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This India Today ground report from Birbhum and Shantiniketan captures the political climate in West Bengal ahead of the elections.

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00:00Hello.
00:22My brother is a BLU.
00:26I have been in the T.M.C.
00:26I have been in the president.
00:27I am in my own land, and my name is cut.
00:31This is what we need to do.
00:40I don't know why we need to do this.
00:45Why do we need to do this?
00:57It's not a vote, it's not a vote, it's not a vote, it's not a vote, it's not a vote.
01:04The election commissioners, his SIR?
01:06Yes.
01:13Who's a vote? Didi's vote or Modi's vote?
01:18How do we get this vote?
01:20Who will this vote come to vote this time?
01:22Who will this vote?
01:23Who will this vote?
01:25Who will this vote?
01:26No, we won't vote.
01:28We won't vote.
01:29We won't vote in Bangladesh or Pakistan.
01:33Why won't we vote?
01:34We are a vote.
01:43Electoral history is littered with examples where a single event has changed the course of politics in a state.
01:51Will SIR be that event in Bengal?
02:10Are we talking about this?
02:15Any county on the road says that we have seen the citizenship?
02:16How is that supposed to be a mother?
02:16The community is in Bengal.
02:17They're watching it today.
02:22The community is in the city of the country.
02:23They're looking for the village.
02:25They're looking for the people, the people that have gone through.
02:25And they've seen the people, the people that have gone through.
02:26Bangla is a reporter?
02:27Sangbadi.
02:28Sangbadi.
02:29Sangbadi.
02:30If someone will ask me, I will say Sangbadi.
02:32Sangbadi.
02:33What will happen, Dad?
02:35Will he come here or will he be puritan?
02:38Puritan.
02:39He will be puritan.
02:41Puritan.
02:42Puritan.
02:43Puritan.
02:45Hushpetya, Rohingya.
02:46Is he talking about Bangla?
02:48Yes.
02:49Hushpetya.
02:50Can you call him?
02:51Huh?
02:52Hushpetya.
02:52Can you call him?
03:06Why do you like Mamatala?
03:07She is taking care of everything from all spears.
03:12She has done enough for us.
03:13You are happy with her?
03:14Yes, we are happy with her.
03:17We are very happy with her.
03:19Personally, she is in Bangla.
03:22I know she is fine for us without us.
03:23Okay, we are fine with her.
03:24She is fine with her.
03:24Yes, fine.
03:26We will be fine with her.
03:28Good evening.
03:32Good evening.
03:34Good evening.
03:38Good evening.
03:40Good evening.
03:41Good evening.
03:43Good evening.
03:43Good evening.
04:20It is Pohila Boshak, Bengali New Year, the advent of all things new, which this year includes
04:29a new government in the state.
05:40Yes.
05:40He is the best.
05:42Is he happy or not?
05:45Yes, he is.
05:46What did you say, Didi?
05:49What did you say?
05:51He is the best.
05:52I don't think he is.
05:55We are doing a bit of culture.
05:57We are not from these people.
06:00We are a Stool tribe.
06:02We are not a Stool tribe.
06:03We are a Stool tribe.
06:04We are a Stool tribe.
06:04We are not a Stool tribe.
06:08The Stool tribe is not a Stool tribe.
06:10They are not a Stool tribe.
06:12It is a Stool tribe culture.
06:14It is not a Stool tribe culture.
06:16The Stool tribe culture is not a Stool tribe culture.
06:18But doesn't start to start here.
06:19There is no card.
06:20That's why we have some disented.
06:23That's why they are hurt.
06:24Yes.
06:25The oldest.
06:26The oldest one is trying.
06:31We are struggling.
06:32We will play on TV.
06:35Didi, didi, didi.
06:36Okay.
07:23On Bengali New Year, we reach the Birbhoom district, once a left citadel, today a violent battleground during Poles.
07:36But always the home to Shanti Niketan, the ode, the intellectual capital of Bengalis.
07:50Happy Novo Barsho.
07:52Shubho Novo Barsho.
07:54Shubho Novo Barsho.
07:56What is the importance of the Bengali New Year?
07:58What is the importance of the Bengali New Year?
08:02What is the importance of the Bengali New Year?
08:24Shubho Novo Barsho means...
08:28Dinesh Pooja.
08:29Shubho Novo Barsho?
08:30It's basically the start of all new things.
08:32Are you happy with the government....
08:35Your happy.
08:36You don't wanna change.
08:42You both are looking beautiful...
08:56Shubha!
08:56The most important thing about the festival is to enrich the culture.
09:08Shubhan Abubarsh, what does Bengali culture mean to you?
09:14Bengali culture means humanity. Bengali culture means open-mindedness.
09:23Bengali culture means simplicity. Culturally they are very rich.
09:33There's so much going on right now. It's an election.
09:36Unfortunate.
09:39Okay, you think it's all unfortunate.
09:41But what you want is, you want a whole society, you want equality and you want humanity.
09:47I just, in integral words, I want to say.
10:21You sing beautifully, ma'am. What does it mean?
10:23We all are equal.
10:32Namaskar.
10:32Namaskar.
10:33Namaskar.
10:34Chunaav is coming. RSS is a silent worker.
10:44RSS is a part like that.
10:46How much involved RSS in Chunaav?
10:49You talk about your district. You talk about Bengal.
10:53RSS in Chunaav.
10:54RSS is a ND.
10:54A jāgrana building project continues to orbit.
10:57Yes.
10:59We all do.
11:00They have to live with the wild people.
11:04They are not just public.
11:05They are not public.
11:06They are not in politics.
11:07Who might also?
11:07They do it.
11:08A Jāgrana building project continues to orbit.
11:11They have to be of an eye to the eye.
11:12They are road to the images.
11:13The message we have to go of that.
11:16You have to say of an idea.
11:17foreign
11:22foreign
11:23foreign
11:23foreign
11:23foreign
11:24foreign
11:34foreign
11:35foreign
11:55So basically, then you have a coordination between RSS and BJP.
12:09How much is RSS active in Bengal?
12:14How much is RSS active in Bengal?
12:17Because the rest of the other BJP states are very active.
12:23RSS is very active.
12:24The problem here is that when we met the Sardin data,
12:32a culture has been buried.
12:36First of all, there was a culture of the Gandhi family.
12:39They had a long-term strategy.
12:41After that, the Bampan culture had been demolished.
12:46But here is not the BJP, or the TNC and the Bampan?
12:52We got this freedom.
12:55There was a Congress.
12:56It was a Congress until 1971.
12:58So you blame Congress?
13:00Yes.
13:00Congress, after that, was the Bampan.
13:03That's true.
13:04The Bampan is not a great thing.
13:05No, the Bampan culture is not the same.
13:10Therefore, there are some totally different ways to change the culture.
13:13And that's why it takes a long time to change the culture,
13:14and when it is fought for our two,
13:19it takes a long time to change the culture.
13:51It's a narrative Indian culture.
14:21It's a narrative Indian culture.
14:45It's a narrative Indian culture.
15:21It's a narrative Indian culture.
15:51It's a narrative Indian culture.
16:21It's a narrative Indian culture.
16:46It's a narrative Indian culture.
16:49It's a narrative Indian culture.
17:18It's a narrative Indian culture.
17:49It's a narrative Indian culture.
17:51It's a narrative Indian culture.
18:43It's a narrative.
19:06It's a narrative.
19:09It's a narrative.
19:41First of all,
19:41it's a narrative is becoming very difficult.
19:45It is not going on smoothly.
19:49It is facing a lot of trouble.
19:52But I'm sure there's going to be a lot of changes, particularly if BGP wins, then there will be a
20:03hell of a lot of change.
20:04And possibly people will lose their freedom.
20:17I'm not going on in a lot of times, but that's what I find in other states?
20:24And if Mohammed away, Mohammed has run out of her time.
20:32She's run out of her time.
20:33It seems to.
20:35So that way, it may not be very good for their state.
20:41So you're saying the state, as per you, the state is stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea.
20:50That's right.
20:52I don't know whether any threat change can be.
20:55No, we don't see that happening.
20:57It's either BJP or it's going to be Mamata Banerjee.
20:59But you're saying both don't augur well for Bengal.
21:03Well, it doesn't look like that.
21:06That is going through a smooth regime.
21:14And BJP, we have seen in other states, may not be very good for Bengali.
21:20So it is a very bad time to be precise.
21:26Either way.
21:27In terms of the culture, in terms of there's so much that is said about Bengali Asmita, the culture, the
21:34academia of Bengal, do you think that is also at risk?
21:42That is definitely facing a bad time.
21:48You see that happening?
21:49Yes.
21:52Unfortunately, the leaders cannot pronounce Rabindranath's name properly.
21:59How did Rabindranath Tagore want Bengal to be?
22:05What was his vision?
22:08That is a very difficult question.
22:10I think at least he didn't want this kind of Bengal.
22:15And if he had, he was not a politician, but if he had his way, Bengal would be different.
22:23If he had his way?
22:25Bengal would be different.
22:26Bengal would be different.
22:28Different as in what you just said, culturally rich?
22:32Culturally and humanitarianly.
22:37Humanitarianly.
22:53Humanitarianism.
22:54Humanitarianism.
22:56Humanitarianism.
22:57Humanitarianism.
23:00Humanitarianism.
23:01Humanitarianism.
23:03Humanitarianism.
23:04Humanitarianism.
23:04Humanitarianism.
23:04Humanitarianism.
23:05Humanitarianism.
23:05Humanitarianism.
23:07Humanitarianism.
23:10Humanitarianism.
23:32Actually, this place is called Gaur Pranggan.
23:37Okay, this is an open stage.
23:52So what do you think? Do you take pride in this Bengali culture?
23:59Of course, I am a student of Vishwamaraty Paatho Babon School.
24:04So, of course, Rabindranath Chagar, without us Bengali people,
24:09they feel very proud that this type of person has been written in Bengali.
24:17Do you vote?
24:19Okay.
24:20So what are your aspirations this time?
24:33There is this term in Bengali, the Bhadralok, usually meaning the elite, the refined, the academic class, the conscience keepers
24:48of Bengal.
24:49The Bhadralok have largely believed in the recent political history of Bengal that the TMC is the bulwark against majoritarian
24:57politics, keeping the saffron surge away from Bengal.
25:02There was also a sense that this election is a pull-and-tug between the Bhadralok and the working class,
25:08where in some sections, anti-incumbency has set in, wanting Paribartan.
25:13Well, we will only know which side or the scales tilt and which side come the 4th of May.
25:18For now, we are in Beerbhoom.
25:20Lots of political violence has happened over the course right here in Beerbhoom during elections.
25:26But we are in the abode of Rabindranath Tagore, Shanti Nikritan.
25:31A certain sense of peace, a certain sense of calm, possibly before the storm.
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