindu Samaj. 'Vande Mataram', the song Bankim composed for 'Anandamath', became the mantra of Indian nationalism," Malviya remarked.
He even referred to Hindu Mela, originally from Bengal, as a parallel to Ganesh Chathurthi. Finally, he mentioned that the Bhakti Movement itself originated in Bengal at the time of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Rani Rashmoni heralded a new phase of Hinduism with her Dakhshineswar temple, where Ramakrishna Paramahansa was the head priest. And his most famous follower was Swami Vivekananda, who went on to set up the Belur Math for monks of the Ramakrishna Mission," Malviya added.
"That tradition lives on." he concluded.
Now, regarding the viral 'monk': if many have praised him for taking up against the state for a cause, others have questioned as to why a helpless elderly man like him was present at a protest staged by students.
Sources have identified the 'monk' as Prabir Bose, though he calls himself Balaram Bose. The social media profiles reveal that he used to be a photographer. His profile picture on his Facebook page from 2013 has him posing with a camera.
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