Dhuliyan, Murshidabad | April 13, 2025 — Boats filled with families. Women clutching their children. Men holding back tears. Elderly villagers too frail to carry their belongings. This isn’t a scene from a bygone refugee crisis or a historical documentary—it’s happening now, in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Over the past weekend, a disturbing exodus unfolded in Dhuliyan, a town in the Samserganj block of Murshidabad district. After two days of reported mob violence on April 11 and 12, dozens—possibly hundreds—of Hindu families fled their homes, crossing the Ganga River in desperation. Their destination? The safer grounds of Par Lalpur, in Malda’s Kaliachak III subdivision.
The trigger? That’s where the story gets murky—and politically explosive.
When Neighbours Turn Strangers
The videos are raw, chaotic, and deeply human. Shared by BJP leader Arjun Singh on social media, they show panicked families leaving under the cover of darkness, some with barely a plastic bag of belongings. In one clip, a man filming says: “Our Hindu brothers and sisters are coming here to save their lives.”
Eyewitnesses claim mobs targeted Hindu homes, leaving Muslim households untouched. “They came in the night, threw bombs, and set our houses on fire,” says a woman in one clip, visibly shaken. “We couldn’t even pick up our clothes.”
Local accounts allege that this violence followed rising tensions surrounding recent property disputes involving Waqf land—a politically and communally sensitive issue in the region. Some claim that radical elements used the controversy to foment unrest, threatening Hindu families with eviction or worse.
Beyond Political Banners—A Religious Exodus
What’s chilling is that those fleeing aren’t just BJP supporters. “It’s not written on their foreheads who they voted for,” says one local. “They’re just Hindus—and that alone was enough.”
According to people on the ground, the violence did not discriminate based on political loyalty. CPM, TMC, Congress, or BJP—Hindu families from all camps were reportedly targeted. “They told us,” says one elderly man in a viral clip, “Now that Modi has passed the Waqf law, no Hindu will be allowed to stay here.”
That statement—if confirmed—is not just a local threat. It is a direct challenge to the state’s social fabric and constitutional values.
Where Is the State? Where Is the Secularism?
West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has so far remained silent on the issue, with no official acknowledgment of the scale of displacement. She is accused of appeasement politics amid growing communal tension. The police have reportedly made some arrests, but locals say the situation on the ground remains volatile.
Everyone has vanished,” says a local resident who helped shelter fleeing families at Par Lalpur High School. “No relief camps. No compensation. Just fear and silence.
A Pattern or a Flashpoint?
This is not the first time Bengal has seen post-violence displacement of Hindus. Similar patterns were reported after the 2021 assembly elections, where BJP supporters—often from the Hindu community—were allegedly attacked. But this time, it’s not about votes. It’s about identity. And survival.
The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognizance in past communal incidents, including in Manipur. Yet so far, there’s been no such move in this case. Why the silence?
An Inconvenient Truth No One Wants to Talk About
The idea of Hindus fleeing a town in India—in 2025—should be a national headline. But it’s not. Why?
Perhaps because it disrupts the narrative. Perhaps because it’s politically uncomfortable. Or perhaps because India’s secular discourse has grown selective about whose pain deserves amplification.
That’s the dangerous part.
When people are chased from their homes because of their faith, and when institutions remain silent, a country doesn’t just lose control—it loses its moral compass.
What Happens Next?
Will the state investigate? Will relief reach the families taking shelter in schoolyards? Will national media step in? Will Parliament debate it?
Or will this—like so many communal tragedies before—fade into memory, with only shaky phone videos as testimony?
What is certain is this: the Ganga, which once symbolized unity, is now the line people are crossing to escape religious violence.
And that is a tragedy that should shame every Indian, no matter their politics.
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