(EDITORIAL) Our Calcutta newsletter published yesterday [June 5] was sombre reading. Each one of the long list of facts quoted by our Calcutta correspondent is in itself an indictment of the Government of West Bengal. We had sincerely hoped that with the signing of the Inter-Dominion Agreement in April last, conditions in India, especially in West Bengal, would rapidly change for the better and a fair deal would be assured to the Muslim minority. But the tales of suffering coming from Calcutta are doleful enough to shake even the most robust of hopes.

… The frontier searches have become humiliating. Muslims proceeding to Eastern Pakistan are … being robbed of even those articles which are classified as non-prohibited. … Even in the case of grants to charitable institutions the West Bengal Government are alleged to be showing discrimination against the Muslims. While the Agreement speaks of curbing all tendencies to any economic boycott of the minorities, the Muslims in Calcutta are being systematically ousted from their position in the trade and commerce of the city and denied employment in any non-Muslim concerns.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.