Blog | Goondaism To Corruption, 'Mango' Mishra Is All That's Wrong With Bengal

Recounting the lost time he spent in the City of Joy, Mirza Ghalib wrote, "Kalkatte ka jo zikr kiya tune hum nasheen; ik teer mere seenay mein mara kay haye haye." For some like me, who once lived in Kolkata, these lines bring back memories of not just a lost time, but a lost city.

In the early 2000s, Kolkata was a city of dreams for many like me who grew up in small towns in eastern and Northeastern India. For us, it was our first brush with the metropolis. No, Kolkata was not an IT hub, nor was it as 'happening' as Mumbai or Delhi. But it had something few other cities did. In Kolkata, knowledge was currency. You could show up in college in a shabby kurta and tattered jeans, but you would be respected if you could analyse Hamlet or critique Communism. The hallowed corridors of Presidency College, where I was fortunate enough to study, would be abuzz all day long with music, heated political debates, and discussions on what was happening in Kolkata and beyond.

Was it all good? Not at all. Incidents of violence marred college elections, and on many occasions, top student leaders were accused of sexual harassment and intimidation. I must also add the disclaimer: it was an era pre-social media, and many cases may not have come to light. But from what we know, there was a difference in what a college neta could get away with. There was a difference in the aspirations of such netas, too. Several key student leaders from those years have pursued careers in politics. Others have taken up jobs in the media, academia and other fields.

The Rise Of The 'Campus Don'

Cut to 2025, Monojit Mishra, a Trinamool student leader, is accused of raping a student on campus. His co-accused, Zaib Ahmed and Pramit Mukhopadhyay, are accused of recording the heinous act to blackmail the survivor later. The crime occurred after college hours in a room that the security guard used. The investigation has revealed the extent of Mishra's access and his influence on campus. Here is an alumnus who completed his law course in 2022. Instead of working as a lawyer, he returns to campus as a contractual staff with a meagre daily pay of Rs 500. The question is, why? While a possible reason could be that he was just addicted to the power he enjoyed on campus, several reports have claimed that Mishra was running an admission 'syndicate' and took bribes to ensure admissions to the college.

So, a priest's son who became a lawyer bunks the courtroom, takes on a handout job, and aims to make money through admission bribes. This is not just corruption, it is rot, a death of hope in a city that continues to flatter itself by saying, "What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow." It reflects a fundamental shift from being a society that once prided itself on knowledge, to one in which being a political party's henchman appears to be a more attractive option than being a lawyer.

A Deeper Rot

And why is that? White-collar job opportunities in Kolkata have dried up. Many blame the work culture, and others point to lower pay. Anyone who can leave for Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, or abroad, moves out. But those who can't must make do. This is where corruption comes in.

Allegations of corruption have come up in every aspect of public life in Bengal and Kolkata, be it education, jobs, public projects, or something as basic as parking. 'Cut-money', an expression used to refer to an illegal commission charged by ruling party leaders, is so pervasive that even Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has, in the past, warned party leaders to return the 'cut'.

The nation got a glimpse of how deep-rooted the corruption in Bengal is when over 25,000 teachers lost their jobs after large-scale corruption in a 2016 recruitment exercise, with the Supreme Court noting that the selection process had been "tainted beyond resolution", and directed the state government to repeat the process.

How To Get Away With Everything, Almost

The Kolkata rape accused, reports have said, charged as much as Rs 2 lakh to ensure admission to the law college. So, a lawyer who would have had to struggle for years before building a reputation now has an easier option: use political connections to get a low-paying job on campus and exploit that position to make much more money through dubious means. 

The social implications of this are extremely damaging. A section of young students growing up in Kolkata now no longer aspires to study hard and get a good job. Cosying up to a local neta is a much easier and more rewarding option. Also, such connections virtually give you a free pass to commit crimes, like Monojit did for years, before his luck ran out.

Political parties shielding criminals is not new, certainly not for the Trinamool. Sure, the Left Front, the 34-year rule of which is the Trinamool's go-to defence against every political attack, exercised its share of influence on campuses, with leaders of its students' wing often accused of intimidating political rivals. But the impunity enjoyed by their Trinamool counterparts today, as is seen in Monojit Mishra's case, would have surely made those Left honchos squirm in jealousy. Interestingly, after the RG Kar rape and murder case, Monojit had even shared 'hang the rapist' posts and took part in protests and demonstrations. That he is accused of a similar crime now shows the gulf between the real and the virtual.

The Many Monojits

Over the past few years, this student leader, called 'Mango' by his juniors, has been accused of ripping off a woman's clothes on campus, beating up a college guard and vandalising college property. And yet, he is appointed as a contractual employee in the same college.

In most colleges in Bengal, student union elections have not been held for years. But the 'dadas' continue to hold power, have a flattering group of followers and lord this over campuses across the state. Those who stand up to them face the music; others wait for their course to end. Monojit is just one among many.

Next year, Bengal will vote again. Trinamool will narrate another success story and blame all failures on the 34-year Left Front rule. The BJP would accuse Banerjee of appeasement and hope to gain from the polarisation. And, a decimated Left would point to crimes and corruption and try to regain some lost ground. Votes will be polled, counted, slogans will be raised, and victories will be celebrated. But will hope return to Bengal and Kolkata?

The Siddharthas Are Done

A section of 'Bhadralok' in the city abhors the BJP's Hindutva politics, believes that the Left does not stand a chance, and grudgingly sides with the "lesser evil", the Trinamool, which resurrects the "outsider" bogey ahead of every election. The question is, do we condone limitless corruption and lumpenism because we fear a communal shift or a return to the past? Does a 'secular' badge give a political party a free pass to loot taxpayers, turn students into criminals and destroy institutions? Monojit Mishra is not the disease; he is a symptom. 

In Satyajit Ray's Pratidwandi (1970), the protagonist, Siddhartha, who had to give up his medical studies due to his father's death, loses his cool during a job interview. His final act of aggression shows he no longer hopes to find a job in Kolkata and has nothing to lose. The film was made during the Naxalism years in Bengal, when thousands of bright students declared themselves enemies of the state and were killed in the brutal crackdown that followed.

Five decades later, as Bengal's youth searches for hope in vain, one wonders about the future. Will the Siddharthas continue to leave because of the Monojits? 

(The author is News Editor at NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author