Some called him a Hindu sant. The BJP IT cell chief termed him a “symbol of defiance” against the Mamata Banerjee government. And some on social media assumed he was the grandson of former Kolkata mayor Kamal Bose.
But despite all the attention his visuals grabbed online and in newspapers, not much is known about the saffron-clad protester who braved water cannons while holding a Tricolour during a students’ forum protest march in Kolkata. Protesters had clashed with police in several areas on Tuesday while demanding Banerjee’s resignation over the Kolkata rape-murder case.
The man, waving a national flag, on the iconic Howrah bridge, amidst blazing water cannon, is the ultimate symbol of defiance against an oppressive Mamata Banerjee regime… pic.twitter.com/gSh6STk45s
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 27, 2024
An 83 year old Hindu Monk is facing the water cannon of Mamata Police without moving back an inch with courage in his heart, and the Indian national flag in his hands.
— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) August 27, 2024
He is seeking Justice for RG Kar victim pic.twitter.com/rYSapi5ChH
Here’s what Newslaundry found about the man.
Prabir Basu aka Balaram, in his 50s, is a resident of Shyambazar, according to Soumitra Dastidar, a filmmaker who used to be a neighbour to him but has now moved to another part of Kolkata. He frequently wears saffron, comes from a family of RSS supporters, and used to work as a mechanic before trying to take up photography gigs, Dastidar said.
“The claims being circulated on social media platforms about Balaram are baseless. He is not a monk. He has a daughter and he lives with his wife. He used to work as an electrician and a small-time mechanic…before working as a photographer who used to be hired for marriage parties and other events…I cannot recall the name of Balaram’s father but I am sure he is not the grandson of (former Kolkata mayor) Kamal Bose,” Dastidar said, claiming that he saw Balaram participate in RSS events as a teenager.
Dastidar said he last met Basu one-and-a-half years ago. “I saw him in saffron attire and I asked him why. He just laughed and said chodo na dada (leave it dada)..his allegiance to Hindutva politics is not recent,” he said, claiming that Basu’s decision to wear saffron at the march was “political”.
‘I’ve been wearing saffron for 5 years’
Basu, however, told Newslaundry that his participation at the rally had nothing to do with his political allegiance and that he was only demanding safety for women in West Bengal. He said that he is from a family of RSS workers, and has been regularly wearing saffron since the past five years as his “soul is saffron”.
Unlike other protesters at the march on Tuesday, Basu said he wasn’t demanding Banerjee’s resignation. “I am no one to demand her resignation. I am not a political figure. My sound and clear message is I participated in the rally to bring back good governance in Bengal,” he said.
Referring to a video which showed him asking the police to wear bangles, Basu said he was referring to bangles as a “symbol of slavery”. “I gave a call to the police to come out of slavery. I didn't mean to hurt anyone.”
Basu thinks it’s not necessary to be physically present at protest sites. “I keep protesting on social media.”
Pro-Hindutva posts
His Facebook profile, which has his black-and-white photograph, wearing a hat and clean-shaven, has now been flooded by posts appreciating his actions at Tuesday’s protest – one of them compares him to the demigod Jatayu and how he died while trying to save Sita from Ravan. One of the conveners of the march is among his list of 1,927 online friends. And his wall is replete with pro-Hindutva updates.
Basu recently expressed resentment against those who toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government in Bangladesh. “Malaysia khoma chaoar por Bharat chaal dilo. Bangladesh toiree thako (India has given rice as alms after Malaysia sought forgiveness. Bangladesh, be prepared).
“Bangladeshe Bharat bidyut raptani bondho kore diyeche. Apnara ki bolen? (India has stopped supplying electricity to Bangladesh. What do you say?”)
In another post, he questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship – a charge raised frequently by a section of the BJP.
In June, Basu slammed Mamata Banerjee for not protesting against the killings of Hindus in Kashmir and condemned the “attack on Hindu religion in West Bengal”.
After the Lok Sabha results, in which BJP received a jolt in Minority dominated Murshidabad district, Prabir wrote, “Murshidabad e jara 70% tara 30% Hinduder kete bhasiye deben. Hindura to murgi? Kata porbe (Those who are 70 percent of Murshidabad’s population will slaughter 30 percent of Hindus…Hindus are like chicken. They will be slaughtered),” he wrote.
In another post, Basu urged the people of West Bengal to isolate Mamata Banerjee politically to safeguard Hindu society. He also shared an invitation asking people to attend an event organised in support of the uniform civil code.
Water cannon brings politicians in, but some kept away from march
The high-octane protest march to the West Bengal state secretariat, which was convened by Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj, took the front seat in Bengal politics over the issue of alleged police highhandedness. The BJP called for a 12-hour bandh across the state on Wednesday, a day after its state head Sukanta Majumdar led a protest march to Lalbazar police headquarters.
“It is two non-Bengali police officers Vineet Goyal (commissioner of police) and Rajeev Kumar (DGP) who ordered to rain batons on Bengali protesters,” Majumdar said.
The Left Front has been raising its voice against the RG Kar Hospital rape-murder but its students’ arm SFI and youth wing DYFI did not participate in Tuesday’s protest march as they suspected RSS and ABVP members would be in attendance and the event would be “scripted” by BJP elements to polarise the state.
“The rally was scripted to strengthen the politics of polarisation in Bengal. People’s protest will continue and the Left Front will be beside them,” said CPI(M)’s state secretary Mohammad Salim. “The BJP may try to divide protesters on religion.’
Cops say a trap, TMC labels a conspiracy
The call for the ‘apolitical’ protest march, convened by three youth, was circulated on social media platforms over the past one week and the state police had made heavy preparations considering the response.
All three – identified as Subhankar Halder, Sayan Lahiri and Prabir Das – were arrested after the rally on the charges of instigating violence in which at least 15 policemen were injured. Police alleged that the three were linked to either the RSS or the BJP.
The families of the three could not be reached for comment.
Hours before the protest, additional DGP (south Bengal) Supratim Sarkar had urged citizens to not fall for the “rally” in the guise of protests. “The case is being probed by the CBI and we are also waiting for justice. But in the name of organising the protest, a group of hooligans will try to create unrest. We urge the students of the people not to fall into this trap,” said Sarkar on Monday evening.
Sarkar also alleged that one of the conveners of the protest march went to a five-star hotel to “meet someone with political influence”. “We are not disclosing the name of the influential person as the purpose of the meeting is under investigation.”
The BJP, however, said the rally was apolitical and if any of their workers had joined the protests, their identity would’ve been clear. “It was a spontaneous response from the youth of Bengal which was bulldozed by the police,” said BJP state president Majumdar.
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