INDIA SUMMARIZED

February 21, 2013     Magh Shuklapaksha 11, Kaliyug Varsha 5114 By Sandhya Jain Amidst a near-complete media blackout and distressing silence from statutory bodies like the National Human Rights Commission, a serious communal flare up has taken place in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, with more than 200 Hindu homes torched and looted in four villages — Naliakhali, Herobhanga, Gopalpur and Goladogra, in the Canning police station area, from the wee hours of February 19. Almost two dozen Hindu shops were fully damaged and looted in Joynagar police station area; many shopkeepers have fled and members of the besieged community have begun to send their womenfolk away. Although triggered by a purely local incident, the looming Panchayat elections in the State seem to have given vested interests an opportunity for a show of strength. Competitive communalism is in the air, with the two major political formations fighting to capture the huge Muslim vote in the State. ...