CHICAGO: Human rights groups across United States staged rallies in Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Houston, San Francisco, Washington DC, Atlanta on Saturday July 11 for Tuktuki Mondal, the kidnapped daughter of a poor laborer in India.
Tuktuki’s plight began when she was once kidnapped while on her way to the bank by a Babusona Ghazi, a local radical Islamist gang member and his friends. She was gang raped but was finally released under the condition that there would be no medical examination, no police complaint and that she should be married off early, under aged. Agreeing to these conditions at gun-point, Tuktuki’s father Subhas Mondal was able to secure her release. However Tuktuki’s nightmare just started.
The fourteen year old has become the global icon representing thousands of girls who have been kidnapped, raped and sold into sexual slavery the world over, South Asia in particular. These global rallies were supported by human rights groups cutting across religious and ethnic divide. Sponsors include Overseas Friends of Bengal,
Tuktuki, an extremely bright student, was preparing for her pre-final examinations on May 4 when her abductors returned and violently ransacked her home. Tuktuki and her family tried in vain to resist. Screaming for help, she was dragged away. A few days later, the frantic parents received a message directing them to a local mosque to find their daughter. Tuktuki’s father went and was nearly killed by a 700 strong mob from the mosque. Tuktuki’s parents have not seen or heard of their daughter since.
Thousands of girls are reportedly kidnapped, gang raped and human trafficked in rural West Bengal and sold into sex trade across the region and to Middle East by radical Islamists who are profiting from the trade. In fact Sonagachi, where many of these girls are brought in transit, is reportedly the largest red light district in Asia.
Shocking and yet true, all these are happenings in India, a so-called secular democratic republic with the largest concentration of people following the Hindu faith. The only organization caring for these missing girls in the region is an NGO called Hindu Samhati. Its founder and President Tapan Kumar Ghosh has helped to save many such girls. For many years he has been incessantly working to raise the awareness of the plight of the Hindus there.
In fact the only person who is in a position to help and ameliorate the position is mute and gleefully watching the situation with a strange attitude of indifference. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is indifferent to this issue fearing that any action against Muslim perpetrators would deprive her of votes, it was felt.
Satya Dosapati, a veteran human rights activist, New York has approached many officials in West Bengal seeking Tuktuki’s release. Recently some leaders in Chicago, Houston, Washington D.C., among others have denounced the state of affairs in West Bengal.
In San Francisco, the activists held a candlelight vigil to pray for Tuktuki and the other captive girls. Community leader and social activist for minority rights who worked with Yezidis and other communities, Somanjana Chatterjee expressed heartfelt sympathy for Tuktuki and demanded her immediate recovery.
So did Manik Tyagi who had also organized a google hangout with Tuktuki’s father, Subhas Mondal.
Another organizer there and West Coast President of the Overseas Friends of Bengal, Judhajit Sen Mazumdar, said, “The ex-pat Indian community in the Silicon Valley is outraged and disturbed by what is happening to Tuktuki and other girls from rural Bengal”.
In Chicago, Prasad Yalamanchi, Chairman Global Hindu Heritage Foundation organized a rally of several veteran activists before the Indian Consulate. Madhu Patel, founder president of NRI Press Club, said that the organizers and the demonstrators have decided to meet in person Consul General Dr Ausuf Sayeed amd present him with a memorandum demanding swift action on the part of concerned authorities to provide justice to Mondal family and the girl in particular.
Dr Richard Benkin, a long time human rights activist from the Jewish community stated, “If you don’t stop them in West Bengal now, soon it will be in New Delhi, New York and Chicago”. Many came to demonstrate in front of Indian consulate. They felt it was the right thing to do in order to send a message to the Chief Minister of the state, Mamata Banerjee.
The demonstrators felt that Indians without their religious affiliations must face this atrocity with unity and create awareness among the mainstream society about the plight of women who are helpless victims of rape. The crime is heinous because it involved an underage girl who happened to be a school going student.
It was pointed out in this context that Islamist Jihadis and radical gangs have made some regions of West Bengal state a no-go zone for the Hindus and this is a matter of serious concern.
The Global Hindu Heritage had organized the Chicago rally with several veteran activists like Prasad Yalamanchi, Madhu Patel, Rohit Joshi, Bhalailal Patel along with many others.
Dr Richard Benkin, a long time human rights activist who visits Bangladesh every year collecting testimony on abduction of girls and presenting to Congressmen for action to stop human trafficking, addressed the rally and observed that ” if you don’t stop them in Bengal now soon will spread everywhere including New Delhi, New York and Chicago.”
Many activists observed that Tuktuki to them was like their daughter or grand daughter and those atrocities against “our innocent children must stop now.” Tuktuki was doing well in school and had dreams to get her family out of poverty. She is now screaming for help remaining in captivity of czars of human trafficking while the world remains silent, observed Prasad Yalamanchi.
Surendra Ullal
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