SIR in Bengal: Mamata Banerjee's poetic protest – a 'spirit of resistance' against electoral roll changes

Sir in Bengal: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has adopted an unusual form of protest, authoring 26 poems in support of her political and legal battle against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the poll-bound state.

The poems in the book titled "SIR: 26 in 26" stand out with titles like 'Panic', 'Doom', 'Mockery', 'Fight', 'Democracy' and 'Who Is To Blame'. The book was released on 22 January at the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair.

On Tuesday, Mamata Banerjee projected herself as the principal opponent of the “hasty” SIR being conducted by “BJP-minded” officials who were “targeting” Trinamool voters and “harassing” statutory poll officials in Bengal.

With TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee by her side at a media conference in Delhi, Mamata Banerjee paraded “victims” of the electoral roll-revision drive. These individuals — from around 90 families who either lost their kin during the SIR exercise or had their names deleted from the draft list — only replied in chorus to the questions Mamata asked, according to a report in The Telegraph.

Before the event at Banga Bhawan in the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri in the national capital, Mamata’s anthology of 26 poems titled SIR: 26 in ‘26 was distributed among the attendees.

The West Bengal Chief Minister had walked out of the EC headquarters on Monday, saying she had been humiliated. “Yesterday, he started shouting. I said don’t shout. We are not your bonded labour or servant.... We took flowers for them, sweets also.... And after how they behaved with us, we boycotted them,” she said on Tuesday.

‘Spirit of resistance’

In the introduction of the book, Mamata Banerjee dedicates the book to "those who have lost their lives in this ruinous game", alleging that a "relentless campaign of fear" has been unleashed on the people of Bengal, news agency PTI said.

She writes that the poems emerge from a “spirit of resistance.”

"How long do we stay silent still? Silence does not mean peace-it means lives are falling, dripping away to nothing," reads the poem titled ‘Doom’ as per PTI.

"We want answers. And answers will be given in people's court," it adds.

Mamata to appear before SC

The TMC chief will appear before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, 4 February and seek permission to argue her pending petition challenging the SIR of electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Mamata Banerjee has moved an interlocutory application seeking permission to appear and argue in person.

Banerjee will be personally present in courtroom 1 today along with her lawyers. A gate pass issued in the Chief Minister's name confirms her presence in court tomorrow.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi will hear the case tomorrow.

Another poem titled 'Morgue' alleges that "democracy is being beaten, scrubbed raw," and claims that protest itself has fallen into the grip of “agency-raj.”

During an informal interaction with journalists on the sidelines of the press conference at Banga Bhawan on Tuesday, the West Bengal chief minister claimed that she wrote the book in three days while travelling.

163 published books

With 163 published books to her credit, Mamata Banerjee said she does not draw a pension as a former MP and has also forgone her salary as chief minister. It's the royalties from these books and other creative works that sustain her personal expenses, she claimed.

The TMC founder is known for her wide-ranging creative pursuits. A prolific author, she has written across genres, including poetry, short stories, essays and political commentary.

She is also a painter, with many of her works exhibited in India and internationally. She has also composed songs and penned lyrics on a wide range of topics, from social themes and nature to human emotions.

(With PTI inputs)