A TMC Leader's Rape Threats Contribute to the Sustained Misogyny in Bengal Politics

Perhaps in today's India, an audio clip of a political leader issuing threats no longer raises eyebrows.

Perhaps the fact that the same leader is out on bail despite being an accused in a multi-crore scam also barely causes a stir.

But the fact that an audio clip of an influential politician who is barely out of jail appears to convey his graphic rape threats to a policeman's wife and mother can disappear from public attention after a minimum show of outrage is still surprising.  

Welcome to West Bengal, where casual sexism has become the norm, patronised by both the ruling and main opposition parties.

Anubrata Mondal, a trusted lieutenant of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is known for 'delivering' come election time is the Trinamool Congress leader in question. Mondal faced rare difficulty this time due to a statewide outrage after the audio clip in which he issued threats to police office Liton Halder's wife and mother made primetime news. 

He apologised to “Didi's police” – Mamata Banerjee is referred to as 'Didi' – a fact which alone highlights the grim reality of law enforcement in the state. The fact that the police officer, too, listened to Mondal’s verbal abuse without objection does not disabuse one of Mondal's description of the police. 

The fact that Mondal has only been made to appear before police after significant public outrage highlights a disturbing truth. Issuing rape threats to women, even those with significant power, does not really stir the polity. It would be overly simplistic to attribute Mondal's impunity solely to political clout. Countless social media trolls, lacking similar political influence, routinely get away with sexist slurs against women. The fact that they often use “nationalism” as a pretext for such behaviour speaks volumes about the deep-seated rot in society.

Political participants, big and small, see misogyny as a quick method of gaining traction.

As several died in Pakistani retaliatory attacks in Poonch of Jammu and Kashmir in May, peace advocates had faced a torrent of abuse for calling for de-escalation.

Vocal was a college teacher who is affiliated with the Trinamool Congress. In a public post, he declared former Jawaharlal Nehru University students union leader Aishe Ghosh his “sex slave.” This same teacher had earlier threatened a woman with murder during a live social media broadcast. The teacher has been persistent in his harassment of other women online and regularly uses women leaders' photographs to post abusive messages. Despite multiple police complaints and a direction by the Calcutta high court's Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, no action has yet been taken against him by the police. Nor did his party, or the authorities of the college that employs him, take action against him. 

These are isolated acts but subscribe to a larger pattern. Across Bengal, women, particularly those from opposing or dissenting camps, are routinely branded as “available,” “loose,” or “sexually immoral.” Politically active women are not just challenged on their views, they are dehumanised and sexualised. Their ideological positions are not met with debate, but with threats and vile personal attacks.

This pattern cuts across party lines. Last November, senior TMC minister Firhad Hakim described Rekha Patra, BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Basirhat and an alleged victim of the Sandeshkhali sexual violence case, as “maal” – a thing. Four-time TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee targeted CPI(M) candidate Dipsita Dhar by mocking her complexion during his campaign trail. 

Not to be outdone, senior BJP leaders have also engaged in sexist commentary targeting women political activists, including chief minister Banerjee. Former Calcutta High Court judge and BJP MP Abhijit Ganguly had publicly asked Banerjee if her “price” was Rs. 10 lakh – claiming the question came because she wears makeup. In August last year, during protests against the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, BJP MLA Amarnath Sakha from Bankura made similar remarks about the chief minister’s “rate.” While the Trinamool Congress was quick to denounce sexist attacks on its party supremo, it has conspicuously failed to take a principled stand when such abuses are hurled at women from opposing camps. 

It must be noted though that sexism against Mamata Banerjee did not begin with her rise to power. As far back as 2011, senior CPI(M) leader Anil Basu compared her political ascent to “how bar dancers rise in their profession,” an overtly misogynistic attack intended to undermine her legitimacy. Though he was later censured by his party and faded from political relevance, the sentiment behind his comment echoed a widespread discomfort with women who hold political opinions and ambition. While Mamata Banerjee did break the glass ceiling, the landscape for women in West Bengal's public life will remain deeply hostile and inequitable.

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